“Love is a matter of geography and circumstance. James Lachlan is the son of an Earl, a gentleman of means and an engineering offi cer in the British army. Circumstance required him to absent himself from England for three years. Nicola is the daughter of a USA cattle rancher and an educated eastern lady. Nicola’s father was a man deemed unfi t to marry Nicola’s mother by her Boston family. The Waltham family was ostracized on Nicola’s parent’s marriage. Nicola had both her parents killed by an Indian raiding party, was abused by unfeeling outlaws and had her ranch and stock stolen from her while she recovered from the abuse. Because of the abuse she was also ostracized by the townspeople where she was born. Without funds, family and friends Nicola was forced to earn a living as a dance hall girl. This then is the love story of James and Nicola how they met and overcame their many trials and tribulations to fall in love and despite all opposition to fi nally marry. They sought and were fi nally accepted back into the bosoms of their families. James however never knew what his strong willed red headed wife would do next and thought “My life may not always be quiet and peaceful but it will always be interesting”.

This is the third and final novel of the Carlisle Trilogy, titled The Carlisle Diamond. Warwick Lachlan, the eighteenth Marquis of Cumbria and Galloway married and brought his bride, Lady Marguerite Balfour, home to Kilmorgan Castle against the wishes of her family. Marguerite Balfour was not only beautiful and petite but possessed a will of steel when she chose Warwick over objections. Nicola Waltham, daughter of a Texas cattle rancher, grew into a stunning red-headed beauty. She and her parents were ignored totally by her mothers De la Sale family. The murder of Nicolas parents and the loss of all she owned was devastating. To survive, she became singer-dancer in the saloons of the USA. Nicola married James Lachlan, son of Warwick, in Carlisle Cathedral after a tempestuous relationship to become one of the finest ladies of England. James and Nicolas daughter Countess Danielle Lachlan was kidnapped as she drove to her wedding to Regan Meagher in Dublin by French criminals and well-paid members of the then IRA. Andrew Lachlan, son of James Lachlan, saved the life of a French-born seductress, Chantelle De Leon. She and her mother, separated from her fathers family, used their charms to live off what they could extract from the wealthy men of Europe. Andrew knew nothing of Chantelles life. When she deserted him, his heart was broken. She became a spy for the British during the Great War. At the wars end, because she had consorted with Germans, she was considered to be a traitor to France and this meant death if she was found. She sought out Andrew, the only man she had ever truly loved, even though she knew he would likely reject her. Andrew had two thoughts, choke her or take her to bed, for he still loved her. Nicola, gun in hand, rescued her daughter with the help of a man who had infiltrated the small group of IRA activists. Chantelle married Andrew and, like the two ladies before her, became the Marchioness of Cumbria and Galloway.

As the new alpha of his gargoyle clan, Lachlan takes on a leadership role at the historic peace talks between the wolf shifters and tree witches. Cooperation is crucial to their survival. The magical veil over the Isle of Stone is weakening. But unity is hard to achieve when tensions are running high. So is Lachlan's concentration when a sexy wolf shifter rushes to the talks. Her wild beauty is mesmerizing.Raina has her hands full with pack problems, from pack mates succumbing to blood lust to animosity toward her species. The source of her problems is clear-the gargoyles. If they hadn't lured the humans to the island with their unconventional rock concerts, she wouldn't have to deal with the fallout. She wants nothing to do with them, especially their alpha. His not-so-surreptitious glances are hard to miss. Nope. Not the kind of attention she needs. She’s heard rumors of the rebellious, attention-seeking rockers--and of their endless string of females. But when humans come to investigate the wolf attacks, Lachlan and Raina must work together to coerce them off the island. And time spent together sparks a forbidden attraction. If unexpected love were their only problem, they'd be able to deal with it. It's not. Time is running out, for them and their island.

This novel is a love story. Trust and respect are essential ingredients for love to exist and continue. Secrets destroy trust and a secret kept by Elizabeth Mitchell until her death [its nature still not uncommon in the 21st century] nearly destroyed one family [Doherty] and severely impacted on two others [Lachlan and Redman]. Matthew Redman was the son of a Texas cattle rancher. Siobhan and Miriam were the daughters of Frank Doherty, the owner of the adjoining ranch. From childhood Siobhan and Matthew fought and argued, were usually at the heart of all trouble and mischief on the ranches and were best friends. Matthew Redman moved east, obtained degrees in law and engineering. Meanwhile there was disaster in Texas when the Mitchell secret was found out by Siobhan causing daughter to turn against mother and father and sister against sister. Siobhan left home damning her parents and commenced a new career of robbery, being a confidence trickster and counterfeiter, having multiple lovers yet sometime teaching in a convent school and continuing to confide in Matthew who had become a member of an elite group of US law enforcement officers called simply Rangers. This led to Matthew pursuing Siobhan due to her illegal activities and when finally they faced one another she dared him to stop her escaping by shooting her in the back. His failure to do so left his integrity as a Ranger in tatters. Having deciding to resign his last investigation led to a savage encounter in Tregear when Siobhan saved his life. This event hit them like a sledgehammer as they finally became aware what they always had known but had never admitted the fact of their love for each other. Reconciliation and a surprise wedding followed and led to the search for Siobhans formerly unknown family in Carlisle in Northern England.

A Novel of the American Civil War David Preston was an officer in the U. S. Army—before Virginia seceded from the Union. Then, with most of his fellow Virginians, he offered himself in the service of the Confederacy . . . Assigned to Col. T. J. Jackson's 1st brigade, at Harper's Ferry, he quickly began applying the expertise in military medicine he had gained as an observer with Garibaldi's forces in Italy. He'd met Abe Lincoln once, in Washington. Now he was to encounter the likes of J. E. B. Stuart, the dashing cavalry commander, Robert E. Lee, Jubal Early, and especially Stonewall Jackson—that puzzling blend of professor, Bible scholar, and dazzling military genius. David was to follow Jackson through all his campaigns—right up to the last one, at Chancellorsville, where a stray bullet ended the great general's life. And David was then to see the Confederate cause gallantly go down to defeat as Grant's armies closed their iron circle around Richmond. But always in the back of David's mind was Araminta, the Cherokee woman he would marry if he survived the war. She was caught up in the political intrigues over the fate of the Cherokee nation after the war, and her Southern sym­pathies led her to take chances which endangered her safety, and perhaps her life . . . Human tragedies interweave and blend with the broad sweep of military maneuvers, in this large-scale historical novel about the men who fought with Stonewall Jackson during the Great War of Secession.