SWEET TEXAS CHRISTMAS Anthology/A Christmas Vistor

SWEET TEXAS CHRISTMAS  releases on November 2, 2017

 SWEET TEXAS CHRISTMAS is an anthology of sweet historical western romances that take place in the state of Texas written by veteran western romance writers: Stacey Coverstone, Sarah J. McNeal, Cheryl Pierson, and Marie Piper.

(my contribution) A Christmas Visitor

from Prairie Rose Publications

Preorder Buy Link: SWEET TEXAS CHRISTMAS

Christmas in Texas couldn’t be sweeter than these stories of lost love found and new love discovered at the most joyous time of the year! SWEET TEXAS CHRISTMAS is a boxed set of Christmas novellas that will warm your heart and keep you reading long into the night to see how these couples find their happily-ever-after ending!

With the holiday season in full swing, these western heroes and their ladies come together in a delightful collection of four deliciously sweet Yuletide stories you’re sure to love and remember. Authors Stacey Coverstone, Cheryl Pierson, Sarah McNeal, and Marie Piper have penned these scrumptious Christmas tales just for your reading pleasure, along with a special surprise in each story!

Each of these holiday tales includes a delectable dessert recipe guaranteed to bring an added measure of Christmas sweetness your way! There’s nothing quite like a SWEET TEXAS CHRISTMAS!

Logline: 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?

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.

Just Released: Memories of Maple Street: Pawprints on My Heart

Have you ever had a pet that left indelible pawprints—or hoofprints—on your heart? Pets we’ve rescued—that rescued us, as well—and animals that maybe weren’t so much “pets” as “acquaintances” who’ve taught us a thing or two…

The third edition of our successful series, Memories From Maple Street, U.S.A.—Pawprints On My Heart, is chock full of stories about special pets we’ve had. These tales evoke loving memories of days gone by when these animals played a huge part in our lives—either as pets we had as children, or as adults.

Wayfaring Stranger/ My contribution

Imagine my surprise when my mother picked me up at school and told me about the strange, furry creature who came to our house.

Anatole France once said, “Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” This collection of true animal stories will serve to prove him right!

Includes authors Gayle M. Irwin, Ann Swann, Carol Huff, Sarah J. McNeal, Charlie Steel, C.J. Samuels, Jim Landwehr, Cher’ley Grogg, Beverly Wells, Gil McDonald, Meg Mims, Tina Holt, Tanya Hanson, Cheryl Pierson, and L.D.B. Taylor.

Buy Links: Kindle    Paperback

Just Released for Preorder: PRESENT FOR A COWBOY

PRESENT FOR A COWBOY, a western Christmas anthology with 5 western romance writers is now available for preorder at Amazon: Preorder at Amazon
My contribution: When Love Comes Knocking

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?

Excerpt:

Penelope hadn’t seen Gil in three days. She began to worry that something was wrong between them. She tried to go about her work to keep her mind from wandering and thinking about him, but every time she saw the Christmas tree he’d brought her and helped her decorate, her thoughts went right back to the night he left and the strained words at their parting.

Had he guessed at the truth about her and Banjo? Did he hate her now? What could she do to fix things and make him understand?

Are you ready for some Halloween Scariness?

Well, hello Halloween! I just got the BUY LINKS for the new Halloween anthology, COWBOYS, CREATURES, AND CALICO, VOL. 1/ The Beast of Hazard and here they are:
AMAZON KINDLE

AMAZON PAPERBACK

And if that's not exciting enough, my Legends of Winatuke trilogy is reduced to only 99 cents for the whole boxed set of 3 full length novels at Amazon. Is that enough scariness for you?

KINDLE SALE

Halloween Anthology Coming Soon

Cowboys, Creatures, and Calico, volume 1 Anthology

soon to be released from Prairie Rose Publications

A Terrorized Town…A Killer Beast…And Deliverance

Joey Wilding isn’t certain what’s killing the livestock in Hazard. Some believe it’s a bewitched beast, others a wolf gone rabid. As the town veterinarian, he’s seen mutilation before, but not like this, as if something enjoyed the killing.

When Clare Beau asks Joey to help her injured wolf-dog, and begs his discretion, he begins to suspect he has found the Beast of Hazard—and its beautiful mistress. But as he walks through the woods after dark, something more ominous than any wolf stalks him from the shadows.

Excerpt:

As they stepped out into the dark night, a chill ran down Joey’s spine as he remembered that terrible growl he heard in the woods. He was comforted a little by the light on the barn that flooded the space between the barn and house with a pale light. From off in the distance, a sound came from the depth of the forest that shook Joey to the core.

Claire’s face grew pale and her eyes widened. “We should hurry,” she said in a voice tight with fear. Whatever that thing was out there, Claire must know something about it. The woman who had a huge wolf as a pet suddenly looked afraid of the thing out there. Her response made him very uneasy. Could he trust her?

BUY LINKS:

Will post as soon as available

I wish you all a happy Father's Day, whether you are a dad or you want to celebrate your dad. 

I know we often write about our own experiences and the influences of others in our stories. This is very true of me. Without thinking about it a great deal, I know that I put my dad in many of my stories. I was the only one in my family who called our father "Pop." He called his father Pop as well and this is the same reference I use for my characters. It wasn't until I began writing about the Wilding family of Wyoming that I purposely changed and had my characters refer to their father as Daddy or Dad. Just the same, I use many of my father's characteristics Wilding men. 

 In fact, my dad comes up in a character in almost every story I've ever written, but none as much as THE VIOLIN. I wrote THE VIOLIN for my dad. It's about his middle brother John. The boy, Jimmy, is a character based on my father. Pop banned birds as a kid, had a dog named Guess and a red tail hawk whose wing was broken. He fixed his wing and, when it was healed, forced himself to let the hawk go free.

I also included my dad in my story, Heart Song, about a young man suffering with cancer who finds hope in the form of his father's spirit.

Joe Wilding's son, Joey is a young veterinarian who hands out advice to his sisters and has many character traits I took from my dad. Joey appears in several of the Wilding stories and will have his own story in The Beast of Hazard for the Autumn anthology. 

Today, I think of my dad and the gazillion things he taught me, most of them by his own example, some by explaining to me how the world works. He had a great respect for nature and was a conservationist before it was popular. So, in gratitude, I just want to say to Pop wherever he is in the universe, I love you. Thanks for everything.

Sarah McNeal