Eliza…A Story of Hope and Love

 

The best reason to leave home forever is a husband who wants you dead.

Posing as a widow, Eliza Danton flees an abusive marriage determined to bury the past and live a solitary life on the Minnesota frontier. When she finds herself homeless, her livelihood threatened and her safety compromised, she relies on her only resource, a man who stirs a forbidden longing and rocks the very foundation of her well-laid plans. As her world shrinks with lies and deception, the only way out is the truth, but the truth may strike a deadly price.

Haunted by a tragic past, Will Heaton hides his scarred heart and vows never to love again. But a chance encounter with a mysterious widow awakens painful memories and a yearning he can’t ignore. When she’s harassed by the same man he believes killed his wife, he grabs at a chance to resolve past mistakes and possibly find love and redemption in the process.

As Eliza and Will struggle to trust again, the past returns with a renewed vengeance, testing them in ways they never thought possible.

 

~ Excerpt ~

“You think, Eliza. Marriage is best way.”

 His departing footsteps pounded on the wooden deck and thudded loudly on the stairs as he went below.

Eliza stood there, too astounded and alarmed to move. After a time, she glanced at the moon, hoping it might have some curative power to quell her rioting nerves. To her disappointment, the golden disc streaked by wisps of gnarled clouds offered no answers or comfort. Suddenly, the anger and frustration inside exploded. She kicked out. Her foot smashed into a deck chair with an earsplitting thwack. The chair arced then slammed and scuttled noisily against the planks.

“Who-o-oa, lady.”

Eliza gasped, spun about and peered into shadows near the pilothouse. “Who’s there?”

A chair creaked.

“Make yourself known, please,” she snapped.

Will Heaton stepped out from behind the big potted palms near the pilothouse and jolted her clear through.

He’d seen everything! The kissing, the intimacy. Heard her lies. Oh, God. She wanted to sink right into the river.

“How could you?”

A muscle quirked in his cheek.

“Good Lord! You find this amusing!”

As though he had not a care in the world, he crossed his arms and leaned casually against a tarp-covered mound of gunnysacks, his lips pressing back a grin. “Couldn’t avoid it. I had the best seat in the house.”

Her mouth gripped so tight she couldn’t talk. She glared at him expecting the intensity of her anger to light up the sky. Her body trembled as she waited for him to break the silence. When he did, it left her stunned.

 

What people are saying about Eliza…

“One of the things I liked about Eliza was the author’s obvious understanding of human beings”¦Needless to say, I liked Eliza (both the book and character) and would recommend it to anyone.”

~ Cotton Davis, Author

 

“Proell’s writing is flawless.”                                    ~ Books for Me

 

“Joyce made all of Eliza’s emotions and feelings so realistic you could almost feel them bouncing off the pages.”

~ The Adventures of Reading

 

“The story had enough twists and turns to keep me interested to the last page.”

~ Kaizy Daisy’s Reviews

 

“One of the great strengths of Eliza is its setting; Ms. Proell brings the antebellum American frontier vividly to life. Rich with historical detail”¦”

~ Cara Rowe, the Muse

 

“Proell, while writing from a definite point of view, avoids any hint of preachiness or cant, leaning instead toward subtlety in order to tell a good story; which she does, by the way.”

~ Cotton Davis, Author

 

I hope you enjoy reading Eliza as much as I enjoyed writing her story. Happy reading!

Joyce