Novels

Deborah has three novels currently available and many more in the works.

To Warm a Wintered Heart

After an uneventful season in Bath, Miss Charlotte Rosebury returns home to Warwickshire, looking forward to a visit from her mother’s friend. Their expected guest, Mrs. Worthington, has promised that her son will be accompanying her, and as Charlotte has only ever heard stories of the gentleman who rarely leaves his Yorkshire estate, she is most pleased to meet him. But when her warm welcome is returned with a fierce frown from the handsome man, she cannot help but long to be free of him and his blue-eyed glare.

Despite his mother’s protests, Mr. Gabriel Worthington had made the decision long ago to remain unmarried, but when he meets Charlotte, doubts about his decision creep into his fearful mind, and he wishes for nothing more than to flee from the woman and never return.

For weeks, the two are forced to live within the same home, and though they provoke one another with teasing and stolen glances, an unlikely friendship blossoms between them, a friendship that grows stronger than either of them had expected. Will Gabriel concede to the choices binding his heart, or can Charlotte’s warmth be just the thing to strengthen their love and, at last, end their fears?

When Two Rivers Meet

Almost four years after coming out into society as an accomplished young woman, Miss Lilyanna Crosgrove has become tired with her way of life at Heatherhill, the stately home she lives in right outside of Bath. Her mother decides what Lilyanna does and whom she speaks with each day. And when Lilyanna comes to discover what she wishes for most in life, as well as in a future companion, her desires remain unheard.

One evening, however, Lilyanna's life promises to change forever when Mr. Elijah Bainbridge, a man as caring as he is handsome, asks her for a dance. Through various assemblies and balls, entertaining dinner parties, and horse rides across the green countryside, their attraction to each other grows. Their relationship does not come without difficulty, however, as outside forces, including an unrelenting suitor and a secret from Elijah's past, will stop at nothing to keep the couple apart.

Will Lilyanna and Elijah waver under the pressure of cruel rumors and persistent threats? Or will they be able to join together, eventually overcoming the opposition surrounding their union?

EXCERPT:
Lilyanna glanced to the left of the dancing crowd and noticed a tall, dark-haired man with his back facing her. His broad shoulders stretched a greater width than Lilyanna had seen amongst the recent onslaught of men in Bath, so she stared until he turned, revealing his profile.
"Goodness," she breathed, ripping her eyes away from the handsome gentleman only for a moment to ensure no one had heard her embarrassing exclamation.
Looking back at him between passing bodies, Lilyanna saw the faintest shadow of dark facial hair framing his strong jaw line. The crowd suddenly thickened as the dance ended, and she craned her neck to catch another glimpse. However, she frowned as she lost sight of him, biting her lip after realizing how far she had moved away from her mother in order to see him.
Shocked with her unladylike behavior, Lilyanna blushed, returning to her mother's side, relieved her short absence had gone unnoticed.

A Secret Fire

Emma Marchant leads an uneventful life, but when cowboy Thatcher Deakon walks into the Marchant Inn that she runs with her family, she fears she may never be the same. Can Emma gain confidence in herself and realize that she has the right to be in love? Only Thatcher can help her overcome her insecurities, but he has his own fears to surmount. This heartwarming, clean romance novel reveals that when the love between two people is real, it can exceed all obstacles.

EXCERPT:
The door to the Marchant Inn swung open behind them, causing the bell to ring above it, and Emma turned around to welcome their unexpected guest. A figure appeared in the doorway and stole her attention entirely. His spurs clanged against the wooden floor as he walked into the room, and Emma couldn’t help but notice his long, thick legs matching his barreled chest. The thin white shirt he wore clung to his biceps that bulged with each movement he made, and his shoulders stretched the fabric to what looked like ripping point.
The handsome man’s deep brown eyes met with Emma’s light blue as she looked back at him, her heart flipping. The solid square jaw that framed his face was shadowed with scruff, having no doubt grown during one afternoon, and his mouth, though not in as friendly a grin as the first man’s, was turned up in a slight smile.
Never had she seen a man more attractive.