It's our 5th Anniversary! Celebrate Historical Romance with hosts E.E. Burke and Regan Walker

We're celebrating our 5th anniversary at Get Lost in a Story with a combination Facebook party and special anniversary blog posts all week. 

We're celebrating five years of getting lost in historical romance with spotlights on guest authors who've appeared on GLIAS.

We also have the annual BEST OF THE WEST Top 10 list from reviewer Kimberly Rocha, as well as AWESOME drawing with LOTS of winners. 

Meet your hosts

E.E. Burke 

Visit E.E. Burke

Weave together rich historical detail, passionate romance, add a dash of suspense and you have books by E.E. Burke. Her chosen settings are the American West, and her current series takes place during the tumultuous era of America's steam railroads. 

Available from Amazon

Her writing has earned accolades in regional and national contests, including the prestigious Golden Heart®. Over the years, she’s been a disc jockey, a journalist and an advertising executive, before finally getting around to living the dream...writing stories readers can get lost in. 

E.E. hosts our popular BEST OF THE WEST posts on Tuesdays, highlighting favorite books and authors in Western and American historical romance. Her latest releases are two Christmas novellas. Victoria, Bride of Kansas, part of the unprecedented 50-book American Mail-Order Bride series, and Santa's Mail-Order Bride. Both books release Dec. 22 and 23 and are available for preorder on Amazon.

Enter the drawing for your chance to win a set of these two new books along with a special customized mug from E.E.

Meet Regan Walker

Regan Walker

Award-winning, bestselling author Regan Walker writes historically authentic romances with lots of adventure and romance. Her novels span the eras from Medieval to Georgian and Regency. Some have reached #1 in Amazon's Top 100 lists. She has three times been a featured author on USA TODAY's HEA blog and twice nominated for the prestigious RONE award (her first medieval, The Red Wolf's Prize, won the award in 2015. 

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Her latest novel, published this fall, is Rogue Knight, book 2 in her Medieval Warriors series. She also has three holiday novellas set in Regency London, two of which feature Christmas traditions: The Twelfth Night Wager and The Holly & The Thistle.

Regan describes herself as a happy "refugee from the law". After decades of law practice she now confines her writing to stories that bring others reading pleasure.

Enter the drawing for your chance to win a copy of The Twelfth Night Wager plus a Starbucks card from Regan.

Meet our guests

Rosanne Bittner

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Roseanne on GLIAS

Rosanne has been writing most of her life, beginning with poetry at a young age, then moving on to writing her first book 36 years ago. After writing a total of nine books after that, it was the ninth book that finally sold 33 years ago, SWEET PRAIRIE PASSION, which was then published in 1983 and became the first book of a 7-book series about the settling of Colorado called SAVAGE DESTINY. All 7 books are still selling and Amazon recently reissued all 7 books for print-on-demand with new covers! Rosanne went on to write 53 more books since then, for a total of 60 published novels to date with #61 coming in 2016.

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DO NOT FORSAKE ME, Rosanne Bittner’s 60th book, is a sequel to OUTLAW HEARTS, first published in 1993. The story and characters are dear to Rosanne’s heart, and the love and hard work she put into this book has made it a nominee for Best Historical Romance of 2015 by Romantic Times. DO NOT FORSAKE ME is first and foremost the magnificent love story of Jake and Miranda Harkner, who meet in OUTLAW HEARTS when Jake is a wanted man. Only the powerful love they share holds Jake and Miranda together through constant running and a search for peace as they raise a son and daughter. But Jake’s past catches up with him, and he lands in prison, which leads to a judge ordering Jake to the unwanted job of U. S. Marshal in Oklahoma – when it was still Indian Territory and so wild that parts of it were called “No Man’s Land.”

Jake’s years as a Marshal are the basis of DO NOT FORSAKE ME, and new enemies bring danger to Jake and his family; but Jake’s biggest enemy is his dark past, a brutal childhood that keeps Jake walking the fine line between peace and madness. No matter how hard he fights his demons, the old darkness still threatens to consume him. The only person who can keep Jake Harkner sane is his beloved Miranda. DO NOT FORSAKE ME is a powerful, emotional love story that leads the readers into the third book in this series, LOVE’S SWEET REVENGE, coming in September 2016!
Enter the drawing for your chance to win signed copies of OUTLAW HEARTS and DO NOT FORSAKE ME from Rosanne.

Kimberly Rocha

Book Obsessed Chicks

Kimberly Rocha is the founder of Book Obsessed Chicks book blog, She lives on Long Island with her family who patiently moves out of the way on book club night.  They lend a hand for the Book Obsessed Chicks annual BBQ, bringing authors and readers together on Long Island, NY.   Kimberly is also a talented photographer with an infectious laugh.  She contributes the monthly column, “Western Roundup”, to the Romance at Random blog, romanceatrandom.com.

You can access Kim's Top 10 Best Western Romances list here: 
http://bit.ly/Top10BestWesternRomance

Donna Hatch

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Donna Hatch, author of the best-selling “Rogue Hearts Series,” has won writing awards such as The Golden Quill and the International Digital Award. A hopeless romantic and adventurer at heart, she discovered her writing passion at the tender age of 8 and has been listening to those voices ever since. She has become a sought-after workshop presenter, and juggles freelance editing, multiple volunteer positions, and most of all, her six children. A native of Arizona who recently transplanted to the Pacific Northwest, she and her husband of over twenty five years are living proof that there really is a happily ever after.

Here's her latest, The Suspect's Daughter

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   Determined to help her father with his political career, Jocelyn sets aside dreams of love. When she meets the handsome and mysterious Grant Amesbury, her dreams of true love reawaken. But his secrets put her family in peril. 

   Grant goes undercover to capture conspirators avowed to murder the prime minister, but his only suspect is the father of a courageous lady who is growing increasingly hard to ignore. He can’t allow Jocelyn to distract him from the case, nor will he taint her with his war-darkened soul. She seems to see past the barriers surrounding his heart, which makes her all the more dangerous to his vow of remaining forever alone. 

   Jocelyn will do anything to clear her father’s name, even if that means working with Grant. Time is running out. The future of England hangs in the balance...and so does their love.

Enter the drawing for your chance to win one of two Christmas novellas (ebooks) or a $5 Amazon gift card from Donna.

Màiri Norris

HAPPY FIFTH, GET LOST IN A STORY: Ladies, you have one of the best blogs on the web, and it’s been my privilege to be featured with you. I wish you many more years of great blogs by fine authors and all success in your dreams. ~ Màiri

Find Màiri's books
Mairi on GLIAS

Màiri Norris is a USN vet who lives in Virginia with her USCG retiree husband and three cats (though her heart belongs to the Highlands of Scotland). She loves to travel and make dollhouse miniatures when she's not busy writing. She also adores reading, and discovered, at age six, a whole new universe to explore through books – and made up her own stories, too. It was always a ‘back-of-the-mind’ dream to put those stories on paper. Now she’s living her dream. She is a proud member of Romance Writers of America, Celtic Hearts Romance Writers, Hearts Through History Romance Writers, Chesapeake Romance Writers, Beau Monde and Clan Donald, USA.

Here's her latest, released Dec. 1, The Yule Rose

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Eastsæxe, England - Yule, 1082

   Baron Roland Vesli looks forward to a modest Yule until he receives a troubling missive. Someone in London wants his beloved sister Amée dead, and his father is sending her to him for protection.

   For her own reasons, Elysande de Souredeval is content to abandon the glittering court of King William to accompany her friend Amée into the wilds of Eastsæxe. Their flight is discovered and peril follows, but an unexpected danger - to her heart - awaits in the quiet manor house to which she flees.

   An unexpected snowstorm, a merry but exasperating sister, a determined killer and a beautiful, troubled woman who captures his heart with the first look all conspire to turn Roland’s sedate country Yuletide upside down.

Enter the drawing for your chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card from Màiri.

Beppie Harrison

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Beppie on GLIAS

Beppie Harrison lives in southeastern Michigan with her husband and two slightly addled cats, their four children having grown up and flown the coop. They live a somewhat cross-Atlantic lifestyle. Her husband is an English architect and they began their marriage living in London, only moving to the States when they had young children. In many ways, England still feels like home. For Beppie, the pull from across the Atlantic comes not only from old friends and familiar places in England, but from Ireland. Did it start with its literature, its history, or its wonderful garrulous people? However it happened, she is addicted now. 

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Here's her latest, The Defiant Heart

The place is Ireland in 1812. Diarmaid committed himself to the cause of Irish freedom from England as a child when his patriot father was killed. He's trying to put together cells of Irishmen ready to rise when they've gained enough strength to challenge the English. What he did not expect was to discover Muirne, a girl as committed as he was. When a suspected English agent is hunting him, he has to leave. Muirne, who's been injured, cannot be left behind. The long walk--300 miles to Galway--gives time for major changes and discoveries. Both of them find themselves in a place they never expected, having to make choices that could tear them apart, and to need support from the English landowning aristocracy, and facing the challenge of coming to care for those who represent everything they are fighting against.. 

Enter the drawing for your chance to win a signed copy of THE DEFIANT HEART from Beppie.

MK McClintock

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MK McClintock is the award-winning author of historical romance and westerns, including the popular "Montana Gallagher" series and "British Agent" novels. She spins tales of romance, adventure, and mystery set in the 1800s. With her heart deeply rooted in the past and her mind always on adventure, she lives and writes in Montana.

Here's a book from her British Agent series:

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Would you give up duty for the sake of your honor?

County Wexford, Ireland - 1892

   On the windswept shorts of Ireland, Anne Doyle lost her father to a foolish war and her mother to madness. Left with debt and an ancient family home, she struggles to keep the rest of her family together even as an enemy attempts to take them away. After witnessing a brutal murder, Anne must enlist aid from the only family she has left if she is to save those she loves.

   Devon Clayton had no intentions of leaving behind his life of adventure and danger, but when he is charged with protecting a witness and her family, he must choose between duty to the country he serves and a woman who tests his honor and willingness to change.

   Together they will discover that nothing is what it seems and that without honor, love and life are for nothing. Clayton's Honor is the third book in MK McClintock's British Agent series. If you love clean historical romance with a dash of mystery, then you'll enjoy this captivating adventure set in the rolling hills and crumbling castles of Ireland.

Enter the drawing for your chance to win one of two signed copies (or eBooks) of CLAYTON'S HONOR from MK.

Linda Broday

Happy Birthday, GLIAS!
Five great years you've given us
With Fun, Laughter and Books galore.
You always make us pant for more.
Be well, be happy and long life too.
Romance, love and sexy heroes for you!

Find Linda's books
Linda on GLIAS

Linda is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. Her interest in reading and history came very early, so it was no surprise when she began writing western historical romances. She resides in the Texas Panhandle on land the American Indian and Comancheros once roamed, where ghosts from the past lurk around every corner. Humble roots and the love of family have become focal points of each book she writes. 

Forever His Texas Bride is her latest release, out Dec. 7

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   "There's this thing between us that refuses to die. I'd like nothing better than to be able to..." His words faded. He'd give anything to change people's views about his race...to be able to make her his wife. But the world wasn't that simple. Not for people like him. 

   All his life, Brett Liberty has straddled two worlds: white and Iroquois. The only place he's truly at peace is with his wild mustangs. Arrested for the color of his skin, he discovers Rayna Harper in the cell next to him. Rough and tumble Rayna has known little kindness but Brett sees the depth of her heart hidden beneath layers of hurt and fear, and he refuses to leave without her.
   Something about the damaged, flame-haired beauty calls to him. Yet, even as the two outcasts are drawn together, terrible danger at the hands of men eaten with hate threatens to tear them apart. Brett knows he should let her go, but he's taken with the woman who looks at him as if he were just any other man...and melts in his arms as if the brush of his lips is enough to chase away her demons.

Enter the drawing for your chance to win an eBook of FOREVER HIS TEXAS BRIDE.

Kathleen Bittner Roth

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Kathleen on GLIAS

Award-winning author Kathleen Bittner Roth hypnotizes readers with lush prose and sweeping adventure in her third offering in her simmering historical series chronicling the Andrews Family and their loves, losses, and adventures in 19th-century New Orleans. 

Here is her latest series and a blurb from Josette...

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   Across the oceans, between worlds old and new—two lost souls find themselves at a crossroads.

   Josette LeBlanc left behind her poverty-stricken life in a Louisiana bayou after marrying the wealthiest man in New Orleans. Now a widow living in luxury, Josette should have it all. Nothing could be further from the truth. Polite society's scorn has forced her into a lonely existence. When a wayward niece overwhelms Josette, she grudgingly turns to someone she once adored—the man she believes to be the girl's father.

   Wealthy shipping magnate Cameron Andrews possesses everything a man could want, but tragedy shrouded his heart in darkness. He has every intention of escaping a life more suffocating than the sultry heat of the French Quarter. Fate, however, has something else in mind when a young girl storms into his life claiming to be his daughter.

    Like a rose bush filled with prickly thorns, an unwanted attraction blossoms between Josette and Cameron. While denying the passion that sparks between them, their verbal sparring heats their blood as nothing ever has, but treacherous forces are at work. Soon, Josette and Cameron are caught in a tangled web of passion and betrayal that could cost Cameron his life.

Enter the drawing for your chance to win one of two eBooks in her series (reader's choice).

Kathleen Rice Adams

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Kathleen on GLIAS

A Texan to the bone, Kathleen Rice Adams spends her days chasing news stories and her nights and weekends shooting it out with Wild West desperados. Leave the upstanding, law-abiding heroes to other folks. In Kathleen’s stories, even the good guys wear black hats. In 2015, her short story “The Second-Best Ranger in Texas” won the prestigious Western Fictioneers’ Peacemaker Award for Best Western Short Fiction. Her debut novel, Prodigal Gun, is the only novel-length western historical romance ever to be nominated for a Peacemaker.

Her latest project is part of a boxed set: A Cowboy’s Touch

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A U.S. marshal defends a fugitive spitfire marked for death. A notorious hired gun faces down half of Texas to claim the woman he left sixteen years ago. Vengeance and murder come between a railroad heiress and the man she loves. A couple separated by time and distance battle to reunite. Four spicy full-length novels by award-winning authors put the wild in wild west. When it comes to hot lead and hot passion, here’s nothing like A Cowboy’s Touch.

Enter the drawing for chance to win a copy of one of two Christmas stories: PEACHES or THE LAST THREE MILES from Kathleen.

Beth Williamson

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Beth on GLIAS

Happy, happy birthday to the awesome Get Lost in a Story Blog. As a Best of the West guest, I've been privileged to get to know the hostesses and the readers. Thank you for the opportunity to be part of a community that promotes romance novels and the gift of being a part of it!

Beth Williamson, who also writes as Emma Lang, is an award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of both historical and contemporary romances. Her books range from sensual to scorching hot. She is a Career Achievement Award Nominee in Erotic Romance by Romantic Times Magazine, in both 2009 and 2010, and a semi-finalist in the 2014 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest. Beth has always been a dreamer, never able to escape her imagination. It led her to the craft of writing romance novels, fueled by Reese's and tenacious pursuit of the perfect story. She's passionate about purple, books, and her family. She has a weakness for shoes and purses as well as bookstores. Life might be chaotic, as life usually is, but Beth always keeps a smile on her face, a song in her heart, and a cowboy on her mind. 

Her newest release Dec. 22 is ADAM, from the Devils on Horseback Generations series.

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   As the oldest of five, Adam Sheridan’s life is full of obligations. He longs to do something, anything, besides working his family’s flour mill in Tanger, Texas. His mama always says the universe moves in its own sweet time.

Apparently the universe was waiting for his wagon load of flour to overturn so he could meet the woman he was destined to love.

   Eve Tate is a woman from nowhere with a shady past and an uncertain future. When she is left behind in Adam’s care, she reinvents herself again to be his perfect mate. Little does she know who she was will haunt who she tries to be.

   And, just like the couples of old, Adam and Eve must find a way to live together—or lose everything they have.

Enter the drawing for your chance to win the eBook ADAM from Beth.

Find Kaki's books
Kaki on GLIAS

Kaki Warner

Hippo, birdies, two ewes

Hippo, birdies, two ewes

Hippo, birdies, deer GLAIS

Hippo, birdies, two ewes.

HAPPY 5^TH ANNIVERSARY/BIRTHDAY!

In between her years as a mother, teacher, commercial artist, reluctant collection agent and surly secretary, Kaki fooled around with writing. Finally, after twenty-five years of procrastination, she sent her first manuscript out into world. It won the 2011 RITA for Best First Book, and she was off and running. Now she has eight books in print, one digital novella, an anthology and has just finished book 9, which ends the Heartbreak Creek series. She and her husband are happily retired on a mountaintop in the Cascade Mountains of Washington state, doing whatever they feel like doing—which in her case is writing and enjoying the wildlife, gardening, and thinking up stuff for her husband to do. It’s a grand life. 

She's a four-time RWA RITA finalist and won the prestigious award for best first book. 

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In this final Heartbreak Creek book, Thomas and Pru—a Cheyenne Dog Soldier and a half-black Southerner—struggle to overcome the vast differences between them so they can build a lasting future. He’s lived a hard, violent life. She’s an educated lady. 

Both are caught between two races, each seeking a place in the challenging world of westward expansion and post-Civil War turbulence. It seems their only common ground is the spark between them that doesn’t die…until a special child teaches them that courage is a weapon, happiness is a choice, and love can triumph over any obstacle in their way.

Enter the drawing for your chance to win one of two signed copies of HOME BY MORNING from Kaki.

Find Jacquie's books
Jacqui on GLIAS

Jacquie Rogers

Jacquie Rogers grew up on a dairy farm outside of Homedale, Idaho, in Owyhee County. She has fond memories of riding horseback all over the hills where her western historical romance series, Hearts of Owyhee, is set. Those hills held exciting adventures both real and imagined. She currently lives in suburbia with her IT Guy (also has a license to sleep with him), daughter, and four grandsons. Their home is ruled by The Cat Annie, a feral rescue, who enjoys tromping on the keyboard in the midst of action or love scenes.

Besides the Hearts of Owyhee series, Jacquie also writes a traditional western series, Muleskinners. In the Hearts of Owyhee series, Much Ado About Marshals won the RttA Award for Best Western Historical Romance, and Much Ado About Mustangs won the Laramie Award for Romance/Comedy. 

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Cupid's bullet...

Hired gun Kade McKinnon interrupts a bank holdup and is shot by the teller, Iris Gardner, whose victims have a tendency to be the next groom in town. Will he be the groom this time?

Cupid's bow...

Iris Gardner, a smart, independent bank clerk, fell in love with Kade when she was too young to know better. So when he walks back into her life and her bank, it's only fitting that she shoots him ... by accident, of course.

Cupid's blindfold...

Kade doesn't know Iris's company is the one who hired him to escort a bullion shipment, and Iris doesn't know Kade owns the security company, but they both know robbers are on their trail. Which is more likely to be stolen--the silver, or his heart?

Enter the drawing for a chance to win one of 3 ebooks-- A FLARE OF THE HEART, DON'T GO SNARING MY HEART, MUCH ADO ABOUT MADAMS--or a $10 Amazon gift card.

This drawing will be open through Dec. 7

Today, tell us about your BEST, be it book, movie, present or best moment for 2015. 

LIKE our page and TWEET about the party for more chances.

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