Love is personal; war is not - especially in North Carolina, 1865-1867, during the reconstruction. With the war ended, there is eager anticipation of a return to the personal: normal life, love, and the wants that are scotched by murder, mayhem, malice, and maelstrom. 
With a love that they are certain will transcend all else, southern belle Penny Kennedy loves and marries Union Officer Ryan Madison, despite the ostracization by family, friends, and neighbors who cannot forget their hardships at Union hands. \nThe horrors of military occupation and Reconstruction fuel further fires of resentment. The initial days of wedded bliss end abruptly when Marcus, the man who courted Penny for years in anticipation that she would wed him, is arrested for murder and Ryan is assigned to prosecute him. Lizzy, her husband's jilted lover, adds to their marital woes when she decides she will win him back. The perfect opportunity occurs when Penny is swept overboard during a storm and presumed lost at sea. Washed ashore, she is rescued and held captive by a demented old man who thinks she is his long-dead wife returned from the grave.

Blue Waters

Vaughn, Betty J.

Glass Page Books

Turbulent Waters

Literature & Fiction

Genre Fiction

TotalRecall Publications, Inc.

Dragon's Sword: A Quint Cord Novel

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Mystery

Yesterday's Magnolia by Betty J Vaughn Jo envies Margo and Maurice for their ready charm, looks, wealth, glamour, and exciting lives never realizing that it is she who is envied for a life that contains the things that they themselves long for and have not attained. "It's a shame to have so damned much and yet so little." An eastern North Carolina farmer's daughter, Margot, streaks like a comet into the life style of the rich and famous. Her beauty and exuberant, zestful personality gain her entrance to boardrooms, the White House, a corporate jet stocked with Cristal champagne and caviar, a villa in Italy, and marriage to one of the world's most powerful men. Maurice, the spurned suitor, seeks friendship and comfort from Margot's sister, Jo, a quiet, bookish art history teacher. Jo envies them both for their ready charm, looks, wealth, glamour, and exciting lives never realizing that it is she who is envied for a life that contains the things that they themselves have not attained. Like the comets they so resemble both Margot and Maurice are consumed by the friction of life, leaving Jo to remember the magic moments they brought to a more conventional path.

Yesterdays Magnolia

Romance

Contemporary

The Man In The Chimney

The Man in the Chimney by Betty Vaughn is a Civil War story of an unlikely and troubled romance between a New York Calvary officer in Union occupied New Bern, and the Lenoir County woman who saves his life. The War Between the States comes to eastern North Carolina bringing hardships, pillaging, and fear to the local residents. For those left at home the struggle to procure the needs of daily life is all-consuming. For those serving in the armies of both North and South death is a daily companion. Against this backdrop an unlikely and forbidden love affair between a local woman and a Union officer leads to difficult choices---choices that will tear them apart and force them to deal with the abandonment of their dream of a life together. Despite broken hearts, misunderstandings and missed chances, Penny and Ryan strive to survive the dangers and ravages of war and make the best of their separate futures. With the surrender of the South at Appomattox, Penny realizes she has one last chance to either find the man she loves or settle for life without him.

The Man in the Chimney by Betty Vaughn is a Civil War story of an unlikely and troubled romance between a New York Calvary officer in Union occupied New Bern, and the Lenoir County woman who saves his life.  The War Between the States comes to eastern North Carolina bringing hardships, pillaging, and fear to the local residents. For those left at home the struggle to procure the needs of daily life is all-consuming. For those serving in the armies of both North and South death is a daily companion. Against this backdrop an unlikely and forbidden love affair between a local woman and a Union officer leads to difficult choices---choices that will tear them apart and force them to deal with the abandonment of their dream of a life together. Despite broken hearts, misunderstandings and missed chances, Penny and Ryan strive to survive the dangers and ravages of war and make the best of their separate futures. With the surrender of the South at Appomattox, Penny realizes she has one last chance to either find the man she loves or settle for life without him.  Man in the Chimney (originally Titled Muddy Waters) is the 2011 Award winner for historical fiction from the North Carolina Society of Historians. Both of Betty's other published novels in the series: Turbulent Waters (originally Titled Blue Waters2012) and Run, Cissy, Run 2013 are Fiction Award NC Society of Historians winners.

Run, Cissy, Run

You would think Cecilia LaRoque has it all: a loving father, wealth, beauty, social position and a devoted suitor. She doesn't. Crushed by a cold and critical mother who soon absconds to live with a dissolute lover, 'Cissy' struggles to prove herself worthy of love and respect. She could not have foreseen in her teenage years that the genteel and privileged life she had led would come to a crashing halt with the outbreak of Civil War, a bitter struggle that would tear her world apart. Despite the hardships and inherent danger, she seizes the opportunity to forge an unorthodox role for herself as a spy.

With the war ending, Cissy LaRoque no longer needs to spy but that will not stop her from finding a new career where she can prove her worth beyond serving as some man's appendage. Provoked and titillated by a man she cannot have but craves, she puts aside romance and enters the world of business. Wildly successful, she is happy in what she has achieved and frustrated by what she has given up.  When Wilmington falls in February of 1865, Cissy LaRoque no longer needs to spy. That will not stop her from finding a new career where she can prove her worth beyond societal expectations of a woman. With the war drawing to an end and Wilmington occupied, she is faced with desperate circumstances. Ryan Madison, a Union officer from the past, and Brandon McLean, a new one, attempt to help her. While attracted to them both, she is aware of family and community hostility toward the enemy and dares not act on the attraction. Her fiancé, Logan who is fighting for the southern cause, does not arouse her ardor like the two Union men. When the Confederacy falls, she convinces her father to allow her to run his shipping office in New Berne while he maintains the main office in Wilmington. There she discovers Ryan has married and Logan has jilted her. Provoked and titillated by a man she cannot have but craves, she puts aside romance and concentrates on business. Despite her father's initial objections, much to his surprise she succeeds far beyond any expectation. Although she is happy in what she has achieved, she is frustrated by what she has lost.

The Intrepid Miss LaRoque

Cissy tries to put her feelings away and consider Brandon, but despite his continued interest, she realizes it is Ryan that holds her heart. Ryan, who was attracted to Cissy even before he met his wife, is free to pursue her at last. When Wilmington falls in February of 1865, Cissy LaRoque no longer needs to spy. That will not stop her from finding a new career where she can prove her worth beyond societal expectations of a woman. With the war drawing to an end and Wilmington occupied, she is faced with desperate circumstances. Ryan Madison, a Union officer from the past, and Brandon McLean, a new one, attempt to help her. While attracted to them both, she is aware of family and community hostility toward the enemy and dares not act on the attraction. Her fianc , Logan who is fighting for the southern cause, does not arouse her ardor like the two Union men. When the Confederacy falls, she convinces her father to allow her to run his shipping office in New Berne while he maintains the main office in Wilmington. There she discovers Ryan has married and Logan has jilted her. Provoked and titillated by a man she cannot have but craves, she puts aside romance and concentrates on business. Despite her father's initial objections, much to his surprise she succeeds far beyond any expectation. Although she is happy in what she has achieved, she is frustrated by what she has lost.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Vaughn, Betty J.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Vaughn, Betty J.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Vaughn, Betty J.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Blue Waters

Turbulent Waters

Dragon's Sword: A Quint Cord Novel

Yesterdays Magnolia

The Man In The Chimney

The Man In The Chimney

Run, Cissy, Run

Run, Cissy, Run

The Intrepid Miss LaRoque

The Intrepid Miss LaRoque