​When I began the Bringer of Chaos series, it was a given that the immortal hero, Pietas, and his twin sister mistrusted one another. As I wrote, the reason came to me, and I made the most of their mutual dislike in writing the first book. But in the second, they reconciled. Their relationship changed. That didn't mean their argumentative spirits went away. Arguing with a sibling is different from arguing with a friend. You have a kind of shorthand with siblings. You've known them all your life. You know which buttons to push and just when to push them. Some of those arguments become memorable exchanges. "Remember that time..." I drew on that experience to write the following scene between Pietas and Dessy in Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire.
Pietas and his twin sister have just reconciled after more than 1500 years of misunderstandings and mistrust. He is eager to share an opinion with her but needs them to be alone to do it.

After grasping Dessy's hand, Pietas set off into the forest with her in tow. Low branches slapped wet leaves in his face. Moisture dripped. Insects buzzed. The stink of wood rot made him sneeze.
"Tas, where are we going?"
"Nowhere. I have to think."
"We need to get back. The others are--"
"Hang the others! I need to think and I want you with me." He darted around slender trees and through breaks in the undergrowth, tugging his sister along behind him. In a small clearing, he slowed and then halted.
Birds fluttered among the branches. The rain-washed forest gave up the scent of spores mixed with flowers and damp wood.
"There's something out there." Dessy released his hand and turned outward, scanning the forest. "I can't hear it or smell it, but I sense it. One of those black cats is stalking us. We need to go back."
"Watching."
"What? What is it?" She looked up and around. "I don't see anything but trees."
"Not me. It's that panther I told you about yesterday." It had tracked him halfway across the planet. "It's not stalking us. It's watching. Guarding."
"Tas, you've been through a lot. You're overtired and overwrought, but I promise you, no animal talked to you. Not yesterday and not today."

​"Dess, I didn't talk to it! It communicated, but not with speech. Telepathic. Like Joss. She can tell you in words, but also concepts. You know what she wants from you."
"Okay. Let's say for the sake of argument there's a big kitty cat out there and it's guarding us. Why? Is it guarding us from other cats so it can eat us itself?"
"Don't be absurd."
She gestured to herself. "I'm absurd? You're the one talking to cats."
"I am not--" He stopped, reining in the impatience his sister always fostered. He took a deep breath, let it out, did it again for good measure. "I'm not talking to cats and I'm not talking to you about talking to cats. Is that clear?"
"Fine." She cast a pleading look toward the heavens. "Let's agree the kitty cat's guarding us. Why are we out here in the forest?"
"If it's true that Father wanted us to be exiled, then there has to be a good reason. It's not the kind of thing he'd decide on a whim. When has he ever done anything without a plan?"
"I'll admit, never. Then what is he planning?"
"When native people sign a treaty and are driven from their land, they don't get a better deal. They get less. They get the discards no one wants. Vast grasslands with no cattle and no crops. Barren deserts. Endless mountains covered in eternal snow. Here we are, stuck on Sempervia, the last planet on the rim of the galaxy. Not even fully terraformed. They gave up on it. This is where they shunt the outcasts. Us. Sempervia's what we get in exchange for a treaty."
"Treaty? We didn't sign a treaty."
"You're right. We didn't."

About Bringer of Chaos: Forged in FireWhen the immortal Pietas is marooned on a barren world with no food and few survival tools, he knows it could be worse. He could be alone. But that's the problem. He's not.
Half a million of his people sleep in cryostasis, trapped inside their pods and it's up to Pietas to free them. He can't release one at a time. It's all or nothing. He's facing over five hundred thousand hungry, thirsty, homeless immortals who will call on him for rescue and he has no way to answer.
It's not all bad. The beautiful telepathic warrior he's loved for lifetimes is at his side. He's bonded with a sentient panther. He hates humans but the one dumped on this planet with him has become a trusted friend.
Before Pietas can build shelter, figure out how to grow food, or set up a government, he must take back command from a ruthless enemy he's fought for centuries. His brutal, merciless father.
Immortals may heal, but a wound of the heart lasts forever...
Amazon and in print. Free on Kindle Unlimited
http://amzn.to/2ABIcCI
​
Kayelle Allen writes Sci Fi with misbehaving robots, mythic heroes, role playing immortal gamers, and warriors who purr. She's a US Navy veteran who's been married so long she's tenured.
Website https://kayelleallen.com
Sci Fi /or/ Sci Fi Romance Reader Groups http://kayelleallen.com/reader-groups/
Twitter http://twitter.com/kayelleallen
Facebook http://facebook.com/kayelleallen.author
Pinterest http://pinterest.com/kayelleallen/
Amazon Author page http://amazon.com/author/kayelleallen
​

​Thanks so much for hosting me on your blog today, Connie.
Years ago, we had a yellow lab named Cheyenne. When my kids were young, we would all head over to the elementary school when it snowed because they had a nice hill that was perfect for sledding.
One day, we took Cheyenne with us. In her mind, the kids were her pups, so she was frantic for their safety when they started sledding away from her, screaming in glee.
She yanked the leash out of my hand and bounded down the hill after my son. When she got to him, she knocked him off the saucer he was riding and accidentally landed on it herself.
Some dog’s faces are very expressive and you could usually tell what Cheyenne was thinking. As the saucer rotated with the weight of her impact, the look in her eyes was priceless. She totally understood why the kids were enjoying the ride. Instead of jumping off, she hunched down and rode the saucer to the bottom of the hill, then grabbed the edge with her teeth and tried to haul it up the hill again. My son didn’t get to ride much that day because Cheyenne kept knocking him off the saucer and trying to take his place!
Labs are great dogs. The Santa Bargain is a contemporary holiday romance that features a tiny, black puppy named Elf. I was thinking of our sweet Cheyenne when I wrote his character.
Before you meet Elf, though, you’ll meet Maria - a relationship-phobic single mom. She pleads with Joe, an equally commitment-shy guy, to help her out and play Santa in their small town’s holiday parade. In order to get him to agree, Maria has to strike a bargain that promises to heat up the holidays.
The Santa Bargain is just 99 cents through 12/20/2018 or FREE to read on Kindle Unlimited.
Thanks for stopping by. Have a merry and bright holiday season!

​Santa’s gifts can be both nice…and naughty.
Coffeehouse entrepreneur, Maria Thompson, has sworn off men ever since her young son’s father walked out of their lives. But, when she literally runs into sexy carpenter, Joe Sinclair, she wonders if it’s time to rethink her plan.
Joe Sinclair doesn’t need or want romance or a family. He was raised in the foster care system and learned long ago not to get attached to anyone. Now, if he could just remember that, he could put the sensual owner of Copper River, Colorado’s new coffee shop out of his mind.
After Maria and Joe volunteer to work together on the town’s first Christmas festival, their attraction lights up brighter than a new a string of holiday lights. When Santa comes to town, will they finally find everything they’ve ever wished for under the tree? 

​Every warning she'd ever heard about texting and not paying attention hurtled through Maria Thompson's mind in the seconds after she buried her face in the man's muscular pecs. Her phone catapulted from her grasp but she barely registered that fact. She also didn’t catch the sound it made when it hit the concrete because her hearing was muffled by the sinewy arm that shot out and wrapped around her head, pressing her even harder against the guy’s decidedly powerful chest.
Instinctively, she reached out to brace herself, then felt a blaze of heat course through her body when her hands splayed against his muscular thighs.
Best. Day. Ever.
A flash of desire spiked along her nerve endings. Even though she really should back away, she couldn't stop herself from inhaling a deep breath. His masculine scent – wood shavings with a hint of spicy aftershave – nearly made her moan.
"Wow," she heard herself say. So, apparently her mouth still worked even though her brain had momentarily gone off line. Still, it would have been nice to have said something a little more intelligent.
"”Wow” about sums it up," Sexy Pecs agreed. He let go of her head, allowing her to back away before the rest of her body melted into a puddle at his feet.
"Sorry…I'm really sorry," Maria sputtered, her face burning. "I was checking my texts and—"
His gorgeous blue eyes glinted mischievously as he grinned down at her from two rungs up on the step ladder. "No problem. I probably wouldn't object if you wanted to run into me again."
Well, she wouldn’t object much either. Okay, not at all.
 
Buy links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077996MP2.

Robin Michaela writes heartfelt, small town contemporary romances in all levels of heat, from sweet to steamy. Her stories combine family, pets, hope and friendship – all the elements that bring her readers emotional and enduring love stories.
By day, she’s a dental hygienist. By night, Robin can be found crafting her next novel - often while trying to type around her black cat, Boo. She's a runner and breast cancer survivor and happily married to her own Handsome Prince.
Website: robinmichaela.com
Facebook: /RobinMichaelaRomances
Twitter: https://twitter.com/robinsromances​

​Mom was a cautious driver, good in forward gear, who could barely back up well enough to get out of our driveway.  She and I went to visit Mom’s sister, brother, and mother, who lived near one another in a rural area about thirty miles from our home in Lubbock, Texas. Recently, there’d been heavy rains but that day was sunny.
First, we stopped at the home of Mom’s sister. To reach my grandmother’s, Mom took our usual short cut on a back road.  But—she’d never driven it after a heavy rain.
The dirt road was deeply rutted from previous traffic. Halfway there, we turned a corner and encountered what looked like a shallow lake across the road. Mom stopped. She couldn’t back up well enough to risk slipping into the bar ditch. She decided to continue and slowly drove into the water. In the middle of the lake, the car stopped. What should we do? What would Dad say?
Her brother saw us stranded and pulled our car out of the lake/playa with his pickup truck. He teased mother but was actually very nice about having to wade into the muddy water to hook a chain to our car. He explained that she should have driven faster so the car wouldn’t stall. The incident was embarrassing for her. Later we laughed about it—much later. I used this in HOME, SWEET TEXAS HOME, with the heroine driving and the hero rescuing her, with mishaps.

​A sweet western historical romance, first of the Pearson Grove series.
Moriah Singleton faced hardship to get from England to America but met more problems once she arrived. The only solution she could find was to become a mail-order bride in far away Texas. How will she ever save enough to bring her sister to America?
After a disastrous brief engagement ended badly, Scott Ferguson sent for a mail-order bride. He needs her help in his mercantile. He hopes his wife will also be his life’s helpmate.
Danger, family entanglements, and disaster await the couple. Will the problems bring them closer or drive them apart?

​Everyone stared at them, even more than the previous evening. Moriah thought they might as well be specimens on display at a museum. To make things more uncomfortable, Scott didn’t speak and she couldn’t think of anything to say either.
By the time their food arrived, she thought she would explode from tension. “Tomorrow I’d like to mail my parents a letter. Where’s the post office?”
His eyes held a glint of humor. “The store is the post office. I’ll give you a tour when we get home.”
“That will be helpful.”
“Do they know you’ve come west to be married?”
“I sent them a letter the evening before I left Massachusetts. In case they’d mailed me one before it reached them, I left postage, an envelope, and your address with my landlady at the boarding house where I stayed. She promised to forward my mail here.”
“You said you’re from Kent, but I don’t know how far that is from London.”
“The village where my family lives is about thirty miles south of London. My father grows hops. Where is your home?”
“If you mean my parents’ home, it’s about a hundred and fifty miles south-southwest near the Brazos River in McLennan County. My older brother helps our father farm.”
“Do they know you sent for a mail-order bride?”
Scott shifted on his chair. “I’d give anything if I hadn’t written them I was engaged. Now I don’t know how to explain what’s happened.”
His attitude annoyed her. “How hard could it be, Scott? You just write them and tell them the facts. Are they likely to visit?”
He rested his wrists on each side of his plate. “They plan to now that cold weather is here. Hard to leave the farm most of the year.”
“Don’t you think you should warn them?”
He toyed with his fork. “I thought maybe you could write them and explain.”
“Me? Is it a coward I’ve married? Are you afraid to tell your family the truth of your situation?”
He held up his hand. “No, that’s not the problem. My older brother Sean is always lording it over me about how much better he is at everything than I am. He’s one of the reasons I chose to buy a business away from where my folks live. Sean will lap up the news that I sent for a mail-order bride like it’s a gift from heaven.”
His eyes widened. “Not that there’s anything wrong with a mail-order bride, mind you. That’s not what I’m saying.”
She spoke very quietly. “Exactly what are you saying, Mr. Ferguson?” Her facial muscles ached from keeping a pleasant expression when she wanted to toss her coffee in his face and storm off.
“Look, all I’m saying is… well, you see… I might have bragged about my fiancée being from the wealthiest family in town and how she’d chosen me even though there were other eligible bachelors here.”
She met his gaze and arched an eyebrow. “And now you have to eat humble pie and it’s not going to taste good, is it?”
“You’re right. I don’t know how to go about wording the letter. I don’t want to seem ungentlemanly toward either you or Alexandra. I can’t explain why she broke the engagement without putting her in a bad light.”
“And you’re ashamed to admit to your family you have a mail-order bride.”
“No, no, I’m not ashamed of you or sending for you. All right, I admit I’m embarrassed in light of the bragging I did, but there’s nothing wrong with my having sent for you or your having come.”
She offered her sweetest smile. “I’m glad you feel that way, dear husband. When we get back to our rooms, we can both write letters to our parents. I’ll let you read mine. Do you dare let me read yours?”
Muscles clenched in his jaw. “You have a bargain, Mrs. Ferguson.” He scooped up the last bite of his apple pie then dabbed his mouth with the napkin.
She took her time dawdling over her dessert, more to annoy him than for any other reason. He was one of the best looking men she’d ever met and he had manners outwardly. Inside, she was afraid he had no spine. He’d soon learn she meant what she said.

​Through a crazy twist of fate, Caroline Clemmons was not born on a Texas ranch. To compensate for this illogical error, she writes about handsome cowboys, feisty ranch women, and scheming villains in a small office her family calls her pink cave. She and her Hero live in North Central Texas cowboy country where they ride herd on their rescued cats and dogs. The books she creates there have made her an Amazon bestselling author and won several awards. Find her on her blog, website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Google+, and Pinterest.
Click on her Amazon Author Page for a complete list of her books and follow her there.
Follow her on BookBub.
Subscribe to Caroline’s newsletter here to receive a FREE novella of HAPPY IS THE BRIDE, a humorous historical wedding disaster that ends happily—but you knew it would, didn’t you?
She loves to hear from readers at caroline@carolineclemmons.com

​Years ago when I was a teenage and New York City was my playground, I went out to a club with my friends. While I danced the night away, I met a guy. He was handsome, well-dressed and could dance. Of course, we started talking. And I found I really liked talking to him. Well, we spent the night talking as we danced. Not an easy thing to do when the music is so loud that the floor jumps from the bass and the building shakes.
 
By 4 am when the club closed, I had taken his number. I never gave out my number because of an older brother, protective mother and a lot of male relatives that made dating a difficulty for me. With his number in my pocket, I went home.
 
The next day, I decided to call him. I picked up the phone and dialed. A woman answer who no doubt was his mother. I opened my mouth to ask for Charles (let’s call him that for his privacy). Instead of my normal high-pitched teenage girly voice, the voice of a forty-years-old man who smoked three packs of cigarettes a day came out.
 
I almost hung up the phone. I sounded like a dude. I didn’t want Charles to hear me like that. But his mother called out for him and said, “Some man is on the phone for you.”
 
Charles came on the phone and I told him it was me and that I had lost my voice. He laughed and told his mom that it was a girl. I heard her scream back, “That is the manliness girl I ever heard. Are you sure she’s a girl?”
 
Well, I ended up dating Charles for a few months and I even met his mother. He told her that I was the girl with the man voice. Yeah, that became how I was known. I sometimes wonder if he thinks of me and if he does, does he say something like “you remember the girl with the man voice.”
 
If he does, I’m doing good. 

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? 

​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 Link:
https://www.amazon.com/Highland-Scandal-Mageela-Troche-ebook/dp/B07KQLLPQY/
 

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

Social Media Links
 
website: http://www.MageelaTroche.com
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blog: http://www.trocheauthor.wordpress.com
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Mageela-Troche/e/B00CHTIRFW/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7054733.Mageela_Troche

Please welcome Lexi Post to my blog today with her release, One of a Kind Christmas!

Welcome, Lexi!

Thank you, Lexi, for stopping by and sharing your new holiday release. 

Visitors, please leave us a message and let us know you stopped by. We love to hear from our readers.

Thanks
Connie

We are a rodeo family. If you’re a rodeo family and have girls, you are going to have goats. Each spring, my husband would go to the cow sale and buy a goat or two for my daughter and her friends to practice goat tying.         One year, several friends asked him to get one for them. He came home with eight goats, seven sweet little ones and a Pygmy billy goat of indeterminate age.

I’ll give you one guess which goat we ended up with.

Toughie was a pain from the moment he became ours. He climbed on cars and haystacks, ate the neighbor’s flowers, and stood in the middle of the road and dared cars to make him move. Butting anyone who got close enough was his favorite pastime. He could chew through any rope we used to tie him up in ten seconds flat. After resorting to a light chain, we made him a home beneath the big cottonwood tree out the back door. Even then, he couldn’t keep himself out of trouble.

One day, I was feeding him and watched as he walked to the garage, stood on his hind legs and peered in the window. Then, he reared back and butted the glass, shattering it.

He apparently saw himself in the reflection and wanted to show that other goat who was boss.

Despite that, he lived with us for many years.
​
I haven’t written a goat into any of my books yet, but the sequel to Silver Dreams will feature Toughie

She’s found her dream… He’s losing his…
Reed is desperate to save the family ranch and can’t afford to be distracted by a fun-loving blonde who delights in making him laugh. But Catie is determined to leave tragedy behind her and reach for her dreams—no matter what. Working with silver and gemstones calls to her creative soul, and so does the quiet cowboy with a lot on his mind.

Can love bridge the gap between their two worlds?

Join Reed and Catie in this “opposites attract” cowboy romance where city meets country and sparks fly.
​
Come Visit Copper Mills, Arizona--a small town with a heart as big as the wide-open spaces and a long history of making dreams come true. 
​

Excerpt:

Reed watched as Catie’s eyes went wide. Softer looking than her twin, but alike in every other way. His heartbeat picked up, and he almost reached out and pulled her into his arms.

“Is there anything else I can help you with, Mr. McCoy?”

Her voice changed from determined to that of a giggly high school girl in a scant second, and she batted her lashes fast enough to take flight.

He studied her for a moment longer. How could two women look exactly alike and give off such different vibes?

From what he’d seen of Eleanor so far, she was self-sufficient and studious, calm and contemplative. Totally focused on her new business. From what he’d heard, she succeeded in anything she undertook.

Catie appeared to be a little girl lost. The corners of her full, pink lips quivered as he stared, and he pulled himself from his musings. If she giggled one more time, he was out of here.

There was nothing about this woman that was what he was looking for. Catie was not the woman for him. There was no way he was going to be a caretaker to another person as long as he lived.

“Never mind. I’ll talk to Eleanor later. Good luck with those beads.” Now, why in the hell did he say that? Keeping his eyes on anything but Catie’s pretty face, he turned and walked out the door. Once in his truck, relief covered him like a blanket.

Too bad it was immediately replaced by disappointment.

Eleanor Kershner was the type of woman he’d always been attracted to, but when he closed his eyes, it was Catie he saw. Catie’s sweet expression. Catie’s tempting body. Catie’s wicked grin. After talking to her today, he couldn’t imagine why people couldn’t tell them apart.

He slapped his palms against the steering wheel. It must be the stress of worrying about the ranch that was messing with his mind.

A movement caught his eye, and he looked up to see Eleanor striding down the wooden walkway the town had restored in front of the shops in the original part of town. It didn’t take a genius to know which twin was walking toward him. Eleanor’s no nonsense walk ate up the distance from her car to the antique store. So different from the fluid way Catie moved.

There his traitorous mind went again.

It was time for him to find a wife and start a family, and Catie wasn’t right for either position. That would be Eleanor.

Eleanor would have the business sense to help him regain ownership of the family ranch his father had pissed away. And the confidence to not be needy.

Babysitting dear old Dad, when the man finally gave up any pretense of work, had drained Reed.

Eleanor’s smile was so small he wasn’t sure her lips had moved after all. It occurred to him that he’d never seen her smile. He hadn’t seen her show much expression at all as opposed to Catie whose thoughts played across her face in Technicolor.

Just as he reached Eleanor, Catie came through the door of the Turquoise Moon. “Ellie, did you get the mail? Did my package come?”

Reed shook his head. She was like a kid at Christmas.

He stepped in between the sisters and faced Eleanor. It was a boorish move, but he didn’t have time to wait around while Catie got whatever bright bauble she’d ordered. “Do you have a minute?”

He felt a soft tap on his shoulder and heard the whispered word. “Jerk!” When he turned to answer, he found Catie wearing the same smile she’d had in the shop, bright and sappy.

He suspected it was the one she bestowed on her few customers and on jerks. To give her credit, he had been rude, but still… “Excuse me?”

“Oh.” She giggled after the word, but there was no humor in her gaze. “You are definitely excused. Now, Eleanor, if you’ll hand me my order, I’ll leave you to take care of Mr. McCoy all alone. He has something really important to discuss, and he’s made it clear it would be over my silly little head.”

Stephanie Berget was born loving horses, a ranch kid trapped in a city girl’s body. It took her twelve years to convince her parents she needed a horse of her own. She developed a lifelong love of rodeo when she married her own, hot cowboy. She and the Bronc Rider traveled throughout the Northwest while she ran barrels and her cowboy rode bucking horses. She started writing to put a realistic view of rodeo and ranching into western romance. Stephanie and her husband live on a farm located along the Oregon/Idaho border. They raise hay, horses and cattle, with the help of Dizzy Dottie, the Border Collie and Cisco, barrel and team roping horse extraordinaire.
 
Stephanie is delighted to hear from readers. Reach her at http://www.stephanieberget.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephaniebergetwrites/
Amazon: Stephanie Berget
Twitter: https://twitter.com/StephanieBerget

Please welcome back Beverley Oakley as she tours the circuit with her new release, Keeping Faith. Let's find out about the book.

The book sounds really delightful, Beverley, I hope you have a lot of great success with it.

If you are visiting, please leave us a comment to let us know you've stopped by. We love to hear from our readers.

Thanks
Connie

Please welcome back Madison Michael with her release Moonlight & Moet on my blog today. 

I love a billionaire romance story so I can't wait to get my hands on this book.  Thank you Madison, for stopping by with your new book. I hope you have great success.

If you're visiting today, please leave us a comment and let us know you've stopped by. We love to hear from our readers.

Thanks much
Connie

​Thank you, Constance Bretes, for inviting me to your blog. The book I’d like talk about today is my first Haunted Voices novel, Hearts Unloched.
 
Okay, ask me how many times I’ve had to go back and correct the spelling of this novel! Autocorrect just won’t let me spell it “right,” which is, just as you see it, with an “h” and not a “k” in Unloched. My editors, my beta readers, my family members all had to timidly ask: isn’t that word spelled wrong? Except for my eldest son, Justin, because he’s the one who came up with the title.
 
The book takes place in a tiny burg in upstate New York named after its lake, Loch Sheldrake. The loch is a small but very deep lake and has its own macabre urban legend.
 
It’s rumored that the Mafia, back in the 1950s, chose Loch Sheldrake as their dumping ground—for bodies of their “hits.”
 
My husband grew up in the area and told me of the legend years ago. One day as we drove around the lake, the idea hit me: why not put a fictional hotel on the loch’s shores—and of course, make it haunted?
 
I was struggling to come up with a title that would include the word “loch” in it. My son wandered into my office, plopped down in a chair and said, “Why not Hearts Unloched? And so, Hearts Unloched was born.
 
Winner of the 2016 NY Book Festival, it’s on sale for a limited time only for .99. 

Blurb:
A psychic interior designer reluctantly agrees to renovate a sexy investor’s abandoned hotel on Loch Sheldrake, a lake rumored to have once been the mob’s body dumping ground.

Interior designer Kate Bardach loves her single girl's lifestyle, living in Manhattan and spending weekends at her lake house. She's passionate about her career, too—reinventing old buildings. But there are some projects she can't take on because of the spirits trapped inside. Kate is psychic—she sees dead people.

Marco Lareci is one of Wall Street's most successful investment brokers who's achieved all of his life's goals—except for finding his soulmate. His latest project, an abandoned resort on Loch Sheldrake, needs a savvy designer to transform the crumbling complex into a boutique hotel. When Marco meets Kate, he can't believe his luck. She's the perfect match for his business and his heart.

Marco's body excites Kate even more than does his renovation project. But he wants more than a casual relationship, and she's not willing to give up her freedom. Plus, the haunting at Marco's resort, a bonafide poltergeist, affects her on an intensely personal level. Kate's aunt disappeared from the place fifty years ago.

Will the spirit doom Kate and Marco's love, or drive them closer together?
 
Links:  Hearts Unloched
 
Book Trailer:               https://youtu.be/cZOY6VHx-nU
Amazon:                      https://amzn.to/2Ku5aB9
Audiobook:                  https://amzn.to/2r2fAis
B&N:                            https://bit.ly/2Rau77n
All other digital formats:
                                    https://www.books2read.com/u/4AYzkJ

 
Claire is an award winning-author of supernatural suspense, contemporary romance, and women’s fiction. She also writes Author Resource guide books and presents seminars on writing craft and marketing. Her supernatural suspense, Hearts Unloched, won the 2016 New York Book Festival, and was a finalist in the 2017 RONE Awards.
 
Claire loves exploring the paranormal and holds a certificate in Parapsychology from Duke University’s Rhine Research Center. She earned her MFA in creative writing from Lesley University.
 
A New York native, Claire now lives in Massachusetts with her husband of 40 years. When she’s not writing, she works for Tufts University in the field of scientific research. She is available for seminars and media interviews and loves to travel for book promotional events.
 
Media Links
 
Email:                          gem.writer@yahoo.com
Website:                      http://www.clairegem.com
Blogs:                          http://www.clairegem.wordpress.com
                                    http://www.hauntedpathways.wordpress.com
Facebook:                    http://www.facebook.com/clairegem.author
Twitter:                       http://www.twitter.com/gemwriter
Goodreads:                  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8284235.Claire_Gem
Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/2nabvbm
Youtube Channel:     https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO-vB7WDZhEQ8U4YpC937ng