TItle, Cover and Release Date Reveal for Beast of All by JC McKenzie

Today I have a treat for you from author JC McKenzie.  Title, Cover and Release Date forView More: http://photos.pass.us/headshot2 Beast of All. A Carus Novel, Book 5.

I convinced her to give us a sneak peek of Beast of All:

Beast of All cover“Two months ago my world collapsed and the beast reigned. Seven weeks ago the SRD captured me. Nine days ago, they injected me with something vile. Today, I break free. And tomorrow? I’ll make them pay.”

Badass Shifter Andy McNeilly wakes up from a horrible nightmare, only to discover it wasn’t a dream, and she’s no longer quite so badass. Chemically curbed, Andy has lost touch with her feras and beast when she needs them most. Can she regain control of her supernatural abilities in time to reap retribution from her enemies, or will she fall as fodder in a power play for control of Vancouver’s seedy underworld?

I wheedled an excerpt for Beast of All out of her too! Just for you.  Enjoy!

No feras. No beast. Whatever they shot me with blocked my communication with the animals. Did it prevent shifting as well? I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to call a form and change. Only a headache answered. Dread flittered across my skin. Was this permanent?
As the Carus, the genetic throwback to the first demi-god progeny of the beast goddess, I caged a beast with rage and power rivaled by few, and possessed more than one animal familiar to shift into.
At least, I did until the SRD shot me full of chemicals. Would I ever regain my abilities? Hear the indignant screech of the peregrine falcon? Or the lusty purr of the mountain lion? Or soulful howl of the wolf?
My heart hammered, punching bone. A buzzing sensation filled my head. The “wrongness” of my condition grated against my nerves, slicing them into slivers like a planer shucking off wood shavings.
Something in my abdomen swelled, as if the beast pushed against whatever barrier caged and hid her from me.
I’ll get you out, I told her, not knowing if she could hear. We’ll make them pay.

Release Date: October 19, 2016

Cover Art by Debbie Taylor from DCA Graphics

Don’t you love the cover? The talented Debbie Taylor does a wonderful job!  Look forward to getting my hands on the new release.  How about you?  Only 84 more days!

Thanks JC.  Best of luck with Beast of All!

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Camping a Recipe for Summer Treats & Reads

TWRP BLog hop banner July 2016

My hubby, our dog, bird, turtle and I love to trade the jungle of civilization for a few days of paradise relaxing in the cool quiet of a Rocky Mountain campsite with a mesmerizing book and evening campfire.  That’s my idea of Summer Treats and Reads. Okay, let me qualify what camping is to us.  We have a fifth wheel trailer with all the creature comforts required, left tent camping behind a long time ago. LOL

Favorite camping areas in Colorado are: Rocky Mountain National Park a stones throw from Estes Park is a great hiking and biking destination. Twin Lakes in the Pike & San Isabel National Forest is wonderful for kayaking and mountain biking.  Both these areas are dry camping, no services but with a generator or solar panels you are all set.

Another fun place is Steamboat Lake, a Colorado State Park, the kayaking is good, hiking with your furry friend is excellent.  Electrical is available on some sites.  Not far away is Pearl Lake, nice kayaking area, lots of wildlife early morning or around dusk.  No motorized boats allowed.  It’s also primitive/dry camping but there are several sites large enough for a 30 foot fifth wheel trailer.

These are just a few of the exciting camping area’s in Colorado. Last week we enjoyed a fun filled vacation at Lake Vallecito which I detailed in the prior post.

Mueller State Park is close and a great weekend trip to the mountains.  Cheyenne Mountain State Park is centrally located for visiting all the Pikes Peak Region has to offer and is open all year around. It is usually our final destination of the season.  The park offers full hookups, tent pad and campfire ring on each site.

Now for the Treats:  Chocolate Cherry Dumpcake Recipe. Quick and easy.

2 cans (21 ounces each) cherry pie filling

1 package (about 15 ounces) Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake mix or your favorite Chocolate Cake mix.

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13 X 9 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Spread the pie filling in prepared pan, top with cake mix only, spreading evenly. Sprinkle with chocolate chips.  pour butter over top, covering cake mix as much as possible.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.  Cool at least 15 minutes before serving.  Make 12 to 16 servings. Now for just my husband, myself and a couple of friends, we cut this recipe in half and use a 9X9 inch baking pan or a cast iron dutch oven. Yummy!

For Reads: Obviously, I’d like you to check out my books,

A Demon's Witch_perf5.000x8.000.inddAWitchsJourney_w10497_medA Demon’s Witch, Charm Me (its on sale for .99)A Witch’s Journey. Otherwise, The Wild Rose Press has lots of wonderful authors with a wide variety of books. I like cozy and regular mysteries, paranormal romances books categorized as fun reads.  I’m not into thrillers or weepy books. Happily Every After and feel good novels are what I read, anything else, I can get by turning on the television or internet and I don’t call that entertainment.  Just me.

Please visit the other blogs listed below for fun, games and prizes. To be entered to win the $10.00 Amazon gift card I’m giving away, like my facebook page and sign up for my quarterly newsletter on my webpage at https://www.tenastetler.com.  Winner will be drawn at random and notified at the end of the blog hop. Also the author’s of The Wild Rose are giving away a Kindle Fire as a grand prize. Don’t forget to enter the Rafflecopter below.  Good Luck! See you next time with tales of the unexplained.  Got your attention now! <giggles maniacally>

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Check out all the fabulous writers and their blogs
                        in the SUMMER BLOG HOP below!

1.
Sorchias Wild Rose Summer Treats Post | Visit blog
2.
RV Memory | Visit blog
3.
Tricia Schneider | Visit blog
4.
Anna Durands Spunk & Hunks | Visit blog
5.
Judy Ann Davis Summer Treats and Reads Blog Hop | Visit blog
6.
Spicy Summer Treats with Mia Downing | Visit blog
7.
Linda Nightingale. . . Wordsmith | Visit blog
8.
Jana Richards – Journeys with Jana | Visit blog
9.
Summer Memories of books well read @ Peggy jaeger. com | Visit blog
10.
Summer on Cape Cod ~ Kathryn Knight books | Visit blog
11.
Summer Fun at the Beach, with Katie OSullivan | Visit blog
12.
I Believe Ill Go Canoeing – C. B. Clark | Visit blog
13.
Summertime Love is Sweeter with. . . Frozen Mango? @ Kimberly Keyes blog | Visit blog
14.
Wild Rose Summer Treats Blog Hop @ Brendas Blog | Visit blog
15.
Summer Treats and Reads Blog Hop | Visit blog
16.
Midsummer Magic on the Isle of Skye! | Visit blog
17.
My Guilty Summer Treats from Lori Sizemore | Visit blog
18.
Wild Rose Press Summer Treats and Reads Blog Hop | Visit blog
19.
Hywela Lyns post for the WRP Summer Treats and Reads Blog Hop | Visit blog
20.
Wild Rose Press Summer Treats & Reads | Visit blog
21.
Camping is a Recipe for Summer Treats and Reads | Visit blog
22.
The Snarkology | Visit blog
23.
Summer Survival Tips @ Nitty Gritty Romance | Visit blog
24.
Wild Rose Press Summer Treats and Reads Blog Hop | Visit blog
25.
Nell Castle – Summer of the Sweat Lodge | Visit blog
26.
Myth, Magic & Wonder Susan Edwards, Breathing Life into the Past | Visit blog
27.
Romance with Spice, Sydney St. Claire | Visit blog
28.
Author Kat de Falla | Visit blog
29.
Anni Fife. Exciting new author of Steamy Romance with Irresistible Heroes | Visit blog
30.
Summer Vacation, Victorian-Style, AND a Giveaway | Visit blog
31.
Wildfires, Monsoons, and Mojitos – Author Susabelle Kelmer shares how she keeps cool in a climate that is on fire! | Visit blog
32.
Casi McLeans recipe for Hot Reads and Cool Treats | Visit blog
33.
Cool Summer Reads: Jeannie Halls Romantic Suspense Blog – Where Hearts Tremble From More Than Attraction | Visit blog
34.
Summer treat – Adult Slushie | Visit blog
35.
How to Rediscover the Magic of Bicycling | Visit blog
36.
Charlottes Tips on How to Stay Cool in HOT New York City | Visit blog
37.
Caryn McGill | Visit blog

 


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Posted in Camping, For Fun, My Say What Blog, The Pikes Peak Region and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , by with 18 comments.

Welcome Author DeeDee Lane

DeeDee-finalGive a warm welcome to DeeDee Lane, author of  My Law Man, just released on July 8, 2016!

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 DeeDee.

DeeDee Lane is a Seattle author and a member of Romance Writers of America. Her mystery scenarios and characters turn up on boat cruises and many corporate and private events around Puget Sound. She and her husband love to go on road trips, especially if there’s time to check out a tinfoil rooster or the largest truck stop in the world. Originally from central Wisconsin, DeeDee was raised on a farm and surrounded with great stories of the West. DeeDee is author of the Slip in Time series including My Mountain Man, My Gambling Man and My Law Man.

You can find out more about DeeDee on her web site  www.deedeelane.com

Or check out her author page on Amazon.

So DeeDee how about answering a few questions.

“I thought you’d never ask.” Dee grins from ear to ear.

What secret do you use to blast through writer’s block?
The main secret I use to blast through writer’s block is inspired by Stephen King in his book about writing and reinforced by Cindy Kirk at a seminar during the Emerald City Romance Writer’s Conference.  Both authors said to get past writer’s block you have to just write. At first when I heard this advice I was somewhat skeptical—okay—I’ll admit it–mad! I mean really how are you supposed to just write when… well… you just can’t? But then when I did the seminar with Cindy Kirk she allowed that “writing” was also researching, writing down notes, making your outline, practicing how to write a love scene, and brainstorming book titles. While it may not be as satisfying as getting a bigger word count on your Work in Progress it still moves your book forward.  For me this works because it feels like progress and my writer’s block just becomes a necessary part of my process rather then something to avoid.  So bottom line…my secret?  I don’t avoid writer’s block, I embrace it.
Do you see yourself in your characters?
Yes I see bits of myself in my characters but no I don’t write any of my characters based on me or my life.  For example, in MY LAW MAN Phebe gets dressed up in a fancy red dress to attend a Valentine’s Night Gala at the Cowboy and Western Museum. Those moments of Phebe reacting to the dress, the event, how she feels in a swishy, frothy, halter style red dress is all me and how I would feel going out and looking and feeling beautiful.
Why do you write what you write?
The Slip in Time series is a time travel, western, historical, romance as categorized by The Wild Rose Press and probably any publisher. I can’t say I set out to write for this specific line in fact I hardly knew it existed. For me, this series was completely inspired by the Cowboy and Western Museum and how it had the power to take someone back to a specific place in time.  Oh, and romance…that was first. I knew when I started writing fiction I wanted to write romance.  I love reading all kinds of books, in fact at this moment I’m reading a women’s fiction book AT THE WATER’S EDGE by Sarah Gruen. But as far as writing goes…I knew it had to be romance…definitely a happily ever after ending.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Zumba, grow tomatoes, cheer for the Green Bay Packers or the Seattle Seahawks, and travel with my husband. Oh yes…gosh…I almost forgot because it’s so new–I’m learning how to play the ukulele!
The Ukulele, huh, that’s interesting. 
Now tell us a little about your new release, My Law Man.
perf5.000x8.000.inddPhebe Brooks is single, cynical—okay bitter—and fighting to stay out of jail by doing community service at the Cowboy and Western Museum. While cleaning a jail cell in the “Lawmen of the West” exhibit, Phebe slips back in time and into the arms of a man who resembles her first love, Rafe Morrow. 
Newly hired as Eagle Rock’s sheriff, Rafe, a former sharpshooter in the Union Army, came west to start anew.  This seems possible until his town is overtaken by a sassy female constantly complaining about wearing a dress and then a band of outlaws set on robbing the gold from an incoming stagecoach.
Can Phebe and Rafe cooperate long enough to save the town? For Phebe, it’s worth the risk. She’s determined to let go of past mistakes, get herself on the right side of the law, and have a future filled with love and passion.
Do you have a sneak peek for us from the book?

Holy crap! The hoof prints below were left by some super-sized horse. Phebe examined the prints littering the wet dirt. The buffalo prints she’d seen in a display at the museum were an exact duplicate. She picked up her pace to catch up with the sheriff’s long-legged strides. They were headed across the valley and west of the town to Taylor’s Crossing, the bridge across Snake River.

Ever since Phebe stopped screaming and stuffed her mouth with bread, he’d been telling her she was in Eagle Rock in 1866. From third grade on, she’d known Eagle Rock was the original name for Idaho Falls and was established in 1865. Through a maze of panic sedated by warm carbohydrates covered in butter, she demanded the sheriff take her to the bridge, the place to cross Snake River. In 1866 it would be the old-fashioned bridge like the tintype pictures she’d seen at the museum.

Phebe was so absorbed in her inner history lesson she smacked straight into the sheriff’s chest. Damn, he had some muscles. Phebe examined his chest and arms. About six foot two or thereabouts, the man was rangy with a thin build and muscles everywhere. His arms continued to hold her as she flailed around while still clutching the woolen shawl around her shoulders and her bunched-up skirts. What she wouldn’t give right now for a puffy parka with a hood, and mittens, and boots, and pants, for goodness sake, pants would be better than all this flipping fabric.

He pointed dead ahead. “Here’s where Harry Rickets used to ferry folks across the river.” He gestured further west. “And there’s Taylor’s Crossing, the bridge built by Matt Taylor in 1865.”

Phebe gasped. “Matt Taylor, as in James Madison Taylor?” The bridge was identical to the yellowed pictures she’d seen hanging on the museum walls.

“We don’t use fancy names in these parts, but I think you’ve got it right.”

“And the year is 1866?”

“Lady, I’m starting to get a mite cross.” He took off his hat and swiped his brow. “I have told you again and a—”

“—Wait a sec, what’s your name?”

Phebe’s heartbeat accelerated. Two realizations hit her like a ton of bricks. It was 1866, which meant she’d time traveled, but there was more. With his hat removed, Phebe studied the sheriff’s full face…his sandy brown eyes, the scruffy beard covered up the bottom of his face, but she recognized him…from a long time ago.

I love time travel stories, adding it to my summer read list right now. Where can we buy My Law Man?

Oh, by the way, My Law Man has a new 5 star review from Anna Duran, you might want to check it out.

It was wonderful having you with us today.  Please feel free to stop by anytime and good luck with My Law Man. 

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Welcome, Author Charlotte O’Shay

IMG_0346Give a warm welcome to Charlotte, author of The Marriage Ultimatum, just released on June 24, 2016!

Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cooler, a Chocolate Chip cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about Charlotte.

Charlotte O’Shay was born in New York City into big family and then married into another big family all of which provided her with enough drama, noise and inspiration for a lifetime of stories.

Negotiating skills honed at the dinner table led her to a career in the law. After four beautiful children joined the crowded family tree, Charlotte gladly traded her legal career to write about happily ever afters in the City of Dreams.

Why do you write what you write?

I write contemporary, sometimes spicy, stories because for the most part that is what I’ve always liked to read. But I enjoy historicals, especially a good Highlander romance. And I like anything set during the U.S. Revolutionary War period although I haven’t read too many of those. Maybe some day I’ll write a romance set in that era.

What inspired you to write?

Stories have transported me to a happy place since I was old enough to read. I always read everything I could get my hands on and words have always fascinated me. I want to tell the kind of story that always brought me to that special place where character and story linger in my head long after I close the book or turn off e-reader.

And your settings?

For the most part my stories are set in New York City. They say write what you know and I know the city well but the real reason I choose to write romance set in NYC is the energy and sense of possibility here. I want to tell a page turning story about the men and women who migrate here to make their dreams come true. When I walk in the city I feel like I can hear all 8 million stories just waiting to be told.

Where do your story ideas come from?

Some story ideas have come to me in the middle of the night and I do have a scribble pad on my night table. I also have fallen asleep with a story problem at the forefront of my mind and have sometimes worked through the answer by morning. I wish this happened more often! As with most authors, I think, ideas come at the strangest times and questions about my characters are answered sometimes as part of an unrelated non-book conversation. I think answers that come that way are the most true and organic. That being said I follow the news and I often hear or read something that starts a chain of what ifs in my head and the story takes off from there.

And if you had a time machine, a cloak of invisibility and one hour? Where would you go and what eavesdropping would you do?

This is such a great question. Can I change what happens if I go back in time? If so, I would go back to push Aaron Burr’s hand up to the sky and deflect the gun shot that killed Alexander Hamilton. I read the Ron Chernow book Hamilton and I’ve been in awe Hamilton’s brilliance and the story of his improbable rise since school days. Hamilton is the quintessential New York immigrant who ‘made good’ and I wonder what more he could have done if he lived.

Tell us a little about The Marriage Ultimatum.

TheMarriageUltimatum_w9979_300-3Dead-end job? Dreary apartment? Disastrous love life? Check, check, and check. Toddler who makes it all worthwhile? Absolutely. Juggling work, college, and the care of young Alex was never Sabrina’s plan.

But Sabrina’s dreams are bigger than any curve ball life can throw at her. Her top priority is keeping her small family together, no matter what the cost.

Vladimir Grigory doesn’t believe in dreams. He earned his position at the top of New York’s corporate ladder with his own sweat. His empire is his baby, and he’ll destroy anyone who threatens it. Even the sexy employee who challenges him on every level.

When the New York tabloids and the world call him the baby daddy of Sabrina’s son, Vlad believes Sabrina is part of a plot to expose the secrets of his past. He threatens to destroy her future. But since Sabrina has secrets of her own, she has no choice but to agree to Vlad’s marriage ultimatum.

Do you happen to have an Excerpt?

“What’re you doing creeping up on me like that? Who are you?” Her gaze narrowed in on him even as she took a step back.

He stared right back, sinking into eyes so mercurially gray then green, then gray again, it was like he’d fallen into the turbulent depths of the Atlantic. With her wild eyes, untamed hair, and skintight clothes, she was a mermaid and absolutely the answer to this sailor’s prayers.

She shoved an unruly swath of hair back over her shoulder, all attitude. One hand was on her hip and the other fiddled with the hem of her sweater. His gaze tracked her every move.

Her chin angled up. “Seen enough? You know what they say: Take a picture, it’ll last longer.”

The Marriage Ultimatum Buy Links:

The Wild Rose Press

Amazon

Kobo

 

Please visit Charlotte on the links below:

Website: (wordpress)               http://charlotteoshayauthor.com

Facebook: Charlotte O’Shay   http://facebook.com/charlotteoshayauthor

Twitter: @charlotte_oshay      http://twitter.com/charlotte_oshay

Instagram: charlotte_oshay_author

Amazon Author Page:

It was wonderful having you with us today.  Please feel free to stop by anytime.

 

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