Kindle Edition Kathy Fischer-Brown Kathy Fischer-Brown Amazon Category:  Romance Publisher: Books We Love ISBN-10:  1926965434 Type: Fiction Pages: 294 Copyright: November 6, 2010 A 1998 finalist in the Golden Heart for long historical, Winter Fire evokes the untamed wilderness that served as a backdrop for such recent popular films as The Last of the Mohicans, The Black Robe, and Dances With Wolves. Its themes deal with the indomitability of the human spirit and the liberating power of love. When Ethan Caine pulled the unconscious woman from the half-frozen creek, he had no idea that his world was about to explode. Dressed in quilled doeskin of Seneca design, she was everything he feared, stirring up the dark secrets from his Indian fighting past. At the same time, she was everything he desired. But she was more Indian than white, and on the run for a murder she might have committed. He needed to know the truth. He needed to find it within himself to trust her. Banished by the Seneca Indians who had adopted and raised her, ostracized by the whites in the settlement, Zara wanted only to be accepted. The man Ethancaine treated her with kindness and concern. She found it easy to trust him. And yet she sensed within him a terrible loneliness. She also sensed his desire, his uncertainty. Her Indian ways disturbed him, but in her heart she would always be Seneca. He would show her how to compromise. She would teach him how to trust. Together they would find a way to love.  Excerpt "Get back!" he shouted. "The ice won't hold you!" She whirled around in alarm. And in that split second, he saw her eyes. Those startled doe's eyes. Zara Grey! In the next instant, a crack -- like a musket shot -- echoed through the ravine. She reeled as the ice heaved up beneath her amid an angry surge of black water. And then, her face frozen in a look of surprise, her mouth open in a semblance of a silent scream, she disappeared through the widening breach. His gaze fixed on the roiling chasm, Ethan hurled himself down the slope. She surfaced -- flailing arms and legs, and gasping desperately for air -- churning up the black water into an icy froth. She grasped at the splinters of ice. "Keep your head up!" Racing along the bank, he ripped off his deerskin jacket and hurled it, along with his rifle and belt into the snow. If she went under again, she'd be trapped. Already the current had taken her, sweeping her like a bobbing cork toward the opposite bank where the ice was thicker. "Keep your head up!" But the frenzied movement of her arms had slowed. She gasped at the water along with the air. She could barely keep herself afloat. As if she had made a conscious choice to surrender herself to a stronger power, he saw the spirit drain out of her. An eerie calm settled over her eyes as her gaze met his. Then she slipped under again without a struggle. Without stopping to think, Ethan tore off his shirt and moccasins, and dived through the opening. The frigid water jolted him, but he swam with determined strokes for the spot where she had disappeared. He stayed under until his lungs were ready to burst, then surfaced just long enough for a gulp of air. This time, a ceiling of ice loomed above him. He ignored the danger, for something just ahead seized his attention. Billowing like water-feathers, her hair brushed his face. She, too, appeared to undulate to a silent rhythm, her clothes swirling around her slender body in a strange and seductive dance. But she didn't move under her own power. Like a marionette, she danced to the will of the current. His blood quickened, hammering with exertion and something bordering on fear. She was trapped just beneath the surface, her cloak snagged on the submerged roots of one of the trees along the bank. He tugged once to release her, but the fabric of her cloak was hopelessly twisted around a snarl of root. He tore at it. Still, it wouldn't budge. If only he hadn't tossed away his knife! Once more, his lungs burning, he yanked. The cloak gave, a little at first, then a little more. Then it ripped away, launching them both toward the ice.

4 Stars - Amazing Authors Showcase Reviews, by Mellie Smith
Winter Fire will draw you into a world that you have never visited before and you will be thankful that it is a world you have never had to live in. Winter Fire is a historical romance, set in the early days of America's story filled with tragedy, conflict and love.

A white girl has been branded a witch and exiled from the Indian tribe that has held her captive since she was a child. Trying to find her way back to the grandfather she remembers, her evil uncle tries to force Zara to marry his son for the wealth they think she will inheirit. She is accused of murder, but escapes and continues her harsh winter journey through the wilderness to find her grandfather. Zara is helped by a lonely trapper who finds in her the love he needs, only to discover that she is the unknowing cause of the pain and heartache that has crippled his family for many years. Persued by the law, tormented by an impossible love, their problems are finally resolved because of her unselfish love and bravery.

An excellent story that will keep you glued to the pages. You will learn of Indian customs and gain a glimpse into their way of thinking. A few earthy passionate scenes , a violent and disturbing insight into the cruelty of man and the promise of strong love. I give Winter Fire four stars.

5 Stars - Women On Writing
Zara Grey moves between two worlds, one of her choosing--The People, and one she must return to--the white world of her parents.

Ethan Caine, torn between past horrors and dread for all his tomorrows wanted nothing...yet everything...to do with the beautiful Zara Grey. His memory of Zara is confused, haunted with the night his beloved father died trying to save Zara.

Zara wishes only to return to The People who have raised her, been family to her, yet shunned and threw her out of the village at the same time.

Zara?s uncle Rufus Grey wants her only for her inheritance. He abuses and beats her until one night he is killed. Rufus?s son, Jabez sees Zara running from the bloody scene. Chased as a murderer she flees for her life, all the while knowing in her heart that all things come full circle. She is captured and thrown into prison to await her sentencing.

Ethan Caine rushes to save Zara from the hanging he?s told awaits her but he is taken prisoner by the tribe who seeks out Zara to take her back to The People. They have learned she is not a witch and wish to tell her that her tribal family wants her back among them.

Will Ethan see the light of his love for her before it is too late? Will he be able to escape his captors and save her, or will the love and goodness of her own heart save him?

Winter Fire--Kathy Fischer-Brown?s historical romance novel, is an enthralling, action packed read from page one to ?The End.? Her characters leap off the page into your heart. I highly recommend it for avid lovers of an excellent read in historical romance. This novel is a keeper.

4 Roses - Romance News, by Rose
The story begins in Colonial America. A white child is taken by Indians and her family killed. In the firey aftermath a young man loses his self-respect and his faith.

The Indians stolen prize was returned, but no one seemed to think much about this. Greed was the only thing that was on her Uncle Rufus' mind...she was worth a fortune, and she WOULD marry his son Jabez so he could lay his hands on the money. Jabez did not want her...her aunt would say nothing...she was a prisoner, a thing, lower than a dog except for her grandfather's wealth. She was Zara Grey.

Petite and honey-haired Zara was afraid of what was coming her way. Rufus would beat her into submission, and Aunt Ginny would never said a word. The pain, confusion, and fear in her clear doe-eyed gaze were what caught the attention of Ethan Caine. Called a coward by many, his past was something he felt he had to live down, but he could never have expected the events that the chance meeting in Engle's Drygoods had started, nor what the results would cost him. He has lived alone since that fateful day of the massacre, hidden in his cabin far in the woods and trapping for a living. Fate had hardened him, but something about Zara made him feel alive. She would never be his...Rufus had announced that in Engle's.

Now, accused of murder, Zara flees. Hoping to make it to Albany and the grandfather she remembers with such love and affection, she doesn't count on the thin ice of the creek, or straying into Ethan's territory.

As I haven't read many Colonial romances, this one took me quite by surprise. The characters are well defined, and the relationships are period correct. The story itself? Well, I have not read many better. The detail of the colonial life style have been well researched, and I had to read it twice before I could accurately review it as a book! The third time was the proverbial charm, and I could finally pull myself OUT OF THE STORY, and get down to business. If you are looking for a really sexy romp, you'd better find some erotica. It is not found here. I find that this does NOT disappoint me though. The blatant sexuality was not a part of America at this time and what did occur was totally within the realm of the story and time period. Anything else would have been contrived to titillate only and would have assuredly ruined the the story and its impact. It is definitely a worthy candidate for a MUST BUY list.