Isabella: Bride of Ohio, by Debra Parmley and Robert Arrow, is book 17 in the unique 50-book American Mail-Order Brides series. Isabella, newly arrived in America from Sweden, first loses her parents and then her job at the factory after it burns down. Nothing in America seems to last but she hopes her mail order bride marriage to the handsome and wealthy Donald Jenks will. Donald’s letters from Ohio describe Isabella’s dream home, away from the city and he sounds as if he would be the perfect husband. But as her grandmother always said, trouble comes in threes and there is danger standing between her and her happy ever after with her true love. Tom, a Pinkerton agent, who is on the case of disappearing women, is traveling on the same train as Isabella when she is selected by white slavers to be the next female victim to be abducted. Will he save her in time? Will Isabella reach Ohio safely, marry Donald and have the happy ever after she has always dreamed of? And is Donald the man Isabella is meant to marry? Why would such a handsome and successful businessman have to send away for a mail order bride when he could have his pick of the young ladies near Yellow Springs, Ohio?
Isabella, a Swedish immigrant, loses her parents and her factory job. She agrees to a mail-order bride marriage to Donald Jenks. She is targeted by white slavers on the train and meets Tom, a Pinkerton agent. Will she marry Donald Jenks?
Book two in the Butterflies Fly Free 1920's Flappers Series is Suki's story. "Shimmy hard enough and nothing can hurt you." - Suki Suki aka Susan Chesterfield, is finally being asked to dinner by Frank Omato, one of Al Capone's enforcers, after finishing her dance number at the Green Mill in Chicago, when gunmen enter the club with their Thompson submachine guns, ready to take out Al and anyone else in his gang or in their way. Frank saves Suki's life, pushing her out of the way and she escapes down the secret stairs behind the bar only to fall and break her foot. Everyone who knows how is escaping down the tunnels underneath Chicago's streets which were used to deliver hootch to all the speakeasies on the route. But Suki can't make her way out alone. She needs someone to help her and to get her to a doctor who can look at her foot. Frank comes to the rescue once again, making sure a doctor looks at her foot. She's broken her talus bone in half and it will be weeks until the cast can come off and she's able to dance again. How is she going to pay the rent? Frank comes to the rescue more than once, but there's a catch. There always is, when a gangster is involved and wants you to be his moll. There is safety in being a gangsters moll. No one messes with Frank's woman. But will she still be free and independent now that she's Frank's girl? Falling for Frank, it is oh so easy to say yes. But the life of a moll isn't an easy one. How will independent Suki handle being Frank's moll? She's itching to dance again and to break out of that cast and be free. But she knows she has to wait and to "live in the now." "The right now." A rival gang paid for a hit on Al and the shooting at The Green Mill is one of several attempts against Al and his men. After four weeks of being cooped up in her apartment leaves Suki feeling restless, Frank surprises her by telling her he's sending her to Miami, Florida on the train. Al and his men are going to Miami so Al can see the horse races at the new Miami Jockey Club in Hialeah. Knowing she is restless, Frank sends Suki down early on the train so she can recouperate at The Flamingo Hotel, the first grand hotel in Miami. She travels by train to Miami, first class all the way, courtesy of Frank, who will join her when he comes down with Al and his men. But train travel isn't without dangers. Something happens she can't tell Frank about. How can she when she had three rules to follow and broke the first two even before she'd been gone twenty four hours? The rules are harder for a flapper to keep than she'd thought they'd be. She wasn't supposed to leave her compartment until she reached her final destination. That was the first rule she broke and kept on breaking. He'd be angry if he knew she'd been exploring the Jacksonville Florida train station instead of heeding his words She doesn't dare tell him what happened to her, or about meeting Phillip in the dining car. Phillip, is traveling on the same train as Suki and is seated at her table in the dining car when there are no other open seats. He recently moved to Miami from Barcelona, Spain and enjoys telling Suki all about his new home. Suki, who has never traveled anywhere until now, is fascinated by the well traveled and educated gentleman who seems to see right into her, noticing things few do. He promises to introduce her to his twin sister, Phyllis, who he believes will be a good friend to Suki. Once she reaches Miami, her restlessness is even worse. She can't wait to get the cast off and to be free of Enzo, Franks man, who Frank assigned to meet her at the train station and to help her with whatever needs. But is he there to help or to watch her and report back to Frank? Phillip keeps his promise, introduces her to Phyllis and they become fast friends. By the time Frank arrives, Suki is ready to dance up a storm with Phyllis. Will Suki break out of her cast to be free and independent again? Or has she been caged?
Trapping the Butterfly is book one in Debra Parmley's Butterflies Fly Free Series about flappers and gangsters in the 1920’s. Each book focuses on a different flapper. Hot Springs Arkansas in the 1920’s is where the wealthy go to “take the baths” for medicinal purposes and where gangsters lay down their Tommy guns while on vacation. Bethany and her aunt and uncle have gone to take the baths hoping to cure her aunt of her illness. Bethany, excited to be celebrating her eighteenth birthday at the Arlington Hotel, can’t wait to cut her long hair into a bob and to raise her hemline and learn to do the Charleston. Her life has been controlled, from the clothes she wears to the food she eats as her aunt and uncle have kept her--and her inheritance--very close. If her aunt and uncle have their way she will return engaged to his new business partner. Little does she know Al Capone has rented the entire fourth floor of the Arlington where she is staying with her family, and Suki, the flapper who befriends her, is one of the gang’s molls. One of Al’s men is quite taken with Bethany and wants to make her his girl. Detective Paul Tollick chased butterflies when he was young. Now he chases gangsters. His job plunges him into the harsh underworld of gangsters, bootleggers, and fast women. He’s captivated by the sight of innocent Bethany, sitting in the park surrounded by butterflies. He hopes she will be his girl. But two other men have determined to catch her and one is a dangerous gangster who is part of Al Capone's gang. Will Bethany exit her cocoon; and then find the strength to fly free or will she be trapped by one of these men? Coming of age in the 1920’s is not so easy at it might appear, especially for a young naïve girl who has been sheltered.
When Kara's, husband is shot and killed in front of her in what she's told is a random act of violence, she becomes convinced the world is unsafe. Her life is quiet and predictable, until she wins a Caribbean cruise for two and takes along her best friend. On her trip she meets Nate, a scuba dive instructor and marine. He'll teach her to face her fear of deep water and teach her to snorkel. Will Kara learn to trust him with her heart, when she fears this shipboard romance will reach an end and she'll never see him again, leaving her broken hearted? When Kara's boss shows up at their first port of call unexpectedly, Nate's protective nature comes out. Her creepy boss becomes more aggressive after she returns to Ohio and when she calls Nate he gets on the first plane. Can Nate rescue her?
When Nash, a Marine returning home with an injury, who is rebuilding his life, walks into the library where shy librarian Betsy Bobbin works, she’s intimidated by the handsome man who wears an eye patch and an attitude. But when her car has a flat in the library parking lot as she’s leaving work during a winter storm, the mysterious Marine comes to her rescue. He comes to her rescue again when Betsy and her less mature younger sister Leann have trouble at a local country western bar with a drunk who won’t leave Leann alone. But the fight outside the bar between an angry Nash and the drunk frightens Betsy. She’s fallen for the recovering war veteran, but is it safe to fall for a man with PTSD? Betsy is torn. Will love and trust win out over her fear before it is too late? Nash has found the girl of his dreams, but his wounds run deep. His ex-fiancé was repulsed by his eye patch and his scars, and manufactured drama like bees do honey. He’s sworn off of women and their drama and is keeping his focus on restoring a one hundredth anniversary 2003 Harley Davidson Road King and on the college classes he is taking. Meeting Betsy at the library, he’s drawn to the sweet, shy librarian and she brings out his protective instincts. If only her sister would stop getting in the way. Real drama surrounds Betsy, when a stalker comes after her sister Leann. The girls learn that stalking is a real problem on college campuses when Leann’s tutor stalks her. When Leann's college stalker shows up in town Betsy again turns to Nash. This military romance with a touch of suspense features a Marine veteran hero with PTSD, a shy college librarian heroine, her younger less mature sister and a college campus stalker.
Santa, if there’s one thing I want for Christmas more than anything, it’s someone to spend Christmas with, not as an afterthought invitation because they feel sorry for me, but someone who really wants me to be there. Romance author Jenna Heart is headed to the mountains of East Tennessee for a December writer’s workshop. Since her mother passed after a long illness, Jenna has had one wish: she doesn’t want to spend Christmas alone. Meeting Nicolo Maldini, cover model and actor, could make more than Jenna’s Christmas wish come true. If Ember Morten, Nicolo’s ex girlfriend doesn’t do something crazy to stop Jenna and Nicolo from being together.
When Phoebe Durbin answers a mail-order bride ad, she doesn't realize the groom-to-be didn't post it. Worse, the day she arrives at her destination, she learns he doesn't even want to get married. Having nowhere else to go, she convinces him to give her a chance to prove having a woman cook and clean for him will be the best thing that ever happened to him. Abe Thomas reluctantly agrees to take Phoebe in, though he doubts they will make a good match. They're much too different. While she sees the best in things, he knows the world is much darker than she can ever imagine. No woman in her right mind would be his convenient wife. He's sure when the stagecoach comes back to town, she'll be the first one on it. After all, two people so completely different can't make a good match, can they?
