Casey Dawes's Blog, page 5

What’s Coming in 2021

Creative Commons License. Photo by Steven Penton.

While I wish I could plan for world peace, an end to hunger, and constructive plans for the many other things that need doing, all I can do is write a book. Hopefully, it is one you will love which will also satisfy you.

What’s Ahead

Because I spent decades managing projects, I’m a believer in setting goals and doing my utmost to manage them. Since you are (or will be) readers of my work, I thought I’d let you know what’s on tap in 2021.

Publication of Crossroads: The Path Home. Trish and Brad have been together since high school. Their son is about to go to college. And their marriage has fallen flat on its face. Could a little flirtation put the juice back into marriage? Look for this around February. (Hint: If you want to know exactly when this is released, join my newsletter list. You’ll also get a free book!) This novella is book five in the Rocky Mountain Front series.

Publication of Things I’ll Understand When I Grow Up. My second children’s book is the story of Sophie Brown, a twelve-year-old who is trying to figure out why everyone and everything is changing around her.

Writing and publication of Kaiden’s story. This is book six in the Rocky Mountain Front series (but not the last!).

I’m also toying with a new series, but it hasn’t quite spoken to me yet.

Coming Home

Reviews continue to be positive for Coming Home: “Absolutely brilliant book … This is the first book that I have read by Casey Dawes but definitely not the last as it was so well written and definitely worth reading.” Learn more about the book by checking out the Coming Home page.

Sometime around the launch of Crossroads: The Path Home, I’ll be reducing the price of this book for a short bit. Want to know when? Join the mailing list! :-))

Social Media

To enjoy pictures of our travels, learn about promos I’ve joined, or to chat, consider following my page on Facebook as well as joining the mailing list. I post there more frequently, while the newsletter generally only goes out once a month. However, the best info and offers are always on the mailing list!

The Sunday Drive

My DH and I seem to have gotten into the habit of “Sunday Drivers.” We both remember them from our childhoods. Sometimes they are short and combined with a hike, sometimes they are simply a drive.



The other day we went north from St. George through deep red-orange cliffs, hills, and mounds, with snow-dusted mountains that looked like someone had held a giant sifter of confectioners’ sugar over them and sifted lightly in the background. We turned west in the small town of Veyo, and found ourselves winding down into a tree-covered valley next to the Santa Clara River.



The small town of Gunlock is in that valley–old houses along a main street that used to be a cow path. Some houses were basic, a few had a long porch and gazebo. One new monstrosity was being built. It had the requisite LDS church and post office, but not a lot more. Still, it felt peaceful, like the chaos of the world was passing us by.



A trip over the Red Mountains took us by tons of Joshua trees. It almost looked like a forest. Most were green, healthy, and looked like they were putting forth new growth. This led us to the town of Littlefield, AZ … although there’s not really a lot of there there. A quick grab from a good burger place (Yardley’s) eaten in our car.



Finally, a drive through the Virgin River Gorge on I-15. Dramatic! Amazing that such a small river could carve so deep.

Not Like Other Christmas Past Holiday Seasons

This holiday season is different from any I’ve experienced in the past. There is the obvious–the pandemic is curtailing any gathering with friends and family. But this is also different because we are now living in a 23-foot small trailer, with no room for a tree. I find I’m missing the annual ritual of putting up ornaments more than I anticipated.

Because my parents passed a long time ago, as did my husband’s, we have a

Angel from the Metropolitan Museum of Art NYC

lot of ornaments from our childhoods. In my former life as a technical consultant, I did a lot of travel and picked up ornaments along the way. We also have done that as we traveled.

But it’s the memories that go along with tree decorating that I also miss. When the kids were little (the blended family had five), I’d make a pot of chili and we’d crank up the music. Every year I bought the kids ornaments which they have in their own homes now. When it got down to the last two kids, and the marriage ended, for some reason I went to the tradition of turning on The Sound of Music during tree decorating.

No matter how life is this year, it is also the season of Advent, an anticipation of something wonderful showing up in our lives. It is also the time of miracles, from oil that lasted beyond expectation, to the anticipation of a vaccine given to us by our very talented global scientists.

So, I will look at the world as it is right now and hope for better times, meetings with loved ones in the near future, and a better life for the world. Have the best holiday season you can.

 

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Will a Fling Help a Marriage?

Why I Wrote Crossroads: The Path Home
Une Passante, Photo by Gille Klein, courtesy of Creative Commons

While I was thinking about my new novella, the story of Brad and Trish, I came across an article entitled, “Why Do Women Cheat?” published by Good Housekeeping. In it Dr. Alicia Walker noted, “I found women were outsourcing the sexual pleasure in their relationships in an effort to remain in their primary partnerships …”

I have talked to many people over the years, and I believe this to be true. Women I know have had affairs, yet stayed with their partners, most eventually giving up the outside arrangement. But it has always been stressful for the partner who strayed, as well as the underlying tension felt by the person who may or may not know his wife is cheating.

Characters Who Have Affairs

And yet, I was hesitant to write this book. Characters who have affairs, particularly the female character, are frequently stigmatized by readers. They make us uncomfortable, taunting us with the specter of the “other woman” who takes their spouse. (If you want to read a hilarious take on this phenomenon, pick up Until He Doesn’t: Love, Sex, and Why They’re Incompatible by my friend, Grace Powell.)

The Happy Ending

The need to write the story was too strong, however. Good marriages often hit times of stress for one reason or another. While my own track record isn’t something to write home about, my current marriage has lasted a long time now. Communication is so essential. My husband and I thank each other for telling the truth, even when it’s painful, rather than letting it fester. It’s taken me a long time to learn this lesson.

As usual, I promise you a happy ending to this story, so I hope you’ll take a chance when it comes out in the spring. Be forewarned though, it is somewhat more sensual than most of my other work.

READ NOW!

If you’d like something to read right now, though, my Christmas romance, Sweet Montana Christmas, is available for 99 cents!

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The World As It Is: Real Life

Road not taken in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

My tagline is Real Life, Real Problems, Real Love.

I believe that infusing a love story with more than just the romance is vital for a powerful book. After all, we live in a world that has more than it’s fair share of problems, especially as I write this, the day before the US election of 2020.

Don’t get me wrong–new love is amazing. That rush of feelings, the decisions of should I or shouldn’t I? Is there enough here to give a relationship legs. And too often we don’t pay attention to red flags because love is blind, isn’t it?

Love changes over time, as I’m rediscovering as I write the yet-untitled story of Brad and Trish, previously minor characters in the Rocky Mountain Front Series. (If you have any idea of a title for my new novella–currently, I’m toying with The Pie Lady–please hop over to Facebook and let me know your thoughts!) The pair have been together since high school, and now their oldest child is heading off to college. Almost every marriage I’ve ever seen experiences stress at that point in time.

Which brings me back to real life.

I have to confess, I am avoiding some subjects in my books because they are burdened with such baggage, pain, and over-the-top emotion. The Covid crisis is one. I believe many of us waiting for the end of that story before we write about it. Anything less seems exploitative. I just pray we find a solution soon.

The political morass is uglier on a whole different level. It pains me to see regard for each other, no matter what the viewpoint fall so low. I look for little signs of hope, like the NPR story of a woman on one side of a protest picking up a MAGA hat and handing to the owner. (Read it here: https://storycorps.org/stories/a-trump-supporter-finds-a-surprising-ally-at-an-anti-trump-rally/)

What does creep into my tales are discussions of people who have opposing views, or of problems that need solving that require cooperation of all constituents. I’m honored when my readers get the idea without being hit over the head as a recent reviewer commented in her review of Coming Home:

“Another focus of this novel is on conserving natural areas in Montana, keeping them pristine places for animals and man to use and protect. This is done well as part of the story and not in a preachy way.“

I will continue to write the books I believe matter and hold gratitude in my heart for your reading of them.

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Cameron Beck and Jen Torres Come Home

Coming Home, the fourth book in the Rocky Mountain Front series, was released on Monday. It tells the story of two people who need to come home in two different ways. As one reviewer eloquently put it:

“Jen and Cameron have both left something behind in the deserts of another continent, and they want desperately to find their footing again: Jen in a new place, far from her urban home, and Cameron, in the place he left as a young man, not knowing if he really belonged.” ~ Wendy Cohan

If you haven’t gotten to know the Becks in earlier books, I invite you to come home to Montana now. The book can be read as a stand-alone or you can begin with the first book, Home Is Where the Heart Is, which you can get for free on most online stores.

Another reviewer noted, “I have a new appreciation for veterans, I truly enjoyed how honest and thoughtful this story handled the challenges involved with shifting from military life to a civilian world can be. There are wonderful layers to this story for each of them.” (Mary Jo Toth)

Purchase your copy of Coming Home today and join the journey of the Becks, their friends, and their neighbors on the Rocky Mountain Front.

 

 

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Quiet Next to Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area

Flaming Gorge UT

As I get ready to launch the latest book in the Rocky Mountain Front series, Coming Home, I am enjoying the peace and quiet of a small town in Utah next to the Wyoming border. As I sit in my office (which doubles as our bed), I can see green fields stretched out to the edge of a series of canyons. Within those canyons lay the waters of the dammed Green River.

RV parks are funny. They significantly change with the people who occupy them. We’ve been here for almost two weeks and have endured the partiers next door (who thankfully left a few days ago), a park packed to the gills with everyone coming and going, and now the quiet peace of a few people who are as quiet as we are. People are smiling and waving more now, less intent on their own goals and desires.

Flaming Gorge UT Red Canyon

We prefer it this way. I don’t know if it makes people more considerate, but one can hope. At least their aren’t people who leave their outside lights on, without thinking how it may pour into the windows of the RV less than ten feet away. Or those who think their yappy dogs are cute (only when they are quiet, folks). I realize I am becoming curmudgeonly in some ways, but I figure at my age I’m allowed. Just as I’m allowed to speak my truth. :-))

My truth threads my novels, as do my beliefs, although I work hard to balance what I think with other people’s ideas. In Coming Home, the veterans are struggling to fit in, as many do in our country. My belief is we, and that includes me, can do a better job of welcoming them home.

Your thoughts?

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Cover Reveal for “Coming Home”

Veteran Jen Lopez’s latest fight might be her toughest.

For Jen the Nature Fund in Montana is a chance to readjust to civilian life. But she doesn’t feel like she fits in, especially when a fellow employee takes every opportunity to snipe at her. Is he threatened by her gender, ex-military status, the color of her skin, or all of the above?

Ignoring his negativity, she initiates the idea of running a fishing program for disabled vets. If she succeeds, she’ll have more standing in the organization and can do more of the fieldwork she craves.

But like much in life, things don’t go exactly as planned.

First, she has to stand in front of her fellow soldiers, many who’d been in more senior positions, and act like she’s in charge. Second, there is her annoying attraction to Cameron Beck, in spite of her vow never to get involved with another vet. Then there is her concern for one of the men who seems to be losing the battle long after he left the war.

Will she be able to survive the swirling waters around her? Or will the current pull her back into the perceived safety of the military life?

A woman’s fiction novel based on real events, Coming Home examines the phenomenal strength it takes for our military veterans to come to terms with civilian life.

Want to get an advance copy of this book?

Sign up for my newsletter (click the link to the right or above) to be notified when the advance review copy (ARC) is available. You’ll also get a free book of short stories.

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Kat Martin’s Romantic Suspense: The Ultimate Betrayal Blog Post

The Ultimate Betrayal

(Maximum Security)

Kat Martin

When investigative journalist Jessie Kegan’s father, a colonel in the army, is accused of treason, Jessie is determined to clear his name. Reluctantly, she turns to former Special Ops soldier, Brandon Garrett, her late brother’s best friend—a true heartbreaker, according to her brother.

With danger coming from every angle, time is running out and the game being played is deadly. Working together, Bran and Jessie must risk everything to solve the riddle and confront the threat—before it’s too late.

Buy Now

Amazon Kindle | Amazon Hardback

Barnes & Noble Nook | Barnes & Noble Hardback

Kobo | Google Play | iTunes

Excerpt from The Ultimate Betrayal

Too much downtime always made him nervous, kind of edgy as he waited for the other shoe to drop. It had been a week since his last client had headed back to Nashville, a week of peace and quiet he should have enjoyed.

Instead, he had this nagging feeling that something bad was coming down the line.

Lounging back in the chair behind his desk at Maximum Security, Brandon Garrett looked up at the sound of the front door swinging open. A gust of cool, late October winds swept in, along with a petite, whirlwind of a woman with the prettiest strawberry blond hair Bran had ever seen.

She had a sweet little body to match her fiery curls, he noticed, outlined by the dark blue stretch jeans curving over her sexy little ass and the peach knit top that hugged her breasts.

It wasn’t tough to read the anxiety in her big green eyes as she surveyed the room, but instead of heading for the receptionist’s desk, those big green eyes landed on Bran and as she started toward him, there was something about her that rang a distant bell. Interest piqued, he rose from his chair.

“Can I help you?”

“You’re Brandon Garrett, right? You were a friend of my brother’s. Danny Kegan? I recognize you from the photos Danny sent home.”

The mention of his best friend’s name hit him like a blow, and the muscles across his stomach clenched. Daniel Kegan had been a member of his spec ops team, a brother, not just a friend. Danny had saved Bran’s life at the cost of his own. He was KIA in Afghanistan.

Bran stared down at the girl, who was maybe five-foot-four. “You’re Jessie,” he said, remembering the younger sister Daniel Kegan had talked so much about. “You look like him. Same color hair and eyes.”

She nervously wet her lips, which were plump and pink and fit her delicate features perfectly.

“My brother said if I ever needed help, I should come to you. He said you’d help me no matter what.” She glanced back toward the door and his mind shifted away from the physical jolt he felt as he looked at her to the worry in her eyes.

“I’ll help you. Danny was my closest friend. Whatever you need, I’ll help. Come on. Let’s go into the conference room and you can tell me what’s going on.” When her gaze shot back to the door, his senses went on alert.

“I didn’t mean I needed your help later,” Jessie said nervously. “I meant I need your help right now.”

Gunshots exploded through the windows. “Get down!” Bran shouted to the other guys in the office as he shoved Jessie down behind his desk and covered her with his body. Glass shattered and a stream of bullets sprayed across the room.

Jaxon Ryker popped up, gun drawn, and ran for the door. Hawk Maddox and Lissa Blayne were shuffling through their desks, arming themselves. Jonas Wolfe drew his ankle gun and ran for the rear entrance, ready for any threat that might come from there.

“Black SUV with tinted windows,” Ryker reported. Six feet of solid muscle, dark hair and eyes, Jax was a former Navy SEAL, currently a PI and occasional bounty hunter. “Couldn’t get a plate number.” Jax’s gaze swung to the front of the room. “Mindy, you okay?”

The little receptionist eased up from beneath her desk. “I-I’m okay. Should I call the police?” Around here, it was never good to jump to conclusions.

Bran hauled Jessie to her feet. He could feel her trembling. Her eyes looked even bigger and greener than they had before. “Are they coming back?” he asked.

“I-I don’t know. It could have just been a warning.”

Bran turned to Mindy. “Unless someone’s already phoned it in, let’s wait to call the cops till we know what’s going on.” His attention returned to Jessie. “We need to talk.”

She just nodded. Her face had gone pale, making a fine line of freckles stand out across her forehead and the bridge of her nose.

Bran took her arm and urged her toward the conference room. “Keep a sharp eye,” he said to The Max crew. “Just in case.”

Jessie sank unsteadily down in one of the rolling chairs around the long oak conference table. The man she had come to see, Brandon Garrett, sat down beside her.

“Okay, let’s hear it,” he said. “What’s going on?”

She thought of the men who had just shot up his office and her pulse started thumping again. “Danny said if I ever needed help–“

“Yeah, I get that. Your brother knew he could count on me. Like I said, I’ll help you any way I can, but I need to know what’s going on.”

Bran was taller than Danny, around six-three, with a soldier’s lean, hard body, vee-shaped, with broad shoulders and narrow hips. Powerful biceps bulged beneath the sleeve of his dark blue T-shirt. With his slightly too-long mink brown hair, straight nose and masculine features, he was ridiculously handsome, except for the hard line of his jaw and the darkness in his eyes that contrasted sharply with their beautiful shade of cobalt blue.

“Start at the beginning,” he demanded.

Since she wasn’t sure exactly where to begin, Jessie dragged in a shaky breath and slowly released it.

“I’m here because of my father–Colonel James Kegan, Commander U.S. Army Alamo Chemical Depot. Just before he died a little over two months ago, my father was removed from active duty. He was charged with larceny–specifically the theft of chemical weapons stored at the Depot. Because the Army believed he was selling the weapons to a foreign entity, he was also charged with espionage and treason. I need you to help me prove his innocence.”

About Kat Martin

New York Times bestselling author Kat Martin is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara where she majored in anthropology and also studied history. Currently residing in Missoula, Montana with her Western-author husband, L. J. Martin, Kat has written sixty-five historical and contemporary romantic suspense novels. More than sixteen million copies of her books are in print, and she has been published in twenty foreign countries. Kat is currently at work on her next romantic suspense.

WEBSITE

http://www.katmartin.com/

CONTEST LINKS

MONTHLY CONTEST

Link: https://www.katmartin.com/monthly-contest/

SOCIAL MEDIA

Twitter: https://twitter.com/katmartinauthor

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KatMartinAuthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/KatMartinAuthor

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52293322-the-ultimate-betrayal

The post Kat Martin’s Romantic Suspense: The Ultimate Betrayal Blog Post appeared first on Casey Dawes.

Kat Martin’s Romantic Suspense: The Ultimate Betrayal Blog Post

The Ultimate Betrayal

(Maximum Security)

Kat Martin

When investigative journalist Jessie Kegan’s father, a colonel in the army, is accused of treason, Jessie is determined to clear his name. Reluctantly, she turns to former Special Ops soldier, Brandon Garrett, her late brother’s best friend—a true heartbreaker, according to her brother.

With danger coming from every angle, time is running out and the game being played is deadly. Working together, Bran and Jessie must risk everything to solve the riddle and confront the threat—before it’s too late.

Buy Now

Amazon Kindle | Amazon Hardback

Barnes & Noble Nook | Barnes & Noble Hardback

Kobo | Google Play | iTunes

Blog about The Ultimate Betrayal

Story Ideas

People often ask how I come up with ideas for my novels. Sometimes I have no answer—it just seems to pop into my head. Best guess, the kernel of an idea probably came from a newspaper or magazine article or something I saw in a movie. It was probably just so far back I don’t recall.

Before I started to write THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL, Brandon Garrett’s story, the third book in my Maximum Security Series, I had decided to set a book in Colorado, maybe even a new series. I ran across an article about the Army Chemical Weapons Depot near Fort Carson and started thinking … wouldn’t it make be interesting if someone stole chemical weapons from the depot? I wonder if it could be done? How would the good guys catch the thieves? And so off I went on a story that turned into The Ultimate Betrayal.

Having written over 70 novels since I began way back when, it’s harder and harder to come up with fresh ideas. I do a lot of research for my books. This novel, set around a military base, was particularly difficult. Lots of stuff I didn’t know.

I hope you’ll give THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL a try, and if you like Bran and Jessie as much as I did, you can also find them in THE CONSPIRACY, Maximum Security book #1 and THE DECEPTION, book #2.

Till next time, happy reading and all best, Kat

About Kat Martin

New York Times bestselling author Kat Martin is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara where she majored in anthropology and also studied history. Currently residing in Missoula, Montana with her Western-author husband, L. J. Martin, Kat has written sixty-five historical and contemporary romantic suspense novels. More than sixteen million copies of her books are in print, and she has been published in twenty foreign countries. Kat is currently at work on her next romantic suspense.

WEBSITE

http://www.katmartin.com/

CONTEST LINKS

MONTHLY CONTEST

Link: https://www.katmartin.com/monthly-contest/

SOCIAL MEDIA

Twitter: https://twitter.com/katmartinauthor

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KatMartinAuthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/KatMartinAuthor

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52293322-the-ultimate-betrayal

The post Kat Martin’s Romantic Suspense: The Ultimate Betrayal Blog Post appeared first on Casey Dawes.