New Release - Montana Heartbeat by Vella Munn

What kind of man will make a worthy husband? Beautiful Carrie Berrymen knows it’s not the half-wild Crow Indian who’s just saved her life! With wolves circling the prized longhorn calf and its mother, Carrie finds herself without a weapon. In the Montana wilds, Strong Eagle is the only protection she or the small, but all-important herd of runaway cattle has—and she must depend on the Crow warrior, like it or not.

Strong Eagle can’t deny the instant attraction he feels for the young woman who has taken on so much responsibility for her family’s well-being. The settlers are changing Montana—and not for the better. Though Strong Eagle admires Carrie’s courage and determination, he knows there can be no future for them—not with the differences in the ways of their people.

But as their younger brothers find common ground, Carrie and Strong Eagle learn that, though their worlds are different, they are becoming more alike than they ever thought. With the mountains in their blood, can they share the language of love in the same MONTANA HEARTBEAT?

EXCERPT

     “Come back. Please.” Don’t desert me. “You must under­stand how much I need you, how much trouble you’ve gotten yourself into.”

     No. The stupid horse didn’t care about retribution as a result of her actions. Didn’t care about the human she’d aban­doned.

     Carrie was touching her shoulder when movement to her left and a fair distance away caught her attention. Her throat closed. Dread pulled her into its depths. Fighting for calm, she realized she wasn’t looking at a wolf after all. Instead—

     A man. On horseback. Coming her way.

     A saddleless horse and a man who was naked from the waist up. Wearing jeans and boots.

     An Indian.

     Someone help me, please!

      

New Release — The Girl Who Loved Cayo Bradley by Nina Romano

When Darby McPhee falls in love with Cayo Bradley, a wild cowboy from a nearby ranch, her world is ripped apart. Caught in a lifeless existence of caring for her father and brothers since her mother’s death, Darby does little else but work. But a death-bed promise to her mother to get her education now stands in the way of her heart’s desire to belong to the rough-and-tumble Cayo Bradley.

Darby is Cayo’s redemption from a horrific act in his past that torments him. After being captured as a young boy by the Jicarilla Apache, he now tries to settle back into white society—but how can he? If he loses Darby, he loses everything.

Darby is determined to keep her promise to her mother, but will Cayo wait for her? In this stunning tale of love and loss, Darby comes to understand that no matter what happens, she will always be THE GIRL WHO LOVED CAYO BRADLEY…

Romano’s story sizzles with the tension of lovers—one struggling to blend Apache ways and white, the other torn between East and West—searching for a way to join two lives going in opposite directions.

— Ruth Hull Chatlien, Blood Moon, and The Ambitious Madame Bonaparte

The Girl Who Loved Cayo Bradley, a superbly crafted romantic page-turner, is a deftly spun tale of ill-starred sweethearts in the American West. Darby, a charming farm girl, and Cayo, Apache raised, a secretive man with a disturbing past. Sparks ignite, burning intensely despite cruel circumstances to separate them—an expertly woven story with witty dialogue, fast-paced plot, and stunning, enchanting prose!

— Michelle Cox, award-winning author of the Henrietta and Inspector Howard series.

EXCERPT

     He knew people saw him as part Apache. Others claimed he was left for dead by bandoleros, and because of his aloof and stealth disposition, and the fact that he was shy and non-confrontational like the animal, people believed that’s how he came to be named Coyote. Somewhere along the way, Coyote’s nickname became Cayo. He didn’t care what people called him as long as they did, and for sure he knew his name didn’t matter because he’d never fit in anywhere. Once you’ve lived wild and free, it’s near impossible to return wholly capable of fitting into refined society. He knew others like himself, children who had been taken and lived with Kiowa or other tribes, and what he saw in them he knew was the same for him. They were the same outcast breed he was, not a trace of Indian blood, but Indian in the way they thought. He’d never completely forgotten his own language, English, so when he finally decided to go back to living the white folks’ way, he listened to speech, carefully repeated words, and held himself close, like a gambler in a poker game, keeping his cards to his chest. He shouldered these thoughts about himself and that other life he lived before as a yoke on an ox. It weighed on him, but he could do nothing to shirk it.

     

New Release -- DANCE WITH DESTINY by Becky Lower -- Giveaway!

William Myers feels it’s his duty to answer the call to fight for the Union Army—but his wife, Susannah, doesn’t agree. How does he expect her to survive with four small children in the cold Ohio winter during the three-month enlistment period? Angry and abandoned, Susannah learns soon after William leaves that she is also pregnant again. 

Raoul Lafontaine is a half-Ojibwa, half-French-Canadian drifter who is more Indian than white. Also known as Lone Wolf, he has recently left the Ojibwa village in search of a fair-haired woman both he and his grandfather have seen in visions. She is important to him—but how? He will never allow himself to care for another—not after losing the wife he loved so much.

But Raoul could not have planned for the sizzling emotions that surface when he comes near Susannah, nor the love he feels for her children. When he realizes that Susannah returns his feelings, he knows he must leave—for how can he stay close by knowing she can never be his? William will return to his homestead, and they’ll once again be a family. One in which Raoul has no place. Or does he?

Will Fate relent and grant the love between Susannah and Raoul in this DANCE WITH DESTINY?

EXCERPT:

     Susannah Myers pummeled her husband's shoulders as her lips pressed together in a tight, angry line. “Running off to war and leaving me alone to care for our four little ones is not right. I can’t do this on my own. How will we ever survive? We are only good if we can face our hardships together.”

     William took hold of her hands and stilled them. He kissed her callused fingers and then grazed her lips. She stopped fighting him and laid her head on her husband’s broad shoulder, letting her hot tears fall.

     "It'll only be for a few months, Susannah. Summer’s coming on, so it won’t be so hard for you to get by. There are plenty of chickens for food and eggs, I’ve stocked the smoke house with deer, and Jacob can start on the planting, so you’ll have potatoes and fresh vegetables. I have no choice as to whether I stay or go. I have to volunteer. Every able-bodied man in southern Ohio is being asked to do his part. Daniel was out here just the other day to make sure I'd sign up."

     Susannah straightened up and took a deep breath. She moved away from him, trying to distance herself from the feeling of abandonment. To get used to the feeling of abandonment. "We have four children, William, and the oldest of them is only nine years old. Is volunteering for service worth it when, by leaving, you’re putting the lives of your children in jeopardy?”

Be sure and leave a comment to be entered in the giveaway of the free ebook, DANCE WITH DESTINY.

      

New Release — XENIA’S RENEGADE by Agnes Alexander — Giveaway!

An urgent plea for help from a family member calls for action from Xenia Poindexter and her sister, Mea Ann. How can the rest of the family ignore Uncle Seymour’s plight and let him hang? Xenia and Mea Ann leave the comfort of their Virginia home for the wild, untamed Arizona Territory to do whatever they must to save their uncle. 

But traveling west is not what these two well-bred, innocent ladies expected. A raid on a stagecoach way station would have seen them dead if not for the quick thinking of one of the other passengers, handsome rancher Ty Eldridge. 

In the midst of the deadly raid, Mea Ann finds an orphaned Indian baby that she adopts as her own. Once the stage reaches Deer Meadow where their uncle is being held, Mea Ann and Xenia discover the deep-seated prejudice that pervades the town. Indians are not welcome—even Indian children. Ty and his cousin Wilt are all too familiar with the bigots in Deer Meadow, being half Sioux, themselves. 

Ty wants to protect Xenia from her uncle’s schemes to use her and Mea Ann as prostitutes in his saloon—sold to the highest bidders—but can he? Though romance blooms for Wilt and Mea Ann, Ty has been burned in the past by his love for a white woman—and he won’t risk his heart again. 

Though others say they’re all wrong for each other, Xenia has never felt more “right” than when she’s in Ty’s arms. She is determined to show him she’s strong enough to adapt to ranch life—his life. For Xenia, prejudice doesn’t exist—there’s enough love in her heart to hold Ty and heal his wounds. But Ty knows if he gives in to Xenia, he runs the risk of being hurt again. Is true love worth the chance of becoming XENIA’S RENEGADE?

EXCERPT

     “When you get to Deer Meadow, I’m sure you’ll find the men will appreciate you more. Then you won’t have to be subjected to an Indian raid or a man like Ty Eldridge.”

     “Mr. Eldridge doesn’t seem so bad,” Mea Ann said. “He was careful to make sure there was no danger in here before he let us come in.”

     He shook his head. “Now I know how innocent you and your sister are. Don’t you know what Eldridge is?”

     Xenia interrupted. “I don’t think we should be discussing Mr. Eldridge or anyone else. It looks to me like we should be trying to find out what’s going on here.”

     “Xenia’s right,” Mea Ann said.

     “You don’t have to worry. I’m sure the stage driver will know what to do if Eldridge doesn’t kill him first.”

     “What do you mean?” Mea Ann looked scared.

     “Don’t you know what he is?”

     Xenia wasn’t sure what Lou was going to say, so she said, “It doesn’t matter what he is.” She stood. “I’m going to look out the window and see if I can tell why Mr. Eldridge told us to stay in here.”

     “The breed probably put us here to wait for his friends to come back.”

     She whirled around and glared at him. “What are you saying?”

     “Can’t you tell he’s part Indian? They’re all alike. I got in a little trouble with one in Deer Meadow last time I was there. Just hope it’s all been cleared up by the time we get in.”

     “What difference does it make if he has some Indian blood in him?”

     “Oh, Miss Xenia. It’s an important factor in this area.”

Be sure and leave a comment for a chance to win a free ebook of XENIA'S RENEGADE.