Spotlight on Bella Barwin
December 31, 2025 by marianne h donley in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Spotlight tagged as Bella Barwin
Bella Barwin writes galaxies ruled by dark dominance, desire, and the sting of surrender. The Alien Masters of A’Llure series features stand-alone romances in an interconnected world, with alien masters and feisty dragon heroines.
Claiming His Dragon:
A Dark Sci-Fi Alien Romance
Alien Masters of A’Llure Book 1
Jenna Barwin
ISBN: 9781952755309
Hidden Press Publishing
2025
My palm itches with the desire to tame her.
Ordered by my A’Llurian clan to choose a mate from the Drag’gon ambassadors, I expect cold negotiations and strategic pairings.
Then I see her.
Elegant. Spirited. With eyes that challenge and lips made for defiance. She awakens something deep inside me—something primal. My laz’zo stirs with the need to claim, to guide, to protect.
But she’s royalty, and royalty doesn’t follow orders or submits. Especially not to a hardened starship commander like me.
She’ll fight. She’ll defy. But I have ways of teaching obedience—lessons I’ll impress upon her slowly, thoroughly.
Until she learns. Not all cages are cold. Not all chains are visible. And love? Love can be the most exquisite restraint of all.
Because in the end, she’ll be mine—bound to me in every way that matters.
Capturing His Dragon
A Dark Sci-Fi Alien Romance
Alien Masters of A’Llure Book 2
Bella Barwin
978-1952755323
Hidden Depths Publishing
2025
She isn’t what she seems…
Standing in my spaceship’s brig, she’s a vision of fire—hair the color of a blood-lit sunset, skin patterns shimmering with edges of molten gold. Breathtaking.
But she’s also a stowaway—a shapeshifting dragon who infiltrated my spaceship, slipped past my crew, and dared to think she could remain unseen.
Defiant. Untamed. A potential enemy spy I cannot ignore.
Yet she stirs every ruthless instinct I keep buried, igniting a hunger as dangerous as it is undeniable.
And soon, she’ll learn that in my world, actions have consequences—consequences that are deeply bound together with desire…
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A Review of Merry Belles: A Bluestocking Collection with Friends
December 29, 2025 by marianne h donley in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Book Reviews tagged as A review, Alina K. Field, Bluestocking Belles, Christmas Stories, new release
Merry Belles:
A Bluestocking Belles Collection with Friends
Published by Bluestocking Belles
Print December 7, 2025
Ebook: December 20, 2025
ISBNS:
Print: 978-1965509067
Ebook: 978-1965509050
Authors: Caroline Warfield. Elizabeth Donne, Cerise DeLand, Alina K. Field, Sherry Ewing, Jude Knight, and Rue Allyn
This lovely collection contains seven short Christmas stories set in Regency England. The stories are all entertaining and perfect for a lunchtime or an after dinner read. I appreciated that several of the stories had older heroines and had common people like doctors, housekeeper and soldiers at their centers.
My two favorites were Lady Loughton’s Last Wager by Alina K. Field and Maggie’s Wheelbarrow by Jude Knight. Lady Loughton featured an older widow and a younger rake. I loved how she dealt with her male children (and friends). Maggie was a war bride with two children and little money looking for her soldier husband. Ms. Knight did a good job with amnesia part of the story, which I appreciate as a family member suffers from both retrograde and anterograde amnesia. Many authors don’t take such care and that can make reading amnesia stories difficult for me. I really enjoyed her story.
If you enjoy regency romances, you will absolutely enjoy Merry Belles.
Other Books by Alina K. Field
Love’s Perilous Road: A Review
November 15, 2025 by marianne h donley in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Book Reviews tagged as A review, Alina K. Field, anthology, Bluestocking Belles, new release, Regency romance
Love’s Perilous Road
A Bluestocking Belles Collection with Friends
Ebook ISBN 978-1-965509-03-6
Print ISBN 978-1-965509-04-3
ASIN B0DZPKDMXV
Publisher: Bluestocking Belles
October 31, 2025
Regency Romance
I’ve been a fan of the Bluestocking Belles’ anthologies for years, probably since Alina K. Field first joined them. I’ve been a fan of Alina K. Field since she first published Rosalyn’s Ring and it won the 2014 Book Buyer’s Best contest. (It absolutely lived up to its reputation.)
So I was pleased to read and review Love’s Perilous Road, a collection of ten Regency Romances all centered around the mysterious highwayman, Captain Moonlight. All the characters have an encounter with the man, and there are brief journal entries from The Casebook of the Principal Office Robert Pierce who is planning Captain Moonlight’s capture—even if he leaves his ill-gotten gains in the chicken coops of young widows with children to feed.
As with all Bluestocking Belles Collections that I have read, all the stories are well written and very entertaining, which is not always the case with anthologies. I appreciate the care the authors take with their stories, adding in the clues to Captain Moonlight’s true identity.
Having said that, I still had my favorites: Charred Hope by Caroline Warfield in which an honorable man returns a miniature and finds a future. Sir Westcott Steals a Heart by Alina K. Field: Sybil Dunsford disguised herself as a boy to protect her brothers but, of course, Sir Westcott Twisden follows her, and hijinks ensue and they get locked in barn overnight. A Duke in Peril by Meara Platt: Lady Florence Swann rescues a wounded soldier from the side of the road near her home. But he’s more than just a soldier.
I’m looking forward to the Bluestocking Belles next collection.
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Writers Against Hunger Raised $20,535 . . . so far.
November 14, 2025 by marianne h donley in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley tagged as Feeding America, Lyssa Kay Adams, The Confession of George Mullins, Writers Against Hunger
LONG time friend and one of my favorite writers, Lyssa Kay Adams, has organized Writers Against Hunger, and I am happy to participate.
Stories feed the soul. Food feeds the body.
This fall, writers across the country are coming together to do both.
Writers Against Hunger is a nationwide write-a-thon uniting storytellers, poets, novelists, journalists, and anyone who believes words have power. As SNAP benefits end and food insecurity rises, we’re using our creative energy to help fill plates across America.
From Nov. 1-24, writers will set personal writing goals ( from finishing a chapter to drafting an entire novel) and invite friends, readers, and fellow creators to sponsor their efforts. Every dollar raised goes directly to Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization.
Together, our words can do more than build worlds. They can build hope.
How it works:
If you’re a reader, fan, friend, family:
We hope you will donate to our team through out the month. You can do a one time donation, or find an author who is accepting pledges. Here is our team page:
https://teamfeed.feedingamerica.org/teams/7574 .
I’m not taking pledges, but would be grateful if you made a donation to MY page. The link is here:
https://teamfeed.feedingamerica.org/participants/Marianne-Donley.
If you’re writer:
- Join the Write-a-thon.
Sign up to be part of Writers Against Hunger. Whether you’re a published author, a blogger, or journaling for the first time, you’re welcome here. - Set Your Writing Goal.
Commit to writing for a set number of hours or words during the event. Share your goal on social media to inspire others. Don’t forget to use the hashtag #WritersAgainstHunger - Ask for Pledges or Donations.
Invite your friends, family, and followers to pledge a donation for every page, word, or hour you write—or to give a flat donation to Feeding America through our official campaign page. Don’t forget to donate yourself, too! - Write to Feed.
During the event, check in, share your progress, and celebrate every milestone. Every word you write helps put food on someone’s table. - Don’t want to write but still want to contribute? Make a direct donation!
You can join the team or make a donation at this link: https://teamfeed.feedingamerica.org/teams/7574
All month I’ll be working on my short story The Confession of George Mullins. I’ll post my I’ll post my update on both the story and the Write-a-thon.
****************
I’m 100% complete on The Confession of George Mullins for the Second week of November. I should finish the story tomorrow . . . well ahead of my deadline of November 30th. Hopefully, I will be able to start on another story before the weekend.
Writers Against Hunger has already raised over $ 20,535 for Feeding America.
0 0 Read moreWriters Against Hunger Has Raised $17,685
November 7, 2025 by marianne h donley in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley tagged as Feeding America, Lyssa Kay Adams, The Confession of George Mullins, Writers Against Hunger
Long time friend and one of my favorite writers, Lyssa Kay Adams, has organized Writers Against Hunger, and I am happy to participate.
Stories feed the soul. Food feeds the body.
This fall, writers across the country are coming together to do both.
Writers Against Hunger is a nationwide write-a-thon uniting storytellers, poets, novelists, journalists, and anyone who believes words have power. As SNAP benefits end and food insecurity rises, we’re using our creative energy to help fill plates across America.
From Nov. 1-24, writers will set personal writing goals ( from finishing a chapter to drafting an entire novel) and invite friends, readers, and fellow creators to sponsor their efforts. Every dollar raised goes directly to Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization.
Together, our words can do more than build worlds. They can build hope.
How it works:
If you’re a reader, fan, friend, family:
We hope you will donate to our team through out the month. You can do a one time donation, or find an author who is accepting pledges. Here is our team page:
https://teamfeed.feedingamerica.org/teams/7574 .
I’m not taking pledges, but would be grateful if you made a donation to MY page. The link is here:
https://teamfeed.feedingamerica.org/participants/Marianne-Donley.
If you’re writer:
- Join the Write-a-thon.
Sign up to be part of Writers Against Hunger. Whether you’re a published author, a blogger, or journaling for the first time, you’re welcome here. - Set Your Writing Goal.
Commit to writing for a set number of hours or words during the event. Share your goal on social media to inspire others. Don’t forget to use the hashtag #WritersAgainstHunger - Ask for Pledges.
Invite your friends, family, and followers to pledge a donation for every page, word, or hour you write—or to give a flat donation to Feeding America through our official campaign page. Don’t forget to donate yourself, too! - Write to Feed.
During the event, check in, share your progress, and celebrate every milestone. Every word you write helps put food on someone’s table. - Don’t want to write but still want to contribute? Make a direct donation!
You can join the team or make a donation at this link: https://teamfeed.feedingamerica.org/teams/7574
All month I’ll be working on my short story The Confession of George Mullins. I’ll post my update on both the story and the Write-a-thon.
****************
I’m 100% complete on The Confession of George Mullins for the first week of November. Six days remain until my second deadline.
Writers Against Hunger has already raised over $17,685 for Feeding America.
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