Moonlight Madness: A Bluestocking Belle Collection
October 20, 2026 by marianne h donley in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Book Reviews tagged as Alina K. Field, Bluestocking Belles, ghosts, Holiday Stories, Moonlight Madness, new release
Moonlight Madness:
A Bluestocking Belles Collection
Publisher : Bluestocking Belles
Publication dates:
Paperback: October 6, 2026
eBook:October 15, 2026
ISBN-13 : 978-1965509098
Paperback: $19.99
eBook: $5.99
My Review
This years Bluestocking Belles Collections features All Hallows Eve rather than their usual Christmas stories. The results are great, featuring ghosts and ghouls and other creatures real or just in the characters imagination. I enjoyed all of them, but I did have a few favorites.
Jude Knight’s Moonlight Becomes You has a very inventive take on ghosts. I really liked that moonlight made the ghost more visible. I also like that the other characters in the story didn’t dismiss main character’s claims that she saw a ghost.
Alina K. Field has another strong story in The Duke, the Diamond and the Ghastly Ghoul. The story has just about everything a ghost story should, a dark and stormy night, a haunted abbey complete with the ghost of a monk, a long missing diamond, a ghost-hunting heroine, a match-making Godmother, and a Duke that doesn’t believe in ghosts or particularly wish to be matched.
The Haunted Hoyden by Barbara Monajem had the two friendly and helpful ghosts, a scheming guardian, a lecherous minister, a disgraced and wounded hero, and a clever heroine who has the misfortune of having a fortune and parents who are not amused by her antics. The nicknames of the towns the hero and heroine travel to make me laugh.
The rest of the stories are engaging, and they all have different takes on All Hallows Eve and ghosts. Moonlight Madness is a lovely addition to the Bluestocking Belles collections. If you enjoy historical romance, a few ghosts and a lot of hijinks, please buy the book. You won’t be sorry.
You can read Alina K. Field’s post about Moonlight Madness Here.
About the book:
When the year grows colder and the veil between worlds grows thin—or so they say—comes the time for stories to make you shiver. The Bluestocking Belles bring ghosts, and ghoulies, and spirits of all kinds, each leading to love, the greatest madness of all.
Jude Knight – Moonlight Becomes You in which a lady sees, but cannot hear, a ghost who attempts to warn her about a man who will die if she doesn’t find him soon.
Alina K. Field – The Duke, the Diamond, and the Ghastly Ghoul in which a house party at a haunted abbey brings together a duke, a ghost-hunting lady, and two ghosts determined to right old wrongs.
Aileen Fish – Mad about the Marquess in which a lady known for communing with the dead is forced to bring unwanted messages to the marquess next door from his dead father.
Rue Allyn – True Love’s Kiss in which a hunter seeking his kidnapped son in the forest stumbles upon a fairy with a similar mission. Together they may succeed if they stop squabbling.
Caroline Warfield – Not Again, Harry in which a lady takes shelter in a creepy old house only to find haunting, prowlers, strange artifacts, and a man from her past. A wish-granting mouse complicates it all.
Sherry Ewing – Finding My Way To You in which a ghost meets a determined lady who leaps at a chance to alter his past in spite of his efforts to convince her to leave the past where it belongs.
Barbara Monajem – The Haunted Hoyden in which two friendly ghosts help a lady to rescue a handsome, wounded man—who proves to be just what she needs to escape a dastardly plot.
Elizabeth Donne – Always With You in which a man pressed-ganged into service in the Royal Navy promises his wife he will come back to her. Whether it’s in this life or the next remains to be seen.
More Books by the Bluestocking Bells
ILLUSIVE WORLDS: Sweet, Funny, and Strange® Tales of Science Fiction and Fantasy
October 16, 2026 by marianne h donley in category From a Cabin in the Woods by Members of Bethlehem Writers Group tagged as Bethlehem Writers Group LLC, Illusive Worlds, new release
Today is publication day for Illusive Worlds: Sweet, Funny, and Strange® Tales of Science Fiction and Fantasy
Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-1-954675-09-4
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-954675-10-0
Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC
Editors: Marianne H. Donley, Dianna Sinovic, and Carol L. Wright
Publisher: Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC
A Sweet, Funny, and Strange® Anthology
Enter our worlds of imagination!
In this ninth “Sweet, Funny, and Strange”® anthology from the multiple award-winning authors of the Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC, we explore everything from faraway galaxies to the vagaries of the human mind.
Our stories include ventures into the supernatural, meeting aliens and witches, experimenting in time travel, and encountering technology that is sometimes benign but at other times menacing. The blurred lines between human and machine, life and death, or illusion and reality have provided our authors more than sufficient inspiration to create myriad visions of science fiction and fantasy to pique your curiosity, spark your sense of humor, sometimes horrify you a bit, and occasionally bring delight.
In addition to tales from BWG’s inventive minds, we are excited to bring you six prize-winning stories from our 2025 and 2026 Short Story Award competitions. We know these authors will become some of your favorites—just as they have for us.
So please join us in our illusive worlds. We’re very happy to have you along for the ride.
More Books from BWG
Featuring Marianne H. Donley
October 2, 2026 by marianne h donley in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author of the Month tagged as Featured Author of the Month, Illusive Worlds, Marianne H. Donley, new release, The Confession of George Mullins
Featuring Marianne H. Donley
Marianne H. Donley makes her home in Pennsylvania with her husband, son, and a very very active dog. She is a member of Bethlehem Writers Group, The Charmed Connection, Sisters in Crime, The Guppies and Capital Crimes. When Marianne isn’t working on A Slice of Orange, she might be writing short stories, funny romances, or quirky murder mysteries, but this could be a rumor. She also could be knitting.
Illusive Worlds, Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC’s 9th anthology in the series Sweet, Funny, and Strange® Tales is available for preorder—both the print version and the ebook. The ebook is on sale for only 99¢ and will revert to the regular price of $3.99 on pub day—October 16, 2026.
Marianne’s short story, “The Confession of George Mullins,” deals with a nasty old man who has decided murdering his wife of sixty years is a great way to get “the state” to put him in jail and cater to his every wish—starting with his breakfast order of two eggs over easy, crisp bacon, hash browns and toast with tons of butter. Unfortunately for George, Detective Eleanor Reed and the ghosts of Mrs. Virtue and Uncle Walt are on the case, so he may learn to be careful for what he wishes.
About Illusive Worlds
Enter our worlds of imagination!
In this ninth “Sweet, Funny, and Strange”® anthology from the multiple award-winning authors of the Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC, we explore everything from faraway galaxies to the vagaries of the human mind.
Our stories include ventures into the supernatural, meeting aliens and witches, experimenting in time travel, and encountering technology that is sometimes benign but at other times menacing. The blurred lines between human and machine, life and death, or illusion and reality have provided our authors more than sufficient inspiration to create myriad visions of science fiction and fantasy to pique your curiosity, spark your sense of humor, sometimes horrify you a bit, and occasionally bring delight.
In addition to tales from BWG’s inventive minds, we are excited to bring you six prize-winning stories from our 2025 and 2026 Short Story Award competitions. We know these authors will become some of your favorites—just as they have for us.
So please join us in our illusive worlds. We’re very happy to have you along for the ride.
Anthologies with more of Marianne’s Stories
Saved by the Vampire Thief New Release
September 29, 2026 by marianne h donley in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Spotlight tagged as A Dystopian Vampire Romance, Dark Wine Vampires, Jenna Barwin, new release, Saved by the Vampire Thief
Saved by the Vampire Thief
(A Dystopian Vampire Romance)
Jenna Barwin
Dark Wine Vampires Book 2
Release date: September 29, 2026
When vampire Chris Atherton—a former rock star—accidentally shoots a woman he was trying to help, he must do something he never thought possible: turn her into a vampire to save her life. But little did he know the surprise in store for him when she utters her dying words…
Christopher
I’ve spent years surviving alone.
Stealing from the ruins of the old world is easier than caring about anyone. Far less painful. After everything I’ve lost, I’ve sworn never to risk my heart again.
Then I break into an abandoned missile silo…and meet her.
Maria is fierce, beautiful, and determined to protect her daughter. When her arrow flies toward my heart, instinct takes over.
I shoot.
Maria
The man invading my home isn’t just a thief.
He’s a vampire.
I’ve buried two husbands. I won’t let my daughter become a monster’s next meal. But when his bullet tears through me, death is certain.
Instead of leaving me to die, he saves me.
Now I’m bound to a brooding vampire haunted by regret—a man who never wanted the responsibility of a widow and her child. Together, we’ll have to survive the dangers of a post-Collapse world…and the feelings for each other neither of us want.
Notes & Tropes:
The Dark Wine Vampires series features stand-alone vampire romances in an interconnected world. The stories are set a hundred years in the future in a dystopian world, and each full-length novel is a vampire romance featuring a new mortal/vampire couple with a guaranteed HEA!
Book 2 Tropes include: reluctant protector; wounded hero; protective single mother; forced proximity; found family; twisty secret surprises; character-focused romance; action and adventure
Jenna Barwin’s website: https://www.jennabarwin.com
Other Books by Jenna Barwin
Spotlight on Jenna Barwin
August 4, 2026 by marianne h donley in category Writing tagged as First Book in Series, Jenna Barwin, new release, novella, Rescued by the Outlaw Vampire
Rescued
by the
Vampire Outlaw
Jenna Barwin
Dark Wine Novella 1
August 4, 2026
Hidden Depths Publishing
ISBN: 978-1952755231
About the Book
COLIN
Seeing her again tears me apart. Four years have passed, and I still love her as fiercely as the day she walked away. But my vampire community has given me one job: rescue her.
A catastrophic typhoon is racing toward the California coast. To save her life, I have no choice but to abduct her—because she’ll never believe the truth in time.
Then I bite her to restore the memories she lost.
The fear in her eyes guts me.
I’m doing my duty…but all I want is a second chance.
Can I convince her I’m not the monster she thinks I am?
NAMI
I wake screaming. There’s a man in my room. Then I realize who it is. My ex-boyfriend who believes he’s a vampire.
Part of me still loves him. But I can’t build a life with someone who’s delusional.
So I run.
But when I try to escape, he shows a side of himself I’ve never seen before—an outlaw who refuses to let me go.
Our desire still burns, but captivity changes everything. Every mile between us and freedom deepens my confusion. I still want him. I still care.
Yet if I don’t find a way to escape, I may lose more than my freedom—because my very heart is at risk…
Read more of Jenna Barwin’s Books
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FOREIGN RELATIONS
A foreign woman is dead, two countries want her forgotten. Detective Finn O'Brien wants justice.
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