Just North of Bliss (Meet Me at the Fair, Book

Book excerpt: Worlds collide when a brash Yankee meets a steely southern belle in Just North of Bliss, an Americana romance from Rachel Wilson. —1893 Chicago World’s Fair— Belle Monroe has scandalized her family down to its proud Georgia roots by forsaking genteel poverty to work as a nanny in New York City. When her employer travels to Chicago to see the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, Belle accompanies them with her two charges where she meets Mr. Winslow Asher, the official photographer for the World’s Fair—a man possessing all the Yankee traits Belle abhors. Brash, ambitious, and in search of the perfect model of American beauty, Win is immediately and understandably captivated with the beautiful Belle and what he believes are her two children. Personalities clash, but Win soon realizes how wrong he was about Belle and how right she is for him. His tender advances soon make the steely-spined Belle wonder if this brash northerner and a proper southern girl like herself could actually be meant for each other. Publisher's Note: Set in a real time and place, this light and humorous romance is light on sensuality and replete with heated banter. "Set against the backdrop of the Chicago World's Fair, this genteel romance sets prissy Rowena Belle Monroe on a collision course with Yankee photographer Win Asher. Forced by financial circumstances to earn her living as a nanny, Belle is compelled to leave Georgia and come to New York. On a trip to the fair with her employers and two charges, Belle is spotted by Win, the fair's photographer. Stunned and inspired by Belle's beauty, Win tries to persuade her to model for a series of photographs, but she's none too eager to fall in line with his plans. To Belle, Win embodies all the traits she abhors in Yankees, but after many encounters set against the carefully painted portrait of the fair, she surrenders to him both emotionally and physically. Duncan (Coming Up Roses) plays on the cultural differences between the North and South, contrasting Belle's impeccable manners and genteel ideals with Win's assertiveness and ambition. Although Belle will annoy readers at first with her old-fashioned ideals she finds photography "morally repugnant" and thinks only loose women wear makeup she slowly and believably evolves into an empathetic heroine. Unlike many of the highly sensual romances that are available today, this comic confection is light on physical fireworks but heavy on heated banter." ~Publisher's Weekly, Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. The Meet Me at the Fair Series Coming Up Roses Just North of Bliss A Bicycle Built for Two