October marks the start of the holiday season and sweater weather. It’s a time of celebration and observation. Of heritage and history. Of diversity and inclusion. Fall into books with these diverse romance reads from a couple of Texas authors. 

Regency in Color

Journey Beaumont knows the importance of her name and her lineage. Daughter to a Jamaican mother, who was born in bondage but died wealthy and free, Journey knows that she must always stay in control of her own life and never allow a man to hold power over her or her fortune. With one hundred and forty-two days to her twenty-fifth birthday and her full inheritance, the one thing that Journey must do is remain hidden from her father’s greedy business partner intent on wedlock … and resist the charms of a certain handsome lord, now turned employer. 

Archibald Huxley, the Marquess of Aberdeen, has loved and lost. A widower, Archie has raised his daughter alone, vowing never to marry again, but his daughter is in desperate need of a woman’s touch. Hiring Journey Beaumont as a governess is a last resort, but he cannot help feeling that she is hiding something. Accomplished, beautiful, and highly intelligent, Journey is a mystery he must unravel. It’s his duty as a father to protect his child, but it is also his deep desire as a man to uncover all of her secrets. One scandalous kiss at a time 

Secrets With the Marquess, Book 10 of the Regency In Color collection, is now available for purchase and free to borrow for Kindle Unlimited subscribers.  

Cecilia Rene is a creative, happy, and outgoing Detroit native who majored in broadcast communication at Grambling State University. Her love and passion for writing followed her from childhood through adulthood, as she penned short stories, poems, and screenplays everywhere she moved. Always an avid reader, she stumbled across a book that ignited a deeper need for more and joined a fandom of like-minded individuals. Cecilia made a huge move five years ago to the great state of Texas, where she currently lives with her loving husband, wonderful son, and spoiled fur baby, Sadie. Cecilia Rene loves romance, humor, and all things spicy. For this reason, she will always give you a Happily Ever After. 

Hispanic Heritage

Ally Garza and her son return to San Antonio to care for her sick mother. She needs a part-time job but can’t find anything. When Henry offers to hire her at the store, she’s reluctant—she’s hurt because her past attempts to contact him brought no reply. What happened to the love they had shared? 

Henry Ortiz happily operates his family’s ice cream store and serves customers from a truck at the lake where he met the girl he fell in love with years ago. They spent many summer afternoons enjoying strawberry sundaes together, until she moved away … and never even sent him a postcard. 

Independence Day fireworks, strawberry sundaes, and a child’s innocence might rekindle the romance. 

Strawberry Sundae Afternoon is available from Amazon and is free to borrow for Kindle Unlimited subscribers. 

L. M. Gonzalez writes about the loves and lives of Latinas and the challenges of romance the second time around. Her stories, set against a backdrop of strong Latino culture blended with an American lifestyle, are refreshing and capture the essence of everyday Hispanic life. Texas-born and bred, L. M. has been living in San Antonio since 1988 when 1604 and Potranco was mostly trees, cows, and one Diamond Shamrock gas station.