Enchanted Afternoon by Susan Wiggs

Enchanted Afternoon by Susan Wiggs

New York, 1880s

Beautiful, charming, and respected as the wife of an ambitious senator, Helena Cabot Barnes is the leading lady of Saratoga Springs. But beneath the facade lies a terrible deception. Helena married for all the wrong reasons--and discovered too late that her husband is a dangerous man. Fearing for her safety, she ends her marriage and flees to legendary Moon Lake Lodge, where she creates a refuge for other women in need of a safe haven. And there she finds the courage within to become the woman she was meant to be.

But Helena can't outrun her past. In desperation, she turns to Michael Rowan, a man she once loved, a man who broke her heart. A brilliant inventor, Michael is still ruggedly handsome, still defiantly unconventional. For Helena, the road to trusting Michael again is long and hard. And danger lies ahead. But Michael has just discovered a shattering truth . and a reason to stay and fight for the woman he once lost.

With a deft hand and a unique voice, acclaimed author Susan Wiggs creates an enchanting story that will take your breath away as it reaffirms the power of love and the magic of forgiveness.

Susan Wiggs's life is all about family, friends...and fiction. She lives at the water's edge on an island in Puget Sound, and in good weather, she commutes to her writers' group in a 21-foot motorboat. She's been featured in the national media, including NPR, PRI, and USA Today, has given programs for the US Embassies in Buenos Aires and Montevideo, and is a popular speaker locally, nationally, internationally, and on the high seas.

From the very start, her writings have illuminated the everyday dramas of ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances. Her books celebrate the power of love, the timeless bonds of family and the fascinating nuances of human nature. Today, she is an international best-selling, award-winning author, with millions of copies of her books in print in numerous countries and languages. According to Publishers Weekly, Wiggs writes with refreshingly honest emotion, and the Salem Statesman Journal adds that she is one of our best observers of stories of the heart [who] knows how to capture emotion on virtually every page of every book. Booklist characterizes her books as real and true and unforgettable.

Her novels have appeared in the #1 spot on the New York Times Bestseller List, and have captured readers' hearts around the globe with translations into more than 20 languages and 30 countries. She is a three-time winner of the RITA Award, . Her recent novel, The Apple Orchard, is currently being made into a film, and The Lakeshore Chronicles has been optioned for adaptation into a series.

The author is a former teacher, a Harvard graduate, an avid hiker, an amateur photographer, a good skier and terrible golfer, yet her favorite form of exercise is curling up with a good book. She lives on an island in Puget Sound, where she divides her time between sleeping and waking.