Welcome to 2026 (this is my first post of the year)! My first guest of the year is an author friend I made through my previous publisher (now out of business). We messaged and then met Carolina Christian Conference in Spartanburg, South Carolina. It's been several years and supporting one another is lovely! So, please join me in welcoming, Colleen Hall.
Introduce yourself—name, where you’re from, and something people notice when they meet you.
Hi! I’m Colleen Hall, and I grew up in New England. In college, I met and married a South Carolina guy, so now I live in the South. I think one of the first things people notice about me is my red hair. I’ve been referred to as “that redhead.” I’ve also been called just “Red.”
Tell us about your book—title and back cover blurb?
The title of my latest book is Beloved Enemy. The idea for this book came from some family history. One of my Maine ancestors fought in the Civil War. While he was in the South, he struck up a friendship with a Southern lady. After the war, they maintained a correspondence. My creative brain took that germ of an idea and turned it into a full-fledged romance. A story centered around the forbidden love of two people on different sides of a war has so much possibility for conflict and heartbreak. I just had to write this story!
Back-Cover Blurb:
“What happens when love and duty collide? When two people in love are on different sides of a war? In an era when honor matters more than life, and duty counts more than love, Booth Slade and Serena Boyd meet and fall in love.
He’s a wealthy New England industrialist. She’s a genteel daughter of the South, the young widow of an autocratic banker.
When Serena’s reputation is accidentally compromised, Booth proposes a plan to restore her respectability. They embark on a sham engagement, and what begins as feigned affection develops into genuine love. Yet Serena’s deceased husband’s last will and testament casts a dark cloud over their future. When the Civil War declares them to be enemies, the politics, danger, and hardship of the times engulf them. Tangled loyalties test their love. Subterfuge draws them into the secret service’s web. Will Serena make the difficult choice that will betray her beloved homeland to save the man she loves?
Beloved Enemy is a standalone Civil War romance. If you love fake relationships, second chances, feisty heroines, and wartime romance, you’ll enjoy this historical love story with a dash of intrigue thrown in.”
Share an excerpt?
March, 1865
Richmond, VA
Cory laid the hairbrush on the marble-topped vanity after she’d arranged Serena’s hair into its daytime chignon. When someone pounded on the apartment door, their gazes met in the mirror. A visitor at this early hour could only mean trouble.
Serena surged from the vanity bench and wheeled toward the chamber door, her pulse jagged.
Cory thrust out a hand. “I’ll see who’s callin’.” She shuffled toward the hallway.
With her hands fisted against her chin, Serena waited in the center of the room. Something had to be amiss.
When Cory returned clutching a folded scrap of paper, a frown pulled her brows together. “Miz Van Lew’s servant brung this note.”
Serena snatched the missive and fumbled open the paper. The words scrawled across the page in a feminine hand leaped at her.
Your husband entered Richmond two days ago. I regret to inform you that last night as he attempted to leave, he was arrested by General Winder’s police and incarcerated at Libby Prison. His trial has been set for this afternoon, but rumor says he’s to hang at dawn. EVL.
Booth? In Richmond?
The words on the page blurred, and the room swam in a dizzied fog. A buzzing like a swarm of bees filled her ears. Her vision darkened. Her legs wobbled.
Cory wrapped an arm around her and supported her to the chaise lounge. “Put your head betwixt your knees, Miz Serena.” She pushed Serena’s head down.
With her head on her knees, Serena closed her eyes and took deep breaths. When the world steadied, she sat up and peered at her maid. “Miss Van Lew says Booth has been captured and jailed in Libby Prison.” She gulped before she could continue. “He’s to hang at dawn.”
Her husband had been sentenced to a felon’s death by hanging and not given the dignity of execution by firing squad as befitted an officer. She clamped her lips against the scream that threatened to erupt. A single tear trembled on her lashes and slid down her cheek.
Serena swiped away the moisture and straightened her spine. She refused to weep. “I’ve got to do something. I can’t sit here and let Booth die.”
Ask a quirky question or two? I always like to engage the readers. :)
Have you had an unusual pet or animal? Please let me know!
(My most unusual pet was a ferret named Teaspoon.)
Share your social media and buy links!
Newsletter: https://forms.wix.com/r/7181092663729324913
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ColleenHallRomance
Website: https://www.colleenhallromance.com/
Buy link: https://www.amazon.com/Beloved-Enemy-Colleen-Hall/dp/1965649211?crid=2DETVB41MXFRD&dib
