by Amie Denman & May Williams
Adult Contemporary Romance, Christmas
ebook, 179 pages
October 1, 2016
White Pine Island Novellas #1 & #2
Welcome to White Pine Island! Just a few miles off the coast of Georgia, this island is accessible only by boat, plane, and your imagination. Many residents call the island home year-round, but day visitors and tourists bring plenty of excitement with them. Like other resort islands, there are quaint shops, cool restaurants, and friendly bars. There are several resorts on the island, but the queen of them all is the elegant Grand Hotel on a bluff with an ocean view. Owned by the extensive, multi-generational Phillips family, the Grand Hotel offers elegant service, five course dinners, and plenty of romance.
Ned & Bethany by May Williams
Sometimes the heart hits a hole in one…
Bethany Hinkle arrives at White Pine Island’s Grand Hotel for her sister’s wedding and to do a little environmental snooping. She snaps pictures of the hotel’s pristine golf course to ensure its compliance with EPA standards. Soon, she realizes that the course’s manager is as attractive as the course he so carefully protects.
Ned Phillips feels the weight of family expectations squarely on his broad shoulders. The Phillips Family has owned and operated the Grand Hotel for three generations. For now, he manages the hotel’s golf course and makes plans for its future—plans that could be destroyed by Bethany’s spying. He gets close to the lovely environmentalist to watch for her next move until he gets too close to let her go.
Ellen & Pete by Amie Denman
What happens when you fall in love with your best friend just when it’s too late?
All her life, Ellen Phillips has loved working for her family’s Grand Hotel on White Pine Island. Flying the hotel’s airplane and piloting the island ferryboat while knowing someday she will inherit the luxurious resort is a fairy tale existence she has no desire to change. She’s always loved Pete McCormack, too. After all, he’s her best friend, confidante, and playmate. Until she suddenly sees him in a different light just before Christmas.
Pete McCormack has made sacrifices for his family’s golf cart rental business on the island, choosing to stay home and run it instead of pursuing his dream of his own career on the mainland. When his parents announce their plans to sell the business so Pete can leave the island, he has to choose between the future he thought he always wanted and his newfound love for the woman he would be leaving behind.
Excerpt
White Pine Island: Novella One: Ned & Bethany by May Williams
Ned turned to face the girl who’d made snide comments to him behind her father’s back in the days when Ned caddied on the course.
Ned gulped down a gasp. This sophisticated beauty couldn’t be the girl he remembered. This Bethany had straight, shiny dark brown hair, bright blue eyes, slim hips, and long legs clad in white pants. Who the hell…?
“Of…of course,” he managed, stuttering. “Nice to see you again, Miss Hinkle.”
She smiled at him and the super-model look dropped away. Now, she reminded him of the girl-next-door type who suddenly becomes a knockout.
“The place is just like I remember,” she said, gazing up toward the bluff where the hotel sat. Round pillars supported the white four-story façade of the century-old building. The hotel faced out over the blue Atlantic Ocean toward the mainland, four miles distant.
“The beauty of the Grand Hotel is that it doesn’t change,” Ned said, not sure if her comment was praise or criticism.
“I guess,” she said, quickly.
Make that criticism.
“Are you playing? I can get a set of ladies clubs,” he offered, reminding himself that his role was to make sure the guest had a good experience.
“No, I’ll just tag along behind Dad.”
Just like old times, he thought. He’d be a glorified caddy, made uncomfortable by a girl—woman now—who hated what he loved most.
Golf was his passion, his true love. He played well enough to compete and did occasionally. He’d won tournaments, bringing home some nice cash prizes. Watching those events in progress sparked something else in him—he wanted to host a big tournament here on White Pine Island. A challenging and profitable prospect if he could land one. His first test was next week when tournament organizers would make a preliminary visit to The Emerald.
“Fine with me,” he said, strapping her father’s clubs to the back of a cart and wondering how he was going to manage her presence on the course. Ned always drove Mr. Hinkle, but that left Bethany facing backward and riding with the clubs. Not appropriate to the way guests were treated here. He kicked himself for putting the larger carts in the shed earlier. He didn’t want to waste time by getting one out now.
Before he could figure out a solution, Bethany swung onto the cart’s small rear-facing seat and crossed her long, slim legs. She caught him looking at her and raised one delicately-arched brow at him.
“Dad wants to get at least nine holes in before dark,” she reminded him as if she golfed here every day and hadn’t just materialized like a cicada emerging from its shell after a long hiatus.
“Right,” he said awkwardly. “Can do.” Which was even more awkward. How could she make him so uncomfortable in the one place he always felt in charge?
He drove to the tee box and started talking clubs, yardage, and swing technique with Mr. Hinkle. The usual golf course banter helped to center him if he kept the ugly-duckling-turned-swan out of his line of vision. For her part, she ignored him. He might as well have been invisible.
About the Author
Amie Denman lives in Ohio with her husband, sons, cats, and dog. When she's not reading or writing, she enjoys walking and playing outside. Born with an overdeveloped sense of curiosity, she's been known to chase fire trucks on her bicycle just to see what's going on. Amie believes that everything is fun: especially roller coasters, wedding cake, and falling in love.
May Williams is convinced that she read every book in the public library of her hometown as a kid. Today, her house sags under the weight of books. If she’s not reading or writing, May can be found pursuing her other two passions – sewing and running. May lives happily in a little town on the shores of Lake Erie with her husband, two children, three cats, and one oversized dog.
Tour Schedule
October 16th: Launch
October 17th: Katie's Clean Book Collection & Book Lover in Florida
October 18th: Nicole's Book Musings & The Silver Dagger Scriptorium
October 19th: Falling Leaves & Letters from Annie (Douglass) Lima
October 20th: underneath the covers & Beck Valley Books
October 21st: Brooke Blogs & Teatime and Books
October 23rd: Grand Finale
Tour Giveaway
1 winner will receive Under the Boardwalk and Carousel Nights by Amie Denman (US only)
1 winner will receive a $25 Amazon eGift Card (open internationally)
Ends October 28th
I enjoyed reading the excerpt. Pine Island sounds like a lovely place. Both novellas sound good.
ReplyDeleteI'm assuming the Phillips from both stories are related. If so it'll be interesting to read about one family written by different authors.
ReplyDeleteI'm reading a copy of this and enjoying it so far!
ReplyDeleteI love the cover ! I can't wait to begin reading this book !
ReplyDelete