First Look at FOREVER AMORE!

At last! Cover, blurb, and first excerpt for Forever Amore, launching Tuesday, September 1! Squeeee!

Title: Forever Amore
Author: Amber Leigh Williams

ISBN: 978-1-934912-19-5

Price: $16.95 paperback

Price: $8.00 Ebook (PDF format)

Pages: 250 paperback

Was their love destined to last forever …

Engaged in a brutal dogfight, dashing American Lieutenant Charles Tyler crashes his broken plane into the Italian countryside. He prays for divine intervention—and is certain he’s found an angel from the very moment he looks up at Lucille Renaldi’s lovely face. Yet how can he be with her when his sense of duty tells him to stay away?

… or become another casualty of war?

Lucille’s attraction to the American is forbidden, her obligation to her family’s safety overwhelming. At great peril the Renaldis carry Charles from the crash site and disguise him as just another worker in their vineyard. Hidden there inside the ugliness of World War II is the beauty of a growing love, and a danger that could end their lives any day—when all they want is … forever.

Excerpt:

His lips brushed her cheek, tender. “Listen.” His voice carried a sensual, guttural rust that caused a stir within despite herself. “I want to help. If this is what it takes …”

As he trailed off, her lips parted as she finished his thought. “You would do that?”

“If it was what you really wanted,” he assured her. “If it was what you needed to take your mind off whatever it is that’s driven you to tears. As I said, I can’t stand to see you in pain.”

She shook her head. “I can’t use you. I won’t.”

“I’m not anywhere near the man you deserve, but if it’s me you trust, you have me. All you have to do is say so. I’d save you any day, and not just because you saved me.”

The right answer hovered on her tongue—refusal. But something forestalled it. She shouldn’t consider. She shouldn’t want—not this way.

But what other way was there? Especially now that her time was running out and the cage door was so quickly closing on her?

She wanted Charles Tyler. This might be her only chance to experience a woman’s true pleasure. A man’s true loving.

“Dio,” she breathed, unable to meet his gaze. She glanced around the cemetery once, afraid of the ghosts listening on the edges.

Purchase here in e-format and preorder your print copy September 1st!

Big Announcement!

I can't wait another second! Yesterday I signed a contract with Black Lyon Publishing for my World War II historical romance, Love Among the Ruins. Not only is this a new publisher for me (and I have heard nothing but wonderful things about BLP), but this is my baby. Love Among the Ruins, which takes place in beautiful Italy, was my first romance manuscript that I started when I was sixteen. I finished the first draft at the tail end of 2004 and I've done countless revisions and edits since.

There's a rumor going around that a writer can never sell that first manuscript. Let this be a lesson to everyone that if you love the story enough, if you're willing to put it through its paces, make the neccessary cuts, and never back down from your baby then it is absolutely possible! For the longest time on my blog, the heading held the image of Edward Burne-Jones' Love Among the Ruins painting (pictured here). Deep down, it represented that first manuscript and I'm so happy a publisher as wonderful as BLP is giving it the launch pad it deserves.

More details will be posted as they come in, but I just had to share the good news and thank Black Lyon Publishing for making me so happy :)

Love Among the Ruins

I stumbled across the painting above in my 12th grade literature textbook. I was immediately captivated by it. Under it, the caption read Love Among the Ruins by Edward Burne-Jones. I'd already begun writing my first novel, a historical set in Italy during World War II, but I'd struggled to find a fitting title. This painting gave me the inspiration I needed. Love Among the Ruins became my first completed romance novel. Since I have studied Burne-Jones's work. He is one of my favorite painters, and Love Among the Ruins is my favorite painting. Every time I look at it I see my first characters, Charles and Lucille, and I smile because this image brings them to life for me!

"I mean by a picture a beautiful romantic dream of something that never was, never will be—in a light better than ever shone—in a
land that no one can define or remember, only desire—and the forms divinely beautiful…"

~ Sir Edward Burne-Jones ~

What's in a Man?

 As romance writers, we have the undeniable pleasure of bringing the men of our dreams to life. This is what drew me to writing love stories to begin with. I wanted to bring my daydreams as close to live and living color as possible. Wouldn’t it be fun? How hard could it be?
I knew from the start my heroes would have to be as irresistible as fiction’s favorites. Historically, my heroes would be competing with the likes of Jane Austen’s deliciously broody Mr. Darcy and Margaret Mitchell’s simply irresistible Rhett Butler. In the contemporary world of romance, my boys would have to go up against the unswerving devotion of Nicholas Sparks’ Noah Calhoun and Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb’s most insurmountable and fascinating leading man, Roarke—for me, this name is synonymous to perfection.
My first hero, a young, World War II Air Force lieutenant named Charles Tyler was too much of a boy. He was almost too wimpy, and I quickly grew tired of him. I had to revise the entire book just to give him some “meat”—a tasty term for muscle as well as grit and fortitude. My second attempt, an Italian man named Alex Cappollo, was far too moody and complicated. As the heroine became increasingly exasperated with him, my own consternation began to churn.
Third time’s the charm, they say. For me, this was fortunately right on the mark. I was writing a contemporary romance about two wronged jewel thieves who form an unlikely partnership and eventually end up falling hopelessly for each other. This brought me face-to-face with Todd Orso.
Todd has all the ingredients for “dreamy.” He’s from Texas, and his yummy accent just can’t be beat. I’m not referring to George W. Bush twang here. It’s more rugged and sophisticated than that. Not only is my heroine, Celestia, melting on the spot; I’m getting pretty hyped up just writing the dialogue! The voice is just one of the delectable things about Todd. He has a penchant for worn jeans and whiskey and has a striking resemblance to Brad Pitt. (“Coincidence? I think not!”)
It’s pretty much love at first sight for Celestia…and me. I know she’s a goner because I am. It’s a good thing this man is fiction because he might give my husband a good run for his money if he showed up on my real welcome mat.
Since I finished my third novel, I’ve found it easier to create several different intriguing heroes. Cole Savitt, a haunted cop in search of solace. Gerald Leighton, a British writer on a quest for the perfect muse. Mark Welles, a burned-out bodyguard determined to protect a hunted woman. Brock Sullivan, an Alabama boy who does everything he can to wrangle the heart of a stubborn, childhood sweetheart. They get better and better every time. They are a joy to write. They are one of the main reasons I eagerly sit down at my desk every morning and stay there as long as I possibly can—on lucky days, that’s until after midnight!
I believe that a writer can only make readers love his/her characters if he/she truly does. A writer’s affection for his/her protagonists shows. When I entered Lt. Charles Tyler’s revised story into a summer contest, a judge commented on my score sheet, “I see your heart in it, so please keep at it!”
Love your characters. Have fun writing them. I can guarantee, when they finally do get the recognition they deserve, the reward will be all the sweeter because of it.