Featured July Release - By Heart and Compass by Danielle Thorne

ABOUT THE BOOK:
When Lacey Whitman buys a restored Victorian home, she never dreams discovering an antique diary will lead her back to sea and into the arms of the dive bum she’d rather forget. Her habit of living in the past comes to a screeching halt as diver Max Bertrand and the diary of his ancestor take Lacey on the quest of a lifetime: To discover and raise the privateer ship, Specter, and bring the treasure and legacy of a true hero home again. But will finding it cost her heart?

EXCERPT:
Sitting outside, one of the divers looked busy replacing the o-ring on a scuba tank.

"I'm looking for Max?"

The long haired employee didn't bother to stand, much less look up.

"So?"

"I'm Lacey Whitman, and I'm looking for the Max that owns the museum."

"You call that worthless shack a museum?"

Dumbfounded, Lacey couldn't think of any reply.

"What do you want?"

"I'm looking for Max," she repeated, feeling a flash of impatience. "I have some papers for him."

"Warrant, restraining order, or paternity test?"

After a pause in which she realized he was serious, she replied in frustration, "I have some research for the Bertrand family and someone at the museum told me to come down here."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Danielle Thorne freelanced for online and print magazines from 1998 through 2001, adding reviewing and editing to her resume. She is the author of two 2009 novels: THE PRIVATEER, a 1729 historical about British privateering in the Caribbean, and TURTLE SOUP, a contemporary romance set between Atlanta and St. Thomas.

Other works have appeared with Espresso Fiction, Every Day Fiction, Arts and Prose Magazine, Mississippi Crow, The Nantahala Review, StorySouth, Bookideas, the Mid-West Review, and more. She won an Honorable Mention in Writer's Digest's 2006 annual writing competition, and won the 2008 Awe-Struck Short Novel Contest.

Danielle currently writes from south of Atlanta, Georgia. She is the 2009-2010 Co-Chair for the New Voices Competition for young writers, active with online author groups such as Classic Romance Revival, and moderates for The Sweetest Romance Authors at the CoffeeTime Romance boards. She lives with four sons and her husband, who is an air traffic controller. Together they enjoy travel and the outdoors, Marching Band competitions, and BSA Scouting.

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Desert Breeze Congratulates Danielle on her July Release!