"A Lonesome Lord", (2023) by Gratiana Lovelace

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The MacKittrick's of Woodbury, England were a very close family of loving parents and children, unusual for their time and for their station in life. And their little boy Mac knew that he would have a lifelong friend in his 8 years older brother Dart, as Mac nicknamed his brother when Mac was just learning to speak as a toddler. Because, his brother's given name of Dartmouth--from their paternal mother's family name--was too much of a mouthful for the little 2 year old Mac to say. Yet sadly later at the tender age of 8 years old, Lord Pendleton MacKittrick, Mac, found himself a brotherless and parentless orphan after his parents and brother were waylaid by highwaymen who stole their money, jewelry, and possessions, as his parents were returning their older son to Eton for his final year before university-and then they and their carriage driver were killed by the highwaymen. Their loss was a devastating blow to the very young Mac. Now an adult of 30 years, his life is a solitary one, and he is somewhat poignantly known as the Lonesome Lord by marriage minded noble Mamas who seek to suggest their daughters as helpmate wives for him. And though Lord Mac has graciously met these charming and worthy daughters of the ton, he does not feel a connection to them. His own grief is so ever present, that he has yet to find someone who truly understands his loss. And yet, Lord Mac will meet a lovely young lady who understands and shares his loss, if he will only open himself to the possibility of forming an attachment with her. To be continued with the Prologue and Ch. 01…

"A Castle Wedding for Christmas2" by Gratiana Lovelace (Done 2022)

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When the wonderful 2021 Netflix movie "A Castle for Christmas" left off on December 25, 2021, we found Myles the 12th Scottish Duke of Dun Dunbar Castle in love with the talented and feisty American author Sophie McGuinty as a new romantic couple. Myles and Sophie had swept each other off their feet last year. And the following year of 2022 proves to be a test of their nascent romantic relationship-because as mature adults in their mid fifties, they have each had their share of heartaches, and disappointments in love over the years-them both having been divorced. But though the path to love and happiness is often frought, love is well worth it. So the coming Christmas season of 2022 will prove to be a make or break time for Duke Myles and Sophie-in more ways than one.…

"Seeking the Niceties of Marriage", by Gratiana Lovelace, 2021 (Done)

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Is love and marriage something that Lord Edward Carlisle can do--a second time? His first marriage was disastrous--it was arranged by the parents--but not with taking the feelings of the two parties into account, remained unconsummated due to his deference to his wife stating that she loved another, then his wife was killed four months later with her lover in a carriage accident that was all hushed up. All London Society thinks that he is a still grieving widower the past five years, though he is not. But Lord Edward vows to try marriage again-and on his own terms this time, involving love, or at least some of the niceties of marriage such as bringing his future children into being. And initially unbeknownst to Lord Edward, his best bet for marriage might be a childhood acquaintance lady who has not attracted any notice among society and no suitors during her previous six seasons-whom is ripe for the plucking, in more ways than one. Can two such haplessly lovelorn individuals find love and romance, together? They will need much hope and interventions--on both sides--if they are to marry and find happiness with each other.…

"Winter Rental", by Gratiana Lovelace (Done 2022) (copyrighted 2022)

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Prologue/Description:Though Diana Langley did decorate her home festively this past Christmas 2021, she didn't have anyone to share it with. And after the Christmas Holidays, there is always a let down. But Diana hopes that the new year of 2022 brings with it new possibilities for friendship, and perhaps more. At twenty eight years old, Diana is young and youthfully beautiful-with lovely auburn hair falling in curling waves over her shoulders, a clear complexion, expressive kind eyes, and full lips that beg to be kissed. She just needs to find the right man whom she wants to kiss, she thinks bemusedly. Were this another era, she would be labeled a spinster. However, in our modern era, women are not defined by their marital status. But for many people, they hope to find that one special someone to share life and love with as they grow old together. And for Diana, she hopes to find a love of a lifetime.…

"N&S: John Thornton, Love Lessons", by Gratiana Lovelace (2013-2014) (Done)

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John Thornton has an eager mind, starved for intellectual stimulation. But what John could not have foreseen was that just as his mind needs nourishment, so does his heart. Mr. Hale's proud, beautiful, kind, stubborn, and compassionate daughter Miss Margaret Hale will bring John Thornton's untutored heart to full and vibrant life.…

"Encouragement" (Book 1), by Gratiana Lovelace, 2016 (Completed)

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Lady Madeline Lucretia Sinclair's very proper maternal grandmother Lady Lucretia Beckham Knott advises her that all a gentleman needs from a lady to offer for her is a little encouragement from that lady. But then again, it is encouragement that a lady must refrain from lest an unsuitable or undesirable gentleman press his suit upon her. But therein lies the crux of Lady Madeline's dilemma. How does a lady become sufficiently acquainted with a gentleman in order to discern if she wants to encourage him--without first seeking him out for conversation or dancing, and without seeming to encourage him before her mind is made up? And when her heart has chosen, but his has not, how does she help him find his heart's desire? These will be the riddles that Lady Madeline must find the answers to for her happily ever after.…

"Expectations" (Book 2), by Gratiana Lovelace (2018-2019), (Completed)

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A young lady of the peerage in Regency England has but three wishes in life: to please her aristocratic parents, to honor her aristocratic family, and to promote society's and her country's best interests by following the first two wishes in marrying well to solidify family alliances. But where do a young lady's hopes, dreams, and wishes abide? And with the expectations pressed upon her by her family and society, how might a young lady fulfill her own desires and expectations for a happy life? Lady Elizabeth Blount, Lady Gwendolyn Lindsay, and Lady Constance Knightsbridge are three ladies who desire their hearts' expectations of romance and love be fulfilled-as were Lady Madeline Sinclair Blount the Countess of Sussex's expectations fulfilled in meeting and marrying her husband Lord Christian Blount the Earl of Sussex, after a little encouragement. And it will be up to the newly married Lady Madeline and her husband Lord Christian as the Countess and Earl of Sussex to somehow help these other two ladies fulfill their expectations.…

"Lost & Found" (Revised for Wattpad), by Gratiana Lovelace, (2014) (Completed)

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At 30, Jocelyn feels that her life is missing something--herself. So after dumping her controlling boyfriend, she travels from America to London--in search of a new life and a new love, who will cherish her. 40 year old Matthew had a cherished love, but lost it tragically. He is a broken man who only exists from day to day. Fate brings these two lost souls together. Maybe, Jocelyn and Matthew will help each other find their futures. And for Matthew, Jocelyn will become his savior.…

"A Magnificent Love", by Gratiana Lovelace, Dec. 25, 2014 (Completed)

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Richard Thorne's flaw is that in everything he does, he seeks perfection--professionally and personally. His parents had what he deemed a perfect loving relationship. And Richard will accept nothing less for himself. But he has yet to find perfection in any woman, other than in his loved and respected mother, Elise Thorne. But perfection--like beauty--is in the eye of the beholder. And Richard will find that his definition of his perfect mate changes as he seeks to find a magnificent love.…

"Love is a Choice" by Gratiana Lovelace, 3/15/13 (Completed)

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"Love is a Choice" is my original story of love and romance set in the early to mid 1800's. All rights reserved! This is an historical fiction tale of a rakish Lord Rafe Wingate and his young and innocent bride Lady Katherine Southwick, their extended families trials and tribulations, and life in regency to mid 1800's England--that is anything but dull.…

"Fire & Ice" by Gratiana Lovelace (Revised for Wattpad, 2015) (Completed)

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Their love torn apart four years ago by lies and deceit, will former lovers Thomas and Caroline be able to forgive each other and rekindle their relationship? Will fate let them? Thomas and Caroline will become unwitting pawns swept away in an intrigue so secret, that they will not know whom to believe, nor whom to trust. And they will have to fight for the right to love again.…

"Love in the Great Pine Woods" by Gratiana Lovelace (2015-2016) (Completed)

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The year is 1955. At the age of 45 years, Samuel "Sam" Wakeforest has everything a man could ever want--a tight knit extended family, blue skies, land that takes his breath away, he is his own boss, and he has a purpose for his life. And yet, his loving but sometimes over bearing older sister Tessa would say that he lacks one thing--a wife and a family to call his own. And Tessa's new sister-in-law Olivia Delaney is just such a prospect. Olivia is shy and plain by her own reckoning--a maiden spinster in her mid thirties. However Tessa sees potential in Olivia--especially for her brother Sam, if his sister Tessa can convince him of that. And Sam's and Olivia's well ordered individual lives will inevitably begin to change as they forge a deepening bond of love when they blend their lives together.…

"Somerset: A Time to Love", by Gratiana Lovelace (2017) (Completed)

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"Somerset: A Time to Love", by Gratiana Lovelace (2017): Wattpad Description/Prologue Life can be funny sometimes--strange, not humorous. Well, not strange, but perhaps unexpected. You go along in life thinking that you are perfectly happy--or at least content. And then, something happens or you meet someone--and everything changes. Hopefully, that change is for the better. And though we may not have sought love--or we stopped hoping for it--sometimes love has a way of finding us, when the time to love is right.And does devoting oneself to a life of religious service to others, proscribe that a man cannot experience all of life's joys that having a wife and having a family can bring? Does god require total sacrifice of Earthly love as a measure of spiritual devotion? Must a man choose between his god and his love? Or is romantic love possible for anyone, if we open our eyes and hearts to it? Ecclesiates 3 :1-9 (KJV excerpts) [(2)]"To every thing there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the heavens:A time to be born, and a time to die; ...A time to weep, and a time to laugh;...A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;" ...And yes, there is, a time to love.Author's note, July 01, 2017: I began writing my original contemporary romance "Somerset: A Time to Love" in 2014, working on it off and on over the years. And now, I feel that it is this story's turn to be serialized and shared with you. In part, because I like to rotate between sharing period historical fiction and contemporary present day romances. So this story is in the contemporary romance category. I hope that you will enjoy it. Cheers! Gratiana Lovelace ;->…

"Love & Friendship", a new original story by Gratiana Lovelace, 11/26/12

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Who is to say where friendship ends and love begins? And is one preferable to the other? Those in love would say, yes. Those who are merely friends, might say no. But in reality, can a man and a woman remain friends when they find that their friendship is not enough? And how do you make that bridge from being friends to being lovers? Because once you are lovers, there is no going back--there is only going forward, one day at a time. The path from friendship to a lifetime of love is at the heart of our story.…

"Guy's Rose" (Book 1), by Gratiana Lovelace, 2012

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Sir Guy has been hauled from Nottingham by Prince John's soldiers after Sherrif Vasey blames him for the lack of sufficient tribute monies collected from the nobles to line Prince John's cofferes. Sir Guy thinks that he is a dead man once he reaches London. And Vasey is now his mortal enemy--if he ever has the chance to settle that score. Yet when Sir Guy arrives at Prince John's court, he will find an altogether different scenario at play. And love and happiness might yet be within his grasp.P.S. Our fan fic story begins in the Summer months prior to the BBC's Robin Hood Series 3, Episode 5--and then the story continues through to the end of some of the events in Robin Hood Series 3.…

"Sir Guy's Dilemma" (Book 2), by Gratiana Lovelace, 2012-2013

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When Sir Guy was given a second chance at life and happiness with his Lady Roseanna and their children--the now four years old Seth Gisborne born out of wedlock to a serving girl and Sir Guy and Lady Roseanna's 4 months old infant Lady Helen Rose Gisborne--Sir Guy was also given a second chance at being a positive force for good for his new half brother Lord Archer of Locksley, Earl of Huntington. And Sir Guy vowed to endeavor to be as good a brother and mentor as his much younger brother--who is 28 yrs old to Sir Guy's 41 years old--had ever known or wished for. But brothers do not always see eye to eye, especially with regard to family matters. And even the finest of families have their difficulties to be overcome, or at least, traversed--perhaps even more so. [Author's Note: For the beginning of Sir Guy's and Lady Roseanna's love story, see the first story in this series, titled "Guy's Rose" (Book 1).]…

"Sir Guy's Atonement" (Book 3) by Gratiana Lovelace, 2015 (a Wattys2015 Nominee)

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If we could go back and change one thing in our lives--a careless thought, a hurtful remark, a devastating action--who would not wish to undo a wrong, or a mistake, or a regret? And yet, the past cannot be undone, wrongs cannot always be righted, and regrets must be lived with. And Sir Guy of Gisborne must somehow find a way to live with his pain and guilt of killing Lady Marian Knighton and harming others--if not for his own sake, then for his growing family’s sake. Sir Guy’s loving family is his greatest blessing. But Sir Guy's happiness will be challenged in a way that he never thought possible, when an old spectre from his past misdeeds returns to haunt him. And Sir Guy will finally have to atone for what he has done.…

"Thorin's Dream of Love", a short story by Gratiana Lovelace, Sept. 14, 2013

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I was inspired to write this short story after seeing a graphic shared by becLadyOakenshield on Facebook, from an Armitage Army Portrait of Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield sleeping (used in the story cover graphic).…

"Thorin's Hope: A Love Story" by Gratiana Lovelace, 8/13/12 (complete)

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“Thorin’s Hope: A Love Story” (PG-13)An Original Fan Fiction Adaptation of the characters from the JRR Tolkien’s, “The Hobbit” by Gratiana Lovelace (all rights reserved; no copyright infringement intended) [(1ab) Story Cover Logo]Author’s Note, 8/13/12:I am now posting a slightly longer fan fiction tale of mine for my new readers on Wattpad--30 pages (9 chapters) --but it is still a short story, "Thorin's Hope: A Love Story". My story is inspired by "The Hobbit"--adapting some characters and the general plot of a quest taking the men away from the village. But that is where the resemblance ends. I am the first to admit I'm more of an Edith Wharton fan, rather than a JRR Tolkien fan. So, this story takes a different path--or "Unexpected Journey" to make a pun on the first film due out in 2012--and focuses on a new character I created, Thorin's wife Umay (pronounced Ooh-My). I welcome your thoughts about my story. Though “Thorin’s Hope” was not among the first stories I have written, it was among the first stories that I shared on my blog “Something About Love” (www.gratianads90.wordpress.com) in Fall 2011."Thorin's Hope" is one of my love stories that might be considered mostly PG 13--since I usually write more sensually loving stories/scenes. But, since Thorin is away, the steamy R rated lovemaking scenes will have to wait until "I" bring Thorin home. Ha! So, keeping reading to the end. *wink*Cheers! Gratiana LovelaceP.S. The Titian painting Vanity (circa 1515) is the backdrop for the “Thorin’s Hope” story cover. For more information about Titian’s painting visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanity_(Titian). And the cropped and sepia toned Thorin portrait of Richard Armitage is from the Hobbit Vlog #4, pix 29 and was found at www.RichardArmitageNet.com…

Thorin's Journey:  An Unexpected Love

Thorin's Journey: An Unexpected Love" (Gratiana Lovelace, 2015)

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We know from JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit, that the Dwarves of Durin go on a quest to reclaim their Erebor homeland. But before they uproot their lives--yet again--this short story explores one possible scenario for Thorin Oakenshield's pre-quest life. The question remains, will he leave his new life to go on a quest, or not?…