Introduction
Stone Bridge in Stonebridge Cove © Debra Tate-Sears
Welcome to Stonebridge Cove, a big-hearted town filled with enough small-town Nova Scotian charm to rival the innumerable stars hanging in the boundless sable skies above.
Stonebridge Cove garners its name from the many stone bridges that cross the mighty Pembrooke River as it twists in its serpentine course down to the sea. Nestled both on a promontory jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean, and within a natural harbour carved into its rocky shoreline, Stonebridge Cove’s history is centuries old. A rugged stone fort, wall, and bridge still stand their ground like the craggy cliffs on which they’re perched. During the War of 1812, not only the town’s physical geography was established but its will to survive. Today these rough stone buildings stand proud and strong against the most violent Atlantic winter storms, and are a silent monument to the strength and tenacity of the town’s founding families. The descendants of the Barrington, Prentiss, and Lawson families, with quiet dignity, proudly call Stonebridge Cove home.
There’s an old Celtic saying that declares a house full of love has expandable walls. Stonebridge Cove is bursting at its seams.
A real-life castle, lying in ruins on an island offshore, is rumoured to be haunted, adding to the town’s lore. A lone lighthouse, one of the last manually operated along North America’s Eastern shore, stands stoically braced against the gales of the North Atlantic.
And, of course, there’s a story behind every gravestone that marks a life lived in the cemetery lying beside the old stone church.
Stonebridge Cove © Debra Tate-Sears
Stonebridge Cove’s spectacular vistas and its historical significance to the Sovereignty of Canada is only half its story. The town uniquely melds its history with leading-edge technology. A new regional cancer treatment hospital, along with a first class golf resort and small airstrip bring the world to its doorstep. Cruise ships and small private jets ferry in a regular wave of colourful individuals, seeking respite from work-weary lives longing for Stonebridge Cove’s old-world appeal. Their sojourns help stoke the rich sea of characters of which page-turning stories are made.
Whether a local citizen or a weary visitor stops in for a cup of tea at “Dublin’s Brew” or they stroll down Main Street with the glorious amethyst and tangerine hues of a setting sun plastering a dusky horizon, the worries of their world seem to slip away on the outgoing tide.
Come, sit quietly and meet the Hearts of Stonebridge Cove. They’re eager to touch your heart, and if you’ll listen, they all have a story to tell—stories of love, of hope, of ordinary heroes living extraordinary lives, and, of course, of living happily ever after.
Books in the Hearts of Stonebridge Cove Series:
Highland Roses
They say less is more. HOLLY PRENTISS would agree. Penny-less, family-less, homeless, and jobless, Holly is more hopeless than most. Robbed of her inheritance, she deserts her ancestral home for a cheerless back room in an old boarding house on one of Stonebridge Cove’s back roads. She allows only one luxury from her former well-regarded life: a season’s ticket to the symphony.
Thinking she’s lost everyone she’s loved, imagine her surprise when she finds a single milky white rose on her seat opening night. No other seat has a delicate bud. It must be a mistake of course. . .
The mistake turns to hope, and hope to exquisite anticipation when a rose is waiting for her each time she attends the symphony.
Holly strives to turn her life around, working hard from month to month, her heart secretly thrilling in the promise of mysterious roses. Could someone out there beyond her own heartache care about her?
More to come…