Jo Goodman Author Page

Jo Goodman

Jo Goodman was a licensed professional counselor for years, working with children and families in West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle. Always a fan of the happily ever after, Jo turned to writing romances early in her career as a child care worker when she realized the only life script she could control was the one she wrote herself. She has been inspired by the resiliency and courage of the children she’s met and feels privileged to have been trusted with their stories, the ones that they alone have the right to tell.

Once upon a time, Jo believed she was going to be a marine biologist. She knows she is lucky that seasickness made her change course. She lives with her family in Colliers, West Virginia. If you would like to contact Jo you may do so via the contact page on her website.

Only My Love

New York City newspaperwoman Mary Michael Dennehy is abducted during a train robbery, carried off by one of the gang members, Ethan Stone, who claims she's his estranged wife.

Ethan, an undercover federal marshal, will do anything to protect Mary's true identity. But when the gang is finally brought to justice and Mary bolts, Ethan can't seem to get the feisty reporter out of his dreams.

Overjoyed to be back in New York with the story of a lifetime, Mary comes face-to-face with the gang's cunning leader who has escaped federal custody. Now Mary can only hope that the man who once attempted to save her will try again.

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My Heart's Desire

One of Jay Mac Worth's 5 bastard daughters, Mary Renee "Rennie" Dennehy studies engineering in order to impress her railroad mogul father. But Jay Mac's attention comes in the form of Jarret Sullivan, a bounty hunter instructed to abort Rennie's engagement to a trusted employee.

Furious, Rennie drives both men from her heart and life.

Then Jay Mac is involved in a train wreck. Believed dead, dangerous rumors of fraud and foul play swirl through the city, pushing Rennie back toward Jarret.

As the pair strike an uneasy truce and work to save Jay Mac's railroad empire, each discovers the unexpected: more than searing kisses and burning passion lies between them.

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Forever in My Heart

Injured and lost, Mary Margaret "Maggie" Dennehy stumbles into a seedy New York City neighborhood. When the New York heiress awakes in her fashionable 5th Avenue residence, she remembers nothing of her experience, save a haunting dream that fills her with longing.

Colorado Rancher Connor Holiday can't forget the passion filled night spent in the fancy New York bordello, or the exquisite lover who so willingly played the innocent. But when that lover turns out to be the bastard daughter of one of the city's richest men, he is forced to choose between what he wants and what he needs.

To save his ranch... to save her dreams... Connor and Maggie strike a bargain where the success of their marriage hinges on breaking their vows.

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Her Defiant Heart

When Civil War veteran and hero Christian Marshall attempts to aid a mysterious young woman escaping a New York City asylum, he is reminded that good intentions count for nothing and painful memories are best drown in a good bottle of whiskey and the arms of a whore.

Jenny Holland discovers the respite and refuge she needs at Marshall House. To remain in this sanctuary and protect her life-and-death secrets, she must make herself necessary to its master.

But serving at the will and pleasure of such a dark and dangerous man might not be enough, and her attempts to heal his wounds will expose her own.

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His Heart's Revenge

Logan Marshall is not looking for the girl who betrayed him as a Union spy during the war, but when their paths cross again, he is not about to let her go.

All grown up, Mary Catherine McCleary is now the toast of the New York theater scene as the accomplished actress Katy Dakota. But changing her name does not change her past, and she has never forgotten Logan, her first love and enemy.

Katy knows what Logan intends to claim. His revenge will be as damning as it will be exquisite. She could run, she could disappear, but is being a prisoner of Logan's passion any worse than what she did to him?

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My Steadfast Heart

Colin Thorne finds his way out of a London workhouse but at the cost of losing his two younger brothers. With an uncertain future ahead of him, Colin makes seafaring his life until the inexorable pull of revenge draws him back to London. The debt owed to him by the Earl of Weybourne will be paid.

Weybourne Park has been Mercedes Leydon's home her entire life. Now serving as the estate's manager and caretaker of her uncle's two children, Mercedes knows the earl's frequent absences are what make Weybourne Park a home.

But the earl's gaming has taken its toll and she and her young cousins are faced with losing everything to a devil-of-a-stranger calling in a debt that can't be paid.

Casting caution aside, Mercedes will make a new bargain with this devil. If it's her soul he wants—or her body—she will give it to him and stake her own claim on his steadfast heart.
REVIEWS:
"Difficult to put down. Ms. Goodman gets better and better." ~Old Book Barn Gazette

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My Reckless Heart

Decker Thorne learned early life lessons on the streets of London, stealing to earn his way. That devil-to-pay existence does not prepare him for someone like Jonna Remington, a fiercely independent woman who is not impressed with his charm or cunning. As owner of Remington Shipping, what Jonna needs is Decker's deft touch at the helm of her finest clipper.

With the Remington fortune riding on Decker's success, Jonna is vulnerable and beholding, and when her daring plan gives rise to new dangers, it is Decker who puts his life on the line to save hers. On board Huntress, the clipper she owns but where he is master, Decker can keep her safe from everyone but himself. As they make the Atlantic crossing from Boston to London, Jonna must decide how safe she wants to be, or if Decker has stolen the one thing she did not know she had to give... her own reckless heart.

REVIEWS:
"...a fabulous read. Jo Goodman writes with a unique and impressive style" ~Virginia Henley

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With All My Heart

Grey Janeway has lost his way. With no memory connecting him to his past, he is free to start over, and there is no better place to do that than San Francisco. In the city where rebuilding is a matter of course as well as pride, Grey looks to carve out a life that suits a man with no history. He knows there is a fortune to be made in this gold rush town, and he is betting everything on the success of his gaming hall and hotel to make it.

Berkeley Shaw is gifted—or cursed—with the ability to see what others can’t. When Colin and Decker Thorne learn of her peculiar talent, they are desperate enough to hire her to find their youngest brother. Persuaded to leave Boston by the man whose use for her is always a means to an end, Berkeley arrives in San Francisco and finds herself alone for the first time in years.

When her path crosses Grey Janeway's, no second sight is required for her to recognize the end of one journey and the beginning of another. To help him, she must help herself, and the healing, she will learn, begins with her heart.
REVIEWS:
"A winner! I didn't want the story to end." ~Stella Cameron

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Let Me Be The One

A Lady with unusual connections, Elizabeth Penrose is wise, witty, beautiful, and quite determined to remain alone.

Brendan Hampton, Earl of Northam, also known as North, is pursuing a jewel thief with the help of his three boon companions: South, East, and West—The Compass Club.

Then North is accused of being the very thief he is seeking and Lady Elizabeth steps forward with an alibi, one that necessitates a hasty marriage. Their lives thoroughly complicated by secrets, Libby must make a harrowing choice: trust her husband, or lose him forever.

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Everything I Ever Wanted

Talented and poised, actress India Parr has claimed the attention of London's most impressive gentlemen, yet prefers isolation when not on stage.

Matthew Forrester, Viscount Southerton, also known as South, is hunting a traitorous murderer with the help of his three boon companions: North, East, and West—The Compass Club.

When the quest leads to the popular Miss India Parr, it's up to South to determine if the extraordinary actress is the puppet or the puppeteer. But India dare not trust South with the truth, so she responds with passion and their complicated lives begin to unravel.

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All I Ever Needed

Lady Sophia Colley, daughter of the late Earl of Tremont, faces mercenary relatives demanding she marry the money her funds-poor father failed to leave them.

Gabriel Whitney, Marquess Eastlyn (East to his friends), is tasked by the Crown with opening new trade with China. Calling upon his three boon companions: South, North, and West—The Compass Club—for aid, two things stand in East's way: The Society of Bishops, a group of men who were East's boyhood tormenters, and false rumors of his engagement to Lady Sophia Colley.

When East arrives at Lady Sophia's doorstep to dispel the rumor, the last thing he expects is to be entranced by a woman who's lived beneath his notice. East proposes on the spot. Sophie turns him down flat. The desire between them may be impossible to deny, but deny it she must to protect East from a past intrigue that is about to place them both in very present danger.

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Beyond a Wicked Kiss

Headmistress Ria Ashby is desperate to locate a young female student missing from her care.

Evan Marchman, the new Duke of Westphal, would happily return to his former bastard status for one more dangerous assignment with his childhood boon companions North, South and East—The Compass Club.

Then Evan—"West" to his friends—encounters Ria in her frantic search and uncovers truths about the academy's board of governors that were never meant to be known.

As West and Ria dig deeper, they find more than an inner sanctum ruled by sensuality and seduction. They discover each other. But it will take an act of courage more profound than taking on West's old enemies to admit it.

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More Than You Know

Vowing to reclaim his Charleston plantation following the War Between the States, Rand Hamilton turns to the only means remaining: the lost treasure that has cursed his family for centuries.

But to finance the expedition, he must agree to the terms of his wealthy London benefactor: allow the Duke's bluestocking goddaughter to accompany him.

Wary of Claire Bancroft, Rand welcomes the haunted woman aboard his clipper ship, unaware she naively holds the key to the impossible riddle that will lead him to the glorious treasure—and a passion neither of them can deny.

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More Than You Wished

Following the War Between the States, reclaiming her family's Carolina plantation from her ruthless stepfather is Bria Hamilton's only desire. And if hiring a dangerously attractive Northerner as a means-to-an-end will see her plan through, it's a risk she'll take.

But Luke Kincaid is not as he seems, and has but one reason for accepting Bria's offer: revenge. He cannot afford the laughter that sweetens their moments, or the passion he longs to teach her, or the love he never meant to feel.

And neither can Bria.

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Crystal Passion

1775 London, England and the Colony of Virginia

Ashley Lynne never expected kindness from her guardian, the Duke of Linfield. But being betrothed by him to a much older man she hardly knew was unthinkable. Worse was the cost of her resistance—awakening from a drugged sleep in the bedchamber of a dark-haired, steel-eyed stranger.

In England on business, Captain Salem McClellan assumed the lovely young woman curled up in his bed was only an evening's entertainment supplied by the Duke. But Ashley's terrified protests were proof enough of her innocence—and a powerful inspiration to rescue her.

From the gloomy docks of London to the lush green hills of Virginia, Salem and Ashley embark on a journey that exposes scandalous family secrets, and plunges them into the American Revolution where they fight for freedom, and the promise of each other...forever.

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: For fans of Jo Goodman we bring you one of her earliest books freshly edited, by Jo Goodman herself, for today's readers. Enjoy!

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Seaswept Abandon

1781 London, England and the Colonies of Virginia and New York

When the alluring green-eyed Rae McClellan agreed to be a courier for the Colonies, she never dreamed that on her very first mission she'd coldly kill one man—hotly love another—and land on the private schooner of a British sympathizer.

Jericho Smith never lacks for a willing woman, but when his gaze locks with Rae's, he knows no other will satisfy him this night. He's also mistaken his contact for a wench, igniting a mutual passion that's about to prove costly for them both.

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: For fans of Jo Goodman we bring you one of her earliest books freshly edited by Jo Goodman herself for today's readers. Enjoy!

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Tempting Torment

1787 England, Virginia and Philadelphia

After quickly wedding the mortally wounded Noah McClellan, Jessa Winter intends to flee England as his widow along with her infant child. But she didn't anticipate Noah's will to live or his determination to make her deliver on all their marriage vows.

As they sail for America, Noah has every intention of getting his due from the cunning female who's played him for a fool. But his growing tenderness for this beautiful woman he now calls wife, and the tiny child she cradles, has him torn between claiming what's his and winning her heart.

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: For fans of Jo Goodman we bring you one of her earliest books freshly edited by Jo Goodman herself for today's readers. Enjoy!

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The Captain's Lady

It's revenge that Alex Danty seeks after British Naval officer, Captain Travers, brings terror and murder to her Caribbean island home. Gravely injured protecting her loved ones, she's rescued by an American ship's crew.

Captain Tanner Cloud, understands why Alex doesn’t thank him for his interfering. But as the attraction grows between them, Alex never stops promising to escape while he never stops promising to stop her from such a mad endeavor of revenge.

But a surprise awaits them both in port: a fledgling nation's battle for survival, and treasonous schemers intent on tearing them apart.

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Velvet Night

Abducted, drugged, and sold to a brothel, Kenna Dunne is believed dead. If not for Rhys Canning's timely rescue, her death would be a reality. Escaping England and a shadowy past with Rhys, the only person she trusts to protect her, Kenna arrives in Boston as Rhys's wife and with a newfound purpose.

Together they will save the shipping line inherited from his father.
Believing Kenna is safe from her father's killer and the trauma of witnessing his death, Rhys truly enjoys his time with her. But peace is short-lived when the past catches up to them.

Now, they must learn the truth behind Kenna's father's murder. With Kenna's life at risk once again, she acknowledges that someone she loves may be trying to kill her.

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Sweet Fire

Told all her life that she was plain, Lydia Chadwick knew no man would come courting. So it was with some suspicion that the shy, sweet, San Francisco heiress woke one morning with a tall, dark, dangerously handsome husband she couldn't recall marrying. Lydia had lost her memory, and was desperate to discover if there was truly a love to remember. For as she looked at Nathan Hunter's lean, muscular frame, she longed to abandon herself to the sensual stranger, and believe—if only for a little while—that the possessive passion in his smoky gray eyes was really for her.

Business and pleasure weren't supposed to mix, but in this case Nathan Hunter was willing to make an exception. After all, it was in his best interests to keep his new bride's mind off the secrets of her past and her hatred for him. Keeping focused on his goals proved difficult as Lydia's sweet surrender wove a seductive spell around Nathan's heart, arousing emotions he had thought forever buried.

But past transgressions have a way of catching up to the future. When Nathan's former friend and rival, Brigham More, seemingly returns from the dead, he stands to ruin Lydia and Nathan by unleashing an unspeakable secret.

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Violet Fire

-- 1746, England and Virginia Colony --

Wrongly accused of murdering her abusive step-father, Shannon Kilmartin never expected to leave Newgate prison until she's sold as an indentured servant to work as a governess in the Virginia Colony.

Brandon Fleming never escaped the memory of the beautiful raven-haired woman he met in Cambridge. He was so captivated that upon returning to the Tidewater Plantation in the Virginia Colony, he married Aurora because she held an uncanny resemblance to that raven-haired beauty. But it was in appearance, only. Now, abandoned by Aurora and left to raise a child on his own, Brandon faces a lonely future and needs a governess for his daughter.

When Shannon arrives in Tidewater, she's immediately mistaken for the wayward Aurora and is not greeted with enthusiasm by anyone except Brandon's daughter. Brandon recognizes Shannon as the young girl who captivated him four years prior and though he tries to resist, cannot deny the attraction he feels.

Then Brandon's missing wife's parents arrive to visit, forcing Shannon to play the role of Brandon's wife, which soon leads to mutual attraction. But, the love growing between them is soon tested when Aurora returns with her lover and a shocking secret.

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