Win a Copy of Claiming His Heart Today~ Tanya Hanson

I'm thrilled that my first-ever, full-length western inspirational historical is Prairie Rose Publishing's first-ever, full-length, western inspirational release!

Caught between a noose and a gold mine cave-in, Tulsa Sanderson will do anything to prove his outlaw brother’s innocence…even if it means marrying a gold miner’s daughter he’s just met. Tull needs every nugget and flake he can pull from beautiful Charmlee’s worn-out claim, but he sure doesn’t need a wife! 

Charlotte Amalie lost her heart, her virtue, and her money to the last disreputable outsider who passed through her peaceful California valley months ago. She has no desire and no choice but to wed the handsome stranger who arrives with a mysterious letter that changes both their lives forever. 

Charmlee and Tull each have plans of their own. He’s committed to saving his brother. She’s determined to leave the valley to find a new life for herself and medical treatment for her twin brother. Marriage will scuttle both sets of plans. But is there a bigger dream for the future ahead that they can’t see? Trusting comes hard for them both, but Charmlee realizes it’s the only way to stake her claim on what’s really important— CLAIMING HIS HEART.

Here's a bit about the setting. Holcomb Valley, the richest gold mining area in Southern California’s mountains, is a quiet, lonely place these days, near Big Bear Lake, a busy resort during the summer and ski season. Hard to imagine 2,000 folks lived here in the early 1860’s.

But since the Mother Lode has never been found, it’s easy to imagine a few hard-core miners staying behind after the rush, trying to preserve a humble but civilized way of life.

So Holcomb Valley circa 1881 is where I set my first-ever, full-length, historical inspirational Western, Claiming His Heart. And Prairie Rose Publications decided to release it! Thanks, PRP.

Hubs and I drove through Holcomb Valley recently, and I almost heard voices from the past. The Forest Service and U.S. Department of Agriculture “maintain” a dirt road with markers pinpointing places of significance. I think the rustic, rocky road has GOT to be the original one from 1860!

This sleepy quiet meadow was once the site of bustling, somewhat slapdash Belleville. After hunter Bill Holcomb happened to find gold while tracking a wounded bear, a “town” came to life right here. Nothing remains now, but miners’ lore speaks of “saloons, gambling dens and bagnios of the lowest kind.”

The town got its name from Belle Van Dusen, the first baby from in the valley. She was the daughter of the blacksmith, Jed Van Dusen, who was paid $1500 to carve a road down the mountain. Of course she is mentioned in the book as heroine Charmlee’s childhood pal.

This antique cabin is not the original Van Dusen log home, but it was brought to Holcomb Valley to represent a family’s life at that time. Many miners lived in earthen dugouts and shanties on the outskirts.

This arrastra, a circle in which quartz rock was paintakingly ground up by donkey power, plays a part in my story.

A few other structures have been recreated for today’s history lovers, such as Pygmy cabin. Lucky for me! During a sudden spring blizzard, Charmlee and Tulsa shelter cozily in the crazy little structure. Nobody knows why this little place had a doorway  only 4 feet high, and a roof peak only 6 feet, making the side walls very short. In 1983, a fire destroyed the cabin.

Of course, where you have gold, you have outlaws. And this "hanging tree" was supposedly  put to good use, with the branch cut off where an outlaw hung. Or so it's said.  Whether this is the "real" tree, or not, I put it to good use in the story when bounty hunters mistake Tull for a wanted man. 

The hustle and bustle of Holcomb Valley’s mining days only lasted a few years. However, Elias Baldwin, who had gotten “lucky” in the Comstock lode, decided to try again. In 1874, he built a large 40 stamp mill. A new mining town, Bairdstown, with a population of 180 miners, quickly sprouted. However, the mill was shut down after only seven months. My own setting of Spiggleville, with its curious and, I hope, endearing inhabitants, is entirely my own invention.

And yes, Tull's outlaw brother Bronx Sanderson, does have his own up and coming book. I so love redeeming those bad boys!

Have you ever come across a historic place that spoke to YOU?

 Buy link for Print: 

AmazonKindle:

PLEASE leave a comment and email addy today! I'll be drawing one name for either a Kindle or Pdf copy! 

HEARTS AND SPURS RELEASE PARTY by CHERYL PIERSON

We are just as thrilled as we can be, here at PRAIRIE ROSE PUBLICATIONS! Our latest anthology, HEARTS AND SPURS, was just released on Monday--a couple of days ahead of schedule! Unheard of, but we take it as a good sign that it's ready to "get out in the world" and be read by everyone who loves a good cowboy story. There's lots of romance, lots of twists and turns, and all the ingredients for nine wonderful stories that will melt your heart.

We've included the blurbs for each story below, just to give you a taste of what's headed your way! And in honor of our newest release, we want to offer some digital book giveaways today! All you have to do is leave a comment, along with your CONTACT INFORMATION in case your name is drawn. Drawing will be sometime after 8:00 p.m. central time, so swing by and let us know you've been here.

HEARTS AND SPURS is also available in PRINT.
Buy Link at Amazon on Kindle: http://amzn.com/B00HU5SCYE

Here's a sneak peek at the wonderful love stories in HEARTS AND SPURS!


Story Blurbs:



“The Widow's Heart” by Linda Broday


Skye O’Rourke thinks her imagination is playing tricks on her when she sees a man emerge from the shimmering desert heat. No one would willingly take a stroll under the scorching sun with a saddle slung on his back. She’s shocked to discover it’s Cade Coltrain, a man she once gave her heart to only to have him give it back.

Can she trust him not to abandon her this time? Yet, trusting each other is the only way they can survive. And love might just save them if they believe…



“Guarding Her Heart” by Livia J. Washburn


Julia Courtland was on her way west to marry a man she had never met. Henry Everett, the marshal of Flat Rock, Texas, was the grandson of her uncle's best friend. It seemed like a good match for both of them, and the wedding was scheduled to take place on Valentine's Day.

Grant Stafford thought the young woman who got on the stagecoach at Buffalo Springs was the prettiest thing he had seen in a long time. She wasn't too friendly, mind you, but she was sure easy on the eyes. Not that Grant had time to worry much about such things. He was the shotgun guard on this run, but more than that, he was an undercover Texas Ranger on the trail of the vicious outlaw gang responsible for a string of stagecoach robberies.

Fate threw Julia Courtland and Grant Stafford together on a cold February day in West Texas, but it also threw deadly obstacles in their path. A runaway team, a terrible crash, and bullets flying through the air threaten to steal not only their lives but also any chance they have for happiness. If they're going to survive, they will have to learn to trust each other...and maybe steal their hearts back from fate.



“Found Hearts” by Cheryl Pierson



Southern belle Evie Fremont has lost everything—except hope. When she answers an advertisement for marriage to Alex Cameron who lives in the wilds of Indian Territory, she has few illusions that he could be a man she might fall in love with—especially as his secrets begin to unfold.


Ex-Confederate soldier Alex Cameron needs a mother for his two young half-Cherokee sons more than he needs a wife—or so he tells himself. But when his past threatens his future on his wedding day, he and Evie are both forced to acknowledge their new love has come to stay—along with their FOUND HEARTS.



“Open Hearts” by Tanya Hanson



To honor her brother’s last request, Barbara Audiss takes on his identity. Letting loose her secret will land get her arrested. But keeping it prevents her from giving her heart to handsome sheriff Keith Rakestraw.


Furious at “Judge Audiss’s” latest verdict, Keith discovers she’s a fake and consequences seem easy: toss her in jail. Instead, he finds himself eager to give her his heart.


“Hollow Heart” by Sarah J. McNeal



Madeline Andrews is a grown up orphan. Sam Wilding made her feel part of his life, his family and swore he’d come home to her when the war ended, but he didn’t return. With the Valentine’s Ball just days away, the Wildings encourage Madeline to move forward with her life and open her heart to the possibilities. But Madeline is lost in old love letters and can’t seem to let go.


“A Flare of the Heart” by Jacquie Rogers



Celia Valentine Yancey has no illusions she’ll ever enjoy wedded bliss, so chooses marriage over spinsterhood even if she has to marry a man her father picked. On the way to meet her groom, she endures armed robbery, a stagecoach wreck, a dozen hungry baby pigs—and an incorrigible farmer. Ross Flaherty retired from bounty hunting to become a farmer but now Celia has brought his worst fear to his door—in more ways than one. A ferocious wolf-dog and a dozen piglets are no match for this determined lady. Which is more dangerous—the Sully Gang or Miss Celia Yancey?



“Coming Home” by Tracy Garrett



Sometimes it takes two to make dreams come true.



When a man who believes he’ll never have a home and family…


Former U.S. Marshal Jericho Hawken should have been shepherding a wagon train to new territory, but he unwillingly left them vulnerable to a vicious raider. The murder of the settlers he was supposed to be guarding is the hardest thing he’s ever had to face…until he meets the sister of one of the settlers.

…finds a woman who has lost everything…


Instead of a joyous reunion with her brother, Maryland Henry has come to River’s Bend to take responsibility for her three orphaned nieces. Fired from her teaching position and with no other family on whom to rely, Mary believes Jericho Hawken is responsible for all her woes. Or is he what she’s been searching for all along?

It takes a lot of forgiveness and a few fireworks to realize that together their dreams can come true.



“Tumbleweeds and Valentines” by Phyliss Miranda



When Amanda Love finds a tumbleweed lodged against her fence with an invitation to a Valentine Day dance stuck to it she thinks someone must be playing a joke. No one would invite her. No one ever had. Besides, she has no time for such things. She has a candy store to run. Curiosity gets the best of her though. Finding her name scrawled on it as bold as can be sends ripples of surprise through her. As she embarks on a quest to find the sender’s identity, she examines herself and the secret dream she harbors of having a husband and children.

Maybe, just maybe, someone had seen the yearning in her heart. But who?



"The Second-Best Ranger in Texas"

by Kathleen Rice Adams



His partner’s grisly death destroyed Texas Ranger Quinn Barclay. Cashiered for drunkenness and refusal to follow orders, he sets out to fulfill his partner’s dying request, armed only with a saloon girl’s name.


Sister María Tomás thought she wanted to become a nun, but five years as a postulant have convinced her childhood dreams aren’t always meant to be. At last ready to relinquish the temporary vows she never should have made, she begs the only man she trusts to collect her from a mission in the middle of nowhere.

When the ex-Ranger’s quest collides with the ex-nun’s plea in a burned-out border town, unexpected love blooms among shared memories of the dead man who was a brother to them both.

Too bad he was also the only man who could have warned them about the carnage to come.



If you missed our FIRST anthology, WISHING FOR A COWBOY, (also available in print and digital formats) you can get it here: http://www.amazon.com/Wishing-Cowboy-Phyliss-Miranda-ebook/dp/B00G9GTWVC/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1389664164&sr=1-1&keywords=Wishing+for+a+Cowboy

The Year I Lived On The Navajo Indian Reservation

Post by Kristy McCaffrey

It’s a pleasure to be a part of Prairie Rose Publications. I’ll be blogging the second Tuesday of each month. For my first post, I’d like to share an experience that has had a lasting impact on me. 

When I was nine years old, my parents moved my sister and myself to the Navajo Indian Reservation. Needless to say, I very much did not want to go. My dad, who has long had a deep and abiding respect for Native Americans, saw this as a chance to give back with his life. He took a job as an accountant with an arts and crafts store in Window Rock, Arizona. We obtained a house just across the border in New Mexico, in a small town aptly called “Navajo.”

I should preface my experience by saying that I’ve never been great at making friends. I’ve always been a little too quiet and withdrawn. Add to that my displeasure over being wrenched from my life in Phoenix, and I was none too happy. My sister, nearly four years younger and in kindergarten, embraced the journey with much more enthusiasm. She quickly came home speaking Navajo. I, however, was in fourth-grade and only one of two white girls in the classroom. I was teased constantly, for no other reason than being different, and it left me less than congenial toward most of the other kids.

It was 1975 and we lived in a neighborhood that consisted of generic, government housing. We weren’t rich by any means, but when we moved in, it became quickly known that we had a working telephone and my mother was generous in sharing kitchen items. After a time, she had to start saying no. The charity was simply getting out-of-hand. Unfortunately, many of the Navajo were complacent and drank too much. Even as a child, it struck me as a rather depressing place to live.

The view from our house in Navajo, New Mexico.

One night, a Navajo man came to our front door with a shotgun. He said he was going to shoot our dog, believing that he’d killed his daughter’s mutt. There was a pack of rather mean canines that roamed the neighborhood; there was no doubt in our mind that they had done the killing. My dad had erected a barbed-wire fence for our two dogs, so we were certain that neither was guilty. (The fence was to protect them, really.) My dad spent several hours, and several beers, trying to convince the man not to shoot, and thankfully it worked. 

I developed a panic-filled fear of AIM walkers, fueled by stories heard from classmates. I now know that this acronym stands for the American Indian Movement, a group dedicated to addressing the issues of present-day Native Americans, but in my scared mind they were ghost-like shape shifters that prowled the wash behind our house. There were many nights I literally shook in terror while trying to sleep, fearing they would snatch me from my bed.

But, lest I paint a completely dark picture of the year I spent in Navajo land, there were intriguing aspects to it. A hex was placed on the craft store chain where my dad worked. Since it involved all of the employees, he was allowed, despite being a white man, to participate in the ceremonies conducted by a medicine man. Some of his experiences I incorporated into my new novel with Prairie Rose Publications, Into The Land Of Shadows, when the main characters find themselves under the shadow of a curse. During one of the ceremonies at which my dad was present, the medicine man burned a piece of human skull. Two female employees reported instant relief from a terrible headache that had suddenly besieged them. Back at home, at the same time, my mother said I’d been distraught and crying for hours from pains in my head, which immediately stopped when the bone was destroyed. We were all tied to this land in ways none of us quite understood.

And the land was stark, amazing, and absolutely breathtaking. Our house sat at the base of a sheer red rock cliff. One day, we climbed it. At the midway point, a precipitous rock face had to be traversed. One of our dogs made it, but the other, an overweight black Labrador, couldn’t navigate the steep path. She paced at the bottom, barking and whining, while we scrambled onward. The expansive view at the top, coupled with the solitude and palpable energy in the land, left me with bittersweet memories. The region drenched the soul with possibilities, but I know now that I was too young to appreciate it, to channel it in a useful way. In some regards, the Navajo themselves, at that place and that time, had lost their center as well.

At the end of that year, my father brought us back to Phoenix, for which I was greatly relieved. But my time there left an indelible mark, always calling me back. I returned, many years ago, to show my husband. Not much had changed. With my new book, I felt compelled to write about the Navajo and what they were long ago—people who struggled, who lived, and who loved. Just like the rest of us. 

Leave a comment and be eligible to win an autographed print set of my historical western romance saga, the Wings of the West Series (includes The Wren, The Dove, and The Sparrow).

Into The Land Of Shadows is now available in print and digital!

Rancher Ethan Barstow is weary of the years-long estrangement from his brother, Charley. Deciding to track him down is easy; not so easy is riding in the company of Kate Kinsella, Charley’s fiancée. In the land of the Navajo, spirits and desire draw them close, leading them deeper into the shadows and to each other.

Kristy McCaffrey has been writing since she was very young, but it wasn’t until she was a stay-at-home mom that she considered becoming published. A fascination with science led her to earn two engineering degrees—she did her undergraduate work at Arizona State University and her graduate studies at the University of Pittsburgh—but storytelling was always her favorite hobby. Born and raised in Arizona, she writes Old West romances to capture the landscapes that were such a big part of her childhood. Her first novel, The Wren, was a CAPA winner for Best New Author Traditional, a Texas Gold finalist, and a HOLT Medallion finalist for Best First Book. The Sparrow was the 2012 Winter Rose Winner in the Published Historical Division. She lives in the Arizona desert with her husband, where they frequently remove (rescue) rattlesnakes from their property. Her four teenaged children are in varying stages of flying the nest, so her two chocolate labs—Ranger and Lily—are the recipients of her maternal instincts these days. 

Website: http://kristymccaffrey.com

Blog ~ Pathways:  http://kristymccaffrey.blogspot.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKristyMcCaffrey

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/McCaffreyKristy

Sign up for Kristy’s newsletter this month and be entered to win a $25 Amazon gift card.

http://www.kristymccaffrey.com/Give-Aways.html

Coming Home to the Hearts and Spurs Anthology

Good Monday to everyone!

I’m so excited to be here with the other authors of Prairie Rose Publications. For those of you who don’t know me, I’ve been writing for more than 15 years and have published two novels. Both Touch of Texas (2007) and Touched by Love (2008) are western historical romances.

Though I love what I do, I didn’t grow up expecting to be a writer. I’m a classically trained musician (flute and voice) and I still perform and conduct regularly. But I’ve read romance for as long as I can remembers, and, when a hard-headed cowboy started knocking on my creative mind—usually at night—I decided to write down his story. Then the next one showed up. And the next… The rest, as the saying goes, is history.

I’m not complaining. I don’t mind a bunch of tall, sexy cowboys propping their boots on my desk. When Prairie Rose Publications came knocking, looking for authors who love to write western historical romances, I knew it was the place for me!

My first short story with PRP was Her Christmas Wish, which was included in PRP’s 2013 inaugural release, the Christmas anthology WISHING FOR A COWBOY. The book includes eight wonderful western historical romances and eight recipes from those stories!

Her only Christmas wish was the man who left her behind.

Even a woman capable of living on her own…

Kathryn McConnell is a widow celebrating a milestone birthday alone. Though she feels a woman should be able to mourn the passing of her thirtieth birthday any way she wants, she won’t turn away a cowboy in need of lodging—until she learns it’s the man she’d expected to marry thirteen years earlier.

…never forgets her first love.

Will O’Brien had challenged his father’s prejudice against the woman he loved only to discover he was unable to stand against his family’s wealth and connections. Without a way to support his bride, Will struck out for the west, determined to earn a living for them both. When he returned after two years with no word from Katie, he found she’d married another and moved away. Heart broken, he returns to his work, but never stops hoping to find her.

When chance lands Will at the remote stagecoach station run by the widowed Kathryn, he grabs at the opportunity he’s been handed, hoping to win back the only woman he has ever loved.

In two days, on January 15, PRP will release HEARTS AND SPURS, our second anthology, which has nine stories in it, including mine:  Coming Home.

Sometimes it takes two to make dreams come true.

When a man who believes he’ll never have a home and family…

Former U.S. Marshal Jericho Hawken should have been shepherding a wagon train to new territory, but he unwillingly left them vulnerable to a vicious raider. The murder of the settlers he was supposed to be guarding is the hardest thing he’s ever had to face…until he meets the sister of one of the settlers.

…finds a woman who has lost everything…

Instead of a joyous reunion with her brother, Maryland Henry has come to River’s Bend to take responsibility for her three orphaned nieces. Fired from her teaching position and with no other family on whom to rely, Mary believes Jericho Hawken is responsible for all her woes. Or is he what she’s been searching for all along?

It’ll take a lot of forgiveness and a few fireworks to realize that together their dreams can come true.

I hope you’ll bookmark our blog and visit once in a while—or maybe every day. I’ll be back on February 10. And don’t miss all the fun planned for the launch of Hearts and Spurs on January 15.

So let’s chat a bit. What’s the first thing you think of when someone says “western”?

Since this is my first time on the Prairie Rose Publications blog, I’m giving away a copy of all three of my books to one winner. All you have to do to be in the drawing is leave a comment!  Be sure to include your email address.  I’ll pull one name from my cowboy hat after midnight tonight (Central Time), so you have plenty of time to join in the fun.

And be sure to drop in at my website, www.TracyGarrett.com, or find me on Facebook, to keep up on what's coming next.

TIME PLAINS DRIFTER by CHERYL PIERSON

Did someone say ‘paranormal time travel historical western’? That’s what my novel, Time Plains Drifter, is—a very different kind of romance novel than anything I’ve ever read. I think that’s why I enjoyed writing it so much.

The publication of Time Plains Drifter is a story unto itself—but it has its very own ‘happily ever after’ ending. Here’s what happened. After being released in December of 2009 with an unscrupulous publisher, I took my rights back after only three months and spent the next year searching for another home for it. In the spring of 2011, it was placed with WESTERN TRAIL BLAZER, an imprint of PUBLISHING BY REBECCA J. VICKERY.

Original cover by Jessica Pierson


But that’s not where it ends. When Livia and I opened Prairie Rose Publications, I made the decision to move Time Plains Drifter over from WTB to Prairie Rose. With a brand new cover and a few minor changes, this book can be offered not only in the Prairie Rose Publications line, but also in our New Adult (ages 18-24) category in the Painted Pony Books imprint.

That being said, let me tell you why Time Plains Drifter is so hard to pigeonhole and why that may be a bit scary in today’s market…this is also the very reason it’s a perfect fit for PRP/PPB.

I knew Time Plains Drifter was going to have to be classified as a time-travel romance; that’s how the H/h meet one another. She’s from the 21st century—he’s from 1879. That was the easy part. The part that was a bit harder to work around was that he was dead. I just couldn’t get past the premise that Rafe d’Angelico was going to be the “paranormal element” of the story. I didn’t want him to be a werewolf, vampire, or shapeshifter. So that left angels, demons, zombies and so forth. I chose for him to be an angel.

Working with Rafe—an angel who didn’t want to be an angel—was a challenge. I told him he had a pretty good deal going. He told me, “I want to be human again.” In the end, I realized he was right, and that was the only way to resolve the issue of time-travel-paranormal-angel-demon-human issues.

Jenni Dalton, the heroine, was completely unsuspecting in all this. She went out on a stargazing field trip with seven of her high school students one night and they never came home. Instead, they ended up in Indian Territory, 1895; one hundred-twenty years in the past.

Jenni’s got it rough, trying to deal with her seven charges, four of them the senior class troublemakers. It takes Rafe to bring them to heel and get them to toe the mark, until the gravity of their situation causes them to all make some surprising adjustments.

As Rafe and Jenni realize their growing attraction to one another is fated, they also understand there is no way anything can come of it on a permanent basis—Rafe is an angel, and Jenni is human.


The twists and turns that finally bring the book around to the HEA were the most fun to come up with for me. But the story itself, being so unique, is tough to categorize. I think now, it has the best of both worlds. It’s in a place where it can appeal to two separate readerships.

Time Plains Drifter was the recipient of The Reviewer’s Top Pick Award by Karen M. Nutt, PNR reviews. It also received a 4.5 star review, the highest rating given, from Romantic Times Magazine. I was selected as the recipient of the Honorable Mention—Best New Paranormal Author category in PNR’s PEARL Awards (March 2010), for Time Plains Drifter.

I’ve got a sequel in the works, Time Plains Guardian, which has been a delight to work on. There are different twists than what we saw in the first book, and some familiar characters will be the stars of the show this time around since the story is built around Rafe’s brother, Cris, and Jenni’s sister, Victoria.

Time Plains Drifter is now available in all formats, including print, Kindle, and Nook. I’ve also written some short stories that have a paranormal twist to them: A NIGHT FOR MIRACLES, THE GUNFIGHTER’S GIRL, HOMECOMING, (these three are Christmas stories) ALWAYS AND FOREVER, (Halloween story) THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS (western) and THE KEEPERS OF CAMELOT (western). Take a look at my Amazon page to order. (See link below.)
Cheryl's Amazon Author Page:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B002JV8GUE


I’ve included the blurb and an excerpt below. Please leave a comment! I always love to hear from readers and other authors.

BLURB:
Trapped in Indian Territory of 1895 by a quirk of nature, high school teacher Jenni Dalton must find a way to get her seven students back to the 21st century. Handsome U.S. Marshal Rafe d’Angelico seems like the answer to her prayers; he is, after all, an angel. In a race against time and evil, Rafe has one chance to save Jenni’s life and her soul from The Dark One—but can their love survive?

EXCERPT from TIME PLAINS DRIFTER:

He closed his eyes, letting the pleasurable feel of her wet mouth on his body wash over him, along with her voice. “Some things never change,”she’d said earlier. Her Oklahoma accent was a slow waltz to his mind, its lilting cadence urging him to accept what they had between them. Still, he couldn’t let it go. Couldn’t ever be dishonest with her, of all people.

“Don’t you want to know—”

She stopped him, placing two cool fingers across his lips, smiling at the tickle of his moustache against her skin. The smile faded as she absorbed the worry in his expression, the smoldering fire in his eyes, and made it her own.

“Not now, I don’t. You asked me—earlier—if I felt it. Whatever it is between us. I do.” Debating with herself, she hesitated a moment before coming to a decision. “I want you, Rafe,” she murmured. “I trust you.” She nuzzled his neck.“It doesn’t matter now, who—or what—you are.”

His hand closed in a fist around the shimmering satin of her copper hair, his chest filling with a sweet peace at her quiet words.

Dead...alive...Mexican...American...man...ghost...angel...

His mind churned as Jenni kissed him once again. Accepting him, for whoever he might be. She loved him. She hadn’t said it yet, but he knew it by the gentle way her lips grazed across his, then claimed his mouth completely, as if that was the only way she had to let him know how she felt. They breathed together, as one.

He answered her wordlessly, his tongue going into her mouth, fingers splaying and tightening against her scalp as he pulled her to him.

She came across his bare chest, the stiffness of the material of her own blouse gliding with gentle abrasion across his chest. He groaned in pleasure and felt her smile against his mouth. She made the move again as she lifted her lips from his, emerald eyes sparkling into his searing gaze.
“We’ll talk later,” she assured him.

“It’ll be too late to change your mind about me then,” he said, half-jokingly.
“I won’t change my mind, Rafe.”

The sweet sincerity in her voice and the promise in her eyes reassured him. He pulled her down silently. As their mouths melded once more, he rolled, taking her with him, changing their positions so he lay atop her.

She gasped, yielding to him, her cool palms sliding over the fevered heat of his skin, across his chest and shoulders. He began to unbutton her blouse as he kissed her, his fingers moving deftly. He pushed away the first layer of material with his customary impatience, then started on the stays of her corset.

She twisted beneath him at the loosening of the undergarment. He pulled her upright momentarily, whisking blouse and corset over her head, dropping them in a heap on the floor.

In silent invitation, Jenni lifted her hand to him. She touched his side, and he flinched slightly as her fingers lingered over the very place the Bowie had gone into him earlier that day. Even though a red scar marked the spot, there was no pain for him, and he saw no puzzlement in her eyes...only concern.

“Does it hurt?”

It was as he had suspected. She’d seen what had happened, how bad it should have been...but wasn’t. And she had accepted it, unconditionally. They would talk later, as she’d said, but somehow, he felt he would find the words he needed to explain things to her. He shook his head slightly. “No.”

A vulnerable uncertainty crossed her face for a moment. “Well, then, Marshal—what’re you waiting for?”

Please be sure to leave a comment to be entered for my giveaway! I'm offering a copy of TIME PLAINS DRIFTER (digital) to one lucky commenter. Check back after 7:00 p.m. tomorrow, January 12, to see if YOU are my winner! Thanks to everyone who stopped by!

FIRE EYES AND WELCOME TO THE PRAIRIE ROSE PUBLICATIONS BLOG by CHERYL PIERSON

Hey everyone! I wanted to introduce myself to fellow authors and readers in this post at our PRAIRIE ROSE PUBLICATIONS blog and tell you a little about me and my how I started my "writing journey."

I was born in Duncan, Oklahoma, in 1957. I had two “way older” sisters (10 and 12 when I came along) and I was a Tomboy–with a capital “T” for sure! Although I loved Barbie, I’d much rather have been playing cowboys and Indians–probably why I chose to write western historical, for the most part. We moved to Seminole, OK, when I was six, and that's where I grew up. This picture was taken of Main Street AFTER it was paved with bricks. When we moved from there in 1974, these bricks were still there.


I finally got to go to a rodeo when I was about 9 with my cousin, and Larry Mahan was there! I was in love. After that, I wanted to be a barrel racer, thinking that would be a great way to get those handsome cowboys to notice me when I was older…of course, that was a huge pipe dream since my family was NOT into rodeoing at all. But my first “serious” little story I wrote in elementary school had a guy in it named “Larry” and girl named “Cherry” (original, huh?)

My dad was an oilfield hand–a chemical engineer, on call 24/7 for as long as I can remember. In this part of the world, that makes my family "oilfield trash and proud of it"! (Well, my mom would have taken great exception to that label, for sure!) Mom was the “June Cleaver” type, and both she and my dad were appalled when I told them I wanted to write books for a living. As they predicted, that dream had to be placed on hold for many years–enough time for me to marry and raise my two kids–with a myriad of “real jobs” (as others called them) in between.

My parents, Fred and ElWanda Moss, newlywed and ready to take on the world.


But I was writing all the time, every spare minute I got. I started out with an idea for a western romance, and the more I wrote, the bigger the story became, until I had a 1000 page manuscript! Of course, it’s still unsold (go figure!) but it’s the book of my heart–and I know each of you authors out there has written a book that holds that special place in your heart, as well. That was what I needed to “get me going.” Ideas flowed, and so did the words.

Although that first “tome” is still as yet unpublished, the third book I wrote, FIRE EYES, was first published with The Wild Rose Press in May 2009, and went on to become an EPIC Award finalist. Since then, that story has been re-released through WESTERN TRAIL BLAZER in 2012, and is enjoying a fabulous new JIMMY THOMAS cover (created by Karen M. Nutt) and a new lease on life, since I was able to add back in much of what had had to be cut before with TWRP.

I live in Oklahoma City with my “transplanted” (from West Virginia) husband, Gary, who is retired from the FAA. My daughter, Jessica, is 27 and works at an actors’ casting agency here. My son, Casey, is 24 and graduated with a bachelors’ degree in math and an associates’ degree in physics (and believe me, those math and science genes did not come from me!)He is an adjunct math professor at one of the community colleges here in Oklahoma City now. I teach writing classes for all ages, and have done lots of work with the Indian Education Program for one of the major school systems here in OK City. And I have a "granddog", Embry, who is a 200 pound Great Pyrenees and thinks he's a lapdog. He's now my "baby".



I’m offering a giveaway today for FIRE EYES. All you have to do is leave a comment. You can find all my releases from The Wild Rose Press, Western Trail Blazer, and Victory Tales Press as well as our own PRAIRIE ROSE PUBLICATIONS at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and many other fine e-book and print booksellers.

Cheryl's Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/cherylpierson

Thanks to everyone who stopped by today to read. Please don’t forget to comment! I’ll leave you with a blurb and excerpt from Fire Eyes:

BLURB:


Marshal Kaed Turner is given a rare second chance at love with the mysterious woman the Choctaw call “Fire Eyes.” But can he quiet the ghosts from his past and protect the love that was stolen from him once before? There’s only one way: Kill outlaw Andrew Fallon, along with the murdering band of men he leads.

EXCERPT FROM FIRE EYES:



THE SET UP: Marshal Kaed Turner has been deposited on widow Jessica Monroe's front porch by a band of Choctaw Indians with orders from the chieftain: "Do not let him die." But can she save him? He's been severely beaten by a band of renegades that run the borderlands between Arkansas and Indian Territory. The last man they brought to her doorstep died. What will become of Marshal Turner? Can she save him?

The bath could be put off no longer. Kaed lay quietly, watching Jessica's nervousness.

"Jessi." When she looked at him, his bones liquefied. She wanted him. All question of how the night would end were answered as their eyes met and held over an achingly sweet moment.

Jessica sank her teeth into her lower lip, her fingers moving to the tiny row of buttons at the front of her day dress. She slowly began to work them open. "Kaed, would you, um, I mean, well, I need to get my bath now."

"I suppose that means I need to at least turn my head." His mouth was dry. It was hot in the cabin all of a sudden.

"Uh-huh." She kept right on unbuttoning the buttons, caught in his gaze. "And close your eyes."

Yeah, well it wouldn't matter if he did. He'd still see the picture she burned in his mind as she stood there opening those buttonholes.

Her fingers hesitated at the button just above the rich swell of her breasts. Kaed wet his lips, not turning his head or closing his eyes.

"Kaed?" Her voice was a husky whisper. That made him close his eyes. The sound of his name on her lips had him imagining doing all the things that a man did with a woman. All the things that were soon to come.

God. The heat was unbearable.

"Huh?" He slitted his still-swollen eyes open and saw she had released that button and moved down to the next one. He gritted his teeth.

"Turn…your…head." A teasing smile played about her mouth, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking, what he was imagining.

Turning away would be a good thing right about now. If he could only persuade his neck to cooperate.
"Yeah. Okay." He turned his face toward the window. Sort of.

"I'm trusting you."

Kaed sighed, frustrated. "I know." It was the one thing she might've said that would have kept him true to his word, that part about trusting. He couldn't betray that. "I've gotta move slow. Hurts."

"Don't—" The dress whispered to the floor.

"I won't," he gritted, the words bitter in his mouth.

OH MY! I wonder what happens after that bath?
Please leave a comment. I love to hear from readers and other writers!

THE MINDSET OF WRITING: ARE YOU TOUGH ENOUGH? by CHERYL PIERSON

When I first began writing seriously, it never entered my mind that it would be a painful process. But it truly can be, and usually is.

From the very beginnings of our imaginings as writers, the first stirrings of creativity that we feel compelled to share with the world by transferring our thoughts to paper (or computer), we are "putting ourselves out there" for the world to look at--and judge. Self-doubt is inevitable.

When you wrote your first essay in grammar school--think back--"How I Spent My Summer Vacation"--that was the beginning. You most likely had to stand up and read it for the class, to be snickered at by your classmates if you hadn't had some kind of fantastic summer experience to write about--good or bad.

Your retelling of a wonderful vacation to Disneyland could be trumped by a classmate who’d visited relatives that lived near Billy Bob's Crocodile Farm. Never, never could we slip into mediocrity by writing about a boring summer of "just staying home."

My first "sold" story was to ADAMS MEDIA'S ROCKING CHAIR READER: MEMORIES FROM THE ATTIC.


Without our realizing it, this was the beginning of the rest of our lives as writers--and the judgment of the rest of the world. By what we wrote for those long-ago class assignments, we unwittingly took the first steps on our journeys into the world of writing successes
to come. How our classmates reacted, even at age eight or nine, would affect the rest of our lives in ways we didn't imagine then.

Think of it this way: Miss Smith's third grade class was our first experience with peers who critiqued our work. And some of those peers could be downright snide, despite Miss Smith's admonishments to mind their manners!

Kids are cruel, but so are adults. Our school years were the proving ground for obstacles we face in the adult world in many areas, but did you ever think of your third-grade classmates as your first panel of reviewers?

Just as we longed for acceptance then, we wish for it now. Those of us who are writers hope to be embraced by a fan base of some size--even if it's small.

Miss Smith was the next hurdle, representing an elevated level of criticism. She gave you "the grade" for your paper--evaluating not only the grammar and punctuation, but the content and creativity.

Dealing with teachers and curriculum in school is much like dealing with a literary agent and the governing “rules of writing” in our adult lives. The comparison is striking.

My first "sold" novel--FIRE EYES

We have to "make the grade" to land an agent. But, like teachers, not all agents are alike. Some tend to give more advice, push harder for the sale, or spend more time networking. Ultimately, your agent, if you have one, is your personal "gatekeeper," making the sale for your work--or not. Miss Smith in third grade, along with countless others like her, represent the first broker for your writing. Did you pass or fail? Were you creative? Did you meet your word count?

Much of the outcome depends on you. Have you been "tough enough" through the years? How do you handle the past rejection that comes as an inevitable, integral part of a writer's life? Have you ever thought that you might have started your adult writing career sooner had you had a bit of encouragement in those early years?

Realize that you are here, at last, and having made it this far, you are on the road to success. It might not come tomorrow, or next week, but it is out there, waiting. Much of our success as writers depends on luck, or "being in the right place at the right time." Having that teacher, mentor or friend at some point who gave us a small piece of encouragement is sometimes what can "make or break" us.

But learning to be tough and stay constant, to keep from being disillusioned and disheartened, and to be our own source of inner comfort and strength during this journey is the key to success.

Remember, even if you haven't sold anything yet, you've written it. And that's a success story in itself.

Completing a manuscript of any kind means you were tough enough to "tell it" and it's only a matter of time now until you sell it!

I'm giving away a signed copy of FIRE EYES to one lucky commenter today! Just leave a comment and check back after 7:00 tomorrow, Friday the 10th! Comment tomorrow for an added chance to win!