4/03/2013

The Healer Who Needs Healing...


 By now you know that Sweet Madness features a lady counselor who is trying to help a broken soldier back from the brink of madness. What you may not know is that Lady Penelope Bridgeman is as broken as the man she is trying to help—not in the same way, of course, but broken just the same.
Some of you may remember Penelope as Liliana’s debutante cousin in Sweet Enemy. If you recall her in that story, you’ll remember her as a sweet, intuitive young lady who loved the social whirl, who knew just how to act, what to wear, and who was a bit of a fashionista. So you would be excused for wondering how, in the time between that book and this one, I would now describe her as broken.
 The simple answer would be this: She fell in love, fast and hard. So did her husband. But he was hiding a dark secret, one that drove him to kill himself not long after they were married and Penelope blames herself.
 So two years later, she is no longer the same person she was, and she’s bottled up a lot of emotion. It’s no wonder, then, when she’s asked to help her late husband’s cousin, who may be suffering a similar affliction, those feelings come rising to the surface:
How had their conversation turned so fast? She’d been cautiously thrilled by the progress they’d been making. But then he’d figured out exactly where her questions were leading and turned them on her with knifelike precision. She hadn’t even known she’d been cut until her heart started bleeding.
She wouldn’t discuss Michael with anyone. She would not.
“I believe we’ve accomplished enough for this morning,” she said, relieved when her voice didn’t tremble. “I suggest we go back to the manor and warm ourselves. You can get some rest, and we can start again this afternoon.”
She tugged the hood of her cloak back up, shielding her face from him as she turned to retreat. Now that her heart was sliced open, every painful memory she’d worked so hard to put behind her seethed in her chest, stinging just enough to let her know they were still there. Waiting for her to uncage them. She needed to be alone when they broke free.
 In Sweet Madness, Penelope learns that healing is a two way street. And our hero, Gabriel, learns that because of his devastating experiences, he’s the only one who can heal her…just as she’s the only one who can bring him back from the darkness.
 I hope you enjoy their love story! Sweet Madness is a story of the healing power of love, and just as important, of hope. Gabriel is a fictional war hero but there are many real life heroes and their families suffering today. Therefore, my husband and I have decided to donate a portion of all royalties earned from the sale of SWEET MADNESS to Hope For The Warriors®, an organization dedicated to “restoring a sense of self, restoring the family unit, and restoring hope for our service members and our military families.” You can find out more at http://www.heathersnowbooks.com/Hope_For_the_Warriors.html
Do you believe in the healing power of love? I’ll be happy to give away winner’s choice of either of my first two novels in the Veiled Seduction series, SWEET ENEMY or SWEET DECEPTION, blurbs of which can be found here.
 Sweet Madness:
Ever since her husband’s sudden and tragic death, Lady Penelope Bridgeman has dedicated herself to studying maladies of the mind, particularly those of soldiers returning from the Napoleonic Wars, but Gabriel Devereaux’s unpredictable episodes are like none she’s ever seen. Even though she knows the folly of loving a broken man, she can’t help herself from trying to save him, no matter the cost…
Read the Prologue and First Chapter HERE...

16 comments:

  1. This sounds like a great book & a great series! And, yes, I believe in the healing power of love. I don't have an example, but I have faith in it. Congrats!

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    1. Thanks, Maria! Let me know what you think, should you give them a try :) I, too, believe love can heal, or at least make everything more bearable.

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  2. Yes I believe in the healing power of love.

    Kit3247(at)aol(dot)com

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  3. Hi again Heather. This book just gets more and more layered and I'm itching to start it!! I do believe in the healing power of love--of spiritual love, of physical love, of familial love. All three are huge parts of my life and huge parts of the stories I write. Sometimes I think it's really the only thing that truly heals! Best of luck with this book--I wish the hugest success for it and you!

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    1. Thanks, Lizbeth...that's the greatest thing about love, it comes in many forms!

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  4. I definitely do! :) How can I not when I see my 2 daughters? :)

    maybe31 at yahoo.com

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  5. Yes, I believe love can heal. In fact, it's probably one of the only things that can.

    Marcy Shuler
    bmndshuler(at)hotmail(dot)com

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    1. Yep...all healing comes from a love of other people, I believe.

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  6. I definitely believe in the power of love. It can evoke feelings of happiness and self-worth. Plus laughter is one of the best free medicine. What;s not to love about love? <3

    Cambonified(at)yahoo(dot)com

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    1. Laughter IS the best medicine, isn't it? Thanks for stopping by!

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  7. I really believe in the healing power of love because love makes you happy and if your happy you will heal faster. I entered under the name of Virginia

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    1. Yes, Virginia, I totally agree! The better your attitude, the happier you are, the better your chances :)

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  8. Yes, I think love has the power to heal, for people as well as animals. It's amazing to me how much love can accomplish.

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