Title: The Lullaby Sky
Author: Carolyn Brown
Release Date: September 13, 2016
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Montlake Romance

Synopsis

After seven years of misery and abuse, it’s all over—Hannah O’Malley is officially divorced. Hallelujah. It’s like every Christmas in her life all rolled up into one glorious day. Not only does Hannah get to keep her grandmother’s spacious old house, but she has full custody of her sparky five-year-old daughter. All Hannah has to do now is put the past behind her.

And now that she’s free, she wants to make a difference. With the help of her warm, close-knit circle of friends—including her high school crush, Travis Wilson—Hannah begins turning her home into a safe house for other women who’ve endured the pain she’s known. But even as life and laughter return to Hannah’s home, she’s haunted by the memory of her dangerously unstable ex. With a second chance at love on the horizon, Hannah must face down her past in order to let the sunshine back into her life.

Message from Carolyn Brown

Good mornin’, all y’all! Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to listen to me talk about The Lullaby Sky. I’m so excited about this book and hope that it touches the emotions of every woman who reads it. Hannah has found joy in giving back to others and has a brand new and budding relationship with Travis.

I asked her to give us some advice about second chance love. This is what she had to say:

I’ve known Travis my whole life and down deep in my heart I knew he was a good person, had a heart of gold and was a wonderful man. But after what I’d lived through the past several years, trust was a major issue. I had to learn to trust my heart again, to open it up and give Travis a chance.

So I had a long talk with myself and decided that it was not fair to judge this good man, by another man’s short comings. It was time to let go of the past and move on to the future. Then I rememberd something that my grandmother used to tell me and applied it to my life: Never shut the door to an opportunity. It’s better to open the door, invite it in and feed it chocolate cake than to chase it down the road after it’s already a mile away.

If you’ve been blessed with a second chance, if opportunity comes knocking on your door and there’s a hero standing there with paint on his shirt, a quirky little smile and a twinkle in his eyes, just open the door wide and tell him to come right on it. Feed him chocolate cake and give him a chance. You never know, the second chance might be the stars that light up a lullaby sky.

Excerpt

Hannah had paid for her marriage to Marty in nerves, nausea and migraines. She wrapped her arms around her body and shivered–never would she have to worry about him arriving unexpected and finding things out of order. Never would she have to send Sophie outside to play so she wouldn’t witness his wicked temper.

“It really is over,” she whispered. “So why don’t I feel like it is?”

“Because it’ll take time,” Travis whispered.

Startled, she jumped and shivered. “I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you come out of the house.”

“It’s okay, Hannah. You never have to apologize to me.” He smiled.

The limo came to a slow stop in front of the house and Sophie shot out of the door and jumped into her mother’s arm for the second, or was it the third time that day? She wrapped her legs around Hannah’s waist and hugged her, planting dozens of kisses on her face.

“I liked the ‘tentious car, Mama, but it’s too big for us. I like our car and Travis’s truck and Aunt Birdie’s van better than the big princess car.” She leaned back and looked Hannah right in the eye. “Did I really get a new name today or was you teasin’ me?”

“You really did. So did I. We are now Hannah and Sophie O’Malley,” Hannah answered.

“Sophie O’Malley,” Sophie whispered. “I like it. Do you like it, Travis?”

“Oh, yes, I do. It sounds just like a princess name.”

“Sophie O’Malley, princess of Aunt Birdie’s castle and queen of Hannah O’Malley’s house.” Sophie’s pecan-colored eyes danced with merriment.

“Oh, no, you don’t, young lady,” Hannah said. “You might be princess of Aunt Birdie’s house and mine, but I’m the queen and don’t you forget it.”

Sophie hopped down and ran into the house, no doubt to tell Aunt Birdie all about the limo. Travis kept his distance but his eyes locked with Hannah’s.

“What?” She wiped her cheek. “Do I have chocolate pie on my face?”

“No, I was thinkin’ maybe you shouldn’t forget it,” Travis said.

“Forget what?”

“Who’s queen of your house,” he said.

“Are you saying that I spoil Sophie too much?” Hannah asked.

“No, I’m saying that you’ve been spoiled too little, Hannah O’Malley,” he grinned.

About the Author

Carolyn Brown is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, as well as a RITA finalist. She has written several beloved and popular romance titles, ranging from historical to contemporary to cowboy-themed. She and her husband live in Davis, Oklahoma. They have three grown children, and enough grandchildren to keep them young.

Website * Facebook * Goodreads

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Synopsis

Phoebe Mercer has what most people envy; a wonderful boyfriend, fantastic friends and a job in the city’s top law firm. Getting engaged is just the honey in her tea! Then she gets run over by a hot dog cart, wakes up with a concussion and the ability to see ghosts. Well, one ghost. A loud, obnoxious woman who claims to have been murdered for her vast fortune.

Soon, Phoebe is solving a mystery that not only threatens her relationships, but her career as well. As she begins to battle feelings for the ghost’s handsome nephew, she realizes quite a few people in her life are not as they seem. Slowly, Phoebe uncovers the secrets and lies around her, learning that in order to solve this mystery and be free of the ghost, she must lie herself. The only catch? The secrets Phoebe has kept from the people in her life could ruin everything for her, and her ghostly companion, in the end.

Review

Now you don’t see this every day – get run over by a hot dog cart, sustain a concussion and now you can see ghosts?! Well that is exactly what happened to Phoebe and it isn’t like she is stuck with a nice, calm ghost. No, she gets Edie Edwards who is very high maintenance and if I could see ghosts and she was wanting me to help her….well let’s just say she should be very glad she is a ghost! Edie wore me out with her incessant chatter and demanding that Phoebe drop everything for her. But, she had a good heart too and helps Phoebe in her personal life…which ties into Edie’s death strangely enough.

The story flows along and kept my interest. I couldn’t wait to see what craziness Phoebe’s boyfriend/fiance was going to come up with next. We learn some very telling things about Riley’s character later in the book.

The mystery was intriguing and while it isn’t really solving a murder, there are many despicable characters, but also many uplifting characters too. The book is well balanced and will make a good series. In fact, it sorta leaves you hanging for the next book…or gives you a clue as to what might happen in the next book.

We give it 5 paws up

 

About the Author

Nikki LeClair lives in Canada with her loving husband and their two rambunctious children. When she isn’t ordering her children to behave or begging her Border Terrier to listen to her, she sits behind her lap-top plotting out the next adventure of her new characters. She’s a fan of a good glass of Pinot Noir, and can’t live without her favorite Tea blends.

Twitter * Facebook

Save

The Emerald Key by Mark Frederickson & Melora Pineda

Penny and Laci are headed for a mundane summer vacation until a mysterious journal unlocks a portal to another world and they find themselves face to face with a baby dragon. In an attempt to send their new acquisition back to its home, the girls, along with two neighborhood friends, get sucked through to a mythical world. In this land, they must battle foes seen and unseen, pushing them to both their physical and mental limits. If they fail to stop the powers they’ve unleashed, it could not only destroy this strange world, but also annihilate their own.

Praise for The Emerald Key

“In The Emerald Key, authors Mark Frederickson and Melora Pineda take readers on a fast-paced journey sure to enthrall not only middle-grade readers but their parents, as well. Laci and Penny will appeal to anyone looking for strong, resourceful female characters and the side characters are well-developed and hilarious, too (my favorite might be Buzz!).”  – Author Julie Gardner

“If you like fantasy and want adventure, this book is for you! It is entertaining for adults as well as middle-grade students…Just when you think there’s nothing new anyone could offer in a fantasy, these two authors prove you wrong. They have created a very believable new world fraught with danger and excitement at every turn. I couldn’t put it down.”  – Dani B

“I love the vivid characters and the way you can picture all the action…I would recommend this book for any age and it is a book that grandparents can buy for their grand kids and know that it is an exciting story and a safe read.”  – Amazon Customer

“A real page turner, loved it. This book is funny and an adventure story for both young and old readers. I’m looking forward to the next book!”  – MJP

Excerpt

THE PIRATES

Hallvard was gallantly dueling the taller pirate, while Ethan and Buzz were hitting the short smelly one with a stick and throwing dirt into his face. Ethan hauled off with all his might and swatted the pirate in the head, knocking him down. The rotund pirate tried to get back up and grab his sword, but stumbled and fell just as Buzz hit him in the face with a giant dirt clod. Buzz grabbed the sword, but the weight of it caused him to fall over. Ethan took it away before Buzz hurt himself.

“It’s clear; let’s go,” Penny said to Verge and Laci. As they exited the woodshed, running for the top of the knoll, Penny motioned for Ethan and Buzz to follow. They sprinted up the hill, with the smelly pirate in pursuit.

Join the Blog Tour Coming October 10th!

About Mark Frederickson

Mark was born and raised in Southern California. He graduated UC Santa Barbara with a degree in film and has worked in the film industry for years. He has written several screenplays and had a show optioned by MTV. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Rebecca and his daughter Sara. This is his first novel, and hopefully not his last.

Facebook * Twitter

 

About Melora Pineda

After Melora graduated from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, she worked in the television industry for several years before becoming a library volunteer at her daughters’ school. Her passion for both reading and entertainment inspired her to write. This is her first novel. She currently lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband, daughter, and a pet bunny and a fish. Oh…never mind, the fish died.

Facebook * Twitter

 

Blast Giveaway

$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 10/3/16

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Shattered Tree: A Bess Crawford Mystery
8th in Series
William Morrow (August 30, 2016)
Hardcover: 304 pages

Synopsis

World War I battlefield nurse Bess Crawford goes to dangerous lengths to investigate a wounded soldier’s background—and uncover his true loyalties—in this thrilling and atmospheric entry in the bestselling “vivid period mystery series” (New York Times Book Review).

At the foot of a tree shattered by shelling and gunfire, stretcher-bearers find an exhausted officer, shivering with cold and a loss of blood from several wounds. The soldier is brought to battlefield nurse Bess Crawford’s aid station, where she stabilizes him and treats his injuries before he is sent to a rear hospital. The odd thing is, the officer isn’t British—he’s French. But in a moment of anger and stress, he shouts at Bess in German.

When Bess reports the incident to Matron, her superior offers a ready explanation. The soldier is from Alsace-Lorraine, a province in the west where the tenuous border between France and Germany has continually shifted through history, most recently in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, won by the Germans. But is the wounded man Alsatian? And if he is, on which side of the war do his sympathies really lie?

Of course, Matron could be right, but Bess remains uneasy—and unconvinced. If he was a French soldier, what was he doing so far from his own lines . . . and so close to where the Germans are putting up a fierce, last-ditch fight?

When the French officer disappears in Paris, it’s up to Bess—a soldier’s daughter as well as a nurse—to find out why, even at the risk of her own life.

About the Authors

Charles and Caroline Todd are a mother-and-son writing team who live on the east coast of the United States. Caroline has a BA in English Literature and History, and a Masters in International Relations. Charles has a BA in Communication Studies with an emphasis on Business Management, and a culinary arts degree that means he can boil more than water. Caroline has been married (to the same man) for umpteen years, and Charles is divorced.

Charles and Caroline have a rich storytelling heritage. Both spent many evenings on the porch listening to their fathers and grandfathers reminisce. And a maternal grandmother told marvelous ghost stories. This tradition allows them to write with passion about events before their own time. And an uncle/great-uncle who served as a flyer in WWI aroused an early interest in the Great War.

Charles learned the rich history of Britain, including the legends of King Arthur, William Wallace, and other heroes, as a child. Books on Nelson and by Winston Churchill were always at hand. Their many trips to England gave them the opportunity to spend time in villages and the countryside, where there’a different viewpoint from that of the large cities. Their travels are at the heart of the series they began ten years ago.

Charles’s love of history led him to a study of some of the wars that shape it: the American Civil War, WWI and WWII. He enjoys all things nautical, has an international collection of seashells, and has sailed most of his life. Golf is still a hobby that can be both friend and foe. And sports in general are enthusiasms. Charles had a career as a business consultant. This experience gave him an understanding of going to troubled places where no one was glad to see him arrive. This was excellent training for Rutledge’s reception as he tries to find a killer in spite of local resistance.

Caroline has always been a great reader and enjoyed reading aloud, especially poetry that told a story. The Highwayman was one of her early favorites. Her wars are WWI, the Boer War, and the English Civil War, with a sneaking appreciation of the Wars of the Roses as well. When she’s not writing, she’s traveling the world, gardening, or painting in oils. Her background in international affairs backs up her interest in world events, and she’s also a sports fan, an enthusiastic follower of her favorite teams in baseball and pro football. She loves the sea, but is a poor sailor. (Charles inherited his iron stomach from his father.) Still, she has never met a beach she didn’t like.

Both Caroline and Charles share a love of animals, and family pets have always been rescues. There was once a lizard named Schnickelfritz. Don’t ask.

Writing together is a challenge, and both enjoy giving the other a hard time. The famous quote is that in revenge, Charles crashes Caroline’s computer, and Caroline crashes his parties. Will they survive to write more novels together? Stay tuned! Their father/husband is holding the bets.

Website * Facebook * Goodreads

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out the other blogs on this tour

September 1 – Community Bookstop – REVIEW

September 2 – Brooke Blogs – GUEST POST

September 3 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT

September 4 – Christa Reads and Writes – SPOTLIGHT

September 5 – The Girl with Book Lungs – REVIEW

September 6 – Reading Reality – REVIEW

September 7 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW

September 8 – A Holland Reads – REVIEW

September 9 – The Power of Words – REVIEW

September 10 – Bibliophile Reviews – REVIEW

September 11 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

September 12 – The Ninja Librarian – REVIEW

September 13 – View from the Birdhouse – SPOTLIGHT

September 14 – A Blue Million Books – INTERVIEW

Beyond Dead: A Bridget Sway Novel
Paranormal Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Self-Published
Print Length: 306 pages
Publication Date: March 5, 2016

Synopsis

Dead less than twenty-four hours, with a job that doesn’t pay, a fashion disaster for a uniform and more afterlife rules than she can shake a stick at, Bridget Sway thinks it’s as bad as it can get. And then she finds a dead ghost stuffed in her locker.

Since the police are desperate to arrest her for murder, Bridget’s new best friend convinces her the only way to save herself from an eternity in prison is to solve the murder themselves.

With a handsome parole officer watching her every move, an outlaw ghost befriending her and two persistent mediums demanding her attention, solving the murder is not quite as easy as it sounds. And when “murder” turns into “murders” Bridget needs to solve the case … before she becomes the next dead body stuffed in her locker.

Amazon.co.uk * Kobo * iBooks * Nook * Scribd * inktera

Character Guest Post

Hi, my name’s Bridget Sway. Since there’s a pretty good chance you could win a copy of the story of my afterlife if you pop your email in that cool little counter-thing below, I wanted to drop by and tell you why you should enter. Let me begin by introducing myself properly. As I said, my name is Bridget and I’m dead. Yes. Dead. Now, whose fault this is depends on what day you catch me on. I was fired from my job as an event planner, went home early and caught my fiancé in bed with a trollop from his work. It was a very Sliding Doors moment … except I have better hair than Gwyneth Paltrow and I didn’t miss a train I got hit by a bus … which killed me.

There are some days I blame the ex-fiance. If he hadn’t been diddling The Trollop then I’d never have left the house again and wouldn’t have been run over. Which means he gets a little bit of the blame, don’t you think? I also blame my boss for firing me because I was awesome at my job. Like, astoundingly amazing at it. And if he hadn’t fired me then I wouldn’t have had to leave early and wouldn’t have found the ex-finace diddling The Trollop so I think that’s fair that he gets some of the blame too. And then there’s the MOB. The mother-of-the-bride. The real reason I had to go home early. The reason I was fired.

Now, in my career, I’ve had some very dicey moments, some decidedly unpleasant moments and then some if-you-continue-to-speak-to-me-I’m-going-to-have-to-punch-you-in-the-face moments. Like when the best man, or should I say “best man”, at a stag do said I should step in because the stripper was late. He quietened briefly when she showed up but they were so grabby she couldn’t even make it to the dressing room so I sent her home (paid, obviously). He said that, as the planner of the event, it was my duty to cover. I politely explained that wasn’t in my job description and had a dominatrix stripper there within less than half an hour. She kept them in line, no bother. And they all seemed pretty happy about it too. Score one for me.

Or the time a maid of honour had missed her last two dress fittings because she wanted to surprise everyone by how much weight she’d lost and showed up three dress sizes smaller than her last fitting. Everyone turned to stare at me as if it was my fault. But if someone doesn’t want to get to a fitting, short of dragging her there by her hair, what could I do? I took it on the chin though and some staples and duct tape later everything was fine. The inside of the dress wasn’t pretty, and I’m damn sure it wasn’t comfortable, but it fitted her and looked great in the photos. Score another one for me.

I’m telling you this so you can see that if there’s a problem I just deal with it. That’s part of my job. If there’s a problem. So, when a certain MOB was screeching in panic because the “torrential rain” was going to ruin her little girl’s big day I dealt with it. I pointed out that the rain was so light it was barely visible, that the dark clouds were swiftly passing over, that the ground wouldn’t even be wet by the time we were due to leave and that it wasn’t even an outside wedding anyway. For making these valid points in a calm and rational fashion, can you guess what she did? She slapped me. Slapped. Me. Now, I’m a civilised person and I don’t believe violence solves anything, per se, but my daddy taught me that if someone hits you then you hit them back twice as hard and they don’t do it again. True, he was talking about bullies in the school playground but I think the premise still holds true for adult life. So I slapped her back. Really hard. Was it the most professional response? No. But it did make me feel better … until I got fired. And that was as bad as I thought it could get. And then I died and realised just how wrong I was.

If you’re interested in hearing just how bad it got then enter the competition to win a copy of Beyond Dead which will tell you all about it. Or you could sign up directly for Jordaina’s mailing list and download the free novella that tells you all about my first few days dead. Either way, just don’t go around slapping people (even if they totally deserve it) anyone or you could end up like me! So long for now.

About the Author

Jordaina Sydney Robinson grew up and, despite many adventures further afield, still lives in the North West of England. For fun she buys notebooks, gets walked by her husky puppy and sings really loudly and really badly while driving her trusty old Seat, Roger. If you want to find out just how bad her singing is then you can visit her official website and ask her.

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon |

 

 

 

Check out the other blogs on this tour

August 30 – Readsalot – INTERVIEW

August 31 – 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy,&, Sissy, Too! – SPOTLIGHT

September 1 – The Girl with Book Lungs – SPOTLIGHT, GIVEAWAY

September 2 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, INTERVIEW

September 3 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT, GIVEAWAY

September 4 – Editing Pen – CHARACTER GUEST POST, GIVEAWAY

September 5 – The Self-Rescue Princess – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

September 6 – Books, Movies, Reviews. Oh my! – REVIEW

September 7 – Back Porchervations – REVIEW

September 8 – Author Annette Drake’s blog – INTERVIEW

September 9 – Shelley’s Book Case – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST, GIVEAWAY

September 10 – A Blue Million Books – GUEST POST

September 11 – StoreyBook Reviews – CHARACTER GUEST POST

September 12 – Brooke Blogs – GUEST POST, GIVEAWAY

Mud Bog Murder (An Eve Appel Mystery)
4th in Series
Cozy Mystery
Camel Press (September 1, 2016)
Paperback: 268 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1603813150

Synopsis

When Jenny McCleary leases her property to be ravaged by the annual mud bog races, the small rural town of Sabal Bay, Florida, is divided into warring camps: environmental activists versus monster truck fans. Jenny, who frequents the consignment store owned by Eve Appel and her friend Madeleine, doesn’t seem to mind when Eve and Madeleine join the protesters the day of the races.

During the race, Eve catches Jenny’s airborne head after it is tossed into the air by the wheels of a truck. Now every protester is a suspect in Jenny’s murder. What’s left of her alligator-gnawed body is found near the airboat business of Eve’s Miccosukee Indian friends, Sammy Egret and his grandfather. When more evidence turns up nearby, Grandfather is arrested.

Even without the disembodied head, Eve has her hands full. The town resents her role in the protests and is boycotting the consignment shop on wheels. She is torn between two men–GQ-handsome, devoted PI Alex and tall, dark, and exotic Sammy. Jenny’s sweet and needy teenage daughter is dating a petty criminal. Will Eve and Madeleine ever be able to move into their new digs? Not unless the town forgives them. And not if whoever decapitated Jenny gets to Eve before she and her sleuthing buddies solve the mystery.

Guest Post

Today I extend a special welcome to a great author, with a great name (even if it is spelled differently!) – Lesley Diehl!  She shares some of her thoughts about her book and her protagnoist Eve.  Great words!

Flaws and Vulnerabilities and Courage

By Lesley A. Diehl, Author of Mud Bog Murder

Someone recently questioned me about an event in Mud Bog Murder. She said it shocked her that I would insert a scene where someone sexually assaulted Eve Appel, my protagonist. Like most women today, Eve is independent and competent, and, perhaps more than most women, Eve sometimes acts as if she can do anything, win any battles she chooses to take on. But this is a world in which sexual assault is all too common and difficult to defend against because it often comes at the hands of someone we know and may think we love.  This is a reality check for our Eve.

When I created Eve Appel I created a character who is courageous, impulsive, smart and makes her own future when she starts up a business with her best friend. Her impulsive nature is both a trait we admire and one that can lead her into situations she has difficulty getting out of. We’ve seen this happen to her again and again. It is probably Eve’s biggest flaw and an overriding vulnerability that scheming criminals can take advantage of. Eve is not naïve, but she can be conned into putting herself into tricky situations if she believes finding a killer is at stake.

The sexual assault scene is perhaps the most indicative that violence can invade her life regardless of how careful, or in Eve’s case, how self-assured.  Eve’s story is every woman’s story.

I think character flaws can be used to help develop the character. I don’t want to make Eve other than an in-your-face-gal, but events such as that scene are there not merely to deepen characterization, but also to give the protagonist the opportunity to grow and change because of what she has experienced. Eve’s impulsive nature is one of Eve’s signature traits, and I don’t intend to remove it from her. She doesn’t  believe her private detective friend, Alex, and Frida Martinez, the detective on the local police force are incapable of solving the case. Eve is simply the kind of person who trusts her own instincts. Both Alex and Frida admit she has a great nose for murder. But her friends worry about her and constantly berate her for going off alone on her sleuthing journeys. It’s an admonition Eve now gives more consideration to given her assault. In fact, fear has been pinging her radar for some time given attempts on her life by the bad guys (and gals). Will this warning cripple our feisty Eve?

Our Eve moves forward, but she is a smarter person. The assault gives her information she did not previously have about her assaulter: he likes rough sex, and although he shares concerns about environmental issues with Eve, she has always felt a sense that something is not right about him. His attack on her is confirmation she is correct and gives her behavioral evidence that he disrespects women. But Eve knows there are better ways other than becoming a crime victim to reveal a suspect’s character ad motives.

Because of the assault  Eve has become a bit more cautious. She tries to solicit help in some tough spots later in the book. She’s not immune to danger. What Eve does not do is simply give up her quest. Courageous behavior is what we expect from Eve. She is loyal to those she loves and would put herself in harm’s way for them. It’s what Eve is all about. She’s the best friend you can have when an alligator or a bad guy threatens you. When Eve loves someone it is without regard to her own safety. We’ve seen Eve engage in these generous acts from the first book (A Secondhand Murder) through books two (Dead in the Water) and three (A Sporting Murder) and into this one. Eve is true to herself. She’s just a little wiser now and more likely to consider a plan when she goes headfirst into danger. And if the plan doesn’t come together? Then it’s still Eve Appel charging into the swamps armed with—what else—a posse of friends and family and, if all else fails, her stiletto heels.

About the Author

Lesley retired from her life as a professor of psychology and reclaimed her country roots by moving to a small cottage in the Butternut River Valley in upstate New York.  In the winter she migrates to old Florida—cowboys, scrub palmetto, and open fields of grazing cattle, a place where spurs still jingle in the post office, and gators make golf a contact sport.  Back north, the shy ghost inhabiting the cottage serves as her literary muse.  When not writing, she gardens, cooks and renovates the 1874 cottage with the help of her husband, two cats and, of course, Fred the ghost, who gives artistic direction to their work.

She is the author of a number of mystery series (Microbrewing Series, Big Lake Mystery Series, Eve Appel Mystery Series and the Laura Murphy Mysteries), a standalone mystery (Angel Sleuth) and numerous short stories.   

Website * Twitter * Facebook * Blog

 

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out the other blogs on this tour

September 1 – Brooke Blogs – CHARACTER GUEST POST

September 2 – Bibliophile Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

September 3 – Mallory Heart’s Cozies – REVIEW

September 4 – Cozy Up With Kathy – INTERVIEW

September 5 – Shelley’s Book Case – REVIEW, GUEST POST

September 6 – 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, &, Sissy, Too! – SPOTLIGHT

September 7 – Community Bookstop – REVIEW

September 8 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT

September 9 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST

September 10 – StoreyBook Reviews – GUEST POST

September 11 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT

September 12 – Island Confidential – INTERVIEW

September 13 – fuonlyknew – REVIEW

September 14 – Author Annette Drake’s blog – SPOTLIGHT

Listen to After the Funeral by Agatha Christie

A Free Serialization of the Complete Audiobook in Eight Parts

Presented by Sophie Hannah

Throughout the serialization, Sophie informs listeners on the crucial distinction between the truly impossible and the deeply unlikely, points out the magic of a very personal motive, and explains her belief that “the best stories are the ones that would only ever happen once.”

Hercule Poirot is called on to investigate the murder of a brother and sister, in this classic Agatha Christie mystery now available in an updated edition with a foreword Sophie Hannah.

“He was murdered, wasn’t he?”

When Cora Lansquenet is savagely murdered, the extraordinary remark she had made the previous day at her brother Richard’s funeral suddenly takes on a chilling significance. At the reading of Richard’s will, Cora was clearly heard to say, “It’s been hushed up very nicely, hasn’t it. But he was murdered, wasn’t he?”

Did Cora’s accusation a dark truth that sealed her own fate? Or are the siblings’ deaths just tragic coincidences?

Desperate to know the truth, the Lansquenet’s solicitor turns to Hercule Poirot to unravel the mystery. For even after the funeral, death isn’t finished yet .

 

In 2014 Sophie Hannah received wide-spread acclaim for penning an all-new mystery featuring Agatha Christie’s legendary hero Hercule Poirot, The Monogram Murders, an instant bestseller. Reviews were outstanding, praising Hannah for her command of the character and voice. So when the time came to write a new story, Sophie knew there was only one way she would write another book—even though she enjoyed writing the first so much—she knew she would need to have an idea that was clever and compelling enough to think, ‘This feels very Agatha-ish. Poirot MUST solve this case.’

And then it came to her, “…as if by magic (that really is how it felt!) an idea landed in my head. A motive for murder. It was incredibly simple—so simple, it almost seemed too obvious—and yet I didn’t think it had been done before.”

The Monogram Murders: The New Hercule Poirot Mystery

Series: Hercule Poirot Mystery

Paperback: 320 pages

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; Reprint edition (June 9, 2015)

ISBN-13: 978-0062297228

“I’m a dead woman, or I shall be soon . . .”

Hercule Poirot’s quiet supper in a London coffeehouse is interrupted when a young woman confides to him that she is about to be murdered. Though terrified, she begs Poirot not to find and punish her killer. Once she is dead, she insists, justice will have been done. Later that night, Poirot learns that three guests at a London Hotel have been murdered, and a monogrammed cufflink has been placed in each one’s mouth. Could there be a connection with the frightened woman? While Poirot struggles to put together the bizarre pieces of the puzzle, the murderer prepares another hotel bedroom for a fourth victim.

So now Sophie Hannah returns with an all new Poirot story, CLOSED CASKET on sale September 6, 2016!

Closed Casket: The New Hercule Poirot Mystery

Series: Hercule Poirot Mysteries

Hardcover: 320 pages

Publisher: William Morrow (September 6, 2016)

ISBN-13: 978-0062458827

 

 

Lady Athelinda Playford has planned a house party at her mansion Clonakilty, County Cork, but it is no ordinary gathering. As guests arrive, Lady Playford summons her lawyer to make an urgent change to her will – one she intends to announce at dinner that night. She has decided to cut off her two children without a penny and leave her fortune to someone who has only weeks to live…

Among Lady Playford’s guests are two men she has never met—the famous Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, and Inspector Edward Catchpool of Scotland Yard. Neither knows why he has been invited…until Poirot starts to wonder if Lady Playford expects a murderer to strike. But why does she seem so determined to provoke, in the presence of a possible killer? When the crime is committed in spite of Poirot’s best efforts to stop it, will he be able to unveil the true reason behind Lady Playford’s drastic change of heart, and ultimately, identify the killer?

About the Author

Sophie Hannah is the internationally bestselling author of 10 psychological thrillers, which have been published in more than 20 countries and adapted for television. Her novel The Carrier won the 2013 Specsavers National Book Awards Crime Thriller of the Year. Sophie is an Honorary Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge, and as a poet has been shortlisted for the TS Eliot Prize.

Webpage – Blog – Facebook – Twitter

 

Purchase Closed Casket – Amazon – B&N – HarperCollins – Books-A-Million – IndieBound

Purchase The Monogram Murders – Amazon – B&N – HarperCollins Publishers – Books-A-Million –IndieBound

 

 

 

Tour Participants – Spotlight Tour

September 1 – The Book’s the Thing
September 1 – The Cozy Mystery Journal
September 2 – Shelley’s Book Case
September 2 – Celticlady’s Reviews
September 3 – A Holland Reads
September 3 – The Broke Book Bank
September 4 – Brooke Blogs
September 4 – 3 Partners in Shopping Nana, Mommy, &, Sissy, Too!
September 5 – The Bookwyrm’s Hoard
September 5 – Readsalot
September 6 – Queen of All She Reads
September 6 – Carole’s Book Corner
September 7 – Pulp and Mystery Shelf
September 7 – Socrates’ Book Reviews
September 8 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book
September 8 – Island Confidential
September 9 – StoreyBook Reviews
September 9 – Bea’s Book Nook
September 10 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews
September 10 – The Power of Words
September 11 – Cozy Up With Kathy
September 11 – LibriAmoriMiei
September 12 – Jemima Pett, Author
September 12 – The Girl with Book Lungs

Title: Discovery of Desire

Series: London Explorers, #2

Author: Susanne Lord

Pubdate: September 6^th 2016

Synopsis

“If you like your romance with the sweetness of Mary Balogh’s novels or the anguish of Sherry Thomas’, this is one to cherish.” —Kirkus Reviews, STARRED Review

The one man who’s not looking for a wife

Seth Mayhew is the ideal explorer: fearless, profitable, and unmarried. There is nothing and no one he can’t find—until his sister disappears en route to India. His search for her takes him to Bombay, where Seth meets the most unlikely of allies—a vulnerable woman who’s about to marry the wrong man.

Discovers a woman who changes his dreams forever

Teeming with the bounty of marriageable men employed by the East India Company, Bombay holds hope for security for Wilhelmina Adams. But when the man she’s traveled halfway around the world to marry doesn’t suit, Mina finds instead that she’s falling in love with a man who offers passion, adventure, intimacy—anything but security…

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Chapters * iBooks * Indiebound * Kobo

The second in Susanne Lord’s critically acclaimed London Explorers series, Discovery of Desire, is out this September. To give you a taste of her latest release, Susanne Lord has selected one of her favorite quotes from the book to share with us.

Excerpt

Author’s Note: Seth has disembarked from the steamship, onto the crowded, bustling port of Bombay. The other passengers, including the four dozen lady passengers who had sailed to wed East India Company men, are rushed by the bachelors and huddled together in the chaos…

“Ladies?”

A woman’s voice. Sweet and low and nearly swallowed in the fray.

Maybe it was because his explorer’s senses were honed to seek the rare, the anomalies in nature, but Seth trailed that voice to a venture girl twenty feet away. She wore a trim white jacket and green skirt with starry, white flowers all over it. Her sun helmet concealed all but a bit of brown hair.

“Ladies, as no one has told us yet what to do, if you are to be met by someone, would you move to this end?” She gestured and the ladies shuffled to do her bidding, obedient as soldiers.

Seth jerked to follow, then paused. He was to meet someone. Should he wait with them?

A small wave of her hand and the ladies leaned forward in attention. He did, too.

“And the others can wait here for Captain Travers,” she said. “He will accompany you to the customs house.” The women sorted themselves, fear in every pair of eyes clinging to their officer.

Seth dragged in a lungful of air that didn’t ease the tightness in his chest. Wasn’t any of his business. And wasn’t a thing he could do to help.

He turned to plunge into the crowd, but then the little officer spoke again.

“We are here, ladies,” she said gently. “And we are fine.”

The words were plain, but it was like she’d hushed the whole world. He didn’t want to, but he looked again. The venture girls stood in two close circles, their small valises and parasols clutched to their chests, and watched the chaos around them with wide eyes.

But they kept their chins up now.

For the first time in months, a real smile curved his lips. People needed someone to depend on. Like those ladies depended on that little officer.

And she was little, at least to him. She wouldn’t stand any taller than his chin and his hands could span her waist. But little or not, she wore that dainty, braided jacket like a captain of the Eleventh Hussars. There wasn’t a wrinkle on her skirts or wayward crease in its folds. And that straight spine was all the sight he had of her—she didn’t fidget and she didn’t turn.

Composed, capable, orderly-like. He’d drive a woman like that to Bedlam.

But he fell a little bit in love with her anyway.

He was bumped from behind. The mustache-man angling for a closer look. “Give the ladies their breathing room, mate,” Seth said. “They might like a bit of time to repair themselves.”

The man swung about. “You traveled with them, didn’t you?”

“I suppose.”

“Did you learn any names? Which are the prime articles?”

“The prime—? Hell, I don’t know.”

The man turned around to survey the girls. “Not that I expect them all to be handsome. They couldn’t find a husband back home, could they? But taking an ugly wife…” He grimaced, then squared his shoulders. “I mean to have one, just the same.”

Seth stared down at the man and muttered, “There you go, mate. Words to set a lady’s heart aflutter.”

Irritated, Seth waded against the stream of bachelors closing in on the ladies. Wasn’t any of his business.

The men holding signs had formed a line and were shuffling toward the ladies to be claimed. They obeyed the little officer, too. His translator might be among them, so he read his way through the crush. MISS EUNICE SIMMS…MISS LOUISE ALPERT—

Ah, here! CLAIMING WILLIAM REPTON AND—and?—MISS W. ADAMS.

The man holding the card eyed him suspiciously. So this was his translator. Brown hair, spectacles, younger than he’d expected. But he looked clever. He’d do.

“Tom Grant?” Seth asked.

“I am. You’re Will Repton?”

Seth grinned. “For your purposes, I am.” He shook his hand. “I’m Seth Mayhew. You’ll be working for me instead.”

“I—”

“This explains it.” Seth handed him Will’s letter. “Will couldn’t leave England on account of his being leg-shackled and expecting a little baby. But Georgie’s my sister after all, and the orphan in Tibet is who she was after, so I’m here and Will’s not. It’s all a bit Hamlet-without-the-prince, but there it is.”

Tom Grant blinked behind his spectacles. “Who are you?”

Maybe he just looked clever.

“Seth May—” He never was skilled at explaining. “Read the letter, mate.”

Tom Grant passed the sign to him, cracked open the letter, and began to frown. That frown wasn’t how Seth wanted to start their partnership, but the man had agreed to the job, and would be earning a hell of a salary for the effort.

But Tom’s expression wasn’t growing any happier as he started page two.

Tom flipped the letter over and started reading from the beginning. Again.

With a sigh, Seth dropped his bag at his feet to wait—and remembered the sign: CLAIMING MISS W. ADAMS. Tom Grant was collecting one of the venture girls then.

W? The man couldn’t write her name in full?

Wasn’t any of his business.

Meaning to be helpful, Seth held the sign high and waited.

***

“Mina!” Emma clutched her arm. “I see him. I see your Thomas Grant.”

Mina’s stomach rolled. Thomas was here. Of course he was—of course he would be. If only the ground would steady. Her sister’s sudden grab had nearly toppled her. Ninety-nine days on a boat and she couldn’t seem to lock her knees.

Mina reached into her skirt pocket and squeezed the stone in her hand. Through her lace glove, the quartz was as cool as if it still held the weather of England within it…

 

About the Author

Susanne Lord is a writer of Victorian-era romance and author of the London Explorer series published by Sourcebooks.  Originally from Okinawa, off-base and on, she now makes her home in Chicago where she is an active member of Chicago North RWA.  When not writing, attending theater or reading, she enjoys hiking the English countryside and visiting historic homes and gardens.

Website * Twitter * Facebook

 

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

THE REPUBLIC OF FOOTBALL
Legends of the Texas High School Game

by Chad S. Conine

Genre: Texas Sports History / Biographies

Date of Publication: September 6, 2016

Publisher: University of Texas Press

# of pages: 288

Scroll down for Giveaway!

Anywhere football is played, Texas is the force to reckon with. Its powerhouse programs produce the best football players in America. In The Republic of Football, Chad S. Conine vividly captures Texas’s impact on the game with action-filled stories about legendary high school players, coaches, and teams from around the state and across seven decades.

Drawing on dozens of interviews, Conine offers rare glimpses of the early days of some of football’s biggest stars. He reveals that some players took time to achieve greatness—LaDainian Tomlinson wasn’t even the featured running back on his high school team until a breakthrough game in his senior season vaulted him to the highest level of the sport—while others, like Colt McCoy, showed their first flashes of brilliance in middle school. In telling these and many other stories of players and coaches, including Hayden Fry, Spike Dykes, Bob McQueen, Lovie Smith, Art Briles, Lawrence Elkins, Warren McVea, Ray Rhodes, Dat Nguyen, Zach Thomas, Drew Brees, and Adrian Peterson, Conine spotlights the decisive moments when players caught fire and teams such as Celina, Southlake Carroll, and Converse Judson turned into Texas dynasties.

“This is a wonderful, well-written book, full of compelling details and stories. A ‘must read’ for any Texas football fan.” —DAVE CAMPBELL Dave Campbell’s Texas Football

 

University of Texas Press

I’d like to welcome Chad to StoreyBook Reviews.  If you live in Texas you know that football is a big thing here.  And especially now that fall is upon us, you will find football happening Thursday through Saturday at a minimum.  Maybe more!  So I’m excited to have Chad here to tell us a bit more about his book.

The Origin Story

Guest Post

By Chad S. Conine

Early on, when I first began working on The Republic of Football, long before it even had that title, I was having a drink with a friend and telling her about the project. She is a fan of comic books and graphic novels and she made the connection. “Oh, so it’s origin stories.” And, as I’m prone to do when holding a pint of beer, I exclaimed, “Yes! Exactly!” My friend was not necessarily a big football fan, but the fact that she connected with telling the stories of some of Texas’s great players and coaches before they were household names, that let me know I was on to something good.

As it happens, The Republic of Football has its own origin story.

My friend, Joben David, and I were going to a movie one afternoon in the spring of 2014. I had just covered the Final Four for the first time, so I was excited about having a little momentum in my career. We were talking about a book called Home Field (University of Texas Press, 2010), which I proudly displayed on the mantle in my living room. The book features photos taken from the 50-yard line at high school football stadiums all over Texas. I commented that I would like to read a book that told some of the stories from those stadiums. That was sort of the epiphany that began the project that became The Republic of Football.

My first move, within a couple of days of that conversation on the way to the movie theater, was to try to get an interview with then-Baylor football coach Art Briles. While covering college football the previous fall in Lubbock, I had a conversation with an Amarillo sportswriter named Lance Lahnert about a game between Panhandle and Hamlin during Briles’s first season as a high school football head coach. Lahnert said Briles enjoyed telling this particular story. Because I covered Baylor and had encountered Briles around Waco a few times and had pleasant exchanges with him, I figured I could get an interview with him and try to get this idea moving. So I sent an email and a few days later, while I was in Fort Worth with some friends who were working in a recording studio, I received an email in return saying Briles would talk to me for the project. I left my friends at the studio for a couple of hours while I hustled over to a coffee shop and prepped for the interview, which we scheduled for the next morning.

As the project went on, these little lightning-in-a-bottle moments, when someone took an interest in the subject and agreed to talk about his high school football days, became the fuel for the thing. The next place I went was my alma mater, Texas Tech, and sat down with Kliff Kingsbury. We chatted about football for half an hour and he was really encouraging about the idea. He suggested I reach out to Dat Nguyen. And then that worked too.

I determined that I needed to write four sample chapters to take to agents or publishers to find a home for the project, which by that time I was calling “Remember When: 50 High School Football Stories from 50 Texas Towns.” I decided to go big on the fourth one, perhaps even raising the profile from the first three prominent interviewees. And since I worked on staff at the Waco Tribune-Herald for six years and because I went to high school in the mid-1990s in Waco, my attention went to LaDainian Tomlinson. LeRoy Coleman, Tomlinson’s high school coach at Waco University, told me a great story about LaDainian’s breakout game at the beginning of his senior year. And then one afternoon, LaDainian returned a phone call and we set up the fourth cornerstone interview for the project.

A couple of weeks after I interviewed Tomlinson at a Starbucks in Keller, I connected with Robert Devens at University of Texas Press. By the beginning of July, I had signed on with them to turn in a manuscript just before football season in 2015.

The exciting thing was that the connections kept up through the project. I contacted the Minnesota Vikings and set up an interview with Adrian Peterson soon after training camp started in late July of 2014. In one of our phone calls, I asked the media relations director what was the biggest factor in Peterson agreeing to the interview. He said it was definitely the list of people whom I had already interviewed. That became my selling point. In fact, when I asked LaDainian when we met how I should make contact with current NFL guys, he said to get on it quick and probably try to do it during the informal team practices that teams hold early in the summer. He also told me to drop his name, which I did many times.

That’s the origin story for The Republic of Football. Not every person I reached out to wanted to participate, but as I look at the 41 chapters in the book, I’m thrilled with the collection that we’re putting out there this football season.

 

Conine is a freelance sports journalist who has written for the Sports Xchange, Reuters, and Golf.com, among others. He has been covering Texas high school and college football since the late 1990s. He lives in Waco, Texas.

Twitter * Website

 

 

 

GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!

(US ONLY)

FOUR SIGNED COPIES!

  September 5 – 19, 2016

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out the other great blogs on the tour! 

9/5	Review	Hall Ways Blog
9/6	Promo	The Page Unbound
9/7	Review	Margie’s Must Reads
9/8	Guest Post	StoreyBook Reviews
9/9	Author Interview	Blogging for the Love of Authors and Their Books
9/10	Promo	Kara The Redhead
9/11	Review	Reading By Moonlight
9/12	Trailer	Texas Book Lover
9/13	Guest Post	Missus Gonzo
9/14	Review	It’s a Jenn World
9/15	Author Interview	Chapter Break Book Blog
9/16	Review	Country Girl Bookaholic
9/17	Guest Post	The Crazy Booksellers
9/18	Promo	A Novel Reality
9/19	Review	The Librarian Talks

   blog tour services provided by:

Title: Love’s Sweet Revenge

Series: Outlaw Hearts, #3

Author: Rosanne Bittner

Pubdate: September 6^th 2016

Synopsis

Their Passion Shaped a Nation

Over the years, Jake and Miranda Harkner have endured all the dangers a wild and brutal West could throw at them. Now, settled on their ranch in the beautiful Colorado hill country, they’ve finally found peace. But for a man like Jake Harkner, danger is always lurking, and the world may not be ready for an infamous outlaw-turned-lawman-turned-legend to hang up his guns.

Threatened by cruel men in search of revenge, the Harkner clan must be stronger than ever before. Yet nothing can stop the coming storm. With the Old West dying around them and the rules of this new world ever-changing, Jake vows to end the threat to his family no matter what it takes…

Even if it means sacrificing himself so his beloved Miranda may live.

Amazon * Books-A-Million * Barnes & Noble * Chapters * iBooks * Indiebound

Interview with Jake & Miranda

Jake and Miranda Harkner’s love helped shape a nation and, over the years, they’ve endured all of the dangers a wild and brutal West could throw at them. Now they are sitting down with us to discuss how they’ve made their happy ever after last a lifetime.

Author’s Note: This interview would have taken place in 1896 at Jake’s ranch (the J&L) in Colorado. The interviewer would have taken note that Randy is a tiny, beautiful blond with gray/green eyes who doesn’t look her age at all. Randy is a stark contrast to her husband Jake – who stands six feet four inches. He’s broad and well-muscled, deeply tanned, with thick, dark hair that has tiny streaks of white in it. His dark eyes capture a person right down to their toes.

MIRANDA: Oh, my, there are so many positive aspects to our relationship that has kept it going these past thirty years … and I must say that in spite of all of them it’s been a challenge.

JAKE: (Lighting a cigarette) Challenge is probably the biggest understatement of all time.  I am not an easy man to live with and I know it. This beautiful woman sitting next to me has put up with a lot of heartache and danger and hardship because of me and my past. She also knows I sort of go off the deep end sometimes when something bad happens to anyone in my family.  That’s hard for her because I can become a different person when that defensive side shows itself.

MIRANDA:  Jake grew up in a horribly abusive home where he knew no love, at least not from his father, who often beat him with a belt and who killed Jake’s mother and little brother.  At first I had to teach Jake what love was all about, and now he has the family he never dreamed he could have, and we all love him.  He treasures that above all things and would give his life for any one of us, especially our precious grandchildren. We have six now.

JAKE:  I have kind of a dark side where I go when someone I love has been hurt, or when I feel unworthy of the love my family has shown me … especially Miranda.

MIRANDA:  Dark side is putting it mildly. Jake can be extremely ruthless to his enemies, and his enemies are anyone who threatens those he loves. But he’s a gentle, kind, loving man to all of us.  Never has he directed that anger he carries deep inside toward any of us, not ever.  And that brings us back to why we’ve lasted.  Jake adores me and he never fails to tell me or show me.  A woman couldn’t feel more loved than the way Jake loves a woman.

JAKE: I was probably the worst thing that ever happened to her.  I was a mess when she first met me, a wanted man.  I even tried to leave her a few times because I thought she’d be better off without me.  She was all beauty and graciousness, educated and sophisticated.  I was pretty much the opposite of all those things.  When I first met her and knew life would be hell for her if I acted on my feelings, I decided to ride out of her life.

MIRANDA: But he came back for me because he loved me and wanted to try to change his life.  He found me near death from a snake bite and he saved my life.  He was so gentle and loving … and we knew we couldn’t live without each other after that.  I guess you’d say the secret to our relationship is that I fully understand Jake, how his mind works, how desperately he wants to be loved.  There is a little boy inside that just wants someone’s arms around him.  Jake can be the gentlest, sweetest, most provocative lover on the face of the earth.  When we make love it’s not just physical. It’s as though our souls are mingling and our hearts are beating for each other.

JAKE: Randy is my rock.  She’s the air I breathe.  And I love the fact that she loves that boy inside who is sometimes an emotional mess.  She just loves me right through it all, and I don’t desire her just for her outer beauty, but for her beautiful, forgiving, gracious, understanding heart.  (Jake takes hold of Randy’s hand.)  I never knew about love until I met this woman.

RANDY: And I never knew I’d fall in love with an outlaw.  The man has incredible charisma… and just look at him.  He’s so handsome!  His smile just melts me right to the floor.  I can’t say no to him and he knows it.

JAKE: (Jake grins teasingly.) That’s what I love most about you.  You try hard to say no sometimes, but you always give in.

RANDY: And you are the devil in disguise, Jake Harkner.

Excerpt

Just as Randy feared, Jake is bound to embarrass her because they’ve just made love in the woods.  A bear came along and scared off Jake’s horse. Randy knows the horse will run back to camp and their son and maybe more men will come charging up the hill to see what happened.

“Oh, Jake, this is ridiculous!”  Randy quickly pulled on her underwear.  She smoothed her dress, then realized her hair was down and a mess.

“Jake, my hair!  They’ll know.  Oh, this is terrible!”

Jake finished buttoning his shirt.  “I brought my beautiful wife out here so we could be alone.  So what if her hair is down now?”

Randy sat back down on the blanket and fished for the combs and pins that had fallen from her hair.  She quickly twisted the back of her hair up and shoved combs into it to hold the quick up-do in place. She plunked her hat on her head and looked at her husband, who only watched with a big grin on his face.

“Do I look ridiculous?” she asked.

“You look beautiful. It’s impossible for you not to look beautiful.”

“You know what I mean.” Randy stood up. “Am I a mess?”

Jake frowned. “Not bad.  A few strands of hair are hanging down, and the skirt of your dress is a little more wrinkled in front from being pushed up.”

Randy gasped and looked down.

“Oh my gosh!  It is!  Oh, Jake, this is just … I just don’t know what to do!”

“Come here.”

Randy looked at him. He still had a handsome smile that only made her smile in return.  He opened his arms, and she fell into them.

“You are my wife.”  He let go of her and held her face in his hands, gently kissing her.  “And in spite of not having you fully naked beside me, that felt damn good.” He kissed her again.

They heard a whistle.  In the distance they could see Lloyd and one other man riding hard in their direction, the other man leading Jake’s horse behind him.

“Oh, for the love of God,” Randy said as she quickly rolled up the blanket and held it close. “I will never live this down!”

About the Author

USA Today bestseller and award-winning novelist Rosanne Bittner is known as the “Queen of Western Historical Romance” for her thrilling love stories and historical authenticity. Her epic romances span the West—and are often based on Rosanne’s personal visits to each setting. She lives in Coloma, Michigan, with her husband and two sons.

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Goodreads

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway