Please welcome back Lisa Belcastro!

For two years, Tess Roberts has longed for Hawk, her father’s first mate, to glance her way. With vivid clarity, she can recall the exact moment she placed her hand in his eight hundred and thirty-seven days ago. She was climbing up the gangway to board the Shenandoah, and there he was and he’d offered her a hand. Tess was a goner. Her heart had hammered in her chest, her eyes stared into the deep pools of blue looking down at her, and she knew she never wanted to let go of the hand holding hers. But she had, because she was carrying her father’s lunch and couldn’t very well stand there holding a stranger’s hand.

Minutes later, she discovered the man in question was her father’s recently hired first mate. Two seconds after that revelation, Hawk found out she was the captain’s daughter. And that was the last time he’d held her hand. Pretty much the last time Hawk had spoken to her, except for those rare occasions when he had to.

At twenty-five, Tess is convinced God’s on vacation and He sure isn’t visiting Martha’s Vineyard. Hawk ignores her, she can’t captain one of her father’s ships because she’s a woman, and her heart feels as though there is a gaping hole growing larger every day. She’s too old to run away from home, but Tess can do something better. She knows a secret. She knows that Cabin 8 on the Shenandoah is a time portal and that she only has one night to go on the adventure of a lifetime. She throws caution to the wind, and disappears to 1776.

She never expected Hawk would come after her. He can’t stand to be in the same room with her, so why would he care that she’s gone? But he does show up and demands that she return home with him. She refuses, and begs the men aboard the colonial ship to allow her to stay.

Troubles arise when a British warship appears. During an attack, Hawk reveals his deep faith, an unwelcome surprise to the prodigal Tess. More surprising, is Hawk’s declaration of love as he is taken prisoner. Tess isn’t sure what to fret about more, that Hawk might truly love her and die on an enemy ship, or that he might return and find out she’s not too keen on God.

The situation appears hopeless to Tess. If he dies, she can’t be with him. If he returns, he won’t want her because he’s a believer and she’s not sure God exists. She realizes that she can never be a wife to Hawk if she doesn’t share his faith. She’s seen what her parents have. She’s heard them talk about the three-part cord between themselves and God. She can’t give Hawk what she doesn’t have.

Minutes become hours, and Tess wears a hole in the floor she is pacing. She begins to question everything – and in turn learns that she has choices to make. Choices of faith, choices of trust, choices that will affect every day of her future.

Like so many people with broken dreams, broken hearts and broken lives, Tess is afraid to surrender all to God and trust his path for her life. I won’t ruin the story for you by revealing Tess’s stubbornness and a few foolish conclusions she will reach. Have you ever been a slow learner in life’s lessons? I know I have – too many times to count!

Blurb:

Tess Roberts may live on Martha’s Vineyard, vacation spot for movie stars and presidents, but the Island feels anything but idyllic. Tess has had it with lousy dates, lying, cheating men, and the rules that forbid her from working on her family’s centuries-old schooner, Shenandoah.

Lucky for Tess, she knows a secret–the Shenandoah has magical powers. Her best friend, Rebecca O’Neill, once stayed in Cabin 8 and discovered a time portal that transported her to 1775. A month after Rebecca’s “disappearance,” Tess’s father, brother, and Shenandoah’s annoying first mate, Hawk, plan to shut down the time travel for good by dismantling the cabin. But what if Rebecca might someday need to come home? What if Tess isn’t ready to say good-bye forever?

Sneaking onto the ship late at night, Tess slips into Cabin 8 and drifts off to sleep. She wakes anchored off the New England coast amidst the American Revolution in 1776. The British frigate HMS Greyhound has seized Shenandoah and taken the crew, cargo, and all onboard hostage. To make matters worse, Hawk is relentlessly tracking her, determined to bring her back to the twenty-first century against her will. Sparks begin to fly, from more than cannonballs and gunpowder….

Lisa Belcastro lives with her family on Martha’s Vineyard. She loves chocolate, reading, writing, running, working in her gardens, including weeding, and almost all outdoor activities — as long as the temperature is above sixty degrees! Being on or near the water is pure joy for her, and she can’t wait for the warmer weather to arrive.

When she’s not at her desk working on her next novel or writing the cuisine column for Vineyard Style Magazine, Lisa is volunteering at her daughter’s school, serving in her church community, gardening, training for her first 50-mile road race, or walking the beach looking for sea glass.

http://www.amazon.com/Shenandoah-Crossings-Winds-Change-Belcastro-ebook/dp/B00IVXR088

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Lisa is giving away one e-book copy to one commenter!

Ohhhhhh!!!! And I’ll throw in a paperback copy of The Guardian’s Promise (must live in the United States) to one commenter too.

So, show us some love and leave comments. 😉