Second Books--First times

by Mary Margret Daughtridge

Today I'm at my beloved coast--this time at Atlantic Beach across the bridge from Morehead City, NC. Outside, a close to gale force wind thumps the cottage as if it's knocking to get in. The cottage creaks.

For the last twenty-four hours my friend and I have exalted heroes and trashed villains, sought motivations, and ramped up conflict, in other words, we've done what writers do.

With perfect seriousness we discuss the tribulations of people who exist only in our heads, and shyly hiding our eyes, admit how much we love them.

She's writing her first book, I'm at work on my third, SEALed With A Ring--and feeling the hot breath of my June deadline on my neck. My intent focus on the work in progress has almost squeezed from my consciousnes my second book, SEALed With A Promise.

To tell the truth, the response to SEALed With A Kiss so far exceeded my expectations, I wondered more than once if it was a fluke. I approached the release of SEALed With A Promise with more than a little trepidation. Would people like it?

I open my email this morning and find from http://www.rescuingromance.nancyleebadger.com/

I bought Mary Margret Daughtridge’s new book ‘SEALed with a Promise’ and wondered if it would draw me in as her first book had. To be a good judge, I reread my copy of ‘SEALed with a Kiss’. Yes, friends, Mary has brought real men to life. She starts with Caleb Dulaude, a HERO with a capital ‘H’, when we find him hot in the middle of an assassination attempt on a senator in Kandahar, Afghanistan. How he meets Emmie Caddington in North Carolina at the wedding of another SEAL pulls you into a love story with limitations and an undercurrent of revenge. Pulls and tugs on your heart will keep you reading chapter to chapter as Mary weaves characters who come to life amid southern values, old secrets, and normal family problems. ‘SEALed with a Promise’ is filled with people I love to report about the most…HEROES!
Nancy Badger


I'm learning there is no second book, there's only the second book for the first time, and even as I write this, the third book, for the first time. Every book exists inside an eternal present, and for as long as one is reading it, it's not the first or the second or any number.

Romance Junkies http://romancejunkiesreviews.com/artman/publish/contemporary/SEALed_with_a_Promise.shtml

SEALed WITH A PROMISE is the second book in Mary Margret Daughtridge SEALed series – and I have to tell you, this addition is just as delightful as SEALed WITH A KISS. The author infuses humor, realistic characters, emotion filled situations, and in some cases brutal honesty to create a storyline that’s utterly captivating from beginning to end. I believe I fell in love with Caleb before the story even really began when it’s revealed how he came by the nickname Do-Lord. He’s a strong man with a vulnerable nature and a quirky sense of humor that strikes me as very sweet. Emmie has her own vulnerabilities and it’s absolutely delightful to ‘watch’ her come out of her shell and be the woman she was meant to be.

Navy SEALS are the object of many women’s fantasies but through Ms. Daughtridge’s writing we get the opportunity to view these strong praiseworthy military men and understand that they’re individuals with feelings and needs. This story is beautifully written and I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more writing from Ms. Daughtridge in the future – and will keep my fingers crossed for stories about some of the other SEALS we’ve gotten to know in these first two stories.

This book was so refreshing - the heroine smart, dry witted, sharp as a tack, and not prone to prolonging misunderstandings as some heroines tend to do. The hero was sensitive, intelligent, strong, and capable.
Short Summary: Caleb was after revenge - he wound up falling in love with a girl. Can’t get any better than that.
http://savethecontemporary.com/2009/04/19/sealed-with-a-promise-by-mary-margret-daughtridge/" });
This post was submitted by Keira.

http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.com/2009/03/sealed-with-promise-by-mary-margaret.html

Mary Margret Daughtridge’s descriptions awaken the senses to a level that makes a reader gasp for breath and sigh with satisfactions. Primal and earthy at times, sensual, enchanting, and tender at others, the love scenes simmer, sizzle, and soar. The mirror scene is truly magically and tells so much about both Emmie and Caleb.Some of the secondary characters such as Aunt Lilly Hale, Pickett, Grace, and Vicky add depth to the happenings in Sealed With A Promise. Family values, friends’ unswerving loyalty, and the innocence of children and their need to be protected from the self-serving actions of adults, all create sub-plots that stir the conscience and intensify the story as events force life changing decisions to be made by Emmie and Caleb. Sealed With a Promise is beautifully written and tells a fantastic story that if full of intense emotions. EXCELLENT.

Romance Studio's review underscores the point I'm making that first or second or any other numerical order disappears the second a book comes to life in the reader's (or my) mind.
http://theromancestudio.com/reviews/reviews/sealedpromisedaughtridge.htm

This was my first book by this author, and I must say I was pleasantly
surprised. [... ]The author spends plenty of time building the
characters of Caleb and Emmie so the reader has a better understanding of their
relationship. The supporting characters were interesting to the point that they
almost overtook the story. However, their strong characterizations are
understandable since their actions and emotions have a huge impact on Emmie.
Overall, I would recommend this story for anyone who likes to read about alpha
men falling in love with unlikely heroines.

Someone has said of writers we are a rock of solid ego surrounded by an ocean of insecurity. It's true.

Still, though I love seeing praise of my work as much as any writer, what makes my day is knowing that the reader "got" the book. I'm all the time saying I think a romance should be thoroughly entertaining and it can also sometimes be about something.

http://www.wildonbooks.com/reviews/2009/natalie/mary_margret_daughtridge_sealed_with_a_promise.htm

Mary Margret Daughtridge did an excellent job of getting the emotional aspects of SEALED WITH A PROMISE correct. I felt Caleb and Emmie’s passion, laughed at their antics, and cried when their hearts were sad. Most of all, however, SEALED WITH A PROMISE is about acceptance and forgiveness. Both very hard to attain but when it happens, it is glorious.Don’t miss SEALED WITH A PROMISE, I can’t recommend it enough!