Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Summer Heat by Sarah J. McNeal #WildingsWesternSeries




It's been hot and humid for days on end now. The thought of going outside for more than a few minutes to check on the wildlife that has taken over the backyard (glad to share with the rabbits and birds) doesn't sound very pleasant. Thunderstorms and rain also create a humidity that's hard to bear and the low pressure is hard on those with respiratory ailments.
I'm keeping my thermostat on 75-76 to conserve what I can and, of course, the ceiling fans are on to move the air around so I'm comfy in the house at least.



We did not have air conditioning when I was growing up, but we lived in an old house with high ceilings, shaded by plenty of big oaks and Mulberry trees, and we had a screened-in porch to escape to on the worst days. There was also a breezeway that Pop thought was a waste of space, but as it turns out when he used it to build a pantry on the kitchen end and a linen closet on the end where the bathroom was, that the breezeway was a major factor in keeping the house cool. Just saying…



Thunderstorms are just par for the course when the heat of summer takes over the south. Sometimes it helps to drive the temperatures down, but other times it just makes the humidity soar. The worst thing about thunderstorms is it can knock out the power and bring the air conditioning to a standstill—and no fans to create a breeze either. BTW, there is a thunderstorm rolling through right now.



Is it hot where you live? What do you do when it gets unbearable? What’s your backup plan if the power goes out? What about tornadoes and hurricanes?

Well, maybe you'd like to cool off with some historical western Christmas romances from my Wildings series.





WHEN LOVE COMES KNOCKING
Prairie Rose Publications

A lonely widow…an indiscretion…a gift for redemption

Blurb:

Penelope Witherspoon was charmed into marriage by Evan Thoroughgood only to learn she loved a philanderer, who gambled away his inheritance and drank too heavily. It came as no surprise that four months after their marriage, Evan was shot dead for cheating at cards. Since his death, Penelope has come to depend on his older brother, Gil. In fact, she has come to love and respect him. No two men could be further apart in character. But, if Gil learns of her secret indiscretion, he will want nothing further to do with her. What is Penelope to do?
Buy Link: Amazon
Excerpt:
Once he took a sip or two of the coffee she poured for him, Banjo studied her for a moment. “You’ve got dark circles under your eyes like you haven’t slept and you’re running around like a maniac. What’s troubling you? Wait. Let me guess. You thinking about Gil Thoroughgood by some chance?”
“Are you mocking me?”

“Certainly not. The two of you are about to make me crazy. Gil came to see me the other night after he left your place—the night we put up the clothesline and the Christmas tree. He wanted to know my intentions.” Banjo grinned. “Maybe I ought to marry you, but he’d kill me for sure then.”

“Stop kidding around, Banjo. He suspects something is between you and me and he probably hates me.” She buried her face in her hands. “I don’t know what to do. I haven’t seen him since that night.”

“Penelope, darlin’, it’s not like you to sit back and do nothing. Where’s the woman I know you to be? What do you want from Gil? What does he mean to you? What do you really want?”



A CHRISTMAS VISITOR
Prairie Rose Publications
He left her…Now he’s back…But not for long…
Blurb:
Sterling Thoroughgood was Matilda Barton’s first and only love, but he left her three years ago to seek his fortune in Wyoming. And now he’s come back with a puzzle box as a gift with a secret inside. But as far as Matilda’s concerned, it’s three years too late.
Is love lost forever or does the mysterious puzzle box hold the key to happiness?
Buy Link:  A Christmas Visitor
Excerpt:
“Don’t you even think about stepping up on this porch, Sterling Alexander Thoroughgood, or I’ll shoot a hole in you big enough for a team of horses to jump through.” The woman wearing a faded blue calico dress aimed the shotgun straight at his heart…and sometimes his liver since she wasn’t holding the shotgun all that steady.
Sterling raised his hands in the air. His bare hands were practically numb from the cold. He glanced up at the slate gray sky. Snow’s comin’. Then he grinned at the woman holding the shotgun. “Merry Christmas to you, too, Matilda.”
She dipped the shotgun for just a moment, but raised it again as if on a second thought. “What do you want here after being gone for three years? Did you break some hearts up in Wyoming? Maybe you have some fathers and brothers gunning for you and you thought you’d come running back here to hide.”
Well, there it was. He’d hurt her when he left and she wasn’t about to let him forget it.



A HUSBAND FOR CHRISTMAS
A night of horror… a wish for a new life...and a secret love

Blurb:
Jane Pierpont and her son, Robin, survived the Titanic, but her husband went down with the ship and the emotional scars of that night have kept her and her son locked into that frightening event. Robin is terrified of deep water and Jane has nightmares and survivor’s guilt. She yearns for a family, a loving husband and maybe another child, but she feels disloyal to Michael’s memory whenever Teekonka Red Sky comes near her.

Teekonka Red Sky loves Jane and her son, but all his efforts to help them past their painful memories of the night Michael Pierpont died have been unsuccessful. Unwilling to give up, can his Lakota beliefs help him bring peace to Robin and free Jane to love again?

Buy Link: AMAZON

Excerpt:
He laughed, the sound rich and deep, interrupting her. “I know your name…Jane.” He spoke her name softly, reverently as if it were a treasure.  He chuckled a little. “My first name’s about as long as my last.”
“Does Teekonka mean something in Lakota, like brave or warrior, or some such thing?”
“It means ‘talks too much.’ Figures, doesn’t it?” He did laugh then, and Jane couldn’t help laughing along with him.
He touched her face at the corner of her mouth with his finger. “Your face brightens when you laugh.”
Jane backed away. “You’re just flirting with me now.”
He flashed her a wide grin. “Yes ma’am, I am, but I also mean it. You are very pretty.”
She stood speechless unable to respond to him. She couldn’t remember the last time a man complimented her, let alone blatantly flirted with her. It felt good, like a warm hug on a cold day. He bent his head and kissed her. His lips, warm and supple, took hers in a tender way, so sensual, yet asking nothing more. Jane’s heart beat against her ribs, and heat flooded her core. All too soon, Teekonka pulled away and grinned. 


Diverse stories filled with heart