Mr. Right In Her Backyard

Ugly Duckling Turns Swan!

When Tenley Trent comes back to Maple Grove, Vermont, her transformation is so dramatic, her old friends barely recognize her. While lasers took the birthmark from her face, no procedure can remove the scars from her heart, and she considers her looks average at best. Besides, her small hometown symbolizes everything she ran from. All she wants to do is convince her ailing mom to sell her nearly bankrupt inn and return to New York and her career as a bridal gown designer.

But sexy, mysterious Chase Chandler, her mom's new handyman, counters her plan. Why? Chase has no financial stake in the business--and no say in it either! The fact that he makes Tenley's pulse leap only adds to tensions over the inn. Besides, she's been hurt by a handsome, sexy man before, and she's wary.

A former advertising executive, Chase finds the work at the inn allays his survivor guilt. After almost dying in Afghanistan, he has vowed never again to work at a desk job he hates. Still, he knows he can save the business. While he's at it, he also wants to convince Tenley she's found Mr. Right In Her Back Yard.

Available at http://www.fionaneal.com/ and on Kindle

Gaelic Magic

Hi, Gaelic Magic is a free short fantasy available at www.newconceptspublishing.com. It is about a six-foot, four inch, blue eyed, black haired leprechaun who is sexier than sin on Sunday.

Fiona

Esther Howland--Mother of the American Valentine

Esther Howland was born in 1828 in Worcester, Massachussetts. Her father owned the largest book and stationery store in Worcester. When Esther was nineteen years old, she graduated from the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary and received a valentine from England.

Enchanted with the valentine, Esther felt she could create something akin to it. She asked her father to order the lace paper and other supplies from England and New York. He obliged, and Esther set to work. Her brother added the valentines to his inventory on his next sales trip. Esther hoped to make a modest profit from her venture, but when her brother returned, he had orders for valentines in the amount of five thousand dollars.

Esther knew she couldn't possibly meet the demand by herself, so she asked her friends to help and set up an assembly line to meet production. She used brightly colored paper against the white lace paper to create lovely, artist designs. The business grew and resulted in a gross income of one hundred tihousand dollars a year!

Esther Howland semi-retired due to bad knees. Later, she had to care for her ailing father, so she sold the business.

Esther Howland wasn't the first individual in America to creat the American valentine. However, she can take credit for launching it into a major industry. Today Americans spend one billion dollars a year on valentine cards, not counting the postage. The amount is second only to the amount spend on Christmas Cards, which is over two billion dollars.

Books Reissued

I am very excited about the reissue of two of my books. The first is Holiday Heat, a contemporary. The second is Beauty And The Beast, a fantasy.

Holiday Heat takes place in the mountains of western North Carolina. It is about a vet who reconnects with her one true love when she treats his dog.

Beauty And The Beast is my Scottish version of the old fairytale.

You can purchase these novels at www.fionaneal.com