I believe I was destined to be interested in history. One of my distant ancestors, Thomas Aubert, reportedly sailed up the St. Lawrence River to discover Canada some 26 years before Jacques Cartier's 1534 voyage. Another relative was a 17th Century "King's Girl," one of a group of young unmarried girls sent to New France as brides for the settlers there.

Website BlogSpot HighlandPress.org

My passion for reading led to a love of writing, and I wrote many (unpublished) sequels to my favorite Nancy Drew mysteries. Later, fancying myself a female version of Andrew Lloyd Weber, I drafted a musical set in Paris in WWII.

A former journalist and lifelong Celtophile, I enjoyed a previous career as a reporter/editor for a small chain of community newspapers before returning to my first love, romantic fiction. My stories usually include an Irish setting, hero or heroine, and sometimes all three. My first novel, In Sunshine or in Shadow, is set in post-Famine Ireland and is now available from Highland Press.

I'm a member of the Romance Writers of America, Hearts Through History Romance Writers, Celtic Hearts Romance Writers, and the Canadian Romance Authors network. I'm a lifelong resident of Montreal, Canada, where I still live with my own Celtic hero and my two children, Megan, 10, and David, 7.

In Sunshine or in Shadow is a once-in-a-lifetime, destined-to-be-together love story set in Ballycashel, a small village in Galway, Ireland. The famine that ravaged the land is over, but the scars it left behind linger. Let me tell you a little about it:

Siobhán Desmond has survived famine, tyranny and betrayal. With the coming of winter and faint hope for survival, she will do anything to keep the tattered remains of her family alive, even if it means working for the new landlord - a darkly handsome stranger with secrets in his eyes and pain in his smile.

The stakes are high for one-time gambler Rory O'Brien as he returns to the village of Ballycashel after a lifetime in exile. But will the village that haunts his childhood offer salvation for Rory and his daughter? Or will the ghosts of his past and old enemies destroy the new life he's come to love?

As danger ignites all around them, Rory and Siobhán must fight to right the wrongs of the past - and protect their newfound love.



Coffee Time Romance calls In Sunshine or in Shadow "a classic romance told in a sweetly old fashioned way. The characters are nicely well rounded and classically Irish." ( 3 cups.)

And Author Maggie Davis, aka Katherine Deauxville, says: "If you adore the stormy heroes of 'Wuthering Heights' and 'Jane Eyre' (and who doesn't?) you'll be entranced by Cynthia Owens' passionate story of Ireland after the Great Famine . . . Highly recommended for those who love classic romance and an action-packed story."



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