A Black Swan Historical Romance

Series · 3 books · 2009-2010

By Carolyn Brown

Books in series

Pushin' Up Daisies

2009

Catherine O'Shea is the oldest and most responsible of the three O'Shea sisters. She has just buried her mother, one of the last victims of the flu epidemic of 1918. Her father had been one of the first to succumb to the flu and her fiancé was killed in the war. And now there is a detective living at her hotel, the Black Swan, looking into the disappearance of her abusive brother-in-law. He is entirely the wrong person and it is absolutely the wrong time for her to be giving Detective Massey a second look, much less a third and fourth. She'll simply have to control the sparks that fly every time they are together. Quincy Massey just wants to get the little job of finding Ralph Contiello done and go back home to Little Rock, Arkansas. The small town of Huttig is friendly enough but it sure isn't his type of town. And Catherine O'Shea with her smart remarks and red hair is getting under his skin entirely too much. Quincy's unstoppable quest for the truth and Catherine's unflappable determination to keep it hidden immediately sets the two of them at odds. In order to look towards a future with its offer of unconditional love they'll first have to bury the past.

From Thin Air

2009

Ira McNewell was supposed to be dead. The government had sent a telegram saying he had been killed in action, yet there he was, sprawled out beneath Alice on the floor of the Black Swan Hotel. Ira had been engaged to her sister Catherine when he’d gone off to the war, not Alice. Not it was up to her to give him the terrible news that the flu had wiped out his whole family, and his fiancée had married another man. To soften the blow, she hired him to work for her at the hotel. Poor Ira didn’t know if he was doing the right thing or not. Alice had been tagged the village idiot when she was just a child. Having her for a boss wasn’t the best-case scenario, but like thousands of other soldiers coming home from the war, he was broke and hungry. Working at the Black Swan was at least a job, and jobs were hard to come by. Alice had never minded that the folks in Huttig, Arkansas thought she was dim-witted. At least not until Ira came home. She’d been in love with him since she was a girl, but she wasn’t stupid enough to think he could ever love her back…or could he?

Come High Water

2010

Bridget O’Shea had sworn she’d never fall in love again. She had a hotel, The Black Swan, to operate alone, since her sisters—Catherine and Alice—had both married the previous year. And then there was Ella, her lovely baby daughter. The hotel and Ella took up all her time and energy. Wyatt Ferguson had planned on staying in Huttig, Arkansas just long enough to wait for the next train going south. But a red-haired lady who thought he was another out-of-work soldier just home from the war insisted on hiring him to kill a rat for her. The Black Swan seemed a good place to stay for a while. After all it was only for six weeks and what could happen in that time?

Author

Carolyn Brown

Author · 135 books

Hi! I'm twenty five years old and movie star gorgeous. The camera added thirty plus years and a few wrinkles. Can't trust those cameras or mirrors either. Along with bathroom scales they are notorious liars! Honestly, I am the mother of three fantastic grown children who've made me laugh and given me more story ideas than I could ever write. My husband, Charles, is my strongest supporter and my best friend. He's even willing to eat fast food and help with the laundry while I finish one more chapter! Life is good and I am blessed! Reading has been a passion since I was five years old and figured out those were words on book pages. As soon as my chubby little fingers found they could put words on a Big Chief tablet with a fat pencil, I was on my way. Writing joined reading in my list of passions. I will read anything from the back of the Cheerio's box to Faulkner and love every bit of it. In addition to reading I enjoy cooking, my family and the ocean. I love the Florida beaches. Listening to the ocean waves puts my writing brain into high gear. I love writing romance because it's about emotions and relationships. Human nature hasn't changed a bit since Eve coveted the fruit in the Garden of Eden. Settings change. Plots change. Names change. Times change. But love is love and men and women have been falling in and out of it forever. Romance is about emotions: love, hate, anger, laughter... all of it. If I can make you laugh until your sides ache or grab a tissue then I've touched your emotions and accomplished what every writer sets out to do. I got serious about writing when my third child was born and had her days and nights mixed up. I had to stay up all night anyway and it was very quiet so I invested in a spiral back notebook and sharpened a few pencils. The story that emerged has never sold but it's brought in enough rejection slips to put the Redwood Forest on the endangered list. In 1997 Kensington bought two books for their Precious Gems line. Two years and six books later the line died with only four of those books seeing publication. But by then Avalon had bought a book and another, and another. Ten years later the list has grown to thirty nine. Last year Sourcebooks bought the Lucky Series which is in the bookstores now. They've also bought The Honky Tonk Series which will debut with I LOVE THIS BAR in June and will be followed by HELL, YEAH, MY GIVE A DAMN'S BUSTED, and HONKY TONK CHRISTMAS. Folks ask me where I get my ideas. Three kids, fifteen grandchildren, two great grandchildren. Note: I was a very young grandmother! Life is a zoo around here when they all come home. In one Sunday afternoon there's enough ideas to keep me writing for years and years. Seriously, ideas pop up at the craziest times. When one sinks its roots into my mind, I have no choice but to write the story. And while I'm writing the characters peek over my shoulder and make sure I'm telling it right and not exaggerating too much. Pesky little devils, they are! I have a wonderful agent, Erin Niumata, who continues to work magic and sell my work. I'm very lucky to have her and my editors who continue to believe in me. Happy reading!