FOR MY FRIENDS IN THE SNOWSTORMS #StaySafeAndWarm by Sarah J. McNeal

WINTER WEATHER HAS ARRIVED



I saw on the weather news that a huge winter storm has come to the north Midwest with inches to feet of snow. It’s headed to the northeast as well. Of course, it couldn’t happen at a worse time as travelers are headed to their families and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving. I can just imagine the airports filled with travelers who may end up stuck in the air terminals for the holiday. My sympathies go out to y’all while you did your way out of the mess. I hope you will all stay safe out there.

There are some stalwart souls who take harsh winter storms with a light heart and make the most of a tough situation. They go out and play in the snow. Bbrrrr, the very thought of it makes me shiver. I thought I would cheer up my friends out there who have to deal with winter’s wrath by posting some amusing ans amazing snow art. So here goes…

The Peeping Snowman

Fish Snow Sculpture

Creepy Snowman

Here is a winter story from my Wildings series.

Buy Links:   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?”

Have Fun, but stay safe and warm, y'all.

Sarah J. McNeal

Diverse stories filled with heart

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FOR LOVE OF BANJO by Sarah J. McNeal #BlogABookScene @starcriter

Blog-a-Book-Scene is a monthly themed blogging endeavor from a group of authors who love to share excerpts from their stories. Find us on Twitter with the hashtag#blogabookscene #westernromance #PrairieRosePub @PrairieRosePub

Continuing on January’s theme-- Baby, It’s cold outside, here is a chilly scene from my World War I novel

FOR LOVE OF BANJO by Sarah J. McNeal  

AMAZON KINDLE  Paperback at Amazon:

(Historical Western Novel)

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.

Buy links: Paperback at Amazon:  Amazon kindle  

Excerpt:

The cold burned her cheeks, and made her feet numb. Horses whinnied in the pasture and a dog barked from somewhere behind the barn. The sun blazed in magenta streaks as it set beyond the hills to tint the world in a rosy, heavenly light.

Banjo let go of the reins, reached out, pulled her to his side, and held her there. He spoke in a quiet voice. “Do you remember when the Titanic sank and killed all those people five years ago?”

Maggie nodded her head in affirmation. “It was terrible. We sat out here on the porch that night, just like we’re doing now, except we were bundled up in blankets—and we cried all night.”

Banjo glanced down at her and smiled. “You cried all night, not me. I stole Papa Ben’s pipe and tobacco and thought I’d smoke a peace pipe like the Indians do to bring peace to those souls.”

Maggie rolled her eyes. “I recall it made you sick and you stayed up the rest of the night throwing up.”

He laughed. “That, I did.” He became serious as he turned away from her. Overhead, the stars began to appear as the sky darkened in the dusk. A cow bawled from the barn a short distance from the house. The wind shifted and brought with it a chill and the promise of more snow before night’s end. “I made a promise to myself that night that I would find my father, somehow, because I wanted a family that really belonged to me. I want what those people on the Titanic lost that terrible night.”

He let go of the reins, encircled her waist with both arms and held her. She moved her hands beneath the warm folds of his long, wool coat to warm them against the fabric of his shirt that lay as a thin barrier between her hands and his skin. The sensual warmth of his nearness made her heart quicken its pace. “I want people I can call my loved ones,” he added. His warm breath moved a loose stand of hair near her ear that tickled her neck.

 From where they stood near the front porch of Maggie’s home, Maggie could see the thread of road that led to the Wilding ranch—her next-door neighbors, and Banjo’s self-proclaimed family. The Wilding ranch spread out over five hundred acres of green hills dotted with horses and cattle in the summer. It looked like a typical Wyoming ranch to anyone who saw it, but inside that white washed ranch house lived the closest thing Banjo had ever had to family.

February’s Blog-a-Book-Scene theme: All You Need is Love

Sarah J. McNeal

Diverse stories filled with heart

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SWEET TEXAS CHRISTMAS/ A Christmas Visitor #blogabookscene and #PrairieRosePub.

Blog-a-Book-Scene is a monthly themed blogging endeavor from a group of authors who love to share excerpts from their stories. Find us on Twitter with the hashtag #blogabookscene and #PrairieRosePub.

January’s theme is Baby, It’s cold outside.  The snowy excerpt below is from my western romance short story, A Christmas Visitor included in the anthology SWEET TEXAS CHRISTMAS.

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:

Matilda swept the floor for the second time that morning to give herself something to occupy her instead of thinking about the tall, handsome Sterling Thoroughgood. She recalled the sight of him standing tall and slender with wide shoulders in his long black coat and the broad-rimed hat with that light dusting of snow gathering on both his hat and coat. His dark hair and brown eyes framed his strong, angular face and all those memories came back to her—memories of those warm lips on hers and whispers of endearments. They were all lies, every single one. Matilda sighed a heavy breath. And why in tarnation does he have to be so handsome? It’s just not fair.

A glance in the mirror from her bedroom as she walked by into the kitchen told her that her dress was shabby and worn. Her light brown hair tied back in a tight chignon at the base of her neck made her look severe and old. What does it matter? He’ll be gone come morning and I’ll probably never see him again anyway.

Excerpt:

The house was ghostly quiet as she cleaned away every remnant of her life there. As she worked, she took her time to touch and smell, and remember her life, her father, and Sterling. She let the fire go out in the stove. Once she swept the old plank floor to make the house presentable to the new owner, her home of twenty two years became a stranger’s house to her. The weight of her feelings were almost too heavy to bear. Instead, she grew numb to them.

Two hours later, she shut the door on her previous life, leaned her head against the heavy wood of the portal, and said goodbye. It didn’t take her long to pack up Hector with what little remained of her belongings and then rode into Sunray to Mrs. Pritchard’s Boarding House.

The attic room where she would reside was nothing like she imagined. Instead of a quiet, cozy little nook where she could find peace and solitude, she found a dark, cold attic with a sheet hung from a clothesline to claim a small space with a cot and a washstand with a pitcher, a basin, and a single candle on it to call a room. The unfinished walls had openings where the wind blew through and the rafters offered little to cheer the place. There was no fireplace or stove for heat. Thank goodness she had plenty of blankets and her mother’s quilt to keep her warm in the dank, gloomy space.

Buy Link:  Sweet Texas Christmas

February’s Blog-a-Book-Scene theme: All You Need is Love

Sarah J. McNeal

Diverse stories filled with heart

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Twitter

Website

My Amazon Author’s Page

Prairie Rose Author Page

The Wildings

Sweethearts of the West

Prairie Rose Blog

Welcome to December!

This month has always been one of excitement, stress, and mystery for me. So many happy memories are centered around the Christmas season.

It rarely snows here in the southern part of North Carolina and extremely rare for it to snow on Christmas. But when it does happen, it’s positively magical. I feel like I could make a wish when that happens and it would have to come true.

Of course, for many of us there is some sadness felt especially during this winter season. There are people we love so dearly that won’t be with us. Some are celebrating Christmas in Heaven, some will be too far away to come home to us, and some will be serving their country in foreign places. We’ll think of them and hold them in our hearts and our prayers.

One very nice thing about online shopping for presents is that it’s easy, convenient, and no worries about fighting for a parking place. Conversely, there is a certain excitement about shopping in physical stores during Christmas. We will miss out on those special decorations, the music, the smell of real Christmas trees, kids lined up to tell Santa what they want and the exciting energy of the shoppers around us.

So let’s see where this December takes us.

Sarah J. McNeal

Diverse stories filled with heart

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Twitter

Website

My Amazon Author’s Page

Prairie Rose Author Page

The Wildings

Sweethearts of the West

Prairie Rose Blog