Kathryn Scarborough has an Amazing Story!

My guest today is Kathryn Scarborough, and she has a story about how fiction unexpectedly turned into fact. Or rather how her fictional character turned into a flesh and blood person. I'm sure you'll enjoy her story. Welcome Kathryn!

I’m so thrilled to be asked to write a blog for Jana Richards, thanks Jana!  I have written a little story about meeting face to face with the hero of my book.

“A Funny Thing Happened On The Way to the Staples Office Supply”

My husband and I had been talking for some time about getting a new laptop, so one rainy afternoon a few weeks ago, we drove down to our local Staples in Brier Creek, North Carolina. The young tech my husband was speaking to had his back to me. I was looking through some of the cool office supplies, drooling over this or that, (oooo wouldn't that look nice in my office! If only I had the room!). The first time I had a chance to look at the young man was when my husband and he, brought the chosen laptop to the register. I felt my mouth open in surprise, and I think I stopped breathing. For low and behold the tech looked just like Jim O'Flannery, (as my editor Mary said, his face WAS a little fuller).

My book, The Wild Mountain Thyme had just been released from the Wild Rose Press a few days before, and Jim O'Flannery is the hero in the book. O'Flannery, is most likely a made up name, I have never heard it in all the my reading about Ireland, and I have had a real love for that island nation most of my life. But, Jim O'Flannery, just like his name, was a product of my own imagination. I haven't spoken to writers that this has happened to; that you meet face-to-face with someone you've made up, someone who is living inside your head. To find someone in the flesh, as it were, is quite a jolt to the senses. I didn't say anything at the time, but I kept thinking about this tech who looked like someone I had made up in my head more than a decade before.

Before I could change my mind, I hustled on down to the Staples and found the young man again working behind the tech counter. I went up to him with a tentative, 'please don't think I'm crazy, but you look just like the hero in my book.' I had a few postcards I had made up with the cover of the book and a blurb on the back and handed him one. He said,'wow, I'll look this up.' I told him that he was probably the only real person I'd ever seen who looked just like the person in my head.

Writers live in their heads.  A lot. To be faced with something that is three-dimensional and warm (!) and breathing, as I said, is quite a jolt.

Before I left the store, the tech came up to me and said, 'now who am I again? (in the book), I'm very flattered.' I hope he didn't think that I saw him last week and wrote the book and got it published all in that small amount of time before I told him about it. I didn't have the heart to tell him that when Jim O'Flannery first came into my mind he, the tech, had either been in grade school or hadn't been born yet.

Jim O'Flannery, in The Wild Mountain Thyme, is a flawed character. He has warts just like the rest of us and puts his foot in his mouth more often than is good for him. But he sure is a grand, beautiful man, and to see a three-dimensional speaking person just like the one I made up in my head decades before was something that still makes my jaw slide south.

You can get The Wild Mountain Thyme, from the Wild Rose Press or from Amazon. And I have it on good authority, that there will soon be an audio rendition of the book.


Blurb, The Wild Mountain Thyme:

There’s a serial killer murdering Irish-American tourists all over Ireland.  Jim O’Flannery of the Boston Globe and Megan Kennedy of the Irish Times, are teamed up to report on the killings.  They want to work together, but stay clear of each other emotionally; there was A LOT of trouble with the opposite sex in the past.  But, Jim’s guardian angel appears, as a leprechaun, to pester and cajole Jim into getting involved with Megan.  Jim can see Seamus, Megan can’t.

Jim and Megan trail the murderer to the west coast of Ireland, piecing together his motivation and where he may strike next.
 
An attempt is made on their lives, and only Jim’s quick wits saves the two.  Megan disappears.  Has the killer kidnapped her?  Can Jim, with Seamus’s help, save her from mortal danger?

Excerpt:

The elevator started again, but jarred to a stop suddenly between floors.  There was not a sound.
Jim felt as though he’d  fallen into a vacuum. He stood very still and tried not to breathe. The only sound was the rapid beat of his heart.

A puff of green smoke rose from the floorboards. It wavered through the air and wrapped itself around Jim as it hovered and shimmered. Out of the swirling vapor popped a little man about three feet tall. He wore a Kelly green waistcoat, green breeches, green knee-high stockings, and green shoes with shiny silver buckles. Jim backed against the wall of the elevator as he felt the blood rush from his face and into his feet. His jaw slid south, and his heart hammered painfully.

“I’m not trying to give you palpitations, boy-o, but  you must listen. Aye?” said the apparition.  The little man had a long, crooked nose, slightly slanted, pale blue eyes, pointy ears, and a long stemmed pipe clutched between his teeth. His bright, fiery red hair fell down around his shoulders in soft waves. He had a beard of the same fiery red shade that curled in front of his chin, like he’d used a curling iron to force it into shape. He held his hat, an elf’s pointed cap, in front of him, as he stared intently at Jim.  Jim felt the air whoosh out of him as he slid  soundlessly to the floor of the elevator. And then he forgot to breathe.  The little man walked up to him, nose to nose and in an undertone, he said very quietly, “Boo.”

Jim gasped.

“Grand. I had to get you breathing again.”

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Wild-Mountain-Thyme-Kathryn-Scarborough-ebook/dp/B078KB3ZHW

The Wild Rose Press:  https://catalog.thewildrosepress.com/all-titles/5560-the-wild-mountain-thyme.html?search_query=Kathryn+Scarborough&results=2

Author Bio:

Kathryn Scarborough is an acclaimed author of historical thrillers, light romance, and romantic suspense. She was a musician and teacher for many years but finds herself writing now more than any of the other two endeavors. She is married and she and her husband have four grown children, two grand daughters, and two grandsons. They reside in NC.


She has a trilogy of books, 2 of which are out on Amazon, Deception, and The Locket. The stories are of one family spanning nine decades and a world war. The 3rd book is being written now.

Author Links:

Website - http://www.scarboroughbooks.com/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/scarboroughbooks/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/kathy60snc

Email - kathryn@scarboroughbooks.com

Countdown Deal - SECRETS AND SOLACE

I'm holding a countdown deal on SECRETS AND SOLACE from May 28 to June 2. So, how does a countdown deal work? The book goes on sale at .99 cents for the first two days, then moves up to $1.99 the next two days, then $2.99 for the last two days of the sale before going back to the regular price of $3.99. Get your copy while it's hot!

Series Blurb:

Love is worth the risk…

When their grandfather dies, the Lindquist sisters, Harper, Scarlet and Maggie, inherit the northern Minnesota fishing lodge that had been in their family for three generations. The inheritance is bittersweet. They were raised at the lodge by their grandparents. The natural beauty of the place hasn’t changed, but the building itself is crumbling and desperately in need of repair. The lodge also reminds them of what they lost. Twenty-two years previously, their parents died there in what was ruled a murder/suicide.

 As the sisters struggle to breathe new life into the failing lodge, old fears and questions rise to the surface even as new love presents itself. Why did their father murder their mother? What truths did their grandparents keep from them? The sisters must fight to keep the wounds of the past from putting their futures, and their fledgling relationships, in jeopardy.  

Blurb – Secrets and Solace

No matter how deeply buried, secrets rise to the surface.

Scarlet Lindquist has agreed to help her sisters rebuild the dilapidated fishing lodge in Minnesota they inherited from their grandparents. Although the lengthy restoration is bringing the three sisters closer together, Scarlet’s support is temporary. Her leave of absence from her job in Chicago is temporary and she has no intention of staying at Solace Lake Lodge, where the lake holds dark secrets. When frightening childhood memories resurface, they are tempered by her fascination with an irritating contractor. If only she could trust her feelings for him. If only he could trust her.

Cameron Hainstock meets Scarlet at his brother’s wedding to her sister and their attraction is instantaneous. But Cam avoids the beautiful marketing executive. All his efforts are aimed at battling for custody of his only child. When the unimaginable happens and Cam faces the biggest challenge of his life, he’s reluctant to accept help to halt his downward spiral. Can they learn to trust each other and fight for a future together or will they go their separate ways?

Buy Links:

US: http://www.amzn.com/B079WGSNWD

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B079WGSNWD

CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B079WGSNWD

AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B079WGSNWD

Excerpt: 

Scarlet smiled as she watched her sister and her soon-to-be husband cross the room. He was dark to her fair, tall to her petite, brown eyed to her blue. But in every way that was important, Harper and Ethan were a match. A perfect team. Ethan had made Harper’s dream to bring the fishing lodge back to life his dream as well. Together, they were turning the old lodge into an eco-friendly resort the whole family could be proud of.

To have someone to share her dreams, someone to have her back and love her no matter what seemed like a fairy tale to Scarlet.

“They’re a good-looking couple, aren’t they?”

Cameron’s deep voice broke into her thoughts, chasing away her fanciful notions. Nothing but wishful thinking.

“Yes, they are.”

He adjusted a limp, nearly asleep Tessa in his arms. Her head lay against his broad shoulder, while one hand rested on his chest, as if she wanted to feel the beat of her father’s heart. For some reason, the thought made her heart ache. 

“Is Harper pregnant?”

She jerked her head up at his whispered question. “What? No, of course not!” In her surprise, her voice was louder than she’d intended.

“I had to ask. They’re getting married in a hell of a hurry.”

At least, she didn’t think Harper was pregnant. She and her sisters often withheld the truth about their lives from each other, especially when the truth was unpleasant, but she’d hoped they’d put those days behind them. Surely if Harper was pregnant, she would have shared the news with her and Maggie.

Harper had turned to give her a puzzled stare, alerted by sound of her raised voice. Scarlet flashed her a phony smile before speaking to Cameron again, this time in a lowered tone. “Do you think that’s the only reason he’d marry her? Call me sentimental, but I believe they’re marrying for love.”

“They barely know each other. What would be the harm in waiting a few months? I don’t want Ethan to get hurt.” 

She, too, had concerns, but she was too insulted on behalf of her sister to admit to them.

#.99cent #sale A SWEETER SPOT by Donna Simonetta

Donna Simonetta is having a .99cent sale on her contemporary romance A SWEETER SPOT. The sale will run from today, May 25 to June 8, 2018. Here's a sneak peak:

Blurb:
Magda knows a 28-year-old shouldn’t run away from home, but Rivers Bend is the ideal escape. Helping out her best friend will get her away from her uber-wealthy, controlling grandmother and duplicitous ex. She doesn’t expect the quirky little town to feel so much like home. Add in hotter-than-the-sun Jeff and his daughter, and leaving seems as unthinkable as it is inevitable.

Raising Sam alone, Jeff knew he wanted her to grow up in his supportive hometown. The arrival of a feisty new tenant sends Jeff's world spinning. Magda fills a void in his life that he’d like to make permanent.

Will love triumph over the most powerful woman in the country, and can they figure out how to make this happy-for-now in Rivers Bend into their happy-ever-after?

Excerpt:
“Being cheated on is no fun. It happened to me once. Up here,” he tapped his forehead. “You know it’s not your fault. But here,” he tapped his chest over his heart. “You feel like it has to be your fault – like you could’ve done something to prevent it. But you couldn’t have. It’s all on him, Maggie. Not you.”

She picked a dandelion, whose flower had turned into a puffball, and blew on it, scattering the fluff to the wind. “Maybe. Maybe not. But thanks for the support.”

She pushed to her feet and took a couple of steps toward the river. Jeff rose and followed.

How could he be so angry at a man he didn’t even know? How could this Pierce jerk have slept around on a woman like Maggie? And the prick had even made her doubt herself in the process. It was written all over her anguished face.

He stood behind her and gently kneaded her shoulders. He turned her to face him and cupped her face in his big hands.

“This Pierce guy is the biggest fool on earth to go to someone else when he had you at home, Maggie.”

She blinked away tears, and he felt his heart constrict. Before he could think it through and decide it was a really bad idea, Jeff dipped his head and captured Magda’s lips in a gentle kiss.


Buy Links:
Amazon:
https://www.amzn.com/dp/B01N1S1K06/

TWRP:
http://catalog.thewildrosepress.com/all-titles/4862-a-sweeter-spot.html

Barnes & Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-sweeter-spot-donna-simonetta/1125338511?ean=2940157374921

Amazon UK:
http://amzn.eu/14pwrnP

Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/a-sweeter-spot-1

Author Bio:
My career has been a winding road. I worked in the business world for years, got my MLS and worked in a school library, and am now living my dream as an author. I love to read and write contemporary and fantasy romance. I live in Maryland, with my husband, who is my real-life romance hero. We both enjoy traveling to visit our far-flung family and friends, and spending time on the beach with an umbrella drink and a good book.



Author Links:
https://www.facebook.com/donnasimonettaauthor

https://twitter.com/donna_simonetta

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15422407.Donna_Simonetta

https://www.amazon.com/Donna-Simonetta/e/B06X415TWW/

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/donna-simonetta

I Can't Wait for Summer Giveaway!

I CAN’T WAIT FOR SUMMER
ROMANCE READS GIVEAWAY

https://bookwrapt.com/cant-wait-giveaway/

Summer doesn’t officially begin until June 21, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get a head start on it with a romance reads giveaway! You could win a 6-month gift subscription to Kindle Unlimited, a Kindle Fire 7, Amazon gift card, or one of three ebook prize packs.

(Sponsored by the 35 authors listed below)

Alina K. Field • Ann Everett • Anne McClane • April Fire • Ashlee Price • Bethany-Kris • Carrie Pulkinen • Debbie White • Denise Jaden • Donna R. Mercer • Isabella Thorne • Jacqui Nelson • Jana Richards • Jeanne St. James • Jo-Ann Carson • Joanne Dannon • Kat Stiles • Kelli McCracken • Kristy Tate • LA Kirk • Marlow Kelly • Michele Barrow-Belisle • MV Ellis • Quinn • RM Alexander • Rose Pearson • S.L. Sterling • Sahara Roberts • Soraya Naomi • Stephanie Queen • Sydney Aaliyah Michelle • Victoria Saccenti • Weston Parker • Willow Rose • Aileen Harkwood

Our event includes a book fair with 17 FREE ebook downloads available during the event, a store full of Kindle Unlimited romances, and even a bonus giveaway!

https://bookwrapt.com/cant-wait-book-fair/

LIES AND SOLACE - #Free May 21 and 22!

I'm using the last of my free days at Kindle Unlimited. LIES AND SOLACE is free May 21 and 22, 2018!

Series Blurb:
Love is worth the risk…

When their grandfather dies, the Lindquist sisters, Harper, Scarlet and Maggie, inherit the northern Minnesota fishing lodge that had been in their family for three generations. The inheritance is bittersweet. They were raised at the lodge by their grandparents. The natural beauty of the place hasn’t changed, but the building itself is crumbling and desperately in need of repair. The lodge also reminds them of what they lost. Twenty-two years previously, their parents died there in what was ruled a murder/suicide.

 As the sisters struggle to breathe new life into the failing lodge, old fears and questions rise to the surface even as new love presents itself. Why did their father murder their mother? What truths did their grandparents keep from them? The sisters must fight to keep the wounds of the past from putting their futures, and their fledgling relationships, in jeopardy. 

Blurb for Lies and Solace:
She can’t live with one more lie. He can’t tell the truth.

Harper Lindquist is convinced she’s found the answer to her financial prayers. Unless she pours cash into crumbling Solace Lake Lodge, she’ll lose her family’s legacy. Her would-be savior arrives in the middle of a Minnesota blizzard and she’s determined to prove to her reluctant, and trapped, financier the lodge is a sound investment. But Harper isn’t completely honest with him. And she has no idea the lake is hiding secrets of its own.

Ethan James is a liar, but his money is very real. He isn’t convinced a broken-down inn is a smart investment opportunity. But the more he understands Harper’s dreams and desires, the more he wants to be the man to make them come true. The trauma in both their pasts means neither can fully trust the other. They must find the courage to love, to trust, and to accept, or yesterday’s sorrows will keep them apart.

Download your FREE ecopy of LIES AND SOLACE at Amazon!

US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079TDDSY4

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B079TDDSY4

CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B079TDDSY4

AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B079TDDSY4


Excerpt:

“I should have told you, I know. But the longer I hesitated, the harder it was to tell the truth. I never had a conscious plan to deceive you.”

“I can understand that you’ve had bad experiences in the past, and I can even understand why you made up your Ethan James persona when you first came here. But to carry the lie so far, to the point where we slept together and you still didn’t tell me, I can’t forgive that. If you’d confided in me, I would have kept your secret. I wouldn’t have told anyone about the money, not even my sisters. But you didn’t trust me.” 

She brushed past him and climbed the stairs. Ethan followed her. “Harper, wait. Let’s talk some more.”

“There’s nothing to talk about. I needed honesty from you, but you couldn’t give that to me.” She fumbled with her keys before finding the right one and inserting it in the lock. “If you were dishonest in our personal relationship, how can I trust you in our business relationship? When the renovations are finished, I’m going to recommend to my sisters that we sell. You can buy it, or someone else can. I don’t care.”

He grasped her shoulders and turned her to face him. “You don’t mean that! I know what this place means to you. Your great-grandfather built it. Your family has lived here for three generations. You can’t walk away.”

“I finally realized this place is simply a pile of logs, nothing more.”

Shocked by her words, he let her go and staggered back a step. “You would sell this place just so you don’t have to see me or deal with me anymore?”

He saw uncertainty flicker in her eyes, but she didn’t waver. “Yes. I have to.”

She opened the door of the cottage and stepped inside, closing it firmly behind her. For a few minutes, Ethan stood immobile, too shocked to move. She really hated him that much. 

No amount of explanation was ever going to make Harper feel the way she once did.

Say Happy #MothersDay with Books from Kris Bock and Sharon Eboch

To celebrate Mother's Day, Kris Bock is here to celebrate the bond she and her mother Sharon Eboch share - a love of writing. And both are having sales this Mother's Day weekend. Here's Kris Bock to tell us about their writing and their sale. Welcome Kris!

A Mother and Daughter say Happy #MothersDay with a free #mystery and a 99-cent #romance

Mother's Day is a time to think about all the ways you treasure your mother. What do you have in common with your mother? Physical features, interests, ethics? I’m lucky to have a mother who is creative, a world traveler, and a bit of a rebel. It’s possible I inherited some or all of those traits from her.

We are also both writers. I came to writing early, with my parents’ support – I’ve been a professional working writer for twenty years. Mom wrote an occasional article, along with business documents and a PhD thesis, before turning to fiction after she retired. As a fan of mysteries, she decided to write her own. She set it in Juneau, Alaska, where we lived while I was in high school. (I’m not featured in the book, but our former dog Bandit is.)

Today we both live in the Southwest – she’s in Arizona and I’m in New Mexico. I write romantic suspense novels set in this region, including my Southwest Treasure Hunters books. These are action-packed adventures with a touch of humor, featuring quests for treasure – whether long-lost, recently hidden, or in human form.

To celebrate this Mother’s Day, I have a romantic suspense novel available for free, while Mom’s cozy mystery is on sale for $.99.

The Dead Man’s Treasure by Kris Bock is FREE May 10-14.

“The Dead Man’s Treasure is fast-paced and a perfect read for the weekend. I highly recommend this one.”

Rebecca Westin is shocked to learn the grandfather she never knew has left her a bona fide buried treasure – but only if she can decipher a complex series of clues leading to it. The hunt would be challenging enough without interference from her half-siblings, who are determined to find the treasure first and keep it for themselves.

Good thing Rebecca has recruited some help. Sam is determined to show Rebecca that a desert adventure can be sexy and fun. But there’s a treacherous wildcard in the mix, a man willing to do anything to get that treasure – and revenge.

Action and romance combine in this lively Southwestern adventure, complete with riddles the reader is invited to solve to identify historical and cultural sites around New Mexico.

“I can’t say enough how much I loved this book! It has mystery, adventure, danger, romance, and above it all family remains a huge theme.”

The Dead Man’s Treasure is book 2 of the Southwest Treasure Hunters novels. Each book features a different hero and heroine, and stands alone with a happy ending. The first novel, The Mad Monk’s Treasure, is $.99 or free with Kindle Unlimited. The Mad Monk’s Treasure, “Smart romance with an ‘Indiana Jones’ feel,” has 4.7 out of 5 stars with 50 reviews

Murder on the West Glacier Trail by Sharon Eboch is on sale for 99 cents – a 67% discount! – from May 10-16!

“This is a fast-paced mystery that keeps you guessing. It has good locale and character descriptions.”

If Kate Foland had known how her bed and breakfast guest would change her life, she might have left her at the airport.

When Kate’s guest is shot to death while hiking in the Alaskan woods, Kate feels compelled to investigate. Sandra Allison seemed like a perfectly nice young woman. So who would want her dead?

Sandra’s archeology work often caused construction delays while Native artifacts were removed. Did a Juneau builder follow up a threat with a gunshot? Or was Kate the intended victim, since Sandra was wearing Kate’s coat and walking her dog? And why is the dog suddenly acting like a scaredy-cat?

“... a fun story with a great sense of local flavor.” 

“...hard to put down!”

“Knowledge of the Juneau area was evident, and at least a couple of the recipes included appear as must tries.”

About the Authors

Kris Bock and her mom Sharon Ebock in the 1970s

In case you’re wondering why we have similar but different last names, Kris Bock is my pen name for writing adult romantic adventures and mysteries. I write for children under the name Chris Eboch.

As Kris Bock, I write novels of adventure and romance involving outdoor adventures and Southwestern landscapes. Whispers in the Dark features archaeology and intrigue among ancient Southwest ruins. In Counterfeits, stolen Rembrandt paintings bring danger to a small New Mexico town. What We Found is a mystery with strong romantic elements about a young woman who finds a murder victim in the woods.

Each of the Southwest Treasure Hunters books stands alone in a series mixing action and adventure with romance. The Mad Monk’s Treasure follows the hunt for a long-lost treasure in the New Mexico desert. In The Dead Man’s Treasure, estranged relatives compete to reach a buried treasure by following a series of complex clues. In The Skeleton Canyon Treasure, sparks fly when reader favorites Camie and Tiger help a mysterious man track down his missing uncle.

Read excerpts at my Amazon page or website. Sign up for Kris Bock newsletter.

Kris and Sharon in 2016

Sharon Eboch lives in Tempe, Arizona, where she enjoys reading, quilting, and occasional social activism. Murder on the West Glacier Trail was inspired by her love of cozy mysteries and her years living in Juneau, Alaska, with her family and a dog named Bandit (featured in the book). Originally from Nebraska, she has also lived in Saudi Arabia, San Francisco, and the Seattle area. She has a PhD in Human Development and the Family, which she now mostly uses to attempt to understand her two adult children.

#NewRelease from Kathryn Knight: DANGEROUS CURRENTS

Kathryn Knight is my guest today and she wants to tell you about her new book, DANGEROUS CURRENTS, which released on May 3, 2018. She calls it a contemporary romance with suspense elements. Here's Kathryn with a blurb and an excerpt. Take it away, Kathryn!

Blurb:

When a costly mistake ends Malorie Montgomery’s career, she returns to Cape Cod in search of a fresh start.  But her plans for a new—and quiet—life are quickly derailed when she makes a grisly discovery in the woods, and her screams bring the one person from her past she’d hoped to avoid.  Dean Slater, the ex-boyfriend who broke her heart in high school, now lives in the beachfront community that was supposed to be her haven…and he’s just as hot as he was six years ago.

With his rough background, Dean always knew he wasn’t good enough for the kind, intelligent beauty who claimed his heart, but somehow he’d believed their love was strong enough to survive anything—until the tragic night she turned her back on him when he needed her trust the most.
Despite their painful history, Dean can’t resist the instinct to protect her, especially when it becomes apparent there’s a killer in their town.

Their former chemistry soon reignites, but Malorie has long accepted that her dark family secret has destined her to a life alone.  And when she uncovers evidence that makes her the killer’s target, a deadly confrontation threatens to destroy any possibility of a second chance.

Retailer Links:

Amazon:  https://www.amzn.com/B07C71PWYK

Barnes and Noble:  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dangerous-currents-kathryn-knight/1128511755

iTunes:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1372633881

Kobo:  https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/dangerous-currents

Author Bio:

Kathryn Knight spends a great deal of time in her fictional world, where mundane chores don’t exist and daily life involves steamy romance, dangerous secrets, and spooky suspense.  Her novels are award-winning #1 Amazon and Barnes & Noble Bestsellers and RomCon Reader-Rated picks.  When she’s not reading or writing, Kathryn spends her time catching up on those mundane chores, driving kids around, and teaching fitness classes.  She lives on beautiful Cape Cod with her husband, their two sons, and a number of rescued pets.  Please visit her at www.kathrynknightbooks.blogspot.com.

Author Links:

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

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/k_knightbooks

Newsletter sign-up:  http://eepurl.com/dmzSs1

Blog:  http://kathrynknightbooks.blogspot.com/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6477115.Kathryn_Knight

Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Kathryn-Knight/e/B00919ENJA

BookBub:  https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kathryn-knight


Excerpt:

He took a step closer, eliminating the small distance between them.  “I wasn’t about to let him hurt you.”  He paused, his strained expression revealing an internal struggle.  Clenching his jaw, he closed his eyes for a moment.  When he opened them, their green depths flashed with something like defiance, and he cursed under his breath.  “The thing is,” he finally continued, his tone rough with barely harnessed emotion, “I still feel…protective of you.  I want to keep you safe.”

Her lungs stopped working.  Alarm bells jangled in a distant part of her mind as he leaned over her.  This was dangerous.  She was dangerous.  Swallowing past the knot in her throat, she forced the words out.  “You don’t need to feel that way.”

His hands gripped her shoulders, setting her skin on fire.  He lowered his head, bringing his lips inches from hers.  “I don’t think I can control it.”

She couldn’t move.  She simply didn’t have the willpower—or the desire—to stop this from happening.  Every cell in her body was clamoring with need for him; it was a force of its own.  All coherent thought fled as the moment stretched out in an agonizing slide toward the inevitable.

#Free Book from Adriana Kraft: DETOUR AHEAD

I love horse racing. I am definitely going to be watching the Kentucky Derby tomorrow. And I'm definitely going to download a free ecopy of DETOUR AHEAD from Adriana Kraft. DETOUR AHEAD, book 4 in the Riders Up series is free on Amazon until May 7. Adriana tells us about how the idea for the book was born.

Fiction? Reality? A trip to California’s San Diego foothills and a #FREE download

Did we take this trip to write a book? Well, maybe. Mostly we wanted to escape the cold, windy, snowy, gray, all-too-short mid-January days in Minnesota’s north woods, where we then lived.

Southern California beckoned, and we found a time share we could trade for, not very far north of San Diego, in the foothills outside Ramona.

It was a brief taste of heaven. Warm, sunny, inviting, a horse stable and marvelous riding trails – and we had the place practically to ourselves. We never did figure out why such an upscale property in its beautiful setting wasn’t filled to the gills in mid January.

But Mr. Kraft, among other things, is a criminologist, and it took no time at all for a sinister plot to emerge: Maybe the property was being used to launder money; maybe someone wanted the resort to fail; maybe someone wanted to pick it up for a song and turn it into tract houses. What would they target?

We biked, went on trail rides (led by the easy-to-look at wrangler who ran the stables, and yes, even when married, it’s okay to look!), and explored the region. On one of our forays into the surrounding country we found a back road with a sign pointing to our resort town, so we took it – and Traci Steele’s detour was born. On her way to the (fictitious) resort where her friend Cassie has booked her for a month of badly needed R&R, she’s forced to take a detour in the pouring rain down a twisting mountain back road.

Traci Steele may be the most damaged of the heroines in our four-book horse racing suspense series, Riders Up. If she was a real person, she could say “Me, too” – except she’s never told anyone, not even her best friend, Cassie.

To celebrate this weekend’s 144th running of the Kentucky Derby, Detour Ahead will be FREE at Amazon today through Monday, May 7!

Detour Ahead (Riders Up Book Four)
Download Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RPT6YJA/
Always free at Kindle Unlimited
Each book in this series may be read as a Stand-Alone

BLURB:

Threatened race horses, city slicker attorney, sexy California wrangler—what can possibly go wrong?

Hot-shot Chicago prosecuting attorney Traci Steele works tirelessly keeping rapists off the street to prevent other women from suffering the hell she’s endured, so she resists her friends’ insistence that she take a two-month R&R in their California Live Oak condo—until they persuade her to help their rancher friend as a private investigator. 

Though he runs the stables at Live Oak, well-muscled mustached wrangler Scott McCord much prefers working with the race horses he trains at his ranch, and he can’t believe his old friends have sent a greenhorn female to help him with horse troubles.

The improbable dance between this mismatched pair barely fits in around the escalating suspense of whoever’s after Scott’s horses. Traci is as tenacious in her sleuthing as she is terrified about her inability to ever love a man. Can Scott succeed in gentling her - like he does his horses - before she flees in panic? 

EXCERPT:

Traci Steele peered through the rain-splattered windshield of her rental car trying to focus on the taillights ahead. She’d climbed the foothills east of San Diego for nearly an hour. Abruptly, the traffic slowed to a snail’s pace.

Why so slow? The rain was letting up some. Traci loosened her grip on the steering wheel to rub first one forearm and then the other.

She squinted trying to read the orange road sign. Damn. The sign grew clearer with each few feet she advanced: Detour Ahead.

A lanky deputy sheriff leaned down to answer her unasked question. “Sorry ma’am, the road is closed. We had an oil tanker jackknife and roll on the slick pavement. This road likely won’t be reopened until sometime tomorrow.”

“I’m headed for Buteo. To the Live Oak Resort.”

“No problem. Just stay on this route we’re sending traffic over.” The deputy gestured toward the narrow road to Traci’s right. “About a mile down that road you’ll have an option to come back to the main road you’re on now. Don’t take it. This detour is actually a short cut to Buteo, and the views can be spectacular. Just don’t try going too fast.”

“Thanks.” Traci nodded, raking fingers through her hair. “I won’t be rushing on these roads.”

She took the right hand turn. A small, paint-chipped sign read “Buteo Canyon Road.” Another stated “Open Range.” What did that mean?

Riders Up Series

Always free at Kindle Unlimited
Each book in this series may be read as a Stand-Alone

Riders Up Series
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Three Flames: Explicit sex, M/F
Danger, suspense, stunning race horses, courageous heroines, and the complicated men who love them.

Cassie’s Hope (Book One)
High stakes, a fiery Irish redhead, her stunning racehorse, and a fiercely loyal half-blood rancher. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GDWTUGY

Heat Wave (Book Two)
Hang onto the land – but at what cost? Feisty widow hires ace racehorse trainer to salvage her family’s heritage. Can they survive escalating threats to life and limb? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JZ6GW6G

Willow Smoke (Book Three)
When the chips are down, there's nobody there. Apprentice racehorse trainer Daisy Matthews has survived the Chicago streets with this mantra but is unprepared for the much older Nick Underwood's urgent pursuit. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N0DH13I

Detour Ahead (Book Four)
Threatened race horses, city slicker attorney, sexy California wrangler—what can possibly go wrong?  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RPT6YJA/ 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Award winning author Adriana Kraft is a married couple writing Sizzling Romantic Suspense and Erotic Romance for Two, Three, or More. Whether readers open our romantic suspense or our erotic romance, they can expect characters they care about, hot sex scenes, and a compelling story. Our suspense stories deliver one man, one woman, danger and intrigue – always a happy ending, but oh, what a ride! Readers can count on our Romantic Suspense line for “warmth, blazing hot sex, and well-developed characters” (Romance Junkies Reviews) as our hero and heroine battle outer threats and inner demons to stay alive and fall in love. Together we have published more than forty romance novels and novellas to outstanding reviews.

Website https://adrianakraft.com
Blog https://adrianakraft.com/blog
Twitter http://twitter.com/AdrianaKraft
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AdrianaKraftAuthor
Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/adrianakraft5/
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1578571.Adriana_Kraft
Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/author/adrianakraft
Newsletter http://eepurl.com/uRvCr

#RomanticSuspense from Madelon Smid

Fellow Wild Rose Press author and fellow Canadian Madelon Smid is my guest today. Madelon sat down for an interview to tell us about FATAL FLIGHT and her Sisters in Peril Series, and her life as a writer on the Canadian prairies. Please welcome Madelon Smid!

Fatal Flight

Sisters in Peril Series Book 1

By Madelon Smid

Madelon will be giving away 1 ebook copy of Fatal Flight, 1 ebook copy of Climbing High, and 1 ebook copy of High Seas. Please use the Rafflecopter below to enter. Remember you may increase your chances of winning by visiting the other tour stops. You may find those locations here. 

About Fatal Flight: 

When he finds Sky Stravinski, Adam Hamilton becomes enmeshed in a world of danger. Did he bring it with him, earning an enemy as chief engineer and test pilot, or find it along with her? Fulfilling his commitment means persuading Sky to meet the grandmother she never knew she had. Recovering from an airplane crash, torn between opposing forces, and caught up in the attacks on Sky, Adam fights for the fascinating pilot, determined to keep her safe, and win her love.

Everything Sky owns comes under attack, from her airplanes to her airfield and her life. Combatting a hidden enemy and Adam Hamilton’s intrusion, Sky feels trapped by circumstances outside her control. As her sponsor, he earns her trust. But Adam wants things Sky won’t give. Meeting her grandmother and developing a relationship with Adam will pull her back into their world of wealth and entitlement. Sky won’t become a rich man’s plaything again. Will the threats that bring them together convince Sky Adam deserves a place in her life?

Buy Links:  Amazon US | The Wild Rose Press | Amazon CA

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Excerpt: 

“You consider going to Max behind my back being upfront?”

“Max came to me. I was interested and after crunching the numbers, researching your top notch standing on the circuit and talking with my father, thought this was a great PR opportunity for our corporation. I didn’t know you were against the idea. My experience is that as soon as someone knows what I’m worth, they want something from me.”

“And you assumed I was sticking my hand in the pot.” She stopped at the entrance to the big tent, where oceans of food were served all day. “Okay, I see where you were coming from. Pax.” She offered her hand.

She took quiet satisfaction in the fact he looked like she’d turned him on his head. Good, keep him off balance, and he couldn’t do the same to her. He took her hand, his long fingers warm and dry, just the lightest of squeezes. He’d never used his size and strength to intimidate, she realized. He was a true alpha male, for only the strongest, fastest and smartest protected the vulnerable. A weaker male, took advantage of them.


Interview with Madelon Smid:

Do you have any unusual writing habits?

I write the story in my head over a few weeks of telling it to myself before I go to sleep. Then I write the 72,000 word book in two weeks, at a rate of 5,000 to 10,000 words a day. 

What do you want readers to come away with after they read your book Fatal Flight?

My readers always learn something. In Fatal Flight they learn about aerobatic competition flying and a lot about the Tahoe area.

Do you work on more than one book at a time?

Yes, I wrote and published a nonfiction book, Chronic Challege, Living well with Chronic Disease, at the same time as I wrote Sky High, edited the galleys for High Risk, and edited an anthology for our writing group.

Do you have any words of advice to beginning writers?

If you want to be a writer, don’t think about writing, talk about writing, or take a dozen writing courses—just write.

What comes first for you – plot or character? And why?

I make up the bare bones of my protagonists then develop the plot. I like lots of action.

What do you hope readers gain from your stories?

I hope my protagonists are great role models for the readers. They are independent, strong, courageous, caring and loving, with a set of high values.

What book for you has been the easiest to write? The most fun?

Fatal Flight was easy because my husband is a pilot and we flew our own planes for many years. I love the beauty and risk of flying and wanted to show that to my readers.

Tell us a bit about you. Where do you live, and how long have you been writing?

I live by the South Saskatchewan River, surrounded by ancient hills and always with the Land of the living skies around me. I’ve been writing for over forty years.

If writing is your first passion, what is your second?

Being in nature, kayaking, skiing, hiking, camping—being one with the land.

How do you think your life experiences have prepared you for writing?

My parents enabled my drive and creativity, a lengthy illness taught me resilience and endurance, my outdoor adventures force me to find courage, strength and willingness to cope with the unknown. All these things are necessary to write a book, and to write the characters you want to center your stories around.

What genre is your favorite to read?

Nonfiction accounts of man against nature e.g. kayaking to the arctic, rowing to Iceland, circumnavigating the globe in a sailboat, climbing a mountain.

What did you want to be (occupation-wise) when you were a child?

I trained to be an Interior Designer to express my creativity, but found I preferred to use words.

What do you like best about your hero in Fatal Flight? 

Adam is an alpha male who uses his strength to protect the weak, not for power. He’s passionate, intelligent and performs at a high capacity in anything he takes on.

What do you like best about your heroine in Fatal Flight? 

Sky is a skilled pilot, confident and courageous, but wounded from a past experience with love. She’s strong, yet vulnerable.

How do you choose the names and physical characteristics of your characters? Do you base them on real people?

Sometimes I’ve used characteristics from people I love to flesh out a character. Most often I make them up completely.

How can readers reach you or find you online?

Madelon Smid on Facebook, Twitter, www.madelonasmid.com

Tell us a little about your current work in progress.

I have just submitted, Sinister Skies, book 3 in my Sisters in peril series. Halley is a helicopter pilot.

If I was a first time reader of your books, which one would you recommend I start with and why?

Start with Climbing High, book 1 in my Daring Heights series. There are 6 books in all, and the characters from earlier books are part of the later books, so you get to see their love and lives develop.

Tell us about your next release.


Lethal Landing will launch worldwide on June 11/18. It is book 2 in my Sisters in Peril series, and focuses on a female hot air balloonist.

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About Madelon Smid:

Madelon Smid has the pioneer spirit of a true prairie woman. She seeks inspiration from the rolling hills and river coulees that surround her home; creating characters as intriguing and beautiful as the ever changing skies.

As a successful non-fiction writer, she co-authored a best seller, Smart Women, published Chronic Challenge: Living Well with Chronic Disease, and many articles in national and regional magazines.

She taught writing classes for adults at her local college, ran a successful online writing course, and edited five anthologies for the Prairie Quills Writers’ Group, before returning to her true love – fiction. The six romantic suspense stories in her Daring Heights series have received glowing reviews.

While she continues searching out the best in nature, exploring new stretches of water in her kayak, and seeking new mountains to ski, she sees every adventure as fresh material for the next story she will create in her home by the river.

Madelon's Social Media Links:

Website: http://www.madelonasmid.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/madelonsmid Twitter: https://twitter.com/madelonsmid

Blog: http://www.madelonasmid.com/my_blog/

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