RV Adventure of a Life Time – Final Installment
After returning to Colorado to enjoy the city’s fireworks displays from a campsite in Cheyenne Mountain State Park. The third installment is about our most fantastic RV Adventure to the southeast and the entire east coast. Nope, we had never ventured to the East Coast. We planned, saved , and finally it was time!Mid-August of 2024 hubby, I, Mystic, Taco, and Sammy, took off for a three-month RV Adventure, across the south-eastern United States, then covered the north-east all the way up to Bar Harbor, Maine. What fun experience in our 38-foot fifth-wheel pulled by our one-ton Dodge Pickup.
We traveled through Kansas and Missouri. Stopping in Branson, MO. Boy was it hot. Visited Dolly Parton’s Stampede. It’s a dinner club and show venue. Thank goodness it was cooler than the 104 degrees outside.
Spent a couple of days in Sumer, Mississippi visiting friends. What a spread they have, land, pond, and home. Their pond has fish that eat mosquito larva, so no mosquito problem. We sat on their back porch, sipped iced tea and had a nice visit.
Then on to Georgia for a couple of days to visit with Kathy and her bird, Reggie celebrating his 27th hatchday. Taco and Reggie enjoyed corn muffins. Sadly in April 2025, Reggie recently passed away from a stroke
I had two book signings during our RV Adventure. One at Mystic’s Chow Chow Breeders, D & M Farm Kennel, reunion at the Cherokee/Smoky Mountain KOA in North Carolina. It was so much fun, almost fifty people, lots of very well-behaved chows over five days.
Then it was north to Carthage, NC to see friends.
In Mystic Connecticut we had the best Pizza we’d had in our lives at Mystic Pizza. You remember Mystic Pizza from the movie with the same name.
We stopped at Virginia Beach KOA and encountered an interesting situation. When we arrived, the person who checked us in and showed us to our site, said nonchalantly, “Oh by the way, the Hell’s Angels are staying with us for a few days. But don’t worry, they brought their own security.” Not that we are phobic or anything…but t
hat isn’t something you hear when you check in usually. Ten or twelve members return from partying one night at 1:30 a.m., was disconcerting. Other than that, it was uneventful but their presence was felt all over the campground. Our dog even wanted to check out their bikes.
Salem was a blast. Buskers (street entertainers) were on or at every corner or storefront, juggling, singing, magic, playing instruments, and the stores were full of fun. The streets were soooo narrow, so we took the trolly. Saw the Witch’s house and the house used in the movie Hocus Pocus.
Majestic Niagara Falls, there are no words. Such a feat of Mother Nature.
Having never been to Maine, we didn’t know what to expect. Cape Cod had beautiful sunsets with great seafood.
Bar Harbor was more of the same. Our trailer site was right on the shore with several fantastic sunsets! Loved the sound of the waves crashing on the shore has we slept.
The second book signing was in a small town in upstate New York with Carol Henry, another author from my publishing house. I love visiting with readers and other authors! We enjoyed dinner out with Carol and her hubby, Gary. What a blast.
Finally, sadly it was time to head towards home. Had to stop in Ohio to see more friends.
Then we hightailed it home arriving just days before a multi-day snowstorm dropped 20 inches at home in Colorado! Next Sunday we’ll have the regular Sunday Snippet! Please stop by!
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog, My Say What Blog and tagged Bar Harbor, Book Signing, Cape Cod, Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel, Delaware, East Coast, Mystic CN, Niagara Falls, RV Adventure, Salem, Sunsets by Tena Stetler with 1 comment.
Ghost Moon by Kathryn Knight
Give a Spooktacular welcome to Kathryn Knight author of Ghost Moon.Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cauldron. Take your choice of a bat wing Chocolate Chip or Pumpkin, or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about Kathryn and her Ghost Moon.
Hi all, and thank you for having me here and featuring Ghost Moon, Tena! Ghost Moon, like the majority of my books, mixes steamy romance with a spooky ghost mystery…perfect for Halloween season reading! Today I’m sharing a little background on the inspiration for my seventh novel (no spoilers!).
The inspiration for Ghost Moon first started as a vision of a scene playing out in my mind…a gauzy figure, standing in the dark woods by a river, sobbing. Why was she crying? Suddenly, I knew what had happened to cause this heartbroken ghost to linger in the forest, stuck between worlds, waiting for someone to unravel the mystery and set her free.
The female main character, who became Lark, sees this distraught spirit and screams. Her cries summon the male main character, Jesse, her handsome new neighbor.
This is a book with a haunted house trope, so I needed to come up with Lark’s backstory and solid motivation for her to remain in a terrifying situation. And then Jesse’s backstory and the conflict that would affect their chance at romance.
The setting needed to be somewhere particularly isolated. I set a lot of my books on Cape Cod, where I’ve lived for 20 years, and since our peninsula is already somewhat cut off from the mainland (you can only get here via car by crossing one of two bridges), I knew I could find a location that would work.
Doing a few quick searches, I learned Truro is the least populated town on Cape Cod, with about 2,000 year-round residents. It’s not the smallest town land-wise, but over half the town is undeveloped, protected land, and the population density is less than 100 people per square mile. To get there takes over an additional hour from the two Cape Cod bridges. And for many visitors, Truro is simply a town to pass through on the way to the popular Provincetown.
And that’s the way the majority of residents want it–there are no fast food chains, no shops, no main street to stroll along. It is almost like being in another world…a beautiful, peaceful oasis.
So, I had most of the pieces, and this ghost mystery/romance—with some history sprinkled in through dual timelines—was born. I hope you will check it out, along with my other steamy & spooky novels!
Tell us a little about Ghost Moon.
When Lark Cavanaugh’s life in New York City falls apart, she’s left reeling from a staggering betrayal. She escapes to Cape Cod, where a distant relative has left her an old house with a tragic past. Rumors of a haunting presence plague the abandoned home, but Lark doesn’t believe in ghosts…until she has no choice.
After completing his military duty, veterinarian Jesse Holt returns to his small hometown to take over his father’s practice. He soon finds himself drawn to the alluring redhead now living next door, but she has made her intentions clear—she’s moving back to the city as soon as possible. When frightening events threaten her safety, though, he can’t deny his protective instincts.
Unable to fight their feelings, they give in to desire…but another battle looms. Lark’s arrival has awakened a decades-old mystery, and the truth of what happened at Holloway House will only be revealed when it claims yet another life.
Buy Link: Amazon
How about a sneak peek between the pages of Ghost Moon?
She bolted upright in bed, the series of thumps that had awakened her still ringing in her ears. Fumbling for the light, she pulled the covers against her chest, as though that could offer some protection against whatever had made the noises. What the hell was it? She scanned the room, her pulse skittering in jagged bursts. Why was this happening to her? Hadn’t she been through enough?
Nothing in the bedroom appeared to be the source of the disturbance, but her instincts told her the sounds had originated from somewhere else in the house. And it definitely wasn’t the cat this time—he was still at the vet’s.
Reaching for her phone, she sucked in a breath as she noticed the time…1:06 a.m. Exactly the same time she’d been awoken last night. She glanced back up to the hallway door as she jabbed at the screen, pulling up the keypad just in case she needed to call 911. In addition to occurring at the same time, though, whatever she’d just heard sounded similar to last night’s mysterious disturbance, and that hadn’t been an intruder. Not a living one, anyway.
As if on cue, a haunting moan shivered through the air. Her lungs froze as a fresh spike of fear pierced her chest. Oh, God. There really was something wrong with this house. Fighting the urge to dive back under the covers and hide, she slowly climbed out of bed, unsure what exactly she was going to do. Check the house, for starters, she decided. Her mind was still begging for a more reasonable, less terrifying scenario. A quirky appliance, maybe?
With each tentative step, she paused, waiting for something else to happen. As she made her way into the hall, a chill enveloped her, and she crossed her arms, rubbing the goosebumps rising on her skin. Below her, the stairway unfurled into shadows cast by the upper hall light.
A loud crash rang out behind her, and she jumped, a scream tearing from her lips.
About the Author:
USA TODAY Bestselling Author Kathryn Knight writes books filled with steamy romance, dangerous secrets, and haunting mysteries. Her novels are award-winning #1 Amazon and B&N Bestsellers and RomCon Reader-Rated picks. When she’s not reading or writing, Kathryn spends her time exploring abandoned places and searching for ghosts. She lives on beautiful Cape Cod with her husband, their two sons, and a number of rescued pets. Please visit her at www.kathrynknightbooks.blogspot.com.
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Kathryn-Knight/e/B00919ENJA
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathrynknightbooks
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6477115.Kathryn_Knight
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KathrynKnightbooks/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/k_knightbooks
Blog: http://kathrynknightbooks.blogspot.com/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kathryn-knight
It’s been great having you with us today. Good luck with Ghost Moon. Happy Halloween!
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Cape Cod, Ghost Moon, Kathryn Knight, Mystery by Tena Stetler with 1 comment.
Welcome Author – Katie O’Sullivan
Give a warm welcome to Katie, author of Crazy About You!
Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cooler, a peanut butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about Katie.
What inspired this particular story?
CRAZY ABOUT YOU was actually inspired by an article in Scientific American, yeah, a bit strange, I know. The article talked about the “plastisphere” of trash floating in the ocean, which led me to search online or more information, and I started wondering about the men and women who devote their lives to researching things like this… and things grew from there.
What secret do you use to blast through writer’s block?
Oh my god, if someone has a secret to do this I need to know!
I’m a total pantser and if I write myself into a corner I can sulk for weeks and not write anything until I figure a way out of it. With CRAZY ABOUT YOU, I found it helped to call up my neighbor and drag her along for a beach walk to talk out the plot points. She’d ask questions and the answers would help me realize what was going wrong with the plot.
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?
As an English major, I think my friends and family all expected me to become a writer. No one expected me to choose romance or young adult genres, though. It makes me happy to write books like the ones I like to read – escapist romances with intelligent women getting a second chance at love.
What do you want your readers to take away from your books?
I want readers to finish my stories with a smile. I make my characters go through some crazy situations, but in the end they get the happily ever after – or punishment – they deserve. I also love writing stories set on Cape Cod, and hope readers fall in love with the scenery enough to feel as if they’ve taken a mini-vacation. Umm, is that too much to ask? Well, as long as I’m going for it, throw in world peace and a resolution to climate change.
Tell us a little about Crazy About You.
Climate scientist Chase Anderson races from one project to the next, unwilling to slow down in his quest to save the world’s oceans. He has no time for family or relationships until he crashes into an impetuous blonde with a quirky sense of humor. One sizzling kiss makes him seriously reevaluate his priorities. And his sanity.
Emma Maguire left her small Cape Cod hometown years ago, seeking the fast pace and anonymity of New York City. She’s not sure what she’s searching for, but when a family crisis brings her home to Provincetown she’s caught in a crazy tangle of half-truths and mistaken identity… and falls for the handsome stranger who broke her cell phone. Will untangling the web of lies drive them crazy, or lead to something even crazier – like love?
Buy Links:
AMAZON:
THE WILD ROSE PRESS:
BARNES & NOBLE
Here’s an Excerpt:
A blinding smile lit her face, and she waved with enthusiasm. His heart skipped a few beats as his blood all went lower down.
She beelined to the table, calling his name. “Chase? Chase! It’s so good to see you again! Thanks so much for inviting me to lunch!”
He found himself rising to greet her for the second time inside an hour. Instead of sitting, she came to where he stood and wrapped her arms around his neck. She planted an exaggerated kiss on his cheek, like the one he’d envied Tony for the prior day, those soft red lips wet on his skin. His arms slipped around her waist and his stomach clenched hard, inappropriate thoughts racing through his head at breakneck speed, leaving him dazed. Staring down, he saw similar confusion mirrored in Emma’s eyes, as if she felt it too, that electric current running fast and furious between them at every point where their bodies connected. And she wasn’t letting go.
A fun feel good story!
Katie O’Sullivan lives on Cape Cod, drinking way too much coffee and inventing new excuses not to dust. Living next to the Atlantic influences everything she writes, from her YA series about mermaids to her contemporary romances for The Wild Rose Press. A recovering English major, she earned her degree at Colgate University and now writes romance and adventure for young adults, and something steamier for the young at heart. Katie loves to hear from readers. You can find her at:
Website: www.katie-osullivan.com
Blog: http://katieosullivan.blogspot.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKatieOSullivan
Twitter: https://twitter.com/OkatieO
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3326303.Katie_O_Sullivan
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/katieosullivan
It was wonderful having you with us today. Please feel free to stop by anytime!
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Cape Cod, Contemporary, Romance by Tena Stetler with 14 comments.
