Thursday, March 31, 2022

AVOCADO TOAST by Author Nancy Fraser (The Orchard Brides - Book 1)

Welcome to Romance Sweet Reads! Today we're showing off the first book in the brand new contemporary romance series, The Orchard Brides. Over the next few weeks we'll be featuring all ten books in this clean and wholesome/inspirational collection of great reads.

The first book in the series just happens to be mine, and I'm uber-proud to share a bit about Avocado Toast!

The last place Andrew (Drew) Morgan wants to be is back on the family avocado farm in Plentiful. If he had his way, he’d still be active military and deployed someplace far, far away. Unfortunately, he rarely gets what he wants. And, being back in the orchard is just the latest in a long list of disappointments.

Single mother, Chloe Taylor has relocated from Fresno to the rural area of Plentiful, California to build her marketing business beginning with the local agriculture co-op. It’s her job to convince the local farms to invest in a major overhaul of the co-op’s publicity campaign. A mixture of modern operations, and older, family-owned farms, only adds to her frustration.

At the moment, her biggest challenge is bringing the owner of Plenty Good Farms in line with the others. The fact that the old curmudgeon of an owner, Samuel Morgan, has brought his nephew in to run things gives her hope. Surely, the younger Morgan will be more amenable to her progressive ideas.

When Chloe first presents her plan the Morgan men, it’s Drew who throws a monkey wrench into his uncle’s agreement to sign the necessary contract. What she doesn’t realize is that Drew’s reluctance has more to do with his uncle’s health issues, and the possibility that he won’t be able to talk the man who raised him into retiring.

When Drew is forced by the military medical team into choosing between a desk job or retirement, he shares his frustrations with Chloe and she helps him find a new purpose outside of being a full-time farmer. It also helps that their attraction is growing. Drew has definitely fallen for the independent woman, and her adorable daughter.

Will Chloe’s faith and determination help her lead Drew through his difficult decisions and bring them what they both need... a love that transcends their everyday challenges.

Available exclusively at Kindle Unlimited


Drew Morgan pulled his muddy four-wheeler to a stop on the side of the road just short of the driveway leading to Plenty Good Farms. The last place he wanted to be, but where he was needed most. After nearly twelve years of active military service, he understood duty. Responsibility.

It wasn’t like the military was giving him an assignment any time soon. If ever.

He killed the engine, slid from behind the wheel, and walked around for a few minutes, working the kinks out of his bum leg and stretching his back. It wouldn’t do to arrive on his uncle’s porch with a limp.

The stubborn old coot would likely brand him injured and useless, and continue to insist he could manage on his own.

Drew knew better. Thanks to a letter from Doc Taylor, he’d been apprised of Sam’s failing health. As badly as Drew wanted to stay close to Fort Hood in hopes of haranguing them into letting him go back to work, he couldn’t very well desert the man who’d raised him from the age of ten.

C’mon, Andrew, grow a pair!

His uncle’s familiar admonishment echoed in Drew’s ears. Samuel Morgan was—if nothing else—an opinionated and cranky curmudgeon who liked nothing better than to goad people into doing what he wanted them to do.

Still, Drew loved the set-in-his-ways old man with all his heart. So much so, he’d accepted his mandatory three-month medical leave without so much as an argument. Then, he’d set out on the eighteen-hour drive from the base to the farming town of Plentiful, California in order to check on Sam for himself.

No sense putting off the inevitable any longer. Drew hopped back into the car and turned up the long, winding driveway. Parking at the rear of the century-old farmhouse, Drew took the steps two at a time, the reward for his exuberance a shooting pain that ran from behind his knee cap, up the back of his thigh, and ended in his hip. With the pain came the flash of memory he couldn’t quite escape, the loud explosion of an IED, flames shooting into the air, jagged shards of shrapnel flying everywhere.

He stopped at the door and sucked in a breath before turning the knob and stepping into the warm and welcoming kitchen.

“About time you got here, Andrew,” Sam groused from his seat at the table. He cradled an all-too-familiar cup of coffee in his sun-tanned grasp.

The first thing Drew noticed was the way Sam’s hands trembled where he held the ceramic mug. “The road was wet,” Drew countered. “I couldn’t go top speed all the way.”

Sam’s faded gray gaze narrowed in his direction. “No doubt you’ve lost all the driving skills I taught you as a teenager.”

“After maneuvering caravans of military vehicles for a dozen years, handling a lightweight four-wheel drive takes a bit of practice.”

“Yeah, well, you’re home now. You’ll catch on once you’re back on the tractor and pulling a wagon load of fresh-picked ‘cados.”


Nancy Fraser is a best-selling and award-winning author who happily jumps across multiple romance genres with gleeful abandon.

She's also the granddaughter of a Methodist minister known for his fire-and-brimstone approach to his faith. Nancy has brought some of his spirit into her Christian romances. And, her own off-beat sense of humor to her clean & wholesome books.

When not writing (which is almost never), Nancy dotes on her five wonderful grandchildren and looks forward to traveling and reading when time permits. Nancy lives in Atlantic Canada where she enjoys the relaxed pace and colorful people.



You can find all ten books in The Orchard Brides Series on

And, while you're there check out our companion cookbook, Treats From the Orchard


Just 99¢ or Kindle Unlimited
All proceeds to benefit the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).

~ ~ ~

Thank you so much for stopping by. Please come back again soon. April's going to be a busy, busy month with more wonderful authors, great books, and a lot of fun!

Nancy

2 comments:

  1. Congratulations! It sounds great!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds like an interesting read! Any time you get the opportunity to use "curmudgeon" in a book, it's good, in my opinion! (Like moot or apropos.) Best wishes for AVOCADO TOAST!

    ReplyDelete