“Let us not love with words or speech

but with actions and in truth.”

 

— 1 John 3:18

 💜 Happy Valentine’s Day! 💜

As far as I’m concerned, the true meaning of Valentine’s — LOVE in all its glorious forms, be it Agape, Fraternal, Familial, or Romantic — deserves FAR more than a single day! It deserves EVERY DAY, and that’s exactly what our header Scripture above means to me.

In anotherwords, “actions speak louder than words.”

Don’t get me wrong, words are great — heck, they’re my livelihood — but they don’t mean a whole lot unless one can put feet to their faith and show love through their actions.

Which is a pretty tall order for my secondary hero Finn McShane in book 1 of my Silver Lining Ranch series, Love’s Silver Lining. If you read the prequel novel For Love of Liberty, you have a pretty fair idea what ol’ Finn and Liberty’s marriage is like in Love’s Silver Lining. Because in FLOL, those two were locking horns (and lips) A LOT before they got hitched, employing a LOT more words than actions due to taut Irish tempers.

But in Love’s Silver Lining, Finn has learned that true love is manifested in the actions behind the words, which is no easy manner for him with a fire-breathing, red-haired lass like his wife. So I thought in honor of Valentine’s Day, I’d give you a sneak peek at the patience Finn has to exercise with Liberty, who has holed herself up in a hotel room to keep the hotel manager — and Finn — away. You’ll find the excerpt at the bottom of this blog.

But first!

A sneak peek at some of MY favorite valentines, and YES, Genevieve (also known as Genebebe) is doing GREAT, so your prayers DO make a difference, my friends!

 

❤️ We’ve Got Winners!

MEGA HUGS to everyone who entered my FAMILY FICTION CHRISTIAN ROMANCE READERS POLL contest — you guys ROCK!!

Family Fiction’s poll results will be announced in Family Fiction’s 2018 Christian Romance Special Edition, which will be available for FREE TOMORROW at the following link: https://www.facebook.com/FamilyFiction/

But the results for my contest are being announced right now, so let’s give a great big SUPER CONGRATS to the following. I will be in touch:

Grand Prize Winner:

CHANEL MONROE

—Choice of Ten Top CBA Books* or $50 Amazon Gift Card

—Character Named for You/Loved One in Upcoming Release, Love’s Silver Lining

—Signed paperback copy of Love’s Silver Lining

*10 new or almost new books by top CBA authors such as Rachel Hauck,

Denise Hunter, Becky Wade, Beth Vogt, and more!

 

Two Runners-Up:

DEBBIE CLATTERBUCK

ANDREA STEPHENS

   —Character Named for You/Loved One in Upcoming Release, Love’s Silver Lining

—Signed paperback copy of Love’s Silver Lining

❤️ Did You See My FB Live This Week?

I talk about the most romantic thing my husband has ever done for me, how we met, and how he proposed, so check it out at the video link below because …

IF you leave a comment anytime after the FB Live up until midnight on Feb. 15, you will be eligible to win your choice of my e-books, so GOOD LUCK!

 

 

❤️ Rare Blog Giveaway!

Join me on MontanaMade Tell Tale Reviews Blog on FEBRUARY 14, 2018 when I talk about KISSES and you’ll be entered to win your choice of my indie e-books INCLUDING my most recent release, For Love of Liberty, or my upcoming release, Love’s Silver Lining, or even Romance-ology 101.

So mark your calendar, and hope to see you there!

 

 

 

 

 

❤️ Sneak Peek at Love’s Silver Lining

 As promised, here is an excerpt from my upcoming book Love’s Silver Lining, due out late spring or early summer. To set it up, Liberty O’Shea McShane has locked herself in her hotel room to keep from going home with her husband, Finn McShane.

 Tap. Tap. Tap.

Liberty stifled a groan, ignoring the gentle knock on the door. Go away, Mr. Wilkinson. She held her breath, hoping he would.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Not responding, she squeezed her eyes shut as if that would make him disappear.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

“Go away, Mr. Wilkinson, I’m in bed and nearly asleep,” she called, yanking the covers over her head.

BANG! BANG! BANG! She shot up, her temper suddenly exploding along with the stupid door. “I am in my nightgown, sir, so you can bang all night, but I am not opening that door!”

“Fine by me.”

Liberty froze to the sheets at the sound of that voice, goose bumps popping like measles while the turn of a key in the lock sucked all moisture from her throat. She caught her breath when the door squealed open, bucking up against the headboard so hard, it rattled along with her teeth. “W-What are y-you d-doing?” she hissed, covers clutched to her neck.

“Taking you home, Mrs. McShane,” Finn said with a polite tip of his hat, his frame so tall and broad, he had to duck through the door.

“For the love of decency, you mule, I’m in my nightclothes!”

“Uh, I’ve seen it before, Libs.” A polite smile hovered on those full lips as he quietly clicked the lock behind him, draining all blood from her face. He leaned against the wood, hip cocked to the frame. “It’s time to go, darlin’.”

“Don’t you darlin’ me, you … you … bull-headed letch!” She wrapped the covers around her the best that she could, chin rising along with her temper. “And I’m not going anywhere with you, Finn McShame, so you can just march right back out that door.”

A slow grin slid across his lips that annoyed her even further when it fluttered her stomach. Or maybe it was nausea.

One could only hope.

He nudged his hat up. “I’ve missed the nicknames, Libs, but I imagine I’ll get a bellyful before all is said and done.” Pushing off the doorframe, he stood to his full height, the grin fading into that equally irritating half-smile that always pitted his calm-and-collected against her flustered-and-fuming. “I’m taking you home, Libby, so we can do this easy or we can do it hard—the choice is yours.”

“My home is in New York, you insufferable bully, and since when did you ever give me a choice? I didn’t even have any say in marrying you in the first place—I had to be drugged to do such a moronic thing.”

He idly scratched the back of his neck, that shameless twinkle causing more “nausea.”

“You weren’t drugged the next morning as I recall,” he said softly, laughter crinkling at the corners of hazel eyes that had always cast a spell. “When you woke up in my bed”—he paused long enough for the fire in her cheeks to crawl clear up to the roots of her hair, then winked, his voice taking on a lazy drawl—“buck naked.”

“Get out!” So much blood pulsed in her cheeks, she thought she might faint, the audacity of this scalawag snatching the breath right out of her lungs. Without a second thought, she hurled the brass and metal alarm clock at him with a grunt.

Catching it handily, he bobbled it in the air with a crooked smile. “Mite heavier than a teapot, for sure, but at least it won’t shatter into a million pieces.” He casually strolled over to set it back down, and she lunged to the far side of the bed, covers wadded to her chest. Hands on his hips, he nodded toward her arsenal of blankets. “Now, are you going to get dressed on your own, Liberty Bell,” he said, employing the maddening nickname he’d coined long ago just to get on her nerves, “or am I going to have to do it for you?”

“Over my dead body!” she screamed, scalding him with a bug-eyed glare.

He shifted, his manner patient. “Maybe. But either way, Libby, you’re coming with me. So are you going to put some clothes on or should I do it for you?”

“Neither!” she shouted, swiping a book from the nightstand. “I said, get out, you … you belligerent brute!” She fired it at him, aiming for that obnoxious smile.

Finn nabbed it easily, brows lifting as he held the book up, shaking his head with a tsk. “Flinging the Word of God around, Miss Bell?” He set the Bible back down. “I doubt that’s going to earn you any favor with the Almighty, ma’am.” He moseyed on over to the bureau and opened a drawer, gathering up a chemise, skirt and blouse before tossing them on the bed. “And I’m not the belligerent one here, Libby, so I’m going to ask you one more time, real nice and slow—you going to dress yourself or do you want me to do it?”

“You wouldn’t dare!” she said in a near gasp, remembering all the times he’d given her an ultimatum—and won.

He folded his arms, mouth clamping into a tight smile. “Try me.”

“Oooooo …!” Frustration surging, she crumpled the chemise up in a ball and pelted it straight in his face.

“Suit yourself,” he said in an unruffled tone, moving around to her side of the bed with the chemise in hand.

“You are nothing but vile, Finn McShane,” she rasped, scurrying to the other side of the bed as quickly as she could wrapped in blankets like a rolled dumpling. But apparently not quick enough given the fist that Finn latched on to her foot. Bucking like a thorn-saddled mule, she tried to kick him, but he had her pinned to the bed in a blink of those deadly hazel eyes that now studied her with affection. “Holy saints above, I’ve missed you, Libby,” he whispered as he hovered, the husky sound of her name on his lips disarming the blaze of her temper with a fire of a whole ’nother kind. Her tongue parched dry while her so-called nausea barnstormed her belly like a herd of hummingbirds.

No! She was so stunned, she couldn’t speak, and when he leaned in to nuzzle her mouth, his groan stole her protest altogether as she gasped, those deadly lips taking advantage with a kiss so deep, it collided with a weak moan of her own. “Libby, I love you,” he rasped, “and God help me, I’ve never stopped.”

Never stopped? His words instantly paralyzed her to the bed, dousing the heat of his kiss when she suddenly remembered the day of their awful fight. The day Griffin Alexander McShane bullied instead of loved, giving her no recourse but to storm right out of his life. The truth cramped in her chest.

And he let her.

 ❤️Hugs and HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

Julie