Kay Bratt's Blog, page 6
March 19, 2021
It’s My Birthday Launch (not) My Birthday Lunch!
Into the Blue, the third book in Kay Bratt’s By the Sea series takes you on an emotional journey filled with hope for a happily ever after.
Jules Monroe is a woman whose hard work and dedication has built a rewarding life for herself and her family. Now in her late fifties, she gives selflessly to her husband, kids, community, and their charter business. But everything comes to an abrupt halt when her body says enough, and her mind yearns for respite and a place to hide from past hurts.
Oldest son, Jonah Monroe, is a veteran haunted by a childhood tragedy. His past includes things he isn’t proud of and can’t quite shake. When his chance to be a hero finally arrives, it comes with strings attached. Will he accept the kindness of strangers to help bring his family back together, or will his demons continue to be his downfall?
Maui isn’t always the safe paradise it’s made out to be and when ancient island superstitions threaten to rob the Monroe family yet again, they must all find a way to deter the impending disaster.
Praise for Kay Bratt novels
“Kay Bratt is a masterful storyteller, and the story’s pacing and descriptions of Maui left me always wanting more. Highly recommended for book clubs!” —Anita Abriel, international bestselling author of The Light After the War“
A baring-of-the-soul emotional story that leaves you with a heart full of love and hope.” —Carolyn Brown, New York Times bestselling author“
Kay Bratt captures a mother-daughter relationship with an authenticity rarely seen in novels.” —Bette Lee Crosby, USA Today bestselling author
“Book clubs will love Bratt’s latest!” —Kerry Lonsdale, Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author
“Will sweep you away until the very last page. Don’t miss it.” —Julianne MacLean, USA Today bestselling author
“This is the kind of book that will get shared by friends and chosen by book clubs. A phenomenal story of life and love.” —Karen McQuestion, bestselling author of Hello Love
“Kay Bratt reminds us that there is always hope, and that home and family can be found in unexpected places.” —Kerry Anne King, bestselling author of Closer Home
“Book clubs will love the powerful message of this unique novel.” —Barbara Claypole White, bestselling author of The Perfect Son
“Kay Bratt delivers on all levels in this emotional and tense story of loss and resilience.” —Emily Bleeker, Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author
“Bratt is a master of location, it’s even more of a pleasure when the ride takes place on Maui.” —Lea Geller, author of Trophy Life
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March 15, 2021
Win SEVEN autographed Books by SEVEN Bestselling Authors!
INTERNATIONAL GIVEAWAY ALERT!Seven Bestselling Authors, One Fabulous Giveaway! Enter for a chance to win SEVEN signed books including:
I Thought You Said This Would Work by Ann Garvin, Hadley & Grace by Suzanne Redfearn These Tangled Vines by Julianne Maclean, Incense & Sensibility by Sonali Dev, Into the Blue by Kay Bratt, Lies We Tell Ourselves by Steena Holmes, and Under the Southern Sky by Kristy Woodson Harvey!
With settings from the lush vineyards of Tuscany to a Hawaiian paradise and even a road trip, these seven novels celebrate love and friendship, follow twists and turns, and delve into dark family secrets.
You’ll laugh.
You’ll cry.
You’ll be swept away.
Learn more and enter here —> http://bit.ly/3qAQhjSEnds April 5
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February 12, 2021
A Child Goes Missing in China and Does Anyone Care?
Children in China are stolen everyday and parents are usually forced to give up ever finding them. But one father refuses to let go of the bond he has with his daughter. Will his tenacity reunited them or as most are apt to do in his situation, will he move on without her?
Find out here in this Lowest Price Ever for A Thread Unbroken and see why more than 60,000 readers have devoured this story!
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January 17, 2021
January 10, 2021
Don’t Miss the Exclusive Giveaway Valued at Sixty Dollars Going on Now In my Krew!
Hello All!
If you haven’t heard, I’m moving most of my online banter into my private group on Facebook. The world is getting ugly and I’m building a safe place of positivity and kindness. Okay, and maybe a lot of silly stuff because I just can’t keep it contained. Anyway….
You are invited!
My Krew gets insider info and buzz on what’s going on my book world as well as many of my musings, posts, and photos that I’ve decided to keep to just my cocoon of trusted people.
We also have exclusive giveaways and such, and there’s one going on now! You can win an autographed, print set of my HUGELY successful 5-book series titles The Tales of the Scavenger’s Daughters, a $60 value!
What a great gift they would make someone for Mother’s Day or a birthday!
Those books are on sale this month on Kindle, too!
See you there!
[CLICK HERE to JOIN Kay’s KREW]
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January 6, 2021
December 27, 2020
A Welcome Misfortune
I hope you will check them out!
From the bestselling author of The Tales of the Scavenger’s Daughters comes a historical fiction family saga that begins with a newborn Asian girl, unwanted but not forgotten, and those who come together in a tumultuous journey to give her a better life.
In 1867 an infant girl called Luli is born into a middle-class Chinese family on the mainland. Her fate is altered when instead of being put to the breast of her mother, her father declares her a misfortune and she is left at the famous Chaozhou wall where many parents and grandparents abandon their unwanted girls. But the child’s mother is desperate to save her and beseeches one of her sons to step in and deliver the baby to safety.
At the same time in the affluent house of a scholar on the island of Hong Kong, house slaves Sun Ling and Jing Fei are sworn sisters, bound by their shared struggles. When the hardship and abuse become too much too bear, the girls escape and make a run for freedom, then find themselves on a ship bound for the western coast of the Americas.
When the paths of these three forgotten girls of China meet, the ocean journey is treacherous and not for the faint-hearted. In the midst of monumental difficulties, their lives converge, and they traverse many obstacles, but will do anything for one another in their oath to stay together and fulfill their hope for a better future in Chinatown, on the shores of San Francisco.
Download or buy your copy today! (Click Here)
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December 2, 2020
December Kindle Deal (True To Me) Only $1.99
From the bestselling author of Wish Me Home comes a breathtaking novel about the secrets that families keep and one woman’s illuminating search for the truth.
Quinn Maguire has a stable life, a fiancé, and what she thinks is a clear vision for her future. All of that comes undone by her mother’s deathbed confession—the absentee father Quinn spent thirty years resenting is not her real father at all. With that one revealing whisper, Quinn embarks on a journey to Maui, her mother’s childhood home, a storied paradise that holds the truth about her mother’s past and all its secrets Quinn is determined to uncover.
But settling on the island has its complications, and with the fiancé she left behind questioning every choice she makes, Quinn’s quest for her truth is even more difficult than she expected. As time passes and she digs deeper into her family history and her own identity, one thing becomes clear: Maui is as beautiful as she’d always imagined, and its magic is helping uncover the woman that Quinn was always meant to be.
One of BookRiot’s “50 OF THE BEST KINDLE UNLIMITED BOOKS YOU CAN READ IN 2020”
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November 28, 2020
Kay Bratt Holiday Giveaway
All you have to do is sign up!
If you are already signed up, you’re in the drawing!
Winner will be announced in my December newsletter! Comment below if you’re in!
Sign up here———–> https://www.subscribepage.com/kaybrattnewsletter
Want to find out why more than 100,000 readers have grabbed TRUE TO ME?
Download Here
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November 21, 2020
Into the Blue; A By The Sea novel set in Maui
Maui isn’t always the safe paradise it’s made out to be and when ancient island superstitions threaten to rob the Monroe family yet again, they must all find a way to turn fate toward a favorable direction. Into the Blue, the third book in the By the Sea series, takes you on an emotional journey filled with hope for a happily ever after.
Jules is the matriarch and center of the Monroe family, having led a healthy and fulfilling life, and made something of herself from nothing. Now in her late fifties, she juggles her charity mission, the work she does for the family business, provides childcare for her grandchildren, and continues being the best wife she can be to Noah. But everything comes to an abrupt stop when her body says enough and her mind would rather retreat to a safer place than the one she has carved out, in her lifelong attempt to keep her own needs and emotions under lock and key.
Jonah Monroe is Jules’ and Noah’s eldest child and only son. Despite his not-so-long-ago tour of duty with the service that should’ve changed his outlook, a childhood tragedy molded him into a reserved man with low self-esteem and a reluctance to rely on others. His past included things he wasn’t proud of and might never shed. When he has another chance to be the hero he’s always wanted to be, will he accept the kindness of strangers to get him there or will his demons force him to retreat and lose confidence in his own gut feeling and abilities?
Chapter One
It was a gorgeous day on Maui, and just perfect for grabbing a chair and parking it next to the water. Many people had done just that, sitting with toes in the sand and sun on their faces, enjoying the soft breeze that crept across the waves, just strong enough to tickle and tease.
But the weather was deceiving. This was not a good day for Jules Monroe.
Jules pushed the sweaty strands of hair out of her eyes before dipping the sand bucket back into the ocean. The foamy water swirled and filled, and she lifted it up again, pouring it over the beached whale. Her arms were getting weak and her shoulder was throbbing, right along with the muscles that ran down her lower back. Her calves burned from straining against the current, trying to stay upright in one spot, despite the crashing waves and the ocean’s pull.
Yes, everything hurt, but she couldn’t stop. Each time she thought she couldn’t possibly lift another bucket of water, she gazed into that big, intelligent eye and somehow found the strength to do it again.
At times, the murmurs and clicks of photos being taken by onlookers caught her attention. She wanted to scream at them to go away. To take their voyeuristic curiosity elsewhere. To shove their selfies where the sun didn’t shine. But she needed all her reserves.
Her emotions couldn’t get in the way of her work.
The melon-headed whale—or blackfish, as she’d grown up calling them—were her favorites, though technically they were part of the dolphin family. She’d rarely seen them close to shore in her lifetime, as they tended to stay in deep waters.
That was how she’d known how serious the situation was when she’d gotten the call. Of the ten stranded whales, four had already been guided back out to sea, but six were still being examined and helped, with the one under her ministrations having been guided out only to linger there with no motivation to go deeper, until slowly returning to the beach. It was clear there was something terribly wrong with the cow.
Julies cringed when a spasm hit her just below her left shoulder blade. It was moments like this that reminded her she was no longer a young, vibrant beach girl.
At least she’d gotten some relief by switching from helping hold the whale up to keeping her top wet.
She focused. Filling and pouring another bucket.
Then another.
Don’t think of the pain, she coaxed herself.
She reached up and caressed the bulge on the whale’s forehead, the physical attribute that they were named for. The cow was only about seven feet long and probably three hundred pounds, but she was beautiful.
She was one of ten melon-headed whales found stranded on Sugar Beach in Kihei. No one knew why they’d stranded, but Jules suspected it was the recent increase in the Navy’s sonar being used in the waters surrounding the Hawaiian Islands. The rescue team had been trying to save them for going on fifteen hours now.
“Jules.” The sound of her husband Noah’s soft voice momentarily broke her focus, as he put his hand on her shoulder.
“No,” she insisted, refusing to give up.
Jonah sighed loudly. His father had called him to come help, and Jules had found his calmness a balm as they worked together. But now he was taking Noah’s side.
“Mom, you can’t do this all day and all night. We’ve helped enough. Let the team do their job,” he urged.
“I’m not leaving her,” Jules said. “She’s so afraid.”
Noah pulled the bucket from her hands, dropping it into the water before he took her by the shoulders and gently forced her to turn around.
“Jules, look at me. You have to let her go. Kealoha is ready to perform her death rite.”
Jules swallowed hard. She felt like a failure.
Kealoha was a leader in the small community of cultural practitioners on Maui. Her mere presence there made the officials explore every possibility before even contemplating euthanizing any sea life. However, it was clear that from every side—cultural leaders, tourists, veterinarians, and the officials—that they all wanted the same thing.
Jules joined voices with Kealoha when she’d begged for more time to hold the whales up so they could get stronger and try to save themselves, or at least swim away and die their own dignified deaths, but the officials had set a deadline and they were now a little past it. The veterinarians had already sedated two of the whales to make them comfortable so they could humanely euthanize them.
Kealoha came into view and embraced Jules.
“Jules, they found a calf half a mile down the beach. They’re already saying its body shows signs of infection and sickness. I think the pod was guiding it in for us to help it, but they never meant to come all the way to the beach.”
This cow was the mother of the calf.
There was no way to prove it, but Jules just knew it was true. She felt it. That was why she felt such a connection with this particular old girl. They were kindred spirits. Two mothers who would sacrifice their lives for their children.
And the rest of them? Easy answer—whales created a close-knit community. They would’ve decided it was safer to guide the calf in with a few protectors.
“I am so sorry,” Kealoha whispered. “But we can at least do this for her. We will ask their ancestors and the gods to take her gently and quickly. You have shown her such courage and compassion. You’ve done all you can do, and now we have to let her go.”
Jules knew the older woman was just as devastated about the outcome—and that they couldn’t save them all. They tried, though. Every single time. It wasn’t simply human kindness. For Hawaiians, the whales were deeply revered, believed to be a manifestation of Kanaloa, a famous sea god.
A few other cultural practitioners stepped into view, quiet and waiting. Jules knew them all by name. She respected their commitment.
Behind her, the others continued to hold the whale up in the water. That group was younger; a generation removed from tradition, but still taking on their role quietly, without questions. Jules remember the first time she’d seen such a practice on the beach. She’d only been five or six years old and her father had explained to her that whales’ bodies were meant to stay afloat in waters, the buoyancy keeping it weightless. When they were sick and unable to hold themselves up, they could easily crush their own organs if not assisted.
She’d given her first daughter that same lesson one early morning on a beach more than thirty years ago. Her little Nama—a sprite of a girl that she’d only had for a few years before the sea had seemingly swallowed her up too, before giving her back as an adult woman.
A gift.
So many years ago, Jules would’ve gone into the blue herself, following her daughter into an endless sea. But Noah had grounded her. As had Jonah.
They’d needed her too.
Jules hoped this cow didn’t have more calves waiting out there, braying for their mother to return. It took everything in her, but she stepped back and nodded.
“Okay.”
The whale was probably dehydrated, and possibly sun-burned even through the wet towels they kept over her.
“We must let them end her suffering,” Noah said.
Jules approached the whale again, resting her forehead on hers and wrapping her arms around the massive wet body. She felt a shudder ripple through the animal.
“You are magnificent,” she whispered. “Be at peace.”
With that, she turned, her sobs erupting as Noah opened his arms and welcomed her in. She couldn’t bear to watch the last minutes, so he guided her out of the water. Her son took her other arm and together, they quietly left the whale behind so that she could let go and drift into the blue.
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