This blog is for those 18 and older.

Wednesday, November 30, 2022

A Hallmark Christmas

 

    Hello, gentle readers! Hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving (I’m still eating leftovers and I haven’t counted a single carb in over a week!)! 
    So, my DH had back surgery a couple weeks ago. I took some PTO to be with him during his recuperation and I’m really enjoying spending this time with him (even though I worry constantly and sympathize with his pain…so not easy seeing someone you love in pain, especially when you know what they have to do to have a successful recovery). He’s doing well though, improving every day, and for that I’m thankful.
    An interesting thing I’ve discovered about him after almost forty-two years of marriage…my DH likes all those holiday movies on Hallmark (Lifetime, too). Now, I’ve always loved them (they speak to my sappy side--I do have one though I don’t show it often and I admit, some of them have brought me to happy tears), but I didn’t know he did.
    It’s been eye-opening to say the least. 
    My DH is not the most romantic person in the world (which is funny, because I write romances). He’s not the type to bring me flowers (and frankly, I can think of other things to spend money on) nor candy (why, when I’m always watching my weight (except for this week)?). No, his idea of romance is changing the oil in my car or making sure my tires are in good shape (and that’s okay…I’ll take it because people show their love in ways other than what we normally consider romantic).
    I’ve thought about this a lot over the past few days, especially because we’ve been watching those movies that only show the beginnings of a relationship. He and I have been together a loooong time and we know love and marriage isn’t all peaches and cream (it’s hard work!) but it is so satisfying to watch new couples overcome obstacles and come together for that happily ever after. It speaks to my soul and gives me hope.
    Speaking of that, I’m about to sit down and watch another one of those movies…and maybe have a piece of cheesecake!
    Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go! 
    Marie

Monday, November 28, 2022

CHRISTMAS WITH ANGEL by Lexi Post - a FREE Cowboy Christmas Romance #Romantic Suspense #Freebook

Christmas with Angel

(Last Chance #1 / Poker Flat #2.5)

by Lexi Post

Cowboy firefighter, Cole Hatcher, is determined to do what’s right and take his fiancé with him to his mother’s annual holiday dinner party. After all, the two most important ladies in his life need to learn to get along and the sooner the better. Besides, the rest of the family will be there.

Lacey Winters can’t forgive her future mother-in-law for keeping her and Cole apart for eight years. While she loves Cole’s family, including the five they are living with, she wants to spend Christmas alone with Cole on Last Chance Ranch.

But there are worse things brewing than family drama. This Christmas day, nothing goes as planned…for anyone.

Download Links:

Amazon Kobo | Apple | Barnes & Noble | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Amazon CA


Cole and Lacey's story begins in Cowboy's Match 

Two Hearts, Two Fires...and a thousand questions keeping them apart.

Cowboy Cole Hatcher became a firefighter to support his horse rescue ranch. He never dreamed it would lead him back to his first love, but a fire at the Poker Flat Nudist Resort lands him face-to-face with Lacey Winters. She may have started the fire that ended their relationship, but the sight of her reignites his long-buried feelings.

Lacey is shocked the hunky firefighter is the same man who dumped her eight years ago. Cole burned her in the past when he failed to stand by her, and she’s determined not to let him back into her heart. But everything about the new Cole is just too hot to resist. He melts her defenses, sweeping her away into a night of passion only to rip open old wounds.

Determined to prove who set the Poker Flat fire and the original fire that destroyed their relationship, Cole investigates both, unearthing ugly truths that reveal even more damage. Now, he's not sure he can catch the arsonist or the heart of the woman he never stopped loving.

Buy Links:

Amazon AppleBooks | Barnes & Noble | Kobo Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU 

Wednesday, November 23, 2022

Call It Magic by Janet Chaman

I don't think love needs magic, but it's a little fun to mix the two.

Katy McBain disappeared, then came back to existence in Maine.  For some reason she was propelled to become an elite part of a fire and rescue team.  And she's good at it.

Granted, the few other women on the team are distant from the intruder, yet the boss, Gunnar Wolfe, is harsh, demanding, and totally devoted to her safety.

Gunnar doesn't make a habit of falling for women, let alone so fast.  He knows Katy is hiding something.  He'll figure it out.  


Katy is concentrating on her new profession.  That helps keep her mind off of her three weeks in hiding.  Although, another distraction is Gunnar.  She can't believe she may have met the one.  She's been told it'll be fast and intense when she meets the man made for her.

Making mistakes is all part of the game.  The game of work, life, and love.  She's made mistakes in all and wonders if all can be forgiven.

Leave it to Gunnar, and he'll let her know.

A great story of love and magic along with mistakes that can have a happily forever after!

Happy reading,
Dawn




Friday, November 18, 2022

WHOOPS! HERE I AM! OVER HERE.

...I'm the one still in my jammies at one o'clock in the afternoon...  (sigh)

Hey there, ya'all.  Sorry to be late posting this morning.  I have been virtually attending the 20Booksto50K Conference this week and after four days of drinking from a fire hose, I just dropped into bed last night with not an ounce of energy left to post a blog.  LOL  But the good news is that I'm moving again and thought I would share with you an excerpt from one of my Christmas stories. 

Garland Creek Cowboy is the first story in the Legends of Garland Creek, which will eventually become a collection of holiday stories that focus on second-chance romances in the small mountain town of Garland Creek, Arizona.

Enjoy!


Monday, November 14, 2022

PLEASURES OF CHRISTMAS PAST by Lexi Post is now FREE

Pleasures of Christmas Past 

(A Christmas Carol #1) 

by Lexi Post

When present-day American social worker Jessica Thomas is assigned her first case as a spirit guide, she’s excited to serve as the Spirit of Christmas Past for her client and prove she knows her profession well. Unfortunately, her mentor, the very hot, very single, and very Scottish Duncan Montgomerie has little faith in her ability and plans to catch her when she falls. As far as she’s concerned, he’s going to be waiting a very long time. 

Bachelor Duncan Montgomerie hails from late 18th century Scotland where he enjoyed life to its fullest, something he continues in death. Having been dead a while, he is well equipped to handle the afterlife where time doesn’t exist and phasing is the norm. What has him stymied is his connection to the uptight Jessica and the strange feelings he’s experiencing being around her, even though she refuses to listen to his advice. Duncan needs to figure out what it all means and fast because the rules change after death and the path Jessica is headed down could cost her her soul. 

Download Links:

Amazon | AppleBooks Kobo | Barnes & Noble | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Amazon CA 

EXCERPT:

“Are you ready for your first case?” The lilt of a heavy Scottish accent behind her caused her to turn.

Duncan Montgomerie floated there, not close enough to touch, but near enough she caught the whiff of pine that was so much a part of him.

Oh no, not him. The man was the hottest instructor she’d had and even now she couldn’t remember a word he’d said. She’d been too busy having her libido stroked by his voice while her eyes feasted on his rugged looks and ripped body. He’d never told them what time period he was from, but his accent gave him away as Scottish and some of his vocabulary made her think it might be centuries back, even though he dressed in modern-day clothes.

Nervousness tamped down her excitement. There was no way she’d be able to concentrate on this assignment with him around. She was bound to screw something up.

“Jessica?” His blue eyes sparkled with an unearthly light as one brow rose. “Are you with me, lass?”

“Yes, of course.” She tried not to focus on his wavy brown hair that fell past his strong jawline or on his scruffy chin that led the eye to his quirking lips.

His arm stretched out past her as he pointed below them, revealing his forearm muscle flexing as he moved his finger. “That’s our case. Mrs. Cameron Douglas.”

Despite the butterflies tickling her stomach as Duncan’s breath passed by her left ear, Jessica snapped her focus to the people below. There were many women in the shop. Mrs. Douglas could be any of them. She leaned away and looked her mentor in the eyes. “What’s her first name?”

“Huh?”

Jessica pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose. “What’s Mrs. Douglas’ first name? To get a client to trust you, you must show an interest in them and knowing the person’s first name is the very tip of the iceberg.”

Duncan frowned. “I dinna teach you that.”

She took a deep breath. “No, you didn’t. It’s part of the experience I bring to the job. Do you know her first name?”

He shook his head, clearly perplexed by her request.

“How long have you been a Spirit Guide?” It was really none of her business, but she wanted to be sure her mentor was, in fact, more experienced than she was.

He shrugged broad shoulders, drawing her focus back to his build.

“Since we have no time in the afterlife, I cannot tell you how long I’ve done this, but I can assure you it is no’ my first case.” He pulled the neck of his t-shirt away from his skin, as if it were too tight.

As far as she was concerned, the entire shirt was too tight with the way it molded to his chest muscles, showing a significant valley down the middle. Heck, if he just wanted to take the whole thing off, she certainly wouldn’t complain.

“Holly.” Duncan grinned and her insides turned to melting ice cream.

So why did he point out holly? It was Christmas. There was holly everywhere… And mistletoe. Oh, maybe she could find some mistletoe and Mr. Distraction here could catch the hint and kiss her.

“Holly is her first name.” Duncan nodded to confirm his statement. “It’s also what that older woman down there just called her.”

Her? Oh right, the case. 

Enjoy the whole series as Holly and her spirits learn to move on in their lives...or afterlives 😊

  


ABOUT LEXI

Lexi Post is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of romance inspired by the classics. She spent years in higher education taking and teaching courses about the classical literature she loved. From Edgar Allan Poe's short story “The Masque of the Red Death” to Tolstoy’s War and Peace, she's read, studied, and taught wonderful classics.

But Lexi's first love is romance novels so she married her two first loves, romance and the classics. Whether it’s dashing dukes, hot immortals, sizzling cowboys, or hunks from out of this world, Lexi provides a sensuous experience with a “whole lotta story.”

Lexi is living her own happily ever after with her husband and her two cats in Florida. She makes her own ice cream every weekend, loves bright colors, and you’ll never see her without a hat.


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Wednesday, November 9, 2022

Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett

 Slinking back home, Emma Starling returns to her home near the Maple Street Cemetery.  The first sentence raises a lot of questions as to why Emma is reluctant to reclaim her home roots and what's so notable about this cemetery.

Emma has a special gift of healing.  It comes and goes and can't be regulated.  Medical school had been her target.  Now, her father is dying of a mysterious brain disease and he hallucinates animals.  Maybe Emma can heal him.


The cemetery is more alive than most with ghosts watching the neighborhood.  Without obvious interference, they want the living to enjoy life as much as possible.

Emma takes on an unlikely job as a fifth grade teacher.  She also meets, Mack Durkee,  a high school teacher. 

With so much going on in her life, Emma tries to focus on everything.  The imaginary and real pets, father's illness, family attempt at bonding, school, work, and the list goes on and leaves minimal time for her to concentrate on herself.  

Some things just take their own time and place in life and that includes love.  

A heartwarming and lovely story to enjoy.

Happy reading,

Dawn 

Friday, November 4, 2022

ONLY NORMAL ONE IN THE BUNCH

Good morning!  Well, I guess if you're on the east coast, it's almost afternoon. But WTH, we're going with my time zone because while I'm late posting this blog, I'm not as late in my time zone as I am by east coast standards. :)  My story!

Well, I've been a busy girl sifting through projects and trying to figure out what to do in what order, how long it's going to take, what skillsets I will need for each, and figuring out where I left off before my sabbatical. But the next project was pretty much a no-brainer...the Murder by Dummies re-release is almost ready to fly.

I got my rights to the story back earlier this year, so I'm re-releasing it as an indie-pub. I've gone through and shined it up a little bit, and built this new cover for it...similar to the original, but a better looking hero and more the style I'd originally hoped for on the fonts.  I hope you like it!


Since the next book I'm working on is Book Two in this same series, I want to give you an overview of each of the books currently planned in this series and a little excerpt from Book One, which will be re-released next week on Thursday, November 10th, with Book Two to follow early in 2023.


Series description...

The Muensters had their niece, Marilyn.  Buzzard’s Breath has Emily Redfeather.  Being the only “normal” one in the bunch ain’t for the faint of heart.  Emily finds partners in crime in her niece, Brittney Redfeather, and her new best friend, Jo Parker, as the girls work together to sort out the crazies in Buzzard’s Breath, Arizona.  As they try to figure out why dead bodies keep popping up in the most unusual places and under the strangest circumstances, they form The Marilyn Club—a very exclusive club for the “normal”, and a haven of sanity in an otherwise nutso community. 


Murder For By Dummies (Book One) introduces us to this insane cast of characters as we watch Emily and Hawk sort out their tumultuous relationship while also trying to figure out what Jo’s aunt Maddie is hiding in the basement of her boarding house. 

Dead Men Ride Motorcycles (Book Two) will pull us into the budding relationship between Jo and Dal, the town sheriff, as we ride along on the journey to determine the identity of the dead man found riding a motorcycle on the old carousel in Beau Redfeather’s motorcycle boneyard. 

Death In A Doghouse (Book Three) brings love to the doorstep of Brittney and Blake, as the girls try to figure out why a dead body has turned up in one of their dog houses.  The girls have to sort this out because if Blake is somehow involved in the murder, he’s probably not such a great catch for Brittney.


Enjoy this excerpt from Murder by Dummies...releasing on Thursday.

As I pulled around to the side and parked, something scraped against the back window on the far side of the car. I parked, shut off the engine and shifted in my seat to get a good look.

Oh, no. That’s all I need.

The corner of the tarp I had used to cover the Fifield luggage on the top of the car was loose. I’d forgotten all about the bags up top. I grabbed my purse and hauled myself out of the driver’s-side window. The entire load had shifted and both corners of the tarp hung loose on the passenger side. I counted bags—one was missing.

“Damn. What the hell else can go wrong?” Pushed over the edge one more time by the events of the past twenty-four hours, I kicked the tires and banged on the top of the car with my purse, shouting a stream of obscenities that would’ve made Aunt Bea threaten to wash my mouth out with soap—tough soap. Lava. No Dove for these words.

About the time my tantrum lost steam, the shoulder strap on my purse broke and the bag flopped lifelessly to the ground. I stood frozen, staring at my ruined purse.

What the hell did I do to deserve the last twenty-four hours of my life? And when will it stop? Maybe I should stab myself in the forehead with a fork to make it hurt less.

The sound of a man clearing his throat made me look up. A grizzled, leathery old man in rags sat on top of a picnic table, staring at me with piercing ice-blue eyes. His toothless grin indicated he’d enjoyed my fit of temper.

“Great,” I muttered, “just what I need—an audience.”

The man grinned even broader. “And a fine performance it was.”

I rested my forehead against the top of the doorframe and prayed for patience.

God, do not let me rip this man’s lips from his face. Just get me home without adding murder or mutilation to my long list of problems. Please.

I felt the old man’s gaze on me as he watched my struggle for control. I imagined he was still smiling. For some reason, that annoyed me more than anything else, but he had the good sense to remain silent and I had the good sense not to look.

After a few minutes, I raised my head. Our eyes held for a moment before he spoke. “Looks like you’re having a bad day, young lady. Can I be of assistance?”

I shook my head. “No. But thank you. I lost a bag off the top of the car. I’ll have to double back and see if I can find my stuff.”

The man smiled again and hopped off the picnic table. “Here, let me help you tie this back up, so you don’t lose anything more.”

Goosebumps ran up my arms at his overwhelming generosity. This was the second time today I’d seen the better side of human nature. It almost made it worth the stress I was under.

Almost.

As my most unlikely rescuer was re-tying the ropes, I climbed in through the window and rooted through the camping equipment until I came up with a roll of black and white zebra-striped duct tape. I climbed out, held the roll over my head and bounced back and forth on the balls of my feet as I took a small victory lap.

“Wooo-hooo. Look what I found.”

My new friend laughed at my excitement. “Yep, that’ll do the trick. This load ain’t goin’ nowhere now.”

With the load rearranged and secured with tightened ropes and half a roll of tape, I thanked the man and ducked into the convenience store. After a quick restroom break, I left the store with two hot dogs and two sodas. The old man was still on the picnic table. His huge smile warmed my heart when I handed him a hot dog and a soda.

“You didn’t have to do that, Miss, but it was mighty thoughtful.”

“Not a problem. I appreciate the help and that you didn’t laugh at me for throwing a tantrum.”

At this, he chuckled. “Some days are like that.” He paused for a moment before he added, “Others are better. Where you headed?”

I stared at him a moment before I a nswered, “Home. I’m headed home.”

He nodded, seeming to totally understand. “Home’s a good place to be when the wheels are comin’ off.”

Stunned he’d plucked the words right out of my brain, I mumbled, ‘Thank you,” and turned toward my car.

My old wreck packed to the headliner, with garbage bags duct taped to the top like a ragged zebra rug was too much. I giggled so hard at the image of it driving down the highway that it took a couple tries to get my leg through the window.

All of a sudden, I didn’t have a care in the world. I waved and hollered as I backed away, “Thanks again for the help.”

I got a smile and a nod from the old man perched atop the table, as he gummed his hot dog and watched me head back the way I’d come.


Wednesday, November 2, 2022

So Much To Do

 


        Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!
It’s a beautiful Sunday morning here in Phoenix as I sit down to write my blog (though you won’t read it until Wednesday). As usual, I was up early to enjoy the fantastic weather and get things done. There is so much to do (always—there’s no rest for the wicked – I must be really, really bad) but so much can be accomplished when you get up as early as I do. During the work week, this is my writing time, but on the weekends? It’s my time.
I can catch up on shows that I miss during the week (new show on television – Fire Country – I like it. East New York is pretty good, too).
So what have I done so far this morning besides catch up on my shows? Watered the plants, cleaned out the fridge (which I do every Sunday morning before I go grocery shopping), decided on my menu for the week and made the shopping list for it and made a pot (big pot) of ham and bean soup (I’m getting pretty good at it, too—well, at least the DH thinks so).
And I worked on my Halloween costume for work (Halloween is a big deal at my day job!). All before anyone else is the house is up (not including the dogs who get up with me). I love this quiet time. It refreshes me. Rejuvenates me and helps prepare me for the week ahead. Will that change when I retire in a few years (yes, the countdown has begun)? Will I continue to get up early? I don’t know, but for right now, it suits me. And really, you can’t beat an Arizona sunrise! They are beautiful!
No time to dwell on that though…still a lot to do (my day is jam packed) so I should get to it. Hmmm, maybe I’ll even have a chance to write today (it’s going well right now so I need to strike while the iron is hot).   
Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go!

Marie