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Monday, September 29, 2014

PRP CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS FOR CHRISTMAS ANTHOLOGIES! by Cheryl Pierson



PRAIRIE ROSE PUBLICATIONS IS ISSUING AN OPEN CALL-OUT FOR SUBMISSIONS FOR OUR 2014 CHRISTMAS ANTHOLOGIES!


PRESENT FOR A COWBOY—Got a sweet/sensual holiday romance story about a present for a special cowboy? That’s what we’re looking for in this Christmas anthology! It could be a material gift—or a gift of the heart. Put a hunky cowboy and a feisty heroine together during a Christmas holiday and see what kind of a story you might be able to come up with for us—but don’t forget that special gift!
WORD COUNT: 10K-15K
HEAT RATING: Sweet to Sensual
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: MONDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2014
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: Submit in TIMES NEW ROMAN 12 pt. font, 1 inch margins, double spaced
We do not accept erotica.
ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS HERE: fabkat_edit@yahoo.com or prairierosepublications@yahoo.com



WILD TEXAS CHRISTMAS—Do you have a story that’s a bit “hotter”? Send your sensual/spicy submissions for consideration in this anthology! You know what they say about Texas—there’s no taming the men—or the women—from that part of the country! When Christmas comes along and cold weather sets in, a cozy cabin, a warm fire, and being alone together on the Texas prairie are circumstances that could bring some extra “heat” into the picture. Turn your imagination loose and see what you come up with—but remember, it’s got to happen in Texas, where everything is bigger, better, and wilder!
WORD COUNT: 10K-15K
HEAT RATING: Sensual to Spicy
SUBMISSIONS DEADLINE: MONDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2014
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: Submit in TIMES NEW ROMAN 12 pt. font, 1 inch margins, double spaced
We do not accept erotica.
ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS HERE: fabkat_edit@yahoo.com or prairierosepublications@yahoo.com

Friday, September 26, 2014

SPIRITS OF WYOMING...PUT DOWN THE WHISKEY, I'M TALKIN GHOSTS!! By Kirsten Lynn

I was going to write about Wyoming being the “Equality State,” and some of the misinformation often batted about, but with Halloween stories being conjured left and right I thought I’d leave the really scary stuff of politics for another day and talk ghosts.

Sheridan, Wyoming, nestled snug in the valley of the Bighorns, has its fair share of things that go bump in the night…And I’m not just talking about when the Burlington Northern goes through town at 1:00 in the morning.  Residents and visitors have reported specters of women “of an undesirable nature” roaming the rooms of Hotel Rex, where they used to do a lot moaning for a different reason.  The disgraced son-in-law of Buffalo Bill Cody is said to haunt the Sheridan Inn where he took his life, or it was taken from him as some people speculate.

There is one spirit who found a home at the Sheridan Inn in life and is determined to remain there through the next.  Miss Kate, as she is affectionately known around these parts, is by far the favorite apparition of Sheridan.

Catherine Arnold stepped off the train in Sheridan, Wyoming in 1901. She was a bright eyed twenty-two-year-old from Virginia. Kate walked across the dusty road from the Depot to the Sheridan Inn, once known as the finest hotel between Chicago and San Francisco. Once her feet crossed the threshold of the Inn, it seemed nothing and no one could keep the young lady and the gabled inn apart.
Miss Kate (courtesy of the Sheridan Heritage Society)

Miss Kate was beloved by staff and guests of the hotel. In her sixty-four years at the Inn, she served as seamstress, desk clerk, housekeeper, hostess and babysitter.  She kept a flower garden behind the Inn, which benefited diners at the Inn’s restaurant as they graced the tables.

Though she never married, it seems Miss Kate had a crush on a local man. This we found when the Museum I work for took possession of many of the Sheridan Inn’s items and found an old ice cream carton decorated as a gift (to be used as a trash can) for the gentleman.

After years of faithful service Miss Kate was forced to leave the Inn in 1965, when developers purchased the Inn with plans to tear it down. Locals saved the Inn and it was purchased and used for dining and dancing.

Front of Sheridan Inn (courtesy of Kirsten Lynn)


Miss Kate passed away in 1968, her one wish to return to the Inn.  It is said, she was cremated and her ashes buried in the wall of the room she occupied.  I can neither confirm, nor deny this part of the story.

Through boom and bust, Miss Kate has remained at the Inn even as it recently sat empty for a many months.  Under new ownership the Inn is being restored to accommodate guests, parties and receptions.

Miss Kate’s presence has been felt on a daily basis. She is known to repeatedly turn the lights off and on and open and shut doors.  Her presence is strong on the third floor, near her room, with cold spots being felt on that floor and throughout the Inn.  One local, reported seeing lights on and curtains open on the third floor, when they drove by at two o’clock in the morning.

As a personal aside:  My first year at the Museum, we were asked to remove all artifacts from the Inn and keep them safe until someone saved the Inn and bought it.  We arrived at the Inn and the director had kindly purchased coffee and doughnuts for us. After we ate, he announced: “Okay, this is how we’re going to dismantle the contents.”  The lights went off.  No one moved, and no one said the name we were all thinking. The lights came back on and we got to work.  We agreed to blame a faulty electrical system.

The Sheridan Inn plays a small role in many of my manuscripts, but not in THE BALLAD OF ANNIE SULLIVAN.  For Hank and Annie’s story, I chose the backdrop of the Bighorn Mountains and a lone cowboy at cow camp. After interviewing local cowboys, who spent some summers alone on the mountains, I started thinking about how that could start playing with a person’s mind…and how they might start imagining things…or not.  And if you’re going to have a crazy story, the Renner clan is the family to choose. So, if you liked RACE TO MARRY, you’ll enjoy catching up with Cal and Josie and meeting Hank, one of the boys they adopted.

Hank Renner enjoys summers and early autumns when he can escape his large family and spend time alone at the cow camp in the Bighorn Mountains. That is, until he starts seeing a beautiful woman with flaming red hair and brown eyes, who disappears as quick as the Wyoming sunshine. Questioning his sanity, Hank begins a search that just might lead him to his heart.

Annie Sullivan wants only one thing more than revenge for a rape and murder that occurred ten years ago…Hank Renner. Haunting the mountain, she’s kept watch over the handsome cowboy. But this year she did something she’s never done before, something that could change everything. She’s let the man see her—and exposed her soul.

Two lonely souls search for the truth that could solve a murder and a love that could resurrect their hearts.


AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE


As a treat today, I'm giving away an e-copy of THE BALLAD OF ANNIE SULLIVAN! I hope you love Hank and Annie as much as I do. Their story was so fun to write. 

Kirsten Lynn writes stories based on the people and history of the West, more specifically those who live and love in Wyoming and Montana. Using her MA in Naval History, Kirsten, weaves her love of the West and the military together in many of her stories, merging these two halves of her heart. When she's not roping, riding and rabble-rousing with the cowboys and cowgirls who reside in her endless imagination, Kirsten works as a professional historian.
Please join Kirsten on Facebook, Twitter (@KLynnAuthor), www.kirstenlynnwildwest.com and blogging once a month at prairierosepublications.blogspot.com







HALLOWEEN "OFFERINGS" FROM PRAIRIE ROSE PUBLICATIONS IMPRINTS by CHERYL PIERSON

Hi everyone! Well, Halloween is right around the corner and Prairie Rose Publications as well as some of our other imprints have some great stories to share with you! Some are new and some have been out a while, but you might have missed them. So be sure to scroll through this post and look at all our offerings that are already here or that will be coming SOON. The first thing that we're really excited about here at PRP is our double anthology set of wild west Halloween stories with a romantic flair! These are now available for pre-order at Amazon (Kindle) and will be released in print as well as digital venues on OCTOBER 2!



COWBOYS, CREATURES, and CALICO VOLUME 1:

Halloween is here along with some romantic western-y ghost tales to share around a campfire! Cowboys, Creatures, and Calico, Vol. 1 is guaranteed to make you wonder what in the world–or in the “other” world—is going on. But are you sure you really want to know?

The Sheriff of Hel’n Gone by Lorrie Farrelly is a supernatural tale of a western lawman who must live one hellish Halloween night over and over, until a young woman from the future finds her way back to save him.

In Tanya Hanson’s The Bridesmaid, a bridegroom is doomed to marry a woman he becomes terrified of…but finds her bridesmaid is the love he’s been dreaming of. But will his sleeping or waking hours become his true nightmare?

Sarah J. McNeal’s The Beast of Hazard is a story about a predator that stalks the small community where veterinarian Joey Wilding practices. But is the vicious animal-killer on the loose of this world, or another?

Author Shayna Matthews makes a riveting debut with her tale of The Legend of Venture Canyon, about an exotic young woman who dances in the circus…where the show must go on—at all costs—and love survives everything.

Cher’ley Grogg’s story, Wild Injuns, Wicked Trains, and Cerulean Blue is an unforgettable tale of a young woman who comes west to get a sensational newspaper article and pictures, but in doing so, finds out that she will never leave.

Veteran author Linda Carroll-Bradd’s story, Wanderer, Come Home, is a poignant tale of the discovery of true love and trust amidst some strange Samhain happenings on a small farm.


COWBOYS, CREATURES, AND CALICO VOLUME 2:

What better way to spend Halloween than with some handsome cowboys and feisty heroines who are determined to fall in love despite their supernatural powers—or lack thereof? Halloween’s a good time to take a chance on love—and to see what these Cowboys, Creatures, and Calico Vol. 2 stories might reveal to the unsuspecting reader—YOU!

Cheryl Pierson’s Spellbound will have you on the edge of your seat as safecracker Brett Diamond and witch Angie Colton take on a border gang leader who is pure evil. Can Angie’s supernatural powers save them? No matter what, Brett and Angie are hopelessly Spellbound.

C. Marie Bowen’s Hunter and Lily Graham is an unforgettable tale of a beautiful school marm’s love for her children that surpasses all. When a Cajun bounty hunter known only as “Hunter” shows up, Lily Graham knows he, and no one else, can help her save a young girl.

Have Wand — Will Travel is Jacquie Rogers’s offering about a handsome young mage, Tremaine Ramsey, who has a wand and knows how to use it…sometimes. Will his magic be strong enough to pull off a daring rescue of his father from the evil Gharth? Or will he need the warrior Nora’s love to help him see his Fate through?

Will Kaye Spencer’s character, Mercy Pontiere, be able to break a centuries-old curse and find true love all at the same time? It all depends on Reid Corvane and what he’ll do For Love of a Brystile Witch.

In Kristy McCaffrey’s story, The Crow and the Coyote, Hannah Dobbin is after an evil Navajo sorcerer who murdered her father, and she’s determined to see him dead. But she’ll need a bounty hunter, The Crow—to help find this vile man. With Hallowtide upon them, more evil is afoot than they can handle; but love will find a way.

A failed bank robber, Tombstone Hawkins, along with a fake gypsy fortune teller, Pansy Gilchrist, set out to make both their deceased fathers proud in one final spectacular heist. Family Tradition is Kathleen Rice Adams’s tale of the discovery of true love amid the commission of a crime—or the failure to commit a crime—while being overseen by the ghosts of the couple’s fathers. How can there be a happy ending? It’s Halloween, and anything can happen!


AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW!
COWBOYS, CREATURES, AND CALICO VOL. 1 preorder here: http://www.amazon.com/Cowboys-Creatures-Calico-Lorrie-Farrelly-ebook/dp/B00NVX5Y2C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411743017&sr=8-1&keywords=Cowboys%2C+Creatures+and+Calicos

COWBOYS, CREATURES, AND CALICO VOL. 2 preorder here: http://www.amazon.com/Cowboys-Creatures-Calico-Cheryl-Pierson-ebook/dp/B00NVXNT5G/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1411743017&sr=8-2&keywords=Cowboys%2C+Creatures+and+Calicos


Kirsten Lynn has a brand new novella out in time for this spooky season about a ghost who will not rest--and the man who falls in love with her. THE BALLAD OF ANNIE SULLIVAN is another story about the Renner family, and does not disappoint! Take a look!

Blurb:

Hank Renner enjoys summers and early autumns when he can escape his large family and spend time alone at the cow camp in the Bighorn Mountains. That is, until he starts seeing a beautiful woman with flaming red hair and brown eyes, who disappears as quick as the Wyoming sunshine. Questioning his sanity, Hank begins a search that just might lead him to his heart.

Annie Sullivan wants only one thing more than revenge for a rape and murder that occurred ten years ago…Hank Renner.  Haunting the mountain, she’s kept watch over the handsome cowboy. But this year she did something she’s never done before, something that could change everything. She’s let the man see her—and exposed her soul.

Two lonely souls search for the truth that could solve a murder and a love that could resurrect their hearts.


B.J. Betts has a wonderfully haunting tale coming out on Sept. 30, called BELLE'S CROSSING. B.J.'s story is in the Tornado Alley Publications imprint--for new adult readership as well as us "regular" adults! (BIG SMILE) Here's the blurb:

In 1909 on All Hallows' Eve, three beautiful young sisters perished in a tragic accident…or was it? For years, citizens of Council Bluffs, Iowa would report strange sightings around Big Lake Park. Were the sightings due to over active imaginations…or something else? Over one hundred years later, Laynee Rodgers's car accident in the same location takes its toll on her memory, but she knows she isn't crazy. With the help of a psychic, she may remember exactly what happened to her, and unlock a century-old mystery in the process—if she only has the courage!



Take a look at my single sell short story, ALWAYS AND FOREVER--the story of two middle-age people who've given up on love and find it at the most unlikely place--and elementary school carnival!



At a children's Halloween carnival, a Gypsy fortuneteller predicts a new love for both Cindy and Gage. When the two meet over a poorly carved pumpkin, love flickers to life and the stars begin to align.

But the odds of finding a new love later in life seem insurmountable and the prophecy seems too good to be true. After all, Gage has been burned before and Cindy doesn't believe in fortunes or second chances.

Will doubt overshadow their attraction, or has love already been set in motion? Can the star-crossed pair put their faith in the love that was foretold? Can they believe in each other?

BUY IT HERE: http://www.amazon.com/Always-Forever-Cheryl-Pierson-ebook/dp/B00ML6X0XK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411744619&sr=8-1&keywords=Always+and+Forever+by+Cheryl+Pierson

Got a younger reader in the house? THE PHANTOM RANGER AND THE SKATEBOARD GANG is a wonderfully spooky tale for middle grade readers (9-12) from PAINTED PONY BOOKS by Livia and James Reasoner!

BLURB: Codi Jackson and her father have been forced to move again. Codi’s getting used to being the “new girl” in her fifth grade class—but that doesn’t mean she has to like it. Can’t life just be normal? With her mother out of the picture and her father working odd shifts as a police officer, friends are important—as long as they’re not the wrong kind. When Codi and a classmate, Keith Wright, are assigned to work on a history project, Codi has to make some hard decisions about her popularity in her new school. But everything changes when Codi picks up an old Texas Rangers badge that belonged to one of her ancestors and he appears right before her eyes! Her great-great-great-grandfather says he’s come to help her, but how? And how is she going to explain the ghost of her long-ago Gramps to her history project partner and her father?
BUY IT HERE:http://www.amazon.com/Phantom-Ranger-Skateboard-Gang/dp/149424893X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411744822&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Phantom+Ranger+and+the+Skateboard+Gang



A generous demon is surprised when the human he tries to help on Halloween shows him The Darker Side of Goodness.

Join me in celebrating the release of my latest short story, a Halloween offering with all kinds of “twist” to it! Even better news? (What could be better than announcing a new release, you ask?) There may be a short film made of this story in the future!

Blurb:When Jack Daniels goes into the local bar for a drink on Halloween, he meets Christian Lightfoot, a demon who shows him the truth about his wife Ashley’s infidelity. Jack learns he’s about to become the recipient of a large inheritance, and his wife has plans for it—plans that don’t include him. Will he live in spite of her evil plot to murder him, or will he choose another path…and walk upon The Darker Side of Goodness?

BUY IT HERE: http://www.amazon.com/Darker-Side-Goodness-Cheryl-Pierson-ebook/dp/B00NUGANR6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411745312&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Darker+Side+of+Goodness

We hope these stories offer hours of entertainment and reading pleasure for you or someone you know!

Thursday, September 25, 2014

PRP New Release -- The Ballad of Annie Sullivan by Kirsten Lynn -- Giveaway

Today Kirsten will be giving away an e-copy of her story THE BALLAD OF ANNIE SULLIVAN to one person who leaves a comment on this blog. Be sure and include contact information in your comment for a chance to win!

Blurb:

Hank Renner enjoys summers and early autumns when he can escape his large family and spend time alone at the cow camp in the Bighorn Mountains. That is, until he starts seeing a beautiful woman with flaming red hair and brown eyes, who disappears as quick as the Wyoming sunshine. Questioning his sanity, Hank begins a search that just might lead him to his heart.

Annie Sullivan wants only one thing more than revenge for a rape and murder that occurred ten years ago…Hank Renner.  Haunting the mountain, she’s kept watch over the handsome cowboy. But this year she did something she’s never done before, something that could change everything. She’s let the man see her—and exposed her soul.

Two lonely souls search for the truth that could solve a murder and a love that could resurrect their hearts.

Excerpt:

Little Creek Cow Camp, Bighorn Mountains, October, 1916
     A slow shiver ran up Hank’s spine causing cold sweat to chill his neck and forehead. His gaze held tight to the spot where he saw the woman. She was real. She had to be real. He jerked his gaze down the rough, uneven terrain he climbed after jumping from his horse and tearing after a blur of red hair and blue dress. He closed in on his quarry until, in a thick copse of pine, she vanished quicker than a plate of his mother’s doughnuts. 
      Hank tugged up the collar on his wool plaid coat and tipped his hat down. Not even a damn track. He’d pawed the ground like a bull searching for tracks, but his efforts failed to reveal a toe print. He turned on his boot heel to run his gaze over the mountainside before he reached his mount. The buckskin gelding gave him the skunk eye, the brown gaze following Hank. His horse, questioning his sanity, itched Hank’s hide.
     Stepping across leather, Hank settled into the saddle and patted the buckskin’s neck. 
     “Sorry there, boy. But didn't you see her?”
     Chap whinnied and shook his head. 
     Mrs. Baka, an elderly lady Hank helped out a bit who still held to a few of the gypsy ways of her people, once told him animals sensed spirits and things unseen by human eyes.
     “Either you missed that special trait, boy, or I’ve been up here too long with only you and cattle for company.” 
     Hank reined Chap back to cow camp. The peace he usually found in these mountains eluded him as he made his way back to the small cabin serving as his summer home. The crunch of Chap’s hooves on dried leaves, pine needles and branches set his jaw to grinding as the noise he normally wouldn’t notice boomed inside him until he was sure his folks down in the valley heard them.
     Since Cal and Josie Renner adopted him thirteen years ago, Hank volunteered to be the rider left on the mountain to secure the cattle and make sure the bulls scattered to breed those heifers ready. Every June like clockwork Hank, Cal, Josie and his brothers, except the littlest one at only five, gathered the herd and moved ’em up a narrow trail to cow camp on a grazing allotment the J Bar A shared with other ranches. 
     Then come September, Cal and the boys returned for the beef roundup. Pairs were separated from the yearling steers as ranchers worked together to earmark their beef. Hank breathed a bit better when they took the yearling steers down and headed for Parkman and he was alone again. He never begrudged his brothers and father the train ride to Omaha or Chicago to see the stock sold. As the only single Renner, Hank stayed put on the mountain while the others rotated which lucky couple got to head to the city—and which wife got a shopping trip and a few fancy dinners. 
     He glanced back. Thank the good Lord, the family would be back in two weeks to help take the rest of the herd down before the October fifteenth cutoff to be off the mountain. All this being alone was causing him to create red–headed women in blue dresses. 
     Aspen trees, dressed in gold leaves just a week ago, now stood bare and black against a sun fading into the west. Hank scrubbed a hand over his face and scratched the rough whiskers, more the start of a beard. How did a woman disappear quicker than summer in Wyoming? She was real. She had to be real.
     Hank shook his head and released thoughts of the woman into the frigid air. Real or not, she was gone and he had cows to check. Accustomed to the routine, the buckskin made his way to the herd. The chill in the air drove the cattle to huddle together and Hank made quick work of counting the pairs. When he came up three short, he reined his mount toward the tree line where black shadows shifted between the white trunks. 
     He swung his gaze left and right. Even after confirming the shadows were his missing cows, he couldn’t unhook the feeling that eyes were on him. He’d felt eyes on him every summer, but had tossed it off to a rider from another ranch. This year, he couldn’t brush it off— because an alternative option had presented itself just an hour ago. Urging the three stragglers down to join their herd, Hank clicked his tongue and reined Chap toward a warm fire and some supper.
     A mule rummaged around in the corral next to his sorrel. Hank rode past the holding traps and sent his eyes toward heaven. A groan rumbled from deep in his gut. Smoke curled from the stovepipe of the small cabin he and Cal had built the previous summer. For the first time, it didn’t invite him to settle in for the night with a belly full of beans and a good book. He no more than got Chap combed and oats, and fresh hay to the horses kept at camp, when a rough voice had his head ducking farther into the collar of his coat.
     “Howdy, Hank boy. I took the liberty of gettin’ the beans on the fire.”
     Hank wavered between being grateful the fire was already burning and irritation that he’d have to share it. He wasn’t much on people. Oh, he loved his family and missed them right now, but give him a couple of weeks down at the ranch and he’d be riding off alone first chance he got. About the only person he could stand longer than most was his twin, Jerry; but for being born a few minutes apart, they couldn’t be more different. Jerry was a man about town and never met a stranger; where, it seemed a person remained a stranger to Hank for years after they met. 
     His brothers all found girls the minute his stepmother Josie married Cal Renner, and Cal saw to it the family went to socials and the boys all went to school. Like dominos, each brother married—with the youngest, Mitch, being the first to marry. Each brother built a home on the ranch, and the brothers and their wives started having children almost as soon as the roof was put on the house. 
Hank chose to go to the university in Laramie. After earning his degree, Hank wandered a bit, always finding his way back to the J Bar A. Two years ago, he planned to follow a family friend, Will Connor, to Europe and help the Brits fight against the Kaiser, but his Ma had raised the roof—so Hank stayed, but spent his time away from town and the busybodies asking why he wasn’t married and starting his family. His family respected his need to be alone. People like Walter Sorenson did not.
      “Are ya comin’ in, or starin’ at the sky ’til it turns blue again?”
     Hank kicked at the dirt, then started toward cabin. “What brings you up this far, Walter?”
     “A little huntin’. And checkin’ on the ol’ place.”
     Hank gave a nod. He ducked a bit to get through the door without knocking his head off. How two men well over six feet could build a place and not make the door passable for anyone over five foot ten, Hank couldn’t say. Could have been the few nips they had of the French wine Will Connor sent while they were measuring. Cal tried to tell Josie they’d been celebrating hearing from Will after a year of nothing when she found them propping up a wall singing God Save the King and toasting George V.
     His mouth twitched with the memory as he toed off his boots and hooked his hat and coat on the wooden pegs by the door. The humor turned to a scowl at Walter’s hat and coat taking up room. He stomped over to the fireplace and sat on his heels, rubbed his hands together in an attempt to shake the cold and his sour attitude. The gas light over the table hissed, casting a dim light over the room. The Little Creek cow camp’s abode wasn’t a mansion, but it was spacious compared to most. Though one room, a kitchen area occupied one corner, complete with a Monarch iron stove and icebox, and even a few cupboards above the sink with a pump, so when Josie was there she didn’t have to haul water. 
     Memories warmed Hank and thawed his mind. He’d never call Walt a friend, but he couldn’t slot him as an enemy, either. It wouldn’t hurt him to be hospitable. Once he gained his manners, he unfolded to his full height. Walter stood dishing up beans from the Monarch stove onto an enamelware plate. 
     “You know most people up in these mountains?”
     Walter flopped on the cedar bench, taking up one side of the table and swallowed a spoonful of beans. His dark eyes sparked with flames from the fire and curiosity. 
     “Not many left up here. Why?” 
     “Any have a daughter, or maybe a younger woman?”
     Hank couldn’t say why he thought it was a young woman other than the fact she moved with the speed and grace of a deer. If truth be told, at twenty–eight he might not be as spry as he used to be, but he sure as hell didn’t want to hear a woman of eighty outran and outfoxed him.
     If he hadn’t been staring holes into him, Hank would have missed the way Walter shifted in his chair and raked his fingers through what little was left of his gray hair. After a deep draw of coffee, the man wore a mask of innocence. 
     “A woman, ya say?”
     “Yeah, you know…” Hank waved his hands drawing a curvaceous figure in the air, “a woman. Remember how they look?”
     Walter’s eyes narrowed. “Vaguely. But there hasn’t been a woman up here in…” he swallowed hard; like emotion clogged his throat and smoke filled the eyes that just seconds before held fire. He pushed the plate away from him. “Ten years…ten years to the day next Sunday.”
     Hank slid into the rickety ladder–back chair opposite Walter, his own hunger forgotten. Something rode him hard to find out about the woman who lived in the Bighorns. It was ten years ago, but something as intangible as air told him she held the key to the day’s insanity.
     “What happened October 10, 1906?”
     Walter’s eyes turned to black ice. “I’m not much on ghost stories, boy, so if you’re lookin’ for entertainment, look to someone else.”
     Hank leaned back in his chair and could only stare at a man who lived to gossip, tell wild stories and entertain. Hell, even among the chatty hens of Sheridan, a man couldn’t find half the juice to a story as Walter Sorenson could give. And damn if what the man didn’t know, he could weave a wild tale around until a person didn’t care what was fact or fiction anymore.
     Walter pushed off the bench and scraped the leftover beans into the pot before dumping his plate into a sink of soapy water. Hank watched the man shift his short stature from fire to water. He smoothed his mustache.
     “I saw a woman today.” 
     A blue and white enamel mug hit the floor and Hank winced as the last mug was chipped. Then he turned his attention back to Walter. The man was white as the frosting on his brother Howard’s birthday cake. The buzz of the gas light hummed like a swarm of bees in the awkward silence.
     “A woman?”
     Hank shrugged, “Yeah, well at least from what I saw, which wasn’t more than a flash of red hair and her blue dress.”
     “Annie,” the man choked out the name.
     Hank hitched a brow. “Annie? You know her?”
     A tremble shook Walt’s shoulders and his face darkened. “Used to.”
    “Used to?”
    “Annie Sullivan was raped and murdered ten years ago.”

BUY LINKS:

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Facebook (again) - Be a Gracious Guest, by @JacquieRogers



More About Facebook
by Jacquie Rogers

Kathleen Rice Adams gave us a good start on Facebook a few weeks ago (Facebook Knows All, Sees All, Confuses All) so I thought I’d get on the bull and ride for another eight seconds.

She wrote about Facebook basics—what you post and how it’s interpreted, and she explained the various platforms Facebook has to offer. I’m going to write about Facebook etiquette. There are some nuances that aren’t apparent at first, but once you think about it, you’ll slap your forehead and yell, “Of course!”

I think the most important thing to remember as authors is to respect other authors’ spaces. Think of an author page or a group as their home, and think of your author page or your group as your home. Because it is—it’s your own spot to decorate however you like. It’s your personal space to invite whoever you want to visit... and to keep whoever you want out.

When you visit someone’s house—someone who’s a friend of a friend and you don’t know personally—would you hammer a yard sign advertising your book on their front lawn? Would you sweep their decorations off the coffee table and replace them with promo materials featuring your book? Of course not. It’s the same at Facebook.

I have a group called Jacquie Rogers’ Pickle Barrel Bar & Books. The reason I started this group is because Facebook has throttled down the author pages so much that of my 1,112 likes, my posts go to maybe 40 or 50. Mind you, 1,112 people have said they want to see my posts, but Facebook thinks that I should pay for that privilege. This annoys me. So when, during a Facebook launch party, readers made a point of telling me that I should form a group, I did.



The Pickle Barrel is specifically for my readers, but I also include my friends. Most of my friends just happen to be authors (imagine that). I don’t allow anyone in whose timeline doesn’t indicate that they enjoy the type of books I write. My hope is that the Pickle Barrel will be a fun place for my readers to visit anytime they want to. My posts are specific to my author brand—humorous items, animal pictures and videos, hot cowboys, and geek writer cartoons. Occasionally, but not every day or even every week, I also post my books.

The constant barrage of advertising is a real deterrent and I want my readers to always have fun on my page and not have to endure the hard-sell. And readers become blind to these ads anyway. Do you want people to skip your posts because they know you’re just trying to sell them something? No. You want them to read all your posts, whether on your timeline, your group, or your author page.

I’m including blog posts in the “ads” category. I’ve polled my readers several times and you know what? Very few of them read blog articles—posts advertising your blog article are just more ads to them. Writers read blogs. Readers don’t, for the most part. A few will if they have a chance to win a book, but even then, probably not. Your blog post ad is just more noise to them.

So let’s go back to your “house.” You’re having a party. I get out of my car, pound a billboard with my book cover in your front lawn, then I come into your house and give all your guests brochures featuring my books, and no matter what you’re talking about, I steer the conversation back to my books. I might even turn on your TV and play my book trailer at full tilt boogie. Are you going to invite me to your next party? I highly doubt it.

Most of us would never, ever dream of being so rude—yet on Facebook, we do exactly the same thing, except it’s in cyberland and not the real world. But the results are the same.

So, you have a new release and you’re just dying to post it at the Pickle Barrel because you know every single person there reads western historical romance. How do you go about that? Easy—you don’t post it. You message me and say you have a new release, give me the buy link, and ask if I would post it for you. This accomplishes two things—first, you don’t look like a party crasher. Yes, my readers know a party crasher when they see one, and yes, they’ll message me about it. Second, your book will get a lot more attention if another person endorses it rather than you advertising it.

Now, back to what you should post on your own timeline, author page, and various groups. Do you write humor? Don’t post holocaust pictures. Post items that demonstrate the tone of your books such as cartoons and what not. Make your status updates fun. For the most part, don’t post bad news, and of course stay away from anything controversial. Unless controversy is part of your brand. Then go to it.

You’re a fiction writer. Fiction, fiction, fiction. It’s not real. Your author image is not real. If you’re fat and bossy, no one on Facebook needs to know it. Create your own fictional author image and stick with it. My image is (I hope) a fun, rural, animal-lover. Actually all three of those things are part of me, but I leave out the cantankerous, bossy, and stubborn parts. Or try. I’ve lived in the city half my life (yikes!) but I de-emphasize that.

See? Fiction. Your public persona. Figure out what you want to project and post accordingly.

And always be a gracious guest.
♥ ♥ ♥

Jacquie's latest release is the second book Mail-Order Tangle.  Caroline Clemmons wrote the first book, Mail-Order Promise, and Jacquie wrote the second, Mail-Order Ruckus.

Matt Johanssen returned to the ranch he and Kage started in Owyhee County, not knowing he took Laura's heart with him.  Now that Ellie's happily married with a baby on the way, Laura wants a home of her own, and a husband and family to put in it.  She signs a contract with a marriage broker and ends up in Silver City, near Matt's ranch.  Only thing is, he isn't on the roster of eligible grooms.

Her next release is Have Wand - Will Travel in Cowboys, Creatures, and Calico, Volume 2.

A handsome young mage, Tremaine Ramsey, has a wand and knows how to use it…sometimes. Will his magic be strong enough to pull off a daring rescue of his father from the evil Gharth? Or will he need the warrior Nora’s love to help him see his Fate through?

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

LOOK WHAT'S COMING! by Cheryl Pierson




WHO'S READY FOR HALLOWEEN? Take a look at these two upcoming anthologies from Prairie Rose Publications!

COWBOYS, CREATURES, and CALICO VOLUME 1:

Halloween is here along with some romantic western-y ghost tales to share around a campfire! Cowboys, Creatures, and Calico, Vol. 1 is guaranteed to make you wonder what in the world–or in the “other” world—is going on. But are you sure you really want to know?

The Sheriff of Hel’n Gone by Lorrie Farrelly is a supernatural tale of a western lawman who must live one hellish Halloween night over and over, until a young woman from the future finds her way back to save him.

In Tanya Hanson’s The Bridesmaid, a bridegroom is doomed to marry a woman he becomes terrified of…but finds her bridesmaid is the love he’s been dreaming of. But will his sleeping or waking hours become his true nightmare?

Sarah J. McNeal’s The Beast of Hazard is a story about a predator that stalks the small community where veterinarian Joey Wilding practices. But is the vicious animal-killer on the loose of this world, or another?

Author Shayna Matthews makes a riveting debut with her tale of The Legend of Venture Canyon, about an exotic young woman who dances in the circus…where the show must go on—at all costs—and love survives everything.

Cher’ley Grogg’s story, Wild Injuns, Wicked Trains, and Cerulean Blue is an unforgettable tale of a young woman who comes west to get a sensational newspaper article and pictures, but in doing so, finds out that she will never leave.

Veteran author Linda Carroll-Bradd’s story, Wanderer, Come Home, is a poignant tale of the discovery of true love and trust amidst some strange Samhain happenings on a small farm.


COWBOYS, CREATURES, AND CALICO VOLUME 2:

What better way to spend Halloween than with some handsome cowboys and feisty heroines who are determined to fall in love despite their supernatural powers—or lack thereof? Halloween’s a good time to take a chance on love—and to see what these Cowboys, Creatures, and Calico Vol. 2 stories might reveal to the unsuspecting reader—YOU!

Cheryl Pierson’s Spellbound will have you on the edge of your seat as safecracker Brett Diamond and witch Angie Colton take on a border gang leader who is pure evil. Can Angie’s supernatural powers save them? No matter what, Brett and Angie are hopelessly Spellbound.

C. Marie Bowen’s Hunter and Lily Graham is an unforgettable tale of a beautiful school marm’s love for her children that surpasses all. When a Cajun bounty hunter known only as “Hunter” shows up, Lily Graham knows he, and no one else, can help her save a young girl.

Have Wand — Will Travel is Jacquie Rogers’s offering about a handsome young mage, Tremaine Ramsey, who has a wand and knows how to use it…sometimes. Will his magic be strong enough to pull off a daring rescue of his father from the evil Gharth? Or will he need the warrior Nora’s love to help him see his Fate through?

Will Kaye Spencer’s character, Mercy Pontiere, be able to break a centuries-old curse and find true love all at the same time? It all depends on Reid Corvane and what he’ll do For Love of a Brystile Witch.

In Kristy McCaffrey’s story, The Crow and the Coyote, Hannah Dobbin is after an evil Navajo sorcerer who murdered her father, and she’s determined to see him dead. But she’ll need a bounty hunter, The Crow—to help find this vile man. With Hallowtide upon them, more evil is afoot than they can handle; but love will find a way.

A failed bank robber, Tombstone Hawkins, along with a fake gypsy fortune teller, Pansy Gilchrist, set out to make both their deceased fathers proud in one final spectacular heist. Family Tradition is Kathleen Rice Adams’s tale of the discovery of true love amid the commission of a crime—or the failure to commit a crime—while being overseen by the ghosts of the couple’s fathers. How can there be a happy ending? It’s Halloween, and anything can happen!


AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER SOON!

Monday, September 22, 2014

Painted Pony Books New Release -- The Saga of Indian Em'ly: Book 2 On The Colorado Trail by Sara Barnard -- Giveaway

Our own PRP author, Sara Barnard, has a new release out--the 2nd in her Indian Em'ly western series for middle grade readers! She'll be giving away one free copy to a lucky commenter so be sure to leave a way to contact you in the comments if you would like to participate in the drawing for a free ecopy of this book.Let's wish Sara a ton of luck with this wonderful series, grounded in Texas history and lore.



BLURB



The pale face soldiers have torn Wind That Knocks Down Lodges and Cactus Flower's world apart. After finding themselves at the mercy of the Army, far from Apache Territory and well on the trail to Colorado, Knocks Down's choices are dwindling rapidly. After a failed attempt at escape that leaves Cactus Flower injured and both of them in danger, can Knocks Down bring himself to trust the soldier, Pale Face Joe? His life depends on it, and his little sister's does, as well!



EXCERPT



    The feeling of needing to be sick and vomit rolled over me and my pounding head as the light from the sun attacked my eyes. Pale face chatter filled my ears, making the rolling in my stomach churn all the more violently. The pale face chatter grew louder as I struggled to come awake.

    Dirty brown fabric, the kind that seemed to be a favorite of the pale face soldiers, was all around me, like a cocoon.

    “Cactus Flower?” Her name was broken and dry on my parched lips. How long had I been asleep? “Cactus Flower,” I tried again.

    Pulling at the canvas, I studied our surroundings. We moved in a line, inside wagons pulled by Army horses. Soldiers, with their shooting horses drawn from their scabbards, rode alongside. The raw emotion of fear burned in my dry throat. Nothing about this land was familiar. Not the roll of a hill, or the shadow of a canyon. My heart began to thunder in my chest and a twitching in my legs urged me to jump from the Army wagon and run to safety far from here. Far from the soldiers that killed first Silver Sky, and then my mother.

    Glancing around the foreign land, my eyes hungered for something familiar. A wild rose perhaps? Wildly, my gaze danced over the rugged, dusty desert. The Army had taken us far from the land where the wild roses bloom, far from our home. I swallowed hard and blinked back the tears that brimmed, for a warrior of     The People must never show fear, even if his heart trembled with it.

    A terrifying thought pushed its way to the front of my mind. Can it still be The Moon When The Wild Roses Bloom if there are no wild roses to bloom? I looked down at my hands on the rough wood of the wagon box. They had begun to tremble. I struggled to find a logical reason to my newfound predicament. Perhaps time was measured differently here, faster no doubt, on the pale faces’ trail.

    “Cactus Flower!” I choked on her name in my dry, nauseated throat. Lifting one trembling hand, I shielded my eyes from the sun, which did little to ease my pounding head. While the wild roses weren’t blooming here, the same sun was still assaulting my tired eyes. Perhaps time was still measured the same on the pale face trail.

    Tom’s voice boomed loud, from just the other side of the dirty canvas, making me jump and forget my thoughts of timekeeping. Then, he laughed. My mother’s murderer laughed. I sit in here, terrified and miserable, and the pale face who has hidden my sister, murdered my mother, and taken me from my home rides free upon the back of a horse.And he laughs.  




LINKS








     

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Free Kindle Ebook shows Pioneer Life by Linda Hubalek

When my husband was transferred to California for a two year project in 1990, I not only had to sell my wholesale floral business to be with him, but I lost my identity. Simple as that. What I did defined who I was.

I’m an introvert, and I’ve always poured myself into my work…growing up on a farm, and then in my business. All of a sudden we were in in living in the San Francisco area and I didn’t have my flower fields (or farm crops or any quiet open space) around me. Plus life in California was so much different from the Midwest. From the weather, traffic, food—to the neighborhood—I was on another planet, lost in space…plus I was just plain homesick for family and the Midwest.

Searching for what I wanted to do next with my life, I decided to look into my past as a project to work on. I started digging up information on my ancestors, which lead me not only the important dates of their lives, but also their stories.

What I realized is that all my ancestors traveled across the sea to settle in Kansas when the territory opened up in 1854, or shortly after the Civil War when land was available to homestead.
They were from European countries, leaving family, community and the life they knew behind to start a new and hopefully better life In America.

As I absorbed my ancestors’ stories, I realized they could never go back, hear their parent’s voices again, see the faces of loved ones, or the scenery of their past. But, I could call to talk to family, and fly home in this modern age. This realization cured my homesickness and helped me cope with the abrupt changes that cropped up on my path.

This time away from home and loved ones led me to my writing career, and finally back to living on the prairie when my family homesteaded.

Sharing my ancestors’ stories have helped others see what the pioneers did for all of us—a look at the past to appreciate what we have now. I hope you’ll read my book series to get an insight on your family’s history too.

In fact, you can start right now because Thimble of Soil is a free Kindle ebook from Sept 19th through the 23rd. Enjoy the second book in the Trail of Thread series today!

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Belle's Crossing by Barb Betts









Summer’s ending and autumn is just days away. My thoughts go to the sweet smell of apple and pumpkin pies baking in the oven along with the smell of wood burning in a fire place.  Since I live in Iowa, the farmers are busy in their fields taking out this year’s corn harvest. But there is something more that the fall season brings to mind. Where September brings cool nights and leaves painted bright orange, red, and yellow, the month of October adds a bit of mystery and whimsy to the season.


All Hallows Eve will soon be upon us. Back in the day it was referred to as Beggars Night here in rural Iowa. Farm kids would take their sacks and walk house to house begging for a treat, which back in the day might be a juicy red apple or a cookie.  But there is much more to this night than just trick or treating.  This is the night that legends are born. Of ghosts and goblins. Every town has their own hauntings.


One such haunting is in an area lake in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Big Lake.  I was born and raised in this town and never once heard the legend about three sisters who perished at the lake back in the day. It is said that the three sisters were killed at a rail road crossing by the lake and that on Halloween Night just before midnight the girls are seen running tree to tree in a game of tag. Some have seen the girls in human form while others see them as bright orbs of light. Some have heard their laughter while others have heard them singing on a cold autumn night.


This is the basis of my soon to be released novella, Belle’s Crossing.


 




Three sisters perish in a tragic accident or was it?


While I was writing my story, I couldn’t help but wonder was it possible to speak to the dead? On a whim I messaged psychic, medium Kelli Miller, and asked if I could interview her for my story. A few days later I heard back from her business manager Debra that she would meet me the following Wednesday.


I was so excited when I stepped from my car and walked across the parking lot to her building. I really didn’t know what to expect as I walked through the door. Perhaps she’d be an older gypsy type woman with a crystal ball and her room would be all creepy and dark with a pair of chicken feet hanging in the window. (I don’t know where that idea came from.)


Imagine my surprise when I was greeted warmly by her office manager Deb and Kelli’s dog. I was shown into her office. A well lit room with a thirty-year-old something with chestnut shoulder length hair, hazel eyes, slimly built beauty. She was very down to earth and welcoming.  She went step by step on how she came by her gift. She said some folks are just born with it. Also, that when she was a little girl she thought her friends saw what she saw.


 When she told her father of things that were to come and they came true he asked her not to tell others what she saw for fear they wouldn’t understand. It was only after his death she started to explore her gift but still kept it very private.


 It was by chance that others found out about her gift. She had been at a party and a man was there bemoaning the loss of his father, Kelli spoke up and said don’t be so sad he’s standing right behind you. The man didn’t believe her so she described what she saw the man wearing and even the rainbow suspenders he always wore. From that time on Kelli’s phone didn’t stop ringing.  She now does readings from her office and is on two radio programs.


As for me, there were two times when the hairs on the back of my neck rose up and goose bumps rose up on my skin. I hadn’t told her I lost a baby girl. Kelli looked at me and said, “Your baby girl sends you butterflies.” My heart just stopped. Such a wonder gift she gave me. And every day since that day I’ve seen butterflies. There was one more thing she shared with me but as of yet it has not come true.


No matter if you’re a believer in the afterlife or things that go bump in the night…Perhaps,  Belle’s Crossing will make you think twice.