A COOL BREATH IN THE HOT SUMMER WEATHER

 

By Caroline Clemmons

In my opinion, we authors have the best job in the world—although definitely not the most lucrative for most of us. We get to pour out our hearts wearing sweats or jammies with no commute time. Who has a better job?

Don’t misunderstand me, writing is hard. Bless those who write while still working the dreaded day job. I did so when I first started writing but, thanks to my supportive Hero, I was able to start writing full time. When I first began writing, I feared I would run out of ideas. I used to keep a notebook of thumbnail plots to insure that wouldn’t happen. What I didn’t know then was that writers never run out of ideas. The saying goes that writers are either writing or thinking about writing. We’re not quite that bad, but close. 

Granted keeping fresh twists and turns to the plot becomes more difficult with each book and requires resourcefulness. Sometimes I think of a twist and then realize, no, I did that in another book. Still, I do have plenty of ideas. Currently, I’ll have to keep writing until I’m at least two hundred to use up all my plots and more crop up all the time. Please indulge me as I tell you about my latest project.

As I mentioned last week, four of us authors each re-released a book about brothers. The four Fraser brothers live in Angel Springs, Colorado and the books are called The Surprise Brides. My book is about the eldest, JAMIE, who is a widower with two unruly children. Callie Hutton’s is about the second brother, CALEB. Cynthia Woolf’s book is about GIDEON, a minister. Sylvia McDaniel wrote about the youngest, ETHAN. 

Posing as each of her sons, Mama Fraser writes away for mail order brides. The girls arrive just as a massive snowstorm hits the area and they are snowbound. Fortunately, Gideon, as a minister, can marry all four couples. At least, they hope him performing his own wedding is legal. These are fun romances certain to entertain you. Since they're set in snowy winter weather, they offer a breath of cool air to the hot summer. 

Click on the man's name above to be taken to the buy link on Amazon. The books are also now available at most vendors where e-books are sold.

Stay safe and keep reading!

THE SURPRISE BRIDES COVER REVEAL

 By Caroline Clemmons

You know that great feeling when you have just gotten a great new hairdo and are wearing new clothes? That’s how I feel today. No, I don’t have the new hairstyle I badly need nor new clothes. I have a new cover and have added new material to THE SURPRISE BRIDES: JAMIE.

Every so often, it’s good to reread one of my books and add to and/or delete from it. In this case I deleted a long, long list of my titles at the back of the book. I added sentences and paragraphs in lots of places plus an entire scene, so the book is expanded from the first printing. I hope I didn’t introduce any typos, but it’s impossible to catch them all. I’ve been reading books by several top level authors who are traditionally published by New York houses, and find many typos in them.

Several years ago at a conference, Sylvia McDaniel, Callie Hutton, Cynthia Woolf, and I decided to each write a book about one of the Fraser brothers who ranched outside of Angel Springs, Colorado. I drew the eldest, Jamie, a widower who was certain he would never remarry. After all, he already had two children he adored. Jamie even knew about his mother’s plan to send for mail order brides for the other three Fraser men.  

Mama double-crossed him and four brides arrived just as a massive snowstorm rolled onto the Circle F Ranch. There was no question of the four women leaving the ranch. Although three of the Fraser brothers live on the ranch full-time, Reverend Gideon Fraser spends most of his time in town. He’s available to help with ranch work when needed. Their father has passed on, but their mother lives at the ranch. 

Up until now, the four THE SURPRISE BRIDES books have only been available at Amazon. Now, however, they will be available at most retailers who sell e-books. Callie Hutton also sells her books from her website at a slight discount. The new covers, which I love, were designed by Anna Greene at Bella Designs. Anna also happens to be Callie Hutton’s daughter.

Here are THE SURPRISE BRIDES books and their descriptions:

JAMIE by Caroline Clemmons

Olivia Stewart risks everything to accomplish her dreams. She's tired of being pitied because she's been jilted, tired of teaching other people's children without any of her own. When she signs with a matrimonial agency, a letter from Jamie Fraser sounds perfect. A widower with two young children will give her a head start on the family she's determined to have. But Colorado holds surprises for Olivia that endanger her goals and even her life.

Rancher Jamie Fraser is shocked to learn his mother has written for a mail order bride for him. He has two children and no plan to marry again. Ever! His late wife taught him women can't be trusted. Even his beloved mother isn't above tricking her sons to achieve her heartfelt ambitions. Now he's stuck with a wife he didn't want--a stubborn woman bent on changing his home and his life.

Can two strong people at odds achieve happiness? Angel Springs, Colorado is a small town that inspires big dreams. Olivia and Jamie might just find their dreams meld to form a powerful and enduring love.

 

CALEB by Callie Hutton

Yes, Mama did it. She send for brides for all four of her sons. Too bad she didn't tell them before the ladies arrived.

Caleb Fraser is the town bad boy and enjoys the single life to the fullest. He has no intention of marrying. No time soon, anyway. He keeps telling his mama he will choose a wife shortly, just to keep her off his back. However, Mama Fraser takes the situation in hand and sends for mail order brides for all four of her sons.

Lily Parker is running from humiliation and is on her way to marry a stranger. She's traveling with three other women, all of them contracted to wed the Fraser brothers. What they don't know is the men have no idea they're about to be hog-tied. Both Lily and Caleb are in for a surprise. But will Lily's surprise be too much for Caleb to handle?

https://www.amazon.com/Caleb-Surprise-Brides-Callie-Hutton-ebook/dp/B015NM0LDA/

https://www.calliehutton.com

  

GIDEON by Cynthia Woolf

As the local preacher, Gideon Fraser often talks about the many virtues of a good marriage, but that doesn't mean he has the slightest inclination of claiming a bride of his own. No, he's been burned before, by greedy women who only want the prestige and money the Fraser family name can provide. When his mother's devious matchmaking results in his unexpected wedding, Gideon looks at the beautiful face of the woman who has sworn to be his and wants nothing to do with her. But Gideon is in danger of losing his heart until he discovers the truth. His new wife lied to him...about everything.

Ruby Haller needed a husband and fast. A treacherous man promised her the world, took her virginity, and left her without a father for her unborn child. When her father, the town minister, found out she was expecting a child, he offered her hand in marriage to the meanest man in town. Becoming a mail order bride appeared to be a safer choice. But instead of a ranche m,m,m,m,m,m,m,m,m,m,m,m,m,m,m,m,m,m,m,m,m,m,m,m,m,m,m,m,r, she ends up the wife of a stubborn, bull-headed preacher and he's none too pleased when he discovers her duplicity. Worse? The local town beauty, who had been courting him for years, is determined to make her life a living hell.

But Angel Springs, Colorado is a small town that can inspire big dreams. It's nearly Christmas and as the two hearts heal, a holiday miracle just might be in reach.

‎ 

https://amazon.com/B015JLMQBU

https://www.cynthiawoolf.com

 

ETHAN by Sylvia McDaniel

A reluctant groom and a runaway bride…

Beth Worthington finds herself racing from a wealthy older groom into the arms of a stranger when she defies an attempt by her father to marry her off. Instead, she takes matters into her own hands and agrees to become a mail-order bride with no intention of staying married to her unknown suitor. 

Ethan Fraser is shocked when he discovers his mother ordered him a bride. To save the innocent girl’s reputation, he goes through with the wedding. What he doesn’t expect is for his innocent bride to have plans of her own – that don’t happen to include him. 

When an unexpected snowstorm traps the two together they have to learn to compromise in order to survive.

Can a rich debutante and a Colorado cowboy learn to live together before the snow melts or will their different lifestyles tear them apart before they have a chance to find out?

https://www.sylviamcdaniel.com

 

I apologize for not having the buy links to the four books. I'll add them to this post as soon as I have them. If you subscribe to my newsletter, I’ll have some of the buy links in the newsletter when I mail it out this coming week.

Stay safe and keep reading!

Her Mysterious Cowboy Billionaire by Cynthia Woolf

Her Mysterious Cowboy Billionaire

By Cynthia Woolf

Contemporary Romance

Book Blurb:

Reclusive billionaire Jack Saunders has gone into hiding as a Montana rancher to protect his son. The boy is the only witness to his mother's murder but he hasn't spoken since that day. 

 
Gabby Cooper is a kindergarten teacher in Twin Bluffs, Montana. One of her students doesn't speak and refuses to play with the other children. Out of concern for the child, Gabby arranges for a meeting with the boy's father, Jack Saunders. 

When Jack and Gabby meet, the air sizzles. Their attraction is instant and all consuming. What will happen when the man who murdered Jack's wife finds them again and goes after Gabby? Can Jack keep her and his son safe? 

Excerpt:

Laura’s funeral was a private affair, as Travis wanted. Only he, Richie and Mac Cunningham attended the burial in a small Dallas cemetery. The man, Dean Ratliff, who Travis believed paid to have her and Jamie kidnapped denied all responsibility for her death and the man who actually did the kidnapping disappeared. He either left the country or left this Earth, but which of the men had actually killed her, no one knew.  

Well, that wasn’t true. Richie knew. Travis’ five-year-old son had watched his mother die and, after telling his father, “A bad man hurt Mommy,” he refused to say anything more or to talk at all. 

Nothing Travis did could change his son’s mind and make him talk again. 

Richie was determined not to speak. 

He was starting kindergarten this year, in just two weeks. 

The Marshal’s Service tried to put Travis in the Witness Protection program, but Travis refused because the rules were too restrictive. He would use his money and go underground. He wanted to be apprised of every move Dean Ratliff made and he couldn’t do that in WitSec. He needed all his resources available to him, to fight Ratliff if needed and he couldn’t do that in WitSec either.  

So Travis paid to have his new identity in place and the Sagebrush Ranch purchased by the time Richie started school. The ranch was purchased by a shell company of a shell company of a shell company and so far removed from Travis no one would think to go there. 

Travis was Jack Saunders now. Everything he did was under Jack Saunders’ name. He got a new Montana driver’s license, a passport and credit cards. He destroyed all his Texas identification and credit cards. He wanted nothing that said Travis McGill on it. With enough money, to the right people, a person could become someone else. He’d gone to a lot of trouble and a lot of expense to become someone new. Now, if he could just keep Ratliff from finding him. 

Cynthia Woolf is the award-winning and best-selling author of fifty-six historical western romance books, two short stories, two time-travel historical western romances and two contemporary western romances. She has also published six sci-fi, space opera romances, which she calls westerns in space. Along with these books she has also published four boxed sets of her books. 

  
Cynthia loves writing and reading romance. Her first western romance Tame A Wild Heart, was inspired by the story her mother told her of meeting Cynthia's father on a ranch in Creede, Colorado. Although Tame A Wild Heart takes place in Creede that is the only similarity between the stories. Her father was a cowboy, not a bounty hunter, and her mother was a nursemaid (called a nanny now), not the ranch owner.  
 
Cynthia credits her wonderfully supportive husband Jim and her great critique partners for saving her sanity and allowing her to explore her creativity. 

 

WEBSITE – http://cynthiawoolf.com 

 

NEWSLETTER – https://sendfox.com/form/m4xr73/m4vk7m 

 

If you enjoyed my book you can find out about the newest ones through the Bookbub New Release Alert. All you have to do is follow me on Bookbub. You can do that here:  https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cynthia-woolf 

 

You can also follow me on these social media 

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/CynthiaWoolf 

CYNTHIA WOOLF VISITS!

Cynthia is awarding a gift card to one commenter!

Hi. My name is Cynthia Woolf and I write historical western romance. More specifically I write Mail-Order Bride romance. I kind of got into this by accident. The third western romance I wrote was called Tame A Wild Bride. It was about a mail-order bride in Creede, Colorado. It sold better than the other two books in the series put together.

So for my next series I wrote Matchmaker & Co. About a matchmaker in New York who matches women to men in Colorado. People loved it.

But I still didn’t take the hint and wrote Destiny in Deadwood next. It is the story of three brothers who move to Deadwood in 1876. They are being chased by a murderer and there is not a mail order bride in sight. Needless to say the sales weren’t all I hoped they would be.

My next series was Brides of San Francisco. The stories are set in San Francisco and my matchmaker from Matchmaker & Co is just starting out. I guess you could call it a prequel. This is one of my most popular series.

I seemed to have gotten the hint. My next series was Brides of Tombstone. This series starts with a mail order bride who changes her mind. What happens though when the groom doesn’t change his? There are a lot of surprises on the road to happiness.

The next series I did was Hope’s Crossing, about mail-order brides going to Montana. I should have called it Mail Order Brides of Montana. I think it would have sold more.

Taking that knowledge to heart I named my next series Brides of Central City. This series took me back to my Colorado roots and was a hit with readers. It tells the stories of brides from New York that are running from something, dangerous people, unwanted forced marriages, murderers. They run into the arms of their heroes who vow to protect them.

This was followed by my mail-order brides going to Seattle in Brides of Seattle. Yup, I’ve definitely got the bride thing down. Not only do my readers love them I love to write them.

Eliza: https://www.amazon.com/Eliza-Brides-Oregon-Trail-Book-ebook/dp/B07VKQ7KC9

My current series is Brides of the Oregon Trail. Can you imagine being part of a wagon train full of mail-order brides? Traveling 2000 miles most of it walking, barefoot because you didn’t want to ruin the only pair of shoes you owned. I couldn’t either so I researched the Oregon Trail. There are lots of books out there chronicling the trip. Fascinating stories written by women who were on the trip. There are books for children about what the trip would have entailed. It was a hard and difficult trip. I admit freely that I don’t put a lot of the hardship in my books. I’m writing a romance not a biography. I want my readers to enjoy the trip they are on.

My latest book is called Carter. It is part of the Bachelors & Babies series of books. Each of the books are written by a different author. And can you believe it my story is about a mail-order bride! J

Carter: https://www.amazon.com/Carter-Bachelors-Babies-Book-3-ebook/dp/B07S5CG1FG/

I don’t know yet what I’ll do for my next series. How would you all like to help me? Yes? Tell me in your comments where you think my mail-order brides should go. Here are your choices:

1.)  The Klondike gold rush in Alaska (Brides of the Klondike)

2.)  The California gold rush in Sacremento (Brides of Sacremento)

3.)  More Oregon Trail books (continue Brides of the Oregon Trail)

4.)  The Montana Gold rush in Virginia City/Bannack (Brides of Montana)
5.) 1870 to 1880 Mail-Order Brides

6.)  You pick. Where would you write about?

Thank you for having me today, Caroline. I hope to get a lot of response from your readers.

Oh, by the way. The winner that I pick within the winning location will receive a $10 Amazon Gift Card, so leave your ideas in your comments.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cynthia Woolf, Author

Cynthia Woolf is the award winning and best-selling author of forty-one historical western romance books and two short stories with more books on the way.

Cynthia loves writing and reading romance. Her first western romance Tame A Wild Heart, was inspired by the story her mother told her of meeting Cynthia’s father on a ranch in Creede, Colorado. Although Tame A Wild Heart takes place in Creede that is the only similarity between the stories. Her father was a cowboy not a bounty hunter and her mother was a nursemaid (called a nanny now) not the ranch owner. The ranch they met on is still there as part of the open space in Mineral County in southwestern Colorado.

She also has six scifi, space opera romance titles. She calls them westerns in space.

Cynthia credits her wonderfully supportive husband Jim and her great friends and critique partners for saving her sanity and allowing her to explore her creativity.

WEBSITE – http://cynthiawoolf.com/

NEWSLETTER - https://www.subscribepage.com/k1p2m1