historical

Volume 1 of 6 begins in 1689 Port Royal, Jamaica with Atia Crisp and her sister Livia shipwrecked and sold into slavery. They are separated and Atia is used as a pawn in a deadly card game at the Swiftsure Tavern until she is liberated by sugar merchant Capitaine la Roche. Hunted at every turn, they take refuge at Cherry Red’s Boutique and meet up with allies including the medication loving Dr. Strangewayes.

Series Description:
Against the political stage of 1689 Port Royal, Jamaica, the unswerving Atia Crisp is thrust into the world of bondage, violence, beauty and love. Shipwrecked and sold into slavery with her sister Livia, the pair are soon separated and Atia is used as a pawn in a card game. Captivated by her beauty, Atia is swiftly liberated by sugar merchant, Capitaine la Roche (also known as the pirate, Gator Gar), whose past is stained with blood and grief. La Roche works with a network of friends and allies including local strumpet, Cherry Banks, Theodore Binge the card shark and the kindly, medication loving Dr. Strangewayes. Soon Atia and la Roche are ushered away to safety after a mysterious outbreak of scarlet fever wreaks havoc on the city.

Within the luxuriant tropical confines of Dr. Strangewayes’s plantation at the foothills of the Blue Mountains, bonds of friendship are formed and the fierce love between Atia and Capitaine la Roche becomes absolute. Atia is reunited with her sister, piratical father and unexpected old friends. However, nowhere is safe as spies seek out both Atia and la Roche for the bounties on their heads. Neither of them can escape the shadows of their former lives and must rely on each other’s strengths for survival. Their journey leads them to an inevitable conflict that threatens their world, but inches them closer towards freedom.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now Available:

No Quarter: Dominium – The Complete Series and No Quarter: Wenches – Volume 1

Author Bio

MJL EVANS wanted to be a writer since she was ten years old. Her motto – it’s never too late in life to get your act together and do something you really love. No Quarter: Dominium is her first book series and she currently writing the next, No Quarter: Wenches. Her sense of humor has been shaped by Monty Python, Black Adder and Red Dwarf, while her dramatic side has been influenced by independent/foreign movies.

GM O’CONNOR is a huge movie fan, writer and visual artist.

Historic Fiction

2013 / 2015

Book One (Wealth & Privilege)

Boy meets girl, falls in love at first sight. Oops, she’s already married. Bad planning. She becomes a friend and a muse, helps him find his voice. He knows that no one gets to capture their own muse, but he can dream, can’t he…?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Two (Brains & Beauty)

Girl meets boy, falls in love at first sight. Kind of unfortunate for a married woman. He becomes her best friend, the only man in her life that she can really count on. She wishes there could be more to it. There can’t be, but she can dream, can’t she…?

Excerpt

Was it really less than a year since she had witnessed the conflagration at the railroad yard? Once again, she faced smoking ruins that had once been a thriving industry. This time, it wasn’t human made. Or at least, it wasn’t deliberate.

The Washburn “A” had been a seven-and-a-half story building, and the explosion had been so large it shattered glass windows in the neighboring city of St. Paul. It left a crater in the middle of the mill district. The circle of destruction was ringed with the charred skeletons of mills that existed on the edge of the blast zone.

Regina was far from alone as she picked her way through the piles of rock and an occasional gear. People were already salvaging those things that weren’t still on fire, or too burnt to be of any value. Insurance men were there. She could tell who they were when she overheard two of them muttering together about whether the damage should be considered fire or explosion. Others came merely to gawk at the carnage. Still others, no doubt, were there to mourn.

She was amazed that there were only eighteen other people killed in the explosion. Considering the scope of the wreckage, it seemed to her it could have been so much worse. Regina felt a certain gratitude that there were so few new widows. The bereaved would fit on a single trolley car.

She circumnavigated the debris field, fascinated by the extent of the damage and wondering how to prevent anything like this from happening in Sewickley. If the new Hungarian rollers were going to create more dust, she was going to need to do something to improve ventilation.

Her eyes scanned for places where Henry might have been found. There were fallen walls everywhere – and nothing looked like a place where a man could be pinned down, and survive, even briefly.

When she returned to the hotel, the concierge was able to help her make the arrangements with the train station over the transportation of a coffin.

Finally, Mr. George Christian, Senior, and George Christian, Junior, collected her at the hotel to take her back to the train station.

“I am so sorry for your loss, Mrs. Waring,” the elder Christian said.

“Thank you,” Regina answered, realizing she was going to be hearing that sentence over and over in the next several months.

“I don’t know why God spared me, and not your husband,” Mr. Christian continued. “I almost came with him to the mill that afternoon, but my business detained me longer than I thought.”

“Well,” Regina reasoned, “it’s a good thing that your business did detain you. Otherwise your son would also be suffering a loss in his family today.”

“Still, I feel responsible.” Mr. Christian frowned.

“If there’s anything we can do to help, please, let us know,” the younger Mr. Christian said.

There is nothing so awful in the world as uncertainty. The train ride home alone, with Henry’s coffin somewhere in the back of the train, was sad, but much less difficult than the trip to Minnesota had been.

Now, at least, Regina’s brain had something concrete to work on. There were problems to solve, or, at least, she knew what the problems were going to be.