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Thursday, October 8, 2015

#NewRelease -- THE BRIDESMAID by Tanya Hanson -- #Giveaway

The Bridesmaid ain’t all white lace and a wing-ding 1880’s bacherlorette bash. There’s a woman drowning in a well.

Except the well is dry...

So how on earth did that image start a story? I guess there’s a twisted bent to me after all. The Bridesmaid is my first-ever creep-fest, and this horror-romance is one of those stories that practically wrote itself. When Prairie Rose Publications put out the call for the Cowboys, Creatures and Calico Halloween anthology a year ago, the woman dying in a dry well just popped into my head. Lydia and her dreams needed to become real on the page.

I tied together some things I truly love--Colorado, cowboys, and weddings, and added some hints of mayhem: the bride Milly wants a Jack O’Lantern on the altar and has picked heroine Lydia a violently-orange bridesmaid gown. And what’s that theme of missing shoes? Definitely not Cinderella.
     When I got to “the end” of the story, I realized I wasn’t finished after all. The character-plot mash-up that finishes the story truly got sent to me from another plane of existence. Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha.

I hope you like The Bridesmaid, now available as a single. It’s short, sweet, and scary, all three. And if you wonder how a happy ending can emerge after serial murders, well, cuddle up with your Kindle and find out!



BLURB:
Four nights in her dreams, a handsome cowboy tries to kiss her...letting Lydia think she's close to finding true love. Off to Colorado for her friend Milly's wedding, she's stunned to realize her cowboy is...Milly's bridegroom.

She's standing right in front of him, the beautiful woman Garner has ached to kiss for four long nights. Milly's bridesmaid. Can he betray his bride...even as his love for Milly turns to terror?

EXCERPT:

The scent of pine trees on the air. My long red hair dips deep into the well as I lean over with a shiny cup. Surprise, shock swamp me. Looking up at me through the shimmering water, a face, a young woman’s pretty face. A face I do not recognize. Eyes wide in terror, mouth moving. Then her white hand thrusts up through the dark cold in supplication. For rescue. Grabs my long braid, pulls me down into the black, wet abyss...
Help me. But the voice isn’t mine...
     Lydia snapped awake. The sound in her throat spelled no  letters to make a real word. Her heart hammered in rhythm with her head as it bounced against the back of the bench seat. Ouch.
That word she knew. The stagecoach hauling her through Colorado had hit every pot hole it could find.
     “You were calling out help. Are you all right, dearie?” Her elderly seatmate patted Lydia’s hand.
     Panic slithered, snakelike, down Lydia’s spine one more time. She rubbed her eyes with shaky hands. “No, uh, I’m fine. Just a bad...daydream.” She forced out the words. And a smile. “I’m not used to long travel. I fear I’m a bit overwrought.”
     Overwrought. Was that the reason for the other dream? The same one, four nights in a row? The delicious dream of a man with a brown Stetson raising her face for a kiss with a gentle but callused hand.

     She licked her lips. She was thirsty in the close confines of the stagecoach. Of course. That’s why she’d daydreamed of holding a cup at a well. But her lips also reminded her of the other dream. How it always ended just the split second before his mouth touched hers.

For a chance to win one of the two ecopies being given away, be sure and leave a comment.

BUY LINKS     Barnes and Noble      Smashwords         Kobo

15 comments:

  1. Very intriguing. I wold love to read more.
    debby236 at gmail dot com

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    1. Hi Debby, this story is one that almost wrote itself. Hope you enjoy.

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  2. Tanya,

    I love your description of this story: Short, Sweet, & Scary. And it certainly is. I enjoyed reading it. It had to be a challenge to craft a romance in the midst of a horror story, but you did just that, and you did it so 'well' (pun intended). lolol

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    1. Thanks so much, Kaye. It as fun to write but I had to keep Garner from being a jerk...so ammped up Milly's madness. Thanks for your kind words.

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  3. Interesting. Blogger keeps eating my messages like a black hole...

    I do believe there’s a twisted bent to all of us. I really enjoyed reading The Bridesmaid. Just the right amount of romance and paranormal. Fun stuff!

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    1. Aw, thanks, Livia. And the cover you designed is spectacular. It turned just like inside my head. Thanks for everything! xo

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  4. LOL I love your description of how you came to write The Bridesmaid, Tanya. You are the new Queen of Creep. Congratulations of the release of the single. I wish you the very best!

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    1. Thanks, Sarah. I have to say, once I had that image of the well in my head, the rest just exploded. And when I got to the end, well, my head said it wasn't the end after all. Hence, the ending now LOL. Go figure. I guess I do have a twisted mind. Thanks for the post and well wishes. Love you...

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  5. This story had me guessing all the way through. Readers, even if they don't like the creepy, will love this one. Doris

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    1. Thanks, Doris. It does have some sweet cuddly moments, too, no? Thanks for the post. xo

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  6. *shivers* what a great story, Tanya. You've got it all, love, betrayal and potential death. I love reading twisted tales.

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    1. Hi Keena, yup, I do love getting the shivers, especially at Halloween. Thanks so much for posting today.

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  7. Somehow my first reply got lost....The description of the woman in the well is enough to give one nightmares. Eyes filled with terror..mouth moving..white hands reaching up! Great job Tanya!

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  8. Thanks, Barbara. I know that feeling of comments getting swallowed up and vanishing, so I really appreciate your persistence. Oh, so glad you got skeered.

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  9. Tanya--you have a wonderful imagination. My brain doesn't work like this, meaning I keep everyone in their own time zone...period. So, when you and others can do this, it's somewhat bewildering. You have a good story here...yu know that...because everything you write is good. Congratulations!

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