Love of My Heart by Bess McBride

Every now and then, something thrilling happens in the writing world. No, I didn't get THE CALL from one of the big NY houses. But I did get an impromptu, totally unsolicited, lovely, heartfelt comment from a fellow author about my first book, LOVE OF MY HEART, and I'd like to share it with you. Apparently, it was in answer to a loop question like "What was the last The Wild Rose Press book you read?"

And I quote:

"My last TWRP read was Love of My Heart by Bess McBride.

This is a wonderful Faery Rose blending old and new. Bess weaves a tale of a therapist who falls for a client and they soon find out they have a tangled past - not their past but someone else's.

This book haunts me and I find I'm thinking of it at the oddest times. When I finished reading it, sighed heavily not only that it was over but it that turned out so well.

Victoria Pitts-Caine
Alvarado Gold (White Rose)
In The Shadow of My Heart (American Rose)
http://vcaine.homestead.com"

How wonderful is that? "Haunts me." "Thinking of it at the oddest times." And I didn't have to pay her either! It helps that as a writer, she is wonderfully articulate in her comments. And what it told me was that someone really does like my writing...and if that someone does, others will as well. :-)

Thanks for letting me boast all! Ya just gotta have someone to share wonderful stories like these with. Here's a quick blurb and excerpt from LOVE OF MY HEART!

What happens when a mental health therapist falls in love with her client and dreams of a man in Victorian clothing?

Blurb: Aggie has done what no mental health therapist should do. She’s fallen in love with her mysterious client, Bill.

Aggie has recently purchased an old Victorian house on a hillside overlooking Commencement Bay in Tacoma, Washington; where she finds an old photograph of a Victorian era couple and a love letter written in 1885. The letter speaks of another love that can never be—that of Louise, the daughter of a wealthy English family, and her Irish lover, William. Heartbroken, Aggie soon begins to dream of the forbidden love between Louise and William, but in her dreams, William’s face mirrors that of her beloved, Bill.

Bill is in love with Aggie, and he can’t figure out how to get close to her. If only he hadn’t entered her professional doors as a client. How is he going to fix this?

Excerpt:
This was silly! It was just her foolish imagination running away with her common sense. The chances that she found a photograph and letter from an ancestor of her client, Bill, in her home were astronomical...remote...ridiculous.
She peered at the photograph again. Certainly, the warm broad smile was the same. They appeared to be of the same height and build—tall and slim. What hair was visible beneath the cap looked as dark as Bill’s. But she was sure the resemblance ended there.
She just had Bill on her mind, that’s all. She’d been thinking about him ever since their session today, and this was a perfect example of why she needed to end their counseling relationship. She was obviously obsessed and could think of nothing else besides him—even to the point of seeing his face in a photograph that looked like it might have been taken in the 1800s.
She turned the photograph over. The year 1885 was written on the back in pencil. She was disappointed to find no names. Were they William and Louise?
She began to read the letter. It was dated 20 November 1885. The handwriting was neat and clear, but some of the characters were difficult to decipher.

Dear Louise,
I am writing to you once again to beg you to reconsider. If you would but consent to see me, I know that I could convince you to shine your loving light on me once again. If I could hold your soft hands in mine, I could make you believe how much I love you and how much I miss you.
I have come daily to your home, but your mother and father have turned me away. They say that you do not want to see me. Is this true, my darling? I had hoped that it was your parents who prevented me from seeing you, because I knew that you and I would find a way to be together despite their objections. We have successfully done so in the past.
But, my dearest, if it is your choice not to see me, what can I say to change your mind? What can a man do when the love of his life turns from him and locks herself away in an inaccessible and forbidding tower? I do not know.
I have loved you for so long that I do not know how I shall continue. I cannot imagine a world without you by my side. My life stretches endlessly before me now—devoid of the warmth and joy of your love.
My beloved Louise, if this letter reaches you, please consent to see me. Give me a chance to prove my love. Put a single candle in your bedroom window at 7 o’clock in the evening for the next three nights, and I will come to you on the third night. I will know that you still love me, and I will knock on the door and demand to be allowed to see you.
I miss you terribly, darling, and I long to be with you once again.
With all my love, William”
As Aggie looked at the letter with a tear rolling down her face, she felt inexplicably exhausted. Her arms and legs were heavy, and it seemed too much effort even to sit up. She crawled up to her bed, dragging the cigar box, letter and photograph with her.
She lay down, feeling drained, and she studied the letter and photograph once again. What had gone wrong between the couple? Had Louise lived in this house? Was this her bedroom? Had she ever gotten the letter? Did her parents intercept it? How had it come to be hidden in the cupboard?
Aggie’s heart ached for the heartbroken man who wrote the letter. She knew it was probably because he shared the same name as her own dear Bill, but logic was playing very little part in her emotions tonight. Bill. She murmured the name again and again as her eyelids grew heavy and the brief moment between wakefulness and sleep passed quietly.

Buy Links:
Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Love-My-Heart-Bess-McBride/dp/1601540914/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196527839&sr=1-1

The Wild Rose Press http://www.thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=139&products_id=470


Bess McBride
www.bessmcbride.com
www.rvromance.com