A HUSBAND FOR CHRISTMAS by Sarah J. McNeal #BlogABookScene #prairieRosePub #WildingsSeries

A HUSBAND FOR CHRISTMAS

by Sarah J. McNeal
Prairie Rose Publications
Historical Western Holiday Romance
Buy Link: AMAZON

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

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?

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.

Sarah J. McNeal

Diverse stories filled with heart

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HOME FOR THE HEART, my new Wilding romance, Just Released

HOME FOR THE HEART, my new western romance in the Wildings series, is about love that just can’t seem to get off the ground and about a half Lakota boy who no longer believes he’s worthwhile.

Love doesn’t come easy…for some, it may never come at all.

Blurb:

Lucy Thoroughgood has gone and done it now—fallen in love with Hank Wilding, a man she’s known all her life. He’s content with friendship, but Lucy’s heart has flown the coop and she knows she’s in love with the determined bachelor. When she visits him with a proposition—to let the orphans she cares for learn to ride his horses during the summer—he surprises her with one of his own. She must accompany him to the dancing lessons he’s signed up for.

Secretly pleased, she hopes that perhaps this arrangement might lead to more than friendship. But Hank’s loved hard and lost, with his engagement to one of the popular town girls going south two years earlier. He’s sworn to never lose his heart to another—including Miss Lucy Thoroughgood.

A teenage orphan, Chayton, could be the key to thawing Hank’s heart—but danger follows the embittered boy. Will Hank be able to give Chayton the home he yearns for—or will the boy’s past bring only sorrow to those he cares for? When a Lakota premonition becomes reality, Lucy’s life hangs in the balance. Will Hank have the chance to let Lucy know how wrong he was?

Excerpt:

In the quiet of the barn filled with the smell of fresh hay, horse manure, and leather tack, Hank sensed rather than heard someone enter the building. Ah, the smell of sunshine and roses. Must be Lucille Thoroughgood. Without turning to look at her, he set the pitchfork against the wall of Lonesome’s stall. “What do you want, Lucy?” he grumbled as a greeting.

“Mr. Wilding, I have something I’d like to propose to you.” Her voice sounded tense. When he turned to face her, he saw those blue eyes dart away from his to peer at the straw on the floor. She promptly straightened her spine and must have forced herself to look him straight in the eye. Her starched manner made him want to mess with her.

“A proposal?” He moved closer to her…maybe too close. He felt something shift in his chest like a warning bell. “Well now, I haven’t ever had a lady propose to me before.” He joked, badly, just to get her goat. Generally, women were not to be trusted. He’d learned that lesson the hard way. But Lucy was his old friend since grade school. Even though she must have been born straight-laced and proper, she spoke her truth, plain and simple. Beneath that barbed wire exterior beat a heart of gold. 

Lucy propped her fists on her hips and he thought she looked like a charming sugar bowl all ruffed up in her pink flowered dress and her sweet, straw hat that sat askew on her gleaming brown hair. She knitted those brows together and narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m not proposing marriage to you, Mr. Wilding. I’m proposing a business deal…sort of.”

Buy Links:

Amazon:

Kindle

Paperback

Smashwords:

Home for the Heart

Between the Stories

Now that I've finished my novel and submitted it, and submitted both my short stories, I'm in between work. I don't like this in between feeling, like a trapeze performer who has left the bar of one trapeze, but hasn't grabbed the next bar--just hanging there in midair. . .and no net. Oh, okay, maybe a little net because I have story ideas waiting in the wings, but no outline or roughed out idea yet.

I saw this quote once that is a little scary, but somewhat true: "A non-writing writer is a monster courting insanity." (Franz Kafka) I feel at odds with myself and adrift without a compass when I'm between stories. I'd rather be in my procrastinating mode than to be like this. Well, the only solution is to get a story on the drafting board, because nobody wants to see an insane monster on the loose. Of course, it is Halloween, so maybe I'll fit into the scenery.

So, if you see a glimpse of something lurking in the shadows, don't be afraid; it's just me attempting to grab that next bar. 

My new releases:

MYTHS, LEGENDS & MIDNIGHT KISSES/ PENNYTOOK

Myths are supposed to be false…but some are terrifying and true.

Blurb:

Pennytook is a war weary Gypsy who longs for peace from the past and wants something meaningful in his life.

Esmeralda, a Gypsy trick rider, has harbored a deep affection for the chieftain, Pennytook, for many years. But her dark secret will never allow him into her life.

Buy Link: Smashwords  Amazon

THE BEAST OF HAZARD

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 Claire Beau asks Joey to help her injured wolf, 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.

Buy Links: AMAZON  Smashwords

My novel, HOME FOR THE HEART, has been submitted to Prairie Rose Publications. It must be contracted, edited and then a cover will be created for it. I look forward to all of those processes. 

Love doesn’t come easy…for some, it may never come at all.

Blurb:

Lucille Thoroughgood is a social worker for orphan children. She is known to the town’s folk as dependable, logical, determined, and…well, stubborn. But Lucille has a secret affection for the determined bachelor, Hank Wilding.

Hank Wilding loved hard and lost. He has sworn to never marry. After Lucille makes a bargain with him, he agrees to allow troubled and physically challenged children to ride his horses as equine therapy. One of the orphans is a half Lakota boy, Chayton, who reminds Hank of his own father’s painful childhood.  

But danger follows in the shadows of the rejected, embittered teenager that may take the life of someone Hank and the town of Hazard holds dear. 

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

For Love of Banjo to Release March First

The sequel to Harmonica Joe's Reluctant Bride will release on March first--tomorrow.  For Love of Banjo is the story the homeless teenager that saved Lola's life and almost died.

Here is the excerpt from Harmonica Joe when Banjo tried to save Lola from the killer:

Excerpt:

“Don’t you sass me now, Callie. I’ve come to collect what belongs to me. If I don’t git my money, I’m taking you with me and make you work it off.” He gripped her tight around the waist and started making for the door when a voice called out, loud and clear halting his retreat.

“You let her go, Taylor. That’s not Callie you fool. Her name is Lola and she hasn’t done anything to you. Let her go, I say.” Banjo walked toward them with a big butcher knife in his hand that he must have picked up from under the bar.

Lola’s fear doubled into a knot that sat in her throat and threatened to cut off her breath. “It’s okay, Banjo. I’m okay. I’ll just go along with Weston for now and we’ll talk things out.” She took a shaky breath trying with all her might to summon up her courage. “I’m sure, once I talk to him, he’ll know he has the wrong woman.”

“Get out of my way, you good for nothing snot nosed boy. I ain’t got time for wet nursing right now.” Weston spewed spittle when he talked turning Lola’s stomach until she thought she might throw up right then and there.

“Shut the hell up, Taylor. Let her go, or I’ll put this knife right through your heart.” Banjo inched closer and closer.

And here is a Banjo's own story, For Love of Banjo:

Deceit stands between Banjo Wilding’s love for Maggie O’Leary and his search for the father he never knew.


Blurb:

Banjo Wilding wears a borrowed name and bears the scars and reputation of a lurid past. To earn the right to ask for Margaret O’Leary’s hand, he must find his father and make something of himself.

Margaret O’Leary has loved Banjo since she was ten years old but standing between her and Banjo is pride, Banjo’s mysterious father and the Great War.

Excerpt:

“Did Daddy swear he’d beat the tar out of you if you tried to seduce me?” They both laughed but Maggie’s skin heated at the idea of being alone with Banjo in the warm seclusion of her home.


“You know Sam, it was more than that. He swore he’d hunt me down, strip the skin from my hide and then he would shoot me if I took advantage of you.” He grinned then the smile slipped away and, in the moments of silence after, Banjo grew serious as he gazed into Maggie’s eyes. “I admit, Maggie, it would be worth a hide-stripping to spend a night with you in my arms.”

Heat gathered in her abdomen and moved down between her legs at the very thought of Banjo with his hands on her bare flesh. “Did you promise Daddy you wouldn’t?” Her words came out breathless and rode on little foggy clouds in the cold, crisp air.

“I’m afraid so.”


BUY LINKS:
For Love of Banjo:
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/136814


Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=for+love+of+banjo+by+sarah+mcneal
For Love of Banjo will be available at other bookstores very soon as well.
 
For Harmonica Joe's Reluctant Bride:
Available at Western Trail Blazer Novels


http://westerntrailblazer.yolasite.com/online-store.php

Available at Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=harmonica+joe%27s+reluctant+bride+by+sarah+mcneal&x=20&y=22

Lulu Book Store:

http://www.lulu.com/browse/search.php?search_forum=-1&search_cat=2&show_results=topics&return_chars=200&search_keywords=&keys=&header_search=true&search=&locale=&sitesearch=lulu.com&q=&fListingClass=5&fSearch=harmonica+joe%27s+reluctant+bride&fSubmitSearch.x=5&fSubmitSearch.y=9

Smashwords:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/53550



and Barnes & Noble

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Harmonica-Joes-Reluctant-Bride/Sarah-McNeal/e/9781461087731?r=1,%201&if=N&cm_mmc=Goodreads-_-k117601-_-j12871747k117601-_-Primary

Both books may be ordered in e-book, Kindle and paperback