Garnet Gale Gets Her Man

Garnet Gale Gets Her Man

A Novel by Nan D Arnold

Genre: Historical Romance

Release: March 5, 2012

Editor: Richelle Putnam

Line Editor: Holly Bonville

Cover Designer: Suzannah Safi

Words: 84087

Pages: 238

ISBN: 978-1-77127-010-6

Price: $5.95

Back Cover:

19th Century New England.
Shipwrecks, emotional flotsam from past wrecked relationships, jilts, deceits, lost fortunes, and building passion swirl around Abigale Hawthorne and Randolph Blessing. Can the pair overcome the negatives to win each other’s trust and hearts?

Excerpt:

New England, 1839-Lost Mast Harbor

The Sea Nymph and Sea Crest were overdue. The first within reason, the latter with disturbing tardiness. Captain Nathaniel Blaine, master of the latter vessel, plagued Abigale Hawthorne’s thoughts anew because the man waiting downstairs, knowingly or not, presented her with a vexing reminder of Nathaniel’s jilt.

“You must go down, Manzè.”  Seychelles gave her mistress a sympathetic look. “If that thorn, Captain Blaine, gets a mention, smile wide,” she said softly. “Pretend you don’t care ‘cause he took for himself another wife.”

“Inform Mr. Randolph Blessing I am indisposed.”

“Hiding’s not your way.” Seychelles went to an ornately carved dressing table where she rummaged through a jewel box of ebony wood, electing a circlet of opals. This she exchanged for garnets and fastened the clasp at Gale’s slender nape.

“I prefer the opals.”

“This one holds a message but not sure what.”

“Pfft.” Gale fussed with bows on her blue striped frock. “Very well, the garnets stay… I’m late enough already.”

“Lean-time news coming. Could be a limping ship, or worse.”

The gazes of a daughter of privilege and a free woman, who was named for her mother’s island birthplace, locked inside the looking glass.

“Which ship is in peril?”

“Don’t know, but recall Cap’n Blaine’s not your worry, not anymore.”

Gale drummed her lace-gloved fingers on the table. “True. Let Philippa, I mean to say Mrs. Blaine, pace the widow’s walk. If the sea claims Nathaniel, I shan’t shed a tear. ”

“That so?”

“Anyway, your predictions aren’t always accurate.”

Seychelles bristled.  “More right than wrong, ain’t it so?”

She quizzed her maid. “You’ve seen Mr. Blessing?” Widow Forsythe, a consummate troublemaker, goaded Gale into inviting the Englishman to call. Too late, Gale learned of his relation to the captain’s wife.  She could only hope he was unaware of her former attachment to Nathaniel, improbable as that was.

“Yes. Nothing forming on that mister. First, I need something personal from him, some hair or such.”

“Easily remedied. Fetch that old tomahawk from the attic trunk and we’ll scalp a few from his head.” She left her sanctuary to play hostess to one man as another deviled her thoughts.

Reviews:

Ghosts, jilts, financial matters, dinner parties and more; Garnet Gale Gets Her Man if filled with a lot more than just Gale and Randolph falling in love. This book has a little bit of everything. Throughout the book, we are introduced to many supporting characters and events that sometimes seem unrelated, though interesting. The second half seems a bit rushed with a forced lesson, but everything comes together nicely to make this book an enjoyable read.

About the Author:

A native Texan, Nan worked for a life insurance agency and it was here she garnered her first commercial writing success. She created an office procedures manual which the home office issued to all its agencies. For that Nan got a bonus and the writing bug.

A move to Florida landed her a position as assistant purchasing agent for a petrochemical engineering firm but later she tried out the other side of the negotiating desk and went to work for a manufacturer's rep-whom she married.

Nan joined Romance Writers Of America and started writing novel-length fiction. Her work finaled in several RWA chapter-sponsored contests as well as back to back finals in The PACIFIC NORTHWEST WRITERS ASSOCIATION’S annual literary competition, adult genre and romance genre respectively.

Nan, hubby, and cats recently moved to Georgia upon her husband's retirement. Nan is taking a year off from the nine to five life to write full time while doing the "for better, for worse, and for lunch thing."

EMAIL WEBSITE

Customer Reviews:

This Paranormal Romance has something to engage every reader, most of all suspense.rnrnAt times there are humorous moments, but this is an ambitious work gripping our emotions as we traverse the country from a seafaring town in New England to the goldfields in search of love and trust.rnrnThe principals, Abigail, Randolph and Nathaniel Blaine form an intriguing romantic triangle but not in the usual way. Each pulls away from the others for painful reasons and yet they are tied by an overpowering need for love. rnrnRandolph wants no woman, but he is drawn to Abigail, whom he later marries and ‘deserts’. Abigail still clings to Nathaniel, the man who cast her aside, even though he is a ghost, and Nathaniel craves the peace Abigail denies him. At the centre is Gale’s former best friend, sweet gentle Philippa, widow of Nathaniel and cousin of Randolph. Her presence weighs heavily on the novel.rnrnIn one prideful moment, Abigail (Gale) refuses to forgive, when she discovers her garnet necklace does not deserve the value she gives it and thus sets in motion the retaliation of the belligerent ghost.rnrnA wonderful voodoo scene in the forest, early in the novel brings to mind images from The Crucible.rnrnLove, betrayal, rejection forgiveness and revenge are strong motivators. Nan Arnold skilfully weaves them all, in and around her characters to confound and propel them forward until they find their inner truth. rnrnThe reader’s emotions are torn between the three tragic figures and change from pity to loathing and back to sympathy, according to their changing attitudes, which we understand without necessarily condoning.rnrnA satisfying read which held my interest and allowed me to experience 19th century American life while hoping for a resolution to the seemingly impossible problem - the restoration of Rudolph and Gale's love.rnrnNan D Arnold shows through her characters that without forgiveness, love cannot flourish. Forgiveness restores order out of chaos.rn

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