Security Force of Two -Sunday Snippet
Sunday Snippet Special-release day is tomorrow!! WooHoo!! Hold onto your hats SECURITY FORCE OF TWO bursts onto the scene on the first day of Spring! First book in my new Mountain Town Mysteries Series. A riveting #paranormal #romance, #mystery, Psst…its available for pre-order NOW, arriving, Monday, March 20, 2023! Great way to celebrate Spring. A former CIA agent and a Special Forces vet return to their small hometown for different reasons none of which includes involvement in an investigation of the new police chief’s murder.
A little about Security Force of Two:
Miacoh Zane, a Special Forces veteran, returns to Aspen Ridge, Colorado a small town nestled in the Rocky Mountains, to settle his beloved grandmother’s estate. But the town holds painful memories and family secrets he wants to leave behind for good.
Candle Bearclaw, a gifted computer analyst/programmer with talents she’s buried when recruited out of college by the CIA. After fifteen years, she abruptly resigns her position with the agency. She returns to her sleepy hometown only to discover her childhood crush has also returned and a violent crime has been committed.
Due to their covert operations experience, Candle and Miacoh are thrown together to assist Homeland Security, FBI, and her father, former chief of police, with a murder investigation. As they search for the perpetrators, will their secrets be revealed as the investigation takes an unusual twist that could blow the case wide open.
A new peek between the pages of Security Force of Two: New Hook
When she drove up the circle driveway, a chill shot up her spine, then a strange feeling came over her, almost like someone was watching. Reaching under the seat of her SUV, she pulled out her handgun, checked the weapon to make sure it was loaded, chambered a round, and tucked it in the back waistband of her jeans, covering it with her shirt and jacket. She backed out then drove the entire driveway more slowly, checking the perimeter. Nothing. The cell phone hadn’t chirped to alert her of a breach, but she checked her outside surveillance cameras, then the ones inside her home anyway. Again nothing. She shrugged off the feeling and stepped out of her SUV. Gun drawn, she flicked off the safety and turned on the laser. It didn’t hurt to be safe rather than sorry.
Peeking in the window, she saw the alarm keypad was still set and secure. Then she walked around the house, entered through the back door, closed and relocked it, deactivated the alarm. Nothing was out of place. Part of her wished she’d brought Terrabyte along. Though still young, the pups tracking ability was well-developed. Terra would know if someone were in or around the cabin since they left. Back to the wall, she moved carefully through each room, nothing. When she was sure the house was clear, she sat down at the computer, laying the gun next to it. Warning windows were popped up everywhere on the screen. Someone had tried to hack into her system but hadn’t gotten very far. Closing out the windows one at a time until she found a message planted just under the first layer of security. That is what must have set off the warnings. Her throat went dry as she read the message. “Poking around where you don’t belong is dangerous business. Carl’s death was unfortunate but an accident. Leave it be or pay the consequences.”
Fingers posed over the keyboard. She started to X out of the message but stopped. If this was a disintegrating message, she would have no proof it ever existed. Taking out her cell phone, she took a picture of the screen. The handle on the front door jiggled. She grabbed her gun and jumped up, making her way to the front bay window.
About the Author:
Tena Stetler is an internationally best-selling author of award winning paranormal tales. Some call her crazy others creative. She deals with the voices in her head by writing them down and creating a fantasy world and characters you won’t soon forget. Her books tell tales of magical kick-ass women and mystical alpha males that dare to love them. Travel, adventure, magic, and a bit of mystery flourish in her books along with a few companion animals to round out the tales.
Colorado is home; shared with her husband of many moons, a brilliant Chow Chow, a spoiled parrot and a fifty-year-old box turtle. When she’s not writing, her time is spent kayaking, camping, hiking, biking or just relaxing in the great Colorado outdoors.
Pssst… While you’re here, don’t forget to check out my paranormal romance/mysteries click here.
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Adventure, Former CIA, Former Special Forces, Mountain Town Mystery Series, Paranormal Romance/Mystery, Security Force of Two, Tena Stetler by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.
Mystic Maples Takes Earth Day to A New Level #MFRWHooks
#MFRWhooks this week takes Earth day to a whole new level with a tale about enchanted land, magic and time travel in MYSTIC MAPLES! When Mercy discovers the truth, Silvanus’ well-ordered life unravels and they’re catapulted into the past to right a wrong.
So pull up a chair and get comfy, grab a drink of your choice from the cooler, a Chocolate Chip or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about MYSTIC MAPLES!
Click on the cover to read more or purchase!
How MYSTIC MAPLES began:
Earth/Fire witch Mercy Rose’s insatiable curiosity always gets her in trouble. After a break-in at her Colorado flower shop, and a court battle that comes to a screeching halt in her favor, she arrives at Deerbourne Inn for a much-needed getaway. Looking for peace and quiet, she finds just the opposite in a startling handsome but mysterious man and his dog.
Silvanus Forrest’s gypsy/fae heritage is a double-edged sword. The land he inherited from his parents is rumored to be enchanted. But when Mercy discovers the truth, his well-ordered life unravels, and they’re catapulted into the past to right a wrong. Along the way their lives intertwine, and they discover the true meaning of family and love. Will they change the past in time to save their future?
A peek between the pages of MYSTIC MAPLES:
It was a beautiful summer evening lit by a full moon. What harm could come from simply popping over to Mystic Maples, digging my toes into the earth and see if there is any truth to the rumors? She shrugged. Sis wouldn’t have told me about it, if she hadn’t thought it worth investigating. Right?
She toed off her shoes, pulled off her socks and straightened. With a snap of her fingers she left the room without a sound and landed smack dab at the edge of the maple trees. Glancing around, she could see the house in the distance and the outline of the sign. “Good, I’m in the right place.” She wandered farther in among the trees, the dirt beneath her feet was cool. Wiggling her toes deeper into the earth, she felt the warmth of the day and something else—a connection.
Several trees had a slight glow to them, then it was gone. Am I imagining…She raised her arms out from her sides and turned her face to the starlit sky letting the magic surge through her. It had been almost a year since magic of any kind called to her. It felt so good, she was lost in the moment.
Suddenly a male voice broke through her revelry. “What are you doing here?”
Her heart thundered in her chest. She hadn’t heard a sound. Yet, there he was standing not three feet from her, hands on hips, and glaring at her.
Pssst… While you’re here, don’t forget to check out my paranormal romance/mysteries click here.
Visits: 412
Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Adventure, Earth Day, Mystery, Mystic Maples, Paranormal Romance, Tena Stetler, Time travel, Vermont by Tena Stetler with 13 comments.
Early Holiday Shopping Guide!
Need a little help with Holiday shopping this year? I have just the thing for you N.N. LIGHT’S BOOK HEAVEN HOLIDAY SHOPPING GUIDE!
I’ve teamed up with over forty-five award-winning/bestselling authors to bring you the ultimate Holiday gift guide for any booklover. The best part: It’s an online store. Scroll away and do all your Holiday shopping in one place. Who knows? You might even find a few books you’d enjoy for yourself.
Five of my own books listed there:
Where Warrior Angel, Caden goes, trouble follows until he discovers a badly beaten woman barely clinging to life. Unprepared for the entanglement she brings to his doorstep, will he move heaven and earth to save her?
Not what you’ve come to expect from a Vampire Tale! Join Stefan and Brandy for an exciting romantic fantasy where magic may save the day. But will it be too late?
Even with magic, finding your place in the world proves more difficult than imagined especially when someone is out for revenge.
Journey begins with building a wildlie rescue & rehab center. Along the way, they discover the healing power of love and family.
Magic of family & Friends, a Christmas tale of adventure & true love.
Just click N.N. LIGHT’S BOOK HEAVEN HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE and you’ll be whisked directly to the gift guide. Look around. You may find another one of your favorite authors. What are you waiting for? Times a wasting less than 46 Christmas shopping days left. Tick Tock. Tick Tock!
Visits: 26
Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Adventure, books, Christmas, Gifts, Holiday Shopping, magic by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.
Interview Frederick L. Malphurs Author of Dr. Fox
Give a warm welcome to Frederick L. Malphurs, author of A Year in the Life of Dr. Fox.
Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cooler, a Chocolate Chip or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about Frederick L. Malphurs and his book A Year In the Life of Dr. Fox.
What defines you as an author? As a person? Are they one in the same? I am interested in nearly everything: people, places, situations, issues. Probably the same thing that defines me as an author is true of me as a person.
What inspired this particular story? As a child I watched the Disney television series, later as an adult, in El Fuerte, Mexico, in the hotel courtyard there was a nearly full size statue of Zorro which instantly rekindled my interest in Zorro and in writing a novel on same which as the original Zorro is trademarked protected, the story had to move away from the television and movie Zorro and it did.
What secret do you use to blast through writer’s block? I am lucky in that I have not experienced writer’s block, at least as I understand it. I am more on the opposite side, writing away on stuff that will need to be heavily edited or placed in a deep pending file.
Who is your favorite character of all of the books you’ve written and Why? Meanie Mouse. We need a woman superhero who isn’t bulletproof and uses her intellect and personal sense of right and wrong to at least try to make things right.
What inspired you to write? A lot of reading, probably, and then something popped inside my head.
How long have you been writing? In my first career as a health care manager and then executive, I wrote a lot of business related stuff: memos, case studies, investigations, reports, etc. But, that job was so demanding, I had little time to write fiction, I would start, have to stop, and months might go by before I got back to it.
Did you tell friends and family that you were writing a book? Or did it take a while to come out and tell friends and family you were a writer? I was totally open about it.
Do you see yourself in your characters? Yes, health care management and a mostly disfunctional family life while growing up gave me a lot of characters, a daily view of behavioral health issues, the variation of the human experience and intellect, etc. which I realized was a rich source of material for writing.
What do you want your readers to take away from your books? That reading my books was worth the experience. Then maybe, some reflection on what things are as they are and how society could be improved.
Where do your story ideas come from? If they come to you in the middle of the night, do you get up and write them all down? From my life experiences, my dreams are mostly about missed airplane connections, late to meetings, and that sort of thing. Many years ago, I tried to wake up and write down ideas that occurred to me in the middle of the night. Those notes invariably were jibberish, which I suppose is a sign of the state of my mind during the night.
If writing is your first passion, what is your second? Physical fitness. After a lifetime of work which involved multiple meetings on a daily basis, raising a family, and running for airplanes, physical fitness did not get done, so now I go to the gym four or five times a week, most of the time.What do you like to do when you are not writing? Reading, some travel, watching major sports events such as Gator football and basketball games, the Masters, the Superbowl, etc.
You’ve got a time machine, a cloak of invisibility, and one hour. Where would you go, and what eavesdropping would you do? I would go to the White House, any President, wander around, and most importantly try to listen to every word.
A Peek Between the Page of A Year in the Life of Dr. Fox.
An Untimely Arrest, January 5
Father Teodoro de la Vega was sitting in an ancient wooden swivel chair, working on revisions to his doctoral thesis Methodism in America, when he heard the soft buzzing of his cell phone. He picked up the phone, swiveling his chair around before he spoke to look out the high tiny window in his cramped office at the far end of the Culiacan Cathedral. “This is Father De La Vega.”
“This is Lieutenant Flores of the federal police. We are trying to notify the family of Diego Sanchez. He has you listed as the family contact.”
Father Teodoro’s eyes stayed fixed on the fronds of the tall palm tree growing in the cathedral’s backyard. “Yes, I am Diego’s brother-in-law. How can I help?”
“I am sorry to inform you that your sister’s husband, Diego Sanchez, was arrested this morning and is currently being held in custody in Culiacan prison.” The lieutenant sounded subdued, deferential to the Catholic priest, sympathetic.
Father Teo was silent for several moments. “Oh my God, this is a shock. My sister was kidnapped three days ago, on January 2. She and Diego have three young children, and now this.” Father Teo sighed deeply and made the sign of the cross.
“I know about the kidnapping. I am so sorry. It seems your family is suddenly confronting great adversity. I can assure you that all the police agencies are working diligently to find your sister.”
Father Teo took several deep breaths before responding. “Would it be possible for me to go see Diego now?”
Lieutenant Flores was silent a moment. “Yes, under the circumstances, I’m sure there must be many arrangements to be made for the children. I will contact the prison and get your visit authorized.”
Father Teo stood up, suddenly feeling dazed; his jaw clenched as his eyes riveted on the small statue of Jesus he kept on his desk. “I am on my way to the prison now.” He next forced himself to call his brother, Eduardo, and their father, Alfonso. He quickly concluded each call with “I’ll call you back as soon as I learn anything.”
Father Teo quickly jogged down the hall and across the cathedral campus to his car. Outside, he stood beside his car and gazed upward for several moments, praying for his sister, Diego, and their children. Then he got into his battered Toyota and headed to the prison.
Father Teo sat in the visitors’ waiting room for thirty minutes before the guards escorting Diego burst through the door on the prisoners’ side.
They pushed Diego ahead of them and roughly shoved him into a chair. One of them said, “Sit down and shut up!” to Diego and waved a finger under Diego’s nose. Father Teo moved quickly to the cubicle opposite Diego and sat on the hard plastic chair in the narrow enclosure.
“Teo, tell me about my family.” Diego was somber and seemed to have physically shrunk since the last time Teo had seen him only three days before.
Diego’s usual state of casual good humor had been replaced with a pallid and tense facial expression. His eyes were tearing and moved only indirectly in the direction of Father Teo; he could not maintain eye contact for more than a moment. His eyes, now dark and sunken, slowly roamed the brightly lit room: floor, walls, ceiling, Father Teo.
“We have had no contact with Tina’s kidnappers. We are doing everything we can to find her. Eduardo and I are moving heaven and earth to find her.
The kids miss her and are understandably upset. How are you?”
“I am depressed as hell. I’m scared out of my mind. I am so grateful to you and Eduardo.” Diego dipped his head and nervously checked the position of the guards. “Please do everything you can to get these charges dropped and get me out of here somehow.”
“Of course you are depressed. Anyone would be in these circumstances.
My father is talking to lawyers right now. Your arrest has come as a complete shock to all of us.”
“I am embarrassed and stunned by my arrest too, Teo. Please tell my mother and the children that I love them, but I do not want them to come here. Seeing me in this place will only make things worse for them. Have you learned anything about the charges against me?”
Father Teo chewed on his lip. He hesitated while a myriad of happy family memories flooded his thinking: Diego and Tina’s wedding, the births of their three children, and many family gatherings. “You are accused and charged with consorting with narco-criminals by laundering their illegal earnings, aiding the cartel’s hit men by providing them with shelter, engaging in a criminal conspiracy, and accepting financial assistance from the Pacific cartel. I’m still in shock, Diego. I don’t understand this. Is any of it true?”
Diego squirmed in his seat and dropped his head to the Formica countertop of the little booth. “Oh my god,” he said this loudly, and the nearest prisoners on Diego’s side of the barrier turned in his direction. When he sat back up straight, his hands clutched his heart. Tears rolled down his cheeks.
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Adventure, Dr. Fox, fiction, Frederick L. Malphurs, Thriller by Tena Stetler with 3 comments.
