Publish America Cover Art by Selena Brewer

COUNTRY BOY, CITY GIRL
ISBN 1-58851-918-X trade paperback from Publish America Inc.
ISBN 1-59088-037-4 electronic formats from Wings ePress Inc.

Country Boy, City Girl is no longer available in e-book formats from Fictionwise.com. You can order it directly through the Wings ePress web site. Sorry for the inconvenience.


"Readers will not be disappointed...You will be rewarded with a down home love story that will long be remembered."--Bridges Magazine

Ronnie Hawthorn has found peace at last in the Missouri Ozarks town of Green Springs, excited at the prospect of running her own arts-and-crafts store in an old farm house. But when city girl Ronnie "falls" into her handsome neighbor's arms, she is surprised to discover that country boy Dave Darden is one of the most eligible bachelors in America. An earthquake, rumbling deep inside a cavern, brings the two together--but will Dave's meddling in Ronnie's business activities only drive them apart?

Scroll down past the reviews to read an excerpt from the book and for more ordering information.


Four stars!!!!--Romantic Times magazine.



"Country Boy, City Girl" is one of those light romances that beg to be read curled up in a corner of the sofa with a pot of tea... This is a classic love story of boy meets girl, boy makes girl mad, boy gets girl. Appel is to be commended for including some lovely language that kept me reading... "Country Boy, City Girl" is just the right size for a day-long read for those romantic souls that long for a good love story.

E. Dian Moore "Hands for Hope" on Amazon.com


How would Dave ever find a secure place in Ronnie's heart? How would Ronnie ever find the courage to admit even to herself that she loved Dave? Cynthianna Appel's Country Boy, City Girl answers those questions and more within the context of a friendly country neighborhood.

Chas Ridley reviewing for The Romance Studio


I've just finished reading your novel " Country Boy City Girl ". It is not every book that I put my name in before I loan it out because it is not every book that I care if I get returned or not. I have several people I want to share this book with. I enjoyed it very much. It was refreshing and a joy to read. And, now I'll search out " The Fixer Upper's " It's got to be good!

Caryn Hartmann-Shiel


This is a nice, heart-warming story...A very competently told story good for some relaxing entertainment.

"HyperPat" on Amazon.com


Cynthianna Appel pens a warm, cozy romance in her latest offering. Readers travel to the friendly Ozark town, reminiscent of Mayberry. ..This fast paced tale will hold your rapt attention long after you've turned the last page, leaving you with a good home grown feeling.

--Judith Rippelmeyer for The Word on Romance e-zine


Whenever I open a Cynthianna Appel novel I’m immediately engulfed by the warmth of her characters. She has the distinct talent to allow me to feel and experience the dramatic emotions that take place in her books. Readers will not be disappointed in her newest release; you will be rewarded with a down home love story that will long be remembered once you finish the last page.

--Suzie Housley for Bridges Magazine

Cynthianna Appel has written an exceptional Contemporary Romance. It has all the elements that immediately captured and maintained my full attention. Another winner!

--Myshelf.com Reviews


If you are looking for a light read with a different kind of hero, try COUNTRY BOY, CITY GIRL.

--Marlene Breakfield for Escape to Romance


You've heard of comfort food? Well, COUNTRY BOY, CITY GIRL is comfort reading. Full of small town humor and neighborliness, the book is complete with an old-fashioned Fourth of July, homemade pickles and pies, and a swing beneath a magic tree. Set in the Missouri Ozarks, there is even a small, feminine version of "Opey" urging on a romance between her mom and a locally based entrepreneur. Ronnie Hawthorn is every young woman and Green Springs is all that's good about small towns. A charming read.

Marilyn Gardiner, author of FLIGHT OF ANGELSWings ePress.


Cynthianna Appel has crafted a story as warm and homey as the small Missouri town in which it's set. Packed with typical American family values, COUNTRY BOY, CITY GIRL is a gentle story with limited sensuality, but plenty of tease and flirting, filled with characters everyone will recognize from small town America. From the first pages, you'll feel you're home in Green Springs along with Ronnie Hawthorn.

Mary Allyce for The Write Lifestyle


COUNTRY BOY, CITY GIRL is another tender romance from Ms. Appel. With lively characters, a fast pace, smooth narrative and a heartfelt plot, this is a story that will appeal to... romance fans. Within the pages, you’ll find a simple story of a growing love that is sure to bring a smile to each reader’s face.

Tracy Farnsworth for The Romance Readers Connection

COUNTRY BOY, CITY GIRL is well written with some wonderful dialogue and characters. Ronnie and David are the perfect hero/heroine. David knows what he wants and goes after it but Ronnie fights him every step of the way. There is match making and interference from Natalie and Edna. This is a good romance...

Hattie Boyd for Scribes World Reviews


Wings ePress Cover Art by Pam Ripling

An excerpt from COUNTRY BOY,
CITY GIRL

It feels good to be up to my elbows in mud again.

Ronnie sighed. Self-imposed pressure faded away as the rhythmic thump, thump, thump of the clay hitting the table surface over and over again lulled her into a blissful state of relaxation. The overwhelming strain she had endured these last ten months was forgotten as she vigorously kneaded the firm white clay in her small, yet capable, hands.

"Small hands, big heart," her mother had told her time and time again. Mama's heart had been big, too, but not strong enough to survive her last heart attack. How Ronnie wished Mama could have live long enough to see Natalie born.

Now was not a time for regrets. The stiffness in Ronnie's shoulders, the small pain at the base of her neck which usually signaled a tension headache coming on, simply vanished as she and the clay became one. A woman alone starting a new business venture, Ronnie felt every bit as malleable as her chosen medium.

Her full, rosy lips came together in a hum as she worked the clay ball over and over until the last of the air pockets were worked out. She rolled it over one last time, then unceremoniously plopped it onto the center of the wheel. She adjusted her work apron and sat down on the low stool, tucking a few stray blue-black hairs behind her ears before wetting her fingers in the jar of slip. A moan of pleasure sprang forth from deep within her as she sank her thumbs into the clay's cool center, gently nudging and pulling it to form the sides of the bowl.

Today was the first day of her new business and she wanted to always remember it as a happy one. The pitch of her humming soon matched the whine of the electric potter's wheel, tuning out troubling doubts and painful memories. The dusty, earthen aroma of the clay transported her thoughts back in time. She could almost pretend she was still in art school, long before she met Jim, fell in love, got married, had Natalie and buried her desire to become an artisan under a "soccer mom" facade. The Green Springs Arts and Crafts Gallery opened a new chapter in life for both her and Nat. Ronnie made a silent vow--this story would have a happy ending.

The haunted-house creaking of the back screen door instantly alerted her to another's presence. A little girl's giggle gave her would-be assailant away.

She grinned. Silly, Nat! She's sneaking up on Mommy to play "Guess who?" It was nothing short of miraculous. In the few short days since they had moved from the city to Green Springs, Natalie had left the sadness of her father's recent death behind and rediscovered her childhood. Ronnie couldn't wait to spring a surprise of her own on her playful six year old daughter.

Ronnie bent further over her work, pretending not to hear Natalie's approaching footsteps as they were heralded by the squeak of the old farmhouse's pine floorboards. Squeak, squeak, squeak. . . She stifled a laugh and kept her eyes focused on the clay, her reflexes readied for her own response. She sprang into action the instant a tickle of warm breath brushed against the back of her neck.

"Got ya!" Ronnie cried, spinning around on her stool, grabbing her attacker by the collar and planting the biggest, wettest, sloppiest kiss she could manage.

Z-Z-Zap!

A jolt of electricity raced from her lips and traveled along the nerve highways of her body, awakening places inside she had believed were dead and buried along with Jim. Her eyes instantly flew open.

Surprise! These lips didn't belong to her daughter!

Stunned, Ronnie pushed with all her might against the stranger's wide shoulders but found herself held fast in his powerful embrace. She began to pound against him with her fists but her actions only caused him to crush her womanly curves closer to his muscular chest. His tongue entered her slightly parted portal and enticed an immediate response from within her, frightening in its intensity. Her mind was spinning so fast that she toppled off the stool and landed like a bag of clay into the newcomer's formidable arms.

It seemed an eternity before the stranger lifted his lips from hers, releasing her from his daring grasp. Ronnie melted onto the floor, her power even to protest this despicable interloper's brazen behavior vanquished.

"If this is how you greet all your male customers. . . then I'll lay odds this place turns a profit its first month..."


How to get your copy of COUNTRY BOY,
CITY GIRL

The good news is that Country Boy, City Girl is very easy to order in either trade paperback or electronic formats. Publish America (under the America House imprint) has several options. You can order the trade paperback book directly through at site online at www.publishamerica.com by typing in my name or title or call 1-877-333-7422 or fax 1-301-631-9073. For purchasing a print copy through a bookseller, please have them order it through their book wholesaler, either Ingram, Baker & Taylor and Brodart Co. (1-800-233-8467). You can order it at a discount through either Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, Wal-Mart.com or Books-a-Million

To order an electronic version of Country Boy, City Girl, simply go to the Wings ePress web site. If you land on the main page, just click on the "contemporary" button on the left side of your screen. Scroll down until you see the title, and click on what electronic version you prefer. Ta-da! It's that easy.

If you have any trouble ordering, please let me know at cynthianna@hotmail.com and I'll do all I can to get you your copy. You can download the Adobe Acrobat reader to read pdf ebooks on your computer screen by clicking on the icon below.

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