Author Spotlight Featuring Mary A. Felkins & Her Debut Novel ~ Call To Love

It's always a joy to host a debut author. 

Please welcome Inspy Author, Mary Felkins.

Thank you, L.A. for hosting me.

I began to wonder…what if two crisis-driven professions, trained to answer emergency calls, refuse to answer God’s call to love again? 

I’ve always been in awe of first responders, those who make headline news in times of tragedy but seem to gain little recognition otherwise as they work tirelessly to respond to emergencies.

Throughout their shifts, they see so much of what most of us will never see. In addition to my trust in God’s protection, they’re the reason I sleep in peace each night.

For my first novel, I had the hero move from Texas to the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains which parallels mine and my husband’s story in 1997. Although we made the move from Houston, Texas, I chose to have the hero move from San Antonio for one simple reason: my firstborn son is named Anthony. As simple – and fun – as that!

The heroine is an ER nurse in intent on leaving her hometown community in the foothills of North Carolina in pursuit of new life in another city. But what appears to be a wise career move is really lack of trust in disguise, a refusal to answer God’s call to love. Who can’t relate to justifying our reasons for turning in a particular direction when, behind it all, we’re running from the one thing God meant for our good?

Excerpt:

Tracy Cassidy’s life plan read like a doctor's script: wear lead apron over heart and manage affairs on own. If Plan A fails and pain persists then, and only then, a shout-out to God would be considered. After all, life was a vapor.

Hungry as Tracy was following a twelve-hour shift in the emergency department, the area outside Joe’s Hot Dog Shack needed to clear out stat. The command rose in her throat, but she reasoned that having to wait in line when hungry didn’t justify an irritable disposition. Mom said it marred the beauty of biblical femininity.

The hot dog stand, the likes of a tiny, roofed house, sat square in the parking lot of a small shopping strip. Cars whizzed along Highway 127, the four-lane, divided road beside it. Burning tobacco wafted from the customer ahead and tinged the air. Like those Atlantic league baseball games with her father. She pivoted toward a distant siren wail. Could be her brother Jack on patrol. Faithful to a family ritual, Tracy prayed. Keep him safe. Always safe.

Beneath summer’s sun, Tracy’s feet marinated inside her neon pink Nike’s. She slung her stethoscope behind her neck and inhaled the calming scent of Appalachian handcrafted rose and jasmine shea butter soap on her skin. A ‘just because’ gift from Mom, likely meant to dissuade Tracy’s consideration of leaving her hometown of Laurelton.

An older couple sat at one of two pine picnic tables beside the food stand. Tracy peered at them over her shoulder. A cheery yellow umbrella shaded them from the gauze of August heat. Their shoulders touched, eyes brightening like jewels. The gentleman tucked strands of graying hair behind her ears. He reached a napkin to her mouth. “Marilyn, whadya say we get married?”

The woman angled her face away then returned his smile. “Oh, Wilburn. You’ve been proposing since our wedding day sixty years ago.”

He cupped her cheek and kissed her lips. Jeremiah Clark’s classic, Trumpet Voluntary, sounded in Tracy’s head and drew her thoughts to the unquenchable power of her parents’ love. Their story could have looked the same. If it hadn’t been for Dad’s badge.

Tracy gazed across the sloping Catawba Valley foothills that rose into indigo waves of sculpted Appalachian Mountains. Artistic brushstrokes of white cloud streaked an azure blue, mid-afternoon sky. Summer would soon give way to the glory of fall with sugar maple leaves, a sheer radiance of golden yellow, amber, and ruby red. A metal street sign colored in patriotic shades and anchored in the fertile road verge along the main road boasted Laurelton as an All-America City winner.

Yanking her thoughts back to business, Tracy considered her options. “So, if Cheryl tells me I got the promotion, I’m meant to stay in Laurelton and support Mom with Safe Shores Women’s Rescue Mission. But if not, I’ve got that dream job opportunity as assistant manager at Duke Regional Medical Center in Durham.” Sure tasted sweet. And she could forever darken the images of her fallen father that mocked her pain at every corner.

Her cell phone vibrated inside the pocket of her purple scrubs and disrupted the review of her carefully planned agenda. Another text from Robbie, Tracy’s former high-school sweetheart turned gorgeous-and buff-pharmaceutical rep. They’d been dating for over eight months since he’d first called on Dr. Rainer at the hospital.

Where are you?

“Persistent man,” she muttered.

Joe cupped a hand behind his ear. “Excuse me?”

Slipping the cell back into her pocket, Tracy advanced to the open, sliding glass window only to draw back at the pungent smell of chopped onion. She flapped her hand. “It’s nothing.”

Now, review agenda. Quell hunger, return home by close of business day, and contact Joanna Graves in Human Resources at Duke Regional Medical Center. Then she’d figure a way to wrap her mind around trading the beauty of the mountains for flat, granite landscape. Which was so not the picture of an All-America City. No matter. She’d make life work.

Buy:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Pelican Book Store

Blurb:

What if saying yes to love means trusting the kind of man you said you’d never marry?

What if pursuing a woman’s heart means restoring a painful past?

Tracy Cassidy, a fiercely independent ER nurse, must choose between her dream job or staying in her hometown to help support her mother’s faltering ministry. Even if it means risking her heart in love with the kind of man she said she’d never marry.

Why sign up to be Laurelton’s next cop widow?

Tom DeLaney, a hyper-vigilant cop and new hire from Texas, is wearied by years of failed rescue attempts to save his marriage to his ex. A free man, he moves to the foothills of North Carolina. Thing is, he hadn’t expected to fall for Tracy, his supervisor’s sister. But when his adolescent son is diagnosed with a chronic illness, he faces the risk of loving another woman with keep-out issues.
Fears related to the death of Tracy’s cop father and Tom’s inability to forgive the past threaten to sabotage any chance at love.

To trust again means surrender. Will they risk their hearts and answer the call?

Bio:

Mary A. Felkins is an inspirational romance author, administrator for Seriously Write writer's blog, and contributor to Refresh, a quarterly online Bible study magazine. In 2015, she was awarded a bronze medal winner for her scene submission to My Book Therapy's Frazier contest. Call to Love is her debut, inspirational romance novel.

She is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers and My Book Therapy.

Raised in Houston, Texas (and forever a Lone Star girl), Mary and her husband Bruce moved to the foothills of North Carolina in 1997. They are blessed to parent four young adult children. She can be lured from her writer's cave if presented with a large, unopened bag of Peanut M&Ms or to watch an episode of Fixer Upper. A surprise appearance by her teen idol, Donny Osmond, would also do the trick, although she’d likely pass out.

If, upon introduction, she likes your first or last name, expect to see it show up in one of her novels.

To receive Mary’s weekly story-style devotions and quarterly book news via email, join other #Felkinsfans at www.maryfelkins.com

Find Mary:

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Author Spotlight With Mageela Troche

Please Welcome Mageela Troche

Hi L.A., thanks for hosting me on your blog.

Back in the 90s, I watched Braveheart and was enraptured by Scotland. I went off and read everything I could grab about Scotland, its history and William Wallace. So, when I returned to writing, I, of course, decided that a Scottish romance was the story I had to tell. But instead of writing about Scotland’s War of Independence, I decided to write about the time before the turmoil—a time considered as Scotland’s Golden Age.

My hero, Lachlan Gordon, who is first introduced in my debut novel, The Marriage Alliance, came to me fully formed along with the woman he loved—Rowen MacKenzie. When I was writing Highland Scandal, the words and love poured from me. I was so pleased to give Lachlan and Rowen their happy ending. I swear I was so giddy writing this one. I too fell in love with Lachlan and so wanted to be Rowen.

I hope since I am a romantic but not hopeless (at least not that much) that I can one day find a love like that.

After all, isn’t that just what we want to love and be love? That’s why we go on blind dates, sign up for online dating, risk our tender hearts to find someone to love and be loved by. 

 Excerpt:

Lachlan lingered in the courtyard. He refused to step inside. No doubt, he could find a widow to warm the night with. He just had to stay away from the Great Hall and Rowen. Damn, she was so beautiful sitting upon her horse. She was so near to him. He could have snatched her up and run away. He couldn’t go near her. He kicked at a rock. Why did MacLean have to permit the marriage here? MacKenzie Castle was fitting enough. But the lairdess had to be pregnant. Murray’s lands were just as fitting, but lacked a female touch. Och, weren’t there women in the clan? Such ruminations failed to matter. She was here.

He peered up at the tower. She was in there and tonight he would be also…unless there was an attack or a raid. He prayed for a raid.

Lachlan leaned against the wall. He straightened as Caelen took his spot beside him, as he had countless times before. They watched the castle people stroll by them.

“All is good?” Caelen asked.

“Aye. Your wife?”

“Fat with child again. She wishes for a daughter.” He crossed his bare arms.

“You wish for a son.”

“I know what men do with women.” Castle folk hurried on at Caelen’s scowl.

“This marriage should happen soon.”

“Aye, Father Murray is here. I heard about Father Sullivan.”

Lachlan chuckled. “A skeleton of a man. Why they sent that man—I do not know. He had been here for two days. He stuttered whenever Duncan laid his gaze on him. When he saw me, he looked like he smelled something most foul.”

“Women?”

“Sin, so I guess the daughters of Eve left a certain smell only priest can catch whiff of. He fled in the morning.”

“Did you really chase after him?”

“Aye, he said, ‘you are the devil’. Me and Duncan were standing like this, so I had to find out which one of us he spoke of.” Lachlan chuckled. “I ran beside his animal. He kicked his heels harder, but I stayed alongside him. When I asked him, that poor holy man paled and then reddened. He proclaimed we were both devils. I thanked him and told him I wouldn’t want to lose my reputation.”

Caelen laughed. Lachlan felt a lightness that had been missing since the wedding negotiations began. It was the damn hardest thing to make Caelen laugh.

His laughter cut off at the approaching riders. The Murrays arrived. Lachlan stared at Eacharn riding among his father’s men. Bile rose in his throat and its foul taste filled his mouth. He gulped back the burning spew.

He should hate that man. He was getting to spend the rest of his days with the woman Lachlan loved. But Eacharn, the plump bastard, was a good man. He was always in the center of a fight. He was sharp-minded and loved Lachlan’s humor. Hell, Lachlan admitted it—he liked him. Not that he’d say it to him.

One more thing denied Lachlan. Nay, he was not feeling pity for himself. Never. His temper roared like a hundred Highlanders on a charge. He pushed away from the wall, only realizing Caelen had left him. Halfway out of the courtyard, he turned back. His duty was to stand with MacLean.

Buy: 

Amazon

Blurb:

How long does happily ever after take?

They call her banshee. The taunt has pursued strong-willed Rowen Mackenzie through the glorious Scottish Highlands. One man sees beyond the superstition—Lachlan Gordon. This brave highlander is the man she loves but duty requires her to wed another.

Wickedly charming, Lachlan Gordon has loved Rowen Mackenzie since his first glimpse of the ethereal beauty. As bastard of Chief Gordon, Lachlan can never claim her as his own. When his father, Laird Gordon, is murdered, Lachlan becomes the clan chief…too late to marry the woman he loves.

Years later, Rowen is now a widow and mother and her son is in danger. She jeopardizes her life and most importantly, her heart to protect her son. Lachlan is the only man who can help her. For a second chance at love, he must risk all—his clan, his life, and his love to win even as secrets threaten their happiness and their very lives.

Will Rowen and Lachlan have their own happily ever after?

Bio:

An Air Force brat, Mageela Troche has lived throughout the world then landed in New York City. She wanted to leave the same day she arrived. Yet, with her stubbornness, Mageela learned to like the place and the libraries were the main reason. Since she was a little girl, Mageela wanted to be an author and an actress, however, once in college, she changed her life plan in the pursuit of money. After all, college loans must be repaid.

With life’s twists and turns, she returned to writing and focused on the romance genre. Mageela Troche’s first break came when she sold a short story to a magazine. She sold two more before the publication of her historical romance novel, The Marriage Alliance. She has gone on to write four more novels and a novella.

Mageela is currently writing in the cramped corner of her Big Apple apartment. She is the proud owner of a Black-masked lovebird named Boobula. She loves to hear from her readers and can be found online at MageelaTroche.com

Find Mageela:
Facebook |  Twitter

Author Spotlight Featuring Liese Sherwood-Fabre's ~ Virtual Harmony and Other Short, Sweet Romances

Wow, yet again, I find a new-to-me author.  

I'm pleased to bring you Liese Sherwood-Fabre

Thanks for hosting me, L.A.

From the time I first started penning fiction, I’ve written short stories. In fact, the first piece I sold was a short story. I’d been taking creative writing courses for a few semesters by then and entered some in various contests. When I placed second in one, the judge, who had her own literary fiction journal, quickly accepted my runner-up for publication.

Virtual Harmony and Other Short, Sweet Romances gathers a number of very short stories I authored over time into one volume. All of them examine the connection that sometimes occurs between two people. In some, it is the “meet cute” where a couple sees something in the other at their first encounter—a woman in search of the owner of a music playlist mysteriously appearing on her computer or when strangers sit next to each other at the opera. 

Others take an existing relationship to the next level such as the temporary employee and her boss who obey company rules about dating between supervisors and employees or two neighbors who meet while one is in disguise. 

Finally, one shares a couple’s efforts to reconnect on a camping trip.

While all the stories have love in common, they also show how each couple’s story is unique. The spark between them can be initiated by an apparent apartment break-in, a snowball fight, or a flat tire. What follows after is where the magic lies.

Excerpt:

From “Virtual Harmony,” the first story in the collection.

I slumped into an empty chair at the coffee bar around the corner from my apartment. I was ending this foolishness. Now. For two weeks I’d been on a wild goose chase and gotten nowhere. Time to give up. 

It’d all started innocently enough. After plugging in my new MP3 player, and booting up my computer to download my playlist, my finger froze just above the mouse. An unfamiliar file folder appeared along with the others: "George's Songs."

Who was George, and how did he get on my computer?

Having moved into the neighborhood less than a month ago, I didn’t know anyone in the area, and no one had access to my computer. Another new icon appeared at the bottom of my screen and blinked on and off. My new wireless system was working. I returned my gaze to the “George’s Songs” icon. Somehow, my computer's system had picked up this George’s file and downloaded it to my machine.

Curiosity won out over caution, and without thinking twice, I opened the file to check out his playlist. Almost the entire list of songs I’d planned to download onto my MP3 player were already in George’s.

Whoever he was, George had good tastes.

And done all the hard work for me. All I had to do was download the file, and my MP3 player was ready to “rock and roll”—literally. I owed him. He’d saved me a whole evening’s work.

But more importantly, some of the unfamiliar songs intrigued me the most. His eclectic tastes, spanning across a variety of artists and genres, deepened my appreciation of this unknown fellow music-lover.

Most amazing of all, in the days that followed, my computer continued to update George’s file each time I turned on my machine. I became addicted to checking for new additions to "George's Songs" and fantasized about the man I knew only through his choice in music.

           

By the end of the second week, I knew I had to find him. I'd made a few friends at work but still hadn't met anyone like the person I knew George had to be—someone with musical tastes as extraordinary and unique as his.

Buy:

Barnes and Noble | iBooks | Amazon

Blurb:

Love can bloom in infinite ways.
These eleven short romances follow love through cute meets to taking friendship to the next level to rekindling a marriage. Feelings can be sparked by an errant computer file, a hunt for diamonds, or even a fortune teller's tale. All that is needed is to open one's heart to let it in.

Search, find, and deepen love along the way in these sweet romances.

Bio:

Liese Sherwood-Fabre knew she was destined to write when she got an A+ in the second grade for her story about Dick, Jane, and Sally’s ruined picnic. 

After obtaining her PhD from Indiana University, she joined the federal government and had the opportunity to work and live internationally for more than fifteen years—in Africa, Latin America, and Russia. Returning to the states, she seriously pursued her writing career and has published various pieces. 

Her debut novel Saving Hope, a thriller set in Russia was based, in part, from her observations while in that country. She has recently turned to a childhood interest in Sherlock Holmes for an as-yet unpublished series on Sherlock growing up in a rather unusually gifted family. 

Along the way she has written and published a number of short stories, garnering awards such a Pushcart Prize nomination. She recently collected eleven of these tales into a volume: Virtual Harmony and Other Short, Sweet Romances, released on October 15.

Find Liese:

Website  | Facebook | Twitter

Author Spotlight Featuring Marilyn Leach's New Book ~ All Hallows Dead

Marilyn Leach has created a wonderful cozy mystery series set in a small English village. Grab your cup of tea and enjoy Marilyn's "tour" of her 5th and latest book in the Berdie Elliot series.  

Thanks, L.A. for hosting me on your blog.  

The North of England grabbed me by the throat and won my heart the moment I stepped onto its soil.  I knew this untamed part of England, Northumbria, near the Scottish borders, was abundant fuel for stories.

 

When first I saw Lindesfarne Castle loom over the landscape of tiny Holy Island, wind blowing the rush of modern life from my soul, the history of the place settled in like a warm cup of tea on a blustery day.  My story would be a mystery set in current day but with roots reaching back into history.

All Hallows Dead: A Berdie Elliott Saints Day Mystery is the fruit of that idea.  Berdie and husband Hugh, a vicar, are attending a church course in Northumbria when Berdie’s captivated by the mysteries of an ancient church.  

Two “accidental” deaths occur in circumstances she finds questionable.  Set among the ruins of Criswell Abbey, Berdie discovers truths that will impact Criswell’s entire village, from a local pub owner to the lord of the manner.

Of course, there’s plenty of humor as Berdie and her best friend, Lillie, get into circumstances that make us chuckle, all while solving dastardly events.  Pretending to be artists, for the sake of snooping, turns into an art form unto itself.

All Hallows Dead is a perfect read for this time of year.  All Saints Day, November 1, marks our collective memory of those devoted pilgrims that have marched on in faith before us.  During this season, a comfy chair, hot beverage, and snuggly throw are all amenities that make reading All Hallows Dead an enjoyable event.

Buy:

Amazon

Bio:

Though Marilyn grew up in the Western United States, she became a dyed-in-the-wool British enthusiast after exploring the UK and making friends there.  She has co-authored plays that have been performed in both secular and church venues.  

Her many devotionals have appeared in such works as The Quiet Heart, Big Dreams in Small Places, and Guideposts.  In her current British mystery series with Pelican Books, Berdie Elliott is the intrepid vicar’s wife who solves crime with a little help from above.  Marilyn lives in a lakeside cottage on the front range of the Rocky Mountains.

Find Marilyn:
Website | Amazon Author Page | Facebook

What secrets lie within the stones of Criswell Abbey’s medieval church, St. Baldred’s?  Berdie Elliott digs to find the truth in All Hallows Dead.

Lastingham Stairs

Author Spotlight Featuring Jill Haymaker's A Peakview Christmas

It's a pleasure to once again bring you a Jill Haymaker new release, this time a seasonal novel, A Peakview Christmas.

Hi, L.A., thanks for hosting me again. I love Christmas! The lights, the songs, the decorations, and the idea of it being a special time for love and family. I have to admit that I’m one of those people who will watch all thirty-six new Hallmark Christmas movies in the next couple of months. In A Peakview Christmas, I started out with a woman who’d been abused and beaten down by an alcoholic husband. When she can’t stand the idea of another miserable holiday, she runs away just a few days before Christmas. The outlook for a joyful Christmas is bleak for her and her young daughters until the magic of Peakview, Colorado and the holiday itself provides the backdrop for happily ever after. Join Faith on her journey to find Christmas magic.

 Excerpt:

CHAPTER ONE

 

Her coffee cup rattled on the table as the door slammed against its hinges. Rattled like her nerves. “I want this house clean when I get home,” Lenny yelled as he stormed across the front lawn. Faith Owens listened as the motor to his ancient pickup sputtered and the gears ground. Please start, she whispered quietly. The last thing she wanted was for her husband to return and demand she drive him to work.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the engine catch and saw gravel fly as he peeled away. Laughter bubbled from the bedroom in the back of the small apartment—a sharp contrast from Lenny’s temper tantrum. Her daughters, Hope and Gracie, had just gotten home from the last day of school before Christmas break. “Two weeks of freedom,” they’d announced as they’d run through the door. What she wouldn’t give for even a day of freedom from the nightmare that her life had become.

She stuck her head in her daughters’ bedroom where they sat playing on the hard, worn, linoleum floor.

“Wanna play dolls with us, Mommy?” Gracie smiled, with that smile made even more adorable by the missing tooth right in front.

“Not right now, honey. I have some things to get done. In a little while.” Knowing that they were safe, she walked into her bedroom and frowned at the trail of clothes Lenny’d left on the floor of the cramped room. The room reeked of beer. Judging by the crumpled cans on the dresser, he chugged a couple before heading to his job. How he’d stayed employed this long, she’d never know. Obviously, being a nightshift janitor didn’t require sobriety.

Faith glanced at the clock. It was a little after four in the afternoon. With any luck, Lenny wouldn’t return until the sun was almost up. Oh, his shift ended at 1:00 a.m. but it was Friday. That meant that he’d hit one of the local dive bars with his buddies before heading home to pass out.

She glanced at her arm in the mirror where a yellow and green bruise still remained from where he’d grabbed her last Friday. How had her life gone so wrong? She was born and raised in this small New Mexico town of Scorpion. In the beginning, she’d thought Lenny was her savior. The first year of marriage had been okay, despite his drinking. Once she got pregnant with Hope, the drinking wasn’t so fun anymore. He resented that she no longer wanted to party.

A few months after Hope was born, she was pregnant again with Gracie. That’s when he’d hit her for the first time. She should have left that very day, but when he sobered up, he was very apologetic—promised it would never happen again. But it did. Over and over. She became numb to the pain. Where was she going to go with two young babies and only a high school education? At least they had a roof over their heads.

But as time went on, their relationship deteriorated even more. He barely spoke to her or slept in the same bed unless he was drunk and wanted sex. He repulsed her. That’s when she came up with her plan.

Buy: Amazon

Blurb:

Only five days until Christmas, and FAITH OWENS has had enough. Not willing to spend one more holiday with her abusive, alcoholic husband, she loads her two young daughters, Gracie and Hope, in her car and leaves her life in Scorpion, New Mexico behind.

Newly divorced, ZANE WILDER, faces his first Christmas without his son, Ace. He can’t wait for the holiday to be over. To escape sitting home sulking, he travels from Montana to Colorado to spend the week training his young horse, Storm Cloud.

When their paths collide at Hearts Haven Bed and Breakfast near scenic Peakview, Colorado, they find more than a place to rest. Two lonely, cautious hearts are brought together by the magic of Christmas, with a little help from Violet Crandall or maybe Santa himself. Will their budding romance continue when the holiday ends? Can two broken families find the missing pieces that lead to happiness?

THIS CHRISTMAS, REDISCOVER ROMANCE IN PEAKVIEW, COLORADO 

WHERE EVERYONE HAS THE CHANCE AT LOVE.

Bio:

Jill Haymaker was born and raised in Indiana and Ohio. After high school, and college she moved to Fort Collins, Colorado.  Ms. Haymaker made her home in Fort Collins until her recent move to East Texas. She practiced family law in Fort Collins for the past 20 years. She has three grown children, a son and two daughters.  She also has three granddaughters.

Jill has always had a passion for writing.  Colorado Sunset was her first full-length romance novel in her Peakview, Colorado series. Her latest book, A Peakview Christmas, is the eleventh and final book in the series. If you love small town romance, you will love the characters in this series. She also has had several short stories published by Chicken Soup for the Soul, the most recent in the book the Best Advice I ever heard, which will be released on November 6, 2018.

When not practicing law or writing, Jill enjoys The Colorado mountains, horseback riding, gardening, long walks with her Toy Australian Shepherd, Merlin, and spending time with her children and grandchildren. She enjoys their numerous sporting events. She is also an avid football fan and can be found on autumn weekends cheering on her favorite teams. 

She has a passion for working with high school youth, she serves as a mentor to an at-risk youth, is a youth group leader at her church, coaches a high school mock trial team and is a volunteer at cross country and track meets.

Find Jill:
Amazon Author Page | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Goodreads | BookBub | Website and Blog |Email

Author Spotlight Featuring Cynthia Wolf's The Pretender Bride

Well, what can I say? Cynthia is an incredibly prolific author and dare I say, a friend to boot.  I love the area she's writing about...read on and find out.

Hi L.A. Thanks for hosting me today. 

Central City Brides is the third series I’ve set in Colorado and I’m always sorry to see a series end. This book, THE PRETENDER BRIDE, is my 32nd historical western romance and the 12th that I’ve set in Colorado. I keep coming back here because this is my home and I love these places that are familiar to me. I hope that through my work you have come to know them a little bit, too.

Central City was a gold mining town founded in 1859 and would later become known as “The Richest Square Mile on Earth.” Millions of dollars of gold was taken from the mines there. In today’s money it was probably billions.

Even though this is my last Colorado book for a while, that’s not to say I’m stopping writing, oh no, I couldn’t do that if I tried. It’s a part of me. I’m simply going to another part of the country…Seattle to be exact. I don’t know much about that part of the country, so it is a learning experience for me and one I hope you’ll be able to join me on.

In the meantime, enjoy THE PRETENDER BRIDE.

Blurb:

Lost and alone after her step-father is murdered on the streets of New York, Katie takes her two young siblings and claims them as her own. Pretending to be a widow, she flees to Colorado Territory as a mail-order bride and into the arms of the handsome gunsmith, Robert Wallace. The attraction is instant, but just when things are looking up for her, the past comes calling--and Katie discovers harsh truths about her stepfather that put everything at risk. Her stepfather had secrets, and they're not done with her yet.

Robert Wallace was a skeptic until he watched his friends settle happily with their mail-order brides. When his own seemingly perfect family arrives, he's thrilled. Until he discovers his new bride is surrounded by layer-upon-layer of lies. He's been tricked by a scheming woman before and he won't be taken in by another one, no matter how innocent she seems. No matter how badly he wants her.

Katie is determined to keep her new family together, come hell or high water. And no one is going to get in her way. Not the man from New York who followed her to Colorado. Not her past. And not the stubborn, irresistible Scot who is her husband.

Excerpt:

CHAPTER 1

April 10, 1871

Rockford Residence, Brooklyn, New York

“Detective Nelson. What are you doing in here?”

Katie Kennedy asked the man she found in her stepfather’s bedroom. He appeared to be looking through the books on Noah’s nightstand.

“Oh, I…ah…was looking for the bathroom.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “I’m sure you won’t find it in Noah’s books.”

He set the book in his hand back on top of Noah’s Bible.

“I…I wanted something to read…you know…”

“You’ll find reading material already in the bathroom across the hall.”

She pointed out the door.

“Oh, well, I don’t seem to need to use it after all.”

Katie thought that was the oddest conversation she’d ever had. What was David Nelson looking for?

*****

“Goodbye. Thank you for coming. I’m sure Noah would have been glad you were here.”

Katie Kennedy closed the door on the last caller to her stepfather’s wake, except for her friend Geneva Watson who offered to stay and was in the kitchen cleaning up.

Ten o’clock. She slumped back against the door. She’d put her little brother and sister to bed several hours ago. Ethan was five and Ruthie just three. They didn’t completely understand what was happening and this was much too late for them. Heavens, she thought, the hour was too late for her as well. Ten o’clock before she could chase the last well-wisher out the door.

Noah Rockford had been well liked in the neighborhood and apparently among his fellow policemen as an endless stream of blue uniforms moved before her eyes in and out of the house today. She’d hated having to host a wake for him. Katie had loved Noah. He’d raised her since she was ten years-old and married her mother.

Katie sighed. Yes, he’d been liked by everyone except the person who shot him.

She looked around at the mess and shook her head. Cups, plates and cutlery were on every flat surface here in the living room, waiting for her to gather and clean them. She gathered dishes from the coffee table, the end tables, and the bookshelves. She should be thankful she and the children still had a house to hold the wake in. Noah hadn’t owned the home but rented it from Mr. Doolittle next door.

After Noah’s murder, the elderly man said Katie and the children could stay for a month before he’d have to get another renter. Katie thought that was because he felt sorry for them and her little brother and sister reminded him of his grandchildren. For whatever reason, she was grateful. That was a week ago and she still didn’t know what she would do. She’d get a furnished room if she had to, all of the furniture here belonged to the house. The only thing she had to move were their clothes, books, pictures, a few keepsakes such as the jewelry Noah gave her and Ruthie. It was pretty and he’d taken such joy giving it to them. Good memories were attached to the jewelry.

To Buy:

Amazon | Apple  | Barnes & Noble

Bio:

Cynthia Woolf is the award-winning and best-selling author of thirty-one historical western romance books and two short stories with more books on the way.

Cynthia loves writing and reading romance. Her first western romance Tame A Wild Heart, was inspired by the story her mother told her of meeting Cynthia’s father on a ranch in Creede, Colorado. Although Tame A Wild Heart takes place in Creede that is the only similarity between the stories. Her father was a cowboy not a bounty hunter and her mother was a nursemaid (called a nanny now) not the ranch owner. The ranch they met on is still there as part of the open space in Mineral County in southwestern Colorado.

Writing as CA Woolf she has six sci-fi, space opera romance titles. She calls them westerns in space.

Cynthia credits her wonderfully supportive husband Jim and her great friends and critique partners for saving her sanity and allowing her to explore her creativity.

Find Cynthia:

Website | Facebook | Twitter