 Love, Legacy, and Little Green Aliens: An Over-40 Beach Town Romantic Comedy Trappers Cove Romance Book 4 by Sadira Stone Later in life Romantic Comedy Steamy, laugh-out-loud, rivals-to-lovers romance full of found family, beachy fun, and out-of-this-world mystery. About According to the Anagnos family curse, second son Xander is doomed to failure. When he inherits his Uncle Gus’s business in Trappers Cove, Washington, Xander jumps at the chance to prove himself. Of course, he plans to remake the schlocky, alien-themed souvenir shop into something trendier and more upmarket. Who wouldn't want that? Hannah Leone, that's who. Reporter for the Trappers Cove Beacon, Hannah is hell-bent on protecting Souvenir Planet, the beloved icon that draws thousands of tourists to their quirky beach town. The Beacon is struggling to survive, and there’s no way Hannah will let an inconvenient crush stand between her and the biggest story to hit Trappers Cove in ages. Caught in a battle of wills and sizzling desire, Xander and Hannah discover the bizarre depths of Uncle Gus’s alien obsession. When disaster strikes, they’ll need Xander’s innovation and Hannah’s connections to save Souvenir Planet. But if these hard-headed foes don’t lay down their arms, the town they love will pay the price. Come back to Trappers Cove for a steamy, laugh-out-loud, rivals-to-lovers romance full of found family, beachy fun, and out-of-this-world mystery. Happily Ever After with a curse, a ghost, and a plague of ETs. Get your copy today. www.amazon.com/Love-Legacy-Little-Green-Aliens-ebook/dp/B0CJZXHRTQ  About the author.
Award-winning contemporary romance author Sadira Stone spins steamy, smoochy tales set in small businesses—a quirky bookstore, a neighborhood bar, a vintage boutique... Her stories highlight found family, friendship, and the sizzling chemistry that pulls unlikely partners together. When she emerges from her writing cave in Las Vegas, Nevada (which she seldom does), she can be found in dance class, strumming her ukulele, exploring the Western U.S. with her charming husband, cooking up a storm, and gobbling all the romance books. For a guaranteed HEA (and no cliffhangers!) sadirastone.com/ Facebook Twitter Goodreads Bookbub Amazon Author Page Pinterest Instagram Author Newsletter Around the Fire Book & Author Blog. Today's guest is USA Today Best Selling author, Meredith Bond.3/20/2024
Thanks for joining me once again Around the Fire. After a few days of lovely teaser 60s and 70s, here in New Jersey we're back to the normal 40s for March. It is hard to believe Spring is already on the calendar for the year. Just a quick note. Sea Hunter has celebrated its one year anniversary and I'm celebrating with a sale! If you haven't had the chance to read it nows the time. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BRYJLLW1 and to check out all the others in the Mortar and Pestle series. Speaking of Spring, today's guest sent a photo of her looking very springlike. So lets get to her and her story.  Meredith, welcome to the fire. What can I get for you? Tea. Love it! Drink it hot or cold all day long. Great! I recently purchased and electric tea kettle. Let me get her bubbling while you introduce yourself. I’m a mom, although my kids are all grown up, and I’m an editor and book coach. When you are not immersed in the world of writing what interests do you enjoy? I love needle crafts: knitting, crochet, embroidery (my latest kick) I pick up the crochet hook periodically. The blanket I'm working on has been lingering for a few years. I love this quote from Misty Copeland. Be strong, be fearless, be beautiful. And believe that anything is possible when you have the right people there to support you. Who is your network or support system? My family. I couldn’t do it without them. What is your neighborhood like? Are there any places you frequent? What makes them special? I live in a pretty ugly neighborhood of high-rise buildings and a court house, but I frequently go for walks into the historic part of town where the houses all date from the 18th century. I love visiting historic places. The archetechture is astounding. Would you rather have unlimited international first-class tickets or never have to pay for food at restaurants? Ooooh, you caught me with this one! My husband and I have decided that we’re going to travel the world once he retires. We want to go and stay in one place for about a month so we can really get to know it inside and out. So, naturally, I’d certainly go for the first-class tickets. Sigh… to not have to fly economy… True. Unless it's an emergency I won't fly. Let's chat about books. Who or what books or authors are your inspiration? MaryJo Putney and Catherine Maxwell are my favorites, but really any Regency romance authors. Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book? I love bringing characters from other books into the book I’m writing. I hope my readers enjoy seeing old friends there too. I’ve got a rather large and complicated world I’ve built and I love it. There is so much discussion in the writing world about reviews. Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones? I do sometimes. When I get a good one I bask in the joy of knowing I made someone’s day a little better. When I get a bad one, I scour it for ideas for how I could have made the book better. Sometimes, however, not every book is to everyone’s liking and there’s nothing I can do about that. That makes a lot of sense. Many new authors struggle. What would you suggest to assist them? New writers so frequently don’t understand point of view. It’s whose head we are seeing the story, whose thoughts we can “hear”. Lots of new authors either try to tell us what everyone is thinking (omniscient point of view) or they hop from one person’s head to another—back and forth and back and forth. It makes a reader dizzy so they no longer are certain whose head we’re in. Writers need to stick to one point of view per scene and no more than three or four per book. I agree. I recently read a book that I wasn't sure what point of view or at time whose it was. Very disconcerting. What was the best money you ever spent as a writer? Last October, I think it was? It was “Prime Day” at Amazon. They had their Kindle Scribe on sale and I bought one. I LOVE that thing! I love to write long-hand and this allows me to do that and then it converts my handwriting to text and emails it to me. I wrote my last book entirely by hand. Sigh. I don't think it would be able to transcribe my chicken scratch. What are your thoughts about putting yourself out there and publishing, The Willful Wallflower? Out of the frying pan and into the fire? That’s what it feels like every time an author releases a new book. We work really hard to write the best book we can. We spend months writing, and even more time re-reading and editing. But once you let that baby go out into the real world, you feel like you’ve just jumped from the safety of your home into the burning flames of reviewers and publishing house editors. But the one thing I’ve learned is that you can’t let that stop you. Yes, you might get scorched by bad reviews or singed by mediocre ones, but not every book is for everyone. People are going to have their opinions. The key is to take every review as if it were constructive criticism and use it to make your writing better. Everyone, no matter what you do for a living, will get reviewed and critiqued. Don’t let yourself get burned up by it. If you love what you do, keep doing it, no matter what! Meridith, what a pleasure this has been. Before you head off into the historical streets of your town, will you leave us more information about your book and where we can find it and you?  The Willful Wallflower
by Meridith Bond A sweet, tender, romance with a touch of humor. March 26, 2024 PG At the tender age of fifteen, Emilie Pelham fell for a handsome older man of eighteen who kissed her and then never wrote or sought out her company again. Five years later, Emilie is a happy wallflower who wants nothing to do with men—and especially not one in particular, now the Marquess of Willingham. And yet that is precisely who the matchmaker, hired by her mother, insists is Emilie's soulmate. Well, she would rather see the surprisingly thoughtful nobleman disgraced than marry him. She is formulating a plan to do just that for she is not one to change to her mind once it’s made up. Gabriel, the Marquess of Willingham, was a young man ruled by his passions, but he learned his lesson. Now, he keeps a tight rein on his emotions. Since inheriting his father's title, however, his grandmother has insisted he begin looking for a wife. He is happy to marry, just so long as no emotions are stirred. This is not good enough for Gran, though, who hires a matchmaker to find Gabriel's soulmate. When the woman pairs him with the beautiful girl who opened his eyes to the dangers of passion, however, he annoyed when the same feelings try to overpower his newfound control. Neither Emilie nor Gabriel are prepared, however, for the feelings they stir in each other. Neither could have foreseen that a passion sparked years ago could possibly rekindle no matter how hard they fight against. Will hearts be broken a second time or will love prevail? In this cat and mouse game, it’s possible they both might lose—or both might win. Get a copy today! www.amazon.com/Willful-Wallflower-Regency-Romance-Wallflowers-ebook/dp/B0BZQ3SX6G www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-willful-wallflower-meredith-bond/1143267081?ean=2940185734957 books.apple.com/us/book/the-willful-wallflower/id6446845468?ls=1 https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-willful-wallflower play.google.com/store/books/details?id=Qt21EAAAQBAJ&pli=1 books2read.com/u/b6aEOA About the Author Meredith Bond's books straddle that beautiful line between historical romance and fantasy. An award-winning author, she writes fun traditional Regency romances, medieval Arthurian romances, and Regency romances with a touch of magic. Known for her characters “who slip readily into one’s heart,” Meredith loves to take her readers on a journey they won't soon forget. meredithbond.com  Betrayed by Lyndi Alexander Is an alien the only one she can trust? Sci-Fi Romance Released February 22, 2024 About A rash of mutated bodies discovered on planet Andaan reveals that someone is killing women in an attempt to turn them into reptiles. Taskforce agent Kylie Sanderson’s passion for her job drives her to discover why this is happening, who's behind the murders, and how to prevent more grotesque deaths. Shapeshifting alien Griff comes to Andaan to stop the deadly experiments of his brethren. As one of the Okonnan lizard people, he struggles to gain Kylie's trust and to prove that his goal is the same as hers. In her eyes, Griff is an untested enemy. When Kylie is abducted and subjected to the transformation process, the only one who tries to rescue her is Griff. On the run together with no support, can Kylie and Griff solve the mysteries of her past? How will Kylie deal with a very different passion competing with the one she holds for the job that means so much to her? Get your copy today. Paperback at Amazon • Paperback at Barnes & Noble • Hardback at Barnes & Noble • eBook at Amazon Kindle • eBook at Apple Books • eBook at Barnes & Noble • eBook at Kobo • eBook at Smashwords  About the Author
Lyndi Alexander dreamed for many years of being a spaceship captain, but settled instead for inspired excursions into fictional places with fascinating companions from her imagination that she likes to share with others. She has been a published writer for over thirty years, including seven years as a reporter and editor at a newspaper in Homestead, Florida. Her list of publications is eclectic, from science fiction to romance to horror, from tech reporting to television reviews. She's a single mother of seven with two children on the autism spectrum, a quilter, a gardener, and woman of all trades. When she has time, she blogs on a variety of subjects, including autism, science fiction and life at http://awalkabout.wordpress.com Learn more about her urban fantasy elf series at http://clanelvesofthebitterroot.com Her books include: Triad, Dragonfly Publishing, 2012 The Horizon trilogy--Horizon Shift, 2013, Horizon Strife, 2014 and Horizon Dynasty, 2015, from Dragonfly Publishing. A novel from that universe is new--SIXSHOOTER, June 2021 Love Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me, available now from Hydra Publications, August 2012 A Small Degree of Hope, a shapeshifter sci-fi romance, available from Lyrical Press/Kensington Do you like your shape-shifters...cold-blooded? Post-apocalyptic YA Series The Color of Fear, with WINDMILLS now available, DESTINATIONS, 2013, and the third book, ADVERSARIES, available from Zumaya Publications For more information. https://lyndialexander.wordpress.com/ https://lyndialexander.wordpress.com/ https://www.facebook.com/lyndialexander13/ https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4185290.Lyndi_Alexander https://www.amazon.com/Lyndi–Alexander/e/B005GDYPU2/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1 https://www.bookbub.com/profile/lyndi–alexander https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/lyndialexander  Fox Tale by Karen Hulene Bartell Release date 4/8/24 Paranormal Romance Heights terrify Ava. When a stranger saves her from plunging down a mountain, he diverts her fears with tales of Japanese kitsune—shapeshifting foxes—and she begins a journey into the supernatural. She’s attracted to Chase, both physically and metaphysically, yet primal instincts urge caution when shadows suggest more than meets the eye. She’s torn between Chase and Rafe, her ex, when a chance reunion reignites their passion, but she struggles to overcome two years of bitter resentment. Did Rafe jilt her, or were they pawns of a larger conspiracy? Are the ancient legends true of kitsunes twisting time and events? What separates perception from deception―illusion from reality? Fox Tale Fox Tale is a paranormal romance set in Kyoto and Tokyo, Japan. It’s about a woman who’s terrified of heights. When Chase saves Ava from plunging down a mountain, he diverts her fears with tales of Japanese kitsune—shapeshifting foxes—and she begins a journey into the supernatural. She’s attracted to Chase, both physically and metaphysically, yet primal instincts urge caution when shadows suggest more than meets the eye. She’s torn between him and Rafe, her ex, when a chance reunion reignites their passion, but she struggles to overcome two years of bitter resentment. Did Rafe jilt her, or were they pawns of a larger conspiracy? Are the ancient legends true of kitsunes twisting time and events? Grab a copy today. books2read.com/u/br9VJM shorturl.at/uwGPX https://shorturl.at/nuMOZ shorturl.at/jozDY About writing paranormal from Karen. “Es” into writing Paranormal Romance Ease into writing Paranormal Romance with these ten Es: Establish, Elude, Evoke, Evince, Encounter, Engage, Entertain, Evaluate, Elicit, and Ease. Establish rapport for the protagonist early on. Let the reader relate. Elude with scents, sounds, or senses. Let the protagonist walk into a room and get a whiff of her mother’s perfume or a puff of his uncle’s cigar. Are those stairs or floorboards creaking? That chill down the protagonist’s spine feels like someone is walking over their grave. Evoke memories. Remembering deceased relatives or friends or reading the diaries of ancestors that have passed may help the lingering spirit to be recognized, forgiven, or to find closure. Forgotten memories or lost journals can help, not only the spirit, but the protagonist, as well, when they learn the truth or understand the role they play in the family story. Evince the paranormal through evidence. Scents, sounds, or senses set the atmosphere, but eventually, more than hints of a paranormal being are necessary to make the story believable. For instance, in Kissing Kin, a rocking chair apparently moved of its own volition. But then, they discovered that forced air through vents had “pushed” it. Still later, they learned the history of the rocker, and the protagonist relived the past in a dream. Finally, the protagonist saw the entity’s ghostly figure rocking in the chair. Or in Fox Tale, I gradually interspersed a mirror’s natural warps with supernatural distortions. As we left the restaurant, we walked past a convex antique mirror. Still buzzed, I giggled at our distorted, disproportional reflections. His ears looked pointed, like an elf’s. No, like a fox’s. Startled, I gulped. “What?” “I…I thought I saw…” Fingers shaking, I pointed at the mirror. “What?” He glimpsed the mirror. His reflection was normal. “Nothing.” Relieved, I giggled and shook my head. “Just that convex mirror playing tricks on my eyes.” Or too much wine… Encounter the entity. Tease the reader with occurrences that seem paranormal but can be explained through physics or logic. Then, after “disproving” anything supernatural, have the entity manifest itself in a way that’s plausible yet proves it’s unearthly. Engage the entity. Interact with it. Communicate with it to learn their purpose for the visitation. Entertain the entity’s request, as well as entertain the reader. Have your protagonist consider how they can—or if they should—help the entity reach its goal or right its wrong. Keep in mind, your writing’s primary purpose is to entertain the reader throughout the story’s exposition, climax, and denouement. Evaluate the entity’s motive. Why did the ghost / cryptid contact your protagonist? This is where the entity and / or protagonist deepens their rapport with the reader. Elicit their help. The entity entreats the protagonist for help. Possibly the entity offers to help the protagonist (because they’re related / had been coworkers or friends). Ease their plight. After much consideration, have the protagonist agree to assist the entity—but show why. Is it mutually beneficial? Does the protagonist feel an obligation of some sort? Is the protagonist sympathetic? Why? Hopefully, you’ll ease into writing Paranormal Romance with the ten Es: Establish, Elude, Evoke, Evince, Encounter, Engage, Entertain, Evaluate, Elicit, and Ease. Happy drafting!  About the Author
Author of the Trans-Pecos, Sacred Emblem, Sacred Journey, and Sacred Messenger series, as well as Kissing Kin, Fox Tale, Wild Rose Pass, The Keys: Voice of the Turtle and more, Karen is a best-selling author, motivational keynote speaker, IT technical editor, wife, and all-around pilgrim of life. She writes multicultural, offbeat love stories steeped in the supernatural. Born to rolling-stone parents who moved annually, Bartell found her earliest playmates as fictional friends in books. Paperbacks became her portable pals. Ghost stories kept her up at night—reading feverishly. The paranormal was her passion. Novels offered an imaginative escape. An only child, she began writing her first novel at the age of nine, learning the joy of creating her own happy endings. Professor emeritus of the University of Texas at Austin, Karen resides in the Texas Piney Woods with her husband Peter and her mews—three rescued cats and a rescued *Cat*ahoula Leopard dog. Follow Karen http://www.KarenHuleneBartell.com/ [email protected] https://www.amazon.com/author/karenhulenebartell https://www.instagram.com/karenhulenebartell/ https://www.bookbub.com/profile/karen-hulene-bartell https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenhulenebartell/ https://authorsdb.com/community/17847-karen-hulene-bartell https://www.facebook.com/KarenHuleneBartell https://mewe.com/i/karenbartell https://twitter.com/HuleneKaren https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/karenhulenebartell/ https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/611950.Karen_Hulene_Bartell Welcome to Around the Fire. Even though it's March, here in the Garden State its pretending to be Spring. I'm unable to wait any longer and have set up my deck. I do have a small propane fire ring if it gets chilly. But today, its in the 60s. I mentioned to DH maybe we should light the real fire but then thought of all the rain we had so the wood is a bit soggy. Ah well. Soon. In the meantime the daffodils, crocus, and hyacinth are sprouting. Soon forsythia and tulips. The the lilies and iris. I adore spring, don't you? And now, please help me say hello to today's guest.  Hi, Kim. Welcome to my fire. What’s your go-to beverage? What I’m drinking depends on the time of day and season. I start my day with coffee. Winter afternoons often call for tea or cocoa. The holidays are about hot buttered rum. Summer evenings lean toward refreshing cocktails like mojitos. Hmm. Well, we’re kind of in between, so I’m going to make us a cup of chai. While I do, will you tell the others around the fire who you are other than your bio? I’m curious, and I love to learn new things. I’m also a bit of a pessimist and an easy-crier. There are several places in Refuge from the World that make me cry which is crazy since I wrote them, and I’ve read the manuscript dozens of times, but this illustrates how easily I cry. Oh, my. Here are some tissues with your chai. I believe the crying shows your connection to your story. This will translate to affecting your readers. I love a book that makes me cry, laugh, or evoke some sort of emotion, even if it’s anger. What interests besides writing do you enjoy? For instance, what do you read, or what hobbies do you have? I love to travel and explore new places. I’m interested in learning about other cultures. In doing so, I try the food, listen to the music, attempt a few words if the place I’m visiting isn’t an English-speaking country. I jump at any chance to check out ancient ruins, petroglyphs, and pictographs. My latest adventure was to a remote whale-watching camp in Mexico. This is wonderful. I love learning about other cultures. Especially the food. One of my first questions is usually, “What’s the spice palate?” John Donne wrote, ‘No man is an island, Entire of itself, Every man is a piece of the continent, A part of the main.’ With that in mind, who is your network or support system? I have a solid network of writer friends who provide a lot of encouragement. My mom has been one of my biggest fans, but my husband is the one I lean on the most, and he’s a good proofreader and sounding board. Who or what books or authors are your inspiration? I’ve read every book in Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt Series and all of James Rollin’s novels under this name. I enjoy Dan Brown, Suzanne Collins, and Barbara Kingsolver, and I’ve been reading a lot more dystopian lately. My husband is a fan of Clive Cussler, he’s running out of books to read by him. What is your neighborhood like? Are there any places you frequent? What makes them unique? I live in a small community surrounded by exceptional beauty. Between being located at one of the gateways to Yellowstone National Park and within easy access to millions of acres of National Forest Service land, there is stunning scenery all around, including the area that I’ve based the fictional community of Beartooth on. There are Beartooth Mountains, the Beartooth Highway, and Beartooth Pass, but there is no community except on the pages of my novels in The Beartooth Chronicles. One day, I hope to get to the western part of our country. Your views sound inspiring. Let’s talk a bit about writing. What does literary success look like to you? I have achieved modest success as a writer, but I hope to create a story filled with characters that people talk about and have a deep emotional connection to. If readers care enough about the characters in my first novel in The Beartooth Chronicles, Refuge from the World, to anxiously await book 2, I count that as success. What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book? Every book is different, but for my latest project, The Beartooth Chronicles, I did a lot of research on beekeeping. I’ve always found it interesting and may dabble in it one day myself. I also made many trips to the approximate location where I based my fictional community. My in-laws and one of my friends keep hives. Bees are fascinating. What did you edit out of this book? I had a lot more detail on beekeeping and honey collection, but my editor thought it slowed the story down a bit. I trimmed it down and realized she was right. What is your favorite childhood book? I grew up around animals, so I’ve always loved stories with animals. Some of my favorites were, The Jungle Book, Charlotte’s Web, and Winnie the Pooh. Would you rather have unlimited international first-class tickets or never have to pay for food at restaurants? Definitely unlimited international first-class tickets. I love to travel, but long flights in economy suck. My husband and I got upgraded on the way back from Thailand. I almost wish we hadn’t, because now I know what I’m missing. Do you play board games? What games do you like? I’ve always loved jigsaw puzzles and games, but most of the games I play as an adult are card games. My husband and I play cribbage nearly every day. We keep a running log of wins and losses, and it seems we’re pretty evenly matched. Pete and I have a running game of 500 Rummy. We had to start a new scorepad because we ran out of room. Kim, you live in a place renowned for beauty. What’s the most amazing natural occurrence you’ve witnessed? We lived in Hawaii for a few years. The volcano was erupting the entire time we lived there. It wasn’t the explosive kind of eruptions, but watching new land being formed, seeing and hearing red-hot lava flowing into the sea, and witnessing the destructive power of nature was amazing. Wow! I’m closing my eyes to imagine that. Thank you for spending time with me today. Before you head off into the wilderness, will you leave us with information about your books and where to find them?  The Beartooth Chronicles Series
Heat rating: PG Genre: Dystopian In a world plagued by natural and human disasters, a small group of individuals secure a struggling mountaintop resort to establish a sustainable community away from a country riddled with violence and hate. The home they’ve created has provided a safe and comfortable existence, but as environmental disasters continue to multiply, bringing out the worst of humanity, the residents of Beartooth find themselves faced with a series of challenges that will test their ability to survive. Refuge from the World (The Beartooth Chronicles, Book 1) Ashley McPhee arrived in Beartooth with her mom, Sara, when she was three years old. Ever since Ash can remember, life has been simple and peaceful. She enjoyed a carefree childhood, tending honey bees with her mom and spending time with her best friend, Caleb Solomon. But, life in their idyllic mountaintop community is changing. After learning of the government’s plan to use a geoengineering process to cool the planet, Ash and Caleb realize they need to step up and take an active role in the community. Along with fear for how the process might impact their food supply, Ash learns her mom’s health is failing. Sara doesn’t want Ash to face an uncertain future alone and nudges her and Caleb into marriage. Even though they have known each other most of their lives, Ash and Caleb’s relationship has changed drastically in a short period of time. They embrace the challenges of learning about each other, dealing with tragedy and grief, protecting their community from deadly predators and ruthless neighbors, and experiencing epic adventures, while trying to find solutions to a rapidly changing environment and deteriorating world. Book 2 in The Beartooth Chronicles, Above the Abyss, is coming summer 2024. Get your copies here. Pre-order your ebook now! Release March 19, 2024. Print books ship immediately. https://amzn.to/3wwE9ZV https://amzn.to/49CiTki www.barnesandnoble.com/w/refuge-from-the-world-kim-mcmahill/1145008600 https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/refuge-from-the-world https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Kim_McMahill_Refuge_from_the_World?id=UeT4EAAAQBAJ https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1531094 More about the author. Kim McMahill started out writing nonfiction, but her passion for adventure, stories of survival against the odds, and speculating about the future of humanity and our planet, soon turned her attention towards fiction. She has published eleven novels, over eighty travel and human-interest articles, and contributed to a travel story anthology. Growing up in a beautiful mountain west community, traveling the world, and enjoying a twenty-year career with the National Park Service, has given her the opportunity to live in amazing places, experience incredible adventures, and witness many changes in our world, all of which have helped shape her stories. Follow Kim https://www.kimmcmahill.blogspot.com https://www.facebook.com/KimMcMahillAuthor/ https://www.instagram.com/kimmcmahill/ https://twitter.com/kimmcmahill https://www.amazon.com/Kim-McMahill/e/B007IK0EJW/ http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/849945.Kim_McMahill https://www.bookbub.com/profile/kim-mcmahill  The Legacy of Boone Wilson Book 1 Laredo series by Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy March 11, 2024 World Castle Publishing Frontier & Pioneer Western Fiction Small Town & Rural Fiction Rated PG About Boone Wilson, a Civil War veteran and cowboy, figures he’ll die before the month is out after he was shot in the chest playing cards. His comrades talk the owner of the local saloon, the aptly named Out of Luck Saloon, to provide a bed that he can die in, and while the weather is warm enough, they carry him down to the porch each day for some air, wrapped up in blankets. That’s where new schoolteacher Rachel Rose McGarrity first sees him. When she stops to see if she can offer any help, she has no idea what she’s getting herself into, but she’s taken with Boone and vows to keep him from dying if she can. That desire leads to the loss of her job as a schoolteacher because nursing a cowboy in a saloon isn’t respectable. As the wound festers and his fever rises, Rachel remains determined to save his life with the help of his two friends and his fifteen-year-old brother. While his life hangs in the balance, there will be a reckoning for Rachel’s actions, and if there is a chance at a future, Boone must first survive to find it. A false accusation leads to jail time and a threatened hanging, further complicating his life. Will Boone survive? And, is love enough? That’s for Boone and Rachel to figure out. Inspiration for the Story. A reader asked me how long it takes to write a book, then about a timeline for publication. It’s a tricky question. My latest release (March 11) The Legacy of Boone Wilson, Book 1 of the Laredo series, took years. That’s not my average. I began writing it as a standalone title about six months before I hung up my newspaper editor’s hat in 2020. I had written sweet romance before and it suited this work. When I finished, the story wasn’t over, so I wrote a sequel about Boone’s brother. The Endurance of Moses Wilson will be Book 2 in the Laredo series and is contracted with World Castle Publishing. In between penning five more novels in the series (so far – more are planned), I wrote some other novels. I like to say it’s a story and family as big as Texas. It’s as much family saga as romance, probably more. Over the course of the series, readers will become acquainted with Boone but with each of his brothers, his mother, and now his nieces. The story unfolds primarily on a ranch near Laredo, Texas (explains the series name, right?) but occasionally the characters or story strays away on cattle drives, back to Kentucky, over to San Antonio, or down to Galveston. I’ve written a number of novels since 2010 when my first one appeared. Many are spicy and sexy but that’s changing. I am transitioning to writing sweet romance. I believe I write with greater depth and deliver a richer story. To answer the original question, from start to publication, The Legacy of Boone Wilson has taken almost four years. Fortunately for me and for my readers, most novels don’t have such a long timeline. You can always check out my backlist as well! Happy reading! Get your copy today. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/209018340-the-legacy-of-boone-wilson https://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Boone-Wilson-Laredo-Book-ebook/dp/B0CW1NBSB4/ https://www.worldcastlepublishing.net/lee-ann-sontheimer-murphy https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-legacy-of-boone-wilson-lee-ann-sontheimer-murphy/1144943447 https://play.google.com/store/audiobooks/details?id=AQAAAECSO1p72M https://books.apple.com/mt/book/the-legacy-of-boone-wilson/id6478323004 https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Lee-Ann-Sontheimer-Murphy-ebook/dp/B0CW1NBSB4/  About the author.
From an early age, Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy scribbled stories, inspired by the books she read, the family tales she heard, and even the conversations she overheard at the beauty shop where her grandmother had a weekly standing appointment. She was the little girl who sat at the feet of the elders and listened. As an author, she has published more than sixty novels and novellas written as both Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy and as Patrice Wayne for historical fiction. She is also the author of a new Faery Folk series from Evernight Publishing writing as Liathán O'Murchadha. Her books are found in many places, online and in brick-and-mortar stores including some in both Ireland and Australia. Her current publishers include The Wild Rose Press, World Castle Publishing, Evernight Publishing, and Champagne Books. She spent her early career in broadcast radio, interviewing everyone from politicians to major league baseball players and writing ad copy. In those radio years she began to write short stories and articles, some of which found publication. In 1994 she married Roy Murphy and they had three children, all now grown-up. Lee Ann spent years in the newspaper field as both a journalist and editor and was widowed in 2019. She teaches 7th and 8th graders each Sunday at church. In late 2020, she hung up her editor’s hat to return to writing fiction. A native of St. Joseph, Missouri, she lives and works in the rugged, mysterious, and beautiful Missouri Ozarks.
February was pretty busy for me. Not only getting a new story out to my editor (sneak peek below) but I'm also working diligently on Honky-Tonk House. It will be the third IMPACT book. In between the chapters Pete and I took sometime to deliver a boat to Florida for one of our neighbors. We stayed in the Perry KOA and had a great time with old friends before heading back to the snow and cold in New Jersey. After only a day back I participated with a small group of New Jersey and Pennsylvania authors at Brook Hollow Winery. What a blast and this was only a warm-up for the May event there. https://www.facebook.com/events/914248432975525  The contract is signed and the process begins for A Christmas Storm. I'd like to share the first page with you. In the spirit of Dickens, in a house enveloped by snow, Lacey is shown the past, present, and future by an unexpected guest. Chapter 1 “Why me.” Lacey Prescott wailed to the sky as she lay sprawled on the icy path leading to the shed. The snow started to replace the sleet and fluttered down from the starless sky. Christmas was only three days away. Even with her dad, Nathan, and Gloriana here, it wasn’t the holiday she’d hoped for since getting the call. Matt wasn’t going to make it home. She’d put on her game face when she’d greeted Dad and his new wife at the door earlier, but her heart was no longer into celebrating the holiday. “I miss you so much.” She rubbed her eyes before struggling to get traction on the slippery service. Finally, her foot found it in the gravel under the snow on the path’s edge. Her heart broke when her husband called last month to let her know plans had changed. This was to be the first time they’d spend the holidays together since getting married. He would have spent the season with her and little Adele. But duty called, and Lt. Matthew Prescott’s deployment had been extended—indefinitely. Now, here she was without him and with a house full of company. To top it off, what was expected to be light snow now the weather stations were reporting it as a storm of epic proportions. And she’d neglected to lay in supplies. She lived in Upstate New York long enough to know storms could quickly morph from forecasts of flurries to blizzards in a heartbeat. While gingerly making her way to the shed where the ice melt was, she’d wanted to kick her own butt. Until she slipped and fell. Okay, ice kicked her instead. “Argh.” She yanked on the frozen shut door and then slammed her hand against the wood slats. Done, she was done. Toast. No. Burnt toast. Turning around, she slid down the rough door and buried her head in her arms while wet seeped into her jeans. She didn’t even care. Banging her head on her knees, she wondered yet again why her. Now my publisher and I will work on edits and covers.  My reading has been all over the place. Thriller, paranormal, fantasy, contemporary. I spent some time with Dean Koontz and his The House at the End. A dystopian thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat. I'm in love with The Burning Witch by Delemhach and can't wait for the next in this humorous fantasy/paranormal series. Kathryn Shay never disappoints and her After the Fire about firefighters is a winner. I've also spent time with the audio of Christopher Paolini and Murtaugh. It's long. but I'm still loving this author of the Eragon series. Till next month remember March is in like a lion and out like a lamb. Or so the saying goes.  Happy March to all! The days are getting longer and I can't wait to spring forward this weekend. I just did a tour of the garden and all the little bulb guys are sticking their heads out of the soil. We enjoyed some lovely weather this past Sunday. Out came our chairs and the propane fire pit. Friends popped over and we shared some tasty snacks while soaking up the sunshine. I baked a peach dumpcake and it came out so delicious! At the end of this post I'll tell you how I did it. But before you all head to your kitchens please help me welcome today's guest, Dani Collins.  Hi Dani! I've opened up 2Hoots my camper and as always she's well stocked. What’s your go-to beverage? In the mornings, I have an herbal tea called Sweetfern from Wild Tea Canada (picked in the Algonquin wilderness!) Then I have two cups of coffee. Through the day, I drink water. If it’s happy hour, it’s usually red wine from Tin Horn Creek. They’re a local winery and I’m a crush club member so I have a pantry full of their merlots and cab francs. All of those sound wonderful, but I just bought an electric kettle. I'll bet if I open the magic cupboard in there will be some Sweetfern. Let me whip up a couple of cuppas while you introduce yourself. Who are you other than your bio? Gosh, that’s a question I am actively trying to define for myself! I spent twenty-five years *trying* to be an author. When I finally began to publish in 2012, I thought, “This is my chance. I’d better not blow it.” I really applied myself to writing, quitting my day job (office clerk) and becoming a full-time writer in 2014. I’m a bit of a workaholic. I know it’s not healthy and I’m looking to make adjustments, but writing is genuinely the pastime that I enjoy most. Having said that, I like to garden in the spring. I’m terrible at it, but I like it. I’ve tried golf and my dad is determined to get me curling, which does sound fun. And, when time allows, my husband and I like to travel, but we’re empty-nesters so we often use our windows of free time to visit our kids and his elderly mom. I think it not being a workaholic when you enjoy it. Besides, you have a wide variety of other activities. So what interests you besides those? I bet there's more. I kind of answered this above, but I forgot to mention the gym. I go twice a week for cardio and weights and do yoga at home on the other days. While I’m at the gym, I read on the elliptical. Often it’s romance, but I do read a lot of nonfiction. My latest is Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman, which posits that the average lifespan is only four thousand weeks so what are we doing with those weeks? (Me: sitting at a computer!) LoL. Met too. Even when I'm not sitting at it, the laptop calls to me. Who is your network or support system? This would be any groups/authors/friends/family who contribute to your writing career. This is another area I’m working on. My poor husband has to listen to most of my anguish around a book not working because he’s in the house, but he’s very good about brainstorming if I walk downstairs and say, “How did my hero’s father die?” I’m *very* lucky that my daughter writes. She focuses on fan fiction so she’s aware of trends there that influence mainstream fiction. She’s also very smart around plotting and structure and I can talk to her about challenges in the biz like algorithm changes or whatever. It’s a mini author-coach/therapy session everytime she calls on her commute home. I live very rural so I lost touch with my in-person writing friends long before the pandemic. I keep up online with them, but it’s not the same. I find the big conferences overwhelming so I’m going to try my first retreat this year. It’s only twelve people, all but one a stranger to me. I think this is the perfect balance of getting out of my comfort zone while still keeping it feeling very cozy and fun. My hubby is my sounding board too. He never does but I bet he wants to roll his eyes sometimes. And good for you stepping out. I'll bet you have a fabulous time. I'm always jazzed when I speak to other creators. Who or what books or authors are your inspiration? I grew up on six for a dollar Harlequin Presents from the thrift store so *all* of those authors cemented the dream for me to write for Harlequin. (I’ve written sixty of them!) During those busy years of being a working mom with little kids, I took an attitude of, “If I have time to read, I have time to write,” so I got in the habit of choosing to write. That’s why I’m such a workaholic now. That habit is deeply ingrained and I *know* I need to spend more time unwinding and reading. My jaw dropped at sixty. I'm such an under achevier. Anyhoo, you said rural. Tell us about your neighborhood? Are there any places you frequent? What makes them special? I feel so lucky to live where I live. It’s a small town in Southern British Columbia five minutes from the U.S. border. It’s lake country so it’s a seasonal town of fifteen hundred year-round residents that swells to five thousand in the summer. We can see the lake, but we’re not on it. It has a tiny school of about a hundred students. That was very special while our kids were growing up. We made a lot of close ties with other parents then. There’s a golf course and a grocery and a cute coffee shop. We bemoan the fact our pub burned down several years ago, but the nearby town of Grand Forks has more options so we really have the best of both worlds—nature and conveniences. It sounds wonderfull chat about writing. Does writing energize or exhaust you? Both! If I don’t write, I start to get grumpy within a few days. I usually write a little bit even when we’re on vacation, but there are days when I’ve written all day, have very few new words to show for it, and I’m exhausted from the sustained concentration. What are common traps for aspiring writers? Oh gosh, there are so many. I think some of the biggest ones that I fell into was thinking there was one ‘right’ way. A tried and true way. A silver bullet that makes it easy. Writing is not easy! Publishing is even harder! Something that I learned along the way, that I think is paramount for new writers to understand is that your writing is yours. It’s not something anyone gives you or takes away. You get to write whenever and whatever you want. Enjoy it! But if you want to publish, recognize that it is a business. There will be compromises and rejections, but they don’t mean that you’re a bad writer. Having said that, writing is rewriting so maybe your first draft needs work. Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book? I enjoy writing connected books so I have several duets, trilogies and linked books, but I also write stand-alones. It really depends on the story and the publisher. How did publishing your first book change your writing process? Mostly, I learned to get faster at making decisions. Also, as time went on, I learned what my process *is* and how to fix certain things before I submitted. For example, it’s very common for me to not fully understand my hero’s internal conflict until I’ve written half the book. Then I hit a wall and go back to the beginning to really dig into his backstory. I’ve learned that spending a day fixing a scene is as important as new words. I’m not an author who likes to push out a whole draft then start revisions. I like to revise as I go. Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones? I do read them. I often quote the good ones in my newsletter to help readers decide whether a book is their cup of tea. I don’t resent bad reviews. Sometimes the reviewer has a point. That can be frustrating since there’s no going back to change the book once it’s printed and in stores. I also understand that not every book is for every reader. I’ve often heard the advice that one-star reviews mean you’re reaching an audience outside your fanbase so I try to look at them that way. That's a great way to think of it. What was the best money you ever spent as a writer? Long before I published, I was in the book store and they were about to send back a book called, Getting the Words Right: How to Rewrite, Edit and Revise, by Theodore A. Reese Cheney. I bought it, read it cover to cover, and credit it with teaching me how to write. Let's did into the real Dani. Mwa hahah. What's your worst household chore? Cleaning bathrooms. I am so done with cleaning bathrooms. Did you ever win something? What? I once won tickets to a live music festival. It was listening to the radio at work, sent an email with my ‘wildest story from a music festival’ and won! It was for that weekend, so my husband and I hopped in the car and had a great time. FYI, the ‘wildest story’ was from a time when we attended a weekend concert headlining Bryan Adams and Steve Miller among others. I was standing in line for the port-a-potties and one of the potties was rocking and rolling. A couple spilled out, laughing, and their friend said, “It’s okay, folks. They’re newlyweds!” (Funny, but Ew, right?) Definitely, ew. I have a story about my sister a phone and a port-a-potty, I tell you after. While I warm up our tea, will you share more about you newest book and where we can find it.  Marrying the Nanny – Raven’s Cove – Book One by Dani Collins Release day Mar 5, 2024 From the author. My book is a contemporary small town romance with slow burn to some steamy love scenes. When infant Storm is orphaned, nanny Emma Wright, on a work visa and still reeling from a painful divorce, yearns to adopt her but must relinquish Storm to her three adult half-brothers. They remind her of a pack of wolves–protective, but not prepared to care for a baby. Alpha male Reid is especially aloof and intimidating. Like his younger brothers, Reid Fraser left the Westcoast village of Raven’s Cove at eighteen and never looked back. Now a successful corporate consultant who rescues failing businesses—which is what this fly-in fishing resort has become, Reid must rally his brothers to save Storm’s inheritance, but he and his estranged brothers barely get along. They can’t deal with an infant, too. They need the nanny. As Emma coaches Reid through midnight feedings and teething, they try to ignore the sexual pull between them. Then they learn Storm may have family who could take her from them. Reid proposes a marriage of convenience, but will it be enough to keep this fractured family together? Here’s what early reviewers had to say about Marrying the Nanny: “This is my first read by Dani Collins. It definitely will not be my last! I loved every character.” ~ 5 stars, DeeAnn on Goodreads And “The setting is amazing and makes you want to be in Raven’s Cove, the characters are all so lovable and relatable you can’t help but root for them and crave to read all of their stories.” ~ 5 stars, Sara on Goodreads www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C95P69GS https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/marrying-the-nanny-dani-collins/1143697276 https://books.apple.com/us/book/marrying-the-nanny/id6450614753 https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/marrying-the-nanny play.google.com/store/books/details/Dani_Collins_Marrying_the_Nanny?id=RY7kEAAAQBAJ&hl=en_US&gl=US Start reading on my website here: https://danicollins.com/books/marrying-the-nanny/#excerpt More about the author. Award-winning and USA Today Bestselling author Dani Collins thrives on giving readers emotional, compelling, heart-soaring romance with laughter and heat thrown in, just like real life. While she is best known for writing contemporary romance for Harlequin Presents and Tule Publishing, she also writes historical and erotic romance. When she’s not writing—just kidding, she’s always writing. Dani lives in Southern BC, Canada with her high school sweetheart husband. I try to limit my time on social media, but you can get updates on my books here: https://www.facebook.com/DaniCollinsAuthor http://instagram.com/danicollinsauthor https://www.tiktok.com/@danicollinsauthor twitter.com/DaniCollinsBook If you never made a dump cake you'll be suprised at how easy-peasy.
Grease your pan and light the over to 350. One can of pie filling. Dump it in. One box of cake mix. )Only limited by what you want. I used white and peach but I could just have easily used chocolate and cherry.) Dump it in. Press down onto pie filling. Cut about a 1/2 cup of butter into small pieces and sprinkle over the top. That's it. Really. Not kidding. Bake about 30 minutes depending on your oven. |
Your Host D.V. StoneAward winning multi-genre author and blogger. Fantasy, romance, mid-grade. Nothing better than a campfire, book, and glass of wine. Okay maybe there is.📚 Follow Me!
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