Lena Nelson Dooley's Blog, page 66

WINNERS!!!

IMPORTANT: Instructions for winners  - When you send me the email, make sure your subject line says this: Winner - (book title) - (author's name) If you don't do this, your email could get lost in my hundreds of emails per day. I WILL SEARCH FOR POST TITLES STARTING THAT WAY.

Melanie (TX) is the winner of  Isaiah's Legacy   by Mesu Andrews. 

Robin (NC) is the winner of  The Mail-Order Bride Standoff  by Margaret Brownley and others.

Pam (KS) is the winner of  The Cowboy Meets His Match    by Margaret Brownley.

If you won a book and you like it, please consider giving the author the courtesy of writing a review on Goodreads, Amazon.com, Christianbooks.com, Barnes and Noble, or other Internet sites. Reviews are such a blessing to an author.

Also, tell your friends about the book you won ... and this blog. Thank you.

Congratulations, everyone. If you won a print book, send me your mailing address:
Click the Contact Me link at the top of the blog, and send me an Email.

If you won an ebook or audio book, just let me know what email address it should be sent to.Remember, you have 4 weeks to claim your book.

CAPSIZED BY DEATH - Catherine Finger - One Free Book

Welcome, Catherine. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.
A sense of place is important to me in my writing and I want the locations I select to have the same weight and feel as a character. I’ve traveled or lived in all of the places I write about and in that sense, there is a great deal of me in the settings. As for the characters, I’ve spent a lifetime watching and listening closely to other people and they still fascinate me daily! Just yesterday, I overheard a hilarious conversation between a couple waiting in line for a Valentine’s Day dinner and parts of it were immediately woven into a scene I am writing.
I’m like that. Everywhere I go and everything I see and hear are fodder for my books. What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?I’ve always loved to travel. When I was in my early twenties, I opened up the Sunday paper and saw an excellent deal on a weekend flight to Madrid. I closed the paper, packed a small bag, and headed to O’Hare airport with my passport and a credit card. It was summer, I was a teacher, and I jumped the first plane I could book. Three days of museums, parks, and restaurant bars later and I was on plane home.  That experience has framed my current sense of wonder and wanderlust—may it ever be so!
When did you first discover that you were a writer?My earliest memories involve the written word. Reading was my first hobby—writing in my diary my first act of each day. I loved the lockable diaries as a little girl, and I still journal long hand nearly every morning. I received positive feedback on my stories and creative writing from my elementary school days onward—and I really think that helped shape my inner view of myself as a writer. I loved how books could move me, and I wanted to be able to give that feeling and sense of awe and wonder through the written word to others.
Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading.My reading tastes are very eclectic! At any given moment, you will find sci-fi, murder mysteries, thrillers, C.S. Lewis, and the novel of the day on my nightstand and in my Kindle.
How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world?Exercise. Staying connected to great friends and family.  And the love of a good horse.
How do you choose your characters’ names?Great question! I “collect” names. When I hear an interesting name in my travels and interactions, they go straight into my notes. I will also look for translations of names that have interesting meanings in concert with an interesting sounding name. When selecting names for major characters, I have to really like the name and feel like it “fits” the character I’m crafting since I’ll be spending a lot of time with that character. My editor helps by pointing out names that seem or sound similar, or when I’m missing a trend I may have started by mistake. In one book I had started naming my characters names beginning with the same letter—and I never noticed it until my editor pointed it out!
What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?I’ve been very blessed in many areas professionally and personally over the years. By far, my most precious accomplishments are people—endearing relationships with women and men I love and respect. Being able to discern something within a person they may not yet have noticed and helping them draw out and strengthen that talent or ability. That’s what I’m best at in the lives of others, I think.
If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?Probably a shark—only because they have to keep moving to stay vibrant and alive. I can identify with that!
What is your favorite food?So many possibilities! Dark chocolate. Fresh salads made by someone else. Beautifully prepared and presented fresh fish.
What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it? I can easily fall into insecurities and the old “does my work really matter?” mantra if I’m not careful, and I have to guard my thoughts to keep from distorted thinking. My current “fix” for this tendency is a verse I felt led to during a morning devotional that I am claiming for my writing in 2020: “And they were praising God because of me.” Galatians 1:24. I write this verse at the top of every chapter I’m writing in my current work to remind me that the work belongs to the Lord, and He has plans for my writing. My writing does matter so it is up to me to write well as often and as honestly as I can.
Tell us about the featured book. Capsized by Death is the fourth book in my Jo Oliver thriller series. In this book, while Police Chief Jo Oliver finds herself on an island paradise awaiting her dream wedding, she must keep a killer with ties to her past from derailing her plans for the future.
Please give us the first page of the book.(coming soon)
How can readers find you on the Internet?www.CatherineFinger.comhttps://www.facebook.com/CatherineFingerAuthor/https://twitter.com/FingerCatherine
Thank you for sharing this book with my blog readers and me. I’m eager to read it.
Readers, here are links to the book.Capsized by Death (A Jo Oliver Thriller)[image error]Capsized by Death (A Jo Oliver Thriller Book 4)[image error]
Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)
Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.
The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.
If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

TO FORGIVE, DIVINE - Melissa Lea Leedom - One Free Book

Welcome, Melissa. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.
My main characters have the most “me” in them—they act and feel in ways I think I would if I were in situations similar to theirs. For others, usually the “bad guys,” I sometimes have to dig deep to imagine why some people behave the way they do. Evil always puzzles me. I once read a writer who said that there are no thoroughly bad people, that even the worst among us have some redeeming qualities. I disagree—I think some people are bad to the bone and that the best you can do is avoid them at all costs.
I agree with you that some people are totally toxic to us. What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?I used to own a parrot (an Amazon Yellow Nape), one that had escaped from its original owner. Well, Harry and I were instant best buds (I was single at the time). Each night, I would return Harry to his cage, but I would leave the door open—not even sure how this ritual got started. I’d turn off the lights and head upstairs to my bedroom. At some point—perhaps immediately, I don’t know—Harry would climb out of his cage, walk across the room and up the stairs. Using the bedspread, he would beak-climb up to the top of the bed. And each morning, there he would be—not next to me, but quietly perched on the outermost left corner, patiently waiting for me to wake up. Why didn’t I close his cage? I don’t know. Why didn’t I just bring him upstairs with me if I knew he was going to climb up anyway? Don’t know that either. Maybe I felt I was only being partially complicit if I made the pretense of putting him in his cage each night. Oh, the little lies we sometimes tell ourselves…
When did you first discover that you were a writer?Would you believe fifth grade? That was the first year I was ever asked to write something not school-subject related. I realized later that we were being given writing prompts, but at the time, I was having a ball! I was writing stories with characters and descriptions and little plots! And the best part of all, I was getting high praise from my teacher, Miss Clasen. She would write things like, “This is so funny!” or “You have a real talent for this!” I found myself walking home on a little cloud. I started making up my own “what-ifs” and writing my evenings away. To Forgive, Divine started out as a series of “what-ifs.” (It also started out as a short story, but “famous last words”!)
Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading.I actually like reading non-fiction as much as I do fiction. I like biographies—Bonhoeffer was excellent (Eric Metaxas)! And, of course, I like reading Bonhoeffer’s works, as well. A former professor of mine (Helen Jean Burn) wrote a wonderful book called Betsy Bonaparte that reads like a novel. For all you aspiring mystery writers, there’s a great book on the father of forensic investigation called The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York (Deborah Blum). I love reading C.S. Lewis—Screwtape Letters and Mere Christianity are my favorites, but everything he wrote is outstanding. Also, I am a huge Dave Barry fan! If you ever need a good laugh, read anything by Dave Barry. I like reading Christian apologetics (What If Jesus Had Never Been Born?, Who Moved the  Stone?, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist). And my favorite way to read and study the New Testament is to read the commentaries of William Barclay (a Scottish theologian and NT Greek scholar who wrote in the 50s and 60s). I actually collect copies of his Second Edition volumes (I don’t think the first edition ever appeared in the U.S.). I find them on eBay occasionally.
As for fiction, I read everything from Jane Austen (the woman was a genius), Charles Dickens and Agatha Christie to Lisa Wingate, Lori Wick and Jan Karon (someone once compared To Forgive, Divine to a Mitford book—how about that??), Patricia Cornwell, John Grisham and Scott Turow, James Patterson, Tom Clancy (Sum of All Fearsis scary stuff!) and Richard North Patterson. I used to read Michael Connelly’s Bosch and Lincoln Lawyer books, but his stuff can be so dark—the real underbelly of humankind. I must say, I have always admired John Grisham because he was a Christian writer before being a Christian writer was cool. He could compete with the Big Boys and publish with mainstream houses, still writing books that did not compromise his witness. I have often thought of him as a sort of modern-day prophet, calling attention to the many injustices in our legal system.
Ahh…so many books, so little time.
I admire John Grisham, too, and I love every book of his that I’ve read. How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world?I read. As a writer, I think one of the most important things one can do is be well-read (e.g., as I read, I ask: how does this writer construct his/her plots, build characters, create settings?). It is especially important to read books in your own genre to keep up with what publishers are looking for (and, therefore, what readers are looking for). And with the advent of e-books, it’s possible to read standing in line at the grocery or post office—virtually anywhere, but I draw the line at the movies!
And, of course, I write. Writing centers me, helping me to keep at bay life’s distractions and pulls. It keeps me mindful of the role that God is asking me to fulfill through my writing. I feel God’s presence when I write.
I’m with you on that point. So often, He directs me a direction I didn’t know a story was going to take. One time, I finished a scene where what He gave me took me to a “How are we going to get out of this impossible situation” time. He showed me a way that brought glory to Him. How do you choose your characters’ names?I sometimes give them the names of people I admire or have been friends with, at the least the characters I admire, as a kind of tribute. If you read To Forgive, Divine , you’ll meet a guy named Preston. He is not a nice guy—and I named him after someone I actually knew by that name, who was also not a very nice guy. I also try to name them with names that are appropriate to the era in which they were born. So two of my characters are Clara and Mertis—names that would have been popular for the age they are in the story (you wouldn’t expect someone from the 1930s to have a name like Madison or Chloe, right?). On the other hand, unless a character’s ethnicity is integral to their role in the story, I avoid surnames that might be distracting or stereotyping. For instance, I probably wouldn’t give someone the name O’Hara unless that person’s Irish heritage were a part of what he or she contributed to the story. If a character owned an Italian or Greek restaurant, I probably would name them Fontanaor Spiros, respectively.
What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?This will probably sound weird because I majored in English twice, but I am proudest of the 11 years I spent as a math instructor at community colleges. One of the skeletons in my closet is that I failed algebra in the ninth grade and so went on to take the fewest math courses I could get away with. My college career took some wrong turns until it hit a dead end. When I returned to school in my late 20s, all the rules had changed and even us dumb ol’ English majors had to take a certain level of math. Whether my brain had grown in the intervening years or whether I had just matured enough to discipline myself to doing lots of homework, I found myself doing very well in my math classes! I even kind of enjoyed them! So just to see how far I could take it, I wound up with a minor in math when I got my B.S. Fast forward to a move to Maryland, where my work as a math tutor landed me another gig as a math instructor, and you have one proud English major. As a once-failed algebra student, I had gone from being someone who had cried over her homework to someone who gave homework! Almost daily I looked out over my students and stood in amazement at where God had placed me. And that feeling you get when you have said something that makes the light of understanding shine on someone’s face—believe me, it never got old.
I understand that. I’m a former schoolteacher myself. If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?I would be some kind of bird—perhaps an eagle soaring over the Grand Canyon. I have always looked up in awe at birds floating on the wind currents, wondering about the vistas they see daily and how close to God they must feel (probably not scriptural, but I think animals must have some sense of God). My being a high-flying bird of prey like an eagle would be ironic for two reasons: one, I am horribly afraid of heights and two, birds of prey have to be very aggressive—and I am one of the least confrontational people that ever was!
What is your favorite food?Mmm. As a child, I would have said it was my mother’s crawfish bisque (I grew up in New Orleans). These days, I love a good chicken piccata or a well-cooked piece of salmon. And I would NEVER turn down a serving of chocolate mousse! (Bonnie, the heroine of To Forgive, Divine , makes a chocolate mousse pie in the story—but I’ll let you decide if that turns out to be a good or a bad thing.)
What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?Time. For me, writing requires large chunks of uninterrupted time. If I think I’m going to be interrupted, it’s hard for me to get motivated even to start. So, please don’t tell anybody this, but there were a number of times I skipped church because I could then count on having about three uninterrupted hours to dive in and engross myself in my story without having to come up for air. Now that my children are grown and away from home, it’s a little easier finding those blocks of time. And thanks to Caller ID and Smart Call-Blocker, the phone is more manageable, too. But mum’s the word on that church thing, okay?
Tell us about the featured book. As I said earlier, To Forgive, Divine is the result of some “what-if” daydreaming. It’s always been my observation that church pastors have to be sort of political creatures: everyone has something to say about the job they’re doing, they have to be careful who they befriend lest they be accused of showing favoritism, and even though they didn’t choose that life for themselves, their families come to be part of that criticism and scrutiny.
So, then I thought, “What if a pastor were single? And he found someone he wanted to date? How would he deal with the ensuing buzz it would almost certainly create? How would she deal with it? What if they decided it was totally not worth it?
But what if they attend the same church? What if they can’t stop running into each other, even when it becomes terribly uncomfortable? And what if neither can forget that one first kiss?
Oh, did I mention that they kissed? How did I forget that part?
Their friends want them together. Some of them need them to be together. The lady across the street most definitely does not want them together—why on earth not?
In To Forgive, Divine , you’ll see lots of folks struggling with different aspects of forgiveness (it’s not just a romance), especially Bonnie and Jeff, who can’t exactly go around recommending forgiveness to everyone else but deny it to each other, right? You’ll want to see who wins, the lady across the street or the pastor with—wait, how many girlfriends?
Please give us the first page of the book.Bonnie Callaway glanced uneasily at the thunderous, dark navy clouds hovering on the horizon of the April evening sky as she entered the Coffee Shoppe. She wondered whether she should go home and just skip her once-a-month dinner with the other members of the Benevolent Board; it looked like a monsoon was brewing. She might miss getting caught in a deluge later, but then she would also miss her chance to have the gang buy her dinner. With one last, uneasy look at the spindly fingers of lightning flittering down to earth in the distance, she let the restaurant door close behind her. As things would turn out, Bonnie would still miss the dinner with her friends that she’d been looking forward to, and she would still get caught in the pouring rain. And she would certainly wish she had gone straight home.            First to join her in the large booth with its round table was Father Norman Blake, rector of St. Alban's Catholic Church. An imposing figure in his mid-fifties, he put one in mind of Orson Welles. Father Blake was also jokingly known as “Doctor Father.” In addition to his duties as a parish priest, Father Blake, who held a doctorate in religious studies, also taught courses in world religion and philosophy at Chandler City Community College.             “Wouldn’t be surprised if the power goes out,” he told Bonnie with a nod toward the window.            “I’m afraid you might be right,” Bonnie agreed, following his glance.
Not far behind Doctor Father were John Reeves, the young pastor of Chandler A.M.E., and Carolyn Perkins, an attorney in her mid-thirties who attended Franklin Unitarian. John and Carolyn had parked next to each other and dashed in together. Their clothes were dotted with raindrops.
“It is not looking good out there, folks,” Carolyn informed them, scrunching her hair to rid it of the water.
Last to arrive was Dr. Jeff Wells, a forty-ish widower who pastored Foster Road Baptist Church, where Bonnie Callaway was a member. “Anybody ever hear of an umbrella?” he asked, brandishing his before the group with a smile.
(Author’s Note: wish I could give you two pages later so you could find out where everyone has gone and who the most unwelcome visitors are…)
And I’m sure my blog readers will be eager to read the book to find out for themselves. How can readers find you on the Internet?Web site: www.forgive490.com  Twitter: https://twitter.com/MelissaLeedom  To Forgive, Divine —available on Amazon.com, bn.com, Books-a-Million

To Forgive, Divine is also available from the publisher, iUniverse at https://www.iuniverse.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/137779-To-Forgive-Divine
Also, for the months of March and April, all proceeds from the sale of To Forgive, Divine (paperback or Kindle) will go to the following fundraiser: https://www.gofundme.com/f/let039s-get-jason-some-wheels/donate
Thank you, Melissa, for sharing your book with us. I’m eager to read it, too.
Readers, here are links to the book.To Forgive, Divine: A Novel[image error] - Paperback
To Forgive, Divine - Kindle[image error]

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)
Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.
The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.
If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

SONG IN THE DARK - Jessica White - One Free Book

Dear Readers, Jessica White has been a part of my critique group for several years, and I’ve loved having her. Now she has moved to Oklahoma, and I miss seeing her in person. I’ve been eagerly awaiting the publication of Song in the Dark. I’ve loved all her books, but this one is my favorite. I love the story line, the characters, the suspense. It’s the whole package. You won’t want to miss reading this story.

Besides when you came to know the Lord, what is the happiest day in your life?That’s a hard one. Probably going off to college in West Virginia and being surrounded by thinkers who loved God, but still questioned everything. It was a safe place to really challenge what I’d been taught about history, race, class, gender, and faith.
How has being published changed your life?It’s compelled me to put my thoughts out in the world. I’d be content to stay in my little corner, working behind the scenes, but as a writer there is no hiding. You have to put yourself into every story or it doesn’t ring true.
What are you reading right now?A lot of spiritual non-fiction. I just finished The Sacred Romance by John Eldredge and am currently on The Universal Christby Richard Rohr. I’m also about to read the Advanced Readers Copy of Earth Our Original Monastery by Christine Paintner, who is a favorite of mine.
What is your current work in progress?I have several irons in the fire. I’m almost finished with another standalone based on Artemis mixed with the myth of Theseus and the Labyrinth.
Former Army sergeant Naomi Delos runs a group home in New York City for high-risk girls. When one who suffers from selective mutism goes missing and the police insist she’s just run away, Naomi puts her scouting skills to work and calls on the help of a search-and-rescue team. But in a city of millions, she doesn’t expect the Army teammate who risked his life to save hers to answer the call.
Levi Goldberg refuses to let the determined woman who changed the course of his life to disappear again. With the help of his bloodhound, they follow clues and messages hidden in the girl’s poetry to rescue the teen before she’s lost in the human trafficking ring known as the Labyrinth.
What would be your dream vacation?My dream vacation would be a spiritual retreat somewhere surrounded by woods that has a walking labyrinth where I could just be one-on-one with God. I’d love to find a week-long event with spiritual director appointments where I could dig into my walk with God and see what needs to be shed and where I need to be braver and step out.
How do you choose your settings for each book? Typically something in the story requires some specific detail. For my historical Healing Seasons series, I knew it started in West Virginia, and they had to flee west. Using a railroad map, I found they would have hit Billings, Montana,in the late evening and could see Samuel getting off to look at the stars and losing his ticket in the dark. Thus the story ends up taking place halfway between Helena and Missoula because that’s where they would run out of money and resources, and be approaching the mountains.
With Song in the Dark, it was a mental image of Mount Olympus as a high rise in Manhattan, but Hades didn’t have a place there, so I wanted a nearby seat of power and decided to use Albany, because it’s the capital of New York state.
If you could spend an evening with one person who is currently alive, who would it be and why?This is hard because after Rachel Held Evans died last year, I made a list of people I really want to meet. Her best friend, Sarah Bessey, is top of that list now, not because she knew Rachel, but because she’s a passionate woman wrestling out her faith. Every book she writes rings true for me and my walk with God. Along with her are Tony Kriz, Andrew Peterson, Jeremy Courtney of Preemptive Love Coalition, and dozens of other people who are out there loving people to Christ through honest conversations and living a life that preaches louder than words.
What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?Cleaning, organizing, and helping people de-clutter. I love tackling physical messes as much as spiritual and intellectual ones. There is so much connection between our inner and outer worlds. Sometimes people need to work on the outside tangible things to understand how to fix the inside. And sometimes it’s the reverse. Helping someone let go of some object of a “someday dream” they once had to make room for where God has them now is such a blessed privilege.
What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?If you’d asked me a year ago, I’d probably have said figuring out the publishing world. But hands down, right now, it’s expectations. Recently, God has been showing me that the braver and truer I write what He calls me to, the more people who are going to say “You can’t do that…” But God never called anyone to do what’s easy. He called them to step out of their cultures, their families, their religious systems, and just love and obey Him.
What advice would you give to a beginning author?Be brave. Yes, you need to learn the craft, learn the business, figure out who you are as a writer and who your audience is and how to reach them, but if you’re not brave, you’ll get lost in a sea of mediocrity and good enough. When you’re brave on the page, your stories are richer and ring truer in the reader’s heart.
Tell us about the featured book. Song in the Dark explores what it means to overcome our darkest struggles. Harpist Jenna Fields grew up with a narcissistic parent whose love was conditionally based on her performance and how she made her mother look. We discover the self-destructive coping mechanisms she’s relied on to take back control and how often these victims end up attracting predatory partners.
It also tells the story of homicide detective Dean Blackburn who feels tainted by death. He doesn’t see himself as a rescuer but as the one who seeks justice for the dead. He struggles to accept there is a place for light and hope in his life. When he sees Jenna’s goodness isn’t because she’s never faced the world’s ugliness, but despite it, he determines to help her break free of her mother’s gilded cage.
How can readers find you on the Internet?My website is http://www.AuthorJessicaWhite.com Readers can subscribe to my email list to be the first to hear about releases, sales, and updates, as well as follow me on social media from there.
Thank you, Jessica, for sharing your new novel with my blog readers and me. I received my copy on Thursday evening, and I’m eager to read it after the publisher worked on it. By the way, I love the cover.
Readers, here are links to the book.Song in the Dark[image error] - Paperback
Song in the Dark - Kindle[image error]

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)
Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.
The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.
If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

WINNERS!!!

IMPORTANT: Instructions for winners  - When you send me the email, make sure your subject line says this: Winner - (book title) - (author's name) If you don't do this, your email could get lost in my hundreds of emails per day. I WILL SEARCH FOR POST TITLES STARTING THAT WAY.

Mama Cat (AZ) is the winner of  Taming Julia   by Jodie Wolfe. 

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Click the Contact Me link at the top of the blog, and send me an Email.

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THE COWBOY MEETS HIS MATCH - Margaret Brownley - One Free Book

Dear Readers, this week must be Margaret Brownley week, with two interviews with her. I loved reading The Cowboy Meets His Match. I haven’t read a Margaret Brownley book I didn’t love. This novel starts off with a bang—cattle stampede through town which causes enough confusion that several things happen by accident. A wonderful unique twist on a mail-order-bride story. The characters leapt into my heart, and the story is action-packed to the end. I didn’t want to let these characters go.
His first mistake was marrying her; His second was falling in love.                                                                                    — The Cowboy Meets His Match .
Welcome back, Margaret. You have a lot of books out now. What is your favorite setting to use in your books?Since I write westerns, I like to set my stories in Texas during the late 1800s. I especially like that time period because just about everything that’s going on today was going on then.             Sears was the Amazon of its day and taught America how to shop. The Victorians had their own Internet—the telegraph. Those early settlers blamed tornadoes and hurricanes on global warming and the 1894 Hong Kongplague became the third pandemic in the world. Today, people worry about being replaced by robots; Back then, it was machines that caused job worries.             I could go on and on about the similarities. Reading how people in the past survived and, yes, even prospered during tough times inspires me and gives me hope for the future. I hope it does the same to my readers.
Give us a little tour of the setting for this book.The book takes place on a cattle ranch in Haywire, Texas. It’s the last place my Bostonian heroine expects to find herself. Talk about a fish out of water!
What other books do you have coming out soon?The next book will be the last in the Haywire Bride series. The Outlaw’s Daughter will be out in May.
Please give us a glimpse inside your home.My office is painted Monet purple, the color that’s thought to inspire, and the picture window faces the Santa Monica mountains where many of the old westerns were filmed. One room is dedicated to my library with more than 2000 books (bet you didn’t know there were that many books about the Old West).  Another room houses my very own gym. Whenever I get stuck on a book, I jump on the treadmill or stationary bike and keep going until problem solved.
Tell us about the story.Chase McKnight will do anything to secure his family's ranch but marriage to a complete stranger? That's a hard pill to swallow. Yet the will is clear: Chase needs a wife by his side if he wants to keep his home, so he meets his veiled lady at the courthouse steps and reluctantly says "I do."
Too bad he married the wrong bride.
When Boston runaway Emily Rose agreed to marry a Texasstranger to escape her family's scandal, she wasn't prepared to get hitched to the wrong cowboy! Stuck in a secret compromise, she has one year to learn the ways of the ranch and convince Chase's family they're happily married. But when the lie becomes true, the past catches up to them, and they must save the love they never expected...
Please give us the first page of the book. Haywire, Texas1886The moment Emily Rose stepped off the train, she knew she’d made a terrible mistake. It wasn’t just the heat pressing down on her like a thick, wet blanket. Nor the dust that clogged the throat and stung the eyes. It wasn’t even the relentless flies.            Rather, it was the feeling of dread that settled like a lead weight in the pit of her stomach. One look at the sorrowful excuse for a town, and the trouble she’d left back in Bostonseemed like a tea party in comparison.            The dark-skinned driver set to work tossing her baggage into the rear of the hotel omnibus with reckless abandon.            “Oh, do be careful with that,” she cried, grabbing her bandbox out of his hand.            Shooting her an exasperated look, the driver reached for her carpetbag and hurled it into the compartment with the rest of her baggage. Since her belongings commanded all available space, the other passengers were forced to carry their travel gear on board.            One matronly woman glared at Emily, her beak-like nose flaring. “Some people have no consideration for others,” she grumbled, her voice loud enough to gain the attention of those still standing in line.            Emily apologized and offered to help the passenger with her valise, but the woman would have none of it. Instead, she made quite a show of lugging her single satchel up the steps of the omnibus, grunting and groaning and complaining like an old crow.            Emily disregarded the woman’s theatrics, but it was harder to ignore the curious stares directed at her stylish blue traveling suit. She had been so anxious to make her escape she’d not thought about clothes. The last thing she needed was to call attention to herself. Had she been thinking straight, she would have purchased something more sedate like a simple gingham or calico dress, though she doubted such a thing could have been found in all of Boston.            The same was true of the plain cloth bonnets locals seemed to favor. Her own felt hat, stylishly trimmed with feathers, now seemed hopelessly out of place.            Sidestepping a pile of horse manure, Emily boarded the omnibus, her bandbox in hand. She pulled a handkerchief out of her sleeve and wiped off the dusty leather seat before adjusting her bustle and sitting.            The driver took his seat and waited until the last of his passengers had boarded before shaking the reins and clicking his tongue. As if to protest the heavy load, the two roans snorted as they plodded forward, scattering more dust with their heavy hooves.            Emily fanned her heated face with the soiled handkerchief and gazed out the glassless window. Compared to Boston’s sturdy redbrick buildings, the adobe shops with the false fronts and rough-hewn signs looked like they could be blown away with one good gust of wind.            No cobblestones lined the thoroughfare. Instead, a bumpy dirt road wound through town, flanked by wooden sidewalks.            She looked for the drugstore owned by the man she’d traveled all this way to marry but didn’t see it. Instead, they passed a general store, a bank, a gunsmith, and a leather shop, but no ladies’ hat or dress emporiums. A sign reading Haywire Book and Sweet Shop gave her a flicker of hope. The selling of books suggested that maybe the town wasn’t as primitive as it appeared.            Emily reached into her purse and pulled out the dog-eared letter that had been carefully tucked inside. Unfolding it, she reread the simple instructions written in bold handwriting. She was told to check into the hotel. A driver would pick her up at four o’clock sharp and drive her to the courthouse. Her betrothed would meet her there to exchange vows.            She chewed her lower lip and forced herself to breathe. Never had she imagined herself a mail-order bride. But then neither had she dreamt she would be forced to leave Bostonin shame, with hardly a penny to her name.
Her only hope was that her soon-to-be husband was as kind and caring in person as he appeared to be in his letters.            She checked her pendant watch, grateful that she’d remembered to adjust it to local time at the train station.            The omnibus turned onto a bewildering series of winding, pretzel-like streets before pulling up the drive leading to the Haywire Grande Hotel. Judging by the weathered facade, the only thing grand about the hotel was its size.            Emily’s stomach knotted. Whatever fate had in store for her couldn’t be any worse than what she’d left behind. While the thought did nothing to lift her spirits, it did help calm her pounding heart. Refolding the letter, she returned it to her purse. Moments later, she stood in the blazing sun and waited for the driver to unload her luggage.            “Will that be all, ma’am?” he asked. His sudden politeness could only mean he expected a generous gratuity.            “Yes, thank you.” She handed him twice the number of coins she normally would, more out of guilt for commanding so much space than gratitude.            While a bellhop arranged her luggage onto a wooden handcart, she glanced again at her watch. In just two hours, she would be married to a man she had never set eyes on—a total stranger.            Now that she’d seen the town, it seemed that she was about to exchange one prison for another.
How can readers find you on the Internet?Website: margaret-brownley.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/MargaretBrownleyAuthor/Twitter: https://twitter.com/margaretbrownly
Book Links:Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Cowboy-Meets-Match-Haywire-Brides/dp/1492658375/ref=tmm_mmp_title_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cowboy-meets-his-match-margaret-brownley/1129309834?ean=9781492658375
Thank you, Margaret, for sharing this new book with my blog readers and me. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and I know my readers will, too.
Readers, leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)
Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.
The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.
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THE MAIL-ORDER STANDOFF - Margaret Brownley, Angela Breidenbach, Susan Page Davis, and Vickie McDonough - One Free Book

Bio: Margaret Brownley is a N.Y. Times bestselling author with nearly fifty books to her credit. She writes historical romances set in the Old West. A two-time finalist for the Romance Writers of American RITA award, she has written for a CBS soap and her next book, The Outlaw’s Daughter will be published in May.  Not bad for someone who flunked eighth-grade English.  Just don’t ask her to diagram a sentence.

Attorney Ben didn’t expect to get shot on his wedding day--and certainly not by his mail order bride.—Pistol-Packin’ Bride/Mail Order Standoff collection.
Welcome, Margaret. How did your story for the collection come about?My story was inspired by a Mark Twain quote: “Adam was the luckiest man in the world.  He had no mother-in-law.”   Ben Heywood had been left on the church step as an infant and was adopted by three sets of parents. The poor bride-to-be has to contend with three mothers-in-laws; three interfering mothers-in-law.
Are these stories connected in some way? If so, how?With dozens of mail order bride stories being published each year, it’s hard to think up a new twist.  But Vickie McDonough managed to do just that by coming up with the idea of giving our brides cold feet. 
How many other books have you had published?I’ve been very blessed as a writer and have managed to publish 48 books so far.
What is the hardest thing about writing a part of a collection?I always worry that my story won’t be on par with the other stories, and I’ll be the weak link in the collection.   
I understand that feeling, but when we get them all together, they are all good. How did collaborating with this team impact you?I was honored when asked to join the team.  It was a pleasure working with such a talented group of authors, and it was fun to see the clever way each writer developed the cold-feet theme.
Please give us a peek into your story.Prickly Pear, TexasElizabeth Colton stares anxiously out the window of the stagecoach.  Fresh from Boston, never could she have imagined a more desolate place. Every scary story ever heard about attacking Indians and highwaymen comes back to haunt her.             Before they reach town, her worst fear is realized. A horseman flags them down and yanks open the door to the coach.  Certain he is about to rob her—or worse—she pulls out her derringer.  Much to her shock, the gun goes off and the man falls to the ground.            Attorney Ben Heywood is lucky to be alive.  Fortunately, the bullet missed his heart—barely. All he’d done was stop the stage to tell Elizabeth that unbeknownst to him, his mothers (yes, all three of them) had placed the ad in the Matrimonial News and he has no intention of marrying her.                  It seems everyone in the small town has an opinion on the brash young woman who traveled west and shot the town’s favorite son. Now they refuse to believe the pistol packin’ bride is the right woman for him. At first, even Ben has trouble visualizing the two of them wed.            But in matters of the heart sometimes a wrong really does make a right, and Ben suddenly finds himself defending the blue-eyed beauty, and slowly falls in love with her.  Now he doesn’t know which task will be hardest; convincing his reluctant fiancée that marriage to a man with three sets of interfering…uh… well-meaning “parents” won’t be so bad (maybe).  Or proving to the town that Elizabethreally is the girl of his dreams. 
What did you want the reader to take away from your story?I hope to show that there’s value and love to be found in even the most difficult of families.  Ben’s three sets of interfering parents aren’t going to change; what changes is the way Elizabethcomes to accept them as family.
What is the best piece of advice you received as an author?I think the best advice I received was to give the reader something to “see” in each sentence.  That’s what I try to do. 
Where can my readers find you on the Internet?Website: margaret-brownley.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/MargaretBrownleyAuthor/Twitter: https://twitter.com/margaretbrownly
Book links: Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mail-Order-Standoff-Historical-Stories-ebook/dp/B081G73XRM/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
B and N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mail-order-standoff-angela-breidenbach/1136319116?ean=9781643522449#/
Thank you, Margaret, for helping us share this delightful collection. I’m eager to read all 4 stories.
Readers, leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)
Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.
The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.
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ISAIAH'S LEGACY - Mesu Andrews - One Free Book

Welcome back, Mesu. Congratulations on your new novel, Isaiah’s Legacy! Can you give us a quick overview of the book?
Isaiah’s Legacy continues the story of Judah’s Queen Hephzibah (Zibah), who was the prophet Isaiah’s daughter according to Jewish tradition. Isaiah’s Legacy is a sequel to my first book in the Prophets and Kings Series, Isaiah’s Daughter, but it can also be read as a stand-alone since its focus is the life and loves of Queen Zibah’s son, Manasseh.
Described as Judah’s most wicked king, Manasseh knew from his earliest memory that his father, King Hezekiah, would die—according to his grandfather Isaiah’s prophecy. Manasseh witnesses his abba’s death and is thrust onto Judah’s throne where his infatuation with a girl named Shulle transforms her from a poor maiden to his queen. Under the influence of her wicked uncle, Shebna, Shulle introduces palace intrigues and stirs ancient vendettas that pit pagan advisors against faithful Yahwists. Darkness marches forward, gaining momentum and threatening to snuff out the last flicker of Yahweh’s spark in Judah. But in a sudden twist of fate, Manasseh faces a darker path than his pagan gods can travel and finds only Yahweh waiting at the end of himself. It’s there—in a deep, dark pit—that I found Manasseh’s story to be the most phenomenal prodigal tale in Scripture. His redemption still gives me chills!
From sorcery to child sacrifice, this book really brings to life the reality of pagan worship during biblical times. What did you learn about some of these practices while writing the book? Isaiah’s Legacy is the tenth book I’ve researched. The nations and generations in those books’ research spans Egypt, Canaan, Phoenicia, Assyria to Babylon (and many nations in between) and the people I’ve learned about range in time from Jacob in 2005 BC to Daniel in 530 BC—almost 1500 years.
In all that research, I’ve discovered so many similarities among the foreign gods, pagan rituals, and sorcery/divining between the nations and regions. But, interestingly enough, I’ve also discovered that gods and rituals differ from generation to generation even within the same nation.
A single god from the same nation may change in name and form from one generation to the next, but the same basic god may be shared by another nation with a similar legend and corresponding divine “family.” Nearly every culture includes a ritual of divining from animal innards. All nations, tribes, and tongues were fascinated by the various lights in the sky— sun, moon, and stars—and made them gods with differing names.
Some may find it disturbing when they discover ancient religions (some dating before Judaism and our Bible stories) that include stories very similar to Noah’s Ark and Creation. But I find it exciting! Many religions originated in Ancient Mesopotamia—where Abraham (in the Land of Ur) heard the One God call him to a different Land. Yahweh made Abraham’s descendants covenant bearers—Isaac, Jacob (renamed Israel), and Israel’s twelve tribes—and promised to bless all nations through them (Gen. 22:18). They kept the record of God’s redemptive work on earth with the Scriptures we hold in our hands today.
In every pagan ritual, every story of foreign gods, every method of divining, there’s a longing for connection with the Divine. Some want it for selfish reasons or to use it for evil. Others are looking to fill an emptiness that the Spirit has revealed—and He’ll lead them to discover the Truth. It’s been this way for ages, and I believe it will continue until we see Jesus with our own eyes.
You give one of the main characters, Manasseh, a set of unique characteristics that suggests he is on the autism spectrum. Can you tell us more about that and why you chose to give him those qualities?I knew very little about autism until a couple of years ago, when one of my grandkids was slow in learning to talk. He would become frustrated in his attempts to communicate and begin screaming and lashing out. Concerned, I called one of my author buddies (Pepper Basham), who had also worked as a speech-language pathologist with specialty in social communication disorders for twenty years. Stated simply: she had twenty years’ experience of speech therapy with autistic teens.
After plying her with questions, I was pretty certain my grandson wasn’t on the spectrum, but her answers made me wonder about the character I was researching at the time: the twelve-year-old boy king, Manasseh. Ultra-intelligent, Manasseh could recite Leviticus fifty-five different ways (Sanh. 103b). (I can’t even recite all Ten Commandments.)
I wrote the first twelve chapters, concentrating on Manasseh’s childhood and early adolescence, and sent it to Pepper and five moms who had adolescent boys on the spectrum. I asked for their feedback on whether I’d represented this ancient Judean king correctly—if he had indeed lived with the characteristics of Asperger’s. One mom, who homeschools all five kids—four of whom are “Aspies”—went through the entire book, giving feedback on Manasseh’s emotions, thoughts, and actions.
To ensure no one would mistakenly believe autism caused Manasseh’s sinful choices, I also added a “foil” character—someone who is the antithesis of a character to accentuate certain qualities. A second character shows the same “quirky” characteristics but is faithful to Yahweh, affectionate, gentle, and kind. My hope is to raise autism awareness and dispel some of the false fears. I hope Isaiah’s Legacy can be a novel those in the autistic community can be proud to share with others.
I'm glad you included the Asperger's characteristics. I have a good friend who has twin boys with Asperger's. I've enjoyed seeong them grow and develop into teenagers. Which character in Isaiah’s Legacy do you most identify with? My current self identifies with Zibah—older, wiser, struggling to stay relevant with the ever-increasing younger population. As I grow older, there are more-and-more younger ones who think differently than me and less-and-less my age who are willing to patiently teach them.
My younger self identifies with Shulle—confused about the real God and which adult’s theology to believe. I grew up as a spiritual mutt. Dad was Quaker. Mom, Charismatic. Grandparents, Pilgrim Holiness turned Nazarene turned Wesleyan. Sheesh! Each family member picked out a few Bible verses to prove their respective doctrines, and I didn’t know what to believe! So I didn’t believe. Praise Jesus that He doesn’t give up on prodigals!
What can you tell us about what you’re working on next?The project sticks with my brand of a well-known Old Testament male character with a lesser-known female. Not sure yet if it will be two or three books on…drum roll…Joseph! I LOVE Joseph, and I’d love to explore some of the women in his life: his sister-mothers: Rachel and Leah; his only sister, Dinah; Potiphar’s Wife, Zelicha; and Joseph’s Egyptian wife, Asenath. I hope to announce the official future projects in January!
Mesu, the next project sounds as interesting to me as this one. Be sure to let me know when it will release. And thank you for sharing Isaiah’s Legacy with us today.
Readers, here are links to the book. - Amazon Paperback
Isaiah's Legacy: A Novel of Prophets and Kings[image error] - Kindle
Isaiah's Legacy: A Novel of Prophets and Kings - Audio Book[image error]

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)
Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.
The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.
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HATTERAS ISLAND MYSTERY - Anne Greene - One Free Book

Dear Readers, Anne is one of my favorite authors and a dear friend. We’ve been featured in some novella collections together.

Welcome back, Anne. As an author, I know it takes a lot of people to birth each book. Who were the people involved in the birthing of this book, and what were their contributions?My editor is Cynthia Hickey of Forget Me Not Romances, a Division of Winged Publications. My dear husband always proofreads my books.
If you teach or speak. What’s coming up on your calendar? I do book signings, blog interviews, and telephone interviews. I’m thinking of authoring a book on How To Write An Excellent Novel, but my contracts are keeping me too busy this year.
When that book releases, I want to feature it on my blog, too. If you had to completely start over in another place, where would you move, and why?I love to live by the ocean, but in the middle of Texas that’s not possible, so I dream of starting over somewhere on the Texascoast. I don’t want to leave Texasbecause my children and grandchildren are proud Texans and never plan to move. I love Galveston so if I ever leave this highly-populated, congested-traffic Metroplex of Dallas/Ft. Worth, I would start anew in Galvestonwhich is right on the southern coast of Texas. People here are fine, loving, neighborly as in helpful, and conservative. Texans are great people.
If you could only tell aspiring novelists one thing, what would it be? Forget about writing what you know and write about what interests you.
That’s good advice. You’ve been asked to be in charge of a celebrity cruise. Who would you ask to take part, and why? (AS in what program, singers, etc. [it doesn’t have to be writing related])I’m a fan of Dancing With the Stars. I would have the dance contest motif with great bands of different generations from Big Band to Rock and Roll to Hip Hop to the latest Contemporary Dance bands and feature contests with all the different types of dances from each era starting with the 1940s Big Bands. As a change of pace, I would add Murder Mystery dinners and Learn To Cook Your Own Weight Loss Dinners.
Sounds like a fun cruise. I’d love to be on it. Tell us about the featured book. Hatteras Island Mystery is the first novella presented in the ROMANCING THE BILLIONAIRE Anthology.
HATTERAS ISLAND MYSTERYWedding photographer, Misty Gordon, photographs a man at a late December wedding. He disappears before she can discover his name. Next morning as she walks the beach, she discovers his body floating in the ocean. As Misty summons EMT, the man wakes but has no memory. After he disappears from the hospital, Misty discovers him aboard a million-dollar yacht. As she talks with him, two assassins try to kill them both. Is this a murder for hire, a revenge killing, or a political assassination? Is the man with no memory a drug dealer, an FBI agent, or a billionaire?
Can Misty solve the mystery before they both end in the morgue?           
Sounds like a wonderful read. Please give us the first page of the book.Misty Gordon dug her toes into the cool sand to steady the shot. Sunrays filtered through the light fog and touched her arms with gold.
She adjusted her camera until she captured the bride and groom with the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in the background.
She finished the photo array with a view of the couple in front of the expanse of the Atlantic Ocean. This early morning series marked her as unique among the photographers on the island. She bid goodbye to the bride and groom, stowed her camera in its bag, and took off across the sand to clear her thoughts.
Her business, Lighthouse Photography, made a comfortable living, and she loved her town, Hatteras, located on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, especially in December when most tourists had long departed.
Though she also offered an amazing portfolio of landscapes and portraits, most of her pictorial art revolved around weddings. She enjoyed photographing brides in flowing white gowns coupled with smiling grooms sporting tuxes. Her most popular pose featured the groom’s hand cupping the bride’s chin, kissing her, the wind nestling her long gown around his legs, his polished wingtips and her spiked heels sinking into the sand with the sparkling Atlantic as their background.
Each bride and groom Misty photographed started their journey of life together expecting a happily-ever-after lifetime. Misty, a born romantic, did her utmost to record their happiness with her photographs.
Until last summer, when taking posed and candid shots of love-in-bloom had become bittersweet. The last of her three best friends had tread the sand aisle behind the most beautiful church on the island.
As life-long friends, since their teens, she and her three besties had planned weddings-to-die-for on the sands of the Outer Banks as the sun rose in a glorious blaze of color over the Atlantic. She’d been thrilled to photograph each one’s wedding as each friend saw her dream blossom into reality. But she, Misty Gordon, was the last bridesmaid standing.
Misty frowned and wrinkled her nose. She wasn’t getting any younger. But the men in her photos were.
With December’s arrival, Christmas in Hatteras threatened yet another sparse-in-the-single-male-department. She could look forward to fighting a bout of the holiday blues. That pending holiday probably explained why at the last wedding she’d photographed, she’d snapped so many digital pictures of the one man in the Hamiltons’ wedding who appeared to be single. Misty kicked her bare toes at the firm wet sand along the water’s edge. Why hadn’t she asked the unattached male his name?
She’d always been a sucker for a man with a beard. The stranger’s dark hair and beard framed an attractive face, neither too handsome nor too rugged. Quite a photogenic face…with a tall, athletic body to showcase the fine head. If she’d obtained a release, she might have sold his pictures to one of the men’s clothing businesses and made a bundle. The man was a natural model with his relaxed manner and easy smile. She could have offered him that new career. And learned his name.
But the dreamy guy exited the wedding before she could ask him to sign a photography release. Her rainbow disappeared from arching over her pot of gold. She’d failed to get his name.
When the Hamiltonsviewed their album, the new Mr. and Mrs. hadn’t appreciated her photographic pictorial of their wedding journey. They’d wanted more pictures of themselves and claimed the man wasn’t a close family member, and they didn’t like so many shots of him. She only taken four shots of the GQ man, but she’d returned the deposit money to her first dissatisfied customers. Even then, the couple refused to reveal the GQ model’s name. If he lived on Hatteras, he wasn’t a celebrity, but her label for the stranger stuck in her mind.
That day, she’d gone so far as to haunt the Hatteras Coast Guard substation sector field office, pretending to take pictures for an imaginary magazine, but hadn’t seen the extra-broad shoulders, tall athletic form, nor his easy-on-the-eyes features.
She should have realized the Coast Guard didn’t accept beards. The guys stationed there all wore dark blue, short-sleeved uniforms with their name ribbons on the right side of their chests and the Coast Guard ribbon on the left. Some had looked appealing but worn already-taken-rings on their left-hand finger. She’d never appreciated a military haircut anyway. She liked abundant locks on a man’s head.
She gazed at the waves rolling and frothing on the sand. Her thoughts weren’t clearing. Nevertheless, she bent, dug up a perfect sand dollar and flicked off the clinging sand. Brides adored their invitations photographed with these delicate shells, so this morning she could replenish her stock.
The risen sun painted the stark white shell pink, much like her rosy romantic dreams had been. She heaved a deep sigh. Naïve to think she could restart a new life in Hatteras. Find a new love, one who wouldn’t betray her. Of course, the years had sped by, and she hadn’t. In her field of work, she met only already-spoken-for bachelors. Would her time to walk the aisle ever come?
Cool water washed over her feet. She slung her camera bag over her shoulder.
Something bumped her ankle. She jumped. Her breath drained from her lungs. Something large. Heavens, a body! Flat on his back, hair plastered over his face, navy slacks shredded, a ripped white long-sleeved shirt clung to his torso, feet bare, a man floated in the surf. Pushed one way and then another, the body undulated with the waves. She touched the wet shoulder.
His eyes were closed, but the slight rise and fall of his chest showed he was alive.
She reached into her pocket, pulled out her cell and dialed 911.
“Come on, answer, answer!” How much longer would this man breathe?
She knelt in the surf beside him, her knees sinking into the shifting sand, the sun warming her back, strands of her long, blond hair blowing into her eyes as she touched his carotid artery. A stammering pulse beat erratic, but strong.
He looked to be in top physical shape. Had he been washed off a fishing vessel? Sand-matted dark hair plastered his forehead. A purple bruise marred his left temple and spread below his eye. A crease between his dark, straight brows showed the pain he must have endured when whatever injured him had hurled him into the sea.
She glanced out at Diamond Shoals, known for years as the Graveyard of the Atlantic. No wrecked vessel.
Normally she charged into situations before she considered the consequences. But this breathtakingly handsome man, rocking in the surf at her feet, left her panting like a tourist trying to climb the lighthouse stairs. She glanced up. “Where is that medical help? I can’t let this man to die.”
His limp fingers bobbed in the water, long and graceful and empty of rings.
Shame on her for thinking of his marital status at a time like this.
She grasped his shoulders and tugged and strained until she dragged him out of the cool water and up onto dry sand. Beneath his tattered shirt, his skin felt cold.
A siren in the distance shrilled louder. She turned. “Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!” She spun back toward the unconscious man and plunked in the sand beside him. Why hadn’t she learned CPR?
His eyes were open. Dark but blank.
She half-lifted him and turned his torso to the side. “Cough! Breathe! Sputter! Anything!” She bent him over and pounded his back.
He choked, his shoulders heaved, and water spurted from his mouth.
He looked familiar. Where had she seen him? She shook her head. He was a stranger.
“Where am I?” His voice sounded strangled, weak.
She massaged his back. “Near the Hatteras Lighthouse. What happened to you?”
He leaned against her, his upper body, wet, heavy and chilled. He moved his hand to his forehead and blinked. “Who are you?”
The sirens squealed louder and louder.
“I found you. What happened to you?”
He frowned. Shaded his eyes with his hand. “I don’t know.” His words slurred, and he coughed.
Paramedics ran toward them. One carried a stretcher, the other a large white bag.
“Were you fishing? Sailing?” She helped him sit up.
He blinked and rubbed his eyes with both fists. “I don’t know.”
One paramedic knelt beside her. The second ran to the injured man’s other side, his shoes spraying globs of sand and water over her. “What’s your name?”
The man shook his head, ruffling the sand from his hair like water shaken from a dog. He blinked and kneaded his eyes with his fingers.
The paramedic gazed across the stricken man at her. “What’s his name?”
“I have no idea. I found him here. Like this.” She dug her camera out of her bag.
The first responder leaned over the man. “How many fingers do you see?” He held up three.
“Three.”
Misty snapped his picture.
“Give me your name, sir.”
“I…I don’t remember.”
Where can we find you on the Internet?www.facebook.com/AnneWGreeneAuthorand https://www.amazon.com/Anne-Greene/e/B004ECUWMGand www.AnneGreeneAuthor.comI love chatting with my readers.Thanks so much for having me on your excellent blog, Lena. You are a fine fellow author and I appreciate you.
Thank you, Anne, for sharing your book with us today. I’m eager to read the rest of your story.
Readers, here are links to the book.Hatteras Island Mystery - Paperback
Hatteras Island Mystery[image error] - Kindle
Romancing the Billionaire: 5 Rich Romances[image error] - Kindle

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