Piper Huguley

The incredible untold story of how Ann Lowe, a Black woman and granddaughter of slaves, rose above personal struggles and racial prejudice to design and create one of America's most famous wedding dresses of all time for Jackie Kennedy. 1953, New York City Less than a week before the society wedding of the year where Jacqueline Bouvier will marry John F. Kennedy, Jr, a pipe bursts at Ann Lowe's dress shop and ruins eleven dresses, including the expensive wedding dress, a dress that will be judged by thousands. A Black designer who has fought every step of the way, Ann knows this is only one struggle after a lifetime of them. She and her seamstresses will find the way to re-create the dresses. It may take all day and all night for the next week to accomplish the task, but they will do it. 1918, Tampa Raised in Jim Crow Alabama, Ann learned the art of sewing from her mother and her grandmother, a former slave, who are the most talented seamstresses in the state. After Ann elopes at twelve with an older man who soon proves himself to be an abusive alcoholic, her dreams of becoming a celebrated designer seem to be put on hold. But then a wealthy Tampa socialite sees Ann's talent and offers her an amazing opportunity--the chance to sew and design clothing for Florida's society elite. Taking her young son in the middle of the night, Ann escapes her husband and embarks on the adventure of a lifetime. Based on the true story of one of the most famous designers of the twenties through the sixties who has since been unjustly forgotten, By Her Own Design is an unforgettable novel of determination despite countless obstacles and a triumph celebrated by the world.

A Novel of Ann Lowe, Fashion Designer to the Social Register

By Her Own Design

1866 – Oberlin, Ohio/ Milford, GeorgiaDevastated by her father's death days after her triumphant graduation from Oberlin College, Amanda Stewart is all alone in the world. Her father's unscrupulous business partner offers her an indecent proposal to earn a living. Instead, to fulfill a promise she made to her father, she resolves to start a school to educate and uplift their race. Sorting through her father's papers, she discovers he had carried on a mysterious correspondence with a plantation in Milford, Georgia. She determines to start her teaching work with the formerly enslaved. However, when she arrives, the mayor tells her to leave. There's no where for her to go. Virgil Smithson, Milford's mayor, blacksmith and sometimes preacher man with a gift for fiery oratory, doesn't want anything to do with a snobby schoolteacher from up North. On top of everything else, the schoolteacher lady has a will hard enough to match the iron he forges. He must organize his fellow formerly enslaved citizens into a new town and raise his young daughter alone. Still, his troubled past haunts him. He cannot forget the promise he made to his daughter's mother as she died—that their child would learn to read and write. If only he didn't have secrets that the new schoolteacher seems determined to uncover.To keep THE PREACHER'S PROMISE, Amanda and Virgil must put aside their enmity, unite for the sake of a newly-created community in a troubling age, and do things they never imagined. In the aftermath of the flood that was the Civil War, God set his bow upon the earth to show love and understanding for humankind. To reflect God's promise, these combatants must put aside their differences and come together--somehow.

A Home to Milford College Novel

The Preacher's Promise

Sweet Tea

An unexpected love in a small, Southern town. Migrations of the Heart, Book 1 After fifteen months of hiding from the shame of bearing an illegitimate child, two words drive Ruby Bledsoe to face the good citizens of Winslow, Georgia. Never again. She vows to speak out against injustice. For her sisters. For her parents. For her infant son, Solomon. When she comes to help an injured mill worker, she bristles when a tall, handsome man claiming to be a doctor brushes her aside. Despite his arrogance, Ruby senses he's someone like her, whose light skin doesn't quite hide who he is. Up north, Dr. Adam Morson easily kept his mixed race a secret. Now that he's in Georgia, summoned by his white father, he can feel restrictions closing in around him. Something powerful draws him to the beauty whose activist spirit is as fiery as her name. And soon, Adam wants nothing more than to take Ruby and her child far from Georgia's toxic prejudice. But Ruby must choose between seeking her own happiness and staying to fight for the soul of her hometown. Warning: Contains a doctor learning there's more to healing his patients than stitching a wound, and more to a woman than knowing her place-and it's not in the shadows with her head down. Sorry, Buckeye fans, this hero's a Wolverine-but we won't hold that against him.

A Virtuous Ruby

A Novel

American Daughters

The Representative's Revolt

Milford, GA 1868: Milford College is in trouble. The mission to create teachers and preachers for the recently freed populations is on a shaky course because of problems between the married founders. Mayor Virgil Smithson has been away to the constitutional convention in the newly established state capitol in Atlanta for almost five months. He's late in getting back home. Worried about her husband, Amanda Smithson manages the crowded and growing school by herself. How they will pay the taxes on the school property if Virgil doesn't return from Atlanta? More problems: The Milford daughters-in-law arrive in town, determined to wrest what they see as their rightful inheritance from the Smithsons. Amanda has hired an old school chum from Oberlin to teach the older students. And he's a tad too affectionate with Amanda for Virgil's liking. Just when it all seems impossible to resolve, the Smithsons must endure another crisis that threatens to tear them, and the dream of their school----apart. When life becomes difficult, it will take all of God's love and mercy for the Smithsons to come together to fight within the bonds of holy matrimony that united them less than two years before. It will be the mission of the mayor, and his wife, to do what it takes to keep the new and coltish educational tradition that they began together going-- to keep their love alive.

The Mayor's Mission

Alyssa Cole

Kianna Alexander

Lena Hart

The fight for suffrage was long, hard, and carried out on many fronts. In this anthology, Kianna Alexander, Alyssa Cole, Lena Hart, and Piper Huguley (authors of THE BRIGHTEST DAY anthology) bring you four novellas full of spirit, hope, and, most importantly: LOVE.

A Black Suffragette Historical Romance Anthology

Daughters of a Nation

Twelve Days of Christmas Mail-Order Brides

A beautiful woman with secrets comes to Noelle to confront a powerful person with the truth...and only six days left to save the town.Avis Smith is willing to go to Noelle to marry a man she doesn't know in order to avenge a fourteen year wrong--her abandonment to a life of misery and abuse when she was just six years old. In order to get to Noelle, she has to lie about who she is, but her thirst for vengeance is so strong, she transforms herself into the pious, beautiful bride that JD Jones wants. Still, she never expected to be abandoned at the altar. His work as an abolitionist and fighter for justice will not allow storekeeper Liam Fulton to turn his back on the beautiful woman his archenemy is willing to leave at the altar. He figures a way to help Avis out of her predicament, and offers to showcase her in his store so that other potential grooms in Noelle will see her and might want to marry the young woman with the long, elegant neck. When swans mate, they mate for life. When Liam offers to help Avis, he never expects that in working with her to find a resolution to her problem, he discovers a fierce need to protect her. Avis doesn't know that she might find something better than what she was looking for--a new way to a family and bonds of a strong and life-long lasting love.

The 12 Days of Christmas Mail-Order Brides Book 7

The Swan: the Seventh Day

By Her Own Design 

The incredible untold story of how Ann Lowe, a Black woman and granddaughter of slaves, rose above personal struggles and racial prejudice to design and create one of America's most famous wedding dresses of all time for Jackie Kennedy. 1953, New York City Less than a week before the society wedding of the year where Jacqueline Bouvier will marry John F. Kennedy, a pipe bursts at Ann Lowe’s dress shop and ruins eleven dresses, including the expensive wedding dress, a dress that will be judged by thousands. A Black designer who has fought every step of the way, Ann knows this is only one struggle after a lifetime of them. She and her seamstresses will find the way to re-create the dresses. It may take all day and all night for the next week to accomplish the task, but they will do it. 1918, Tampa Raised in Jim Crow Alabama, Ann learned the art of sewing from her mother and her grandmother, a former slave, who are the most talented seamstresses in the state. After Ann elopes at twelve with an older man who soon proves himself to be an abusive alcoholic, her dreams of becoming a celebrated designer seem to be put on hold. But then a wealthy Tampa socialite sees Ann’s talent and offers her an amazing opportunity—the chance to sew and design clothing for Florida’s society elite. Taking her young son in the middle of the night, Ann escapes her husband and embarks on the adventure of a lifetime. Based on the true story of one of the most famous designers of the twenties through the sixties who has since been unjustly forgotten, By Her Own Design is an unforgettable novel of determination despite countless obstacles and a triumph celebrated by the world.

1935. Champion Bates left poky old Winslow, Georgia when he was seventeen years old. He had promised to elope with his childhood sweetheart, but pressured by other influences, he took an earlier train leaving his Delie behind. The pain at leaving her behind has tormented him for the seven years he fought as a ham and egg boxer, trying to make himself worthy of her. He had no chance for the big time until now. He has a fight with a contender boxer--a white man. However, he has been told more fighting will possibly blind him. Back in Winslow, Cordelia "Delie" Bledsoe is out of luck. A teacher in the local school, she has the care of several children who have been abandoned by their parents. She's offered $200 to take the children out of Georgia. She wants to take them to her family in Pittsburgh to live on a family farm, but Champion Bates shows up, insistent on helping her. She does not want to trust her old love, but has little choice. Champion wants to redeem himself with his former sweetheart and doesn't expect much, but the hair and eyes of one of Delie's young children tugs at his heart. In this story of sacrifice, Champ and Delie struggle to learn about love and both must grow A Champion's Heart.

A Champion's Heart

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6 Oberlin, Ohio – 1844Lawrence Stewart is a rare man. Raised with his grandmother's Miami Indian tribe, he's a Negro with brown skin, and has consistently walked between two worlds most of his life. He devotes his time and study to becoming a lawyer, fully intending to obtain justice for the ousted Miami Indians. No Negro man has accomplished these things before, but he is not daunted. He studies for his exams as he rides circuit through the backwoods of Ohio, handing out justice to people who cannot easily reach a courthouse. His life is perfectly set until one June day….Aurelia “Realie” Baxter made her way from enslavement in Georgia to the free land Lake Huron in Ohio. Far from happy as a slave doing the bidding of a woman cooped up in a house all day, Realie is a bona fide tomboy with a special gift with horses. Now, she is so close to freedom in Canada, she can smell it, but her plans are interrupted when Lawrence shoots her…by mistake…. Lawrence cannot study encumbered with the care of an enslaved woman, but he's responsible for her injury… Realie wants to get to Canada, but Lawrence won't let her get away in trying to help her…One chance meeting can change your life from what you thought you wanted….to what you really need.

A Home to Milford College Prequel Novella

The Lawyer's Luck

Robyn Peterman

Kerrigan Byrne

Skye Warren

Kristan Higgins

April White

Darynda Jones

Jennifer Ashley

Mira Lyn Kelly

Ruby Dixon

Sara Ney

Erica Ridley

Hildie McQueen

Janna MacGregor

Kim Loraine

Amalie Howard

Rosalind James

Cynthia St. Aubin

Kathy Lyons

Mila Finelli

Camille Duplessis

Chencia Higgins

Pride Not Prejudice is a charity collection of 22, never-before-published, brand-new stories featuring and benefiting love and Happily Ever Afters across the gender and sexual identity spectrums. Proceeds from both ebook and paperback will be donated to four nationally renowned organizations in support of LGBTQIA+ and other marginalized and oppressed communities in the United States, including PLANNED PARENTHOOD, HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN, NATIONAL CENTER FOR TRANSGENDER EQUALITY and HEALTH PROFESSIONALS ADVANCING LGBTQ+ MEDICAL TREATMENT AND EQUALITY. The following contributing authors are either NYT or USA Today bestselling or LGBTQIA+ or BIPOC own-voice authors who are allies, parents, or children touched by the need to read more romance where people of all identities and orientations find love. Amalie Howard ~ April White ~ Camille Duplessis ~ Chencia Higgins ~ Cynthia St. Aubin ~ Darynda Jones ~ Erica Ridley ~ Hildie McQueen ~ Jade Lee w/a Kathy Lyons ~ Janna MacGregor ~ Jennifer Ashley ~ Mila Finelli ~ Kerrigan Byrne ~ Kim Loraine ~ Kristan Higgins ~ Mira Lyn Kelly ~ Piper Huguley ~ Robyn Peterman ~ Rosalind James ~ Ruby Dixon ~ Sara Ney ~ Skye Warren Please note: **We are not affiliated with these charities, but are a collective of authors who hold human rights, dignity, and the ability to love and live without fear incredibly sacred.**

Pride Not Prejudice

They're cut from different cloths...but their hearts are a perfect fit. Migrations of the Heart, Book 2 Asa Caldwell returned from the Great War with nothing to show for it-as in nothing below his left knee. Forget about the journalism career he loved. His story is over. Done. Yet he finds the strength to journey to Winslow, Georgia, to get Ruby Bledsoe Morson's sister out of trouble. Before he can bring Mags Bledsoe home, though, a spate of mysterious attacks reawakens his investigative instincts. During the war, Mags did her duty to God and country by stepping into a management role at the textile mill. Now she's been shuffled back to the rank and file-and Asa has her hard-earned job. Not only is the infernal man doing everything wrong, her plan for revenge against the mill owner who lynched her childhood sweetheart is farther out of reach than ever. As they clash over almost everything, Mags begins to set fire to Asa's soul, bright enough to dim the memory of the killing fields of France. Enough to give him a new mission in life-to make her feel the same way. Warning: Contains a wounded warrior who's done with fighting...and one feisty woman who makes him snap to attention.

A Most Precious Pearl

When you follow your heart, never count the cost. Migrations of the Heart, Book 3 Trusting in the One who orders her steps, Nettie Bledsoe is determined not to deviate from her route to the charity kitchen. Don't stop for anything, her sisters say. Pittsburgh isn't like Georgia, they warn. Yet when low moans of unholy suffering drift from an alley, she can't help but investigate. It's a man. The most beautiful man she's ever seen. Despite his scandalous reputation, something within her responds to his sinfully rich voice. Jay Evans is trying hard to stay on the straight and narrow, and doesn't want help from any church do-gooder. But until his wound heals, he needs help caring for his young daughter, Goldie. Especially since Nettie saw fit to fire Goldie's barely competent nanny. Despite their mismatched backgrounds, Nettie and Jay fight a losing battle against their growing attraction. But it's only when Nettie is kidnapped that Jay realizes that if he doesn't get her back safe and sound, his heart will shatter into uncountable pieces. Warning: Contains a single father with a photographic memory for numbers, and a country girl out of her element in the city. It all adds up to a heart-winning tale.

A Treasure of Gold

The incredible untold story of Ann Lowe, a Black woman who created some of the most famous dresses of all time, including Jackie Kennedy's wedding dress, and has been almost completely forgotten by history.

Piper Huguley

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