USA Today Bestselling
Author Shanna Hatfield joins us with her
latest release, a sweet World War II romance.
Can
forbidden love blossom
amid the constraints of war?
The moment the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, life shifted for
Miko Nishimura. Desperate to reach the Portland Assembly Center for
Japanese-Americans, she’s kicked off the bus miles from town. Every tick of the
clock pushes her closer to becoming a fugitive in the land of her birth.
Exhausted, she stumbles to her grandparents’ abandoned farm only to find a
dying soldier sprawled across the step. Unable to leave him, she forsakes all
else to keep him alive.
After crashing his plane in the Battle of the Atlantic, the
doctors condemn Captain Rock Laroux to die. Determined to meet his maker
beneath a blue sky at his family home, he sneaks out of the hospital. Weary and
half out of his mind, he makes it as far as a produce stand he remembers from
his youth. Rather than surrender to death, Rock fights a battle of the heart as
he falls in love with the beautiful Japanese woman who saves his life.
A poignant, sweet romance, Garden of Her Heart proves love can bloom in unlikely places even under the most
challenging circumstances.
Excerpt:
Instead, her father stared at him and asked a single
question. “Describe Miko in one word.”
“One word, sir?” Rock asked, confused.
“Yes. If you summed up everything about her in one word,
what would it be?” Jack’s face remained impassive as he waited for Rock’s
answer.
Taken aback by his request, Rock’s thoughts splintered in a
hundred directions. Only a few seconds passed before the word that floated
through the maelstrom in his head gained clarity. “Hummingbird.”
Baffled, both Shig and Jack stared in confusion. “Explain,
please,” Jack said.
Rock took a deep breath. “Before I was wounded, I was
stationed in Trinidad, off Venezuela’s coast in the southern Caribbean. The
area is a big melting pot of combined cultures — Creole, East Indian, Chinese,
African. A great diversity of flowers and shrubbery grow there, and it offers
more than four hundred different species of birds. But do you know what they
call the island?”
At the men’s interested looks, Rock continued. “Land of the
Hummingbird. While I was there, I saw many of them. The islanders believe
hummingbirds are symbols of all that is good and they carry joy wherever they
go. Hummingbirds are fearless, determined, adaptable, and flexible. They
possess the courage of a mighty lion and the magic of mythical fairies.
Hummingbirds have boundless energy and endurance. Those little birds can make
the most difficult journey seem like a simple matter, and they are loyal,
devoted to the garden they claim as their own. They are fiercely independent,
but those who accept that can long enjoy the beauty and wonder of those amazing
little winged fellows.”
Jack’s mouth quirked upward and he bit back a smile. “So
you’re saying Miko is like a demented bird who wants only to suck the sweetness
out of life?”
USA Today Bestselling
Author Shanna Hatfield writes
character-driven romances with relatable heroes and heroines. Her historical
westerns have been described as “reminiscent of the era captured by Bonanza and
The Virginian” while her contemporary works have been called “laugh-out-loud
funny, and a little heart-pumping sexy without being explicit in any way.”
Convinced everyone deserves a happy ending, this hopeless
romantic is out to make it happen, one story at a time. When she isn’t
writing or indulging in chocolate (dark and decadent, please), Shanna hangs out
with her husband, lovingly known as Captain Cavedweller.
Shanna loves to hear from readers. Follow her online at:
Website: http://shannahatfield.com
Newsletter: http://tinyurl.com/shannasnewsletter
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShannaHatfield
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shannahatfield/
Thank you so much for hosting me, Keely! I so appreciate it!
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