My guest author today is Denise Weimer, as she shares about her latest release. She has also generously offered a giveaway, so read all the way through to the end for details.

About A Counterfeit Betrothal – Book One of the Scouts of the Georgia Frontier

1813

At the farthest Georgia outpost this side of hostile Creek Territory, Jared Lockridge serves his country as a scout to redeem his father’s botched heritage. If he can help secure the peace against Indians allied to the British, he can bring his betrothed to the home he’s building and open his cabinetry shop. Then he comes across a burning cabin and a traumatized woman just widowed by a fatal shot.

Freed from a cruel marriage, Esther Andrews agrees to winter at the Lockridge homestead to help Jared’s pregnant sister-in-law. Lame in one foot, Esther has always known she is secondhand goods, but the gentle carpenter-turned-scout draws her heart with as much skill as he creates furniture from wood. His family’s love offers hope even as violence erupts along the frontier—and Jared’s investigation into local incidents brings danger to their doorstep. Yet how could Esther ever hope a loyal man like Jared would choose her over a fine lady?

About Denise·       

Denise Weimer writes historical and contemporary romance from her home in North Georgia and also serves as a freelance editor and the Acquisitions & Editorial Liaison for Wild Heart Books. A wife and mother of two daughters, she always pauses for coffee, chocolate, and old houses.

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A peek inside A Counterfiet Betrothal:

Chapter One

Late November 1813

Jackson County, Georgia

The unmistakable tang of smoke in the air stiffened Jared Lockridge’s spine as he urged his big red roan down the ridge that cradled the Apalachee River. Not just a little, either, as one would expect from a chimney or even a campfire. Drawing back on the reins, he scanned the treetops. There, to the north—a sooty fingerprint against the purpling twilight sky gave evidence of trouble.

He’d already steeled himself against overnighting at his brother’s nearby cabin, stuffing his growling stomach on his brother Noble’s new wife’s cornbread. The report he bore should be carried straightaway to his commander at Fort Daniel. In counties to the south, there’d been two attacks in early November by Creek Indians allied to the British. Those incidents verified Major Terrell’s intelligence from Indian Agent Benjamin Hawkins—the Red Stick Creeks had indeed been recruiting in the Upper Creek towns and could soon be pressing all the way up the Jackson line. The line Jared was paid to scout.

Could the fire be more evidence of Creek war parties? This far north? He couldn’t ignore the possibility—or that of a settler in need of assistance.

Jared kneed his stallion toward the smoke. Within minutes, he caught sight of flames dancing between the trees. In the center of a clearing, a cabin was burning. Instinct begged him to charge up to the homestead in case anyone needed rescuing, but wisdom whispered caution.

Getting to know Denise:

What (2 or 3) fun or unique things can you tell us about yourself?

I’m regularly amazed at how God doesn’t waste a thing. An example of this is how tightly my background in both history and writing are bound. My parents took me to historic sites around the Southeast from when I was an early age. I’d imagine what type of people lived in the old houses or historic towns, and I started writing stories about them in spiral-bound notebooks. As a teen, I convinced my parents to take me to reenactments to inspire my writing. As a young woman, I led a vintage dance group. I worked for a local county as a historical interpreter for a while and still do contract work and volunteer at a nearby history center.

All of that sharpens not only my writing now, but my editing as well, as I serve as the Acquisitions & Editorial Liaison for Wild Heart Books (historical romance). It’s so funny when some obscure fact I’ve learned from my research comes in handy when editing. The coolest thing is, I take my own novels to historical festivals and events and get to talk with the public while I’m dressed in period costume. What a life!

What do you enjoy doing for relaxation? 

Hiking the North Georgia mountains, watching historical movies and TV shows, and spending time with my family and friends

What can your readers expect from you next?

Travel back in time to the next book of the Scouts of the Georgia Frontier, coming in November. A Courageous Betrothal is a bonus novella set in 1779 and originally released as Across Three Autumns in Backcountry Brides.

Red-haired, freckle-faced, and almost six feet tall, Jenny White has resigned herself to fame over love. Possessing the courage and wits to guard her younger siblings against nature, natives, and loyalists in Georgia’s “Hornet’s Nest” gives life meaning until she meets Caylan McIntosh, scout to Colonel Elijah Clark.

From the time Jenny nurses the young lieutenant back to health after the Battle of Kettle Creek, she can’t deny her attraction to her father’s comrade. It doesn’t help that the vexing Highlander seems determined to dismantle her emotional armor. But when Georgia falls to the British and Caylan returns to guide Jenny’s family on a harrowing exodus into the North Carolina mountains, will his secrets and the ravages of smallpox prove stronger than his devotion? Or will a love as tough as their backwoods home lead them to A Courageous Betrothal?

• After the novella, look for the next book of the series in January, A Cherished Betrothal, set on the border of Georgia and South Carolina during the American Revolution. Book Four, A Conflicted Betrothal, will take us to the Stamp Act protests in Savannah in 1765.

Question to enter random drawing: Some of my stories are light and heartwarming. Others deal with deeper struggles of life and characters who need healing and redemption. I’d love to know which you tend to gravitate toward. Leave an answer to be entered to win a copy of A Counterfeit Betrothal, which happens to be both heartwarming AND serious. Cleverly disguise your email address so the 'bots don't get you. For example, donna AT livebytheword DOT com