Karen Barnett's Debut Novel Takes Readers Into Historical Prohibition Period...Check it Out!

bassriverhistory.blogspot.com
"Port Angeles, Washington, 1926
"Carefully, she guided the Ford in beside the other automobile. Empty. She hadn't expected to spot lovers necking
in the front seat, but only fools would be out on a storm-swept beach in the dark of night.
"Laurie twisted a long strange of beads as her stomach churned. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
Please God, don't let my brother be one of those fools...
"The plan seemed sound earlier, but now her knees trembled. The tree branches above her head thrashed like
a thousand arms waving her away. Laurie steeled herself. If her brother was on that beach, she wanted to know...
"Laurie wrinkled her nose at the muck and pushed herself up to her knees. The flashlight created a comforting
bubble of light around her.
"It also helped her see the unexpected hand as it clamped unto her arm.
"Laurie shrieked. Swinging the flashlight, she brought it down on the strange wrist with a loud crack...
"My name is Daniel Shepherd. And I--well, as ridiculous as it sounds on a night like tonight--I was delivering
something. I thought I saw lights out on the beach, so I stopped..."
~~~

Mistaken:
First Impressions Are Never
What They Seem

By Karen Barnett

I grew up in a small "dry" town that was founded by Albert Gallatin--New Geneva, PA--and, indeed, it is still dry... Having the entire country go dry during Prohibition was, of course, due to women...LOL But even many of the women didn't support it... My guess is that many wives of the men in Congress at that time were quietly or loudly pushing their husbands to vote as they wished...But everybody soon realized that this just wasn't working!

We know now that alcoholism is a disease for some, so special provisions had to be made for those individuals to get their "medicine..." Laurie Burke's father was one of those individuals. Now she was concerned that her brother was a rumrunner! Laurie continuously prayed for her father, but now, her worries had

doubled. Indeed, Johnny her brother had gotten involved in running rum from Canada. He wasn't drinking it, but could still get into trouble running it!

And Laurie was going to stop him! Or at least try...

What she did was cause a lot of extra trouble--she was Mistaken about several things...

But nobody was talking to her, so she put 2 plus 2 together and got...5...

Laurie had met Daniel Shepherd the night she had gone looking for Johnny. He had seen the same lights as she had on the water and stopped to investigate. He had been delivering a prescription... Laurie assumed he was a rumrunner...

But she was still just as attracted to him as he was to her...

So when she went to the pharmacy with her friend Amelia, who was also Johnny's girlfriend, she hated that she had to pick up her father's "prescription" from Dr. Pierce, because to her way of thinking, that doctor dosed himself and his patients with a generous serving of brandy!

And then she got the real surprise! Daniel was a pharmacist!

"Sinking into her chair at the end of the long row of switchboards, Laurie settled the headset over her ears. She took a moment to press cool fingers against her temples, hoping to push the pain aside. Every time she closed her eyes, she pictured Johnny down at the beach, a load of whiskey at this feet, or her father when she arrived home--passed out on the sofa, an empty bottle clutched to his chest...
                                            ~~~
"She must be mistaken. That man couldn't have been preparing to ask her out on a date. She shivered. As if she would go anywhere with a rotten rumrunner, even if his dimpled smile made her knees melt. There had to be someone out there who was decent, trustworthy, and not
connected with booze in any way. Of course, it wouldn't hurt
if that someone looked like Daniel Shepherd...



"Mr. Larson leaned forward. "Ladies, I don't know if you would remember my grandson..."
"Laurie stared at the mirror, a flush creeping up her neck. The man's smile was unmistakable--even in the daylight..."

"I think Miss Burke and I have already met."

"Miss Burke's eyes widened, the blush on her cheecks darkening. "No, I don't believe we have, Mr. Shepherd..."

There was much to keep Daniel and Laurie apart. For one, he was a sober alcoholic, but didn't think she would accept even that... While Laurie wanted to above all trust somebody who she could then love, since she couldn't trust her father and brother...and already didn't trust Mr. Burke!

So she was willing to meet the new revenuer who'd come to town, even though she was afraid for Johnny...

They had already started gathering information and had made a raid on a local establishment where Johnny had just been delivering and was almost caught!

He ran to Daniel's place above the pharmacy and had spent time there, sharing more than they both wanted to...

Laurie was caught...

The revenuer wanted her to provide information on the town people... And they would often meet at the
pharmacy where guess who served them, fuming..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Soda_fountain

.


While Johnny's boss wanted her to tell them what plans the revenuer was making!

What a fun book on mistaken communications! Laurie is a strong character who bravely treads anywhere to save her brother... The revenuer is interested in her for more than...information...and she might just have to agree to his demands...

Historical romantic fiction during one of the strangest times that the federal government got involved with controlling people's lives--and the people weren't willing...LOL I think you'll enjoy visiting those early times before most of us were born... Although, like I said, my little town had voted to be "dry" and stayed that way...  Highly recommended if this sounds like a place you want to visit--at least in this wonderful first novel for Karen Barnett...


GABixlerReviews

God is the same yesterday, today, and forever--and yet our human story changes daily. As a writer of historical romance, I love to explore my characters' faith and how their experiences impact the way they view God.

There's nothing I enjoy more than a beautiful love story and God's devotion to His people is the best one of all. It even ends with the hero riding in on a white horse! (Revelation 19:11). 

My first novel,MISTAKEN, releases in July 2013 with Abingdon Press. I am published in several nation magazines, including "Birthday Wish" which appeared inGuideposts Magazine in February 2010. I am represented by Rachel Kent of Books & Such Literary Agency. 

I live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with my husband, two children, three furry felines and the newest addition--a dachshund puppy. 

Gothic Romance - My Favorite Read!

"He took a step toward her.
"Go away." she shouted and waved at him.
"Go back where you belong."
He grinned, though barely, and advanced
another step toward her. "I belong here.
This is my room and that is my bed."
Soon, she would want him
there with her...
http://www.ehow.com/info_8079805_bedrooms-1900s.html

Whispers on the
  Wind


By Donna Fletcher











There's a flavor I can't describe for Gothic Romance/suspense. I can't define it either, I just experience it with pleasure when I come across it. Of course, the location, Cornwall, England, the time period, 1808, and the first sentence might have been a clue... "Only the most dangerous ghosts haunt on a stormy night..." I loved it, of course!


Belinda (Billie) Latham traveled from Nantucket on the skin of her teeth. She had little money and, if she had not received the surprising message, she would have been destitute soon, or forced to marry. "She shivered at the repulsive thought and recalled that Jeremy always smelled of day-old fish and ale which he consumed in equal amounts and was the reason for his big belly."


Was it fate that had resulted in her, a step-daughter, formally being adopted so that she was now the sole heir to Radbourne Manor...located in the small town of St. Clair?


Maximilian Radborne had been the last lord of the manor, with his father being killed recently. It was said that Maximilian haunted the manor. and even the driver had refused to deliver Billie to her new home. Later the townsfolk were quite willing to share the story of what had happened to Lord Radborne.


"The driver shook his cap-covered head and waved his hand in front of her. 'I don't go there. Nobody does, especially on a night like this when the banshees are having a fine time for themselves."
"Lord, not ghosts, Billie thought. The last thing she needed at this very moment was to hear about ghosts. Her legs began to tremble...
"The driver shook his head, crossed himself and spoke in a fearfut tone. 'It's haunted."


Dropped at the local inn, Billie entered and introduced herself. Everybody was surprised that she was a woman, not what the lawyer had been expecting. Fortunately, the innkeeper, Bessie, immediately responded, getting food for her in welcome and, later, forcing her husband to take her on to the manor.

"George banged his near-empty tankard of ale on the table. 'She's the new owner. She should be told. What if she runs into the likes of him tonight?"


Once again Billie was dumped, this time at the gate, so that by the time she finally reached the manor, she was ready only for sleep. After convincing Pembrooke, apparently the butler, that she indeed was the new owner, she was soon preparing for bed.


Billie soon learns that she indeed must contend with Max, as she immediately began to call him, as he appeared and disappeared through the Manor. And then she met his father, who was haunting the caves below. Between the two, plus the town people, including the vicar, she soon began to piece together the story that had resulted in her now being the owner of Radbourne Manor...and that now placed her in extreme danger as the new owner. She had already discovered that Max's father had probably been killed by smugglers that had used the caves for storage...Foolishly she began to investigate... 


Yes, there is plenty of suspense, but readers will probably be having too much fun watching the exchanges between Billie and Max. And when the vicar starts courting Billie; Max fumes! A delightful, somewhat surprising ending resulted in total contentment for this reader! You won't want to miss his one! Enjoy!




GABixlerReviews

"Some say he had the look of a madman that night and others say he acted
like one. He ordered the boats drawn as the first desperate cry of a struggling
survivor sounded. More cries followed. Anguished cries. Fearful cries that
mingled with the road of the brutal sea...
"It was then it was heard. A lone pitiful cry sounding like that of a lost,
helpless child. It drifted in on a wave and crashed upon a jagged rock. The
lord threw his coat off him and marched to the boat. Taking the oars in his
powerful hands and with a shove from some still able men, he rowed out alone,
into the darkness, into the mouth of the rampaging sea."
"The cry soon died away and the villagers waited and waited. Morning brought
with it a calming of the storm...The sea spewed forth remnants of its rampage--barrels
pieces of the wrecked ship, trunks and, near the outcropping of rocks at the far end
of the beach, the rough waves deposited the remains of the broken and battered
rowboat of Lord Maximillian Radborne. The sea had swallowed him, burying him
in a watery grave."
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobjagendorf/2787414327/sizes/m/in/photostream/