Stephanie Hurts 2013 Christmas Romance is call part of an Alpine Romance series – Open the Heart an Alpine Christmas Romance.
Here is my review:
Open the Heart – Alpine Christmas Romance is the first book in Stephanie’s Alpine romance series. Stephanie’s books are gentle romances and usually indulge in her passion for horses and cowboys. This is no different except the scene takes a giant leap to Switzerland and the beautiful snow covered Alps. The story begins with Lacey, a bride left at the church without a groom. A sad setting from which Lacey must pull herself up from and move on with her life. Who can blame her for cashing in her honeymoon tickets and exchanging them for a very different destination. Drake Tyler has his own reasons for hiding away on a Swiss mountain, but he misses the company of fellow Americans, so he more than willing to share his hose for the holidays. In the snow filled scenery a romance blossoms and the story will continue in the second book in the series.
Find a copy on Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Let’s check out Stephanie’s interview;
1) Tell us about where your passion for Cowboys has come from.
I’ve always loved horses and what comes with horses, Cowboys. There’s just something about a rugged, windblown cowboy in a Stetson and cowboy boots. I’ve known several personally and let’s just say they are a different breed. I try to bring out their personalities in my books.
2) Your romances are gentle, what age range would they be suitable for?
I try to write my romances so that as young as 16 can read them. I remember reading tender romances at that age and dreaming of one day finding that kind of romance. I just want to remind people that romance is a beautiful thing.
3) How do you choose the names of your characters? Do you have to be mindful of family and friends?
I am very careful when I choose my names. I try not to choose family or friend names very much. I do on occasion use their names but only in dire circumstances. With my cowboys I try to use traditional cowboy type names. They have to be masculine and sturdy.
4) How many books are you planning for the alpine series?
Oh my, the sky is the limit, but truly I’m not sure. The original intent for this book was for it to be a standalone, but low and behold the writer in me couldn’t stand leaving them at one book. I had to revisit Switzerland and my characters. I think I get too attached.
5) When do you plan to have book 2 available for fans?
It should be out toward the end of January or first of February. It will be a Valentine story to continue their story.
6) If you could spend Christmas anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Switzerland for sure. I’ve always wanted to travel there and I can just imagine being there for Christmas. I think that’s what spurred this story on for me.
7) How do you get through January after all the excitement of Christmas?
Oh January is depressing to me, no really. In December I get just like a child. I decorate everything that stands still and I giggle a whole lot. Then when it’s over I feel deflated, but with my writing it helps to bring me back up a notch or two.
8) Tell us about some of the settings for your other books.
As you know I write about cowboys mostly, so a lot of my books are set in rustic towns and horse ranches. Victoria stepped away from that setting. It’s set in my home state that I love, Georgia. But it’s based on a horse ranch during the Civil War. Then The Winner Is Love is mostly set in snow covered Colorado. But for the most part they are on a ranch and that’s also a dream of mine. Maybe one day my writing will allow me to live out that dream too.
9) I believe you’ve recently entered your writing into a competition, can you tell us about it?
Yes! The book is called “Finding The Right Time” it’s a sort of time travel romance. Of course you will still find horses and cowboys in it. It should be out by the end of the year. Entering a contest was a great experience.
10) Tell us about the next book you are writing.
I have several in the works. “Faith Through The Tears” is the 2nd book in my Christian Romance series “Lean On Him”. It’s about a man losing his wife to cancer and the struggle he has with finding love again. It’s a tear jerker for sure.
Then there’s “Finding The Right Time” which as I stated above is a time travel romance. It’s set in Savannah during present day and then the mid 1800’s. It’s a little different from my norm.
Also have the 2nd book in the series this interview is about.
Making good time on the 2nd book in The Winner series which was last year’s Christmas romance. Funny how you can have so many stories running in your head at once.
Thanks Stephanie, have a very Merry Christmas.
Today my Good Deed suggestion for this season of Goodwill is to give someone you know a lift in your car.
With a tight budget and two months, Eva Delacroix has to turn six dilapidated cottages on Lake Huron into a shabby chic tourist destination. Fulfilling her father’s renovation dreams and her own needs for family, Blue Heaven is Eva’s last resort. Daniel Bryman will do anything in his power to stop city girl Eva from destroying the integrity of the historic structures his ancestor built. But as they work together to rebuild the main cabin, Eva’s determination makes him question his own life choices.
Strange things are happening in Port Grace, Florida. Doug Monroe and Rebecca Carlyle are young and in love. He met her when he saved her life, but now he may need to save her again. Someone, or something, wants her and there is no place to hide, and no safe haven from the memories of her troubled past.
In the harsh Scottish highlands of 1565, superstition and treachery threaten a truce between rival clans. It’s a weak truce at first, bound only by an arranged engagement between Anne MacGregor and Niall Campbell-the heirs of the feuding families. While Niall wrestles with his suspicions about a traitor in his clan, Anne’s actions do not go unnoticed. And as accusations of witchcraft abound, the strong and sometimes callous Campbell heir must fight for Anne’s safety among disconcerted clan members. Meanwhile his own safety in threatened with the ever-present threat of someone who wants him dead. Will Niall discover the traitor’s identity in time? Can Anne find a way to fit into her new surroundings? Will the two learn to love each other despite the conflict? With a perfect mix of a burgeoning romance and thrilling suspense, this book is historical fiction at its best. 
Reginald Aiken, Duke of Warwick is dead and his young widow is not grieving…until the will is read. Isobel Kennilworth Aiken, Duchess of Warwick spent 6 years of her young life in a loveless marriage. Now, at the age of 24, Isobel is a widow. As Isobel awaits the reading of her late husband’s last will and testament, she feels no grief, but in fact is quite hopeful. She is eager to start her life anew. But, as the droning of the solicitor’s voice washes over her detailing the bequests to various servants and family members, a shock awaits her. The “other woman” was not his mistress, but his lawfully wedded wife and together they had a son. Six year old Reggie was now the Duke of Warwick, displacing Reginald’s brother Charles. There is a collective gasp as the revelation is made that instantly displaces Isobel and Charles and dashes their hopes for the future. Isobel must indeed start anew, but not as a titled, influential and wealthy widow, but as plain Miss Kennilworth, tainted by scandal. Can she get past the disgrace and humiliation she has endured and fight her way back into society? Will she find love again with her childhood sweetheart, Andrew Stafford, former vicar, now Lord Saybrooke? Or perhaps she will rekindle the flame with Jeremy Ingles, Lord Westcott, who had caught her fancy at her come out six years earlier, but had not been ready to be leg shackled. But before Isobel can find true love, she must come to grips with her past mistakes and the people she has hurt along the way. She must discover who she is without the title of duchess to her name. 
Scientist Maryse Robicheaux thought that a lot of her problems had gone away with her mother-in-law’s death. The woman was rude, pushy, manipulative and used her considerable wealth to run herd over the entire town of Mudbug, Louisiana. Unfortunately, death doesn’t slow down Helena one bit.
Love, betrayal, and hope for happiness may turn this marriage of convenience into something more. Daisy Banks weaves a wonderful tale of bargains made and promises broken in A Gentleman’s Folly. Katherine Bescell, courtesan and member of a secret order, thinks the offer of a marriage in name only to Charles Leverret, heir to a large fortune, will solve all her woes. Charles Leverret believes his hired wife will ensure his inheritance. He might even enjoy her company if she’ll let him anywhere near her. Charmed by his bride, Charles breaks their original bargain and falls in love. Betrayed by a trusted lawyer who withholds Katherine’s promised fee, Charles struggles against evil chance to persuade Katherine his love is real. Lust and love, truth and trust, each makes demands on them both, but though Charles has captured her heart, Katherine can’t bring herself to admit they belong together. Masked and robed in the rites in the West Wycombe Caves where only truth is told, Charles makes his stand to claim the woman he adores. 
To her surprise, Stacy Cauthen, an accountant from Atlanta wins a contest, she didn’t even enter, to spend a romantic weekend in the Colorado mountains with Slade Collins, the movie star. What happens when they get to the chalet is both funny and romantic. What will they do when a blizzard hits and the power goes out forcing them to sleep in front of the fire together? Will love find its way in or will they say goodbye on Monday? 
Ellie has a traumatic and terrifying experience whilst living in England so moves to American t live with her Uncle and Cousin. Whilst working in a hotel Ellie meets Trey Thomas who is a hot movie star. Trey is attracted to Ellie and this is the story of Ellie’s insecurities and Trey’s emotional story of angst, romance, and mystery. The sequel Desire to Love out 1st June 2013.***Rated 18+ due to sexual content and explicit language used*** 
Newenham, Alaska, is a long way from the big-city comforts of Anchorage, where Sergeant Liam Campbell was an up-and-coming state trooper with everything going his way. But that was before his life unraveled. Transferred in disgrace to this rough-and-tumble fishing town on the shores of Bristol Bay, Liam knows Newenham is the end of the line. It’s also his last shot at getting his life back.. He’s about to come in for a very rough landing. Stepping onto the airstrip at Newenham, Liam walks into a crime scene: a body torn apart by the propeller of a Piper Super Cub. As if that isn’t enough of a welcome, the woman bending over the corpse is Wyanet Chouinard, the only woman Liam ever truly loved – and soon to be his prime suspect. Next, a man is held hostage in the town’s only decent burger joint–held for shooting out a jukebox that was playing Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville. And Liam still doesn’t have his uniform on.
Catherine enjoys her life as a successful single woman and, if her career sometimes fails to fulfil her, her social life more than makes up for it. Life for Catherine is about having fun and she is not looking for anything more meaningful or permanent than that. Everything changes, however, when she is forced to face the consequences of a decision she made eighteen years earlier. Events conspire to bring her first love, Bill Myers, back into her life and they struggle to establish a new adult relationship. As everything familiar seems to be imploding around her, it leads Catherine to question every aspect of her life. Can she find the courage to embrace a new life or is she doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. 
After several decades of looking for true love and never finding it, aging model and lingerie designer, Alexa Ranger, has finally given up the search. A couple years ago, she got tired of the game completely and just stopped dating. Now friends and family keep her mostly content, so it’s shocking at 50 yrs old to find herself suddenly wanting a sex life again. It’s even more shocking to be attracted to a much younger man this time. She definitely thinks Casey Carter is sexy, but not handling her own age well, Alexa just can’t get passed their twelve year age difference to even consider a fling. 
Was it his gaze from across the blackjack table? The little nick on his chin that she wanted to kiss and make better? The way his bright blue eyes seemed to see to the heart of her? Whatever it was, Laura Todd was pulled in by Fox Thornton. A whirlwind Las Vegas romance followed, but things heat up again in Miami, in all the wrong ways. Embezzlement, ambition, and erotic romance aren’t the perfect match, but that’s all they have. Will it be enough? 
Rosie Amber 