Writing in the Time of COVID-19

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

Each Friday afternoon, I receive Funds for Writers, a free weekly newsletter from C. Hope Clark. Here’s a timely and thought-provoking reflection from a recent newsletter:

Before the COVID era, we moved like fish, the current and demands of survival directing us here and there to do what keeps us alive as writers. During this era, we aren’t certain what to do because the entire industry isn’t sure what to do. Even self-publishing, which was so sure of itself before the virus, hasn’t decided how to recuperate.

Now is the perfect time to decide who you intend to be as a writer.

But you don’t know what writing will be wanted, which publishers will still be alive, what topics will be in demand and which will have fallen off a cliff. But that is a good thing. You have no parameters. You have no directives. You have nobody telling you to write this or write that.

Now is probably the best, most wide-open time in your life to write what moves you.

I was told by a zillion people in my early years that nobody wanted to read Carolina Slade. Nobody liked a rural mystery. She was too quirky. I just turned in the fifth manuscript to the publisher, and a producer is working with a movie writer on a script.

The world doesn’t want more of the same. When it recovers from this virus, and when it starts shifting into a different normal way of life, there will be few rules of thumb. All will be different. That’s why you should start working on defining yourself now. Set goals. Work daily on those goals until they become habit. Suddenly you are a different person than before. . . probably closer to who you really are, because you have no shackles and no reins. You’re finally doing what you wanted to do.

Sign up to receive Hope’s newsletter here.

Spotlight on House of the Twelfth Planet

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome poet and author Miriam Newman. Today, Miriam shares her latest release, House of the Twelfth Planet.

Blurb

To whom does Lela owe her loyalty: her own people or the Thelonian Lord who loves her?

Excerpt

Her last memory was of sleeping in Caius’s arms. Her first was of his face.

There were other faces, too—human faces unlike her Thelonian Lord’s. More like her own. Shrill beeping noises. Nearly unbearable lights and a cold, sharp smell.

“Just be patient a moment,” one of the human faces said. “We will have you out shortly.”

Out of where, Lela thought, but she could see hands and feel them on her, too. Strange sensations, not unpleasant, but…invading. Removing things from her skin. Through it all, Caius’s steady, calm voice kept her from utter panic.

“You are awakening from a long sleep,” he told her, and she could well believe it. How long could you sleep, to forget where you were and why?

“You are on board a space transport,” he told her. “I have been with you the whole time. Just let the crew help you.”

She lay still, hardly daring to blink.

“There,” a woman’s voice said cheerily. “All finished now. How do you feel?”

Lela’s stare fixed on her. A medico. Fully human, understandable, not a threat. Dimly, she remembered. This woman had given her a substance that made her sleep, with Caius in their tiny cabin accommodation. His heartbeat was the last thing she had felt before she slept. Now she was inside one of the sleeping pods she had seen the crew members use. They had gone into the long sleep, and so had she. There were others, around her, stirring and stepping out of their pods.

“Strange,” she told the medico, then looked past her to Caius. “How long have I slept?”

“Twelve years by our suns. But now we are coming into the orbit of Colony Twelve, where I believe the days and years are somewhat longer.”

She shook her head. She was a simple nonni-girl from Danaali, a farmer, not a learned person who would know such things. It was all very well for Caius to tell her. He had a law-giver’s degree. She was confused except for one thing: on Colony 12 she was no longer a slave.

Ten Things You Don’t Know About My Character

1) Caius was named by his father, a scholar familiar with Earth history who had an affinity for ancient Rome.

2) He is recognizably humanoid, but well over the height of an average denizen of Earth.

3) Like most Thelonians, Caius has caramel colored skin to protect him from Thelona’s two suns—the rising and ascending suns, equivalent to morning and afternoon.

4) Though his pupils are essentially normal and golden-colored by Earth standards, they can turn blood red under conditions of stress, temper or passion. This makes him intimidating to those unused to it—which is most of the universe.

5) He is the result of a political marriage between his parents—the requisite child to carry on the family name.

6) He was essentially raised by his parents’ slaves. In some ways, he incorporates their values superimposed on his patrician birthright.

7) The conflict with his parents that drove him still is not dead, even though his father is.

8) He once found a woman he could truly, deeply love and walked away from her. She married someone else.

9) He drinks too much and sleeps around too much, but he is secretly looking for the woman he will want to come home to.

10) He does not realize what a dangerous anarchist he is at heart—but other people do.

Buy Links

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Lulu

Author Bio and Links

Fantasy poetry driven by myths and legends has been my passion for as long as I can remember. I was published in poetry before catching the romance writing bug. I bring that background to my writing along with a lifelong addiction to horses, an 18-year career in various areas of psychiatric social services and many trips to Ireland, where I nurture my muse. My published works range from contemporary fantasy romance to fantasy historical, futuristic, science fiction and historical romance. Currently I live in rural Pennsylvania with a “motley crew” of rescue animals. You can see my books at http://www.miriamnewman.com.

Website | Celtic Rose Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon

Giveaway

Miriam Newman will be awarding a $20 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour. Find out more here.

Follow Miriam on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.

Book Review: The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

In 1999, Sue Monk Kidd considered writing a novel about the fictional wife of Jesus Christ but ended up talking herself out of this daunting task.

Fifteen years later, she mustered enough audacity to put pen to paper. After four and a half years of researching and writing, she produced a mesmerizing novel written in the first person.

From the start, Ana’s voice rings loud and clear: “I am Ana. I was the wife of Jesus ben Joseph of Nazareth. I called him Beloved, and he, laughing, called me Little Thunder.”

This was no ordinary woman.

Her father, Matthias, head scribe and counselor to Herod Antipas, suggests that her “talents were better suited for prophets and messiahs, for men who parted seas, built temples, and conferred with God on mountaintops.”

Her mother, Hadar, believes that a demon named Lilith had visited at birth and defiled Ana with unnatural tendencies.

Fortunately, Ana receives comfort and encouragement from her paternal Aunt Yaltha, a fascinating woman who experienced pain and tragedy but somehow found the courage to reassemble her broken life.

Inspired by Aunt Yaltha, Ana uses her formidable talents to chronicle the lives of neglected and silenced women. Her passion is evident throughout the novel: “To be ignored to be forgotten, this was the worst sadness of all. I swore an oath to set down their accomplishments and praise their flourishings, no matter how small.”

At age fifteen, Ana is forced to hide her parchments and scrolls and prepare for a betrothal to Nathaniel ben Hananiah, an elderly widower. At their first meeting in the marketplace, Ana faints and is rescued by a young, bearded man with remarkable eyes that exude generosity and kindness. Ana experiences an intense attraction: “My heart bounded up, along with an odd smelting in my thighs, as if my legs might give way once again.”

A series of unexpected circumstances (possibly manifested by Ana and Aunt Yaltha) follow, and the unwanted suitor dies from an illness. Considered a widow and defiled, Ana faces an uncertain future on the fringes of society. Another chance meeting with Jesus leads to a proposal. Anxious to be rid of Ana, her father gives his consent.

What follows is the author’s masterful attempt to fill that ten-year gap (ages 20 to 30) of Jesus Christ’s life. Ms. Kidd succeeds in demonstrating his humanity while downplaying his divinity. Jesus loves and worships God, but he is also determined to support his wife, mother, and family. Living in a crowded, multi-generational home has its challenges—limited funds, argumentative brothers, a resentful sister-in-law, a capricious goat—but Jesus rises above the fray.

The familiar events of Jesus’s life are retold through Ana’s eyes, as his wife and the sister of Judas Iscariot. Adding this twist to the narrative, created several subplots involving the conflicted man who would betray Jesus.

I highly recommend this compelling, multi-dimensional story about an extraordinary woman who refuses to be held back by a culture determined to keep her quiet and hidden.

Audio-Book Excerpt

Buy Links

Amazon (US) | Amazon (Canada) | Indigo | Barnes & Noble

Note: Sue Monk Kidd is hosting a virtual book club for The Book of Longings during the month of May. Find out more here.

Writing Tips: Stephen King and Virginia Woolf

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

Narrator Matilda Butler shares inspiration and writing tips from Stephen King and Virginia Woolf.


Wild Rose Pass ~ 10 Facts About My Protagonist Ben

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome back Karen Hulene Bartell. Today, Karen shares 10 interesting facts about the male protagonist of her new release, Wild Rose Pass.

Here’s Karen!

Thanks so much for hosting me on your blog. It’s a pleasure to be here today!

Wild Rose Pass has two protagonists—Cadence and Ben. In many—okay, ten—ways, Ben is my favorite, and here’s why.

Ben Williams is based on a real person—a friend’s great-great-grandfather, José Maria Bill, who was captured as a small child. The Comanches killed his parents and brother and, at first, treated Ben as a slave.

They beat him so often, a Comanche and his wife took pity. The couple had three daughters but no son, so they traded him mula ensillada—for a mule and a saddle—and raised him as their own.

When old enough, he left the Comanches for two reasons: politics and a woman. According to the terms of the Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty, Apaches and Comanches had to return all captured Mexicans from the States. But he wasn’t sure if he were Mexican or American. His Comanche father said he was born near the west Texas-Mexico border, but Ben was captured at such an early age, he couldn’t remember which side.

Politics aside, what compelled Ben to leave was a woman. Marriage in the Comanche campamiento was straightforward. If a young man saw a woman he wanted to marry, he simply asked her father for her. Unlike the widespread practice in 1880s Texas Anglo communities—where a man asked a woman’s father for her hand in marriage—when a Comanche asked for a man’s daughter, the father simply handed her over.

One day, Ben and his best friend noticed a pretty girl. The friend said he’d ask for her. Teasing him, Ben told him no, he’d ask for her. Though meant as a joke, the prank fanned into a feud. Even after his friend married the girl, he was suspicious and jealous.

Ben decided to leave the camp before the resentment turned to bloodshed. Though the tribe’s capitán offered him his choice of young women to change his mind, Ben realized his friend would never let go the bitterness.

Wounded and resentful about losing not only his friend, but his adoptive family and clan, as well, Ben left the Comanche community. Since he didn’t know which side of the Rio Grande he’d been captured on, he decided against being repatriated to Mexico. Instead, an American Anglo family took him in and taught him to read and write.

How did he become an officer of the buffalo soldiers at Fort Davis when he wasn’t a West Point graduate?

When the Civil War broke out, he enlisted and was assigned to the USCT, the Colored Troops—regiments made up of black men—but some Native Americans, as well. He rose through the ranks, and during combat, received the title of brevet lieutenant. Then after the war ended, his commanding officer recommended he apply for an officer’s commission to the buffalo soldiers.

That’s where he met the commander’s daughter, Cadence, a free-spirited nonconformist, who yearned to escape the rigid code, clothes, and sidesaddles of 1880s military society in Fort Davis, Texas. Though expected to keep with family tradition and marry West Point graduate James West, she found the daring new lieutenant exhilarating.

Orphaned and always the outsider looking in, Ben Williams yearned to belong. Cadence embodied everything he craved, but he was neither accepted into military society nor considered marriageable.

Could two people of different worlds, drawn together by conflicting needs, flout society and forge a life together on the frontier? From these ten facts, what do you think? The first chapter of Wild Rose Pass is on me!

Suggested tags

• Travel back to the Frontier with two people of different worlds, drawn together by conflicting needs!

• Lose yourself in time, where 1880s East confronts the West Frontier, and two opposites are drawn together by conflicting needs!

• Based on a true story, WILD ROSE PASS is a romantic journey into yesteryear. Share the challenges with Cadence and Ben in a ride through the past! https://bit.ly/2T1V3JM

Blurb

Cadence McShane, free-spirited nonconformist, yearns to escape the rigid code, clothes, and sidesaddles of 1880s military society in Fort Davis, Texas. She finds the daring new lieutenant exhilarating, but as the daughter of the commanding officer, she is expected to keep with family tradition and marry West Point graduate James West.

Orphaned, Comanche-raised, and always the outsider looking in, Ben Williams yearns to belong. Cadence embodies everything he craves, but as a battlefield-commissioned officer with the Buffalo Soldiers instead of a West Point graduate, he is neither accepted into military society nor considered marriageable.

Can two people of different worlds, drawn together by conflicting needs, flout society and forge a life together on the frontier?

Excerpt

Reining his horse between catclaw and prickly-pear cactus, Ben Williams squinted at the late summer sun’s low angle. Though still midafternoon, shadows lengthened in the mountains. He clicked his tongue, urging his mare up the incline. “Show a little enthusiasm, Althea. If we’re not in Fort Davis by sunset, we’ll be bedding down with scorpions and rattlesnakes.”

As his detachment’s horses clambered up Wild Rose Pass, the only gap through west Texas’ rugged Davis Mountains, Ben kept alert for loose rocks or hidden roots, anything that might trip his mount. A thick layer of fallen leaves created a pastiche of color shrouding the trail from view. He glanced up at the lithe cottonwood trees lining the route, their limbs dancing in the breeze. More amber and persimmon leaves loosened, fell, and settled near the Indian pictographs on their tree trunks. When he saw the red- and yellow-ochre drawings, he smiled, recalling the canyon’s name—Painted Comanche Camp.

“How far to Fort Davis, lieutenant?” called McCurry, one of his recruits.

“Three hours.” If we keep a steady pace.

Without warning, the soldier’s horse whinnied. Spooking, it reared on its hind legs, threw its rider, and galloped off.

As he sat up, the man groaned, caught his breath, and stared into the eyes of a coiled rattler, poised to strike. “What the…?”

Flicking its tongue, hissing, tail rattling, the pit viper was inches from the man’s face.

A sheen of sweat appeared above the man’s lip. “Lieutenant—”

Buy Links

Amazon eBook | Amazon Paperback | Barnes & Noble NOOK Book | Barnes & Noble Paperback

About the Author

Author of the Trans-Pecos, Sacred Emblem, Sacred Journey, and Sacred Messenger series, Karen is a best-selling author, motivational keynote speaker, wife, and all-around pilgrim of life. She writes multicultural, offbeat love stories that lift the spirit. Born to rolling-stone parents who moved annually, Bartell found her earliest playmates as fictional friends in books. Paperbacks became her portable pals. Ghost stories kept her up at night—reading feverishly. The paranormal was her passion. Westerns spurred her to write (pun intended). Wanderlust inherent, Karen enjoyed traveling, although loathed changing schools. Novels offered an imaginative escape. An only child, she began writing her first novel at the age of nine, learning the joy of creating her own happy endings. Professor emeritus of the University of Texas at Austin, Karen resides in the Hill Country with her husband Peter and her “mews”—three rescued cats and a rescued *Cat*ahoula Leopard dog.

Connect with Karen

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Website | Amazon Author Page | Instagram | BookBub | LinkedIn | Email

Spotlight on Heaven-Sent Highlander ~ Free on Amazon!

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Soul Mate author Nancy Badger is sharing Heaven-Sent Highlander…The ebook is free on Amazon!

Blurb

At an American museum, surrounded by Auguste Rodin’s bronze statues, a Scottish Fae beauty is at a crossroads. Now that Gwendolyn’s friends are engaged, and the demon they fought vanquished, should she return home? After committing a terrible act, she could not explain to her cousin why she had appeared on his doorstep.

Alexander awoke in darkness inside a bronze statue, remembering how the green of Scotland’s Culloden field had turned red with blood that day in 1746. Had he died before awakening nude and sightless in front of strangers in present-day Raleigh, North Carolina? The mystery of how was overshadowed by why. Told that another warrior awoke when a demon threatened to take over the world, had a second demon escaped Hell? When the demon appears and demands Gwen join him, Alex must use all his new skills, weapons, and Heaven-sent powers to keep her and the world safe.

Excerpt

“I placed some clothes in the bathing room. ‘Tis just next door,” Gwendolyn said.

“A bathing room? Inside the house? Show me.” Alex figured he could find it on his own by touch, but he did not know who besides Gwendolyn was near. Keeping his blindness a secret seemed childish, but his pride screamed at him to hold back and see what happened.

“I brought food for ye—”

“I am hungry, yet can it wait? Clothing myself seems prudent, first.”

“Fine. Follow me.”

As she set something down, the lilt in her voice made him smile, and her scent stirred his loins. The urge to grab her, turn her into his chest, and kiss her senseless was strong. The problem? How would he find her?

In the hallway, his hazy vision sensed light and Gwen’s outline ahead of him. His feet closed the space between them. Moments before he could wrap his fingers around her, heavy footsteps grew closer.

“Gwen, what are you and Alex doing? Alex, you are looking well. Clothing might improve your visage. Aye?”

Sam had interrupted his plans. Had he read his thoughts? Gwendolyn had warned him, but why would he care what Gwendolyn and he did?

Alex nodded. “Gwendolyn left some items in the bathing room. I wish to hurry and dress. I smell meat cooking.”

“Oh! I left the chili in your bedchamber!” Gwen’s blurry outline ran past him, and Alex was left alone with Sam.

“Gwen is very attentive, considering we still do not know your intentions.”

What could Sam be hinting at? “I doona know why I am still alive. I swear to you, sir. I assumed I had died on that bloody battlefield. I am thankful to breathe air and feel pain. Truly, as it proves I am alive.”

He sensed Sam staring at him, but he kept his features calm and without fear.

“Well, then we shall commence your training at sun-up. Rest, eat, and find clothing appropriate for combat.”

“Combat?”

Amazon (US) | Amazon (Canada) | Amazon (UK) | Amazon (Australia)

Author Bio

Nancy Lee Badger grew up in Huntington on New York’s Long Island, where school field trips to lofty museums were the norm. After attending Plymouth State, in New Hampshire, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Art Education and met and married her college sweetheart. They raised two handsome sons in Rumney, New Hampshire, where Nancy volunteered as an EMT and firefighter while working full-time. When the children had left the nest, and shoveling show became a chore, she retired from her satisfying job as a 9-1-1 Emergency Medical Dispatcher and moved with her husband to North Carolina, where she writes full-time.

Nancy is a member of Romance Writers of America, Heart of Carolina Romance Writers, Fantasy-Futuristic & Paranormal Romance Writers, and the Triangle Association of Freelancers. She loves to travel and attend Scottish Highland Games and is never far from her laptop. She finds story ideas in the most unusual places. Connect with her here:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon Author Page | Goodreads

Release Day: The Quarantine Cookbook by Beth Carter

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Blurb

Romance author Beth Carter created THE QUARANTINE COOKBOOK during the unbelievable 2020 Coronavirus pandemic. Nearly 200 easy, delicious recipes will provide a much-needed distraction while sheltering in place—and your family will thank you! Included are the author’s favorite five-ingredient recipes, plus plenty of comfort food, meatless meals, appetizers, salads, sides, soups, and desserts.

And when you don’t feel like cooking, Carter included a generous dollop of almost 60 Non-Stir Crazy Activities, a sprinkling of unique Six-Word Memoirs on Quarantine Life, and a pinch of hilarious food quotes that are sure to bring a smile during these trying times.

Recipes include Quarantine Balls, Bacon Asparagus Quiche, Stuffed Pasta Shells, French Dip Sandwiches, Asian Salmon, Rosemary Pork Chops, Parmesan Chicken, Strawberry Yogurt Cake, Brownie Pie, and Chocolate-Covered Cashew Clusters, to name a few.

Easy on the pantry—and budget—these family favorite recipes using common ingredients are sure to become yours too. Since we’re homebound, let’s cook! Stay healthy, and happy eating.

During the crisis, proceeds will benefit: Tunnel2Towers.org which is providing housing for fallen COVID-19 healthcare workers and first responders with young children.

buynow

Author Bio

At a certain mid-life crisis, er, age, multi-award-winning author Beth Carter shed her corporate bank suits and heels to pen novels and children’s books. She much prefers afternoon writing at Starbucks to 8 o’clock board meetings.

Carter’s novels include: THURSDAYS AT COCONUTS (Book 1), CHAOS AT COCONUTS (Book 2), BABIES AT COCONUTS (Book 3), SLEEPING WITH ELVIS, MIRACLE ON AISLE TWO, and SANTA BABY, a novelette. There will be six books in the Coconuts series, and all may be read as a standalone.

Voted Favorite Contemporary Runner-up in the 2018 & 2017 Raven Awards, winner of a 2015 RONE Award, and named Best Debut Author in 2015, the author pens romantic women’s fiction contemporary romance, and romantic comedy in what she calls rollercoaster romance. The author infuses plenty of humor, suspense, heartwarming romance, and page-turning plot twists.

Also a children’s picture book author, Carter has four children’s books published: WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE?, SOUR POWER, SANTA’S SECRET, and THE MISSING KEY. All have been well received by kids, parents, teachers, and counselors.

You’ll likely find Beth Carter sipping a skinny vanilla latte while writing. That is, if she isn’t on a boat or at T.J. Maxx.

Where to find Beth Carter…

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Movie Review: The Way Back

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Ben Affleck delivers an excellent performance as Jack Cunningham, a hard-drinking former basketball star who reluctantly accepts the position of head coach at his alma mater.

As the storyline unfolds, we learn that Jack walked away from a full sports scholarship and hasn’t picked up a basketball in almost 25 years. His life has settled into a predictable routine: days at a construction job followed by evenings at Harold’s Bar and more alcohol at home. He is so dependent that he even brings a can of beer into the shower.

As soon as Jack accepts the coaching position, he becomes involved in the lives of the players and succeeds in motivating the underdog squad of ten players. A winning streak follows with impressively choreographed basketball scenes.

Jack still drinks too much, and his short-fuse temper is easily triggered during tense moments. Despite reprimands from the team chaplain, Jack can’t control his constant use of profanities.

Viewed as a savior, Jack appears to be well on the road to redemption. Until life—in the form of resurrected past demons—rears its ugly head. What follows is backtracking, a major disappointment, and an accident.

A longtime fan of sports movies, I fully expected Jack to take the team to the final championship game. Instead, co-writer and director Gavin O’Connor chose a different trajectory for Jack Cunningham, one that is a better “fit” for the imperfect coach struggling to overcome past mistakes and insecurities.

A thought-provoking film!


Wild Rose Pass ~ Most Embarrassing Moments of Protagonists

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome Wild Rose Press author Karen Hulene Bartell. Today, Karen shares embarrassing moments from her new release, Wild Rose Pass.

Here’s Karen!

Thanks so much for hosting me on your blog. It’s a pleasure to be here today!

Wild Rose Pass has two protagonists—Cadence and Ben. Like you and me in real life, both experience more than their share of uncomfortable situations.

~~~

When he meets her, Ben feels outclassed. Cadence sends him a condescending, look but don’t touch message. His fellow officers at the fort—all West Point graduates—talk down to him, an enlisted man, who received a field promotion.

Ignoring the familiar pang of exclusion, he tips his hat to her with a courtly flourish. “Ma’am.” Just because they see me as a savage, do I have to act like one?

~~~

Later, when Cadence’s fingertips accidentally graze his thigh, he leans into her space. She inclines her body toward his, wondering, How will his lips feel on mine? Eager to learn, she closes her eyes, parts her lips, and waits…

Moments pass before she hears a strangled, “We’d better head back.” Opening her eyes wide, she stares horror-struck. Did I just make a fool of myself? She imagines him laughing behind her back or bragging what a fool he made of her. “Fine.” Jerking the reins, she digs her knees into her horse’s sides and takes off at a canter.

~~~

“Cadence, dear, everyone at the fort expects us to marry, and we mustn’t let them down…When do you want to set the date?”

While the assembly listens for her answer, her jaw and neck stiffen with suppressed rage. He didn’t propose marriage. He issued an order and expects me to obey. Her eyes narrow as she regards the room’s beaming faces. Military tradition is the reason behind his arrogance. Everyone expects me to accept the dashing West Point officer’s proposal.

~~~

The target of a smear campaign, Cadence is ostracized at church during the sermon of the Samaritan woman. Sibilant whispers, steely eyes, and judgmental scowls meet her as people swivel in their pews to leer. A tingling begins at the nape of her neck and sweeps toward her cheeks and ears. Her self-esteem plummets, and humiliation courses through her body as she struggles to make sense of their hostility. Do they compare me to the fallen woman?

~~~

And you think you’ve had bad days? Spoiler alert: This historic romance is a HEA, but not without mortification or strife. Hope you’ll read Wild Rose Pass to learn how Cadence and Ben resolve their humiliating moments. The first chapter’s on me!

Suggested tags

• Travel back to the Frontier with two people of different worlds, drawn together by conflicting needs!

• Lose yourself in time, where 1880s East confronts the West Frontier, and two opposites are drawn together by conflicting needs!

• Based on a true story, WILD ROSE PASS is a romantic journey into yesteryear. Share the challenges with Cadence and Ben in a ride through the past! https://bit.ly/2T1V3JM

Blurb

Cadence McShane, free-spirited nonconformist, yearns to escape the rigid code, clothes, and sidesaddles of 1880s military society in Fort Davis, Texas. She finds the daring new lieutenant exhilarating, but as the daughter of the commanding officer, she is expected to keep with family tradition and marry West Point graduate James West.

Orphaned, Comanche-raised, and always the outsider looking in, Ben Williams yearns to belong. Cadence embodies everything he craves, but as a battlefield-commissioned officer with the Buffalo Soldiers instead of a West Point graduate, he is neither accepted into military society nor considered marriageable.

Can two people of different worlds, drawn together by conflicting needs, flout society and forge a life together on the frontier?

Excerpt

Reining his horse between catclaw and prickly-pear cactus, Ben Williams squinted at the late summer sun’s low angle. Though still midafternoon, shadows lengthened in the mountains. He clicked his tongue, urging his mare up the incline. “Show a little enthusiasm, Althea. If we’re not in Fort Davis by sunset, we’ll be bedding down with scorpions and rattlesnakes.”

As his detachment’s horses clambered up Wild Rose Pass, the only gap through west Texas’ rugged Davis Mountains, Ben kept alert for loose rocks or hidden roots, anything that might trip his mount. A thick layer of fallen leaves created a pastiche of color shrouding the trail from view. He glanced up at the lithe cottonwood trees lining the route, their limbs dancing in the breeze. More amber and persimmon leaves loosened, fell, and settled near the Indian pictographs on their tree trunks. When he saw the red- and yellow-ochre drawings, he smiled, recalling the canyon’s name—Painted Comanche Camp.

“How far to Fort Davis, lieutenant?” called McCurry, one of his recruits.

“Three hours.” If we keep a steady pace.

Without warning, the soldier’s horse whinnied. Spooking, it reared on its hind legs, threw its rider, and galloped off.

As he sat up, the man groaned, caught his breath, and stared into the eyes of a coiled rattler, poised to strike. “What the…?”

Flicking its tongue, hissing, tail rattling, the pit viper was inches from the man’s face.

A sheen of sweat appeared above the man’s lip. “Lieutenant—”

Buy Links

Amazon eBook | Amazon Paperback | Barnes & Noble NOOK Book | Barnes & Noble Paperback

About the Author

Author of the Trans-Pecos, Sacred Emblem, Sacred Journey, and Sacred Messenger series, Karen is a best-selling author, motivational keynote speaker, wife, and all-around pilgrim of life. She writes multicultural, offbeat love stories that lift the spirit. Born to rolling-stone parents who moved annually, Bartell found her earliest playmates as fictional friends in books. Paperbacks became her portable pals. Ghost stories kept her up at night—reading feverishly. The paranormal was her passion. Westerns spurred her to write (pun intended). Wanderlust inherent, Karen enjoyed traveling, although loathed changing schools. Novels offered an imaginative escape. An only child, she began writing her first novel at the age of nine, learning the joy of creating her own happy endings. Professor emeritus of the University of Texas at Austin, Karen resides in the Hill Country with her husband Peter and her “mews”—three rescued cats and a rescued *Cat*ahoula Leopard dog.

Connect with Karen

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Website | Amazon Author Page | Instagram | BookBub | LinkedIn | Email