Nothing means more to Katharine Beechman than her two beloved daughters, Mary and Sally. At ages five and three, they are her world—her reason for being. After her harsh past, she doesn’t need or want a man in her life. She knows better than to trust one.
As manager of the Eagle Canyon’s Yuba gold mine Daniel Harman’s life is marked by the ultimate responsibility for every miner’s safety. The success—or failure—of the Yuba mine rests solely on Daniel’s shoulders. Determined to be the man everyone depends on, as he has been since his difficult childhood, he refuses to show any weakness. And there’s certainly no room in his heart for a woman, let alone a family.
But he never intended to fall in love with Katharine’s sweet and innocent daughters. He melts every time they laugh or smile. As for their serious, independent mother—she has awakened a need deep in him he has always denied. Can he risk telling her that he recognizes the loneliness in her? A loneliness he understands all too well.
As Katharine and Daniel take a chance on revealing their emotions, the past she has fought so hard to put behind her returns with a vengeance. There’s no escaping the danger in the SUMMER SMOKE...
EXCERPT:
“He has black lung. Miner’s consumption.”
Her own breath suddenly gone, she pressed a cool wet fist to her
forehead. “I was afraid it was something like that. How do you know? You said
you weren’t the one to ask.”
He spun toward her. A sense of isolation slipped over her. It was just
the two of them, a couple of crazy people looking for a dog that wanted nothing
to do with them. Getting to know each other. Maybe learning things about
themselves.
“Dr. Piper told me,” he said.
“I shouldn’t be surprised. There isn’t much in the way of secrets
here.”
“Like Dwight saying something he shouldn’t have.”
There it was. Another lesson acknowledged. “So you heard.”
“It was impossible not to. I’m sorry.”
“So am I. Like we agree, secrets don’t exist here.”
“Such as accusations of murder.”
congrats on the new release!
ReplyDeletePowerful excerpt, vividly showing the dangers of mining.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations. Vella!
Congratulations on your new release!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Vella!
ReplyDeleteVella, a wonderful story! I have sure enjoyed watching all your characters develop along with the action in your story line! Congratulations on your release of SUMMER SMOKE!
ReplyDeleteOh, Vella, Summer Smoke sounds like it’s going to be filled with a lot going on& oodles of intrigue. Looking forward to a great read. Wishing you much success, and congratulations.
ReplyDeleteTalk about slow to the dance. Story of my life. I'm taking a chance on a New Release for Less Book Bub promo to try to get the word out. I've had a couple of BB promos with another publisher and was thrilled by the result, but this was the first time I did the jumping through of hoops. One thing I'm sure of--my BB followers (all 600 of them) will get a notice for Summer Smoke. I've been writing since forever but still trying to wrap my mind around the new age of writer promo. Mostly I want to spin my stories while living in my cave/cabin.
ReplyDeleteVella, that is awesome! I totally understand about all the "jumping through hoops" and the stresses of trying to get on the marketing bandwagon. It's HARD. I'm like you--when I've got my writer hat on, I just want to hole up and WRITE. What a different world we live in these days! Congratulations, though, and I'm sure hoping for really good things from Summer Smoke. I have truly thoroughly enjoyed these Gold Camp Dreams stories!
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