Brenda Whiteside's Blog, page 43

A Charmed Life...and I Still Have My Mom #MothersDay

Dedicated to Mom...
Mom nowWhen posed with the question for what am I thankful, the first thing that pops into my head is family. Although my maternal and paternal grandparents had rather large families, seven children on both sides, my immediate family is small. I am one of three children and each of us had one son. A few more came to us through marriage. We’re small and close.
I've always said we live a charmed life. FDW doesn't always agree when we've been faced with heartache, loss of loved ones, sickness, and financial woes. But we hang together, take comfort in each other, and come through with laughter. Laughter is a big component in our family.
My mom will turn ninety this year. 90! I grew up listening to stories of her life in the 1930s and 1940s. I lost my father not long after he turned sixty. I’m so thankful to still have Mom with me, healthy and spry for eighty-nine! Post-War Dreams is set in 1945 Phoenix, Mom thenArizona. I borrowed heavily from her real life adventures, sad and happy.
Blurb:World War II has ended and the soldiers are coming home. After years of following her crop worker father, motherless Claire Flanagan is also coming home. If she can keep her father in one place long enough, she plans to follow her dreams to Hollywood. Until she meets Benjamin.

Benjamin Russell has been working since he was fifteen to support his mother and siblings. What he most wants in life is to own a construction business and take care of the family his father abandoned. The last thing he expects is to fall for his younger sister’s best friend.

Life, however, throws cruel twists and turns into the path of romance. And when an unrequited love seeks revenge against Claire, and Benjamin learns his ex-girlfriend is pregnant, lost dreams of a future together could be the only thing they have left.
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Love and Marriage: Do they have to go together? by Carmen Webster Buxton

MUSE MONDAY
Please join me in welcoming Carmen Webster Buxton to Muse Monday. Love and marriage, they go together like a horse and carriage...or do they? Let's ask Carmen.
I like to read both historical romance and far future romance. If you think about it, romance—at least romance with a happily ever after ending—is not just about falling in love, it’s about pairing off and getting married—finding a partner for life, if you will. And one reason I like reading (and writing, when it comes to far future) stories set in the past and the future is, marriage, as practiced in these stories, is not always familiar.
Romances set among the upper classes of 18th or 19th century Great Britain, for example, often feature arranged marriages, something you would rarely see in a contemporary romance unless it was set in some exotic place where fathers still rule their daughters’ lives.  Such historical romances also describe a very restricted life for unmarried ladies. Chaperones were a fact of life. If you were a woman caught alone in a house with a man who wasn’t a close relative, your reputation was in shreds and you might be forced to choose between an unwanted marriage and being an outcast from society. I like reading about people coping with unfamiliar (to me, anyway) situations.
In far future romances, there is no limit to the differences that can exist.  Women can have harems; marriage might have been abolished; if the author creates a new species, marriage might never have existed. That’s what I did in Alien Bonds, the first book in my Wakanreo trilogy; I created a species that mated purely from biology. No one ever tries to choose a mate because if they do, it could all be blown away if mating occurs with someone else. Widows might pair off, but they didn’t call it marriage. In Tribes, a standalone science fiction romance with only human characters, I abolished marriage in favor of tribal allegiance. In this story, people pair off, but because nothing is more binding than loyalty to your tribe, no one actually gets married. If you think about it, marriage as we practice is at least partly about ensuring the continuation of the species. Marriage helps make sure children have a secure home. And if something else provides that security, who needs marriage?
The thing is, customs change but feelings don’t. I’m sure lots of people who practiced arranged marriage grew to love their spouses. But I’m also sure lots of people weren’t happy in a marriage where they might not even have met the other person before the wedding. For one thing, sex becomes a matter of duty instead of attraction, and robs it of a lot if its appeal. At least in my Wakanreo trilogy, biology takes control and attraction is there whether you want it or not. But that can be difficult to bear, too, if you don’t really want to be with that person, as Alien Vows, the second book in the trilogy, illustrates.
And if it comes to that, even people who get married after a long acquaintance sometimes choose to end the marriage. One reason I was inspired to write Alien Bonds is, my father left my mother after 28 years of marriage, after he found out that a woman he had always admired was a widow. He went to see her, and a week later packed his belongings and moved out, leaving my mother shocked and devastated. I wanted to explore what a society would be like where such a thing would never happen.
So, love and marriage are two different things, but they are two things that are often tied together. And I find that it’s when they’re not tied together that things get interesting.
EXCERPT FROM ALIEN BONDS
She turned to survey the crowd again, looking for any sign of iridescent blue and silver. She didn’t see Arliana, but she noticed the silver-headed Wakanrean had left the Ambassador’s circle and was standing by himself in the middle of the room.Dina wasn’t sure, but she thought he was staring at her. She took a few steps toward the stairs, and his eyes followed her so closely there was no doubt that she was the object of his scrutiny.No, his animosity. He looked angry—furious, in fact. She had never seen a Wakanrean show so much emotion. His eyes gleamed with rage, and his nostrils flared wide. She took another step toward the stairs, and the Wakanrean began to walk rapidly toward her.Dina fought panic. What could she have done to make him so angry? She hadn’t come close enough to any Wakanreans to offend anyone. She clasped her hands together to reassure herself that her gloves were on.The silver-haired Wakanrean came closer still. Under his cape he wore a long, blue robe instead of the trousers and loose, tunic-style shirt favored by Wakanreans of both sexes. He was very close now. His golden facial and body fur combined with the creamy white of his crest reminded her of some Terran animal, but she couldn’t remember which one. Other than the dark blue trim on his robe and the diamond-shaped pattern that decorated his sandals, his only adornment was a piece of silver jewelry fastened at the base of his throat; she couldn’t tell if it was pinned to his robe or his chest fur.Dina could feel herself breathing faster, her heart pounding hard. She should walk away. Why couldn’t she move her feet? She stood waiting by the mezzanine railing, as still as if she had taken root in the floor.The Wakanrean stood in front of her. He glared down at her, his face contorted into a scowl, his amber eyes glowing with contempt.“I beg your pardon.” Dina tried to keep the quaver out of her voice. “Do I know you?”He was so close, she could feel the heat from his body. Either that, or the room had gotten suddenly warmer. Dina felt herself flush from head to foot.He didn’t answer, but all at once it was as if his anger was a physical thing, an invisible mass, pushing against her. She stepped backward, stumbled, and almost fell.She reached for the mezzanine railing behind her, and in the same instant, the Wakanrean grabbed her arm.Dina froze, utterly baffled. The orientation had said clearly that Wakanreans would always avoid touching a Terran, and yet here was one not only touching her, but holding her firmly by the arm and helping her to stand.The orientation had also failed to warn her that a Wakanrean’s touch was so warm it almost burned. Dina could feel a flush of heat on her arm where his hand still gripped it. She stood straighter and looked into his face. He had typical Wakanrean features—an arched nose, large round eyes, a wide mouth. His expression changed as she watched. His anger faded to confusion. He looked almost stunned. His nostrils still flared, but from the way his eyes had opened wide, Dina knew he was surprised rather than angry.Neither of them had taken a step since he took hold of her arm. Dina swallowed once, conscious of discreet glances and overt stares from those around them. “I’m all right,” she said finally, wondering if she was speaking the truth. The dizziness had passed, but she still felt lightheaded. “Thank you, but you can let go now.”He loosened his grip but didn’t release her for a few seconds. When he did, he brushed her bare arm with the back of his hand. Dina was amazed when it sent shivers of anticipation up her spine.“This is unexpected.” His wonderfully resonant voice had a rich, warm timbre to it that made Dina’s shivers change from anticipation to yearning.“Yes,” she said, unsure of what he meant, but afraid to give offense.“Where do you live?”“I have an apartment in the off-world sector,” she said, wondering why she was answering him. She fought the urge to close her eyes and just listen to that wonderful voice. “My house is in the cliffs outside the city. Let’s go there instead.”“All right.”It took Dina a moment to realize that she had agreed to go home with him.

Buy link for ALIEN BONDS: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07959BHM4
You can connect with Carmen here:Carmen's blog: https://carmenspage.blogspot.com/Carmen on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Carmen-Webster-Buxton/e/B004V8MM8U/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1Carmen on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/carmenwebster.buxton
Carmen on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CarmenWBuxton

Wickedly Challenging Characters by Helen C. Johannes #WickedWednesday #fantasy

WICKED WEDNESDAY
Ohhh, those characters that want to hide and tease an author. Helen knows a few things about wickedly challenging characters. Please welcome my guest, Helen C. Johannes
Writing fantasy romance is a challenge, creating worlds from literally the soil upward. But I can handle that. All it takes is imagination fused with relevant life experiences.
For instance, I’ve never lived as a cursed warrior in a land populated by beast-men, but I have experienced a high mountain meadow in spring, ridden horses, and learned about panning for gems from my father’s Alaskan experience. I’ve never fended off danger with swords, but I’ve travelled the UK, hefted swords to learn about balance, and explored tumble-down castles.
None of that, however, made writing these three characters from BLOODSTONE any less wickedly challenging.
#1: The Shadow ManMirianna and her father fell into place, but my hero, the Shadow Man, refused to tell me his real name. I wrote a third of the book before he reluctantly revealed it. That resistance was clue to his character. Being an ‘into-the-mist’ writer, I had to keep writing to discover the truth.
The Shadow Man wants to be left alone. But beneath this stated goal is a deeper need: he’s lonely. When the opportunity comes to relieve his loneliness with a blind boy servant, he impulsively acts against his stated goal. Conflict ensues. His neatly ordered life, miserable as it has been, falls apart despite repeated attempts to maintain his solitude. What he thinks he wants and what he needs are at odds, and that’s just his internal conflict.
Add a woman so determined to protect her aging father she embarks on a dangerous journey, an old enemy seeking power, and a—possibly—magical lion shadowing his every step, and my hero has more than enough conflict. By first draft’s end, he had dug up and faced every ugly truth preventing him from being the man he ought to be, the man he’d chosen to bury (that realname).
Whew!
#2: The lionI’ve never lived with a mountain lion, but I’ve lived with cats. However, even I didn’t know when I started writing who or what this lion would be. (Remember that seat-of-the-pants thing?) She appeared with various characters at critical moments, and I had to let her gradually reveal how she was connected. Additional challenge: she has no point of view, so I couldn’t get into her head like I could my hero. (He was just stubborn; she was downright enigmatic.) So, write a mountain lion-like cat into a fantasy when you have no idea why she’s there, except she was in the very first scene from which this book sprang, and you have the idea of this wicked challenge.
#3: GarethI’ve worn corrective lenses since childhood, but I’m in no way as severely visually limited as Gareth. Thinking of sensations, sounds, and smells as his primary means of interpreting the world forced me to expand my means of description. I also had to remember he was 13, not an adult. Writing him was a definite challenge, but also wickedly satisfying.
Conclusion: Don’t be afraid to write what you don’tknow. Fuse a bit of imagination with a fragment of authentic experience and even the seemingly impossible can become satisfying and convincing fiction…if you’re up to the challenge.
Author Bio:Helen C. Johannes writes award-winning fantasy romance inspired by the fairy tales she grew up reading and the amazing historical places she’s visited in England, Ireland, Scotland and Germany. She writes tales of adventure and romance in fully realized worlds sprung from pure imagination and a lifelong interest in history, culture, and literature. Warriors on horseback, women who refuse to sit idly at home, and passion that cannot be denied or outrun—that’s what readers will find in her books.
BLOODSTONE, Launching a Star Winner in Fantasy Romance, from The Wild Rose Press.
What if looking at the face of the man you loved meant death?
Years ago, warrior Durren Drakkonwehr was cursed by a mage. Now feared and reviled as the Shadow Man, he keeps to himself, only going to town to trade rare bloodstones—petrified dragon’s blood—for supplies. Though he hides his face, he can’t hide his heart from the woman who haunts his dreams…
Needing bloodstones for a jewelry commission, Mirianna and her father journey across the dreaded Wehrland where the beast-men roam. When their party is attacked, only the Shadow Man can save them. Strangely drawn to him, Mirianna offers herself in return for her father’s rescue.
Living in the ruined fortress with the Shadow Man, Mirianna slowly realizes that a flesh-and-blood man, not a fiend hides there in hoods and darkness. But are love and courage enough to lift the curse and restore the man?
Book Links:Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Bloodstone-Helen-C-Johannes-ebook/dp/B00G8GTHRCNook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bloodstone-helen-c-johannes/1118715556?ean=2940148119272Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/Bloodstone-Audiobook/B07KFQKTMBOther links:Blog: https://helencjohannes.blogspot.com/Author Central: https://www.amazon.com/Helen-C-Johannes/e/B003JJDQWS/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4031965.Helen_C_JohannesBookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/helen-c-johannesContact email: helen.c.johannes@gmail.com

Corona—the crown—as Muse by Dee S. Knight

MUSE MONDAYToday is a different kind of post, but I know you'll enjoy it. Dee is one of my favorite guests, so grab a cup and have a read. Corona—the crown—as Muse
It’s been a couple of months since the novel coronavirus hit our shores. Not a fun couple of months, that’s for sure. We’ve seen people die, not because they did anything wrong but because they happened to fit certain physical criteria. Business have been lost and parents, suddenly without jobs, have been worried about how they’re going to pay bills and care for their children. Tragedy has struck every corner of our great land, and indeed, the world. All thanks to something we can’t see, can’t touch, can’t taste. Yet, the power is there, for sure. A nasty, negative power.
So, you might wonder why I’ve found my muse in the coronavirus, COVID-19. Well, I’ll tell you.
I count myself among the lucky ones. I don’t personally know anyone who now has or has had the virus. That they know of. I suppose the qualifier should be added. There are only three confirmed cases in our whole county. And that’s my silver lining. I feel blessed. Blessed to live in a land where innovation is encouraged to the point where our doctors and researchers jump to the challenge of finding answers, where when known cases are compared to the known recovered cases, the comparisons are favorable. I’m blessed to live here, where without threats or coercion (for the most part) we took the guidance of our leaders to heart, and by golly, stayed six feet apart so that we wouldn’t get sick and our friends and families wouldn’t either. I’m so grateful to be living now, in an age where computers and great universities provide every opportunity for finding a solution and perhaps a vaccine for this horrid disease so that thousands won’t die if/when it hits again. We have so much hope for better things and times to come.
I know there has been heartbreak because of what we’ve been through the last couple of months. But there is joy, too, in recognizing what could be lost if we as a people gave in to the despair the virus represents. We have another day to grasp life and shake it with all the enthusiasm of someone happy to be here, happy to see another day and know that with each day we’re closer to the end of this mess. It’s good to have reminders like this now and then, that life isn’t a given. We should appreciate each and every day, every hour, every moment. And I do.
That’s why the coronavirus—as awful as it is—is my muse this month.
I just wanted to say all that. Don’t think I’ll share a book or excerpt. Thank you for reading!

A Wicked Grill, Vodka, and Tequila with Lyncee Shillard #WickedWednesday #mermaids

WICKED WEDNESDAYLet's welcome Lyncee Shillard back to Discover... And she has a wicked recipe for this Wicked Wednesday plus a really fun bit about her book and herself. Enjoy!
Hey Hey everyone!I’m excited to be back on Wicked Wednesday. Who doesn’t need a little wickedness these days? Since we are all on ‘stay home’ but are encouraged to go outside, I thought I’d share some backyard wickedness.  And one of my favorites

Choctaw Nation and Ireland Bonded by an Act of Kindness

THURSDAY THOUGHTSHow about some good news ? How about a story about an act of kindness that has been remembered and celebrated for close to two-hundred years? This news is close to my heart…and my DNA.
James Cleburn KirbyOne of grandfathers was a redheaded, 100% Irishman. One of my Anthie Loisgrandmothers was ¾ Indian of the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes. They met, fell in love, and produced my mother. Recently, I discovered that the Choctaw Nation and Ireland have more in common than these two grandparents of mine.

In 1847, the Choctaw people were probably still feeling the emotional effects of having walked the Trail of Tears in 1831 and 1833. News reached the nation of the Great Potato Famine in Ireland. In March of that year, a group of Choctaw people met to raise money for the starving poor of Ireland. They managed to pool together $170 which they sent to the Memphis Irish Relief Committee who then sent it on to the General Irish Relief Committee of the City of New York. Today, $170 would be equal to $5,000.
The chairman of the New York committee specifically mentioned the Choctaw Nation’s gift in his reports. The gift was significant for those times.
The Irish people have never forgotten the kindness of the Choctaw people. In 1992, a group of Irish men and women walked the 600-mile Trail of Tears and raised $170,000 that went to the famine relief in Somalia. What a gesture of paying it forward . $170 gave the spirit to raise $170,000.
There’s a statue in County Cork, Ireland, commissioned in 2015, that is dedicated to the bond between the Choctaw Nation and Ireland. Last year, a scholarship program began for members of the Choctaw Nation to study in Ireland. When I learned of this, well, I got a bit teary. How very special for those students.
The connection between the people of Ireland and the Choctaw Nation proves how a simple act of kindness can bring nations together. A real lesson here in humanity.
It’s a top wish list item for me to visit Cork County. I bet my grandma and grandpa would be thrilled.

Myths, Magic and Festivals by Alice Renaud #fantasy #pagan

MUSE MONDAY
Please welcome Alice Renaud to Muse Monday. What a fun post about fantasy and our own beliefs.
With Easter only one week away, it got me thinking about religious festivals and their place in my writing. I am a Christian, and always look forward to Easter, even if the celebration will be muted this year. But like many of my favourite fantasy authors, I create characters who are… pagan. Robin Hobb, George R.R. Martin, even Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman… all their worlds are pagan worlds, peopled with gods and monsters. I wonder why that is. Perhaps we can blame Tolkien – the devout Catholic who was obsessed with Beowulf and the vanished universe of pagan Saxon England. Maybe it’s because fantasy is rooted in our collective past – and in Europe we were pagans for a long time before we became Christians. Many pagan customs and festivals have endured, under a different name, like the old winter feasts of Halloween and Christmas.
When I started to write my fantasy romance Sea of Love trilogy, it seemed natural that my shape shifting merfolk would have a mythology of their own. Their goddess, or guardian spirit if you prefer, is the Lady of the Sea, a supernatural watery being who watches over the merfolk… but also over humans who love the sea. The Lady plays an important part in the first two books in the series (which can be read independently), A Merman’s Choice and Music for aMerman. She is really an embodiment of the ocean and Mother Nature, in all her beauty and fierceness.
I don’t see a contradiction between being a Christian, being active in my church, and writing about a “pagan” world.  For me the pagan faith is about a deep love of nature, a burning desire to venerate and protect all living things. “The Divine comes in many forms, and I have many names. But only one love for all the children of the sea,” the Lady tells Alex, the heroine of A Merman’s Choice. The merfolk have a guardian spirit in their image… but the Divine spirit encompasses all living things.
So whatever your beliefs, I hope you are enjoying the spring… and that you will be celebrating in some form, whether it’s in church, in a garden, or simply eating chocolate eggs! Read more about Alex’s encounter with the Lady of the Sea in the excerpt below.
A Merman’s Choice, Book 1 in the Sea of Love series (books in the series can be read independently)
BlurbFor centuries the shape-shifting mermen of the Morvann Islands have lived incognito among humans. But one of them, Yann, has developed some bad habits. Like rescuing humans, even when doing so risks revealing his true nature. When he fishes Alex out of the sea, he doesn’t expect her to reappear eight months later, and turn his life upside down by asking him to be her guide.Alex is determined to fulfil a promise to her dying grandmother, by gathering pictures and stories of the Morvanns. But she soon discovers that, on these remote Welsh islands, legends have a habit of becoming true!
Over the course of a few days, Yann and Alex grow close. But some mermen hate humans. Their hostility, and Yann’s secret, threaten to tear the couple apart just as they are discovering that they are soul mates. Can Yann overcome the obstacles in his path and make the right choice?
Buy Linkshttps://amzn.to/2QglyeI
https://books2read.com/u/31xw7a
Excerpt An odd, resigned calm enveloped Alex. She felt that she was detaching from her body as she sank into the depths, the same emerald colour as Yann’s eyes. She thought of him, his face, his laugh. If she had to die, she wanted to die with that image in her mind.
A feminine voice spoke in her head. You’re not going to die.
Alex’s chest was no longer hurting. She was underwater, yet she was breathing. I’m dreaming, she thought.
The voice answered. No, you are not. I am real. This is truly happening. The words echoed in Alex’s mind, soft but deep, and rich with all the sounds of the sea. She could hear a dolphin sing, somewhere near the surface, and she understood its language. She could hear fishes whispering, and the great thumping dance of the humpback whales, far away.
Arches rose before Alex, shining and transparent. The structure resembled a crystal palace under the waves. Out of the palace came a figure. A woman, as young and beautiful as the spring, as dazzling and majestic as the ocean. She wore a turquoise dress, and a silver crown on her sea-green hair. In her arms, she held a small, perfect, sleeping baby.
She glided towards Alex. You are safe.
To her amazement, Alex did feel safe. She was no longer drowning. Somehow, she knew that the apparition was not a hallucination, and that she spoke the truth. The legends were coming to life.
Who are you? she thought. Where am I?
The woman smiled. Light emanated from her, with a honeyed brilliance that rippled through the water, bathing Alex in a comforting glow. I am the Lady of the Sea, and you are in my kingdom, in the mermen’s world.

In The Book, Female Friendship is the Best #girlpower #inspiration

In the current state of social distancing (although I much prefer we use the term physical distancing), we can still stay in touch in real time with social media, text, Skype, etc. Let's transport back in time and think of how our life would be impacted if we didn't have all of these immediate outreach abilities.

I'm old enough to remember when letter writing was the primary mode of communication. If it still was, we'd feel much more isolated, I suppose, but what fun it would be to go to the mailbox everyday and find more than junk mail.

The inspiration for Amanda in the Summer came from a letter in my mail. Actually, it wasn't a letter but a handmade invitation to a wedding. The one-page, 8x11 folded piece of paper resembled a peach-cloud in color, and as I pulled it from the envelope the words "Amanda in summer" came together because of the way the paper had been folded.

Those three words became my inspiration for my short novelette Amanda in the Summer . An image of a woman, sitting on a blanket on the beach, pregnant and writing a letter came to me so colorful and evoked such emotions, I knew there was a story.

Amanda in the Summer is about the friendship between women through three generations. The story is told entirely through the letters of the these women.

So...during this time of physical distancing, are you women keeping your connections going with your close female friends? How are you managing? Do you have longtime female friendships? Our bonds can be a powerful essence for our sanity.

A line of women, all named Amanda, stretches back for generations. Each with her hopes, her joys, her pain—each pouring out her heart in correspondence with a dear family friend who shares their lives, understands their loves, and joins in their sorrows.
But within the correspondence lies a secret. And as the youngest of the Amandas retraces the journey through the years—beginning in post-war America and following through to modern day—the letters reveal, layer by layer, the Amandas who came before her. Soon, the truths and lies hidden in the letters lead her down a path of self-discovery that forges a bond between her past and future.
AMAZONiBOOKS ON iTUNESBARNES AND NOBLE

Reading and #Reviews (Eaton, Kidd, Gallant)

I'm a writer, but I'm also a reader. Each month, I'll share with you what I'm reading and reviews of past reads. My available time to read is limited because I write, but I love to curl up with a book or an eReader at night for the last hour of my day.

I tend to read what I write, but not exclusively. Tomorrow I’ll start a novelette, Precarious: Martini Club 4~The 1940s. Besides Romantic Suspense, I read crime and law novels, WWII historicals, mysteries, and some main stream character driven novels.

Here are some of the books I've read recently or in the not too distant past. Maybe you'll discover a new book or author!
A Riesling to Die (The Wine Trail Mysteries, book one) by J. C. EatonCozy MysteryNorrie Ellington is a successful screenwriter living in New York City. She’s also been a silent partner for her family’s winery upstate—until her sister and brother-in-law take a year-long sabbatical. There’s a local sour grape by the name of Elsbeth whose body is found on Norrie’s property. Norrie dons a sleuthing cap to uncover the identity of a killer who told the B&B proprietress to put a cork in it—permanently . . .
I had fun reading this book. Loved the winery setting. J. C. Eaton gives just enough technical information to put you there and enough lovely scene setting to make you want to stay. The mystery plot is twisted with lots of good characters to follow. I’ll look forward to more in this series.
AMAZON BUY LINK
The Secret Lives of Bees by Sue Monk KiddMainstream FictionSet in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily's fierce-hearted black "stand-in mother," Rosaleen, insults three of the deepest racists in town, Lily decides to spring them both free. They escape to Tiburon, South Carolina--a town that holds the secret to her mother's past. Taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters, Lily is introduced to their mesmerizing world of bees and honey, and the Black Madonna.
“This is a remarkable novel about divine female power, a story that women will share and pass on to their daughters for years to come.” I have to agree with this statement. I thoroughly enjoyed the book for the story, the characters, the depiction of life in the south in the 1960s, and setting.
AMAZON BUY LINK
Imminent Danger (A Counterstrike Novel book 3) by Jannine GallantRomantic SuspenseBrody Grant had it all—wealth, the woman of his dreams, and a young son he loved more than life. But his world came crashing down the day River was kidnapped and murdered. Torn apart by grief, he creates Counterstrike, a covert team of highly trained operatives whose sole mission is to rescue kidnap victims. After losing her only child, Arden Grant tried to pick up the pieces and go on. But her husband is distant, immersed in his perilous quest to save others. Leaving Brody to live in the backwoods of Vermont, she searches for solace in simplicity.
I’ve read the two Counterstrike novels that came before this one, and I have enjoyed all of them. Ms. Gallant did a fine job of depicting what losing a child can do to a couple. I loved the setting Arden chooses after leaving Brody. I wanted to stay in her cabin and drink tea with her. Brody is just macho enough and just tender enough to make a great hero. The suspense half of the book is intense and exciting. The author is talented at weaving romance with suspense.
AMAZON BUY LINK

Picking Apart Your Favorite Scene by Karen Hulene Bartell #writing #romance

MUSE MONDAYWriting one of those favorite scenes, or lots of favorite scenes, is exactly what authors strive to do. Welcome my guest, Karen Hulene Bartell as she muses on what makes a scene so memorable.
Thanks so much for hosting me on your blog. It’s a pleasure to be here!
We all have favorite scenes—but why? What about it attracts you? Does the rhythm of the words or the conversational lilt appeal to you? Does the imagery evoke memories or unexpressed emotions? Does the scene’s action grab your senses or transport you to another time or place?
Following is one of my favorite scenes from Wild Rose Pass, and in this blog, I’ll try to figure out why, so in the future, I and, hopefully, you can write other “favorite” scenes.
Cadence’s fingertips grazed Ben’s thigh, and she caught her breath. He bristled as his gaze locked with hers. Then he inched closer, leaning into her space. As if magnetized, she inclined her body toward his. How will his lips feel on mine? Eager to learn, she closed her eyes, parted her lips, and waited… Moments passed. “We’d better head back.” His words sounded gruff and strangled. Opening her eyes wide, she stared horror-struck. Did I just make a fool of myself? Huffing, she jerked the reins. “Fine,” she called over her shoulder as she wheeled around her horse…
It’s almost a first kiss scene—yet not. Interest ignites. Sexual tension builds, piques, and vanishes. The frisson turns to friction, with humiliation and anger closely following.
Have you ever had your anticipations crushed? Let’s say I can relate, which makes the scene more poignant. In fewer than a hundred words, the heroine sizzles through a range of emotions, from initial attraction to expectant arousal, to disappointment, then mortification, and finally hell-hath-no-fury rage.
As the reader, I’m involved and absolutely on Cadence’s side!
Then in the next chapter, I read Ben’s side of the vignette’s tiff:
What was I thinking? Bad enough she’s the captain’s daughter—cultured and educated out East—but she’s West’s woman, and he outranks me.
Being outranked in the cavalry, Ben must be realistic, but feeling outclassed, he understandably displays prudence.
As the reader, I empathize with him, which creates a moral dilemma. Who do I root for—Ben or Cadence?
So why is the pseudo seduction scene my favorite? Partly because it’s pivotal in changing the protagonists’ relationship and heightening the story’s subsequent tension. Partly because it’s the moment when one protagonist’s reasoning counteracts the other’s and places me in a “what happens next” frame of mind. Who do I root for—Cadence or Ben?
So the next time you find a scene intriguing and pause to reread it, analyze why it appeals before you read on. You may just discover the trick to writing more emotionally engaging scenes.
Wild Rose Passby Karen Hulene Bartell
Blurb:  Cadence McShane, free-spirited nonconformist, yearns to escape the rigid code, clothes, and sidesaddles of 1880s military society in Fort Davis, Texas. She finds the daring new lieutenant exhilarating, but as the daughter of the commanding officer, she is expected to keep with family tradition and marry West Point graduate James West.
Orphaned, Comanche-raised, and always the outsider looking in, Ben Williams yearns to belong. Cadence embodies everything he craves, but as a battlefield-commissioned officer with the Buffalo Soldiers instead of a West Point graduate, he is neither accepted into military society nor considered marriageable.
Can two people of different worlds, drawn together by conflicting needs, flout society and forge a life together on the frontier?
Excerpt:Reining his horse between catclaw and prickly-pear cactus, Ben Williams squinted at the late summer sun’s low angle. Though still midafternoon, shadows lengthened in the mountains. He clicked his tongue, urging his mare up the incline. “Show a little enthusiasm, Althea. If we’re not in Fort Davis by sunset, we’ll be bedding down with scorpions and rattlesnakes.”
As his detachment’s horses clambered up Wild Rose Pass, the only gap through west Texas’ rugged Davis Mountains, Ben kept alert for loose rocks or hidden roots, anything that might trip his mount. A thick layer of fallen leaves created a pastiche of color shrouding the trail from view. He glanced up at the lithe cottonwood trees lining the route, their limbs dancing in the breeze. More amber and persimmon leaves loosened, fell, and settled near the Indian pictographs on their tree trunks. When he saw the red- and yellow-ochre drawings, he smiled, recalling the canyon’s name—Painted Comanche Camp.
“How far to Fort Davis, lieutenant?” called McCurry, one of his recruits.
“Three hours.” If we keep a steady pace.
Without warning, the soldier’s horse whinnied. Spooking, it reared on its hind legs, threw its rider, and galloped off.
As he sat up, the man groaned, caught his breath, and stared into the eyes of a coiled rattler, poised to strike. “What the…?”
Flicking its tongue, hissing, tail rattling, the pit viper was inches from the man’s face.
A sheen of sweat appeared above the man’s lip. “Lieutenant—”
Buy Links:
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/2vQP41rBarnes & Noble NOOK Book: https://bit.ly/32zhDfZBarnes & Noble Paperback: https://bit.ly/2T1V3JM
About the Author:Author of the Trans-Pecos, Sacred Emblem, Sacred Journey, and Sacred Messenger series, Karen is a best-selling author, motivational keynote speaker, wife, and all-around pilgrim of life. She writes multicultural, offbeat love stories that lift the spirit. Born to rolling-stone parents who moved annually, Bartell found her earliest playmates as fictional friends in books. Paperbacks became her portable pals. Ghost stories kept her up at night—reading feverishly. The paranormal was her passion. Westerns spurred her to write (pun intended). Wanderlust inherent, Karen enjoyed traveling, although loathed changing schools. Novels offered an imaginative escape. An only child, she began writing her first novel at the age of nine, learning the joy of creating her own happy endings. Professor emeritus of the University of Texas at Austin, Karen resides in the Hill Country with her husband Peter and her “mews”—three rescued cats and a rescued *Cat*ahoula Leopard dog.
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