Contemporary Romance
COWBOY, I’M YOURS
55,000 Word Contemporary Romance
Nurse Jesse Tyler is shocked when she learns that her ex-husband, professional bull rider Colton Tyler has suffered a head injury and now believes they are still married. Worse, Colton is asking to see her.
After waking up from an injury that might put an end to his career, Colton is stunned when he learns he’s not married to Jesse anymore. What happened to their love? Unable to accept the divorce, he sets out to discover what went wrong between them and set things right, but Colton gets more than he bargained for when he discovers he and Jesse have a five-year-old daughter—a daughter Colton apparently chose to have no relationship with.
More confused than ever, Colton needs Jesse’s help to put the puzzle of his life back together. But Jesse is cautious. Years ago, Colton turned his back on their daughter and broke Jesse’s heart, yet this new Colton reminds her of the cowboy she married, a man whose hot kisses and love for life made him the only man for her.
Old passions burn out of control and Jesse falls for Colton all over again, but when Colton’s memory returns, so do the many reasons they are no longer a couple. Colton’s torn between the man he was and the man he is now, but is he man enough to move forward and claim the family he once left behind?
THE BACHELOR’S PRETEND BRIDE
59,000 Word Contemporary Romance
The citizens of Fortune, WA are shocked when former town bad boy Jace Stone buys the small town. Everyone wonders how Jace can come back, especially after getting Fortune’s golden girl Glory Moon pregnant, then leaving her alone to raise their autistic son.
No one is more shocked than Jace when he discovers that Glory kept the baby she’d promised to give up for adoption ten years ago. Seriously in debt, Glory and her son are one step away from food stamps and welfare. When Glory refuses Jace’s help, he comes up with a plan that will benefit them both–a business arrangement, if Glory marries him, he’ll pay off her debts, save her ranch, and get their son the finest medical care and private school money can buy, and in return, Jace will get a ready-made family, a family he needs to help close the biggest land deal of his career.
But Glory’s not sold on Jace, refusing to trust him with her heart a second time, and while Jace thought he could be a part-time parent, it soon becomes clear that he wants so much more from Glory than she’s willing to give.
Together, Jace and Glory must learn to trust each other and themselves if they want to turn their “pretend” marriage into a real marriage, guaranteeing a real-life happy ending for them all.
“Joleen James brings you laughter and tears in a wonderfully heart-warming romance.”
– Gerri Russell, author of Seducing the Knight
HOMETOWN STAR *2010 Golden Heart Finalist*
60,000 Word Contemporary Romance
Television production manager Starlene White has spent her life trying to overcome her childhood. Born to a mother who changed husbands like most people change their toothbrushes, and after having raised her three younger siblings, Star’s made a vow to never marry, or have children. She’s learned the hard way that she can’t depend on anyone but herself.
Divorced dad Cade O’Brien is struggling to raise his three kids while running a bed and breakfast/charter fishing business. When he sends Star a letter, asking her to empty out her deceased aunt’s trailer, he’s surprised when she shows up, and he’s even more surprised by the guilt and regret he feels at the way he treated Star when they were teenagers.
When Star was seventeen, Cade broke her heart. She trusted him and he betrayed her. Seeing Cade brings back all the reasons she’ll never trust him or any man again. For Star, love is overrated.
For Cade, as much as he wants Star, he knows they can never have a future. He tried to keep a city girl in his small town once with disastrous results. He’s not about to make that mistake again. His kids come first this time around.
Star and Cade soon discover their attraction is stronger than ever. Unable to deny their passion, they embark on a secret summer romance, agreeing to part as friends when Star returns to her life in the city. It’s what they both want, no emotional attachments.
But once apart, Star’s forced to admit she’s fallen in love with a hometown guy and his kids. Even so, she clings to her career and her life in the city, afraid to trust Cade and all he makes her feel.
And Cade must decide if he’s willing to give his heart to a woman whose goals and dreams are so different from his own, a woman who’s afraid to trust in the love they have, a woman who has the potential to hurt both him and his children.
In the end, both Cade and Star will have to gamble on everything, taking a chance on love; a love they hope is strong enough to heal old wounds and make them a forever family.
