Jan Selbourne
When history whispers,
I pass it on.
When history whispers,
I pass it on.
The hopeless romantic believes that a soulmate exists for each of us. That there is one person who makes us feel how good it is to love them. For some couples, things trigger them to push that love away. They find out too late they’ve lost true-love. Sometimes genuine love deserves a second-chance at the happy ending that eluded them the first time.
Desire Me Again is an eclectic assortment of short stories exploring a second-chance at love. The collection is as diverse as the authors who wrote them. Here’s a chance to read the work of talented writers you may not have read before. Within these pages, there are blends of tender, often moving and thought-provoking stories.
Famine, disease, poverty and crime dominates 19th century Ireland, and Eleanor Craddock is just one of the thousands convicted of stealing to survive. However, it is her brother Thomas’s treachery that sentences her to transportation to Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania, Australia) for fourteen years. The only thing that keeps Eleanor going is her prayer that one day she will earn her ticket of leave, because only then can she apply for her two children to join her on the free emigration scheme. This prayer is sorely tested during the long 13,000-mile journey on the convict ship Hope, the brutal Hobart Cascades Female Factory and her years as an assigned servant to the wealthy Ian Franks. Richard Barnett, horse trainer for Franks finds it almost impossible to break through Eleanor’s hard defensive wall until a theft of important documents. This is a true story of two people finding love again.
"I loved every one of these stories, and I think they all deserve 5 stars. ... A wonderful collection, with something for everyone!
A Convict's Prayer: “Second chance” acquires a new meaning in “A Convict’s Prayer,” by Jan Selbourne. It’s not just a new love that Eleanor seeks… but a whole new life on the other side of the world. An absorbing historical romance that will transport you to another time and space. -- Alice Renaud, author
"I adored this book! I'm giving Desire Me Again a 5-star rating.
This story will blow you away, especially since it's based on one of Jan's ancestors!
In 1841, Eleanor Craddock is transported from Ireland to Van Dieman's Land (now Tasmania) for the crime of stealing 10 sovereigns. Her children were starving and what's a desperate mother who can't find work to do? For that, she was stripped from her family and home. For some, transportation was a death sentence. For others, it's a second chance. Which will it be for Eleanor? Jan brings this tale to life with her great writing and attention to historical accuracy. It's a touching story that shows how hope can change one's life. I loved it!" -- Dee S. Knight, author
December 1841
Loughrea Quarter Sessions
Galway, Ireland.
The clock above the magistrate’s bench ticked closer to three o’clock and the witnesses for the tenth case of the day had given their evidence. Voices in the crowded courtroom grew louder when a frightened fair-haired woman wearing a stained brown dress was led across the floor to the witness box.
Scowling, the magistrate rapped out, “Silence!”
The Clerk of the Peace placed documents in front of him and the room went quiet.
“You are Eleanor Craddock, of Ballinasloe, in the county of Galway, widow of James Stanford?”
“Yes, your honour.”
“You have been charged with receiving ten sovereigns from the child Mary Ward. That you and your brother Thomas Craddock corruptly influenced Mary Ward to steal the box holding twenty-seven pounds from her grandparents, Laurence Ward and Margaret Ward.”
Eleanor’s sweating hands gripped the front of the witness box.
“That you abandoned your two children, Richard Stanford and James Stanford while you and your brother conspired to steal this money,” the magistrate continued.
Eleanor shook her head. “No! I did not abandon them sir. I’m a widow without money or support. They were taken in by their grandmother while I walked from Ballinasloe to Kilconnell to beg help from my brother.”
The magistrate’s cold eyes met hers. “We have heard sworn evidence from Margaret Ward and Laurence Ward that”, he squinted at the document in front of him, “they had by care and industry saved a sum of twenty seven pounds in sovereigns and guineas, and that the box was in their house, under lock and key. That you and Thomas Craddock convinced their granddaughter Mary Ward with false promises to steal the key and open it. That Thomas Craddock instructed Mary to give you ten sovereigns and you received those sovereigns for your own dishonest gain. How do you plead? Guilty or not guilty?”
The courtroom swam before Eleanor’s eyes. “Guilty, sir.”
