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Friday, February 6, 2015

HIDDEN TRAILS RELEASES TODAY! I'M GIVING AWAY A COPY! by Cheryl Pierson


I’ve got a new release hitting the shelves today! Hidden Trails is my latest western historical novella. Lots of excitement and action—and a Valentine’s Day hope for new love. Leave a comment to be entered to win a copy of HIDDEN TRAILS. Take a look!

BLURB:

Levi Connor has never run from anything in his life, and he doesn’t intend to start now. After killing the two bandits who’d followed him into Indian Territory, he finds himself wounded and riding through a blinding February snowstorm. With no purpose ahead of him and no past to guide him, he discovers a reason to exist—the beautiful mixed-blood girl who takes him in and heals him.

Valentine Reneau lives in fear that her father will find her someday in the heart of Indian Territory and force her to return to Mississippi to take her mother’s place—in every way. She knows her time has run out when a stranger shows up on her land with two hired guns—and the devil in his plans.

With some unlikely help, Valentine must try to escape the slave’s fate that her mother left behind so many years before. Will Levi kill for a woman he barely knows? The chips are down, the guns blaze, and everything finally comes clear along these HIDDEN TRAILS…but who’ll be left alive?



EXCERPT:

She pulled the covers away so she could see his leg. Without saying anything more, she took the lantern from the nightstand and turned up the wick, holding it close to the wound.

“I better get to this,” she said under her breath. Then, she glanced up to meet his gaze. “How long have you been carrying this bullet? And what are you running from?”

Levi grimaced as she turned her attention back to the wound and prodded at it.

“Three days. And I ain’t runnin’, ma’am. A Connor don’t run.”

“And you are a Connor, I take it?”

“Levi Connor. Didn’t get a chance to introduce myself earlier,” he muttered, letting go a sharp breath as she laid a warm, wet cloth over the wound.

“Need to get it cleaned up,” she said. “I don’t want to hurt you, but it can’t be helped. Taking out a bullet is always painful, but when it’s been in there for three days—”

“I know.” He waved a hand dismissively. “I’m just obliged to you—and I’ll make it up to you—for bein’ such a bother.”

She shook her head. “No bother. Truly. My father was a doctor, so I do know a little about what I’m doing.”

Levi breathed a slow sigh of relief. This wasn’t his first bullet hole. But thank God, he’d ended up here, with a beautiful young woman who seemed capable of treating him. There had been times before when he would have prayed to be in this circumstance, rather than some of the ones he’d found himself in.

Gentle hands ministered to him, but he suddenly remembered the very delicate location of the bullet hole and tried to re-cover himself.

“Mr. Connor, I’ve seen everything you have—and many others just like it,” Valentine said matter-of-factly. “I can’t very well remove a bullet from a wound I can’t see.” She snatched the covers from his hand and threw them back to his side. “You’re making it harder for me to be able to do what I need to.”

“In a week or two, I’d pay money for you to flip those covers away like that,” Levi answered.

She bent a long, hard look on him. “I’m not for sale, Mr. Connor. Not at any price. You want to keep riding?”

Levi shook his head. “Forget I said that, Valentine. Just the pain and the…damn humiliation talkin’. I didn’t mean it.”

A slow smile quirked her lips. “I can’t imagine you ever being embarrassed.”

“Believe it or not, I was raised a gentleman, ma’am.”

“I believe it, Mr. Connor. I do believe it.” Her voice was soft and sincere, and full of loss for things Levi didn’t understand.

But just then, she pulled the wound open and probed for the bullet, and the pain stripped everything else away from him. There was nothing in Levi’s consciousness but Valentine and her tweezers, delving into the bloody hole in his leg. He swallowed back the cry that threatened to bring the roof down, forcing it away.


Thanks for stopping by today--hope you enjoyed this peek into my new story, HIDDEN TRAILS! Don't forget to leave a comment to be entered in the giveaway. If you just can't wait to see if you won, here are the buy links!

B&N NOOK             SMASHWORDS

36 comments:

  1. So cruel to leave me hanging when I want to keep reading. LOL. Love the blurb. And the cover!

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    1. LOL Alisa--well at only .99, at least Levi is affordable. LOL I am just crazy about this cover. Livia always outdoes herself each and every time.

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  2. I did enjoy that peek and now I need more.
    debby236 at gmail dot com

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    1. Hi Debby!
      Levi's pretty tough, but I know he's glad he got a "doctor" that knows what she's doing! LOL Thanks for stopping by today!
      Cheryl

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  3. Miss Cheryl! You sure do 'do' these wounded heroes well! Here's another one for me to add to the huge pile of PRP authors I have to read. Levi sounds yummy, can't wait to read his story!

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    1. Hey Jill! Well, I have to admit, Levi IS pretty darn yummy. But of course, Valentine feels she has to fight her attraction to him (don't they all?) LOL I'm pretty proud of this little tale.
      Cheryl

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  4. And what would a Cheryl Pierson story be without a wounded hero? LOL I like Levi's sense of humor and the way he talks. He makes me smile. Valentine seems to have a horrible and painful past. I know right now that Levi is going to repay Valentine for her kindness--in many ways. I look forward to reading Hidden Trails, for certain. All the best to you, Cheryl.

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    1. Sarah, I could just see Levi in my mind's eye--before I ever started this story, I knew he would be my "star" and of course, he's got a terrible past! Wounded in every sense of the word! Thanks for coming by today, Sarah! You're always so supportive--and I appreciate that!
      Cheryl

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  5. I'm looking forward to reading this one, Okie. The description of the hero dragged me right on in even before I read the rest of the blurb. And I LOVE the heroine's background! I won't even mention the tantalizing excerpt that left us dangling right over the edge of a cliff. Fink. ;-)

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    1. Well, Tex, you have to be dangled or you won't want to read it! LOL I'm just so thrilled about this story--not just the characters, but the intensity of the plot, because there are some surprises, but one HUGE one. I know, more dangling, here. LOL
      Hugs, dear sister!
      Cheryl

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  6. Sounds like a wonderful story, Cheryl! I look forward to reading it.

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    1. Aw, thanks, Kristy! I hope you'll enjoy it. It was a lot of fun to write.

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  7. I'm already in love with Levi Connor. Looks like another great story from you, Cheryl. I can hardly wait to read it. Hey, Livia, I love that snowy cabin cover background behind your "he means business" cowboy.

    Robyn writing as Zina Abbott

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    1. Robyn, I'm so glad to hear you're in love with Levi, because I sure as heck was, before I ever even started writing. LOL And that cover...Livia always does them up right!
      Cheryl

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  8. Ooooo, marvelous! I can't wait to read it, Cheryl!

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  9. Sounds SO GOOD! I want to write like that. Another winner, Cheryl. Good job.

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    1. Thanks, Connie! And what a compliment! I enjoyed writing this story--it was just perfect for these characters--had to write it a bit longer than our anthology length, but it needed that. LOL
      Cheryl

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  10. Sounds like a story that will catch my interest and I like stories set in the winter :-)

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    1. Gordo, I think you will like this--it's heavy on suspense and light on romance, so I think it will appeal to guys. Thanks for coming by!
      Cheryl

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  11. Just got it! Can't wait to read it!

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  12. Cheryl--I swear, no one writes a wounded hero like you do. Every time I read a scene in which the bullet is being removed--or whatever she must do--I start to shiver. Well done, and I know this one will also be a big seller!
    Congratulations.

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    1. Thanks, Celia! I'm glad I make you shiver...LOL It will all end well for everyone, I promise...well, except for the bad guys...it won't end well for them.
      Thanks for stopping by!
      Cheryl

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  13. I have this on my hot little kindle and can't wait to read it!! I'm ready for a Cheryl Pierson tortured hero!

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    1. Yeah, it's been awhile, hasn't it, Kirsten? I was just thinking that when I was writing that story. IT'S TIME...BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
      Cheryl

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  14. I am so glad you have a new work out Cheryl. I've been missing your stories, but understand you have been pretty busy. This one, well let's just say, WOW! Thanks. Doris

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    1. Thanks, dear lady! You are always so supportive and I surely do appreciate you! I've been missing writing those stories, too! LOL I hope you enjoy this one.

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  15. I didn't want to quit reading either. Now there's another one to put on my 'to read' list. I don't know when I'm going to get caught up with all the wonderful books from PRP.

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    1. I know, Agnes! There are so many out there! And they keep on coming. I'm thrilled. I hope you enjoy Hidden Trails.
      Cheryl

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  16. Wow Cheryl! This excerpt is making me want to find a cowboy with a wound to fix. Looks like a great read. Congratulations!

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    1. Barb, I would probably faint if I really had to do what Valentine is doing right now. LOL Thanks so much for stopping by!
      Cheryl

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  17. Mmm, tempting! Looks like a great read, Cheryl. I hope I win.

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    1. Hi Lyn! Thanks for coming by...I'm going to draw here in a bit...I've got your name in the "hat"!
      Cheryl

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  18. AND...the winner is...YOU, LYN! LOL I put the eligible names in a hat and picked one out and it was yours! So congratulations, and I will be contacting you with your coupon code for your prize!

    Thanks to everyone for stopping by today and for all the support and very warm wishes from everyone. It sure means a lot!

    Cheryl

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