Dear Friends, April? How can it be April? I was supposed to have finished the proposal for this trilogy last fall, long before it snowed-- Hey, wait. It never snowed! That's my excuse! It's been one of those springs here. This is the second semester of my daughter's senior year of high school, and everything else is falling to the wayside. There's just something about a 17-year-old's needs that plow through life like a Lannister through Starks. Good news. She's decided on a college (Hello, Drexel; good-bye retirement) and a prom dress, all in the last week. I feel like Charlotte, who, having deposited her egg sack into Wilbur's mouth, can now curl up and die, knowing she's done all she was put on this earth to do. In this case, the egg sack is our 401(k) and Wilbur is a faceless clerk at the Drexel Bursar's Office, but, hey, who needs to quit working before they're 80, right? In the new world order, we're supposed to die at our desks, which for me would be over the keyboard as I'm figuring out a way to tie the hero in the second book of this trilogy into the ending of the third book without having to write the entire blessed proposal over.

Here's a picture. Please enjoy the dress. If I can amortize it over enough people, I won't feel so bad about spending as much on it as I did on my wedding in 1983. She does look like an old-time movie star in it. Very glam. And it makes her happy. Does anything else really matter? COVER REVEAL!! Speaking of pictures, I am very pleased to share with you one of the most beautiful covers I've ever had the pleasure to be associated with. Kudos to designer Karl O'Janpa for doing such a great job. Timeless Bride will hit bookstores in June. It's a wildly romantic time travel love story that involves a widowed librarian facing budget cuts in present day Pittsburgh and the dark and handsome eighteenth century English war hero whose statue stands in the middle of her library. Much of the action takes place along the border of Scotland and England, where bloody-minded soldiers and clans have fought for years and no matter where you come from you're considered an outlander somewhere. Best of all, Timeless Bride has a bride and a wedding! My first for both. Of course, not all brides are willing brides… Here's the story: Two years after losing her husband, librarian Panna Kennedy battles budget cuts to distract herself from her grief. When she opens a long-locked door in the library, Panna finds herself transported to the magnificent, book-filled quarters of the handsome eighteenth-century English war hero whose larger-than-life statue looms over her desk. However, Captain Bridgewater is not at all as she imagined. Under house arrest for betraying England, the dashing Bridgewater warms to his beautiful and unexpected visitor despite his belief she's been sent to gather information. He pulls her into his escape, and they share soul-baring secrets as well as a passionate kiss. But when he gives her a message that must be delivered to his allies and she is swept into the shocking intrigue that takes them from Hadrian's Wall to a forbidding castle in Scotland, Panna must decide if her loyalties lie with the memory of her dead husband or with the man whose life—and reputation—depend on her. [Interesting aside for you time travel fans out there. The first time I met Karl I was absolutely floored to discover not only is he as big a Back to the Future fan as me but that his email address involves the word "Jiggowatt." Could I have found a more perfect match?] Back to the trilogy proposal. Best, Gwyn

old.cready.com gwyn@cready.com Gwyn Cready , Romance Novelist on Facebook @GwynCready on Twitter Copyright©2012 Gwyn Cready. All rights reserved. Author photos copyright ©2012 Garen DiBartolomeo. Website design by avoCreative. Illustrations of author courtesy of Design-Her-Gals.