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Showing posts with label Izzy James. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Izzy James. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 9, 2022

#WednesdayWordswithFriends Welcomes Izzy James!

Good Morning Friends,

I'm going meet a friend at United Way to pack Literacy Kits for Pre-K thru 5th grade students in our community, so I'm not going to take up much of your time but turn the blog over to today's guest, Izzy James. Take it away Izzy....

Have you ever been completely misunderstood? I mean really misjudged with no opportunity to make your case? 

When I was in the fifth grade, I was chosen to be in a gifted math class. I loved math then and I love it now. The class was small, maybe eight students at most. I do not remember the teacher or all of my classmates, but I remember the day I got kicked out. 

My teacher had put a puzzle on the board for us to work on, whoever solved it first won the prize. I know now that the puzzle was a Sudoku. I had never seen one before. We worked on it during class, and two of my classmates solved it together. My teacher was so impressed she had them fill out their answer on the board for all of us to see. The project was over, my classmates had won the prize. 

I thought it was so clever and interesting a puzzle I wondered if it could be solved another way. So, I copied down their solution and put it in my papers to be thought about later. My teacher saw the imprint of my copied solution when she came by to check some other of my work. She told me, loud enough for the whole class to hear, that she would not tolerate cheating in her class and that I was to leave and never come back again.

Even as I write this, feelings of embarrassment and humiliation pink my cheeks. I went to a small parish school and there was no speaking up or explaining ever. My teacher misunderstood my intention, judged, and convicted me without any input from anyone including me. At that age it never occurred to me to argue or even tell my parents. The verdict had been handed down and I went back to regular math class.

Reed Archer is in a slightly different situation in that he was not a good little girl who would never cheat anyone. In fact, he’d been a bit of a hellion before he left the Virginia Colony to complete his education in England. While there, he found friends in some devout young men who caused him to give his life to Christ. In The Woodcarver’s Snow-Kissed Christmas, Reed has come home to the community who is predisposed to think badly of him. He has hopes that childhood friend Ann Wright will look favorably on him and consent to be his wife.

His hopes were misplaced.

Ann Wright is not interested in a man who can always be found at the heart of trouble. She wants a man who will be a partner, not a lord. Nothing about Reed Archer indicates that he could be that man.

Can a risky proposition at Christmastide make them see each other in new light and bring a happily-ever-after for both of them?

***
Izzy James is the pen name of Elizabeth Chevalier Hull. Elizabeth grew up in coastal Virginia surrounded by the history of the founding of our nation. She lives there still with her fabulous husband in a house brimming with books. Connect with Izzy by visiting her Website and signing up for her Newsletter, or on Facebook, Instagram and Bookbub! Chec out Izzy's previous visits to our blog HERE.

Reed Archer is a man with a past. His new-found faith in God will not be believed by those who know his history. 

Ann Wright is a woman who wants to control her future. Her skill as an artist drives her need to be independent in a time when women usually must rely on the men in their lives to make decisions for them.

Can a risky proposition at Christmastide make them see each other in new light and bring a happily-ever-after for both of them?

Get your copy of The Woodcarver's Snowkissed Christmas at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo, or Google Play 


Hope you enjoyed today's post and that you'll check back weekly for Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlight!

Until next time take care and God bless.

PamT

Saturday, December 19, 2020

#SaturdaySpotlight is on Izzy James @chevyhull and MAX: A Yorktown Christmas Time-Travel Novella

Good Morning,

Well, we've made it through mid-December and are now in the homestretch with Christmas only 6 days away. Today our all Christmas till Christmas blog feature continues with Elizabeth Hull (AKA: Izzy James). Elizabeth visited us in October with The Shopkeeper's Widow. so please welcome her with Max: A Yorktown Christmas Time-Travel Novella. 

Despite being blindingly handsome, Max was cruelly arrogant. He knows he earned the curse that’s kept him trapped in his conservatory for 250 years. Years that tested his character. 

Music therapist, Olivia Woods, doesn’t consider herself worthy of love. Injured and scarred from the accident that killed her parents, she stays in the shadows of life. Her work at the nursing home keeps her busy while she nervously prepares for her upcoming piano recital on Christmas Eve in historic Yorktown. Using a quiet, historic house seems perfect, until he appears. Scared at first, Olivia soon learns to trust Max. Little by little he draws out the beauty within her until she shines with confidence.

However, Max’s days are numbered. Soon he’ll be whisked back to the past to right the final wrong. 

Is there a way back to Olivia and the love he’s started to feel or has he just been sentenced to an afterlife of despair in the past without her?
Excerpt:

Present Day

Ballard House 

Yorktown, Virginia


Olivia Woods inserted the huge blacksmith-wrought house key and stepped into Ballard House just in time to escape flurries of large wet snowflakes emitted from large granite cloud formations. A crack of lightning followed by an explosion of thunder brought her to the eighteen-light window facing the street. Well that put the kabosh on practicing piano today. Her little car wasn’t made to toboggan and Yorktown didn’t have snow equipment. The good news? The wet snow melted as it touched the street. She couldn’t risk her ankle on a patch of ice. Another crack exploded directly overhead. She grabbed the window to steady herself. Fingertips matched to her fingertips a hand took shape on the other side of the glass. 

A tingle began in her head and tendrilled through her body and extremities. 

A mere shade at first, he solidified before her eyes. 

A man. 

She pulled her hand back to her chest and stood mesmerized. Where had he come from?

Her spirit called to heaven, Lord Jesus, protect me.

Glowing blue-green eyes pierced her.  Jaw-length dark hair framed his chiseled face. He wore the voluminous white shirt of a docent.

In a flash he moved toward the door.

She ran in slow motion to reach the latch. 

He stopped on the other side of the old screened door. “I have no wish to harm ye.”

She flipped the eye-hook inwardly rolling her eyes at the “safety feature”. 

“Ye can see me.” An Elizabethan accent shaped the words. Wonder filled his countenance. 

“Why? Are you a ghost or something?”

Eyes cast down to the slatted porch, “No one has seen me in—many years.”

“Are you or are you not a ghost?” Or worse? A mist of questions filled her mind. He couldn’t be an angel because he didn’t tower over her and inspire great fear like she’d read of Gabriel. For the same reason she didn’t think he was a demon either, but they could be charming and deceptive. No, it was the plain ole ordinary fear of strangers making her heart beat like a bass drum. 

“Well, I have never died if that is yer meaning.”

Clever response, but she wasn’t fooled. Devil spirits couldn’t die. “Can you die?”

“I always thought so. Certainly my ancestors have all died, but I might be a special case.” A half smile softened his chiseled features.

Not only did he sound like Masterpiece Theatre, he looked like her dream of a tragic eighteenth century hero. Masculine. Masterful. Snow frosted his dark hair. Sleeves bloomed from a hand-embroidered waistcoat which hugged his form to black breeches buckled below the knee above white stockings. Silver buckles twinkled from his shoes. He didn’t charm her, but he did interest her.

“What makes you so special?”

“Tis a long tale meant for a roaring fire on a winter night and full tankard of ale.”

Olivia glanced beyond him to the road still only wet with snow. Shocks of pale orange lightning lit the thunderous clouds. She looked down long enough to see her wrist watch. She couldn’t decipher its face. 

“Well, I’d best be going. So if you will move, please.” She waved him off to the side and stepped onto the porch. 

“Will ye come back?”

“I don’t know.” Of course she would come back, the Christmas Open-Town  was in three weeks and she was stationed here to demonstrate and play the antique piano. 

“Before ye leave may I know the name of the lady to whom I have been speaking?”

Oh, he was charming alright, positively swoony.

“I’ll start, shall I?” He cleared his throat and took a step back. “May I introduce myself? Maxwell Ballard at your service.” He bowed and extended his hand. 

She felt her mouth fall open. “Maxwell Ballard of Ballard House?”

He placed his hand on his chest. “Maxwell Ballard of Pearl Hall, Yorktown, Virginia Colony.”

It couldn’t be. Maxwell Ballard had gone missing Christmas 1769.

“You’re missing.”

The blue-green eyes lit with mischief. “I’m,” he patted his chest with both hands, “right here. And you are?”

She stuck out her hand. “Olivia Woods.”

He stepped closer to take her hand which was nearly twice the size of her own. 

“Y’re freezing.” He added his other hand to encase the hand he still held. “Would ye care come inside? To warm yerself before embarking on yer journey?”

 
Izzy James is the pen name of Elizabeth Chevalier Hull. 

Izzy grew up on the Chesapeake Bay in coastal Virginia. Izzy still lives in coastal Virginia with her fabulous husband in a house brimming with books. She writes contemporary and historical romance. Connect with Elizabeth/Izzy through her Website: echull.com, Facebook: www.Facebook/IzzyJamesAuthor  and on Twitter @chevyhull

Get your copy of MAX: A Yorktown Christmas Time-Travel Novella at Amazon


Thank you for dropping by Izzy and sharing your Christmas book with us. Good luck and God's blessings to you and yours and with all of your work!

Hope you enjoyed the post, friends and that you'll check back each week for Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time, take care and God bless.
PamT