May 2005

Dear Friends,

MercyMay is an exciting month for me, with the release of MERCY, a longer, more complex and mainstream story than any you've seen from me before.

MERCY is being published by Signature Select in a unique format: with bonus features like those contained in movie DVDs.  Along with this tale of the three daughters of Martin Gerard, the leading Shakespearean actor of the age, there is also an interview with me, an original short story that takes up where the book leaves off, and a travelogue of my first-ever trip to Manhattan (bonehead mistakes included!) where I researched the physical locations.

Here's a short blurb on the storyline for MERCY, a book that is especially dear to my heart:

The Truth Could Save Her...or Destroy Her

Twenty years ago, Lucas Walker was seventeen, in love with Tansy Gerard and framed for the murder of Tansy's twin brother.  Now he's back in New York, an ex-con forbidden to get near her...the only one who believes she's in danger from the man who orchestrated that fateful night.

Reclusive, ethereal Tansy is lost in a world where her brother is still alive.  Lucas manages secret meetings with her that are a balm to his scarred soul...yet he's all too aware that his very presence could shatter the illusion that keeps Tansy safe.  To protect her, Lucas must put his life on the line to prove what really happened...and risk that Tansy could be lost to him forever. 

Here's what reviewers are saying:

Jean Brashear has created an intimate portrait of three very different sisters and the oh, so sexy men they love, then deftly woven in a murder mystery that'll keep readers guessing until the end. -- New York Times bestselling author Jo Ann Ross

An intense story of love and passion with a bit of mystery and suspense added into the plot.  The characters work well together and you can't help cheering for the underdogs of this story.  Ms. Brashear's single-title debut is a sure winner. -- FreshFiction.com

A beautiful and emotional novel of the redemptive power of love in Mercy.  The tapestry of the story is woven skillfully between the Gerard family sibings Kat, Tansy and Mona, the people who love them and the individual obstacles each one faces.  It pulls at the heart strings and the touching ending is one to relish.  This incredible romance will find its way to your keeper shelf. -- Maureen Greene, 2004 RWA Bookseller of the Year

Beloved Harlequin Superromance author, Jean Brashear makes her stunning single title debut with Mercy...Brashear is an absolute master of tapping into human emotions with her finely drawn characters. -- Patricia Rouse, Rouse's Romance Readers Groups

MERCY should be in your bookstores by mid-May, or you can order it online via links on my website.  I hope you'll give it a chance, and I'd love to hear from you after you've read it 

All my best,