The gracious home designed and built by Founding Father and Renaissance Man Thomas Jefferson is just a hop and a skip over the Blue Ridge Mountains from us.  I always enjoy a visit to this lovely home and its magnificent grounds. Among the many interests of this brilliant man, Jefferson was also impassioned about gardening.

"No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden...But though an old man, I am but a young gardener."~ Thomas Jefferson

The ongoing efforts to preserve his legacy are a rich investment in this vital part of our heritage.  I’ve long been fascinated with colonial America, partly inspired by research into my ancestors.  This far gone time doesn’t seem so distant here in Virginia where much of that history took place and many of these amazingly gifted early Americans made their homes.

“Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all just pursuits.”~ Thomas Jefferson

“Those who labour in the earth are the chosen people of God.” ~ Thomas Jefferson

Monticello is owned and operated by The Thomas Jefferson Foundation.  To quote from their site, “Monticello is the autobiographical masterpiece of Thomas Jefferson—designed and redesigned and built and rebuilt for more than forty years—and its gardens were a botanic showpiece, a source of food, and an experimental laboratory of ornamental and useful plants from around the world.”~

For more on Monticello and the work of the foundation click here.

My love of  Monticello and other beautiful early American homes, and my fascination with the dramatic colonial time period, is much of the inspiration behind my American historical romances--that and ongoing research into my rich ancestry.  For more on my work please visit my website: www.bethtrissel.com

Blurb for ENEMY OF THE KING:

1780, South Carolina: While Loyalist Meriwether Steele recovers from illness in the stately home of her beloved guardian, Jeremiah Jordan, she senses the haunting presence of his late wife. When she learns that Jeremiah is a Patriot spy and shoots Captain Vaughan, the British officer sent to arrest him, she is caught up on a wild ride into Carolina back country, pursued both by the impassioned captain and the vindictive ghost. Will she remain loyal to her king and Tory twin brother or risk a traitor’s death fighting for Jeremiah? If Captain Vaughan snatches her away, he won’t give her a choice.~

That quote by Benjamin Franklin gives a powerful feel for the turbulent atmosphere that swept the country during the American Revolution.  I spent years researching and writing historical romance novel, ENEMY OF THE KING, an exciting journey back to the drama and romance of that time period, with a focus on the Southern face of the war. Think Carolina backcountry and Francis Marion, 'the Swamp Fox.'

Blurb: 1780, South Carolina: While Loyalist Meriwether Steele recovers from illness in the stately home of her beloved guardian, Jeremiah Jordan, she senses the haunting presence of his late wife.  When she learns that Jeremiah is a Patriot spy and shoots Captain Vaughan, the British officer sent to arrest him, she is caught up on a wild ride into Carolina back country, pursued both by the impassioned captain and the vindictive ghost. Will she remain loyal to her king and Tory twin brother or risk a traitor’s death fighting for Jeremiah? If Captain Vaughan snatches her away, he won’t give her a choice."~

ENEMY OF THE KING currently has 13 Five Star reviews at Amazon, and nothing less.  I don't have any control over what readers leave there so this strikes me as significant, but it also means not enough people are reading it.  Every story has its critics.  Come out, come out, wherever you are.  But first, you have to read the book.  If you'd like to take the challenge and see if ENEMY OF THE KING lives up to its reputation, I welcome your thoughts.  Leave it a review.  

ENEMY OF THE KING received a five cup review from Coffee Time Romance, earned Five Books and won book of the week at Long and Short Reviews, received a super review and a You Gotta Read rating from You Gotta Read, came in third at the 2009 Publisher's Weekly BHB Reader's Choice Best Books, and made the Best Romance Novel list at Buzzle.

1780 South Carolina, spies and intrigue, a vindictive ghost, the battle of King’s Mountain, Patriots and Tories, pounding adventure, pulsing romance…ENEMY OF THE KING 

"An amazing and vibrant look into the American Revolutionary War...this sexy historical book is a must read!" ~Danielle Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance & More

 

Years ago as I was researching my early American Scots-Irish forebears I often came across references to a battle fought during the Revolution called the battle of King’s Mountain.  The name alone drew me.  I vowed to go back later and research it more in depth and uncovered fascinating fodder for the imagination.

I learned about the gallant, ill-fated British Major Patrick Ferguson who lost his life and Loyalist army atop that Carolina Mountain called King’s back in the fall of 1780.  Ferguson is buried there beneath a stone cairn, possibly along with his mistress who also fell that day.  He had two, both called Virginia.  But it’s believed one mistress made her escape on a horse by betraying his whereabouts to the advancing Patriots.
Speaking of which, I discovered the hardy, sometimes downright mean Overmountain men of Scots heritage didn’t take kindly to Ferguson’s warning that they desist from rebellion or he’d bring fire and sword upon them and hang all their leaders––all these enemies of the King!
‘Book title,’ I said to self.  And Enemy of the King sounds much cooler than The Patriot. So I began what came to be my version of that famous movie, though I started my novel before it even came out. I’ve invested years of research into the high drama and romance of the Revolution.  I don’t regret a moment and am seeking like-minded persons to share in this passion with me.  That has an unfortunate e-Harmony ring to it.
But I digress, (often).  Needless to say, the Battle of King’s Mountain, a mega conflict that altered the course of a nation, plays a prominent role in this fast-paced Historical Romance.  And, being drawn to mysterious old homes and the notion that those who’ve gone before us are not always gone, I included a paranormal element.

And I suspect my ancestors are speaking to me as I have a colonial forebear named Jeremiah Jordan and discovered an early  Meriwether in the family.  My journey back through time gathers intrigue, and I wondered how the people who lived through anything as all-consuming as the American Revolution ever got their lives back to normal.  The ripples from that enormous upheaval are still flowing  out in concentric circles.   They’ve certainly encompassed  me.

****

So, step into the elegant parlor of Pleasant Grove, an eighteenth century Georgian plantation built high on the bluff above the Santee River. Admire the stately lines of this gracious brick home and its exquisite décor. Stroll out into the expansive garden between fragrant borders of lavender and rosemary. Bask beneath the moss-hung branches of an enormous live oak, then saunter back indoors to dress for a candlelight dinner in the sumptuous dining room.  But don’t plan on a lengthy stay, you’re about to be snatched away for a wild ride into Carolina backcountry.
Jeremiah Jordan is a Patriot and Meriwether Steele a Tory.  She risks a traitor’s death if she fights for the one she loves.

South Carolina, spies and intrigue, a vindictive ghost, the battle of King’s Mountain, Patriots and Tories, pounding adventure, pulsing romance…
ENEMY OF THE KING.

The year is 1780, one of the bloodiest of the American Revolution. The entire Southern garrison has been captured and Lord Cornwallis is marching his forces deep into South Carolina. ‘Bloody Ban’ Lieutenant Major Banestre Tarleton and his infamous Legion are sweeping through the countryside. Revenge is the order of the day on both sides and rugged bands of militia are all that stand between crown forces and utter defeat.
ENEMY OF THE KING is my version of THE PATRIOT.



For more on my work please visit:
www.bethtrissel.com

To Purchase Enemy of the King
At: Amazon
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At: The Wild Rose Press
For your listening pleasure, the opening score from The Patriot. Poignant, perfect for this time period, and a deeply stirring soundtrack.  I love it, but especially the theme song.

The king that Jeremiah Jordan opposed in my American Historical romance, ENEMY OF THE KING, was the long-lived George 111. Great Britain had a king named George from 1714 until 1830. Best known as the tyrant king during the American Revolution, George 111 was not directly responsible for the laws that ultimately drove the colonists to rebellion. However, once the fires of revolution swept through the colonies, his indignant reaction to the challenge of British rule and determination to make an example of his errant subjects caused him to extend the conflict beyond all reason. Loss of the colonies was a blow from which he never fully recovered.

Also known for his ‘madness,’ George 111 was unable to rule during periods of his reign as the result of an illness that caused mental derangement and ranting, likely a rare blood condition called porphyria. By 1811 he was so incapacitated Parliament passed the Regency Bill, appointing his eldest son to rule as Prince Regent. Only one monarch has ruled longer than George 111 and that was his granddaughter Queen Victoria.

On a more positive note, George 111 is also remembered for his virtuous ways and steady leadership through the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Affectionately called Farmer George because of his strong interests in agriculture, he was a keen gardener/gentleman farmer and interested in improving the quality of farm animals. He cultivated crops and let sheep graze on the lands around his home at Kew Gardens.

He met his wife of many years, Queen Charlotte, on their wedding day but remarkably he never took a mistress (in contrast to his grandfather and his sons) and the couple enjoyed a genuinely happy marriage. They had 15 children.

For more on this unusual monarch, I highly recommend the movie, The Madness of King George.
For more on my work please visit: www.bethtrissel.com

American Historicals are on sale at The Wild Rose Press through July. Purchase the digital download of THROUGH THE FIRE or ENEMY OF THE KING and email me proof of purchase at bctrissel@yahoo.com and I will send you the other download for FREE. Limited offer, act now. http://www.thewildrosepress.com/


1780 South Carolina

Stone lions the size of wolfhounds sat on either side of the imposing front door as if to devour unwanted guests. Perhaps Jeremiah enjoyed their significance. He seldom entertained and seemed happier seated astride a horse than in the company of most ladies and gentlemen. He turned the marble knob and led Meriwether out onto the crescent-shaped balcony. He leaned momentarily on the iron railing. “Feel that breeze.”

“Delightful.” The cool wind fanned her hot cheeks. Lifting her skirts, she walked arm in arm with him down the brick steps of the gracious Georgian-style home.

Pleasant Grove had been built by his grandfather on a bluff above the Santee River and fashioned after the manor in Kent that Lord Jordan had been forced to flee in 1647 after fighting with Charles I, who lost his kingdom and his head. Fortunately Jeremiah’s Royalist ancestor had fared better than the ill-fated king and escaped to America with his young wife and her jewels. But his near capture by Cromwell and the loss of everything else had given him a wariness he’d passed to his descendents. Was Jeremiah secretly opposing a different king?

She cocked her head at him a little apprehensively. “Is there anywhere in particular you’re taking me?”

He smiled as if to reassure her. “Just farther in.”

“As you wish.” Being out here alone with him was like being in a glistening Eden. A thrush warbled from high above them in the live oak. Green-gray moss hung from its far-reaching branches and blew in the breeze, reminding her of the McChesney, her father’s largest ship, its sails billowing.

Jeremiah held her back, the warmth of his hand radiating through her sleeve. “You’ll spoil those fine shoes.”

He led her around the sprawling puddle she hadn’t noticed and onto the green mat creeping over the path. The fragrant thyme scented the air as they trod on the tiny leaves and wound deeper into the garden. Newly washed hollyhocks, rosy balsam, and wine-red salvia gleamed. The glowing colors, heady fragrances, her arm tingling at his touch…stirred a pulsing awareness in Meriwether that she’d never felt in the house. There was so much she wanted to say, to ask, but couldn’t, and she darted glances at him.

He caught her eye. “What are you thinking?”

“Nothing of consequence,” she almost stuttered.

He quirked his left eyebrow at her; the narrow scar gave it a slightly crooked rise. “And earlier in the parlor?”

She glanced away from his searching gaze and focused on the toe of his boot. “Just chatter.”

“Are you truly worried?”

“Only as much as anyone these days.” Still evading his scrutiny, she bent and plucked a sweetly-scented nicotiana blossom.

He took the white flower from her hand as she straightened, setting her skin afire, and tucked it behind her ear. “I sense there’s much left unsaid. Why won’t you speak?”

Still battling the near irresistible draw of those blue eyes, she stared at his open neckline. “I prefer to listen.”

“Yet I would know what fills your fair head.”

“Perhaps you already do,” she said, hastily shifting her inspection from his bronzed chest back to the snowy blossoms.

His voice lowered even further. “No. You are not so easily read.”

Jeremiah grew silent and led her into the avenue, as he called it, strolling with her between rows of English boxwood that reached up over their heads. The clipped shrubs exuded the warm Old World scent Meriwether remembered from childhood.

“Stay a moment,” he said, stopping beside the fish pool. The statue of his father’s favorite spaniel sat on the pebble path beside the water, a whimsical touch. The brown stone was flecked with moss, as was anything that sat out of doors too long, but the cocker seemed as if he really were intent on the water.

She patted his granite ears and sighed. How could she confide her deepest longing and her fears?

“Such a weighty sigh. Has our walk overtaxed you?”

She lifted her gaze to his, bracing herself under the force of his study. “No. I’m much stronger now.”

“Good. You seem so. You were as weak as a newborn kitten when I first found you.”

“I only remember that you brought me here in your boat.”

He scooped up a pebble, tossing it into the pool. Goldfish scattered, and a little green frog plopped in among the lilies. “Charles Town is a graveyard. Thank God yours has not swelled the family plot.”

The intensity in his voice took her by surprise.

“Are you content at Pleasant Grove, Miss Steele?”

“Yes,” she answered in growing confusion.

“Entirely?”

She shied away from his inquiry and watched goldfish rippling through the water like orange silk. “Why doubt me?”

“I must know.”

His earnestness made her stomach churn. “For my part, I am content. I trust you don’t find my presence burdensome?”

“Not yet,” he said gravely.

Her eyes startled back to his. “Do you think I will become so?”

“Quite possibly.”

****

1780 South Carolina, spies and intrigue, a vindictive ghost, the battle of King’s Mountain, Patriots and Tories, pounding adventure, pulsing romance…ENEMY OF THE KING.

*These are royalty free photographs of historic Virginia and the deep South.


For more on my work please visit: http://www.bethtrissel.com/index.html

(Betsy Ross flag)
My research into the Southern face of the American Revolution was partly inspired by my great, great, great grandfather, Sam Houston, uncle of the famous Sam, who kept a journal of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, North Carolina, 1781, used by historians today. ENEMY OF THE KING grew out of my passionate interest in colonial American and the high drama of the Revolution. The Battle of King’s Mountain, a mega conflict that altered the course of the war in favor of the Patriots, plays a prominent role in this fast-paced historical romance novel.

South Carolina, spies and intrigue, a vindictive ghost, the battle of King’s Mountain, Patriots and Tories, pounding adventure, pulsing romance…ENEMY OF THE KING

By Beth Trissel

She risks a traitor's death if she fights for the man she loves.

Step into the elegant parlor of Pleasant Grove, an eighteenth century Georgian plantation built on the bluff above the Santee River. Admire the elegant lines of this gracious brick home and its exquisite décor. Stroll out into the expansive garden between fragrant borders of lavender and rosemary. Bask beneath the moss-hung branches of an enormous live oak, then saunter back indoors to dress for a candlelight dinner in the sumptuous dining room. But don’t plan on a lengthy stay, you’re about to be snatched away for a wild ride into Carolina back country.

Hooves echo on the cobbles beneath Loyalist Meriwether Steele’s bedroom window and rouse her from a restless sleep. What business can anyone possibly have to conduct at this unearthly hour?

Meriwether peers down through moss-draped branches to see two men standing in the yard. One man in a dark coat and a black tricorn hat holds the reins of a roan horse. He isn't familiar, but she knows the other gentleman well. Several inches taller than the stranger, he is simply dressed in a white shirt tucked into breeches that fit his long legs and meet his riding boots. Shadows hide his face and chestnut hair pulled back at his neck, but there’s no mistaking Jeremiah Jordan, master of Pleasant Grove and her guardian these past few months. Elegance cloaks him like a mantle.

Her heart quickens at the sight of Jeremiah and she strains to snatch a word of the men’s hushed exchange. Jeremiah glances around guardedly, then passes what looks like a leather pouch into the stranger’s hand. Her stomach knots in apprehension. Is this nocturnal visit prearranged? Or worse, has Jeremiah joined the Patriots?

Jeremiah knows Meriwether is a dangerous presence in his home, a Tory who could betray him whether she means to or not. If only he hadn't noticed how fetching she looked in that shift with her bare toes peeking out from beneath the hem. Her soft cheek was so smooth beneath his fingers and she smelled deliciously of violets. He couldn't see her eyes in the dark but he knows the beguiling shape and the tenderness that warms their brown depths whenever he’s near, but he doesn't know what, if anything, she might be willing to sacrifice for the cause of freedom so sacred to his heart.

The year is 1780, one of the bloodiest of the American Revolution. The entire Southern garrison has been captured and Lord Cornwallis is marching his forces deep into South Carolina. ‘Bloody Ban’ Lieutenant Major Banestre Tarleton and his infamous Legion are sweeping through the countryside. Revenge is the order of the day on both sides and rugged bands of militia are all that stand between crown forces and utter defeat.

Enemy of the King, a multi-contest finalist, is coming to the Wild Rose Press later in 2008