Barbara Bretton

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About Barbara Bretton
In the month of February 1982 I wrote and sold my first novel. And no, I wouldn't believe it either if it hadn't happened to me. I sent in my manuscript on Thursday February 21, 1982 and four days later the telephone rang and I heard the amazing words, "We want to buy your book." How I wish you could have seen me. I was standing by the kitchen door of our North Babylon house, the picture of cool sophistication, as I listened to Vivian Stephens explain the terms of the deal to me. You would have thought I'd sold a first book every single day of my life. Yes, I said. Sounds wonderful. Thank you so much for calling. I look forward to our association. That cool sophistication hung on until I hung up the phone, took a deep breath, then promptly threw up on my shoes.
I was thirty-one years old, unagented, unschooled, unfamiliar with anything to do with the business of publishing. To put it mildly, I was in shock. My husband was working in Manhattan at the time (and finishing up his degree at night) so it would be hours until I could break the news to him. This was too exciting to waste on a phone call. I wanted to see his face when I told him that my dream had finally come true -- and came with a $6000 advance!
He pulled into the driveway at midnight. I was waiting in the doorway, holding a bottle of champagne and two glasses. I didn't have to say a word. He knew right away and the look of joy and pride in his eyes warms me now, years later, long after the advance faded into memory.
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Books By Barbara Bretton
REVISED November 2011.
Sugar Maple may look like your postcard-perfect Vermont town but that’s where the similarity ends. Our librarian is a beautiful Norwegian troll. The funeral parlor is run by a family of vampires. The Sugar Maple Inn is owned by Fae while the werewolves keep our hardware store well-stocked. For centuries we have been home to house sprites, witches, selkies, spirits, shapeshifters, and elves.
And who could forget Forbes, our lovable Mountain Giant?
I’m Chloe Hobbs, the half-human/half-magick owner of Sticks & String, the most popular knit shop in New England, where your yarn never tangles, you always, get gauge, and the knitter sitting next to you only comes out after dark
I've faced powerful Fae enemies, fought demon snakes, and stared down the fiery flames of eternal hell, but nothing scared me more than meeting Luke's big, 100% human family. Falling in love with a mortal is one thing; finding a way to hide my magick from his family is something else again. When they descend on Sugar Maple en masse to celebrate my pregnancy, it's all I can do to keep magick from breaking out all over.
But when Baby Laria decides to arrive early, my best-laid plans go up in smoke. A banished enemy is hell-bent on revenge and might take Luke's family with her if I can't find a way to save us all.
STARRED REVIEW – Booklist
Chloe Hobbs, owner of the renowned knit shop Sticks & Strings, is mayor of Sugar Maple, Vermont. Sugar Maple, not your typical American small town, is home to vampires, selkies, trolls, sprites, werecats, and other shape-shifters. Chloe herself is only half-human, the other half being a direct descendant of the powerful sorceress who led the ancestors of these special citizens to safe haven during the Salem Witch Trials. Chloe and her soulmate, the all-too-human Sheriff Luke MacKenzie, are expecting their first child. Although Chloe has fought the ultimate Evil and stared Death in the face, she’s terrified at the thought of meeting Luke’s sizable family, who don’t know about her pregnancy. However, real danger (one Chloe thought no longer existed) lurks in the shadows, threatening Chloe’s life, as well as those of Luke and their baby. Once again, Bretton has cleverly created a captivating mixture of danger, humor, and adventure. Libraries will want to buy the full run of the wonderful Sugar Maple series (Casting Spells, 2008; Laced with Magic, 2009; Spun by Sorcery, 2010;) –Shelley Mosley, Booklist
Sugar Maple may look like your postcard-perfect Vermont town but that’s where the similarity ends. Our librarian is a beautiful Norwegian troll. The funeral parlor is run by a family of vampires. The Sugar Maple Inn is owned by Fae while the werewolves keep our hardware store well-stocked. For centuries we have been home to house sprites, witches, selkies, spirits, shapeshifters, and elves.
And who could forget Forbes, our lovable Mountain Giant?
I’m Chloe Hobbs, the half-human/half-magick owner of Sticks & String, the most popular knit shop in New England, where your yarn never tangles, you always get gauge, and the knitter sitting next to you only comes out after dark. And did I mention that I’m almost thirty, single, and with no prospects in sight? My friends and neighbors have been casting spells to help me find Mr. Right but so far their efforts have been all wrong.
Who'd have guessed I'd find my soulmate in Luke MacKenzie, a cop investigating Sugar Maple's very first murder? Bad news is he's 100% human which could spell disaster for a normal future with a paranormal woman like me--in love, in danger, and in way over my head.
Casting Spells - Chloe falls in love and comes into her magick but can she trust the very human Luke MacKenzie to keep her secret?
Laced with Magic - Chloe and Luke are determined to make their unlikely romance blossom but when Luke’s ex-wife shows up in town on a desperate mission to save their daughter’s soul, they find themselves in the fight of their lives.
Spun by Sorcery - Sugar Maple has gone missing and Chloe travels to Salem where she battles the forces of evil to fulfill her destiny and save her beloved town from the clutches of a powerful Fae warrior.
Charmed - Chloe has a secret that will change Sugar Maple forever.
Spells & Stitches - Baby Laria is six pounds, eleven ounces of perfect, and Chloe and Luke are over the moon. But when they learn that Laria takes after her mom in the sorcery department, it becomes clear that their baby might have more power than even a pro like Chloe can handle...
Praise for the Sugar Maple stories:
Romantic Times Book Club – 4.5 stars – TOP PICK
Bretton launches her new series of magic and murder with an enchanting, lyrical masterpiece that should make its way to the bestseller list in no time. Brilliantly weaving the town of Sugar Maple with that of its inhabitants into one living, breathing entity, this novel captivates readers from the first page. With vibrant, multidimensional characters, including the town itself, Bretton pens a memorable romance that combines knitting, love, magic, and self-discovery.
Publishers Weekly
Tongue-in-cheek humor lifts this weird but fun hybrid, part knitting cozy, part paranormal romance, from romance veteran Bretton (Just Desserts). After a classy female tourist drowns mysteriously in an icy lake in remote Sugar Maple, Vt., the Montpelier authorities ask Boston homicide cop Luke MacKenzie to investigate. As Sugar Maple's temporary police chief, Luke soon notices the village's odd ambience. Originally a haven for witches who fled the Salem witchcraft trials three centuries earlier, Sugar Maple is now home to witches, vampires, fairies and trolls. Luke is also attracted to Chloe Hobbs, the half-human owner of the knitting shop Sticks & Strings, who must find Mr. Right if she's to preserve the spell that sustains the town's unusual residents.
Knit shop owner and sorcerer's daughter Chloe Hobbs felt the Fates finally got it right when she met Luke MacKenzie. And no one could have convinced her otherwise—including the trolls, selkies, and spirits who also call Sugar Maple, Vermont, home. But then out of nowhere Luke's ex-wife suddenly shows up, claiming to see the spirit of their daughter, Steffie—a daughter Chloe knows nothing about.
Steffie's spirit is being held hostage by a certain Fae leader. And if Chloe weaves a spell to free her spirit, her nemesis will also be free—free to destroy her yarn shop and all of Sugar Maple. But if she doesn't, Steffie won't be the only one spending eternity in hell. Chloe'll be joining her, cursed with a broken heart.
Starred Review Half-sorceress Chloe Hobbs and policeman Luke MacKenzie, the only humans in the sleepy Vermont town of Sugar Maple, face worldly and unearthly challenges in this sweetly charming sequel to 2008's Casting Spells. When Luke's ex-wife, Karen, shows up in town claiming that their dead daughter is trying to ask them for help, Chloe must deal with smalltown gossip and fix her relationship with Luke while she battles her old Fae enemy, Isadora, over the child's spirit and the future of Sugar Maple. Bretton seamlessly blends a playful world of eccentric and meddling supernatural creatures living in the midst of New England with a warm, natural and romantic story and just a hint of mystery. Scenes in Chloe's yarn shop and helpful knitting tips hold extra appeal for yarn aficionados while never distracting from the plot.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
It''s the opportunity of a lifetime...
And maybe the beginning of the end for Sugar Maple!
Welcome back to Sugar Maple, the picturesque small Vermont town where magick hides in plain sight. It's the first work day of the new year and Chloe Hobbs, the half-human/half-sorceress owner of Sticks & Strings, is happy to be back at the shop. But before she has a chance to plug in the coffee maker, trouble comes knocking at the door. Meghan, her trouble-prone sister-in-law, has a new job with Wild Minds Entertainment and she has rolled into town with two coworkers to make Chloe an offer she can't refuse. Too bad Zach, the local vampire bad boy, has plans of his own and they include Meghan..
Can Chloe find a way to stop him or are Meghan and Sugar Maple doomed?Sugar Maple may look like your postcard-perfect Vermont town but that’s where the similarity ends. Our librarian is a beautiful Norwegian troll. The funeral parlor is run by a family of vampires. The Sugar Maple Inn is owned by Fae while the werewolves keep our hardware store well-stocked. For centuries we have been home to house sprites, witches, selkies, spirits, shapeshifters, and elves.
And who could forget Forbes, our lovable Mountain Giant?
I’m Chloe Hobbs, the half-human/half-magick owner of Sticks & String, the most popular knit shop in New England, where your yarn never tangles, you always, get gauge, and the knitter sitting next to you only comes out after dark.
Now that I'd found my soulmate in 100% human police chief Luke MacKenzie and come into my magick, I thought my life would get easier but I was wrong.
The last thing I expected was to lose an entire town! Sugar Maple was gone, taken beyond the mist by my Fae enemies and it's up to me to rescue it or lose my birthright forever.
Even the Book of Spells, my lifeline to magick, can't help me now. If I'm going to bring Sugar Maple back, I must return to Salem where my family's story began and face the secrets and centuries-old feuds that threaten the life of the man I love and the town where I belong.
*Starred Review* While Chloe Hobbs, a half-human sorceress-in-training who owns the popular yarn shop, Sticks and Strings, and the love of her life, the all-too-human chief of police, Luke MacKenzie, are off fighting the forces of evil to protect his daughter’s soul, the unthinkable happens. The town of Sugar Maple, Vermont, disappears—animals, people, buildings, roads: everything. Not only do Chloe and Luke have to figure out how this could be. They also have to engage in another battle to the death with supernatural forces. And they have to face all of this when they haven’t even begun to recover from the previous clash. The third book, following Casting Spells (2008) and Laced with Magic (2009), in Bretton’s decidedly dark saga of Sugar Maple, a place where vampires, trolls, shapeshifters, and werewolves live in peace, is an exciting conclusion to her very clever trilogy. Readers will be on the edge of their seats as Chloe and Luke risk everything to protect the little town they love. --Shelley Mosley
Just try to keep a secret in Shelter Rock Cove
Shelter Rock Cove - Book 2
In the grand scheme of things, it really wasn’t such a terrible mistake. People slept with the wrong people every day of the week and somehow the world managed to keep on turning. Ellen and Hall had been good friends and co-workers before last night, and there was no reason to think their friendship couldn’t survive a night of passion..
After one thousand six hundred and eighty-five mornings of waking up alone, Ellen found herself in bed with the one man who could break her heart and not even the Goddess of the Morning After could rewind the tape back to last night before they made their fatal mistake.
There wasn’t a soul in Shelter Rock Cove who wouldn’t know what they had been up to when she drove home down the main street wearing the same clothes she had worn to the Butlers’ christening party. And, to make matters worse, her car had spent the night in Hall’s driveway. She might as well have hung a flag from his bedroom window with the words “Dr. Ellen Slept Here” embroidered across it in big scarlet letters.
Add a wayward sister with a hundred pound dog named Stanley, a mechanic with his eye on the stars, some very nosy neighbors and all the colorful characters you fell in love with in A Soft Place to Fall and summer in Shelter Rock Cove is about to get very interesting . . .
˃˃˃ Praise for GIRLS OF SUMMER
"...a book readers will want to savor."
--Publishers Weekly
"I highly recommend that discriminating readers pay a visit to these Girls of Summer."
--Susan Scribner - The Romance Reader
"The bonds of family and sisterhood are exquisitely explored in Bretton's latest. The warmth, strength and human frailties of her characters make for rich and rewarding reading."
--Jill M. Smith - Romantic Times
˃˃˃ Also available in audio from Amazon, iTunes, and Audible
Previously published in print by Berkley Books.
˃˃˃
About the author
Barbara Bretton is an award-winning, USA Today bestselling author of over fifty novels. She has been published in twelve languages in over twenty countries. She currently lives with her husband in central New Jersey.
Buy your copy now!
It's not every day a woman goes traveling through time
Crosse Harbor Time Travel Trilogy - Book 3
Dakota Wylie is a wisecracking, unemployed, overweight psychic librarian from Princeton. Patrick Devane is an angry, hard-headed spy with a six-year-old daughter who hears voices.
The only thing they have in common is New Jersey
But when Dakota leaps from the basket of a hot air balloon to help his crying child, little does she know that she's leaping into history . . . and love.
Crosse Harbor Time Travel Trilogy
- Somewhere in Time
- Tomorrow & Always
- Destiny's Child
˃˃˃ Praise for the Crosse Harbor Time Travel Trilogy
"SOMEWHERE IN TIME sweeps readers away into a marvelous world where love is timeless and dreams come true. Combine this ingenious plot . . . with humor and sensuality and you have a great read." ”"Romantic Times
SOMEWHERE IN TIME ”" Reviewers Choice Winner ”" Best Historical Time Travel
TOMORROW & ALWAYS - "Bretton is a monumental talent who targets her audience with intelligence and inspiration." ”"Affaire de Coeur
"[TOMORROW & ALWAYS] is an entertaining story." --Booklist
DESTINY'S CHILD - "Wonderful wit, a feisty heroine, a gifted child, and great glimpses of friends from the past combine to make magic!" ”" Romantic Times
Praise for USA Today Bestselling Author Barbara Bretton
"A monumental talent." --Affaire de Coeur
"Very few romance writers create characters as well-developed as Bretton's. Her books pull you in and don't let you leave until the last word is read." --Booklist (starred review)
"One of today's best women's fiction authors." --The Romance Reader
"Barbara Bretton is a master at touching readers' hearts." --Romance Reviews Today
˃˃˃ Also available in audio from Amazon, iTunes, and Audible
Previously published in print by Harlequin Books.
˃˃˃
About the author
Barbara Bretton is an award-winning, USA Today bestselling author of over fifty novels. She has been published in twelve languages in over twenty countries. She currently lives with her husband in central New Jersey.
Buy your copy now!
Timeless Lovers from Different Worlds
Crosse Harbor Time Travel Trilogy - Book 2
Shannon Whitney didn't believe she had a future until Andrew McVie crash-lands his time-traveling hot air balloon in her backyard one summer afternoon and changes her life forever.
He is a Revolutionary War patriot
She is an independent modern woman
Their paths should never have crossed but apparently fate has other plans.
Crosse Harbor Time Travel Trilogy
- Somewhere in Time
- Tomorrow & Always
- Destiny's Child
˃˃˃ Praise for the Crosse Harbor Time Travel Trilogy
"SOMEWHERE IN TIME sweeps readers away into a marvelous world where love is timeless and dreams come true. Combine this ingenious plot . . . with humor and sensuality and you have a great read." ”"Romantic Times
SOMEWHERE IN TIME ”" Reviewers Choice Winner ”" Best Historical Time Travel
TOMORROW & ALWAYS - "Bretton is a monumental talent who targets her audience with intelligence and inspiration." ”"Affaire de Coeur
"[TOMORROW & ALWAYS] is an entertaining story." --Booklist
DESTINY'S CHILD - "Wonderful wit, a feisty heroine, a gifted child, and great glimpses of friends from the past combine to make magic!" ”" Romantic Times
Praise for USA Today Bestselling Author Barbara Bretton
"A monumental talent." --Affaire de Coeur
"Very few romance writers create characters as well-developed as Bretton's. Her books pull you in and don't let you leave until the last word is read." --Booklist (starred review)
"One of today's best women's fiction authors." --The Romance Reader
"Barbara Bretton is a master at touching readers' hearts." --Romance Reviews Today
˃˃˃ Also available in audio from Amazon, iTunes, and Audible
Previously published in print by Harlequin Books.
˃˃˃
About the author
Barbara Bretton is an award-winning, USA Today bestselling author of over fifty novels. She has been published in twelve languages in over twenty countries. She currently lives with her husband in central New Jersey.
Buy your copy now!
Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award - Best Historical Time Travel
Crosse Harbor Time Travel Trilogy - Book 1
Historian Emilie Crosse dreamed of a love that would last forever
Who knew she'd have to sail across two centuries to find it?
When her ex-husband Zane Grey Rutledge showed up at her door with a Revolutionary War uniform that was part of his grandmother's estate, neither one suspected that their lives were about to change in ways they couldn't possibly imagine.
Swept back in time to 1776 where a nation is struggling to be born, Emilie finds herself torn between two men: Zane, her ex who still holds the key to her heart, and Andrew McVie, the Patriot hero of her long-ago dreams . . . .
Praise for the Crosse Harbor Time Travel Trilogy
Crosse Harbor Time Travel Trilogy
- Somewhere in Time
- Tomorrow & Always
- Destiny's Child
˃˃˃ Praise for the Crosse Harbor Time Travel Trilogy
"SOMEWHERE IN TIME sweeps readers away into a marvelous world where love is timeless and dreams come true. Combine this ingenious plot . . . with humor and sensuality and you have a great read." ”"Romantic Times
SOMEWHERE IN TIME ”" Reviewers Choice Winner ”" Best Historical Time Travel
TOMORROW & ALWAYS - "Bretton is a monumental talent who targets her audience with intelligence and inspiration." ”"Affaire de Coeur
"[TOMORROW & ALWAYS] is an entertaining story." --Booklist
DESTINY'S CHILD - "Wonderful wit, a feisty heroine, a gifted child, and great glimpses of friends from the past combine to make magic!" ”" Romantic Times
Praise for USA Today Bestselling Author Barbara Bretton
"A monumental talent." --Affaire de Coeur
"Very few romance writers create characters as well-developed as Bretton's. Her books pull you in and don't let you leave until the last word is read." --Booklist (starred review)
"One of today's best women's fiction authors." --The Romance Reader
"Barbara Bretton is a master at touching readers' hearts." --Romance Reviews Today
˃˃˃ Also available in audio from Amazon, iTunes, and Audible
Previously published in print by Harlequin Books.
˃˃˃
About the author
Barbara Bretton is an award-winning, USA Today bestselling author of over fifty novels. She has been published in twelve languages in over twenty countries. She currently lives with her husband in central New Jersey.
Buy your copy now!
A match made in heaven? It's only a matter of time . . .
Billionaire Lovers - Book 2
A runaway princess looking to start a new life in New York City
A golden boy billionaire who likes his life just the way it is
She grew up in a castle high in the French Alps
He was born in Queens
She cut her teeth on caviar and champagne
He loves Big Macs and supersized fries
From the snow-covered Alps to the noisy streets of Manhattan to the ramshackle cottage in the Pennsylvania Poconos, Isabelle and Daniel fight their attraction to each other every step of the way.
Excerpt
It suddenly hit Bronson that she wasn’t half as smart or sophisticated as she wanted him to believe. Isabelle was a nineteen-going-on-twenty-year-old girl with a bad case of the hots for a guy who wasn’t good enough to kiss her Jimmy Choos. He’d overheard the servants talking about the little princess and Malraux’s son, and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what it was all about.
Just because he was too jaded to believe in happily-ever-after was no reason to deny the girl her dreams. She’d learn soon enough that life didn’t always work out according to plan, not even for princesses with eyes dark as night.
But still there was something about her that called out to him. Something that went beyond the allure of her cascade of dark curls or the sweet curves of her body and touched at the most primitive part of his soul. She shifted in her seat, brushing away a lock of hair with an elegant, artless gesture and for a moment, Bronson knew exactly how she would feel in his arms. She was too young, too spoiled, too much trouble for a man as practical and pig-headed as he was, but still”"
I’m not laughing at you, princess, he thought as he met her eyes. I’m just wondering why I couldn’t have been first.
The reviews are in
"Glamour, intrigue, and action ... a regal roller coaster of a romance."
--Nora Roberts
"This nicely plotted sizzler takes readers on an energetic romp through the world of the privileged class"
--Publishers Weekly
"A stunning, powerful, and enjoyable novel."
--Affaire de Coeur
˃˃˃ Previously published in print by Berkley Books under the title One & Only
˃˃˃ Audiobook on its way!
˃˃˃
About the author
Barbara Bretton is an award-winning, USA Today bestselling author of over fifty novels. She has been published in twelve languages in over twenty countries. She currently lives with her husband in central New Jersey.
Buy your copy now!
She was everything he'd ever wanted . . .
He was everything she'd dreamed of.
It is 1941 and Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu is as close to paradise as you were likely to get. Golden sunshine, sweet ocean breezes, secluded beaches made for romance.
Pearl is a dream come true for Rick Byrne. A poor kid from the south side of Chicago, Rick joined the navy to see the world -- and maybe one day own a piece of it. When the chance to drive for Admiral Forrester falls into his lap, he grabs for the brass ring even if it means squiring the admiral's spoiled and beautiful daughter all around Honolulu.
Eden Forrester dislikes the brash young sailor on sight. For five weeks now she has been forced to rely on her father's underlings to drive her around town while she waits for her broken leg to mend. A first-class flirt, she is accustomed to getting her own way with men of all ages, but her new driver seems immune to her charms . . . until one magical moment on a moonswept beach when the future is theirs for the taking.
But the world around them is growing more dangerous every day and on a beautiful Sunday morning in December, not even Paradise can save them from their destiny . . .
A heartwarming romance from USA Today bestselling author Barbara Bretton
An excerpt:
Rick wanted to tell her to take a hike. Eden was a manipulative daddy's girl accustomed to getting her own way. Hell, she didn't even know how to sit on the beach without live entertainment. The Germans and the English had a better chance of making peace than he and Eden Forrester.
And that's when he made his big mistake. He looked at her. Not just at her shiny hair and rounded figure, but at her. He looked into those turquoise eyes and saw beyond her beauty and that sense of destiny he'd felt last night when he first saw her gripped him by the throat and refused to let go. Like six drivers before him he wanted to toss down the keys to the Oldsmobile and get as far away from her as possible. But unlike those six other drivers, it wasn't because he'd had enough of her.
It was because he knew he could never have her at all.
She waited, praying he would sit down on the sand next to her.
He waited, trying to convince himself she was nothing more than a means to an end.
But the sun was shining and the air was sweet with promise and he'd only be her driver for two more weeks. Your life couldn't be turned upside down in just two weeks. Two weeks wasn't even enough time to become friends. Just because he was only her driver didn't mean he couldn't enjoy a little on-the-job beachcombing, did it? Especially not if the boss's daughter said it was okay.
She smiled up at him.
He smiled down at her.
She patted the spot next to her and he sat down and in that moment he somehow knew there'd be no turning back.
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