USA Today Bestselling Author Shanna Hatfield joins us with her latest release, a sweet World War II romance.

Thank you so much for hosting me today. It’s such a pleasure to be here with you!

We are excited to host you! Onisha is a big fan.

I thought you and your readers might like to meet one of the characters from the story, a rascally boy named Petey.

Welcome, Petey. Thank you for joining us today.

Petey: Golly! Thanks for letting me visit!

You live on the farm next to Miko’s grandparents’ farm. What do you think of her?

Petey: Miko’s the limit, and I mean The Limit. You can capitalize that and take it to the bank, but she’s as good an egg as ever was laid. If anyone tells you different, it’s applesauce with a side of baloney.

You had some excitement at your house recently. How do you like your brand-new baby sister?

Petey: If Mom and Pop had to drag home a crying, pooping machine, I sure wish it would’ve been a boy. It looks like we’re stuck with Alice Marie, though. Why, you’d think she came from the royal palace the way Granny carries on. I suppose, though, for a baby, the Princess ain’t all bad.

Have you met the soldier Miko’s been helping?

Petey: Sure, I’ve met the captain. He’s a real crackerjack. Cap plays cowboys and Indians with me, and he knows how to do all kinds of things. Did you know he got injured in the war? Boom! (Slaps hands together loudly) His plane got shot down and he crashed and everything. He’s a real, honest-to-goodness hero!

That’s quite impressive.

Petey: I’ll tell it to the world, he’s the cat’s pajamas. (Petey sighs) But I think he’s got his eye on Miko. I planned to marry her when I grew up big enough but he might just beat me to it. I reckon if someone else gets to marry her, he’s the best man for the job.

Do you have anything else you’d like to share with our readers today, Petey?

Petey: Just to remind folks to read Miko and Rock’s story. You’ll find out how I get to be a big hero if you do!

Thank you for joining us, Petey, and Shanna.

Shanna: Thank you, again for hosting us!

Can forbidden love blossom

amid the constraints of war?

The moment the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, life shifted for Miko Nishimura. Desperate to reach the Portland Assembly Center for Japanese-Americans, she’s kicked off the bus miles from town. Every tick of the clock pushes her closer to becoming a fugitive in the land of her birth. Exhausted, she stumbles to her grandparents’ abandoned farm only to find a dying soldier sprawled across the step. Unable to leave him, she forsakes all else to keep him alive.

After crashing his plane in the Battle of the Atlantic, the doctors condemn Captain Rock Laroux to die. Determined to meet his maker beneath a blue sky at his family home, he sneaks out of the hospital. Weary and half out of his mind, he makes it as far as a produce stand he remembers from his youth. Rather than surrender to death, Rock fights a battle of the heart as he falls in love with the beautiful Japanese woman who saves his life.

A poignant, sweet romance, Garden of Her Heart proves love can bloom in unlikely places even under the most challenging circumstances.

Hi friends, Onisha here. I just finished reading this incredible novel. I am pretty sure it was the compelling story as much as my nasty night time cough that kept me awake for hours. Miko and Captain Rock Laroux are characters you want to know better and root for while Petey provides humor and I loved his fiercely loyal heart.

Don’t miss out on this beautiful happy ever after. Get your copy today!

Available on:

USA Today Bestselling Author Shanna Hatfield writes character-driven romances with relatable heroes and heroines. Her historical westerns have been described as “reminiscent of the era captured by Bonanza and The Virginian” while her contemporary works have been called “laugh-out-loud funny, and a little heart-pumping sexy without being explicit in any way.”

Convinced everyone deserves a happy ending, this hopeless romantic is out to make it happen, one story at a time. When she isn’t writing or indulging in chocolate (dark and decadent, please), Shanna hangs out with her husband, lovingly known as Captain Cavedweller.

Find Shanna’s books at:

Shanna loves to hear from readers. Follow her online at:

Excerpt nine from Army of Worn Soles

The Army of Worn Soles launch blog tour continues! Read to the end for the clue that will help you win the Grand Prize of a signed paperback copy of Army of Worn Soles plus a $50 Amazon gift card. If you collect all the clues and put them in the right order, they’ll make a sentence. Send the sentence to the author for a chance to win and autographed paperback copy of Army of Worn Soles plus a gift certificate from Amazon.

For a chance to enter the early-bird draw, enter the clue at the bottom of the post in the Comments section.

To see where the blog tour stops next, and to find the next clue, visit the author’s blog, Written Words.

Chapter 4: In the Red Army training camp

Akhtyrka, Ukraine, 1941

Finally, much too late, the cadets stumbled into their barracks and everyone collapsed, exhausted, onto their cots. Within minutes, snores filled the room.

Maurice had just closed his eyes as the opening door hit the wall hard enough to rattle it. The overhead light seared his eyes. He jumped out of bed. The un-curtained window was dark.

“Attention,” a corporal bellowed as he stepped into the dorm and stood beside the door. The senior lieutenant came into the room with a captain Maurice hadn’t seen before. He was tall and thin with cropped black hair. The peak of his officer’s hat gleamed and the red star seemed to glow. His uniform was stiff and perfectly creased, and made him look simultaneously powerful and precise. He looked as an officer should, Maurice thought, embarrassed to be standing in his underwear.

“Inspection,” the corporal yelled.

“The cadets are ready, Captain Slutsky,” the lieutenant said. Maurice struggled to remember his name.

As the lieutenant had earlier, Captain Slutsky strode the length of the room, looking carefully at each man, his folded uniform, his boots, his kit. The captain did not say a word, but looked at the lieutenant, who jotted down notes on a clipboard.

When the captain came to Maurice, he looked disappointed. The lieutenant wrote something down.

Captain Slutsky left without saying a word. The lieutenant stood by the door, scribbling on his clipboard. Two cadets sat on their cots.

“The cadet company has not been dismissed,” the corporal shouted, and the two young men sprang to their feet again. The lieutenant pointed to them. “You and you, get dressed. You will stand guard duty tonight.” The men groaned as they reached for their uniforms. “And tomorrow night.” They did not groan again.

As the remaining cadets stood at stiff attention, the lieutenant told each one what to do to bring his belongings up to officer standards. Maurice knew what the lieutenant would say to him. He had just tossed his uniform over his trunk, without ensuring everything was folded just so. His boots were scuffed at the toes and still muddy.

He hurried to smooth his pants and wipe some of the mud off his boots while the lieutenant spoke with the other cadets. When the he looked at Maurice’s uniform, Maurice knew he had failed to meet his standard.

“Fold it like you’re going to wear it to your wedding tomorrow. You are training to be an officer. Your boots should shine.” He moved on to the next cadet.

It took the cadets more than an hour to clean and fold their uniforms and tidy their cots to the lieutenant’s satisfaction. They looked completely worn out, but the lieutenant seemed comfortable.

Finally, the lights went out and the cadets collapsed onto their cots again. Maurice wondered if the lieutenant planned midnight inspections every night.

About the book:

1941: Their retreat across Ukraine wore their boots out—and they kept going.

Three months after drafting him, the Soviet Red Army throws Maurice Bury, along with millions of other under-trained men, against the juggernaut of Nazi Germany’s Operation Barbarossa, the assault on the USSR.

Army of Worn Soles tells the true story of a Canadian who had to find in himself a way to keep himself alive—and the men who followed him.

It is available in e-book form exclusively on Amazon.

About the author:

Scott Bury is a journalist, editor and novelist based in Ottawa, Canada. He has written for magazines in Canada, the US, the UK and Australia.

He is author of The Bones of the Earth, a fantasy set in the real time and place of eastern Europe of the sixth century; a children’s short story, Sam, the Strawb Part (proceeds of which are donated to an autism charity), and other stories.

Scott Bury lives in Ottawa with his lovely, supportive and long-suffering wife, two mighty sons and two pesky cats.

He can be found online at www.writtenword.ca, on his blog, Written Words, on Amazon, on Twitter @ScottTheWriter, and on Facebook.

Today’s clue: book

Tag: WWII

The Garden of her Heart