NBtM Virtual Tour + #Giveaway: Forbidden Fires by Bobbi Smith @GoddessFish

Forbidden Fires

by Bobbi Smith

GENRE: Historical Romance

BLURB:

When Ellen Douglass saves the Union officer from the cold river, she doesn't think this one action will so alter her future. But as Price holds her is his arms, they try to forget that they fight on opposing sides and will be kept forever apart.

Excerpt:

On the Mississippi near Memphis

The sound of the Sultana’s explosion brought Ellyn Douglass upright in bed. She ran from her room to find her grandfather already in the hall.

“What was that, Grampa?”

“It may have been a steamer . . .”

They rushed out onto the observation area to see the sky glowing a fiery red in the river’s direction.

“I’ve got to get to town,” he told her.

“I’ll come with you,” Ellyn offered.

“No. Stay here. If I need you, I’ll send word.” He hurried inside to get ready to leave.

Ellyn looked out toward the Mississippi. The steamer was farther south, drifting with the current. She decided at first light she would go down to the river.

At dawn, Ellyn hurried up to the observation area and searched the river for some sign of last night’s disaster. It was then she noticed something caught in a tree. Rushing from the house, she sought out Franklin.

“We have to get on the river right away.”

“Why?”

“Did you hear the explosion last night? I was checking this morning and I think there’s someone trapped in a tree.”

They hurried down to the river dock where the skiff was tied up. They pushed off and headed toward the flooded grove of trees. 

“It’s a man!” Ellyn was shocked by the sight of the lone figure stranded motionless in the treetop.

Franklin maneuvered them in close and awkwardly managed to get the unconscious man into the boat.

“Is he alive?” Ellyn asked as she knelt next to him.

“Seems to be, but he’s cut up pretty bad.”

Ellyn tore off a strip of her petticoat and started to bandage the man’s bloody head wound. Much of his clothing had been ripped away from the force of the blast and he had been burned in several places. 

The man groaned softly, and she reached out to soothe his brow.

“Hang on, mister. . . . Just hang on. . . .”

Bobbi Smith Blog

My Ten Favorite Places to Visit

Hi! I love to travel. When I was a kid, my dad took the family on three-week driving vacations and they were amazing. I still feel that magic when I travel today. Here are my ten favorite places.  

1.  The Superstition Mountains outside of Phoenix, Arizona. Those rugged mountains inspired at least three of my books, and all those tales about the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine are so much fun. The desert landscape in that part of Arizona is beautiful.  I haven’t made it to Tombstone yet, but it’s on my list.

2.  Wyoming. The Wind River Mountains and the Grand Tetons are gorgeous. We went to Yellowstone a few weeks ago and stopped by Devil’s Tower. It was a wonderful trip.

3. New York City. I am so amazed that that many people can live so close together in such a small area. 

4. Texas. It’s a great state! San Antonio and the Alamo are wonderful, and I love Palo Duro Canyon. The first time I went to the Alamo, I walked up to a doorway that didn’t have a sign posted on it. When I got within three feet of the door, a chill went through me. I was with author Constance O’Banyon at the time, and I asked her what happened in that room. She told me the women had hidden there during the famous battle. Intrigued, I checked the names of the people who’d been there and found that a few of them had the same name as some distant relatives on my family tree.

5. Louisiana. Before I wrote my first book, my mother and I took a tour of the plantations along the Mississippi River. We even spent the night at Nottoway, the South’s largest antebellum mansion. The architecture of those homes and the river views are beautiful.

6. The Ponderosa in Nevada. As a kid I loved the TV show Bonanza. Romantic Times magazine held its conference in Reno some years back, and I got to visit the Ponderosa Ranch, right outside of town. How fun and what a dream come true for me! I heard not too long ago that the Ponderosa was closed now. 

7.  The chateaux on the Loire in France. I’ve never been to Europe, but back in high school in French class we saw a movie about a girl and her uncle who toured the chateaux. Chenonceau, Chambord and Azay le Rideau were so fantastic. The architecture there is fabulous. 

8. South Dakota. A great state and very family friendly. The Badlands, Black Hills and Mt. Rushmore are amazing and so is the wildlife—antelopes, buffalo, bears and more.

9. My home state, Missouri. Some may call it a “flyover” state, but it is wonderful here.  From the rivers to the Ozarks, there’s something for everyone. In St. Joseph’s, they have the Pony Express Museum that is very interesting for history buffs. St. Louis has the newly redone Gateway Arch on the riverfront, the Zoo and many museums. 

10. The past. Last but not least, I would love to time-travel back to the 1850s and visit the downtown riverfront in St. Louis, the Gateway to the West. I’ve always been a steamboat lover, and the thought of getting to see the endless miles of steamers lined up there, loading and unloading, would be a dream come true for me. One of these days, I’m going to take a riverboat cruise on the Mississippi from New Orleans to St. Louis.

So those are my ten favorite places. What are yours?

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

After working as a department manager for Famous-Barr, and briefly as a clerk at a bookstore, Bobbi Smith gave up on career security and began writing. She sold her first book to Zebra in 1982.

Since then, Bobbi has written over 40 books and 6 novellas. To date, there are more than five million of her novels in print. She has been awarded the prestigious Romantic Times Storyteller of the Year Award and two Career Achievement Awards. Her books have appeared on numerous bestseller lists.

When she's not working on her novels, she is frequently a guest speaker for writer's groups. Bobbi is mother of two sons and resides in St. Charles, Missouri with her husband and three dogs.

You can follow Bobbi on Facebook in the group Bobbi Smith Books.

Bobbi has been awarded the prestigious “Storyteller of the Year” Award from Romantic Times Magazine (New York) and has attained positions on the New York Times Best Seller List, the USA Today Best Seller List, the Walden’s Best Seller List, B. Dalton’s List, and the Wal-Mart and K-Mart Best Seller Lists.

The foreign rights to Ms. Smith’s books have been sold to China, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Russia and Sweden. Smith’s current publisher is Amazon. Bobbi has written two faith-based contemporary novels - Haven (https://bobbismithbooks.com/product/haven) and  Miracles (https://bobbismithbooks.com/product/miracles)- using the pseudonym of Julie Marshall.

Copyright © 2018 Bobbi Smith.

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Buy Link:

Amazon

Giveaway:

$10 Amazon/BN GC

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