Title: Forgiven Never Forgotten
Author: Susan Leigh Furlong
Genre: Historical romance/adventure
Book Blurb:
Rory Campbell, falsely accused of participating in the Clan MacDonald of Glencoe killings, is sentenced to hang as a sacrificial lamb while the real agents of the slaughter escape blame. He risks everything to convince the love of his life, Joneta MacDonald, of the truth. He can never forget how completely she owns his heart.
Joneta MacDonald watches helplessly as her family is murdered by the king’s men, but forgiving Rory for his seeming participation is harder than she imagined. What must she endure besides the clan’s hatred? With the overwhelming odds against them, she clings to her love for a man labelled a traitor.
Excerpt:
Rory left his letters tucked inside Clyde’s books. A different book every time, and part of the fun for Joneta was searching for it. She found today’s letter in a red bound book about the ancient world. Rory wrote with broad strokes and often smeared the ink because he was left-handed, one more thing his father disapproved of.
Joneta, My chridhe,
Ye come to me every morning as soon as I open my eyes. Ye fill my thoughts all day until I close my eyes, and then my dreams are of ye. Even when ye are not with me, I ken we are working together toward a better life. Not a minute goes by that I dinna miss ye, kenning that when we are together again, it will be all the sweeter.
Rory
Joneta slipped her letters to Rory in and among Lorna’s pans, jars, and bowls on the shelves. Her handwriting was small and the words tightly packed together, often two letters on one page.
Rory, My Love,
I never kenned what love meant until I met ye. But its power is greater than anything I could ever imagine. I am waiting for the day when we can walk hand-in-hand, with naught to keep us apart, and build our lives as one. I love you in ways words canna say. Only my heart kens the truth.
Yer love, Joneta.
Joneta read Rory’s letters over and over until she memorized them. At home in her bed, she repeated the word softly, and they lulled her to sleep.
Lorna, knowing neither of them could carry the letters with them, saved each one in colorfully painted boxes she kept on the shelf beside her chair. Clyde made the boxes out of scraps of wood and Lorna painted them, Joneta’s with yellow flowers and birds, and Rory’s in blue stripes.
On days they were together, they read the letters aloud to each other. “I want to hear yer voice say the words, and I ne’er want to forget even one of them.” He often read them in funny voices, sometimes high and squeaky and other times, deep and scary. Her laughter only encouraged him to come up with new accents….
Joneta dropped Rory’s latest letter into her lap. “The Lairds of the Highlands were called to Achallander Castle to talk about signing a loyalty oath to King William,” she told Lorna. “Da is no’ in favor but says he will wait until our deposed King James in France releases us from our allegiance to him. He doesna want his loyalties divided.”
“When must he sign this oath to King William?” asked Clyde.
“All clans have until December 31 this year.”
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Books are available on my website - https://SusanLFurlong.com
UNIVERSAL LINKS
Booklinker - https://mybook.to/pCg1
Books2Read - https://books2read.com/u/mYDKDp
It’s a brand-new year, full of possibilities. Did you make any resolutions/goals for 2024? If so, please share one.
I resolve to read more first books by new authors. I want to get a taste of what other people are writing, and their first book will let me know if I want more. I hope I do!
Why is your featured book a must-read in 2024?
Forgiven Never Forgotten is a story of survival and hope, and the struggle to preserve a seemingly doomed love is not an easy one. Full of twists and surprises, this story will grip the reader until they read the last page with a sigh of relief.
Giveaway –
One lucky reader will win a $75 Amazon gift card
Open internationally.
Runs January 1 – 31, 2024
Drawing will be held on February 1, 2024.
Author Biography:
Susan Leigh Furlong knew she had a special connection with words since she was a child. When she was 9 years old, she wrote and directed her first play for the neighborhood children.
Her love for history fuels her resilience against the sneezes and coughs that old books give her as she delves into research for unique historical events to inspire her historical fiction romance novels. Susan captures her readers’ imagination with a highly enthralling style, chronological events, and smoothly flowing narratives that keep one’s eyes glued on her novels from the first page to the last.
Her first three books published by The Wild Rose Press center on a family living in the Scottish Highlands in the sixteenth century. Her most recent novel takes place during the American Revolution, the same family but across the pond. A fifth book takes the reader back to Scotland. She also has two non-fiction books filled with over 200 photographs and tales about her home town.
When she is not researching and creating her stories, she writes, directs, and performs with a music and drama group.
She married a small-town boy, and despite being born a “big city” girl, you now couldn’t get her out of there with a crowbar.
Social Media Links:
Facebook@SusanLFurlong
Twitter@furlongleigh
Instagram@susanleighfurlong
Tiktok@susanleighfurlong
Website – https://www.SusanLFurlong.com