Casey Dawes's Blog, page 7

How You Use Time May Define Who You Are

One of my ministers once said she could tell what people really valued by looking at their checkbook and their calendar. Of course, that was almost thirty years ago when most of us still felt some sense of control over either one.

Is it still true now? I don’t know about you, but there are times I feel like the clock has sped up way beyond my control. I know it takes more of a conscious effort to slow down and take the time (ironically) to decide what I want to do with my time. Do I want to pet the cat or look at one more Facebook post? Write enough words to reach my daily goal, or read a friend’s really good suspense novel? What can I give up to do both? And if someone else knew what my choices were, how would they think of me?

Kids, Work, and Finding Time

While my kids were living at home, I know there was little time for anything beyond getting up, taking an hour (or more) commute to work, do my high-paying, high-stress job that required me to fly to different corners of the globe, manage the kids and their caregivers by long-distance while I tried to pretend my marriage wasn’t falling apart. Read a book? Sometimes on a plane because it was during a time when it was still possible to escape the internet online. When I was home, I was always making up for lost time or planning how to manage the foreseeable future.

Which is why I have understanding for my children who are in the same boat. I keep my expectations of them contacting me to a minimum and we all maintain a relatively happy relationship. (Circumstances have led us to live far apart, so dropping in for a cup of coffee just isn’t reasonable.)

The pressure has eased up, but I can still be frivolous with time, especially on days like today when I’ve spent the day in kindergarten. (“No, George, just because Tim breathed on you doesn’t me you can spit on him.”) I see the stressed out parents coming to get their kids and talk to teachers trying to balance work and kids, both of which are important.

The Real Time Crisis

It all makes me wonder. When can we ever find the time for the things that aren’t in crisis mode? How do Thoreau possibly find a year to spend at Walden Pond? And, like Virginia Woolf, I long for a room of my own.

These are just the wonderings of my own mind, but I sense some truth in this crazy, hectic, sound-bite world. The only ones who can slow it down enough for reflection is us.

And that may be the greatest crisis of all.

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Let Your Light Shine Bright

This holiday season I’ve been thinking a lot about the darkness closing in during the month. Here in Montana, we only get about eight and a half hours of daylight on December 22, the shortest day of the year. The darkness and cold definitely increase my desire to hibernate!

But it is also a time to look deep within my soul and come face to face with things that are troubling me. There have been regrets this year as people have passed on. I remember times I could have done better by them, but they are things I cannot change.

This can also be a time to examine the mystery of our lives. Why are we here? What is our purpose? What happens in the beyond and how can we leave the world in a little better shape when the time comes? We can’t take our possessions with us, so from my perspective, amassing more and more stuff or power is the ultimate dead end.

Depending on the your spiritual or religious traditions, you may ascribe different reasons for the light returning in late December. Whatever your reason, it is a time to celebrate, to be inclusive and share the joy of the light of acceptance, forgiveness, peace, hope, and more with others.

May your light shine bright in the world this season.

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The Thoughtful Thanksgiving

Creative Commons License; photo by Vincent Morano.

As did most of you, I grew up with the traditional stories and feast of Thanksgiving: the turkey, the Pilgrims and Indians, giving thanks for the bounty we had, even if we kids were already creating shopping lists for Santa.

I raised my kids the same way, joining with my family when we could, hosting a blending of families once in a while. Politics and religion were studiously avoided, but the annual poker game took center stage. Those are the memories I cherish.

My kids remember the annual cheesecake. (Psst, kids, I’m making it again this year.)

But our world is changing. It’s more difficult to avoid religion and politics and points of view have hardened. Our natural world is faltering, beset by our lifestyle and greed. And people from different cultures are demanding their story be heard.

The Thoughtful Thanksgiving

So, this Thanksgiving, let us once again give thanks for all the blessings we have. Let’s be kind to each other, no matter what our political or religious views. Let us think of the natural world and perhaps temper our food choices to include a little less turkey and a little more fruits and vegetables. (Our bodies will thank us, too!)

But also, let’s take some time to learn a bit more about the other side of the story. The day after Thanksgiving is not only “Black Friday,” but Native American Heritage Day. They were the ones who, perhaps foolishly, welcomed the Pilgrims to their shores. Without them we would not have survived. Respect their half of the story. You can start here: https://blog.nativehope.org/what-does-thanksgiving-mean-to-native-americans

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Kat Martin’s Romantic Suspense: Shadows at Dawn Excerpt

Shadows at Dawn

(Maximum Security)

Kat Martin

Don’t miss this scorching novella, part of what Publishers Weekly is calling Kat Martin’s “tantalizing” new Maximum Security series!

Private detective Jaxon Ryker swore to himself he would keep his hands off Mindy Stewart. No matter how much Jax might secretly wish otherwise, his colleague at The Max is strictly off-limits. But when Mindy is the victim of an attempted kidnapping, everything changes. With both of them thrust into danger, Jax swears to protect her. As they work together in search of answers, it becomes clear Mindy’s life is on the line, so a trap is set—with Mindy as bait. Jax and Mindy have to put aside their overwhelming attraction, but if they live through this, all bets are off …

“Martin keeps the twists and turns coming in the sensuous and spirited Maximum Security romantic thrillers.” —Publishers Weekly

Buy Now

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Kobo | Google Play | iTunes

Excerpt from The Deception

Finally satisfied with her progress for the day, Mindy shoved her round tortoiseshell glasses up on her nose, slung the strap of her purse over her shoulder, and headed for the door to the parking lot behind the office. She managed not to glance at Jax, but it wasn’t easy.

The early April weather was humid, warm but not hot, the last of a pinky gold sky fading to darkness. She spotted her little red Volkswagen Beetle, one of the few vehicles left in the lot, and started in that direction.

If she hadn’t been working for a security firm, listening to crime stories on a daily basis, she might not have noticed the white Chevy van whose motor sparked to life and began idling in the shadows not far from her car.

When her steps unconsciously slowed, she told herself she was being ridiculous, a paranoid response to the guys’ sometimes gruesome, often frightening tales.

Pausing to dig her car keys out of her purse, she took a deep breath and tried to calm her racing heart. When the effort failed, she forced her feet to move, closing the distance between her and her vehicle. She had almost reached her destination when the van doors slid open and three men dressed head-to-foot in black wearing black ski masks jumped out and started running toward her.

Terror struck. Mindy let out a high-pitched scream, dropped her purse, whirled, and started running.

Jax’s long day wasn’t over yet. Before he picked up a pizza and headed home for a couple of beers, he had a meeting with a client on the other side of Dallas, a cold case he had been working where the mother of a murder victim had discovered new evidence she believed would help find her daughter’s killer. The police weren’t convinced, but Mrs. Donahue had hired Jax to prove it. Or at least find out the truth.

He checked his heavy black wristwatch. If he wanted to make his appointment on time, he needed to get on the road. Grabbing his laptop off the desk, he headed for his dark blue Dodge Ram pickup, parked in the lot behind the office, his mind on the case he figured would earn him a nice fat fee–and maybe help bring a killer to justice.

He had just stepped out the backdoor when a blood-curling scream cut through the sticky night air. A petite young woman with long dark hair and glasses struggled with three masked men.

Adrenaline shot into his blood. Mindy! Even as he bolted into a run, Jax registered their appearance: one tall and lean, one average height and weight, one big and beefy, thick-shouldered and muscular. He was flat out running by the time Mindy spotted him and started screaming his name.

“Jax, help me! Jax!” Kicking and biting, she fought like a wild thing, but she was no match for the men.

As they hauled her toward the open van doors, Jax grabbed the tall man and pulled him off her, pounded a fist into his face and slammed another into his stomach, doubling him over. A hard right sent the guy careening backward, hitting the ground on his back and sliding across the asphalt.

The second man, Mr. Average, stepped in and swung a punch Jax ducked. He shot out a kick, knocking the assailant into the side of the van, then heard the sound of a switchblade snapping open behind him.

“Jax, watch out!”

Whirling toward the threat, he dodged the flashing blade and shoved Mindy toward safety, then went back in for the kill. Rage burned through his usual calm. She worked with him, as far as he was concerned, was under his protection. More than that, she was kind and sweet and he cared about her far more than he should. Jax wanted to end the bastards who were trying to hurt her.

“Run!” he shouted. “Go back to the office and lock the door! Call 9-1-1!” The knife flashed. Jax dodged the sweep of gleaming silver wielded by a big, thick-fingered, extremely capable hand, jumped back from out of the way of another slashing attack as he and the big man crouched and circled each other. From the corner of his eye, he saw the tall, thin man back on his feet and rushing toward him.

Jax looked up to see Mindy swinging her purse like a ball and chain, smashing the bag into the side of the tall man’s head, sending him staggering, grunting as he landed on his hands and knees.

“Bitch!” he screamed, shaking his head to clear it, providing the distraction Jax needed. He kicked the knife out of the beefy man’s hand and threw a punch that sent him reeling. Mr. Average had already climbed into the van and shoved the vehicle into gear.

“Come on!” the man shouted through the open passenger window. “Let’s go!”

The tall man turned and ran, leaping through the open van doors, and the big, muscular man shot in behind him. Tires burned and smoke rolled up from the wheels as the vehicle screeched away.

About Kat Martin

Bestselling author Kat Martin, a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara, currently resides in Missoula, Montana with Western-author husband, L. J. Martin. More than seventeen million copies of Kat’s books are in print, and she has been published in twenty foreign countries. Fifteen of her recent novels have taken top-ten spots on the New York Times Bestseller List, and her novel, BEYOND REASON, was recently optioned for a feature film. Kat’s next hardcover, THE DECEPTION, a Romantic Thriller, will be released on September 10th.

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

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43705315-the-deception?

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

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The Joy of Lifelong Learning

[image error]As many of you know, I do substitute teaching. I have to admit that I get a tad frustrated by kids who don’t want to learn. The first grade teachers tried to address this by showing the movie, On the Way to School, which is about four students trying to get to school for the opportunity to learn. While the movie was interesting at times to these squirrely students, I’m not sure the message got through.

But are the kids to blame? I know far too many adults who won’t even question a post on social media, much less delve into a subject they are curious about. There are opportunities all around us to indulge in lifelong learning of new subjects or new aspects of old ones.Books can provide a great wealth of knowledge, not only non-fiction books, but fiction written by people who delve deeply into research or are subject matter experts.

Nordegg’s Church (Creative Commons Photo by Neil and Kathy Carey)

When I write, I endeavor to double check my assumptions about places and facts. I am blessed also by beta readers and a fine editor who feel free to question what I write. For example, I originally based church scenes in Finding Home from my liturgical church experience, although I called it a community church. My editor told me my descriptions were dead wrong, and a fellow teacher gave me the insight I needed to describe it (hopefully) correctly.

In addition to writing and substituting, I also help other authors self-publish their books through my company Concierge Self-Publishing. I learn so very much from my very diverse authors. For example, right now I’m working on a book of poetry by a man recently released from incarceration, a historical fiction romance set in Moorish Spain, and a timely memoir from a forest service fire ranger.

Lifelong learning is all around us. All we have to do is observe and do a little research. Learning can be fun. Let’s show our kids how.

 

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California Series Available As a Set

While I’m hard at work on book 3 of the Rocky Mountain Front series, I also took some time to release the California Coast Romance books as a bundle. These books were the first I published with Crimson Romance and lean more toward traditional romance than my current set. The bundle is available on all major online bookstores. If you’re looking for some reading to remind you of summer as winter sets in, this might be just the ticket!

Some sample reviews of the books below.

 

 

 

California Sunset

“I loved this book. It was very real and described the frustration and joy of being a single parent struggling with a hard decision very well. It’s hard to know what the right thing to do is when you’ve been one way for so long. Our heroine is believable and endearing. I look forward to more work from this author.” EileenMaki

“Her characters are believable, likable, easy to identify with and her story unfolds smoothly. I read the book in a little more than one day and couldn’t put it down.” E. Piper

California Wine

“It was a wonderful romance. Have friends in Napa and Calistoga. Loved the way the author intertwined the history of the wine country into this story of a woman finding her way back from deep hurts to find love again.” ~ Amazon customer

“So very romantic. The wine! The sexy Italian! The struggle to make pasta from scratch is real!” ~ Gwendolyn Culver

“I loved California Wine! The characters are so real, the issues they deal with consuming and often seem insurmountable. And what’s not to love about an independent heroine or a gorgeous Italian wine connoisseur? Casey Dawes writes with humor and compassion about real life problems with too real consequences.” ~ Kindle customer

California Homecoming

“Ms. Dawes has a great way of making you feel like you’re driving along the Monterey/Santa Cruz coastline,complete with traffic and foggy days. But she is best at making her characters come to life. This is not a heavy read but it does touch on real life issues for our veterans returning home to a new life and the difficulty of being a single parent.” ~ Galen Rose

“This is a beautiful story that faces two common issues we face these days and the way that they were combined was amazing. It made for a great and interesting read that will keep you wondering what happens next. Don’t miss California Homecoming by Casey Dawes. I promise you won’t regret it.” ~ HarlequinJunkie

California Thyme

“Casey Dawes is a rising star. California Thyme is a lovely, emotionally complex story with heartand passion, featuring two characters who deserve to find their happy ending.” ~ New York Times Bestselling Author, RaeAnne Thayne.

“Ms. Dawes has a soft approach to this touching romance. There is compassion and patience shown for wounded souls getting a chance at true love and how they deserve to experience it.” ~ Julie Caicco, InD’tale Magazine

California Sunrise

“This is just an awesome love story, I could feel the love from the start. The love with everyone involved in the story, not just one couple but all involved.”~ Diana’s Book Reviews

“California Sunrise is a thoroughly intriguing and honest realistic story that is just as intense as the rest ofthe California series of books and once started I could not put down and didnot want to end.” ~ Karen Pepper-Bainbridge

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Freezeout Lake: A setting for the Rocky Mountain Front novels

White Pelicans

If you have read Home Is Where the Heart Is, you know that Freezeout Lake provides a key scene in the book. DH and I had the opportunity to visit lately (he’d never been). Although most of the birds are there in spring and fall, we saw lots of different species and enjoyed our time … until the gumbo.

More on that later.

 

The white pelicans were a joy to watch, especially since a group appeared near us. To see a video of them cavorting, go to my Facebook page.

American Avocet

I first visited Freezeout Lake in the 1970s when the white geese migration was taking place. The noise as thousands of white geese left the waters to fly to the nearby stubble of farmer’s fields was defining. It was like watching a white blur. To get an idea of what it’s like, visit this YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B43tb6EW8E4.

 

 

Freezeout Lake is also going to appear in the third book of the series, Leaving Home, when artist Dylan Beck goes out to paint it and finds something unexpected on his way back to the ranch.

Freezeout Lake

Both the first book in the series, Home Is Where the Heart Is, and the second, Finding Home, are available now at your favorite online bookstore. They can also be ordered from your favorite brick and mortar bookstore.

Oh, yes, the gumbo. It had just rained the night before and while the roads within the Freezeout area were fine, the one we took to get out was a slick mess of mud, known in Montana as gumbo. I was the pour soul stuck with driving. DH alternated between, “Don’t stop, whatever you do,” and “Do you want me to drive?”

I just shook my head and white-knuckled it out of there!

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Kat Martin’s Romantic Suspense: The Deception Excerpt

The Deception

(Maximum Security)

Kat Martin

When missing turns to murdered, one woman’s search for answers will take her to a place she never wanted to go …

After searching for her sister for two long years, Kate Gallagher is devastated when she’s called to the morgue to identify Chrissy’s body, the runaway teen the victim of a brutal attack. Guilt and grief send Kate into a tailspin. She failed Chrissy once … she won’t do it again. Even if finding her sister’s killer means following a lethal bounty hunter into the heart of darkness, placing both their lives in danger.

Working at Maximum Security has taken Jason Maddox down some dangerous paths, but never for a client he’s so drawn to, or for a case so monstrous. As clues lead them deeper into the city’s underbelly, connections to human trafficking draw them closer and closer to peril, but even Jase’s warnings can’t convince Kate to walk away. As the deadly operation puts a target on their backs, they’ll have to decide what matters most: the truth … or their lives.

Buy Now

Amazon Kindle | Amazon Hardback

Barnes & Noble Nook | Barnes & Noble Hardback

Kobo | Google Play | iTunes | IndieBound Hardback

Excerpt from The Deception

Dallas, Texas

“I’m sorry, Ms. Gallagher. I know this is terribly painful, but unless there’s someone else who can make a positive identification–“

Kate shook her head. “No. There’s no one else.”

“All right then, if you will please follow me.” The medical examiner, Dr. Jerome Maxwell, a man in his fifties with thick black hair threaded with gray, started down the hall, but Kate stopped him with a hand on his arm.

“Are you … are you completely sure it’s my sister? The victim is definitely Christina Gallagher?”

“There was a fingerprint match to your missing sister. I’m sorry. We’ll still need your confirmation.”

Kate’s stomach rolled. Her hand trembled as she followed the doctor down a narrow, endless hallway in the Dallas County morgue. The echo of her high heels on the stark gray linoleum sent a sweep of nausea through her.

The doctor paused outside a half glass door. “I warn you, this is going to be difficult. Are you sure there isn’t someone you can call, someone else who could make the identification?”

Kate’s throat tightened. “My father’s remarried and living in New York. He hasn’t seen Chrissy in years.”

“And your mother?” the doctor asked kindly.

“She died of a heart attack a year after Chrissy ran away.” For Madeleine Gallagher, losing both her husband and her daughter had simply been too much.

The doctor straightened his square black glasses. “Are you ready?”

“I’ll never be ready to see my sister’s murdered body, Dr. Maxwell. But I’m all Chrissy has, so let’s get it over with.”

The doctor opened the door and they walked out of a hallway that seemed overly warm into a room that was icy cold. A shiver rushed over Kate’s skin and her heart beat faster. As Dr. Maxwell moved toward a rollout table in front of a wall of cold-storage boxes, Kate could see the outline of a body beneath the stark white sheet.

Emotion tightened her chest. This was her baby sister, only sixteen the last time Kate had seen her two years ago, before she had run away.

The doctor nodded to a female assistant in a white lab coat standing next to the table, and the woman pulled back the sheet.

“Dear God.” The bile rose in Kate’s throat. She swayed and the doctor caught her arm to steady her.

“Is this your sister, Christina Gallagher?”

Tears welled and slipped down her cheeks. “It’s … it’s her.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” the doctor said.

“Thank … thank you.” Tears blurred her vision and her head swam as she walked out of the building into the sunlight and crossed the parking lot to her car. She wouldn’t be returning to her office today. She needed time to grieve.

Kate slid in behind the wheel and shoved her key into the ignition. Fresh pain struck so hard she couldn’t breathe. Instead of starting the engine, Kate put her head down on the steering wheel and started to weep.

Jason Hawkins Maddox sat at the old fashioned long bar in the Sagebrush Saloon, a country western hangout with a juke box in the corner for dancing. Tonight he was there on business, meeting an informant he hoped would give him a lead on the fugitive he was hunting, Randall Darren Harding.

Harding, a cement contractor, had been arrested for the brutal murder of his ex-girlfriend. He’d been out on bail when he’d decided to flee instead of standing trial, where most likely he would have been convicted.

From what Jase could find out, Harding was a rotten, self-centered, mean-tempered bastard, the kind who could wind up killing again. He’d strangled his girlfriend in a fit of rage, but a fancy lawyer had gotten him out on bail.

The reward for catching him was a fat fifteen percent of his million and a half dollar bond. Jase planned to collect.

Thus his meeting with Tommy Dieter at the Sagebrush Saloon.

It was relatively early, a little after nine p.m., but the place was already more than half full. The décor was rustic, with a sea of wooden tables. A big dance floor dominated the interior, the juke belting Willie Nelson for the couples that were

In the mirror in the carved oak back bar across from him, he could see himself on a bar stool next to a little guy in a blue Texas Rangers baseball cap. The little guy made Jase look even bigger than his six-foot four-inch, two hundred twenty pound frame.

So far Tommy hadn’t showed, but he wasn’t due for at least another hour. In the meantime, Jase was enjoying the local scenery, his attention fixed on the tall blonde with the pretty face, sexy curves, and amazing cleavage, but then half the guys in the bar were watching her.

In a short jeans skirt, a pair of cowboy boots, and a bright pink tank top, she had danced five times in a row. If he weren’t there on business, he might ask her for a turn around the floor himself. Jase watched the blonde dancing with a lanky biker too short for her, too skinny, and a few years too young.

She wasn’t meant for the boy biker, but she was just Jase’s type, luscious, with legs that went on forever. And as she slid her arms around the boy biker’s neck and he pulled her close, clearly uninhibited. It didn’t take much to imagine the way she’d feel moving beneath him.

He picked up his beer and took a drink. He’d been watching her all evening. The good news was, she’d been watching him, too.

When the song came to an end, she left the boy biker and walked right up to him, the heels on her boots pushing her closer to his height.

She smiled. “You like to dance, cowboy?”

“Depends.”

“On what? The song?”

“Who I’m dancing with.”

A dark blond eyebrow went up. “Is that right …”

“That’s right, darlin’, and you’ll do just fine.” Without waiting for a reply, Jase swept her onto the dance floor. She felt good in his arms, fit him just right. She was a good dancer, but so was he. He was a Texan. He’d done all the usual things a Texas boy did. Played football, drank beer down on the river, rode horses, and two-stepped.

“What’s your name?” he asked as he whirled her around the floor

“Kate.” She smiled. “You’re Hawk.” Her smile widened into a grin that etched a dimple into her cheek and he felt a jolt of heat. “I like it,” she said. “It’s sexy.”

“You think so?” As the song came to an end, he drew her off the dance floor into the shadows, took a chance she wouldn’t slap his face, and kissed her.

She softened against him and kissed him back, and he took it a little deeper, felt the rush hit his system. Since they were standing in a bar full of people, he didn’t let it go too far.

Kate ran a finger along his jaw. “You looked like you’d be a good kisser and you are,” she said.

“We can go outside and I’ll show you just how good I can be, but it’s gotta be up to you.”

Something flickered in her big brown eyes and for a moment her bright smile faded. “I need that tonight. Just this once, just to help me forget.” Her bottom lip trembled an instant before her saucy grin returned. “Come on, cowboy, let’s go.”

About Kat Martin

Bestselling author Kat Martin, a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara, currently resides in Missoula, Montana with Western-author husband, L. J. Martin. More than seventeen million copies of Kat’s books are in print, and she has been published in twenty foreign countries. Fifteen of her recent novels have taken top-ten spots on the New York Times Bestseller List, and her novel, BEYOND REASON, was recently optioned for a feature film. Kat’s next hardcover, THE DECEPTION, a Romantic Thriller, will be released on September 10th.

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

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40241946-wait-until-dark

The post Kat Martin’s Romantic Suspense: The Deception Excerpt appeared first on Casey Dawes.

Road Trip: Backroads of Idaho

Where does a writer get her ideas? A road trip is just the ticket …

A few weekends ago, DH and I meandered our way to a fiber festival near Viola, Idaho. Our path followed the general area that Lewis and Clark followed as they crossed the Bitterroot Mountains and tumbled onto the plains and the Clearwater River, home of the Nez Pierce.

NPS photo

We drove up the edge of the reservation, stopping to look at the Heart of the Monster, part of a Nez Pierce coyote story (read the story here) and at the National Park Center. Near the NPS building is an old graveyard. For a while we just stood there, mentally blocking out the highway traffic below to listen to the whispers of those who’d lived here only a brief time before.

Should you ever find yourself meandering through that section of Idaho, we suggest a stop in Deary (population 506 at the last census). There is a stellar bakery and award-winning cheese maker (cheese with altitude). It was just after lunch and the aromas from pizza and other savory dishes was delicious.

The fiber festival was quite wonderful and I began to think about book three in the Rocky Mountain Front series. What if she’s into fiber–spinning, providing lessons, yarn, spinning supplies, and a home for knitters to stop and stay awhile? What if she wants to raise alpacas? Can she make it in a small town in Montana?

If the Pie Safe can make it in Deary, she just might have a chance …

Pictures from the fair will be shared with my newsletter readers. Want to join? Click the link on the bar above and receive your free novella.

 

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Kat Martin’s Romantic Suspense: The Deception

The Deception

(Maximum Security)

Kat Martin

When missing turns to murdered, one woman’s search for answers will take her to a place she never wanted to go …

After searching for her sister for two long years, Kate Gallagher is devastated when she’s called to the morgue to identify Chrissy’s body, the runaway teen the victim of a brutal attack. Guilt and grief send Kate into a tailspin. She failed Chrissy once … she won’t do it again. Even if finding her sister’s killer means following a lethal bounty hunter into the heart of darkness, placing both their lives in danger.

Working at Maximum Security has taken Jason Maddox down some dangerous paths, but never for a client he’s so drawn to, or for a case so monstrous. As clues lead them deeper into the city’s underbelly, connections to human trafficking draw them closer and closer to peril, but even Jase’s warnings can’t convince Kate to walk away. As the deadly operation puts a target on their backs, they’ll have to decide what matters most: the truth … or their lives.

Buy Now

Amazon Kindle | Amazon Hardback

Barnes & Noble Nook | Barnes & Noble Hardback

Kobo | Google Play | iTunes | IndieBound Hardback

Why I Love Writing Romance (by Kat Martin)

From birth to death, romance is part of everyone’s lives: a mother’s love for her newborn baby, a son or daughter’s love for a parent, or love for the person who shares your life.

Falling in love is the part that intrigues me. I love giving my characters obstacles that reveal their strengths and weaknesses, everything from murder and mayhem to running for their lives. The obstacles they face form the plots of my stories. The way the characters overcome them shows their strengths and weaknesses and eventually is what draws the two of them together.

In my latest Romantic Thriller, THE DECEPTION, book two of my Maximum Security series, Kate Gallagher is devastated when she learns her sister has been murdered. Determined to find Chrissy’s killer, Kate hires lethal bounty hunter, Jason (Hawk) Maddox. Working together, they follow a trail of clues that lead them deep into the city’s underbelly. Though Hawk warns her of the danger, nothing he says can convince Kate to walk away.

The best part of writing a romantic thriller is that the reader can be sure the perils the couple faces will be worth it. By the last page of the book, the hero and heroine are going to find the forever kind of love and get the happy ending they deserve.

I hope you will watch for THE DECEPTION, and that if you haven’t read THE CONSPIRACY, you’ll look for it, too.

Till then very best wishes and happy reading, 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

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40241946-wait-until-dark

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