by Crystal Caudill | Nov 4, 2022 | Counterfeit Hope, Counterfeit Love, Crystal's Books, Writer's Life
There is a lot to be thankful for this month, and one of those things is the fact that Counterfeit Truth, my Hidden Hearts of the Gilded Age novella prequel is out in the world. If you like historical romance with a good dose of danger, swoony Secret Service heroes in pursuit of counterfeiters, and feisty independent women who get in the way, you’ll want to check out this series. And you can stick your toes in the water with this novella.
While you can buy it on Amazon, you can get it FREE when you sign up for my newsletter. Just sign up on the sidebar or bit.ly/CaudillNews. This is a great way to try my writing without having to spend a penny. My newsletters go out only once a month, and I pray over every subscriber on that list while striving to make them beneficial to you. I hope to see you there and have the opportunity to get to know you better.
Hidden Hearts of the Gilded Age Series:
Counterfeit Truth – Novella Prequel
Read for Free by subscribing HERE. Already a subscriber? Click HERE.
Add to “Want to Read List”: BookBub | Goodreads
She wants to prove the Secret Service is corrupt. He just wants to keep her safe.
Felicity Richmond is determined to prove her place at her male-dominated family newspaper. If Father wants a story on the Secret Service’s corruption, then that’s what she’ll get him—at any cost. But Gregory Thompson is willing to kill rather than be exposed. When her plan to catch him goes horribly wrong, her rescue comes in the form of Secret Service operative Hayden Orton. The one man she longs for but can never have.
Hayden Orton nearly had former operative Thompson in his grasp . . . until Felicity interfered. Now it’s his responsibility to keep her out of the way until Thompson is arrested. Disguising her protection as a chance at an exclusive story, he invites her to join him on an investigation of the Philadelphia Mint robbery.
But Felicity isn’t content to just observe. As they work together—and at odds—to discover the culprit, Felicity stirs up trouble and emotions that leave Hayden wondering if finding the truth might cost him more than he’s ready for.
Counterfeit Love – Book 1 – Available Now
*To purchase a signed copy or request a signed bookplate, use the contact form to email me.
Can this undercover agent save the woman he loves–or is her heart as counterfeit as the money he’s been sent to track down?
After all that Grandfather has sacrificed to raise her, Theresa Plane owes it to him to save the family name–and that means clearing their debt with creditors before she marries Edward Greystone. But when one of the creditors’ threats leads her to stumble across a midnight meeting, she discovers that the money he owes isn’t all Grandfather was hiding. And the secrets he kept have now trapped Theresa in a life-threatening fight for her home–and the truth.
After months of undercover work, Secret Service operative Broderick Cosgrove is finally about to uncover the identity of the leader of a notorious counterfeiting ring. That moment of triumph turns to horror, however, when he finds undeniable proof that his former fiancée is connected. Can he really believe the woman he loved is a willing participant? Protecting Theresa and proving her innocence may destroy his career–but that’s better than failing her twice in one lifetime.
They must form a partnership, tentative though it is. But there’s no question they’re both still keeping secrets–and that lack of trust, along with the dangerous criminals out for their blood, threatens their hearts, their faith, and their very survival.
Combining rich history, danger, suspense, and romance, Crystal Caudill’s debut novel launches this new historical series with a bang. Fans of Elizabeth Camden, Michelle Griep, and Joanna Davidson Politano will be thrilled to find another author to follow!
Counterfeit Hope – Book 2 – Releases 2/14/2023, Preorder Available Now
*To purchase a signed copy or request a signed bookplate, use the contact form to email me.
Add to “Want to Read List”: BookBub |
Goodreads
Trapped by their pasts, is there hope for a future?
When Secret Service operative Andrew Darlington is brought in to support a US Marshal case involving counterfeiters in rural Indiana, he thinks it’s simply the next rung on his climb to the top of his career. But liars can only climb so high–and Andrew is keeping a dangerous secret he doesn’t ever want to get out. When he clashes with the criminal family that took over the town of Landkreis and killed the Marshal he was sent to assist, his past life is in danger of being exposed.
Widow “Lightning Lu” Thorne has only one goal: escape the clutches of the Thorne family with her son. Her decision to be an informant and testify against the Thornes looked like the perfect answer. Until the Marshal ended up dead. Now the tether keeping her tied to her felonious family is tightening, and a forced marriage to someone else in the Thornes’ clutches threatens to kill any hope of escape.
Andrew and Lu find themselves on the same team–unwillingly. They each believe the other to be the enemy to their future plans. And even if they could learn to work together, the secrets they hold could shatter all hopes and dreams. Despite the encouragement of the local preacher, they’re not even sure God can be trusted–much less other humans. Can either of them escape their past–and the family that is willing to kill their own when they smell betrayal?
On the heels of her smashing debut, this second entry in Crystal Caudill’s historical series maintains the excitement that readers of Michelle Griep, Liz Tolsma, and Elizabeth Camden will love.
We Three Kings Christmas Novella Collection – Tentatively Called “Star of Wonder” – Coming Fall 2023
(Unofficial blurb) Josiah Isaacs’s younger sister, Celestia, knows what she wants for Christmas, a proposal from her friend and fellow astronomy club member, Aldrich Weise. With an entire Christmas-themed voyage from New York to Germany, she has no doubt she can convince him.
News from Germany destroyed Aldrich’s plans for a future with Celestia. Now the two-week voyage he’d long looked forward to sharing with her would be a painful reminder of all he’d soon lose. How was he to protect his heart while still working closely with her brother to discover the counterfeiter lurking aboard his ship?
When exposing the counterfeiter takes a dangerous turn, more than hearts are at risk. Can Aldrich and Celestia survive and hold fast to hope for a Christmas miracle of a future together?
Counterfeit Faith – Book 2 – Coming Early 2024
(Unofficial Blurb)
She’s lost her faith in man. He’s lost his faith in God. Can working together restore their faith?
As matron of Final Chance House of Refuge, Gwendolyn Ellison has dedicated her life to serving the children society has deemed criminal delinquents. When she suspects someone within is using the children for criminal purposes, only one man on the board believes her and is willing to investigate. On the same day he’s murdered, a gallant hero rescues Gwendolyn from being abducted at knifepoint, but not before those involved threaten her family if she continues to investigate. She won’t leave the children defenseless, but who can she trust to help?
Widower and Secret Service operative Josiah Isaacs can’t turn his back on a woman in trouble, but neither can he commit to one when his heart remains faithful to his deceased wife. When a green goods game is tied to the house of refuge where Miss Ellison works and his nieces and nephew are housed, he reluctantly agrees to partner with her to expose the criminals before more children are hurt despite his immediate attraction to her.
As they work together and their relationship grows, Josiah wonders if marrying again might be in his future. However, with the ghost of his wife between them, Gwendolyn isn’t convinced. When evil prevails, her faith in God challenges his doubts. But can he really trust the God who didn’t save his wife to save the children and Gwendolyn?
by Crystal Caudill | Mar 11, 2022 | Counterfeit Love, History Facts
It’s release month for Counterfeit Love and I thought it might be fun to share some of my behind-the-scenes research of the Hidden Hearts of the Gilded Age series. I’ll also be running a giveaway all month long with each Counterfeit Love / Secret Service post for your chance to win one of three prizes. Read through this post to the bottom to discover the details.
What is the Gilded Age?
When most people think of the Gilded Age, they generally think of the lavishly rich, fancy ball gowns and dinners, and New York. However the Gilded Age is so much more complex than that, and that’s why I love to write during this era.
The Gilde Age is actually a term coined by the ever sarcastic and famous satirical writer, Mark Twain, in a book he
collaborated with Charles Dudley Warner on called The Gilded Age. The term Gilded Age was meant as a jab at the gross materialism and political corruption of his time. While everything was glittering, beautiful, and elegant on the surface, the moment one scratched at it, they’d discover gross corruption at the core. On a caricature level, the late 19th century was a period of massive immigration, socio-economic turmoil, rapacious Robber Barons, unscrupulous speculators, corporate buccaneers, shady business practices, scandal-plagued politics, and vulgar displays of materialism and wealth. This is one of the reasons why I love this era. It is so complex and intricate that I just never want to leave studying it.
While most people expect stories of the wealthy and elite when seeing “Gilded Age,” I love to take a look at it from the experiences of the varied classes and their experiences. There was a dark underbelly to the Gilded Age, and I love to explore it. However, I do like to see it from the perspective of the rich as well. It is like examing two very different worlds, and I find it incredibly fascinating.
A Period of Transition
During the 1870s, society as a whole was transitioning from largely agrarian to industrial–in part due to the repercussions of the Civil War and Reconstruction Era, and in part due to the massive innovations brought on by the Industrial Revolution. Many farmers and immigrants shifted to big cities to work in the factories that provided steady work and steady pay. The way businesses operated transformed and cooperations emerged with a focus on gaining the most profit possible at the cost of others. Labor unrest was a constant issue during the Gilded Age as corporations were treated as people rather than businesses, an especially terrible slap in the face to now freed slaves who were people but had only been considered property.
This was a period where Robber Barons emerged–people who because rich through often ruthless and unscrupulous business practices. Of course, not everyone who became rich met that definition, but this was largely the view of society outside the ranks of the upper-class society. These corporations had huge influences on politics, and often politicians were portrayed as merely being the puppets of those corporations. The period from 1870 to 1900 was marked by increased poverty, rising inequality, and bubbling discontent beneath the gilded filigree of society.
Big Picture Events and Issues
While the “Wild West” will live on in infamy, it was during this period that the western frontier actually began to close. The open ranges were closed in by barbed wire fences. Millions of acres of land were snatched up and populated. Native Americans were confined to reservations and then pushed farther west onto new reservations. Treaties were made to the disadvantage of the people and another Trial of Tears occurred. In fact, part of my family’s heritage cannot be traced back any further than this time because of how much was lost in this tragedy.
Technology and communication exploded during the Gilded Age. Telephones, electricity, machines, even the mass-circulation of newspapers and magazines, redefined aspects of the United States in unprecedented ways. With technology came more leisure time for new sports and entertainment to be developed. Transporation grew exponentially, opening up the country to easy travel and new migration patterns. Over these years, horse-led transportation diminished as trains, automobiles, electric trolleys, and others were developed.
Mass immigration poured millions of people into country giving rise to anti-immigrant reactions. Limitations on immigration from certain places started to appear, and the grouping of immigrants arriving shifted to larger numbers of Hungarian, Italian, Polish, and Russian peoples. Often these unskilled workers sought out cities where they could work at factories, often for horrifically low pay.
I talked a little bit about big business already, but this period is when the modern American economy emerged. Our economy became more globalized, dependent on products from around the world to supply the materials needed. Small businesses were consolidated and bought out. It was a dynamic time of wealth and poverty.
Politics too played a significant role during this time. The 1880s and 1890s especially were years of turbulence. Political conflicts were constant with corporations having an influencing hand in many areas. Farmers and laborers fought for fair representation and support against those corporations who they felt took advantage of them. You also have the beginnings of suffragist and civil rights movements.
Why I Write Gilded Age
As you can see, there is just SOOOO much conflict and depth that can be mined from this time period. I love looking at all the different perspectives and challenges that were faced by the people. So while you might think of all that glitters when you see the words Gilded Age, know that it is so much more than that, and I hope to bring some of those aspects and struggles to life in my stories.
A Second Gilded Age
Something I found interesting in my research is that the term Gilded Age has been applied to our current era by many different sources. There are parallels, but not completely. I just thought it fascinating, and if you’d like to read a succinct article on some of that, you can visit the History Channel’s article about it here.
Your chance to comment: What sort of things do you think of when you hear “Gilded Age” in relation to a fiction story?
Enter the Rafflecopter below to be entered to win one of three prizes: (Grand prize) – A signed copy of Counterfeit Love with a book sleeve made by my Momma, a toe bag with story-related prizes inside, (2nd prize) – A signed copy of Counterfeit Love with a book sleeve made by my Momma, socks, and a bookmark, (3rd prize) A signed copy of Counterfeit Love with a book sleeve made by my Momma and a bookish zipper bag. Entries run from March 1st to March 31st, 11:59pm EST. *Open to those legally able to enter, U.S. residents only for the physical prizes, international winners will be given a prize of equal value to whichever level they win.*
a Rafflecopter giveaway
by Crystal Caudill | Mar 4, 2022 | Bonus Content, Counterfeit Love
It’s release month, and I thougth what better way to celebrate than to do a month-long giveaway with great prizes. This giveaway is being shared through multiple blogs and social media platforms, so you may see it floating around all month. Share away and let’s see how many people we can get involved.
The Giveaway Details:
FREE FOR EVERYONE: Anyone who wants to, can download a copy of my short story, Banking on Love, by signing up to join my newsletter at https://BookHip.com/RGLTQF. I send out monthly newsletters that you can always unsubscribe to, but this group is the first people to know of publishing details like cover reveals, sales, newsletter subscriber only opportunities.
BOOK LAUNCH GIVEAWAY: This giveaway is going on across multiple sites.
THREE WINNERS
Grand Prize – Counterfeit Love Book Box – a signed print copy of Counterfeit Love, homemade book sleeve, and an “Always Booked” tote filled with surprises related to the story to be opened as you read and reach the matching post it notes.
Runner Up – Winner’s choice of a signed print copy of Counterfeit Love or e-book, a homemade booksleeve, a pair of bookish socks, and an “I Love Big Books” bookmark.
2nd Runner Up – Winner’s choice of a signed print copy of Counterfeit Love or e-book, a homemade booksleeve, and a “Read More Books” zipper bag with paper bookmarks
Fine Print: Physical prizes only available to those living in the contiguous United States who are legally eligible to win. Non-contiguous U.S. and International winners will get an unsigned copy of the book through Book Depository if available and the author will mail a signed bookplate and bookmark. If the grand-prize winner is outside the continuous U.S., they will also get a $15 Amazon gift card.
Drawing runs from 12:01 a.m. March 1st to 11:59 p.m. (EST) March 31st. The winner will be randomly picked via Rafflecopter on April 1st.
The winner will be emailed during the first week of April and will have 7 days to respond before a new winner is drawn. Please add crystalcaudillwrites@gmail.com to your contacts list to ensure you receive your email.
Enter Here:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
A just for fun quiz: Which Counterfeit Love character are you?
Everyone likes a quiz right? Well, I thought it would be fun to celebrate the release of Counterfeit Love with a quiz. So take the quiz below and then comment on which character YOU are. And then check out below for the details on a month l
It’s your last chance to preorder!! Don’t forget to message me or fill out the Google form at Bit.ly/PreorderBonuses to get all the goodies below! Those go away on March 14th at midnight.
by Crystal Caudill | Feb 11, 2022 | Counterfeit Love
One of the most nerve-racking parts of being an author is sending your book out into the world for the first time, knowing you can no longer change a single word of your book. Thankfully, the first people to read my novel outside of my critique partners and the Kregel team are endorsers. I am so honored and encouraged by the ladies who read my book and then wrote up beautiful endorsements. For the next few months, I’m going to feature one endorser every couple of weeks. So settle in, hear what they have to say about Counterfeit Love, and then learn about who they are, the books they’ve written, and how you can connect with them. Maybe you will be blessed to discover a new author.
At the end, I’d be blessed if you would leave an encouraging note for this author who has encouraged me so much!
I am pleased to introduce you to . . .
Erica Vetsch
Author & Avid History Museum Patron
Best-selling, award-winning author Erica Vetsch loves Jesus, history, romance, and sports. She’s a transplanted Kansan now living in Minnesota, and she married her total opposite and soul mate! When she’s not writing fiction, she’s planning her next trip to a history museum and cheering on her Kansas Jayhawks and New Zealand All Blacks. You can connect with her at her website, www.ericavetsch.com where you can read about her books and sign up for her newsletter, and you can find her online at https://www.facebook.com/EricaVetschAuthor/ where she spends way too much time!
Connect with Erica:
What she had to say about Counterfeit Love:
“Caudill’s debut is a fast-paced tale full of brave and brilliant characters, much skull-duggery, and conflict that will have you unable to tear yourself away.”
—Erica Vetsch, author of The Debutante’s Code
Don’t you just LOVE the word skull-duggery? Eep! I am so excited for this story to be so well received by Erica. Her books are wonderful, as you’ll see below. Thank you so much, Erica! (And I’m shamelessly putting the link to Counterfeit Love here if you would like to learn more or preorder it.)
Erica’s Books
Erica has written tons of novels and novellas, and I can’t possibly list them all here. Where there are series, I’ve only listed the first book, and then a few of my favorites from her. You can purchase them from any major retailer, but here is the link to her Amazon Author Profile where you can grab any of the titles you like.
The Debutante’s Code
Jane Austen meets Sherlock Holmes in this new Regency mystery series
Newly returned from finishing school, Lady Juliette Thorndike is ready to debut in London society. Due to her years away, she hasn’t spent much time with her parents, and sees them only as the flighty, dilettante couple the other nobles love. But when they disappear, she discovers she never really knew them at all. They’ve been living double lives as government spies–and they’re only the latest in a long history of espionage that is the family’s legacy.
Now Lady Juliette is determined to continue their work. Mentored by her uncle, she plunges into the dangerous world of spy craft. From the glittering ballrooms of London to the fox hunts, regattas, and soirees of country high society, she must chase down hidden clues, solve the mysterious code her parents left behind, and stay out of danger. All the while, she has to keep her endeavors a secret from her best friend and her suitors–not to mention nosy, irritatingly handsome Bow Street runner Daniel Swann, who suspects her of a daring theft.
Can Lady Juliette outwit her enemies and complete her parents’ last mission? Or will it lead her to a terrible end?
Best-selling author Erica Vetsch is back with a rollicking, exciting new series destined to be a hit with Regency readers who enjoy a touch of mystery in their love stories. Fans of Julie Klassen, Sarah Ladd, and Anne Perry will love the wit, action, and romance.
The Lost Lieutenant (Serendipity & Secrets, Book 1)
He’s doing what he can to save the Prince Regent’s life . . . but can he save his new marriage as well?
Evan Eldridge never meant to be a war hero–he just wanted to fight Napoleon for the future of his country. And he certainly didn’t think that saving the life of a peer would mean being made the Earl of Whitelock. But when the life you save is dear to the Prince Regent, things can change in a hurry.
Now Evan has a new title, a manor house in shambles, and a stranger for a bride, all thrust upon him by a grateful ruler. What he doesn’t have are all his memories. Traumatized as a result of his wounds and bravery on the battlefield, Evan knows there’s something he can’t quite remember. It’s important, dangerous–and if he doesn’t recall it in time, will jeopardize not only his marriage but someone’s very life.
Readers who enjoy Julie Klassen, Carolyn Miller, and Kristi Ann Hunter will love diving into this brand-new Regency series filled with suspense, aristocratic struggles, and a firm foundation of faith.
Seven Brides for Seven Texans
Seven brothers must marry within 1874 or lose their inheritance.
Meet the seven Hart brothers of the 7-Heart ranch in central Texas. Each man is content in his independent life, without the responsibilities of a wife and children—until their father decides 1874 will be the year his grown sons finally marry, or they will be cut from his will. How will each man who values his freedom respond to the ultimatum? Can love develop on a timeline, or will it be sacrificed for the sake of an inheritance?
Love at Last by Erica Vetsch
When her former patient, Confederate officer Bowie Hart, shows up on her doorstep, Elise Rivers agrees to his marriage-of-convenience proposal. But as she gets to know her scarred and taciturn new husband, she realizes she has a chance to turn a marriage-of-convenience into the love of a lifetime, if only she can convince Bowie that he is worthy to be loved.
Seven Brides for Seven Texas Rangers
No One Is Too Tough to be Loved
Join seven Texas Rangers on the hunt for a menacing gang, who run straight into romances with women who foil their plans for both the job and their futures.
Guard Your Heart by Erica Vetsch
When Constance Spanner witnesses a murder, Branch Kilborn is tasked with protecting her until she can testify against Cass Markham. This is the Ranger squad’s chance to abolish the Markham gang once and for all, but Branch soon finds that protecting Constance has become about more than just the job.
![The Cactus Creek Challenge by [Erica Vetsch]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51fDEuHDNLL.jpg)
The Cactus Creek Challenge
Anything he can do, I can do better. At least that was what Cassie Bucknell thought before she pinned on Ben Wilder’s badge and took to patrolling the streets of Cactus Creek, Texas. Cassie has been in love with Ben since primer school, but Ben treats her like a little sister. When they are picked to swap jobs for a month as part of the annual Cactus Creek Challenge in their Texas hometown, the schoolhouse is thrown into an uproar, the jail becomes a temporary bank vault, and Cassie and Ben square off in a battle of wills that becomes a battle for their hearts.
Leave an encouraging note for Erica Vetsch in the comments. This writing journey is rough, and I’d love to bless her as much as she has blessed me.
by Crystal Caudill | Jan 21, 2022 | Counterfeit Love
One of the most nerve-racking parts of being an author is sending your book out into the world for the first time, knowing you can no longer change a single word of your book. Thankfully, the first people to read my novel outside of my critique partners and the Kregel team are endorsers. I am so honored and encouraged by the ladies who read my book and then wrote up beautiful endorsements. For the next few months, I’m going to feature one endorser every couple of weeks. So settle in, hear what they have to say about Counterfeit Love, and then learn about who they are, the books they’ve written, and how you can connect with them. Maybe you will be blessed to discover a new author.
At the end, I’d be blessed if you would leave an encouraging note for this author who has encouraged me so much!
I am pleased to introduce you to . . .
Grace Hitchcock
Historical Romance Author
Grace Hitchcock is the author of multiple historical novels and novellas. She holds a Masters in Creative Writing and a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in History. Grace lives in Baton Rouge with her husband, Dakota, son and daughter. Connect with her online at GraceHitchcock.com.
Connect with Grace:
What she had to say about Counterfeit Love:
“A thrilling romance, a gallant Secret Service operative, and a courageous heroine—Crystal Caudill’s Counterfeit Love is an exceptional tale of tragic loss, healing, and redeeming love.”
—Grace Hitchcock, author of My Dear Miss Dupré and Her Darling Mr. Day
I am so in love with all the different descriptions Counterfeit Love gets in these endorsements. I think Grace encapsulated it perfectly with her words too. I am so blessed and honored. Thank you, Grace! (And I’m shamelessly putting the link to Counterfeit Love here if you would like to learn more or preorder it.)
Grace’s Books
Grace has written several novels and novellas that you NEED to check out. You can purchase them from any major retailer, but here is the link to her Amazon Author Profile where you can grab any of the titles you like.
My Dear Miss Dupré
The goal was simple, find a husband so she could be queen of her father’s sugar empire. Thirty suitors, six months of courting…was that enough time for her to fall in love?
Willow Dupré never thought she would have to marry, but with her father’s unexpected retirement from running the prosperous Dupré sugar refinery, plans changed. The shareholders are unwilling to allow a female to take over the company without a man at her side, so her parents devise a plan — find Willow a spokesman king in order for her to become queen of the empire.
Willow is presented with thirty potential suitors from the families of New York society’s elite group called the Four Hundred. She has six months to court the group and is expected to eliminate men each month to narrow her beaus until she chooses one to marry, ending the competition with a wedding. Willow reluctantly agrees, knowing she must do what is best for the business. She doesn’t expect to find anything other than a proxy . . . until she meets Cullen Dempsey, and she must discover for herself if his motives are pure.
Her Darling Mr. Day
New Orleans’ most eligible bachelor insists he’s not on the market. . . . He couldn’t be more wrong.
Jilted in front of all New York, Theodore Day decides to lose himself in his family’s luxury riverboat business in New Orleans and compete against his brother to become the next company head. The brother with the most sales by summer’s end will win the position. Thanks to Theodore’s fame as a suitor in Willow Dupré’s outlandish competition to find a husband, he has become very desirable royalty in southern society and thus has an advantage.
It took Flora Wingfield’s best work to convince her family to summer in New Orleans, but with Teddy Day a bachelor once again, she’s leaving nothing to chance. Desperate to stand out from all the clamoring belles, Flora attempts a bold move that goes completely awry, only to find it’s her interior design skills that finally catch his notice.
But when Flora learns her father has matchmaking schemes of his own, Teddy will have to decide where his happiness truly lies and what he is willing to sacrifice for it.
The White City
When Winnifred Wylde attends the Chicago World’s Fair, she witnesses a man kidnapping a woman in green. She believes that he might be behind the mysterious disappearances surrounding the White City and attempts to convince her father, Inspector Wylde, to investigate. He dismisses her claims as just another exaggeration conceived by her overactive imagination. After much convincing, he reluctantly gives Winnie permission to attempt to prove him wrong, but only if she takes her pistol and one of his men for protection. With the help of Jude Thorpe, a handsome detective acting as her bodyguard, Winnifred goes undercover as the secretary to the man in question, who uses the alias H. H. Holmes.
Will she be able to uncover the truth behind the disappearances, or will Winnifred become the next victim?
![The Gray Chamber (True Colors) by [Grace Hitchcock]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41mYTb5xS1L.jpg)
The Gray Chamber
On Blackwell’s Island, New York, a hospital was built to keep its patients from ever leaving.
With her late father’s fortune under her uncle’s care until her twenty-fifth birthday in the year 1887, Edyth Foster does not feel pressured to marry or to bow to society’s demands. She freely indulges in eccentric hobbies like fencing and riding her velocipede in her cycling costume about the city for all to see. Finding a loophole in the will, though, her uncle whisks Edyth off to the women’s lunatic asylum just weeks before her birthday. Will Edyth prove her sanity before it is too late?
At the asylum she meets another inmate, who upon discovering Edyth’s plight, confesses that she is Nellie Bly, an undercover journalist for The World. Will either woman find a way to escape the terrifying island and reclaim her true self?
Check out her novellas on her website or on your favorite retailer’s site.
Leave an encouraging note for Grace Hitchcock in the comments. This writing journey is rough, and I’d love to bless her as much as she has blessed me.
by Crystal Caudill | Jan 7, 2022 | Counterfeit Love
One of the most nerve-racking parts of being an author is sending your book out into the world for the first time, knowing you can no longer change a single word of your book. Thankfully, the first people to read my novel outside of my critique partners and the Kregel team are endorsers. I am so honored and encouraged by the ladies who read my book and then wrote up beautiful endorsements. For the next few months, I’m going to feature one endorser every couple of weeks. So settle in, hear what they have to say about Counterfeit Love, and then learn about who they are, the books they’ve written, and how you can connect with them. Maybe you will be blessed to discover a new author.
At the end, I’d be blessed if you would leave an encouraging note for this author who has encouraged me so much!
I am pleased to introduce you to . . .
Misty Beller
Romantic mountain stories, set on the 1800s frontier and woven with the truth of God’s love.
Misty M. Beller is a USA Today bestselling author of romantic mountain stories, set on the 1800s frontier and woven with the truth of God’s love.
She was raised on a farm in South Carolina, so her Southern roots run deep. Growing up, her family was close, and they continue to keep that priority today. Her husband and daughters now add another dimension to her life, keeping her both grounded and crazy.
God has placed a desire in Misty’s heart to combine her love for Christian fiction and the simpler ranch life, writing historical novels that display God’s abundant love through the twists and turns in the lives of her characters.
Writing is a dream come true for Misty. Her family–both immediate and extended–is the foundation that holds her secure in that dream.
What she had to say about Counterfeit Love:
“Crystal Caudill has hit a home run with this action-packed historical romance. If you like characters who come alive, a hero to make you swoon, and edge-of-your-seat intrigue, you’ll love this story. A fantastic debut from an author I’m looking forward to reading again!”
—Misty M. Beller, USA Today bestselling author of the Brides of Laurent series
Y’all, I’m no sports fan, but hitting a homerun makes me all giddy. None of this story would have come together without God’s heavy hand in this book. May He have all the Glory, and YOU have a fun read. Thank you, Misty, for the wonderful endorsement! (And I’m shamelessly putting the link to Counterfeit Love here if you would like to learn more or preorder it.)
Misty’s Books
Misty is a prolific writer, so I can’t include ALL of her books. Instead, I’m including only the first book of all the series she has written, and that is STILL a lot. You can purchase them from any major retailer, but here is the link to her Amazon Author Profile where you can grab any of the titles you like.
Freedom in the Mountain Wind (Call of the Rockies, Book 1)
The last epic journey before her life changes forever.
Susanna Wilkins will do anything to make her father’s final dream come true, including trek along the path Lewis and Clark explored into the untamed wilds of the Rocky Mountains. Every mile is more crucial now that lung cancer is stealing Pa’s last days faster than she can come to terms with losing him. The journey becomes harder than she ever expected, but paddling upriver through fierce rapids and fighting hungry grizzlies isn’t what terrifies her the most.
Beaver Tail endured more than he can stand from the women in his Blackfoot camp, but the last disaster gave him the final shove he needed to join this band of brothers searching for one of their group who’s gone missing. The last thing he expected was to find a white woman and her sick father stranded at the base of a massive waterfall. His plan is to help them carry their oversize canoe and supplies, then leave them to their strange mission. Yet, the more he learns about the pair, the more he realizes his life is about to be derailed—again.
A Warrior’s Heart (Brides of Laurent, Book 1)
Brielle Durand still feels haunted by the massacre that killed her mother a dozen years before. Vowing to never let it happen again, she’s risen to be the key defender for her people’s peace-loving French settlement living in hidden caves in the Canadian Rockies. When a foreigner wanders too near to their secret homes, she has no choice but to disarm and capture him. But now, what to do with this man who looks at her in a strange way and insists he can be trusted?
Hoping to escape past regrets, Evan MacManus ventured into the unknown, assigned to discover if the northern mountains contain an explosive mineral that might help America win the War of 1812. Despite being taken prisoner, Evan is determined to complete his mission. But when that assignment becomes at odds with his growing appreciation of the villagers and Brielle, does he follow through on the promise he’s made to his government or take a risk on the path his heart is leading him down? Either choice will cause harm to someone.
Brielle and Evan must reconcile the warring in their hearts, if they’ve any hope to find the peace the seek.
Hope’s Highest Mountain (Hearts of Montana, Book 1)
Ingrid Chastain readily agreed to accompany her father to deliver vaccines to a mining town in the Montana Territory. She never could have anticipated a terrible accident would leave her alone and badly injured in the wilderness. When rescue comes in the form of a mysterious mountain man who tends her injuries, she’s hesitant to put her trust in this quiet man who seems to have his own wounds.
Micah Bradley left his work as a doctor after unintentionally bringing home the smallpox disease that killed his wife and daughter. But his self-imposed solitude in the wilds of Montana is broken when he finds Ingrid in desperate need of medical attention, and he’s forced to face his regret and call on his doctoring skills once again.
Micah can’t help but admire Ingrid’s tenacious determination despite the severity of her injuries, until he learns the crate she brought contains smallpox vaccines to help quell a nearby outbreak. With Ingrid dead set on trekking through the mountains to deliver the medicine–with or without his help–he has no choice but to accompany her. As they set off through the treacherous, snow-covered Rocky Mountains against all odds, the journey ahead will change their lives more than they could have known.
The Lady and the Mountain Man (The Mountain Series, Book 1)
Leah Townsend, a recently orphaned heiress, flees Richmond after discovering her fiancé’s plot to kill her after their wedding. She needs a safe place to hide, and finds herself accepting a newspaper marriage proposal from a God-fearing young rancher in the Montana Territory. But when Leah arrives at the mountain ranch, she learns her intended husband was killed by a grizzly, leaving behind a bitter older brother and a spunky younger sister.
When Gideon Bryant finds an eastern lady standing in his log cabin, his first thought is to send her back where she came from. He’s lost too many people to the wild elements of these mountains––his parents, his wife, and now his brother. His love for this untamed land lives on, but he’s determined not to open his heart to another person.
But when an accident forces Leah to stay at the ranch for seven more months, can Gideon protect his heart from a love he doesn’t want? Has Leah really escaped the men who seek her life?
A Pony Express Romance (Wyoming Mountain Tales, Book 1)
After growing up as an orphan, Josiah English wants nothing more than to have his own ranch and raise Arabian horses. Riding for the Pony Express seems like the ticket to his dream. And when he meets the stationmaster’s beautiful sister, it seems he may be within reach of the happy life he craves.
Mara Reid is thrilled to finally meet the man of her dreams, and the fact that they both want to raise horses in the Sweetwater River valley seems like confirmation straight from God.
But when the Express shuts down and Mara’s family home is in peril, the danger looming over Mara’s life may not be half as destructive as that threatening her heart.
The Rancher Takes a Cook (Texas Rancher Trilogy, Book 1)
When their South Carolina home burns to the ground, Anna Stewart’s only choice is to move with her younger brother to the wilds of a Texas ranch. Their prospects are beginning to look better, until the rancher’s son, Jacob O’Brien, shows up with his alarmingly blue eyes to put a kink in Anna’s well-controlled plans.
When danger escalates in the form of a band of cattle thieves with deadly intent, can Anna learn to release control to God’s capable hands…and those of the blue-eyed cowboy who’s stolen her heart?
Leave an encouraging note for Misty Beller in the comments. This writing journey is rough, and I’d love to bless her as much as she has blessed me.
