Fresh Book Friday - Lies & Secrets: Three Historical Short Stories

I released a collection of three previously-published stories this week. The ebook will be exclusive to Amazon Kindle for the next three months.

Title: Lies & Secrets: Three Historical Short Stories
Author: Marsha Ward
Genre: Historical Fiction with elements of romance
Published: March 29, 2018
Price: Read Free on KindleUnlimited, or Buy the ebook for $0.99 (limited time)

Purchase Link: Exclusively on Kindle

Description: Three Historical Short Stories that expand the Owen Family Universe!

Scandalous: An Owen Family Story

Young Julianna Owen didn't think flirting with Parley Morgan at the barn raising would lead him to put his hands where they ought not to be. But even worse, her sister discovers them, and Parley abandons her, running off into the woods.

Julianna's strict father has found where she is hiding, and her world on the Colorado frontier is crashing down around her ears. She thought love and romance was only about going on picnics and holding hands, not rough kisses and hurtful pawing.

Now the consequences of her actions might be beyond what she can bear.

In the 1866 Owen Family universe, Scandalous shines a light on teen hormones run amok during a trying time in the family's story, as it ties up a loose thread from the novel, Spinster's Folly.

Review: "Be careful what you wish for; you might just get it. I love the Owen Family stories. The love of family and the adventures are made so real in Mrs. Ward's writings. Details are so vivid a reader can feel themselves there."

Broken: A Shenandoah Neighbors Story

Rida Owen didn’t know married life on the Colorado frontier could be so difficult. Nothing in her Catholic upbringing prepared her for long, lonely nights when her husband, Bert, goes drinking. And womanizing. And then comes home to beat her.

Her mother-in-law thinks she’s stuck up when she doesn’t participate in homestead washday. Rida only wants to hide her bruises and preserve her marriage.

Then a neighbor from her past stops to say hello and reveals a secret of his own.

Broken is a Shenandoah Neighbors story that illuminates a dark corner of the Owen Family universe in 1875.

Review: "Marsha Ward writes a compelling story of strength and endurance, beautifully worded and detailed to the post Civil War era."

Bloodied Leather: A Shenandoah Neighbors Story

Isabelle Gilbert chafes against the restrictions that Victorian life puts on a young lady.

Forced to accept a betrothal to Percival Egmont, an English ex-patriot like her father, she is disturbed by his passion for prize-fighting—and other pursuits. And what if Mama spots the bruise on her cheek?

Then shared secrets perplex Isabelle even more.

A Shenandoah Neighbor story, Bloodied Leather extends the Owen Family universe into 1886.

Review: "An interesting short story with good characterization and dialogue that says more than the words alone. So worth the read."
~~~

Read the stories free on KindleUnlimited, or get your copy today before the price goes up. Link to Amazon

Cover Reveal: Lies & Secrets

Cover Reveal for Marsha Ward's new collection of short stories, Lies & Secrets, due to release March 29.

Here's the content description:

Scandalous: An Owen Family Story 

Young Julianna Owen didn't think flirting with Parley Morgan at the barn raising would lead him to put his hands where they ought not to be. But even worse, her sister discovers them, and Parley abandons her, running off into the woods.

Julianna's strict father has found where she is hiding, and her world on the Colorado frontier is crashing down around her ears. She thought love and romance was only about going on picnics and holding hands, not rough kisses and hurtful pawing.

Now the consequences of her actions might be beyond what she can bear.

In the 1866 Owen Family universe, Scandalous shines a light on teen hormones run amok during a trying time in the family's story, as it ties up a loose thread from the novel Spinster's Folly.

Broken: A Shenandoah Neighbors Story 

Rida Owen didn’t know married life on the Colorado frontier could be so difficult. Nothing in her Catholic upbringing prepared her for long, lonely nights when her husband, Bert, goes drinking. And womanizing. And then comes home to beat her.

Her mother-in-law thinks she’s stuck up when she doesn’t participate in homestead washday. Rida only wants to hide her bruises and preserve her marriage.

Then a neighbor from her past stops to say hello and reveals a secret of his own.

Broken is a Shenandoah Neighbors story that reveals a dark corner of the Owen Family universe in 1875

Bloodied Leather: A Shenandoah Neighbors Story

Isabelle Gilbert chafes against the restrictions that Victorian life puts on a young lady.

Forced to accept a betrothal to Percival Egmont, an English ex-patriot like her father, she is disturbed by his passion for prize-fighting—and other pursuits. And what if Mama spots the bruise on her cheek? 

Then shared secrets perplex Isabelle even more. 

A Shenandoah Neighbor story, Bloodied Leather extends the Owen Family universe into 1886.

Lies & Secrets: Three Historical Short Stories will be available exclusively on Kindle for a period of three months.

Fresh Book Friday - Ned's Choice: A Shenandoah Neighbors Story

Eek! I neglected to make a Fresh Book Friday post about this new story.

Title: Ned's Choice: A Shenandoah Neighbors Story
Author: Marsha Ward
Genre: Historical Romance
Published: February 14, 2018
Price: $0.99 for a limited time

Purchase Links: Kindle | NOOK | Kobo | Apple iTunes Bookstore | Smashwords (all formats available)

Description:
Ned Heizer has just released his betrothed from her promise to marry him. He knows she’s in good hands that are not his own.

But if he carries out his intention to backtrack their trail, to ride toward Raton Pass where he last saw the Mormon wagon party, he’ll be leaving behind his brother and his friends to go in search of an unknown future.

Is he mistaken in his belief that Maggie Julander is the girl for him? If the feeling like lightning that passed between them is any indication, he’s on the right road, unless she didn’t have the same experience.

A Shenandoah Neighbors Story that puts Ned in a situation where he must make an informed choice and take risks for his hope of happiness.

*Mormon religious beliefs play a large part in this story.*

(Ned’s Choice is best enjoyed if read following the Owen Family Saga novel Trail of Storms.)

~~~

If you’re new to the Owen Family Saga and its related series, Shenandoah Neighbors, here’s the perfect starting place: the origin story, That Tender Light.

How did the Owen Family Saga begin?

With a love story, of course, the most romantic love story of all: when Rod and Julia met.

God must have conspired with the angels to put Roderick Owen of Shenandoah County, Virginia, and Julia Helm, of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, in the same place on one magical day in Spring, 1840. All nature paused, as though holding its breath, waiting to see what would happen.

In this short novella, Marsha Ward tells the story of the Owen Family origins, describing in her delicate language the tender feelings of two people who need to find each other in a very small window of time.

Purchase Links: Kindle | NOOK | Kobo | Apple iTunes Bookstore | Smashwords (all formats available)

Fresh Book Friday - Broken

It's Fresh Book Friday again, and I have a new story to present to you.

Title: Broken: A Shenandoah Neighbors Story

Author: Marsha Ward
Genre: Historical Romance
Published: January 19, 2018
Price: $2.99

Purchase Links: Kindle | NOOK | Kobo | Apple iTunes Bookstore | Smashwords (all formats available)

Description:
Rida Owen didn’t know married life on the Colorado frontier could be so difficult. Nothing in her Catholic upbringing prepared her for long, lonely nights when her husband, Bert, goes drinking. And womanizing. And then comes home to beat her.

Her mother-in-law thinks she’s stuck up when she doesn’t participate in the homestead wash day. Rida only wants to hide her bruises and preserve her marriage.

Then a neighbor from her past stops to say hello and reveals a secret of his own.

A Shenandoah Neighbors story that illuminates a dark corner of the Owen Family universe.

Optimum reading enjoyment will be derived from reading this story after reading The Man from Shenandoah, and possibly Spinster's Folly, so you get to know the characters involved.

Author Bio:

Author Marsha Ward writes authentic historical fiction set in 19th Century America, and contemporary romance. She was born in the sleepy little town of Phoenix, Arizona, in a simpler time. With plenty of room to roam among the chickens and citrus trees, Marsha enjoyed playing with neighborhood chums, but always had her imaginary friend, cowboy Johnny Rigger Prescott, at her side. Now she makes her home in a forest in the mountains of Arizona. She loves to hear from her readers.

Connect with Marsha: 
Website: http://marshaward.com
Blog: http://marshaward.blogspot.com
Email: marshaw@marshaward.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authormarshaward
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarshaWard

Join Marsha’s mailing list for a free book, special offers, and new releases: http://eepurl.com/vBKEj 
~~~

If you're new to the Owen Family Saga and its related series, Shenandoah Neighbors, here's the perfect starting place: the origin story, That Tender Light. 

How did the Owen Family Saga begin?

With a love story, of course, the most romantic love story of all: when Rod and Julia met.

God must have conspired with the angels to put Roderick Owen of Shenandoah County, Virginia, and Julia Helm, of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, in the same place on one magical day in Spring, 1840. All nature paused, as though holding its breath, waiting to see what would happen.

In this short novella, acclaimed author Marsha Ward tells the story of the Owen Family origins, describing in her delicate language the tender feelings of two people who need to find each other in a very small window of time.

Purchase Links: Kindle | NOOK | Kobo | Apple iTunes Bookstore | Smashwords (all formats available) 

New Works from Marsha Ward

In case you took a holiday hiatus from social media, here is a list by release dates of newly published and pre-order works in the Owen Family and Shenandoah Neighbors universes: 

Nov 30, 2017: MENDED BY MOONLIGHT: A Shenandoah Neighbors Novella

Available at: Kindle | NOOK | Kobo | Apple iTunes Bookstore | Smashwords (all formats)

Dec 28, 2017: THE APPLE PIE PRIZE: An Owen Family Story 

Available at: Kindle | NOOK | Kobo | Apple iTunes Bookstore | Smashwords (all formats)

Releasing Jan 19, 2018 and available for pre-order now: BROKEN: A Shenandoah Neighbors Story 

Pre-order at: Kindle | NOOK | Kobo | Apple iTunes Bookstore | Smashwords (all formats)

Now Launching: Mended by Moonlight

You've waited three long years to find out what happened to a major character from the Owen Family Saga novel Gone for a Soldier, Ella Ruth. In truth, she wasn't yet ready to talk about her post-war life. However, now she has opened up to author Marsha Ward, and here is her story.

A grief-stricken Confederate widow. A Union surgeon plagued by guilt. What possible set of circumstances would bring them to a meeting of the minds? Can there be a happily-ever-after for Ella Ruth and Alex during Reconstruction?

Purchase Mended by Moonlight: A Shenandoah Neighbors Novella
E-Book: Smashwords (all formats) | Kindle

Sample Saturday: Cover Reveal - Mended by Moonlight

I'm really excited to reveal the cover of my newest project, Mended by Moonlight, a Shenandoah Neighbors novella. This romantic work will be released next Thursday, November 30, 2017.

Mended by Moonlight is intended to be read following the Owen Family Saga novel, Gone for a Soldier. Here's the description:

A grief-stricken young Confederate widow, Ella Ruth Owen only wants to hide at home and wait to die. Her parents need her to make a pretty appearance in Yankee social circles so her father can recover his business interests. They pressure her to abandon black mourning clothing and make conciliatory visits with her mother to Yankee woman newly arrived in Charlottesville with their carpet-bagger husbands.

Physician and surgeon Alexander Marshall carries deep guilt that he was away at war tending wounded soldiers when his fiancée died of a fever. Lacking a future, it doesn't matter to him that the army sends him to the hinterlands of Virginia to work at a new hospital.

Ella Ruth's arguments with her parents bring on debilitating headaches. Momma arranges for her to be seen by a physician at the new hospital--dismissing the fact that it's a convalescence facility for Union soldiers.

The appearance in his office of a haunted young woman banishes Alex's lethargy. Her claim of surgical experience shocks and intrigues him. How best can he cure her headaches? Can he figure out a way to use her skills? Will Ella Ruth's resistance to a growing attraction to the doctor ever soften? That cannot happen until she is Mended by Moonlight.

~~~~

Scandalous, an Owen Family Story that adds depth and embellishes a scene in the Saga novel, Spinster's Folly, is available in KindleUnlimited for a few more days. Read it free if you have a subscription, or buy it for only $2.99. Click here for the link.

I welcome your reviews. Thank you. 

Fresh Book Friday: Bloodied Leather, A Shenandoah Neighbors Story

It's Fresh Book Friday! Today is the Release Day for my latest short story.

Title: Bloodied Leather, A Shenandoah Neighbors Story
Author: Marsha Ward
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: WestWard Books
Date Published: August 18, 2017
Price: $0.99 for ebook edition

Purchase Links:
Kindle | NOOK | Kobo | iTunes |Smashwords

Book Description:
Isabelle Gilbert chafes against the restrictions that Victorian life puts on a young lady.

Forced to accept a betrothal to Percival Egmont, an English ex-patriot like her father, she is disturbed by his passion for prize-fighting—and other pursuits. And what if Mama spots the bruise on her cheek?

Then shared secrets perplex Isabelle even more.

A “Shenandoah Neighbors” story that extends the Owen Family universe, Bloodied Leather opens a new era for this popular family saga.

Author Bio:
Author Marsha Ward writes authentic historical fiction set in 19th Century America, and contemporary romance. She was born in the sleepy little town of Phoenix, Arizona, in a simpler time. With plenty of room to roam among the chickens and citrus trees, Marsha enjoyed playing with neighborhood chums, but always had her imaginary friend, cowboy Johnny Rigger Prescott, at her side. Now she makes her home in a forest in the mountains of Arizona. She loves to hear from her readers.

Connect with Marsha:
Website: http://marshaward.com
Blog: http://marshaward.blogspot.com
Email: marshaw@marshaward.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authormarshaward
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarshaWard

Join Marsha’s mailing list for a free book, special offers, and new releases: http://eepurl.com/vBKEj

Sample Saturday: Cover Reveal - Bloodied Leather

How exciting it is to reveal the cover of my short story, Bloodied Leather! This story, the first of the "Shenandoah Neighbors" line of works to see the light of day, will be published as an ebook next Friday, August 18.

Bloodied Leather vaults over a lot of years and other Owen-verse stories (coming later). It's set in San Francisco in 1886. Here's the description:

Isabelle Gilbert chafes against the restrictions that Victorian life puts on a young lady.

Forced to accept a betrothal to Percival Egmont, an English ex-patriot like her father, she is disturbed by his passion for prize-fighting—and other pursuits. And what if Mama spots the bruise on her cheek?

Then shared secrets perplex Isabelle even more.

A “Shenandoah Neighbors” story that extends the Owen Family universe, Bloodied Leather opens a new era for this popular family saga.

Bloodied Leather will be published in a collection in 2018, which will be available in print as well as in ebook formats.
 

~~~~~

Have you read my latest novella, That Tender Light, yet? It's the wonderfully romantic origin story of how Rod Owen and Julia Helm met. Free at online retailers like Barnes and Noble, Kobo, iBooks/iTunes, and Smashwords. Only $0.99 at Amazon.

I always welcome your reviews. Thank you!

Sample Saturday: Bloodied Leather

The short story Bloodied Leather will be published in two weeks. Here's a sample to whet your appetite:

San Francisco, California. 1886

Isabelle Gilbert pulled a blonde curl down alongside her cheek. She repeated the effect with a second lock of hair, then adjusted the coiffure on the other side of her head for symmetry’s sake. She frowned. Mama had such sharp eyes. If the bruise weren’t entirely hidden, she would spot it in one second and ask about it in the next. How would Isabelle ever explain how it had happened?

Surely Percy hadn’t meant to strike her. He’d been so excited about attending the prizefight, and when she had declined to accompany him... I never imagined what trouble a fiancé could be to a girl. I must work harder to make him happy.

Isabelle determined at last that three dangling curls did the job of masking the unsightly discoloration. She gave her hair one last pat and rose from her dressing table to choose her outfit for the day.

Something simple. Nothing to call Mama’s attention to me.

Since Isabelle would not make any calls on friends today, she chose a pale blue bodice with puffed sleeves and a matching skirt with only the slightest of bustles. Something comfortable would be best. After all, she’d only be working on her trousseau. She grimaced. The hand towels must be embroidered with intertwined initials to herald her upcoming marriage to Percival Egmont.

She didn’t call him Percival. Who would? She had chosen to call her fiancé Percy, even though he pressed her daily to use an endearment like “dear” or “darling.” It didn’t suit her to bestow such sweet names on him yet. Especially after last night.

She had left Percy in the parlor on his knees, swearing he had not meant to lay a hand on her. Well, he had done so, and her remembrance of the blow stung as sharply as had the blow itself. Fortunately, Mama hadn’t caught her on the stairs afterward or she would have known something was amiss. Isabelle wondered what action, if any, Mama would have taken in regards to the man. Mama was sometimes a puzzle.

Look for a Cover Reveal next week.