Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes

A true testament of character, resilience, and the magic of never giving up.
The year is 1948 and folks in the sawmill town of Crossett, Arkansas, work hard and play hard. Oliver Quinn does both. Oliver is the son of Irish immigrants who firmly believe in pursuing the American dream. His deepest desire is to play major league baseball. He only needs one chance to prove himself.

Rose Blaine is living in a nightmare where dreams don’t exist. She’s suffered for years at the hands of her violent moonshiner father and his partner. During a brutal attack, she must fight back or die. The aftermath is devastating.

Fueled by desperation, Rose strikes a life-changing bargain with Oliver. If he’ll take her and her brother to St. Louis, Missouri, she’ll introduce Oliver to her uncle, a baseball legend.

While their journey is fraught with unseen perils, they forge an unbreakable bond and make surprising allies.
When destiny throws them a curve ball, they must find the courage to create a hopeful future out of the ashes of shattered dreams with newfound fortitude.

About the author

Jan Sikes

I’ve been an avid reader all my life. There’s nothing I love more than losing myself in a story.

Oddly enough, I had no ambition to be a writer. But I wound up in mid-life with a story that begged to be told. Not just any story, but a true story that rivaled any fiction creation. Through fictitious characters, the tale came to life in an intricately woven tale that encompasses four books. Not satisfied to stop with the books, I released music CDs of original music matching the time period of each story segment. In conclusion, to bring the story full circle, I published a book of poetry and art. I was done.

Wrong!

The story ideas keep coming, and I don’t intend to turn off the creative fountain.

I love all things metaphysical and often include those aspects in my stories.

I am a member of the Author’s Marketing Guild, The Writer’s League of Texas, Story Empire, and the Paranormal Writer’s Guild. I am an avid fan of Texas music and grandmother of five beautiful souls. I reside in North Texas.

Excerpt from A Noble Bargain…

Oliver heard her screams before he saw her. Something was terribly wrong. He jumped down from the loading platform and took off with long strides toward Rose Blaine, who was running to beat the devil. It wasn’t until he got closer that he spied the blood. So much blood. His heart pounded. “Rose!” She fell into his arms, sobbing, trembling, broken. He held her, not caring that she was getting him bloody. “What happened, Rose? You’re bleeding. I need to get you to a doctor.”

“I…I…I killed him,” she stammered. “Oh, God! I killed Pa.” Her knees buckled.

“Oh, Lord. Okay. Let’s get you somewhere safe and sort this all out.”

“Jack. I have to get to Jack and Harlan.” Her voice rose to a level of hysteria. “I’ll get them.” He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wrapped it around her arm. He pointed toward his Woody Wagon. “Go wait in the car.” She trembled violently, and Oliver put an arm around her waist. “Easy. Lean on me. You’re safe now.” “He killed him. I saw him.” Her voice shook. “Who killed who?” Oliver steered her toward the car.

“Amos. Pa killed Amos, and I saw it. Then he came after me.”

“Shh. Don’t talk about it. Just take some deep breaths and we’ll figure this all out.” They reached his car, and he opened the door. She got inside and collapsed against the back of the seat. “Don’t move. I’ll go get Harlan and Jack.” Oliver jerked his paddy cap off and ran a hand through his hair. She closed her eyes and whimpered, like a wounded animal. Oliver’s heart pounded in his ears. He’d been afraid the violence would escalate. Dammit! He should have stepped in regardless of all the warnings…

Our Review

I really enjoyed reading the first book in this series, A Beggar’s Bargain, so I jumped at the chance to read A Noble Bargain, the next story.

It has a similar setting, early America, where living means working impossibly hard for everything.

We find a brand new set of characters, and I immediately fell in love with the main characters, Oliver Quinn and Rose Blaine.

A Noble Bargain is a heartwarming story of love and determination, of overcoming terrible hardships. Where what began as a friendship turns into a struggle to right so many wrongs.

I shed a few tears for them both along the way, but I cheered when the courage of these two people managed to make a difference after so many ordeals…