The Adventures of Grace Quinlan and Lord William Hayden (The Complete Novel): Large Print Edition

Publisher Marketing: (Large Print Edition) ... A love story, a mystery, an impossible dream, and a daring plan to capture one man's heart. A tale of lovers that have traveled through time itself to find each other. Set in the late 1940s, it carries you along a winding road of adventure, foreign ports, romance, mystery and intrigue, with elements of fantasy, the paranormal and time travel. A clean romance filled with emotion, adventure, mystery and suspense as two archaeologists travel the world (and beyond) in search of rare and mysterious artifacts, and along the way solve the mystery of their love. A pentalogy of romance and adventure, formerly titled "In Another Life (from the Journals of Grace Quinlan and Lord William Hayden) ... EXCERPT 1: "Seek the opal in the Valley of the Queens," Elizabeth said, turning and lifting her gaze to Lord Hayden. "Behold its light. Behold my soul, Eros, my beloved." .. "Grace!" Lord Hayden cried, as she slumped into his arms. It was this room bewitching her, he reasoned. Lifting her into his arms, he carried her out of the chamber, and as far away from it as the strength in his arms would allow. When he finally set her down gently on the ground, he cradled her in his arms, calling her name several times before she opened her eyes and he was able to breathe a sigh of relief. "Welcome back, Miss Grace Quinlan." .. Elizabeth, under the guise of Grace Quinlan, regarded him speculatively, then her eyes widened as full memory returned and she sat upright. "What happened?" The last thing she remembered was studying the mural of the queen levitating the magic opal. .. "I'm not sure," Lord Hayden admitted. "You entered a trance and spoke with someone else's voice. ... Excerpt 2: The sun half-risen into the sky, splayed a handful of rays across the side of the Temple. The sudden glare made Elizabeth turn her head. Her gaze rested on a clearing about ten yards behind her where Lord Hayden lay asleep, his wide brimmed canvas hat drawn over his face and his khaki jacket rolled and serving as his pillow. Beside him was his backpack with his sword and the machete he used to carve a path through the jungle. Her gear and rumpled blanket lay a few discreet yards away from his. Warmth suffused her cheeks. The urge to lie beside him and feel his arms about her, to reveal her true identity and tell him how much she loved him rose softly within her. She held the urges in check and tore her emerald gaze from the sleeping figure, refusing to be just another woman in his life. He was enthralled with the mystery surrounding her. Once it was gone, and he realized the deception, he would probably hold her in contempt... All that she could hope for the present was to never admit to him her love under the guise of Grace Quinlan and thereby retain his respect for her as Professor Elizabeth Eldridge. Composed once more, she returned her attention to the symbols on the stone slab, and on closer inspection, noticed that the edges of the rock were spaced wider than its companions. She applied pressure and gasped with anticipation as the stone depressed slightly. Could there be hidden space behind it? Perhaps even a chamber. Elizabeth applied pressure to the loose slab that her fingers had just encountered. The stone slid further in, then collapsed backwards into an apparent void. Her triumphant laugh turned to a scream as the falling stone hit solid ground and the dirt under her feet shifted, unveiling a trap door sliding open beneath her boots. Elizabeth glimpsed the abyss preparing to swallow her. A pair of strong arms caught her below her armpits and yanked her up and away from the gaping hole. "Miss Grace Quinlan, I warned you not to go exploring on your own." Hayden kept her dangling a moment longer, while he thanked the powers that be for the sixth sense, which had awakened him in time to see the woman he loved toying with a booby trap. ... (This novel is also available as five stand-alone novellas.) Contributor Bio:  Freda, Paula Paula Freda, homemaker, mother of two grown sons, grandmother of two wonderful grandchildren, and former off-the-desk publisher of a family-oriented print small press, (1984 thru 1999), The Pink Chameleon, that she now publishes on line, was raised by her grandmother and mother, and has been writing for as long as she can remember. Even before she could set pencil to paper, she would spin her stories in the recording booths in the Brooklyn Coney Island Arcades for a quarter per 3-minute record. She states, "I love the English language, love words and seeing them on display, typed and alive. A romantic at heart, I write simply and emotionally. One of my former editors kindly described my work, '...her pieces are always deep, gentle and refreshing....'" Among the print publications in which her work has appeared are D'Youville Poetry Anthology, Clover Intl Poetry Competition, Small Press Writers & Artists Org. (SPWAO) Showcase II 1984, Nom de Plume, Labyrinth (1984), Harlequin Digest (a quarterly sent to Harlequin book subscribers during the 1980s), The Sacred Heart Messenger, Standard, Affaire De Coeur, Mid Island Times (hometown newspaper). On line, Peridot Books, The Romantic Bower, Romance and Beyond, and Alternate Realities. During February 2001 she taught an online class on writing at Topica.com. From 1985-1994 she coordinated writers clubs at two of her local hometown libraries. She further states, "I love writing, despite that I still have much to learn, and am grateful to any editor who takes the time to help me improve my skill. Although I've no fancy that I will ever be famous, or even want to be, my hope is that my writing will bring entertainment and uplift the human spirit. If someday in the future, someone reads my work and feels the better for it, then I have fulfilled myself." Her e-books & paperbacks are available through Amazon.com & several other online publishers.