Rosie Chapel

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About Rosie Chapel
A latecomer to writing, but an avid reader all my life, I was persuaded by my hubby to channel my passion for all things ancient into a book. Despite a healthy amount of scepticism, I took a leap of faith, and The Pomegranate Tree was born. This one book became four, and is a tale spanning two thousand years and two continents, connecting the lives of two women and the two men who love them. Although the scenarios are fictional, each book is woven around historical events, include some romance and a twist
While writing the above novels, I was captivated by the Regency Romance and a whole new series of books has resulted, set in an era which continues to fascinate me. In between all this, one or two contemporary romances refused to be ignored, so now I have three genres clamouring in my head. As I am also involved in several anthologies, a great honour, it can be chaotic at times - the various voices in my head are very insistent - but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Born in the UK, I now live in Perth Australia, with my hubby and our three furkids. When not writing, I love catching up with friends, burying myself in a book (or three), discovering the wonders of Western Australia, or, and the best, a quiet evening at home with my husband, enjoying a glass of wine and a movie.
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Author Updates
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Blog postVex: Mythical Ink Series ~ Book 1
The Blurb
The Demon…
When no good deed goes unpunished, Vex finds himself cast out of Netherworld. Hell-bent on returning from where he came, he realizes too late that he was where he was meant to be.
…and the Fairy…
It was lust at first sight when Alea sets eyes on the demon. Craving a taste of the hot-blooded male, she finds in him what she never thought possible.
…and an extraordinary love that won’t be denied.
4 years ago Read more -
Blog postJason The Blurb
A love lost, but never forgotten.
An opportunity realized. He gives up everything for a chance to win the heart of his one true love. Separated by years, the sacrifice he must make might prove too much.
Will she give him another chance to win her heart? Locked in the hell of her past, she finds herself longing for a future. One that isn’t teeming with deadly secrets. Haunted by the loss of her beloved spouse, she can’t seem to disentangle herself from his g4 years ago Read more -
Blog postTegan The Blurb
Jaded, cynical, and emotionless…
Tegan Steele had no idea his Achilles heel would come in the form of a demure blonde. The last thing he wants is another relationship, but Rayna Nichols reawakens a part of him he thought was long buried and proves to be more than he can handle.
Kindhearted, shy, and soft-spoken…
Rayna Nichols can’t seem to keep her eyes or hands to herself after meeting fellow tattoo artist, Tegan Steele. Aside from being sinfully sexy5 years ago Read more -
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Blog postCatching Mallory is the first Wildcats Graduates Novella and Xana Jordan’s third installment in the Wildcats series. Novella it may be, but this story has as much depth and is no less engrossing than the previous two full length books – Loving Noel and Claiming Xana.
Mallory has been dating Keaton for a long time, but recently her friends have begun to suspect all is not rosy, as Keaton has been absenting himself from Mallory’s life more than seems normal for someone in a committed re5 years ago Read more -
Blog postNixon by Xana Jordan and Michelle Rene, set against the backdrop of a ski resort in the breathtaking Colorado mountains, is the first book in their Winter Haven Series and follows the romance of Walker Nixon Buchanan and Kennedy Russell. This book is exquisite, it has all the feels, way way too many feels actually, but in a good way – happiness, sorrow, fun, laughter, courage and most of all love – in all its magical forms.
Nixon is the oldest of the Buchanan siblings, all of whom hav5 years ago Read more -
Blog postHelena Trevallier first appears, albeit briefly, in Once Upon An Earl and she has been nagging at me ever since to write her story – quite insistent she was. Finally I gave in and Love on a Winter’s Tide is my third Regency Romance, one, which unexpectedly led to two more. So yes, as seems my habit, this will be a series and there will be five all together.
Helena, youngest sister of Giles is desperately trying to avoid being swept up into the marriage-go-round. So, although she atten5 years ago Read more -
Blog postTo Unlock Her Heart was born, because, as ever with my characters, I couldn’t say goodbye after the first book and decided I’d like to give Theo Elliott – the doctor in Once Upon An Earl – his own love story.
The prologue occurs two years prior to the previous book, but the main narrative begins about eight months after Billie and Giles’ wedding. Grace Fitzgerald, abused by a duke and shunned by society, is bequeathed a house in a small village, where she hopes to start afresh a5 years ago Read more -
Blog postWhile I was researching Etched in Starlight, I started to play with the idea of writing a simple romance. I loved Mills and Boon as a teenager, especially what used to be (I have no idea whether it’s changed) their rather old fashioned style. I came upon Regency Romances and was immediately hooked.
Not even sure I would be able to write one of my own I really wanted to try and the result was Once Upon An Earl, the story of Willow, a young woman with no memory, who appears in the middl5 years ago Read more -
Blog postThe Spark by Sylvie Stewart, is undoubtedly one of the funniest books I’ve ever read. In it we discover more about Fiona, best friend of Laney (from The Fix – the first book in this series). She comes from money and although on the face of a bit of an airhead is actually a rather complex and driven individual with hidden heartaches, which are a constant backdrop to her decisions. Enter Mark, Laney’s partner’s friend (are you still with me…) and someone Fiona always rubs up the wrong way. In f5 years ago Read more
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Blog postThe Friend Zone is another great novel from Nicole Strycharz. I loved The Divorce and was excited to see what happened with Moses, the man who nearly stole Jenzy’s heart in the last book. This story runs parallel to it’s predecessor and, like The Divorce, this is not an easy story – by that I mean it’s a bit of a roller coaster, not that it’s difficult to read – but so worth it. Moses and, his best friend, Chloe share everything and have for years; their ups, their downs, their loves, their l5 years ago Read more
Titles By Rosie Chapel
A holiday on the Scottish isle of Mull was just the break Chloe Shepherd needed, an escape from her boring office job and her complete lack of anything resembling a social life. Romance, it seems, isn't on the cards and, although Chloe dreams of finding her soulmate she is beginning to believe love is like cobwebs — spun overnight, only to vanish in the early morning breeze.
Under sufferance, Dominic Winters makes a flying visit to Mull to check on a rental property owned by his family. He hasn't got time for this — so indulging in a holiday fling is the last thing on his mind.
A lamb stuck in a bog proves a most unexpected matchmaker and, while Mull weaves its magic, Chloe wonders whether those fragile cobwebs might be far more stubborn than she thought.
Professor Reuben Faulkner is content with his life. Approaching retirement, he still conducts courses in ancient history at the university where he's worked all his life, has a home he loves in a small North Yorkshire village, and is the author of a critically acclaimed book on the Emperor Hadrian. Out of the blue, he receives a letter from an American law firm. After more than three decades of silence, Erin, his wife - who abandoned him and their young son without explanation or further contact - wants to dissolve their marriage. Does Erin know of Reuben's minor celebrity? Is the prospect of a generous settlement too good an opportunity to miss?
Not quite fifty and happily single, para-legal Paige Latimer accompanies her boss to Rosedale Abbey to interview their new client – an aging professor whose estranged wife has demanded a divorce. What ought to be a simple meeting, is made slightly more complicated when Reuben Faulkner turns out to be the polar opposite from the image in Paige's head… worse… she finds herself drawn to him.
Unexpectedly, the couple are thrown together and, although Reuben would prefer Paige not be caught up in his divorce, their attraction is becoming harder to deny.
Just as Reuben dares to risk his heart a second time, Erin tosses a spanner in the works, and her latest scheme could derail their blossoming romance before it has chance to start.
This harsh borderland is a far cry from the luxuries and relative security of Rome, and danger lurks where least expected. A garrison of soldiers, some rather disgruntled with their isolated posting and it’s new commander; local tribes people, although outwardly accepting of their erstwhile enemy, may still harbour a burning resentment that their lands have been occupied.
Meanwhile, in the modern world and now married to Max, Hannah Vallier is working in the archives department of a museum on Hadrian’s Wall; cataloguing artefacts from some of the original wooden forts, recently discovered following a series of aerial surveys. While most of the finds are mundane, Hannah is shocked when she comes across an all too familiar item. It is her, or rather her ancestor’s pomegranate; the one carved by Maxentius in the aftermath of the massacre at Masada, carried from there to Pompeii and then on to Rome.
Confused as to how it could be here in Northumberland, Hannah searches a new database for answers, finding a fragmented inscription indicating that Maxentius and Hannah had indeed been posted to Northern Britannia; that Maxentius had been commander of a garrison, the fort for which, coincidentally, had been almost exactly where she was now sitting. Realising what this might mean, Hannah needs to talk to Max, who is away on business.
Before they get the chance, disaster strikes! Believing the love of her life to have been killed and unable to deal with her grief, Hannah retreats into the past, re-connecting with her ancient family. Unfortunately, scant historical evidence for this period means that Hannah is unaware of what might be looming, instead she must trust that any information she holds will be enough to save them once again.
Adjusting to a world on the frontier of Empire, Hannah meets the local wise woman and, as they share their love and knowledge of healing, a tentative friendship blossoms. The burgeoning cordiality between the garrison and the locals is jeopardised however, as a multitude of challenges conspire to undermine the fragile peace. Hannah realises that the threat might come from a most unexpected quarter, for there is one within the fort whose enmity will have dire consequences.
At the same time, Hannah’s heart whispers that maybe, just maybe Max is still alive and that he is calling her home.
Will Maxentius be able to preserve the hard won trust of the locals, or will everything descend into madness? Is there any hope of discovering who is inciting such hostility before it’s too late? Can Hannah learn to trust her heart, or will she remain forever caught out of time, her destiny floating away like embers on a breeze.
Eighteen months have passed since Hannah and Max left Masada, Herod’s isolated fortress in the Judaean desert. The place where, just as they admitted their feelings for each other, they were wrenched apart. Hannah slipped into an ancient world, discovering how her ancestor had received the ruby clasp - her talisman. Somehow she survived the ensuing tragedy and Max’s love was strong enough to bring her home. Since then, Hannah has had no awareness of her ancient counterpart and wonders whether the slender thread that united them had been broken, lost beyond time, leaving only a memory.
On a spur of the moment trip to Rome, familiar dreams recur. Unable to recognise where her ancestor is, but realising that she is not on Masada, Hannah struggles to understand the reason behind her visions. Then, a chance meeting with two friends sees Hannah and Max invited to join an excavation team, one whose goal is to determine what lies beneath the ruins of Pompeii. Although excited to be a part of such an investigation, Hannah experiences a growing sense of unease, an unnamed fear circling at the edges of her consciousness.
Her worlds being to converge and Hannah realises to her horror, that her fear, this reconnection of minds, must be related to Vesuvius and that the woman she is bound to was actually in Pompeii before the eruption. Hoping she can somehow warn her ancestor without being drawn back into her other life, Hannah tries to convey her knowledge through her dreams.
As before however, fate intervenes. After entering a house which bears a Hebrew inscription, Hannah falls back through time. Although familiar with this fusion of souls, she still has to rely on her instincts to adjust to life in ancient Pompeii. A world where her ancestor is a physician to gladiators engaged in mortal combat, where riotous mobs run amok and where a ghost from the past returns to haunt her. All the while knowing she needs to save her family from the devastation that will befall this town.
Will Hannah escape the cataclysmic eruption? Can she persuade her loved ones to flee before burning debris engulfs the town? Will she ever find her way back to Max the love of her life waiting, not so patiently, millennia away? Or will echoes be all that remain?
As the crowd roars in the arena, Lucia draws on her abilities to communicate with animals to reach out to the she-wolf leading the pack of ravaging animals to save herself, but in doing so has she simply avoided one gory death only to find herself facing another?
In an unexpected twist, and as danger threatens, the lives of all three become inextricably entwined. Was it chance brought them together in that theatre of bloodshed, or simply a prelude to fate?
Author’s Note: This is a stand-alone book, however, there is a loose connection to the Hannah’s Heirloom Sequence.
What happens when two people whose elusive hearts fight an indefinable attraction, neither looked for nor desired, dare to dream?
When her fiancé and sister abscond to Gretna Green on her wedding day, Sapphira Beresford longs to escape, to avoid the gossipmongers gloating over her misfortune. Disillusioned, she is determined not to be burnt again, swearing off romance and marriage.
A fortuitous invitation sees her embarking on a journey to Pompeii where she meets Leofwin Colleville, reclusive marquis, amateur antiquarian, and her host for the duration.
Although enamoured of the ruins gradually being unearthed and ecstatic to have the opportunity to assist, Sapphira is troubled by her host's attitude, which blows hot and cold.
A confirmed bachelor, Leofwin Colleville is happiest surrounded by ancient ruins, and would prefer to brave the whole of Napoleon's armies alone, than face a lady on the hunt for a husband. The arrival of an unexpected guest throws his unencumbered existence into turmoil, but the harder he strives to maintain his distance, the more she gets under his skin.
Sparks fly and, as Leofwin's truculence undermines Sapphira's already battered confidence, her adventure of a lifetime seems doomed to disaster.
Until the day she runs afoul of greedy treasure hunters.
In the aftermath what was scorned becomes the one thing they crave above all else, but when it comes to the heart, nothing is ever simple.
Ged Mowbray will do anything to avoid being married off to the suitable prospects his parents insist on parading in front of him.
Melissa Bouchard is under no illusion her sizeable dowry is the attraction to suitors, not her.
An overheard conversation leads to an offer too good to refuse, but what happens when a lady's wager, becomes a gamble on the happily ever after, you did not even realise you wanted?
NB: This book includes a short excerpt from 'Winning Emma' - the third book in the Surrendered Hearts trilogy.
Book One of this series is The Highwayman's Kiss which is part of A Regency Duet.
Once there, Hannah is disturbed by strange visions. Visions, which seem to revolve around the AD66 attack by Zealot rebels, on the Roman garrison based at the fortress.
As her two worlds begin to entwine, Hannah realises that she is experiencing the events of the past as they unfold, events, that so far she has only dreamed about. Pulled into the ancient world, she tends to three Roman soldiers who survived the attack, but who are now captives. Back in the modern world, she finds artefacts that tie her to her ancient counterpart. Meanwhile, her relationship with Max takes an interesting turn, but just as they admit their feelings for each other, a tragic accident tears them apart.
Fate intervenes and Hannah slips into the world of Ancient Masada. There, away from all modern trappings, she must rely on her wits and instincts to deal with the challenges of her alternate life. A life in which she, an unmarried Hebrew woman, is a healer - a trained physician fighting to keep alive the men under her care. This life becomes more complicated as she realises she is falling in love with one of the Roman soldiers, a love that could have deadly consequences.
Unsure whether she will ever be able to return to the modern world, Hannah accepts her destiny, rising to the challenges of living on an isolated fortress and, believing that she has a chance to save those she loves by using the knowledge she has brought with her from two thousand years in the future. The knowledge that, eventually, Jerusalem will fall and, that those escaping the city will make their way to this outpost, followed by an avenging Roman army intent on destruction.
Will Hannah escape? Will she ever see Max again, or is she doomed to die along with hundreds of others as Masada falls - and what does any of this have to do with an ancient ruby clasp?
Surrendered Hearts - Book Three
A Regency Novelette
Randolph Craythorpe — Earl, covert operative, and occasional highwayman — believed his dalliance with Lady Felicity Hartwich would lead to marriage. It did, but not to him! The fortuitous arrival of an unwelcome guest provides the perfect opportunity to indulge in a little retaliation.
Emma Newbury accompanies her cousin, Lady Charity Anscombe, to London for the Christmas Season. Once there, she comes face to face with the three men who witnessed the humiliating aftermath of her father's disgrace — one of whom, to her irritation, has taken up residence in her dreams.
Their infrequent encounters only serve to confuse, but while winter tightens its grip on the city, what was inconceivable becomes the one thing for which they both yearn, yet bound by Society's rules, cannot admit.
As the snow falls, Randolph begins to understand that to win Emma, he will have to surrender.
NB: This book includes a short excerpt from 'The Highwayman's Kiss - the first book in the Surrendered Hearts trilogy, and part of A Regency Duet.
Recently widowed, Amelia Ingram - Countess of Gresham, decides to shake off the fetters from her arranged and loveless marriage. Exploiting her new-found independence, Amelia indulges her yearning to explore - incognito.
Her ploy works so well, she receives an offer of employment from the dangerously handsome, Rupert Latimer - Earl of Badlesmere. On impulse, she accepts and finds herself governess to Cate, a delightful scamp of a child. What began as a bit of a game on Amelia's part, evolves into something far more profound, and a flame she presumed impossible to ignite, is kindled.
An unexpected turn of events leads to yet another offer. This time there is far more at stake and, determined history not repeat itself, Amelia confesses her ruse.
Rupert has been burnt once. Will he douse the spark, or take a risk and trust his heart?
Twenty years after a global plague, the remnants of civilisation struggle to eke out an existence in a world where humanity is secondary to survival.
On the outskirts of a once vibrant Rome, Gabriel tends his vineyard. From dawn to dusk, he strives to carve out a living, while caring for Bianca, his heavily pregnant wife.
Life might be tough, but at least he had an income, meagre though it was. Trouble seemed a distant memory, until the day he notices their neighbours are not at work in the adjacent fields.
A gruesome discovery sparks a chain of events to rival the conflicts Rome witnessed at the height of its power. Gabriel and Bianca must pit their wits and their lives against a formidable opponent, in an attempt prevent an atrocity none could have predicted.
A bond, forged in a snowy field and strengthened in a city under siege, is put to the ultimate test.
In a world of echoes and illusions, is their love strong enough to surmount the odds, or will it crumble to dust like the empire their enemies are striving to replicate?
Refusing to suffer the humiliation of her husband flaunting his mistress at Society events, the newly married Duchess of Wallingstead, Ella Lennox, takes control of her life. She leaves London for the family's country seat in remote Yorkshire.
A woman alone, Ella spends the next four years turning a cold, grim house into a home, and transforming the fortunes of the estate. Not afraid of hard work, she soon earns the respect of those around her with her determination and unconventional attitude.
Out of the blue, the duke arrives. Resigned to another arduous visit, Ella is stunned when it seems he is attempting to court her.
Impossible!
Could her dream of a happy marriage be about to come true?
Everything hangs on a snowstorm, a herd of cows and an uninvited guest!
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