USA Today Bestselling Author Hallee Bridgeman

The Amazing Story That Inspired Temperance’s Trial

Hallee Bridgeman — Sun, 24 May 2026 13:05:33 +0000

WHILE the story of the special team of operators I named The Virtues is entirely fictional, set in a fictional town, and comprised of fictional characters who form a fictional military division, every single one of my fictional heavenly heroines was inspired by a real World War II heroine and the story was inspired by real events.

Today, Temperance’s Trial IS FREE until May 28th. Yes! FREE. You can get it in ebook form at this link.

Here are the amazing stories that inspired the writing of Temperance’s Trial, Part 1 of the Virtues and Valor Serialized Story.

Pastor André Trocmé and his wife Magda

The hometown of fictional Marie Gilbert and her brother Edward, Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, is an actual place and the great and honored reverend Pastor André Trocmé as well as Pastor Edouard Theis were actual people. These men of God inspired the entire town to smuggle uncounted Jewish children and their parents, possibly as many as five thousand or more, out of the country and to safety. Those children who could not be safely evacuated were taken in and “adopted” by families who informed the Nazis that the children were visiting relatives or war orphans.

When the Gestapo or the corrupt and collaborates Vichy police would raid the town, the citizens would routinely risk their lives by hiding children and parents anywhere they could and using elaborate schemes to signal when the coast was clear. Many residents were eventually arrested by the Gestapo. Sadly, the Reverand Trocmé’s own cousin, Daniel Trocmé, was sent to Maidanek concentration camp and tortured to death.

It may be significant to note that the townspeople received contributions from the Quakers, the Salvation Army, the American Congregational Church, as well as other Jewish and Christian ecumenical groups, the French Protestant student organization Cimade, and the Swiss Help to Children. All of these organizations helped to ensure that the Jewish refugees were housed and fed and could travel in relative safety to Switzerland or other safe havens.

In 1990, the entire town became the only French town and one of only two towns on earth to be recognized as “Righteous Among the Nations” for their humanitarianism and bravery under extreme danger during the Second World War.

Marie Gilbert, code named Temperance, was inspired by the incredible Eileen Mary “Didi” Nearne who served as a wireless operator in the Spiritualist Network in Occupied France under the code named “Rose.”

Like Temperance, Didi Nearne, her brother Francis, and her sister Jacqueline fled the Nazis as the German war machine rolled into France. They eventually made their way to Great Britain via Spain.

All three of the Nearnes entered service with the British Special Operations Executive, or SOE, which was called “Churchill’s secret army.” A group within the SOE was called the F Section Networks. These networks were established in France to transmit and receive coded messages just like Temperance does in Temperance’s Trial. Due to the ease of detection and the German’s determination to track down these operators, it was one of the most dangerous duties assigned to agents within the SOE.

While Didi’s sister, Jacqueline, was sent to France to act as a courier (much like Temperance’s friend, Prudence), Didi stayed in England as a signals operator and received the encoded messages coming from France. After some time, she volunteered to go to France and act as a wireless operator for the F Section.

On March 2, 1944, Didi became one of only 39 women to parachute into Occupied France. She used the aliases Mademoiselle du Tort, Jacqueline Duterte, and Alice Wood – and went by the code name “Rose”. She worked as part of Operation Mitchel, which organized finances for the resistance. During her first five months in France, she transmitted an astonishing 105 messages.

After many, many narrow escapes, including a time on a train when a Nazi soldier offered to carry the suitcase containing her wireless radio, Didi was finally arrested. While in Paris, she had sent a coded transmission from her room, much like my character Temperance. Within minutes, the Gestapo arrived and found her in possession of her wireless rig.

According to wartime records, Nearne “survived, in silence, the full revolting treatment of the baignoire” in the torture chamber of the Paris headquarters of the Gestapo on the banks of the Rue des Saussaies.

She nearly died from the torture. They beat her, stripped her, and repeatedly submerged her in a bath of ice cold water until she started to black out. Yet, she did not break. She stuck to her story of being an innocent French girl who had been duped into helping someone by sending messages she didn’t understand in return for money to buy eggs and bread.

She never once revealed her true identity. She never told of the other agents with whom she worked. Despite days of endless torture, she never gave up any information of planned operations.

At the time, Eileen Mary “Didi” Nearne was only 23 years old.

On August 15, 1944, she was sent to the infamous Ravensbrück concentration camp near Berlin, and from there was sent through several forced labor camps. She refused to work in any of the camps, even under threat of being shot. Instead, she defied her captors to shoot her, and ended up being transferred each time instead.

Eventually, she ended up in a camp in Silesia. There Didi finally realized that the only way she would survive this experience would be to give in and work otherwise she would starve. During the bitter cold winter in December of 1944, the Nazis moved Didi to the Markleberg camp, near Leipzig, where she worked on a road-repair gang for 12 hours a day.

On April 13, 1945, while being transferred to yet another camp, along with two French girls from a work gang, Didi escaped. The trio evaded their pursuers by hiding in the forest. Astonishingly, they were apprehended by the SS in Markkleeberg, but she used her French language skills to fool her captors into letting them go. In Leipzig, a Catholic priest hid her until the arrival of the United States troops.

Jacqueline and Eileen “Didi” Nearne — Photo Source the Guardian

Sadly, American intelligence officers initially identified her as a Nazi collaborator and held her at a detention center alongside captured SS personnel. Once London verified her identity as a secret agent, the Americans finally released her.

After the war, Eileen Mary “Didi” Nearne was awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French government, that nation’s highest award given to foreigners, and was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by King George VI for services rendered in France during the enemy occupation.

Given what she underwent at the hands of her captors for years and years, her very survival is remarkable. When asked how she kept going, she replied, “The will to live. Willpower. That’s the most important. You should not let yourself go. It seemed that the end would never come, but I always believed in destiny, and I had a hope.”

Didi lived with her sister Jacqueline until her sister’s death in 1982. Afterward, she lived alone, a total recluse, haunted by her experiences as a captive of the Gestapo.

When Eileen Mary “Didi” Nearne died alone on September 2, 2010, it was several days before her death was discovered. It wasn’t until officials looking through her belongings hoping to find a relative whom they could contact that they discovered her true identity. Once they realized her incredible bravery and service, the entire community of Torquay, England, came together and gave her a funeral worthy of such an amazing war heroine with full military honors.

Unsurprisingly, there are very few actual photographs of Didi from the war and none of her operating a wireless rig. For the cover of this book, another suitable individual was selected. Pictured on the cover in place of “Temperance” and operating a wireless radio is none other than Mrs. Mac.

The complete Virtues and Valor series is on a rolling sale today through June 4th! Here are the dates:

Virtues and Valor Series

Temperance’s Trial

Series: Virtues and Valor Series, Book 1
Genre: Historical Fiction
Tag: Free Reads

Marie Gilbert and her elder brother flee from Vichy France after the Gestapo arrest her father for suspicion of aiding Jewish children to escape the oncoming fascist front. Once in London, Marie is recruited into an experimental all female cohort dubbed the Virtues, a collection of seven extraordinary women with highly specialized skills, and given the codename TEMPERANCE. Assigned to Occupied France, she transmits messages deep in the heart of Nazi territory.

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Ebook ISBN: 978-1-939603-45-6
Audiobook ISBN: 978-1-68190-240-1

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Audiobook Direct from Hallee

Homeland’s Hope

Series: Virtues and Valor Series, Book 2
Genre: Historical Fiction

Stage and screen legend Virginia Benoit performs for standing room only crowds in her adopted home of France. When the Nazis roll into Paris, she flees to Casablanca, taking the heart of an enemy General with her. While in there, Virginia, soon codenamed HOPE, devises a plan to use her position, talent, and influence with the high ranking Axis officer to aid the Allied cause.

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Ebook ISBN: 978-1-939603-46-3
Audiobook ISBN: 978-1-68190-241-8

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Direct from Hallee

Charity’s Code

Series: Virtues and Valor Series, Book 3
Genre: Historical Fiction

Dorothy Ewing works on the home-front, receiving and sending messages to her team in France and coordinating a secret mission. Using the codename CHARITY, she receives and sends messages to her team in France and coordinates a secret mission with her husband via coded letters. She intercepts the transmission from TEMPERANCE alerting to her blown cover. The clock is ticking in a race to save Temperance’s life.

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Ebook 978-1-939603-47-0
Audiobook ISBN: 978-1-68190-244-9

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A Parcel for Prudence

Series: Virtues and Valor Series, Book 4
Genre: Historical Fiction

Assigned the code name of PRUDENCE, Muriel Tolson’s natural French allows her to infiltrate Occupied France where she works as a courier; carrying messages, money, and sometimes people through the secret resistance network aiding the allies to accomplish very dangerous missions behind enemy lines.

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Ebook 978-1-939603-48-7
Audiobook ISBN: 978-1-68190-245-6

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Grace’s Ground War

Series: Virtues and Valor Series, Book 5
Genre: Historical Fiction

Can Ruth Aubertin, codenamed GRACE, and her team pull off the mission of rescuing TEMPERANCE, or will too many variables crash together at the wrong time? As a Jew deep in the heart of the Nazi occupation, Ruth knows that the Allies must win this war, and she will do everything in her power to make sure that happens.

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Ebook 978-1-939603-49-4
Audiobook ISBN: 978-1-68190-246-3

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Direct from Hallee

Mission of Mercy

Series: Virtues and Valor Series, Book 6
Genre: Historical Fiction

Doctor Betty Grimes works undercover as a nurse with the codename MERCY. When Betty is sent to the local prison to see to a prisoner who has taken ill, her shock at finding TEMPERANCE nearly blows her cover. Now TEMPERANCE is sick and Betty needs to get her well enough for the coming rescue operation to succeed.

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Ebook ISBN: 978-1-939603-50-0
Audiobook ISBN: 978-1-68190-247-0

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Flight of Faith

Series: Virtues and Valor Series, Book 7
Genre: Historical Fiction

Pilot Helen “Troy” Mulberry flies between Britain and France transporting passengers, supplies, or performing reconnaissance under the codename FAITH. Shot down over France during the mission to rescue her fellow agent from the clutches of the Nazis, Can Helen make her way through enemy territory with no language skills and somehow come through with a means to get her team back to Britain?

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Ebook ISBN: 978-1-939603-51-7
Audiobook ISBN: 978-1-68190-248-7

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Valor’s Vigil

Series: Virtues and Valor Series, Book 8
Genres: Historical Fiction, Military
Tag: Military

An American spy undercover in a Nazi uniform operating under the codename VALOR, Leopold Schäfer is in charge of the prisoners in Occupied France’s Valeurville prison. After the arrest of the radio operator codenamed TEMPERANCE, Leo must handle the situation with the utmost caution. Can he protect her without blowing his own cover, or will he place his own life in danger to keep her safe?

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Ebook ISBN: 978-1-68190-022-3
Audiobook ISBN: 978-1-68190-249-4

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The Complete Virtues and Valor Series

Series: Virtues and Valor Series, Book 9
Genres: Historical Fiction, Military
Tag: Military

In 1941 Great Britain a special war department assembles an experimental and exclusively female cohort of combat operatives consisting of four willing spies, a wireless radio operator, an ingenious code breaker, and a fearless pilot. Dubbed the Virtues, each woman is hand-picked, recruited, and trained to initiate a daring mission in Occupied France. As plans unfold to initiate the largest prison break of Allied POWs in history, the Nazis capture the young radio operator. It will take the cohesive teamwork of the rest of the women to save her life before Berlin breaks her and brings the force of the Third Reich to bear.

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Paperback ISBN: 978-1-68190-024-7
Hardback ISBN: 978-1-68190-085-8

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Direct from Hallee

I Am Not Alone

Hallee Bridgeman — Sun, 05 Apr 2026 11:00:00 +0000

People say: God will never give you more than you can handle.

That’s actually never found in scripture. What is found in scripture are things like:

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

“Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. ” 1 Chronicles 28:20

For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5

I rest my comfort in knowing that no matter what terribleness I’m going through, God is right there beside me. I can face ANYTHING because no matter what, I am not alone.

Will He give me more than I can handle? Lord, I hope not. I hope I can handle it all. But, God knows, I’ve seen the boundaries. My toe has brushed close to that foul line. Yet, I know that no matter what, I’m not alone – that God is with me. And that is what gets me through the next second, the next minute, the next hour, the next day.

As Jeb said to our dear friend whose wife (my age) was dying and we were all reeling from the idea of a life without their Aunt Carrie, “God is good even when it sucks.”

And He is here, right by my side, even when it sucks.

It Is Finished

Hallee Bridgeman — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 13:59:48 +0000

So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. (John 19:30 NKJV)

Just three words in English. One single word in the original Greek: tetelestai.

When Jesus spoke those words from the cross, He wasn’t sighing in defeat, as if to say, “I’m done for.” He was declaring that the work was complete. The mission the Father had given Him—planned before the world began—had been carried through to the end.

Tetelestai means more than simply “it stopped.” It carries the sense of something brought to its full and intended goal—accomplished perfectly, lacking nothing. It’s finished, and the results stand forever.

All that the law demanded. All that the old sacrifices had pointed toward. All that the prophets had foretold.

For generations, people had brought lambs to the altar—temporary coverings for sin, repeated again and again, never quite enough. They were only shadows. But on the cross, the real thing arrived. The true Lamb of God took on what those sacrifices could only hint at.

It reaches all the way back to the first promise in Eden—that the serpent’s head would one day be crushed. It runs through Isaiah’s picture of the Suffering Servant, pierced for our wrongs. It echoes the psalms that described the agony of crucifixion long before that form of execution even existed. Jesus brought every thread of the story to its completion.

John tells us that Jesus knew everything had now been completed so that Scripture would be fulfilled. And then He said it out loud: “It is finished.”

The debt of our sin wasn’t pushed off or partially covered. It was paid in full.

The holy wrath against sin wasn’t overlooked. It was satisfied in Him.

The way back to the Father wasn’t left half-open. It was thrown wide open and secured.

Because of that cry from the cross, we don’t have to scramble and strive to earn God’s favor. It’s already been accomplished. We simply receive it and live from it.

The cross wasn’t some tragic detour in God’s plan. It was the very fulfillment of it. When Jesus bowed His head and released His spirit, it wasn’t the end of hope—it was the moment redemption was made complete.

Chicken Tamales

Hallee Bridgeman — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 14:36:58 +0000

Chicken Tamales

My husband will rate a restaurant on whether or not the tamales are good. It is truly one of his favorite dishes. I found this recipe in an old Better Homes & Gardens cookbook called "Cooking Mexican" and it is a true family favorite.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Servings

Calories 535kcal

Author Hallee Bridgeman

Equipment

1 saucepan
1 blender
1 large bowl
1 mixer
measuring cups and spoons
mixing spoons
1 steamer pot with basket

Ingredients

Red Chili Sauce

1/4 cup chili powder
2 TBS olive oil (I use extra virgin)
14.5 oz canned tomatoes
2 ea garlic cloves
1/2 tsp salt (sea salt or Kosher salt is best)
2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground cumin

Tamales

12 ea corn husks, foil, or parchment paper rectangles
2 1/4 cups Masa Harina flour (I use fresh ground dried hominy flour)
1 cup warm water
3/4 cup palm shortening (can substitute beef tallow)
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup cooked chicken -finely chopped

Instructions

Prepare Corn Husks

If using corn husks, soak in water for several hours.

Make Red Chili Sauce

In a small saucepan, cook and stir chili powder and oil over medium-low heat for 4 minutes.
Place tomatoes, chili powder mix, and garlic in blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into saucepan and add spices, honey, and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.

Tamale Dough

In a large mixing bowl, mix flour and water. Let stand for 20 minutes. Using a hand mixer, beat in the shortening or tallow until well combined.

Assemble Tamales

Spoon slightly less than 1/4 cup dough onto each tamale wrapper, spread into a rectangle leaving space at either end. Spoon about 1 TBS red chili sauce onto the dough. Top with 1 TBS chicken.
You have choices about how to bundle these:
Fold the long edge of the wrapper over the filling so that it overlaps, then roll up. Tie ends with pieces of cornhusk or string. If using foil, tuck ends under.
-OR-
Fold the sides of the cornhusk over the filling, overlapping them. Fold the bottom pointed end up towards the top, creating a package.
Place tamales on a steamer basket in a large pot. Add water to just below basket level. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce heat to medium. Steam for 35 to 40 minutes.
Serve with red chili sauce. Makes 12 tamales.

Nutrition

Is Sexual Purity Realistic in Modern Dating?

Hallee Bridgeman — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 20:54:00 +0000

When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he did not write to a modest culture.

Corinth was morally chaotic. Sexual immorality was normalized, spiritualized, and commercialized. Self-control was not fashionable.

And yet Paul wrote:

“But if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.” 1 Corinthians 7:9

He did not conform to the current culture. He faced the normalization of sin head-on, and not only said, “this is wrong,” he provided a solution.

That same normalization is part of our culture.

The Question Beneath the Question

When people ask whether sexual purity is “realistic,” they are rarely asking about biology. They are asking whether obedience is practical. We live in a culture where:

Sexual compatibility is treated as a prerequisite to commitment.
Cohabitation is considered responsible.
Waiting is viewed as repression.
Desire is framed as entitlement.

So when a couple chooses abstinence, the reaction is often not curiosity. Instead, what you get are the kind of questions like:

Is that even sustainable?
Is that even necessary?
Doesn’t love justify intimacy?
How will you know if you’re compatible?

Interestingly, those are not new questions. In fact, Ecclesiastes tells us that, “There’s nothing new under the sun.”

Passion Is Not Sin

Scripture does not treat sexual desire as shameful. God created it. Genesis 2 presents union as a gift. The Song of Solomon celebrates attraction and sexual fulfillment. Marriage is described as honorable and the marriage bed undefiled (Hebrews 13:4).

The issue is not desire. The issue is context.

Fire in a fireplace warms a home.
Fire outside its boundary consumes it.

The covenant of marriage gives desire its proper place.

What Makes Sex Holy?

This is where the modern mind often stumbles.

If two people love each other, are committed, and intend to marry , then why should a legal document matter? The question assumes that marriage is primarily a civil contract. Biblically, it is covenant.

A covenant is:

Public.
Binding.
Witnessed.
Accountable before God.

It is not merely emotional commitment. It is declared, vowed, and entered into before witnesses.

In Scripture, physical union reflects covenant reality. When the physical precedes the covenant, something is inverted. Not because passion is evil. But because our God is a God of order, and order matters.

Self-Control Is a Fruit, Not a Personality Trait

One of the quiet assumptions in the modern dating world is this:

“If we’re strongly attracted to each other, abstinence is unrealistic.”

But self-control is not about personality strength. It is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23). Which means it is cultivated in surrender, not willpower alone. Waiting does not prove someone is unemotional. It proves they are willing to subordinate desire to obedience. That is not repression or backwards thinking. It is obedience and maturity.

“But Is It Actually Possible?”That may be the most honest version of the question.

Yes, culture has shifted. Access has changed. Temptation is amplified. But, temptation is not new.

Corinth was not digitally connected, but it was immorally saturated. However, Paul did not tell believers to lower the bar. He told them to live differently.

Why This Matters in Story

In Black Belt, White Dress, Travis and Traci have been together for over two years. They love each other deeply. They are physically attracted to each other. And yet they choose restraint.

Not because they lacked opportunity. They are adults who lived alone, so it would have been very easy to just give in to temptation and be done with it. Yet, despite the want and access, they chose not to.

Not because they lacked desire. But because they believed covenant should precede consummation. Their struggle is not portrayed as effortless. It is portrayed as intentional.

Fiction allows us to examine these tensions at a safe distance. Through characters, we can explore what conviction looks like when tested.

Never to shame.
Never to idealize.

But to ask ourselves whether obedience still matters when culture says it does not.

A Final Reflection

The deeper question is not whether abstinence is realistic. It is whether we trust that God’s design for sexuality is protective rather than restrictive. Scripture does not frame sexual boundaries as deprivation.It frames them as wisdom. And wisdom is rarely loud — but it endures.

If you’re wrestling with what sexual integrity looks like in a dating relationship, you’re not alone. These are not theoretical questions. They are lived ones. And sometimes fiction gives us space to examine our convictions without defensiveness. If you’re interested in seeing how this tension unfolds in story form, Black Belt, White Dress explores love, desire, covenant, and the cost of obedience in a modern world.

Black Belt, White Dress

Deputy Sheriff and full time tomboy Traci Winston agrees to marry Taekwondo Master Travis Seaver, provided they exchange vows at 2000 feet while skydiving over the Grand Canyon. However, Traci’s mother has more conventional plans, and she finds herself trying on dresses and planning an elaborate ceremony in their hometown church complete with butterflies and cummerbunds. Can Traci manage to smile while walking down the aisle? Or will she collapse under the weight of girly ribbons and bows?

Get the book directly from Hallee at this link or click "order now" for a list of retailers.

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-68190-156-5
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-68190-157-2
Hardback ISBN: 978-1-68190-159-6
Audiobook ISBN: 978-1-68190-158-9

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About the Book

Traci Winston just wants to marry Travis Seaver with a thrilling skydive over the Grand Canyon. So how does this black belt-wearing, deputy sheriff end up knee-deep in lace, tulle, and the elaborate plans for the wedding of the year? For Traci, whose family history in the small town of Charula, Kentucky, is long and storied, the idea of a traditional wedding feels stifling. Her mother, a dedicated event planner with a lifelong obsession with weddings she never had, sees things very differently. From the moment Traci and Travis announce their engagement, her mother throws herself into creating the perfect celebration, drawing on a “butterfly binder” filled with decades of dreams. As Traci navigates dress fittings, flower arrangements, and a mother determined to make her own wedding dreams come true, she begins to see the depth of her mother’s longing and the love that underlies her seemingly overbearing enthusiasm. Alongside the wedding chaos, Traci and Travis face real-world challenges in their community, testing their commitment and drawing them closer. Will Traci and Travis manage to blend their unconventional desires with the weight of tradition and family expectations? Or will they be crushed under a wedding day filled with more butterflies than either of them could have imagined.

Details

Series: Red Blood & Bluegrass Series, Book 1
Genre: Romance
ASIN: B09T5GKPQ4
ISBN: 9781681901572

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Other Books in the "Red Blood & Bluegrass Series"

Blizzard in the Bluegrass

The Seven Year Glitch

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Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the page above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Get The Operative for Free!

Hallee Bridgeman — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 13:48:58 +0000

Get The Operative free today through Monday, March 2nd!

Get The Operative for Free!
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The Operative

Aria uncovers a plot that threatens the heart of our nation. Sinister forces move in until Nick, who reportedly died years before, returns from the grave intent on protecting her. Has God finally put them together?

Get the book directly from Hallee at this link or click "order now" for a list of retailers.

ebook ISBN: 978-1-68190-273-9
paperback ISBN: 978-1-68190-305-7
hardback ISBN: 978-1-68190-275-3
audiobook ISBN: 978-1-68190-229-6

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About the Book

Raised in a loving home, Aria Suarez dreamed of becoming a professional pianist happily married to her high school crush. After the only boy who ever caught her eye dies a hero’s death and her wrist is shattered along with her future plans, she turns her brilliant musical mind to nuclear engineering and solving mysteries of science.

Abandoned to an abusive father at five, Nick Williams grew up dreaming of escape; of enlisting in the Army and leaving his wretched life behind; of proving himself worthy of the girl he loves. But the crucible of combat offers only the escape of death.

A decade later, Aria uncovers a nuclear plot that threatens the heart of our very nation. Sinister forces surround and threaten her when, out of nowhere, the man who reportedly died so many years before returns as if from the grave – intent on protecting her.

Has God finally joined them together? Or is Aria doomed to mourn Nick twice?

Details

Series: Chords of Danger Series, Book 2
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Tag: Military
ASIN: B0GHZYF18J
ISBN: 9781681902746

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Other Books in the "Chords of Danger Series"

The Architect

The Troubadour

The Prodigal

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Subject Fri-YAY for Winter Olympics! 🎿 50% Off Jade’s Match

Hallee Bridgeman — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 07:00:00 +0000

Happy Fri-YAY, Friend!

(I’m about to age myself here!)

When I was in middle school, we had a Commadore 64 computer. The 1984 Summer Olympics had just concluded. The United States and USSR were fully engaged in the Cold War and the US had just rocked the world in the Olympics. My dad bought us a video game that took a couple of different floppy discs to play that was called something like Summer Games. We were Olympians perfecting dives and running races and doing long jumps with our mad joystick skills. It was the best summer! (I’ll add that Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom also came out that summer. And Karate Kid. And The Last Starfighter. AND Red Dawn! Do I need to go on?)

I love the Olympics. I have always loved them. I love the variety of sports, the comraderies of the teams, the national pride. I don’t care if it’s winter or summer – those 2 weeks of games every 2 years are some of my favorite times. I know a lot of that has to do with nostalgia of being a kid in the 1980’s, but that doesn’t detract from my love for the games.

In fact, I love the Olympics so much that when I decided to write a book about a summer silver medalist and a Team USA hockey player, it was super easy to decide to donate money to Team USA. Making me a sponsor for that year and — the BEST part — that put us on Team USA’s mailing list. Which means we get regular mail updating us on Team USA and all of the fun stuff happening around it!

To celebrate this Opening Day of the 2026 Winter Olympics, a true YAY of a Fri-YAY, I’ve put any version of Jade’s Match on sale 50% off! AND – unlike other Fri-YAYs when the coupon expires on Sunday, this one will be good until the games end!

Rio Games silver medalist and social media darling CORA “JADE” ANDERSON is approached by a popular cell phone company to launch a flirty but fake media campaign with ice hockey star DAVIS ELLIOTT. When things get off to a rocky start, Cora and Davis both wonder what they’ve gotten into and how they’ll get through the months until the Korean games.

Click the photo below or this link: https://oliviakimbrellpress.com/products/jades-match-1

The coupon code is built into the link. If that doesn’t propagate, use the code: 2026GAMES

And, yes – that is a different looking link! I am migrating my store from my https://www.halleebridgeman.com website to my press’s website – https://www.oliviakimbrellpress.com. So, any purchases directly from me in the future will be on that site. Don’t worry! Everything will be the same. I mimicked it all as best I could.

Happy Reading!

LOVE MAKES WAY is FINALLY on Amazon!! 🥳🎉🙌

Hallee Bridgeman — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 15:04:07 +0000

Praise God the Almighty, Love Makes Way is FINALLY on Amazon is ebook!

Wow. What a crazy four months of backs and forth – dozens and dozens of emails. I pray I never have to go through that again.

But we’re celebrating today!

If you’ve been waiting for it to come to Amazon, you can get it at this link. If you’ve already read it and loved it, please leave a review. If you know someone who’d love it, please share it!

One reader said this:

Story flowed well from start to finish. I had to remind myself to put the book down and get some sleep every night. Loved it! Beautiful romance. Military details and action were fascinating. Gospel references were skillfully woven into the story and very real.

Get ready for a high-seas adventure!

U.S. Army Special Forces sniper Gerald “Jerry” McBride is no stranger to danger, but his heart faces uncharted territory when he reconnects with surgical nurse Olive Duncan. Years after she patched his wounds in a German hospital, their chance reunion at Fort Campbell sparks a romance that sweeps both of them off their feet. When Jerry invites Olive as his plus-one to a friend’s wedding on a Caribbean cruise, he’s ready to take the leap with a ring in his pocket.

But the ship’s idyllic voyage hides a deadly undercurrent. A Chinese-backed plot to smuggle thousands of weapons into Haiti threatens to destabilize the region, and the pirates orchestrating it have infiltrated the crew.

When the pirates take the cruise ship with Jerry’s special forces team on board, it turns the wedding venue from a celebration into a battlefield.

They have no weapons and no gear. Can they take back the ship and save the people they love, or will celebration turn to tragedy?

*I am migrating my store to my company’s website at https://www.oliviakimbrellpress.com. Any future orders will go through that store!

Love Makes Way

U.S. Army Special Forces sniper Gerald “Jerry” McBride and surgical nurse Olive Duncan rekindle a spark years after their first meeting in a German hospital. Their whirlwind romance leads to a Caribbean cruise wedding invite, with Jerry ready to propose—until a Chinese-backed pirate plot to smuggle weapons into Haiti turns the ship into a deadly battlefield. With no weapons or gear, Jerry and his team must outwit the infiltrators to save the passengers, including Olive. Can Jerry and the team save the day, or will the well-armed and organized pirates triumph, leaving devastation and heartbreak in their wake?

Get this paperback directly from Hallee at this link or click "order now" to get the Kindle Unlimited link.

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-68190-252-4
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-68190-290-6
Hardback ISBN: 978-1-68190-292-0

Order Now!

About the Book

When the pirates take the cruise ship with Jerry’s special forces team on board, it turns the wedding venue from a celebration into a battlefield.

They have no weapons and no gear. Can they take back the ship and save the people they love, or will celebration turn to tragedy?

Details

Series: Love and Honor Series, Book 4
Genres: Military, Romantic Suspense
Tags: Military, New Releases!
ASIN: 1681902915
ISBN: 9781681902906

Order Now

Paperback from Hallee

Other Books in the "Love and Honor Series"

Love's Fiercest Light

Preview

From Red Blood & Bluegrass to Flames🔥Cover Reveals + Bundle Deal

Hallee Bridgeman — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 23:16:58 +0000

Happy Fri-YAY, Friend!

I’m so excited to share the covers of my upcoming books that will continue in the Red Blood & Bluegrass world!

In the close-knit town of Charula, Kentucky, a ruthless arsonist is setting the community ablaze—one fire at a time. These books ignite gripping Christian romantic suspense where love and danger burn side by side!

Are they up for preorder yet? NO! After the debacle of the Love Makes Way preorder (which is STILL not live on Amazon in ebook form- ugh!), I will not be doing preorders for a while. I just don’t want it to all go wrong again. SO – keep an eye out for notice of on sale dates when I have them!

Don’t know the Charula, Kentucky, world? Never fear, Fri-YAY is here with the Red Blood & Bluegrass bundle! Save $5 if you buy all 4 books in the bundle! Click the photo below or click here.

My Writing Goals for the Year (And How I’m Already Behind!)

Hallee Bridgeman — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 13:29:38 +0000

Happy New Year, friends!

Welcome to 2026 – with an exciting, blank slate in front of us!

Here are my writing goals this year:

Write and Publish:

Flames of Suspicion (February, I hope)

Flames of Hope (April)

Flames of Justice (June)

Those will be books 5-7 in the Red Blood & Bluegrass series.

Threads of Deception (maybe that’s the title) in July. This is the Mandalynn Clementine mystery that is a spin-off from Chasing Pearl.

I will also publish the first book in the new Special Forces series that will come out in November or December.

Why say I’m already behind? Because all those months should have been shifted up one with a release coming later this month. But, alas, it’s not quite finished and I’m not going to rush a thing!

I will also be putting all of my books out in German, Dutch, Italian, and French!

Make sure you’re signed up for my newsletter so you don’t miss out on any release news, sneak peaks, and release fun!