Sarah Cass's Blog: Sarah's StoryLines, page 25

Top Ten Tuesday – Crayons by Vicki Batman

Recently, I went to a meeting and one girl talked about when she worked on a project, she preferred using Crayons over map pencils because there were more colors to choose from and are easier to use. To find out more about Crayons, copy and paste this link:  http://www.crayola.com/products/crayons/all/ 

In my scientific on-line research, I found this color range list in alpha order:

And in case you were wondering, here’s a list of retired colors from 1990:

So I got to thinking of what were my preferred Crayon colors. Mine favs are:

1.       Red

2.       Pink Sherbert

3.       Indigo

4.       Royal Purple

5.       Aquamarine

6.       Sunglow

7.       Gold

8.       Gold

9.       Silver

10.     White

My newest romantic comedy collection is Bug Stuff…and Other Stories. Because a similar anthology of mine was done with red and gray colors, the artist and I picked blue and yellow for this one:

| Amazon |  BN |

Bug Stuff & Other Stories includes:

“Just Desserts”: a political dinner gone disastrous brings together a reluctant attendee and her seat-mate.

“Bug Stuff”: An accountant unites with his co-worker to fight a pesky adversary.

“With This Ring”: When a wife forgets her little black dress, all turns into something utterly romantic and unforgettable in the end.

Are you a Crayola Crayon lover? What are your favorite?

Cover Reveal: Calculated Collision by C.A. Szarek

Special Agent Lee Dawson has secrets. Secrets that forced her from Dallas to New York City in disgrace two years ago.

Dallas County Assistant District Attorney, Nate Crane, visits New York and witnesses the brutal murder of a friend. When Lee is assigned to the investigation, her personal and professional life collides. She can’t avoid the man she ditched six months ago.

She’s the one Nate can’t stop thinking about. The one he let get away. He’s determined to get her back, no matter what she thinks she wants. Being a witness in her case puts them close—and Nate intends to keep it that way.

After Nate’s attacked at a safe house, Lee knows there’s a leak – a dirty FBI agent working with the human trafficker her unit has been hunting for years.

Can Lee protect her witness and resist the heat between them or will she succumb to her desires and throw them both into danger?

TBR Link:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20529397-calculated-collision?from_search=true

About The Author:

C.A. is originally from Ohio, but got to Texas as soon as she could. She is married and has a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. She works with kids when she’s not writing. She’s always wanted to be a writer and is overjoyed to share her stories with the world.

Social Links:

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/caszarek

Twitter: @caszarek

Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5815085.C_A_Szarek

Website: http://www.caszarek.com

Blog: http://www.caszarekwriter.blogspot.ca/

Other Books in Crossing Forces series:

Collision Force – http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DOTPX6A?tag=redefiperfec-20

Chance Collision – http://www.amazon.com/Chance-Collision-Crossing-Forces-Szarek-ebook/dp/B00I5PSUFY/ref=la_B00BJY74BY_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392140227&sr=1-4&tag=redefiperfec-20

Tuesday Tales – Meat – Natural Selection

Welcome back to Tuesday Tales!  This weeks prompt is Meat.

After being scared out of her wits by Jasper, Leilyn was left in the friendly, and funny, company of Byron.  The young man presents her with some revelations, but none so stunning as when Dell returns.:

Leilyn found it hard to believe that two hours before she’d been so fraught with tension Miss Olive had needed to pick her up off the floor.  Mostly because at the moment she was laughing so hard, tears streaked down her cheeks.

Across the table, Byron had laughed so hard at his own joke he’d fallen out of his chair. One large foot on the table, the rest of him sprawled across Olive’s smooth-cut floor, he showed no signs of letting up.

Olive herself couldn’t cover her own smile, even as she attempted a disparaging scolding of the young man. “Byron. That was terribly inappropriate.”

“Why?” Byron hiked himself onto his elbows, even though he didn’t remove his foot from the table. His laughter still shook his shoulders, although he tried to contain it. “She don’t seem to mind, she’s laughing.”

Leilyn wiped the tears from her cheeks and shook her head. “I’ve heard worse, believe it or not. It’s difficult to shock me.” To be honest, she was just glad to feel at ease, however brief it might be. When Dell and his father had left, she’d been wound tighter than a drum.

Byron showed up shortly after, she suspected he was sent to keep watch over her. While she had no idea what she was being accused of, the accusation had been clear in her last encounter with Jasper. Her stomach still twisted in knots at the memory.

“Get your foot off my table, boy.” Olive slapped Byron’s foot off the table and stepped over him. “I won’t have you acting the animal in my house.”

“Yes ma’am.” Bryon hopped to his feet and nodded to the older woman. He winked at Leilyn. “Don’t ever dare to cross Miss Olive. She’ll tan both your hides and wear you as a fur stole.”

Leilyn sucked her lips between her teeth to try to keep the laughter at bay, but an undignified snort slipped out.

Olive clucked her disapproval, but only shook her head. She disappeared outside, where Leilyn could see her approaching the line of frozen clothes with her basket.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Leilyn smiled. When he sat across from her again, she again had the odd sensation of familiarity, a bond of sorts. Byron was comfortable, almost like family.

While he carried a sense of power about him, he seemed more prone to a Beta role than an Alpha. Although, she imagined he would be a perfectly capable Alpha should the need arise.

Unlike Jasper and Dell, there wasn’t an all-consuming power about him. An all-consuming power that was buzzing in the nape of her neck. One of the men was returning, betting closer by the second. While they’d never left her consciousness, when he started to move closer, every inch of her became aware of it. Leilyn’s stomach did a flip and her fingers twitched before she could stop them.

Byron’s brow quirked up under his curly mop of hair. “He’s at least thirty miles out, you sense that?”

“Well, you do.” Leilyn didn’t know what made her so defensive.

“I’m slated to be his Beta when he takes over the pack. We are close as brothers, closer. As his Beta, I have to know where he is at all times.” He hooked his arm over the back of the chair. “Most of the pack only knows they are out there, it isn’t until they’re within five miles, or specifically targeted that they sense them.”

Leilyn tried to not furrow her brows, but it was unavoidable. None of this made sense. Never had she been so affected by another pack member, even her own Alpha. “I don’t understand. I never knew where my uncle was until he was really close unless I was in wolf form.”

For a moment Byron appeared uncomfortable, and he shook his head. “Doesn’t seem right. Even Olive senses them, and she’s human. Then again, our pack is…”

Leilyn frowned. “Untainted?”

“No. That’s not what I was saying.” Bryon scrambled to correct himself.

Leilyn wasn’t sure it would matter. The closer the Alpha came, the more tense she felt. She shook her head. “It’s all right. Really. If you knew why I left—you probably aren’t too far off.”

“Sorry. We’ve seen the side effects of refusing to mix with humans.” Byron’s cheeks darkened and he slipped his fingers through his hair. “It’s risky either way.”

“I know.” She chewed on her lip as she thought of her own pack. Sickness and disease were rampant among them. Every generation had been getting either weaker, or more feral in their change.

“How close is he now?”

She knew it was a test, but whether by his urging, or her own instinct, she was compelled to answer. “Five miles. He’s moving fast. In Were form?”

“Impressive for non-pack, unless you were his mate.”

Leilyn laughed to cover the sudden leap of her stomach into her throat. “What?”

“I haven’t met my mate yet. I’ve heard the draw and instincts are just as strong in humans as it is in Were’s. At least that’s what Olive says. She always knew where her mate was.”

“Olive was mate to a Were?” Leilyn peeked out the window at the woman with children rallying around her, interrupting her attempts to take the clothes from the line.

“Never had any kids, not for lack of trying. He mate died in the attack of sixty-three. Ripped to shreds by the feral bastards that tried to take us kids.”

Sixty-three. Same year her parents died in the war. Leilyn frowned and focused on her hands.

“I lost my Ma that day, too. So did Dell. They both went down fighting. My pa survived. Fought hard as any Were in the battle.”

“I lost my parents too. In the war. I don’t even remember them. My uncle, he wouldn’t tell me anything about them.” She twirled her mug on the table. “I imagine sometimes I remember them, what they look like. I’m sure it’s just fantasy.”

A low growl at the door pulled their attention away from the serious discussion. A huge gray wolf with a white face and black paws stood in the doorway. The legs of a deer lay on the floor beside him, their meat for supper she imagined.

The growing tension in her body ratcheted into nervous energy as she recognized, without a doubt, this was Dell and not his father. Her hands trembled as an unfamiliar sensation took over when he growled again, a purely possessive sound.

The change initiated before she could stop it, and she stumbled from the chair to hit the floor. She heard Byron whoop, and an exclamation from Olive before everything went dim around her, the change taking over.

No change was quick for any Werewolf, each would take anywhere from three to ten minutes. Leilyn had been blessed with a shorter transition time, and so it was only three minutes later when her senses returned to her, in canine form.

She opened her eyes to find Dell’s wolf hovering over her, the scent of his fresh kill still lingering on his fur.

Byron’s words lingered in her mind, unless you were his mate.

She knew Dell hadn’t compelled her to shift, no one had intentionally. This was instinct, no pressure.

Dell nudged his nose against hers, and she responded with a lick to his muzzle.

He pressed his forehead to hers. Can you hear me?

She yelped in shock and scrambled away against the wall. What was that?

He dropped to his haunches and stared her down.

A shudder shook her out to her fur. What was that?

You are pack. Our pack.

No.

*~*

Hope you enjoyed it!  Click on the Tuesday Tales badge to see more excellent entries!!

Sunday Snippets 22 – Changing Tracks

Welcome back to the Weekend Writing Warriors!

Wow, it’s been two weeks since I participated!!  I’ve missed WeWriWa so much, but February left me with editing brain as I tried to edit both books 4 & 5 of The Dominion Falls Series for submission. It’s finally done, now I’m working on the synopses, or I will be next week (taking a few days off.).

In the meantime, I’m back and I’m still keeping you all intrigued with the beginning of the series Changing Tracks (The Dominion Falls Series book 1). You know, my amnesiac with the eidetic memory, Jane Doe…and the brothel-owner, anti-hero…Cole Mitchell.

When I last left you, Jane had her ankle set by her (or rather, Clara’s) ex. She’d managed to rescue the boys that had been kidnapped…

This is a short while later. Jane is on the train back to Dominion Falls talking with her brother, Mike, about a wanted poster he spotted in the Denver depot. Mike speaks first:

“Murder.”

“Of a Mr. Jake Querney. I see-I can read.”

Michael moved next to her, “It happened here in Colorado.”

“She was sent to an asylum.” The blood drained from her face, “Where she escaped. Wanted for murder, fraud; it would seem you’re right. Hanging would be the sentence for either crime.”

.”

*Creative punctuation was used. Wish it wasn’t, but there it is.

*~*

Did you like this sample, too?  You can pick up the whole series now!!

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Head back on over to the Weekend Writing Warriors to read many more wonderful offerings!

Friday Dialogues – Author Joan Reeves

1. Do you have a day job?

For the last 20+ years, writing has been my full-time job. I work at home so that means I have the worst of both worlds – full-time working in my home office while constantly overwhelmed by the housework, laundry, meal preparation, and other assorted tasks associated with being at home during the day. I’ve always thought I would get a great deal more writing done if I went to an office each day the way my darling hubby does.

2. What was the greatest thing you learned at school?

That popularity doesn’t necessarily prepare you for success.

3. Do you laugh at your own jokes?

Oh, my goodness, yes. I’m awful at telling jokes, but I do love humor. Laughter can certainly smooth the rough edges of life.

4. Why do you think what you do matters?

People are driven by the need to be loved – to connect. I truly believe that there is someone for everyone, and that’s what I write about – a man and woman who are made for each, but they just don’t know it yet. Love may not make the world go round, but it sure makes the ride more interesting.

5. Have you ever found true love?

Yes, I found it with my wonderful husband. We’ve been married 36 years. It sounds corny, but we complete each other.

6. Do you have a saying or motto for your life and/or as a writer?

Oh, you really ask all the right questions. Yes, I proudly proclaim my motto: It’s never too late to live happily ever after. I truly believe that. As long as you have breath in your body, you have a shot at being happy regardless of all the bad stuff that may have happened.

7. Where can people find you on the web? Where can they read more about your books?

Look for me on my blog, http://SlingWords.blogspot.com, website www.JoanReeves.com, or Twitter @JoanReeves and Facebook/JoanReevesWrites.

8. What inspired you to write this particular story?

I guess this story is for all the women who never got that big heart-shaped box of candy on Valentine’s Day or roses or gifts of any kind. I’ve known a lot of wonderful, lovely women who never had a man in their lives who romanced them on Cupid’s special day. Sometimes men decide a woman is so pretty that she’s “dated up” so they never make the attempt. For whatever reason, this is for the women who go un-romanced.

9. How did you choose your title?

In Scents and Sensuality, the heroine Amanda is a perfumer so she knows all about the Science of Smell and the Science of Sex Appeal, but when it comes to men and desire, she knows zip. But she’s willing to learn. *g* She works with scents and wants the chance to explore her sensuality, so the title just seemed perfect. Plus, it’s a subtle homage to Austen’s Sense and Sensibility title which is one of my favorite books.

10. You got the call – your novel is being made into a TV series or movie – who’s in your dream cast?

That is my fondest fantasy – movies from my romantic comedies. For Scents and Sensuality, I think Kristen Bell would be perfect as Amanda and Tom Welling as Harrison.

*~*

| Amazon | BN | Smashwords | Kobo | iBooks |

BLURB

Perfumer Amanda Whitfield is desperate for a date to her snooty cousin’s wedding – on Valentine’s Day of all days. But she’s a total flop with men.

Eavesdropping on the lovely blonde’s conversation, Harrison Kincaid’s mother interrupts and suggests her son, a computer genius, would be perfect for the job. Completely desperate, Amanda agrees to a blind date.

With some coaching from her best friend on how to be a hottie, Amanda is determined to convert the blind date into a wedding date. She’s prepared to do anything to hook a man because there is NO way she will go to THAT wedding without a man on her arm. Well, almost anything.

Computer genius Harrison Kincaid has had it with his mother’s matchmaking. He’s determined to teach her a lesson and put an end to her crazy schemes. But, first, he’s got to make his mother’s latest prospect, Amanda Whitfield, run in the other direction the minute she lays eyes on him.

Amanda and Harrison are determined. Desperate. Desperation makes for funny—and sexy—bedfellows.

*~*

EXCERPT, SCENTS AND SENSUALITY

Was it really all right to be herself with him Amanda wondered? To show her true personality? “Nicole said men prefer women who aren’t so serious. She said men like women who are sexy and flirty. I’m not like that. I’m serious and thoughtful and introverted. And shy.”

She was shy? Oddly, Harrison liked that. Most of the women he’d had in his bed didn’t know the meaning of the word shy. He’d never had a woman hesitate to tell him in detail what to do, where to touch, how to touch, and when to touch as she pursued her own pleasure. As if he were so unskilled that he didn’t know anything about women.

“Your friend doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” Harrison said. He stopped moving. Now they weren’t dancing. They were just swaying in time to the music. “There’s nothing wrong with the real you, sweetheart.”

In a voice so intense that it made gooseflesh break out on her arms, he whispered against her cheek, “You don’t have to pretend to be someone you’re not. I like you just the way you are. You’re beautiful, and you’re incredibly sexy without playing silly games. I want you.”

His words wove a spell around her lonely heart. “You don’t have to say that…that I’m sexy. I…I won’t change my mind about…about…you know.”

Harrison chuckled. “Are you trying to say you won’t change your mind about having a raging affair with me?”

Amanda met his eyes directly. “Despite what you say, I know I’m not sexy. I want to be honest with you so here’s the bald truth. I’m a flop with men. I was desperate for a date for my cousin’s wedding. Nicole helped me hook you. She tutored me on how to be a hot babe because that’s what men want.”

“That’s a hell of a lot of honesty.”

His comment was like the release gate on a dam. A flood of words poured out of Amanda. “I don’t want you to be confused by Nicole’s tricks and think I’m something I’m not. Even though I’m more than willing to…you know…have that raging affair with you.”

Amanda spoke faster to get all the words out before she lost her courage. “I was just pretending. So you may not really want me now that you know the truth. I’m not a sexy hot babe, and you don’t have to tell me I am just to–”

Harrison’s mouth swooped down and captured hers, shutting off the frantic torrent of words. Amanda was frozen for a split second, then the feel of his mouth on hers broke through the paralysis. Ah, this was a kiss. The kind of kiss she’d been waiting for her entire life.

*~*

BIO

Joan Reeves, a bestselling ebook author, writes sassy, sexy Contemporary Romance. Joan says she writes because she’s too young for Social Security and too old to learn how to ask: “Do you want fries with that?” Look for her newest romantic comedy CINDERELLA BLUE this month at all ebook sellers on the planet — okay, maybe not all, but most of them.

Chaste by Lydia Michaels

Chaste is currently the #1 Bestseller

on the publisher’s site,

www.secretcravingspublishing.com

 

| Amazon | BN | iBooks | Kobo | ARe | SCP |

Blurb:

Kelly McCullough has always gotten every woman he’s wanted. Of all the McCullough men, his charm and magnetism is unmatched. However, there is one woman he cannot have.  

Ashlynn Fisher is everything Kelly McCullough is not. She is quiet, shy, and—above all—virginal. After losing her heart to Kelly in grade school, no other man compares. Paths cross and temperance is put to the test when Ashlynn decides it’s time for her to find love. Kelly offers Center County’s sweetest brown-eyed girl all the guidance he can, but finds himself in a situation he never expected to face. Through chaste kisses and stolen secrets, his virility is tested and he must learn what love truly means as his selfish ways are transformed in the face of a selfless need to give her everything she wants.

*~*

Excerpt:

His body nudged closer. She sucked in a breath and tried to focus on speaking, but the press of him was incredibly distracting.

“That’s the…um…” She caught her breath. “Um…” Her eyes shut. What was the question? “I can’t concentrate when you touch me,” she blurted.

He didn’t move. His breath tickled the back of her neck, as the soft press of his tongue traced over the curve leading to her shoulder. Her spine stretched as her skin drew tight. His lips made a smooching sound. “Mmm, you taste like hard work and sunshine.”

“Kelly…” she rasped, silently panting. Her insides vibrated so rapidly she worried she’d shatter into a thousand pieces of flesh and bones. Never had anyone aroused her the way he did.

He nuzzled her ear with his nose. “Have I ever told you how sexy you are? The glasses make me crazy. And I love the way your hair looks different every day. You remind me of a little garden nymph.” The weight of his palms closed over her baggy overalls, low on her hips, and she grew aware of every part of her body.

His lips sealed over her ear and she quivered, her body tightening and trembling. Her hands gripped the edge of the worktable with her leather-clad fingers, her knees turning unstable, as he proceeded to do wonderful things to her earlobe.

It amazed her that he found her hair nice. She’d cut it off after she graduated, finding the long locks dreadfully annoying. When her hair had been long it was always in her face. And she wore glasses because contacts were too much trouble with the dust from the gardens.

Oh my goodness! Is that his tongue in my ear?

Her knees buckled as he kissed over her racing pulse. Strong fingers dug into her hips, massaging beneath her overalls deep into her flesh. His hands had slipped into the gaping sides of her clothes where her tank top met the waist of her panties. No one had ever touched her so intimately.

“Let’s go inside,” he whispered.

Somehow she managed to shake her head. “I…I need to finish this.”

“Ashlynn…”

His mouth. He had a wicked mouth. She formed some sort of response in her throat as the tip of his finger toyed with the hem of her tank top next to her navel.

“Please…let me in,” he whispered as his tongue traveled over the slope of her shoulder, each word an erotic tattoo on her flesh.

Her feet shifted and his grip tightened. She whimpered. “Kelly, please…”

His whisper had faded to a breath of words. “I want you.”

Her hands closed over his, tightening, stilling his progress. Those last uttered words returned some of her common sense. “If we go inside my work will never get done.”

His fingers squeezed. “Do you know how many fantasies I’ve had about you? The things I could do to you without breaking your vow…” His touch never traveled, but the teasing chills escaping his whirling fingers seemed to go right to her breasts.

Baiting temptation, she breathed out a question she had no business asking. “Like what?”

“Mmm. I could spend days stripping you, unveiling every bit of flesh, anointing each square inch of skin with soft kisses. Only kissing, Ashlynn, but I’d kiss you everywhere.”

Holy Hannah, she needed to put some space between them. They hadn’t discussed boundaries and the line of her virtue was becoming more blurred by the second. Her breath stuttered out of her lungs as his mouth teased over her pulse. She wanted to know what such kisses would feel like, but feared her control would break.

“No naked.” Incapable of forming complete sentences, it was the best she could do.

“Touching?” he whispered.

Oh, God. She wanted to feel his touch, know what it was to be caressed by those strong fingers holding her now. She whimpered. Her promise had never been this difficult. There had never been such a temptation as Kelly and, now, with his hands playing over untried parts of her body, came a nagging desire for relief. “I should say no.”

“But?”

“Maybe.”

His front pressed into her bottom and her neck gave out, drooping her head to his broad shoulder. He growled and his mouth sealed to her throat, his hand sifting under the front of her overalls and holding her stomach, fingers splayed wide, pressing her into his hard form. “So fucking sexy, Ashlynn.”

“Kelly…”

“I want to go inside.”

He was already inside, inside of her head, in her blood, thrumming through her veins, inside every breath filling her lungs. She worried she could die from such over stimulation. She’d never survive sex, at least not with this man. But that was off the table.

Her muscles contracted and strange urges had her body fluttering in unfamiliar ways. It was too much. “No more,” she pleaded and he froze.

It took him a second to answer. “Okay.”

His hand slithered out from under her overalls and he stepped away. She caught her breath and wiped the back of her glove over her heated cheek. She was probably as red as a bell pepper.

She desperately searched for her bearings, but Kelly seemed fine. From the corner of her eye, she watched him slip his gloves back on and pick up the sanding block as she quietly panted. The longing inside of her had transformed into a painful ache. Her throat was thirsty, parched. Yet water did nothing to quench her yearning.

Kelly worked with precision and efficiency. Her concentration was crap. Every move she made was deliberate and clumsy, but Kelly proved to be a master carpenter. She suspected he wanted to be done with the chore and that scared her, because the moment they finished she’d have to come up with another distraction.

The echo of the nail hammering into the wood rattled through the air. “How far can we go, Ashlynn?”

Her hand stilled. Her gaze focused on the head of the nail she’d been about to hammer into the wood. Swallowing repetitively, she struggled to find the honest answer, but the truth seemed to abandon her in that moment. “I don’t know.”

*~*

Author Bio:

Award winning author, Lydia Michaels, writes all forms of hot romance. She presses the bounds of love and surprises readers just when they assume they have her stories figured out. From Amish vampyres, to wild Irishmen, to broken heroes, and heroines no man can match, Lydia takes readers on an emotional journey of the heart, mind, and soul with every story she pens. Her books are intellectual, erotic, haunting, always centered on love.

Lydia Michaels loves to hear from readers! She can be contacted by email at Lydia@LydiaMichaels.org

Webpage: www.LydiaMichaels.org

 

Other Titles by Lydia Michaels:

Falling In

Breaking Out

Coming Home

Sacred Waters

Skin

Chaste

Faking It

Forsaking Truth

As Tears Go By

Simple Man

Breaking Perfect

White Chocolate

All 4 You

To Catch a Wolfe

Chasing Feathers

Called to Order

Calling for a Miracle

Destiny Calls

Call Her Mine

 

Top Ten Tuesday – Research is Important

*Today I’m pleased to have Allison Knight on the blog talking about her top ten research books!

When I started thinking about this blog. I considered talking about the top ten things I’ve learned over nearly thirty years in this business, or the top ten things that bug me the most. Making it more about me was also a choice, like my personal goals. After a lot of thought, I decided to make it about my top ten favorite research books and why. I prefer to write historical romance and words become very important, so most of my favorite books have to do with words.

 

My top favorite is a book called ‘Reverse Dictionary”. It’s a Readers Digest book, it’s illustrated and I love it because I can work backwards. For example, I don’t know much about horses, but with this book, I can look up the word horse and the dictionary details each part of the horse and what each part is called. Want to saddle a horse? There a start to finish with each part named. The same with a sailing ship, or different kinds of plant parts. Look up plant and you get a biology lesson. A neat book.

My second favorite is from Random House. It’s called ‘Word Menu’. Look up the sound and it lists all of the different kinds of sounds, buzz, burp, scream, hiss. Emotion? Walk? You get the idea.

Next would be an old Readers Digest book called ‘Use the Right Word’. With this book, I can look any word, let take the particular word greedy, and it gives me half a dozen different kinds of greed. Yes, I want the right word for my greedy land owners.

Number four would have to be my ‘Webster’s ninth Edition Dictionary’. This simple Dictionary not only give the word’s definition, but it dates the word. In other words, it gives the approximate time the word shows up in any recorded writing. As a historical author, I don’t want to use a word that didn’t exist say in the 14th century if I’m writing a Medieval tale.

My fifth research book is another Readers Digest book, this one is ‘The Family Word Finder’. I like it because each definition begins with a sentence using the word. It gives synonyms and antonyms and tells you what the word is, verb, adjective, adverb, etc.

My wide World Atlas is next because it not only give me maps, but information about weather, different crop regions, mineral deposits, age, important dates. Unfortunately, It’s a big book and rests of the top of the book shelve. It doesn’t fit on any of the shelves. It also requires the whole top of my desk when I open it up.

Roget’s Thesaurus is next. A thesaurus is must for the writer and Roget’s is considered the best.

Number eight is a trade paperback I’ve had since I started to write. The title is Writing Fiction, Nonfiction, and How to Publish by Pat Kubis and Bob Howland. It a basic how to, with things like plotting, dialogue, and style. Much of the publishing information is outdated, but the basics are still excellent and I still find myself referring  to it once in a while.

Because I write historicals and don’t know much except the basics of England’s history, I have a little book by Dorset Press, which gets a lot of use. It’s called “Atlas of British History” and is a book of maps detailing points of history over 2000 years. I love the map of the railroads. It dates the route and time it took to go from point a to point b, the same for important battles, canals,  for all of England and Scotland.

My last Book is another small volume that I use as a historical author writing about the British Isles.  This one is called “The Castle Explorer’s Guide.” It alphabetically  describes everything there is to know today about the castles of England, Scotland and Wales, including all of the different methods of construction, their locations, and the people who in worked in and around the castles. It also contains information about all know ruins, very important if you are writing about the medieval ages.

There you have my top ten research books, books I’d find hard, no make that impossible, to give up. I’d love to discover another fabulous book so let me know if you have one you can’t live without.

*~*

| Amazon |

Alwyn ab Brynn Ffrydd wants revenge against a powerful Baron without losing his king’s support. What better way to exact revenge than to kidnap the Baron’s long time mistress. But she is not what he thinks she is.

Shy, unworldly Milisent Mortimore has been confined for nine years by a brother who now demands she agree to wed a cruel, heartless man. Thanks to her father’s will, she has the right to chose her mate or her spouse will lose her inheritance.

When Alwyn kidnaps her desires flares and together they must struggle against the treachery of Alwyn’s current mistress, her brother and the man he wants her to marry.

In defying all three, Alwyn places his life at risk. Milisent saves him from certain death and together they celebrate their life of love.

EXCERPT:

Milisent’s breath caught as she stared at the sight before her. A chill shot through her. She gazed at the most magnificent warrior she had ever seen. The deep melodic voice carried a twinge of a strange tongue, but the  most arresting thing was not his voice. Nay, it was him. This man radiated strength and power, and although his face was grim his countenance was

most pleasant.

He had a blade of a nose, a square face bare of hair, and a firm jaw.When a smile of satisfaction graced his face she shivered. If she were not so terrified, she would have called him a handsome man. He was big, aye, but his soft brown eyes softened the sternness of his face. His jaw, clenched in anger, spoke of the ability to command. Shoulder length hair, the color of

new sawn wood, waved around his face and curled under his chin. She noticed a touch of silver at his temples. Heavy, straight eyebrows accentuated those eyes. He stared at her as if he could see within her soul.

Something about him demanded to be obeyed, and with a control that would spell her doom if she allowed him to take her from FentonCastle.

Her heart pounded and a strange sensation gathered in her arms, her legs, her stomach. The blood in her veins surged with an unknown heat and tremors raced through her. Fear—it had to be fear—coursing through her.

The sound from the hall below faded as this new feeling took its place. One thought surfaced. Where had Baldwin Stanton de Bain found such a man? Or had he come from de Bain? Surely this warrior took orders from no one. A sudden thought struck. What of Gilbert’s acquaintances? Who among them had conspired to help de Bain, by seeking this man to take her

from here?

“Mistress, you will come with me.” He directed his words toward Ella.

“Nay, I cannot. I will not leave her,” Ella shouted, shaking so badly Milisent wondered if her companion would remain on her feet.

The man looked surprised for a moment and brought his gaze to her. “Your name?”

Milisent glared at him and sealed her lips. She would tell this man nothing.

*~*

Saturday Spotlight – Kenrickey by SC Dane

| Amazon | Melange Books | BN | Smashwords | Kobo |

In the northern Maine woods, a wolf pack unlike any other reigns the landscape. With the ability to shift into human shape, they are the supreme rulers of their territory. Until the real humans threaten their secret realm…

Ken Rickey is one of those humans. Until he’s entrusted with the secret of the wolf-people, an honor he’ll do anything to uphold. For among the wolf-people, Ken has found loyal friends in Armand and Eaen, two of the younger wolves in Luna’s pack who share his sense of adventure.

Welcoming them to his human world and keeping them safe isn’t going to be easy, especially when there are those who suspect the truth.

An intuitive woman, Naomi Foss is quick to unearth the mystery of Ken’s two friends. Human they may seem, but there is a wildness about them which is fast consuming Ken, altering him in extraordinary ways.

But the acceptance of Naomi plunges Ken and his wolf friends into dangerous territory, where the exposure of Luna’s pack becomes a lethal reality. Can these young lovers and friends stand against the threat while keeping their secret from those who hunt them?

*~*

EXCERPT:

            We cavorted for quite some time—chasing, snatching, biting. Armand, once he’d gotten over his initial fear, darted around just as uninhibited as the rest of us; although he and Eaen were careful about shifting in front of Naomi.

I, on the other hand, shed all of my inhibitions, and the mock hunt for Nae escalated seriously. I wanted her bouncing ass all to myself, and her playful screams were jabs of electricity to my groin.

She didn’t run very fast once she caught me ogling her like she was an entrée. Good ol’ Nae. She even feigned a limp so that I could corner her in the living room. She darted her eyes around like a trapped deer, and wedged herself into the corner by the book shelf, protecting her back. Then she lifted her upper lip in a warning snarl, even as her hazel eyes glistened and her pupils stretched to turn her eyes almost black. Her blonde hair was tousled and sweaty, and I’d never seen a creature more inviting.

My mouth found hers before I could say no guts, no glory, and sweet living jackrabbits, she opened herself to me. It was all I could do not to slide Mr. Plucky into home once the ump signaled for me to steal. Her tongue teased, tasted me, then retreated maddeningly, and I withdrew just far enough to clamp my teeth across her windpipe and cup her ass in my hands.          She gasped, and my groin ached as it grew more swollen.

The ringing of her cell phone was like the screech of a car crash, and we both flinched at the intrusion of it. Naomi groaned as she slid away toward her pile of clothes on the living room floor. Eaen and Armand stood with their legs splayed, sides heaving, and wore tendrils of frothy spit on their fur. I stood with my need so obvious my balls hurt.

            Christ, guys.

Eaen winked, the teasing turd. He saw. He’d noticed we’d all gone a bit nuts, and he loved it. Armand’s waving tail gave him away, too, but the three of us paid more attention to Nae’s cell phone call.

It was The Bear, and he wanted her and his car. She’d been gone too long already, judging by her end of the conversation. She’d promised to be back before lunch and it was past that. My, how time really does fly when you’re having fun.

She told him she’d be right there, then snapped the lid shut on her phone. And I got an unexpected explosion of jealousy in my guts.

“Don’t go, Nae. Stay with us,” I offered, and fought like hell to keep my anger from boiling over into my voice. A feat beyond me, I wasn’t exactly successful. “Tell him to fuck himself.” Oh, yeah, I was really trying.

“I can’t, Ken. Not yet, anyway, but soon,” she promised.

            Was she crying? “Aw, Christ, Nae, don’t cry.” She effing leveled me. I was a mud puddle waiting to catch her tears, and before I knew it, my feet crossed the room and my arms were wrapped around her. I’d have sacrificed daylight for her.

“Come back later, then, huh?” I pulled her away to lose myself in her shimmering eyes, which had turned green because she cried. “I’ll come get you. Just call me, and I’ll come, okay? Whenever you want.” My fingers combed her tousled bangs, tucking their length behind her seashell ear.

She nodded and sniffed, and my heart cracked. Jee-zus, how was I letting her leave?

I wiped her tears with the pad of my thumb, pulled her warm body close, then ripped myself away and edged a fair distance back to stand between Eaen and Armand while we watched her dress. Weren’t we the gentlemen? When she finished donning her clothes, the four of us huddled to say good-bye.

“We really have to talk, Nae. Soon,” I said, before she slipped out the door and into the Yeti’s car. Within moments, she was gone, but even I could still smell the snowy day in our house.

| Amazon | Melange Books | BN | Smashwords | Kobo |

 

 

Love is in the Air – Blog Hop

It’s that time of year!  Romance is in the air, chocolates are everywhere, and roses are now three times the cost all because of one little day!

That’s right, it’s Valentine’s Day!

Rather than emptying your wallet for pricey roses that’ll just fade off and die…why not use those funds to stock up on sweet, romantic reads?

Or even better?

WIN THEM!! 

In honor of my first Valentine’s themed story, Deep Fried Sweethearts, and the “Love is in the Air” blog hop, I’m having a fun little giveaway! Best part?  There’s not just ONE prize, but THREE!!

FIRST PRIZE: An ebook copy of both my holiday stories – Deep Fried Sweethearts & Santa, Maybe – Plus, a $10 gift card to your favorite ebook retailer. (Only those that take part in 2 out of 3 entries are eligible for the First Prize Package)

SECOND PRIZE: A $5 gift card to your favorite ebook retailer & a copy of Deep Fried Sweethearts

THIRD PRIZE: An ebook copy of Deep Fried Sweethearts

There are three ways to enter.

Leave a comment telling me what you love about Valentine’s day!!
Go to my Facebook page & “Like” it, then leave a comment on this post saying you did & your FB name.
Follow me on twitter, come back here and leave a comment with your twitter name!

That’s it! Easy peasey!!

Giveaway will close at 11:59PM on February 14th. Winners will be drawn at 8AM on February 15th and have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected in their place.

Disclaimer: Giveaway is open internationally. Participants must take part in 2 out of the 3 possible entries to be eligible for first prize. This giveaway is in no way affiliated w/ twitter or facebook.

| Amazon | SCP | BN | ARe | 

Michaela O’Keefe is in over her head with her restaurant, The Midway.  Her ad for an assistant manager brings Owen “Tag” Montague to her doorstep. With an impeccable resume and dozens of letters of recommendation, she has little choice but to give him a chance. Ten years her junior, Tag sets her long-dead libido humming, but she gave up on love and her instincts on men years ago.

Tag has had a crush on his new boss since his youth, but he’s determined to prove he can do the job. Still, he can’t resist the urge to make her blush down to her toes as often as possible. He knows her rough past in life and love makes it hard to trust, and he’s wary of crossing the line he so desperately wants to.

Just when they manage to figure out how to work and play together, Michaela’s ex does all he can to destroy their budding love. When push comes to shove Michaela’s inability to give Tag the benefit of the doubt might destroy everything.

Learning to trust herself again is the hardest lesson Michaela will ever have to learn – and by the time she does, it may be too late for love.

| Amazon |  SCP  | BN | ARe | 

5* Goodreads Revew:

This is a well written, sweet read about loving and healing. Owen is loving and dedicated to healing Michaela’s damaged and battered heart. Michaela’s walls are no match for Owen’s patience and understanding.

 

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Top Ten Tuesday – Southwest Sites by Kris Bock

I’ve lived in 10 states and one foreign country, but New Mexico is now my home. The desert Southwest inspires my work, as I bring romantic suspense to the land I love. Here are some of my favorite spots – heavy on the adventure.

Hovenweep National Monument: Located on the southern border between Colorado and Utah, these ruins once housed 2500 people between A.D. 1200 and 1300. It’s one of many sites left behind by the ancestral Puebloans, also known as the Anasazi. It’s a smaller site than some, but that’s part of its charm. You can hike and camp without crowds. Hovenweep inspired my romantic suspense Whispers in the Dark . 
Utah’s Canyons: Utah has so many amazing national parks that’s hard to choose a favorite. Canyonlands allows remote camping and hiking where you may not see another person. Arches and Natural Bridges are famous for their natural stone arches and bridges. Bryce Canyon is filled with hoodoos – odd pillars of rock – while Zion is known for its beehive rock formations. Take a driving trip and visit them all. 
Chiricahua National Monument: This glorious site in southeastern Arizona isn’t as famous as many of the Utah canyons, but it’s easily accessible from highway 10. A drive takes you to the top of the mountain range, where a variety of hikes provide closer looks at the unusual rock formations: spires, columns, pinnacles, and even a formation that looks like a duck. 
The Grand Canyon: If you haven’t been there, put it on your life list. If you can manage a strenuous hike, it’s worth taking the South Kaibab trail down to the bottom. Stay overnight at Phantom Ranch – maybe even add in a recovery day – before you head back up. The dorms and dining hall mean you won’t have to carry a heavy pack. 
Tombstone, Arizona: This historic city in southeastern Arizona is a bit of a tourist trap, but it’s still fun to see what life was like in the Old West. Have a drink at a historic saloon, take a stagecoach ride, or watch the re-creation of the shootout at the OK corral. Cowboy wannabes will have a blast. 
Carlsbad Caverns: Wander through the caves at your own pace or take a ranger-guided tour. The stalactites and stalagmites are astounding. In summer, stay for the bat flight program. Carlsbad is in southern New Mexico. Kartchner Caverns in southern Arizona is also worth a visit. 
Santa Fe: My list leans towards outdoor adventures, but if you want great food, shopping, and museums, take a break in Santa Fe. Different museums focus on Indian arts and culture, Spanish Colonial art, fine arts, international folk art, and more. Artist Georgia O’Keeffe even gets her own museum. Best of all, the area around the Plaza maintains the traditional pueblo style of architecture for a full immersive experience. 
Socorro, New Mexico: This small town wouldn’t show up on very many lists, but as a local, I know the special places nearby. Hikes can take you out in the desert or up to the mountains, visiting native petroglyphs or hunting for fossils. Hundreds of rock climbing routes provide adventures for everyone from beginners to experts. Plus, you have a good chance of seeing unusual wildlife, from roadrunners to coyotes to great horned owls. 
The Very Large Array: I count many world travelers among my friends and relations, so sometimes it’s hard to impress people with something new. But the VLA does the job. Two dozen enormous white radio telescope dishes stretch across the desert plains, pointing toward the sky. A walking tour provides a closer look and explains the science investigations. 
Jemez Springs: After all this adventure, it’s time to relax, and this small town in the mountains of northwestern New Mexico is known for its hot springs. You can also visit the ruins of an old Spanish church; Soda Dam, a cool rock formation formed from the mineralized water flowing in the river; and Battleship Rock, so named because it resembles the prow of a battleship. (Pictures on my Pinterest page.) I’ve attended many writing retreats at a camp north of the town, and those experiences inspired Counterfeits , my latest romantic suspense novel. The Kindle e-book is currently on sale for $.99.

I’ve left out many wonderful places, but these are among my favorite spots. Many I visit again and again. If you make it to the Southwestern United States, maybe you’ll enjoy them as well. Otherwise, you can visit in books. Either way, we’ll be glad to have you!

*~*

| Amazon |

Counterfeits: Painter Jenny Kinley has spent the last decade struggling in the New York art world. Her grandmother’s sudden death brings her home to New Mexico, but inheriting the children’s art camp her grandmother ran is more of a burden than a gift. How can she give up her lifelong dreams of showing her work in galleries and museums?

Rob Caruso, the camp cook and all-around handyman, would be happy to run the camp with Jenny. Dare he even dream of that, when his past holds dark secrets that he can never share? When Jenny’s father reappears after a decade-long absence, only Rob knows where he’s been and what danger he’s brought with him.

Jenny and Rob face midnight break-ins and make desperate escapes, but the biggest danger may come from the secrets that don’t want to stay buried. In the end, they must decide whether their dreams will bring them together or force them apart.

*~*

Excerpt:

Jenny rose from sleep slowly, her body resisting. She could see nothing in the pitch black. Where was she? She blinked, trying to make sure her eyes were really open.

Memories broke through the fog. The phone call, the rush across country, the late arrival. Crawling into bed in her grandparents’ upstairs guest room. She groaned and pulled up the blanket. Morning must be hours away, given the darkness.

The old house creaked, but no sounds drifted in from outside. Maybe that’s what woke her; she was used to the murmur of city sounds all night long. Who’d have thought that would become normal?

Her head pounded. Probably dehydration from the high elevation and dry air. She should get up, drink a glass of water, take a couple of aspirin. Her head would thank her in the morning. If only she could make herself move.

The house creaked again, followed by a rhythmic sound – like footsteps. Jenny jerked upright, her ears straining. Had she heard a voice?

She shook her head. She must still be half asleep, dreaming. Imagining her grandparents were still here. Wishful thinking.

Downstairs, a door closed. Jenny clutched the blanket. Imagination be damned. She was not alone.

For a long moment, she sat frozen. During her ten years in New York City, she had never been burglarized or mugged. It seemed impossible that such a thing should happen now, here, in an off-season art camp five miles outside of Jemez Springs, New Mexico.

Maybe it was someone her grandmother knew. But what were they doing there in the middle of the night? And if they’d come to see Jenny, they should have knocked, rung the bell. Waited for morning. Anyway, who knew she was there? Even Ms. Lucena didn’t know when she was supposed to arrive. She hadn’t told anyone her travel plans; she’d just gone.

She had to do something. Jenny rose and eased open the bedroom door, praying she had somehow been mistaken, that everything would make sense if… when…. She couldn’t imagine a benign explanation.

She stood with her ear to the crack and heard a low chuckle, and then a male voice. She couldn’t tell if the laugh and the voice were the same person. Either way, that suggested two or more people, at least one of them male.

Why would a man be laughing in her grandmother’s house, in the middle of the night, two days after her grandmother’s death? No good reason came to mind.

She fumbled for her phone on the bedside stand. But even before she activated the screen, she gave a frustrated grunt. She wouldn’t get reception here. The only place in camp that got cell phone reception was the southeast corner of the parking lot. The landline was downstairs, in the kitchen.

Something crashed in a room below. Jenny jumped and dropped her phone. It hit her thigh, then her foot, and went skittering under the bed with a faint scrape against the wood floor.

A man was swearing downstairs. Hopefully that had covered up any sound she’d made. Jenny clenched her hands to control the trembling. She couldn’t imagine her grandmother being friendly with anyone who swore like that.

She had to get out of the house. She wouldn’t wait upstairs for the burglars, if that’s what they were, to find her. If she could get to her car – damn. Her keys were in her purse, which was downstairs on the living room couch. So she couldn’t drive, but she could still go to the Lodge, break in if she had to. Use the phone in the office, call the police.

Still shaking, Jenny crouched and felt along the floor for her shoes. She was wearing flannel pajama bottoms and a tank top; no need to waste time putting on clothes. She was already cold, but her jacket was downstairs, lying over her purse on the couch. It didn’t matter. She just had to get out.

*~*

Kris Bock writes novels of suspense and romance involving outdoor adventures and Southwestern landscapes. Counterfeits starts a new series about an art theft that brings danger to a small New Mexico town. Whispers in the Dark has archaeology and intrigue among ancient ruins, What We Found features a young woman who stumbles on a murder victim, and Rattled follows a treasure hunt in the New Mexico desert. To learn more about her latest work, visit www.krisbock.com.