Story Ideas in Progress

Because I’m trying to re-teach myself that writing can be fun, this year, I’m focusing on coming up with new ideas for stories. Does this mean they’ll all get written in novel or even novella form? No guarantees. However, this is a creative exercise that I both need and want to share. Enjoy!

Working title: Her Independent Heart
Eleanor Ransome would rather run away from her beloved home than face the man her parents want her to marry—the son of their closest friends, James Yates. James follows her to Philadelphia—but can he win her independent heart?

Eleanor Ransome = Karen Gillan
James Yates = Sam Heughan

Working Title: Secrets of His Heart
Newly arrived in London, Edward Ransome, eldest son of British Naval Hero Sir William Ransome, is the toast of the town—and the most sought-after bachelor of the season. Clara Eckley-Hibbitt has been overlooked by society for her step-mother, Cordelia, ever since they came out together, leading Clara to bury herself in academic pursuits. Although Edward is dazzled by Cordelia, it’s Clara who creates sparks inside him—sparks of annoyance, irritation, vexation, and . . . delight. When a saboteur seems to be undermining Edward’s business, will it be Clara or Cordelia who will help him find the culprit—and discover the secrets of his heart?

Cordelia Pembroke Eckley-Hibbit = Holliday Grainger
Edward William Ransome = Tom Mison
Clara Eckley-Hibbitt = Catherine Steadman

Working Title: An Antiquities Affair
Olivia Ahern loves rocks. Old stones, to be exact. From the first time she saw Stonehenge to her many visits to the castle ruins on her family’s estate, Olivia has lived in a world in which the past is more real to her than the present. But the antiquarian society she founded in her village brings in an outsider to help uncover and protect a cache of ancient Roman artifacts that she discovered—he’s a hulk of a man with unfashionably long blond hair named Charles Lott Cochrane. Charles never wanted a war. But now he’s in the middle of one and must choose which side of the battle he’s really on. Will his focus on the past keep him from finding his future?

Charles Lott Cochrane = Chris Hemsworth
Olivia Ahern = Elsa Pataky

Working Title: My Fair . . . Lady?
Michael Edward Witherington is traveling the Old World to find antiquities and treasures to send back to his family’s company in America. When he meets a beautiful, dark-haired young woman in Florence, Italy, he believes he’s finally found the woman of his dreams—a maid in the household of Colin and Susan Yates, the Earl and Countess of Childers. However, when he meets her again in London, he discovers that his Mary is actually the Lady Marianne Yates. Marianne didn’t mean to deceive Michael. But she’s also spent the last three years not knowing if the men asking for her hand want her or her family’s money and status. Can she convince Michael to forgive her—and see that she is the same person, no matter what name she answers to?

Michael Witherington = Michiel Huisman
The Lady Marianne Yates = Sophie Turner

Working Title: When First We Met
Kit Cochrane left England four years ago after a potential suitor turned menacing, nearly strangling her when she turned down his proposal. It now seems safe for her to return and retake her place in society. Philip Grantly is grateful when Admiral Ned Cochrane, his commander from his last years in the Royal Navy, hires him to hunt down the man threatening the admiral’s daughter. However, the job takes on a new and more personal urgency when he realizes he’s falling in love with her. Can he protect her while also showing her how to trust—and love—again?

Catherine “Kit” Cochrane = Jessica de Gouw
Philip Grantly = Oliver Jackson-Cohen

Working Title: The Doctor and the Scotsman
Having successfully posed as a man in order to attend medical school, Adeline Witherington has arrived in a small Northern Kentucky town ready to take her place as “Dr. Henry Witherington.” It isn’t long before she discovers that one of the plantation owners, a burly Scotsman named Broderick McLaren, has a secret that could ruin him—and that she’s starting to develop feelings for him. When Adeline’s true identity is revealed to the community, can marrying Brodie save her—and the people they’ve both sworn to protect?

Adeline Henrietta “Henry” Witherington = Jaimie Alexander
Broderick McLaren = Sullivan Stapleton

Working Title: Learning to Love
The tenements and dockyards of Boston are full to overflowing with Irish immigrants in the summer of 1848. Recovering from a life-threatening wound suffered in the war with Mexico, Captain Jack Witherington does his best to avoid the crowds of Irishmen begging him for work at the Charlestown Navy Yard—until one day he falls victim to a brutal attack. Ellen Delaney rescues the handsome naval officer and takes him home to her doctor father to recover. Can Ellen, a teacher in the Irish charity school, teach Jack to set his prejudice aside? Or will Jack allow this latest trauma to stop him from trusting, or loving, anyone again—even Ellen?

John Charles “Jack” Witherington = Luke Macfarlane
Ellen Delaney = Hannah James

Working Title: Her Rebellious Heart
In the summer of 1848, London’s working class are nearing a boiling point, which could lead to the same kind of violence seen in the Newport Uprising ten years before. Celebrated for his accomplishments in infiltrating and bringing down several smuggling/crime rings in London and Portsmouth, Metropolitan Policeman Edmund Cochrane is assigned to find and infiltrate the resurgence of Chartists in order to waylay another violent riot. After literally sweeping her off her feet—to save her from a runaway carriage—Edmund is invited to a meeting for the “working men of London” by Abigail Bradford—niece of the leader of the London Chartists. It isn’t long before Edmund has completely fallen for the feisty Abigail. If he acts on these feelings, he’ll put the investigation at risk. But he can’t keep lying to Abigail about his true motivations and the reason for his presence in her life. When Edmund’s identity is revealed, he’s set upon and brutally beaten. With his life in the balance, can Abby forgive his deception, put aside her rebelliousness, and let love reform her heart?

Edmund James Cochrane = Liam Hemsworth
Abigail Bradford = Jennifer Lawrence

Working Title: To Capture His Heart
By chance—because they saw a Wanted poster with a reward listed and they desperately needed the money—Valeria Amador and her two brothers became some of the best Vigilantes in California. With one last capture, the three will have enough to purchase land and build homes for themselves. So when they see a wanted posted looking for Dr. Frederick Ransome, they set a trap for the snake-oil salesman whose counterfeit medicines have left a trail of fatalities behind him. When Val meets a man calling himself Dr. Frederick Ransome, she admits he doesn’t look like the drawing on the poster. But she and her brothers are so close to their goal, she agrees to take him in and let the judge figure it out. Soon, though, she finds herself believing him and trying to convince her brothers of his innocence. She finally convinces them to detour to a town that leveled a complaint about him to see if they can identify him as the con artist. Will Freddie and Val be able to find the culprit before a rival group of vigilantes, known for delivering their prey dead more often than alive, finds Freddie and takes the law into their own hands?

Frederick Ransome = Ben Aldridge
Valeria Amador = Gal Gadot