In only 18 days, I'll be releasing GABE KINCAID, Kincaids Book 4, at a Facebook Launch Party with author Geri Foster. We'll have prizes and fun from 5:00 pm until 10:00 pm CST on April 27th. You're invited, of course! You can sign up on the Facebook Events page for Bad Boys and Cowboys at http://on.fb.me/1iusLLc Here's the perfect cover Kim Killion designed:
In the meantime, I want to remind you of my book THE MOST UNSUITABLE COURTSHIP, Kinciads Book 3.
Readers often ask where authors receive their inspiration.
Author Bobbye Terry says she buys hers
at a small factory in Ohio. ☺ Actually, it arises much closer to home—unless, of
course, the author actually lives in a
small town in Ohio.
I find inspiration all around me. An article in a
magazine might spark an idea. A newspaper story might make me think how the
tale would have been better if changes were made. Friends telling family
stories might spark a “what if” moment.
One of the things that inspired the heroine of my
latest release is a magazine story of Gruene, which is pronounced by its
residents as if it were spelled Green. That area of the Texas Hill Country has numerous
communities settled by German immigrants. Many families still speak German at
home. It’s a lovely part of Texas that my family enjoys visiting over and
over.
When thinking of a heroine for Storm Kincaid, I
wanted one unlike any I had written about in previous books. That’s a problem
for authors who have multiple books already released. Each hero and heroine
must be strong and independent, but at the same time be different from any
other couple. Everything must be new and fresh, yet fit within the genre or
genres and in the voice and story style the author’s readers expect. You’re
correct—that is hard! In fact, for me that’s one of the hardest parts of
writing.
THE
MOST UNSUITABLE COURTSHIP is book three in my Kincaid series.
In the first two in the series, THE MOST UNSUITABLE WIFE and THE MOST
UNSUITABLE HUSBAND, Pearl and Sarah were the heroines. Book three centers around
their half-brother, Storm, and his quest for justice. Here is the blurb:
Storm Kincaid wants justice; Rena
Dmitriev wants vengeance.
When Storm’s best friend and the
friend’s wife are murdered, Storm secures a temporary appointment as Federal
Marshal so he can capture the killers. He follows them to twenty one year old
Rena’s home, which is in flames when he arrives. She has survived by following
her elderly husband’s strict instructions and watched in hiding while the men
murdered him. Storm intends to take her
to the nearest town where she will be safe. She can identify the men who killed
the person who had been her husband in name only and like a grandfather to her,
and she vows to kill at least one of them. Whether or not Storm allows her to
accompany him, she assures him she will go after the murderers. She is the only person alive who can identify
the evil foursome whose policy has been to leave no witnesses. Storm agrees to
take her with him. She’ll be safer with him to protect her than she would
riding alone.
As a powerful and passionate love
blossoms, they unite to rescue three orphaned children, fight the elements, and
encounter the killers. Will their love be enough to protect them?
THE
MOST UNSUITABLE COURTSHIP Excerpt:
She emerged from
the brush straightening her trousers and shoving her pistol back into her
waistband. “Where do you think those men are going?”
“Indian Territory.
They’ll steal all they can before they reach the Red River and leave no
survivors to identify them. They’re selling off the stolen stock along the way,
so that will slow them some.” He wondered if she knew how to use the gun.
“But I saw their
faces.”
He sent her what
he hoped was a frightening stare. “If they knew that, you’d be dead for sure.”
She shivered,
but glared at him. “Do not think to frighten me. I will do everything I can to
kill these men and reclaim my gold and my mother’s locket. It is not that I
care about the jewellery that once belonged to Abram’s wife. But to him, it
meant a great deal, and I want it because he gave it to me.”
Storm wanted to
shake her. Not that he hadn’t lived all his life with stubborn women. At least
his oldest sister Pearl made sense. He’d worried about shy Sarah, especially
when she’d appeared head over heels with a con man. Now that Sarah and Nate
were married, she had life figured out. Nate had surprised everyone, even
himself. Storm suppressed a smile and worked up his anger again at his
traveling companion.
“We can be in
Llano by nightfall. We’ll get a couple of rooms there and you can rest.”
She shot him a
suspicious glare. “You think to abandon me in that town. If we stay somewhere,
we will be in the same room so I can watch you.”
Shocked, Storm
wondered what he could do with this woman. “We wouldn’t be allowed to stay in a
decent hotel. You want to sleep over a saloon? Besides that, folks will be
shocked when they see you in those trousers. You want people to think you’re a
fallen woman?”
With her chin
raised, she placed her hands on her hips. “I am a good woman. You can tell them
we are married and I wear britches to ride more easily.” She held up her hand
and wiggled her fingers. “I have a wedding band, see?”
He raised his
hands and backed up a step. “Oh, no. I’m not even pretending to be married. If
I were ready to marry, which I’m not, I’d pick a woman who knew when to let a
man do his job.”
“Ha, and when I recover my dowry, I will marry a
man who knows a woman can do as much as a man.”
He swept a
formal bow. “And when you marry, will you be wearing the lovely gown you now
wear?”
She appeared
angry enough to use that Colt on him. “You are wrong to…to talk so. I do not
have the English words to tell you what I think, but do not try to leave me
behind. If you do, I will go after the men alone.”
Disgusted, Storm
stomped over and retrieved the horses. “Then let’s go.”
They rode into
Llano in late afternoon. Since they arrived mid week, the town appeared peaceful
and quiet. Storm spotted a hotel by the livery he remembered.
“If you’re
determined to stick to me like glue, let’s stable the horses.”
At the stable,
she staggered when she dismounted and he thought she might fall. He grabbed her
arms. “Steady. You’re not used to riding so long.”
“Ja, my legs do
not work so well. Do not worry, I will be fine in a minute.”
She remained
quiet while he dealt with the hostler and insured his rifle and saddle would be
safe. He threw his saddlebags over his shoulder and retrieved the two
pillowcases and box he’d tied to the saddle pommel. They ambled the block
toward the hotel.
He indicated a mercantile. “Just what we need.
After we get our room, let’s head for that store before it closes. You probably
need to replace a few things that burned.” When she glared at him. “I’ll give
you the money, all right? I don’t want folks thinking my wife runs around in men’s clothes. If anyone gets nosy, tell them
you lost your bag crossing a river.”
She sniffed and
sashayed as if she wore a ball gown instead of ill-fitting men’s trousers. “I
will keep track and repay you when I kill those men.”
THE
MOST UNSUITABLE COURTSHIP buy links are:
Amazon for print and e-book:
Barnes and Noble Nook
Thanks for stopping by!
