"It is your choice," he said, stepping so close to me that our lips were almost touching. "Either do what I say - or get another job." My heart stood still as I gazed up into his deep, dark, dangerous eyes... In a world where women's only role in life is to sit at home and look pretty, Lilly is determined to fight for her freedom. There's only one problem: a powerful man blocking her way.

Despite living thirty miles from London, Anabelle Latimer knows her chances of finding a husband in their sleepy village are as thin as cook's white soup. Then she discovers a kindred spirit in Mr. Fielding, the intelligent and handsome new steward from Blackwood Hall. It was a great shame that his position in life was so below her own, for he was exactly the sort of man she would have wished to marry. Anthony Fielding, tired of being the target of the ton's marriage-minded mothers, hopes to spend a relaxing week shooting and fishing in the country. Yet upon his arrival at Blackwood Hall he discovers an estate in chaos, and a friend in desperate need of help. He is quick to offer his knowledge and expertise, unaware that his generosity will have unexpected repercussions. The Steward of Blackwell Hall is a traditional Regency romance of approximately 66,000 words.

(Chapter 1 only) In the winter of 1941-1942, Leningrad is under siege, and Karen Hamilton, a seventeen-year-old American musician, finds herself trapped and struggling to survive. Throughout the city, people are dying of starvation and frostbite, and Karen knows that if she doesn't escape immediately, she will share their fate. If she has any hope of leaving Russia and reuniting with her fiancé, Bobby, in New York, she must do the impossible: cross enemy lines and then stow away. On her harrowing journey, Karen encounters Petr, a young conscripted Russian soldier. She isn't sure she can trust him-he is equally wary of her. But as the two join forces in order to stay alive, an unexpected romance takes root. Now, as Karen gets closer to the reality of escape, she has a choice to make: Will she return to a safe life in America with Bobby, or remain in war-torn Russia with Petr? This is a sample chapter of the book that will be available October 18 from Lake Union Publishing.