ELITE METAL BOX SET BARGAIN!

Elite Metal

by Jennifer Kacey, Anna Alexander, Heather Long,  Rebecca Royce,

Sabrina York, Saranna DeWylde, Roxie Rivera, 

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The authors are giving away a $25 Amazon or B&N gift card to one person who comments on this tour. 

ELITE METAL Blurb:

For decades the US Marines funded a top-secret unit known as Elite Recon. A deadly group of men and women sent to infiltrate dozens of countries completely undetected. Mission objectives so extreme casualties were not only probable, but expected.

The current batch of operatives had returned from hundreds of assignments unscathed…until one mission went horribly wrong. Several men lost their lives and the group disbanded. The remaining leathernecks were scattered in the wind with new identities. They were told to blend in. Be normal. Or face being forever silenced just like their fallen brothers.

Now, two years later, each living member of the group is kidnapped and given a chance to make things right. But this time they’re no longer under the thumb of Uncle Sam. A mysterious private backer who knows about their past has brought them back together. No longer are they forced to turn a blind eye to the lost and forsaken.

A new life. A new future…Elite Metal.

Bound By Steele

By Anna Alexander and Jennifer Kacey

To save his Marine brothers and sister he must accept the past isn’t dead and buried. Reuniting survivors means he is forced to first forgive…the enemy.

Steele, the man he was, died. A civilian with a new name stands in his place in the wake of death. Everything he had, lost when his undercover contact, Venus, disappeared when it counted most. In the shadow of regret, Steele is reborn from the flames of a Phoenix. To right the wrongs that destroyed his military family, he must put his trust in the hands of a mysterious backer, and the woman who led his team to the slaughter.

Not knowing who sold her out at the final hour, Alayna Devlin, spent the last two years on the run. Then the mastermind behind Elite Metal tracked her down, and offered her the chance to atone for past mistakes. To cleanse her conscience requires a baptism by fire and submission to the man who will either put the final nail in her coffin or set her heart free.

The past. The future. Truth. Lies. Nothing is as it seems when two shattered hearts are finally given the chance to heal.

Chrome’s Salvation

By Jennifer Kacey

A former leader of Elite Recon, reduced to nothing more than an apathetic existence.

Until his girl’s life hangs in the balance…now nothing will stand in the way of him coming back to life.

Chrome had it all. Exactly what he wanted. A career in the Marines he loved, fighting alongside his brothers and sisters to protect the US from everything set out to destroy it. Then on their last mission as Elite Recon they were double-crossed…and everything went horribly wrong.

Cammie needs help rescuing her siblings from the clutches of a man determined to crush everything she holds dear.  But she has no one to turn to. No one to lean on when she’s trapped in a world she never knew existed. Lost in a world of pseudo-normalcy Chrome’s reduced to nothing more than existing. Day in. Day out. Nothing to live for.

Until his girl’s life hangs in the balance. Now nothing will stand in his way of coming back to life.

Love at first sight is a myth. Or so Chrome thought. Everything he thinks is true disappears in the presence…of his salvation.

Adamantium’s Roar

By Anna Alexander

Adamantium left Beth to what he thought was a better life, only to find she had been living in hell. Now he’ll do anything, break any vow, to claim her as his for all time.

Adamantium feels right at home being back to what he does best with his Elite Metal buddies, especially if it keeps his mind off her.  Beth Bradshaw. His best friend’s girl. But when their paths cross again, he discovers Beth is in the hands of a dangerous man. Vow or now vow to his Elite Metal family, Ant will do anything to claim the woman he loves.

Pure Copper

By Heather Long

Copper will do whatever it takes to get the job done, even if it means seducing and betraying the one man who really sees her.

Former Marine special forces, Sachi “Copper” James is a chameleon. She thrives on being someone else. Her mission? Identify the rat who sold her team bad intel. Gabriel Danvers, ex-CIA analyst, is a master of disseminating the details. He wants to enjoy a normal life, retired from the game. His mission? Teach classes.

 When Gabriel becomes the target of Copper’s investigation, he re-enters a world of danger and deception--all to claim the passion of the one woman who’s haunted him for years.

Sterling’s Seduction

By Sabrina York

When a snoopy reporter threatens the Elite Metal, Sterling will do whatever it takes to kill her story about the team. Even if it means he has to tie her to his bed.

When Sterling spots a reporter masquerading as a waitress in a dingy bar in Deep Ellum, he suspects she’s investigating the team. And that’s something he just cannot allow to happen. Too many lives are at stake. He will do everything in his power to learn the truth—even seduce her. And to stop her story from coming out? He might even tie her to the bed.

 Nothing is off the table when it comes to keeping his brothers safe. Nothing. It’s a damn shame she’s everything he’s ever wanted. It’s a damn shame her touch warms his cold, dead heart.

Platinum’s Choice

By Rebecca Royce

Platinum left the life he had with Rose in New York to rejoin his team and silence the nightmares from Operation Phoenix.   But when Rose is forced to go on the run with Platinum’s hidden son, he will have no choice but to return to his old life and reclaim what he has ached for every day since. Red Wolf’s sniper wants to nudge Plat’s underbelly and they’re going to find out quickly how deadly he can be.

Platinum was a man of few words before he changed his name and had his sniper rifle taken away. But as Elijah, he could start over, maybe even fall in love with his hidden son's Kindergarten teacher, Rose. But Platinum is reborn when Elijah is kidnapped, so he's left with no choice but to vanish, leaving Rose to wonder about his fate, broken-hearted.

Rose has spent the last year getting over the disappearance of the man she knew as Eli. Now, alone and terrified, she finds herself on the run from a sniper while trying to hide a scared little boy from certain death.

Red Wolf's crew isn't done with Plat, and his soft underbelly is just the place to nudge. Sniper vs. sniper, Platinum will reclaim what is his. That is, if she'll even have him back...

Mercury’s Poison

By Saranna DeWylde

A scarred, mad genius more monster than man must protect the beauty he's become obsessed with from a beast more terrible than himself.

Serum 17 took his face, took his kindness and took his empathy. It took, in essence, all of John Thrace leaving only the Elite Metal operative "Mercury" in his place. A man marked with a biohazard tattoo because he knows he's incompatible with other living things. Until he becomes obsessed with the seemingly innocent doctor Hazel Brewer and a chance encounter changes everything.

Hazel knows the giant scarred man won't hurt her even though she's in the business of saving lives and he'd rather take them. In fact, she's never felt safer or more alive than when she's with him. Even when a terrible biological weapon forces her into his arms for a night of hot passion she won't soon forget.

Their love could be the redemption he never thought he wanted, or something even more toxic: Mercury's poison.

Forged in Silver

By Roxie Rivera

Rebel. Nomad. Troublemaker.

After surviving the double-cross during Operation Phoenix, Former Elite Recon Marine Silver embraces the underworld and builds a new life as one of the world's most renowned thieves. Jewels, paintings, corporate espionage--there's no job he won't take for the right price.

Until Poppy Jones orders her ghosts to snatch him up in Budapest and haul him back to Texas to face her brand of justice...

Forced to decide between a prison cell and signing on to Elite Metal, Silver chooses the latter. Quietly operating in the background of a team that no longer trusts or wants him, he completes all the dirty little jobs that keep the team alive and flush with new intel.

But when he learns Poppy plans to infiltrate a terrorist gathering, he refuses to hide in the shadows a moment longer. In a world of secrets and lies, Poppy Jones is his bright light of truth and trust.

And he'll brave the fires of hell--and the disdain of Steele and Chrome--to protect her.

~

~~~~~~~~~~~~

BOUND BY STEELE Excerpt:

Pfft.

“Ah,” he grunted and slapped at the dart embedded into his neck.

Who tracked him down? Russian intelligence? Red Wolf? Or was the US government ready to make sure he was a mistake that never came back to haunt them?

Adrenaline shot whatever drug they loaded him up with through his blood stream like a rocket, and instantly his body went heavy as though sand filled his veins. His knees were gave way as the bone had been replaced by Slinkies. He bobbed and stumbled into the railing.

Stay calm. Stay the fuck calm.

“It’s best if you don’t resist us, Steele,” said the tallest of the trio. Other than the height difference, the three looked like triplets in matching wetsuits and face masks.

American accent? So, he was being called home.

“What? You thought I’d make this easy for you?” he sputtered past numb lips and inched back, searching for a way to escape.

At this point it was looking as if the only option was over the railing to the open ocean below. If he was limp enough, he might be able to pop to the surface like a cork. If not, well…

“We’ve come to collect you.”

“Really? I’m no fucking postage stamp.”

With the last of his energy, he swung his leg around with a roundhouse kick, knocking the front man into his buddy behind him. Spots floated in his vision as he threw a right hook followed by an upper cut. From the sounds of grunting and a gasp of pain, he knew he connected with something, but he couldn’t tell what.

Two pairs of hands latched on to his arms and pulled him to the ground.

“Nice to see he hasn’t lost his spirit,” one of them said. “Even doped up, he still packs a bunch. Damn, I think he broke a tooth.”

“You’re so dead,” he slurred as the world went black. Either the ghosts put a bag over his head or the drugs victoriously sucked him under. “Dead, you… mother…”

* * * * *

Sweat trickled down his cheek. The sweltering fabric pressed against his face added to the discomfort of a throbbing head. Exhaustion weighed him down as though he’d hiked a hundred miles with an eighty-pound pack on his back.

Steele licked his lips and tasted nothing but nappy cotton and an acrid, metallic aftertaste. The nauseous feeling reminded him of his time in training when he had been drugged to condition his body to withstand enemy torture.

Drugged.

What the hell?

His eyes flew open to a vision of black, black and more black.

Oh… Right.

Memories of his last moments on the oil rig came flooding back. The men in black, the sting of the needle, and missing his former life so badly, he’d been tempted to jump into the ocean and sink to the rocky bottom.

But he hadn’t jumped. He’d fought, fought with his last breath.

Huh, well what do ya know. He did have the will to live after all.

But for how much longer would he have the opportunity to do something with the rediscovered desire?

In typical hostage fashion, his arms and legs were shackled to a wooden chair. Judging by the sturdiness of the seat under his ass and the fine, smooth finish under his palms, this wasn’t a rickety dime store chair. It didn’t even creak as he shifted his weight from side to side. Hmm, so whoever was holding him had enough money to afford quality furnishings for their interrogations.

Since he couldn’t see shit through the hood, he slowed his breathing and tried to gather as much intel as he could.

Wherever he was, it was hot. A slight breeze from his right tickled the hair on his bare arms. The flooring under his shoes was solid, without the slightest give. Concrete probably. And the scent of gasoline and motor oil tickled his nose. An exhaust fan roared nearby, but the room was cavernous, lacking the noise reduction sensation from insulated walls. A warehouse, for certain, or something similar.

And he wasn’t alone.

Time to get the party started.

“Okay, you motherfuckers. You know I’m awake and I know one of you has a deviated septum. So let’s just get down to it, shall we?”

The click-clack of a pair of heels reverberating off the floor was an interesting surprise.

“Remove his hood,” a woman ordered.

The fabric was ripped over his head, and he blinked in the bright light to focus his vision. Once the spots dissipated he locked on to the beautiful female dressed in the sexy-librarian pencil skirt and high heels. She had a semi-circle of assholes standing behind her. Eight of them. The same men who’d drugged him.

At least he assumed they were some of the same men who had shanghaied him earlier. Gone were the wet suits, replaced with black fatigues, but the masks were still in place, and to his amusement one of the men sported a black and blue bruise on the bit of flesh visible through the eyeholes.

“Hello, Steele,” the woman said with a no nonsense smile. “My name is Poppy.”

Amazon Link: http://amzn.com/B00SZGM6UI

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Jennifer Kacey

Jennifer Kacey is a writer, mother, and business owner living with her family in Texas. She sings in the shower, plays piano in her dreams, and has to have a different color of nail polish every week. She’s the Amazon top seller and award winning author of the Members Only Series and the Surrender Series along with several standalone novels and novellas. The best advice she’s ever been given? Find the real you and never settle for anything less.

Social Media Links

Website - http://www.jenniferkacey.com/

Blog – The Decadent Divas - http://www.thedecadentdivas.blogspot.com/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.kacey.7

Facebook Author Page - https://www.facebook.com/jenniferkaceyauthor

Twitter - https://twitter.com/JenniferKacey

Amazon Page - http://www.amazon.com/Jennifer-Kacey/e/B00GXHUB30/ref=s9_simh_gw_p351_d9_al1?_encoding=UTF8&refinementId=618073011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0G8ZPDQJVKJPKXNBRY10&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846

Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6941549.Jennifer_Kacey

Pinterest - http://pinterest.com/jenniferkacey/

Anna Alexander

Anna Alexander's literary world changed at age thirteen when a friend gave her a copy of Kathleen Woodiwiss's "A Rose in Winter." With her mind thoroughly blown, she decided that one day she too would be a romance writer. With Hugh Jackman's abs and Christopher Reeve's blue eyes as inspiration, she loves spinning tales about superheroes finding love.

Sign up to receive news about Anna's latest releases at http://eepurl.com/Q0tsz

Social Media Links

Website - http://www.annaalexander.net/

Blog – The Decadent Divas - http://www.thedecadentdivas.blogspot.com/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/anna.alexander.94

Facebook Author Page - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Anna-Alexander/282170065189471?ref=hl

Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnnaWriter

Amazon Page - http://www.amazon.com/Anna-Alexander/e/B008IAKLOO/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1418701356&sr=8-1

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1335912.Anna_Alexander

Heather Long

National bestselling author, Heather Long, likes long walks in the park, science fiction, superheroes, Marines, and men who aren’t douche bags. Her books are filled with heroes and heroines tangled in romance as hot as Texas summertime. From paranormal historical westerns to contemporary military romance, Heather might switch genres, but one thing is true in all of her stories—her characters drive the books. When she’s not wrangling her menagerie of animals, she devotes her time to family and friends she considers family. She believes if you like your heroes so real you could lick the grit off their chest, and your heroines so likable, you’re sure you’ve been friends with women just like them; you’ll enjoy her worlds as much as she does.

Social Media Links

Website – http://www.heatherlong.net

Blog – http://heatherlongauthor.blogspot.com

Facebook Author Page – http://www.facebook.com/HeatherLongAuthor

Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/HVLong

Amazon Page - http://www.amazon.com/Heather-Long/e/B002BMBCUC/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1420695270&sr=8-2-ent

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2959976.Heather_Long

Pinterest – http://www.pinterest.com/hvlong/

Rebecca Royce

As a teenager, Rebecca would hide in her room to read her favorite romance novels when she was supposed to be doing her homework.

She is the mother of three adorable boys and is fortunate to be married to her best friend. They are transplants from the northeastern part of the United States to the great state of Texas, specifically Austin.

She is in love with science fiction, fantasy and the paranormal and tries to use all these elements in her writing. In her world anything is possible, anything can happen, and you should suspect that it will.

Social Media Links

Website – www.rebeccaroyce.com

Blog – www.rebeccaroyce.blogspot.com

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/rebecca.grimaldi

Facebook Author Page - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rebecca-Royce/172551376131638?ref=bookmarks

Twitter – www.twitter.com/rebeccaroyce

Amazon Page - http://www.amazon.com/Rebecca-Royce/e/B004E50FPW

Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3005246.Rebecca_Royce

Pinterest – http://www.pinterest.com/rebeccaroyce/

Sabrina York

Her Royal Hotness, Sabrina York, is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of hot, humorous stories for smart and sexy readers. Her titles range from sweet & sexy to scorching erotic romance.  Connect with her on twitter @sabrina_york, on Facebook or on Pinterest. Visit her webpage at www.sabrinayork.com to check out her books, excerpts and contests. Free Teaser Book: http://sabrinayork.com/home-2/sabrina-yorks-teaser-book/  And don’t forget to enter to win the royal tiara!

Social Media Links

Website - http://sabrinayork.com/

Blog - http://sabrinayork.com/

http://thedecadentdivas.blogspot.com/

http://sweetnsexydivas.blogspot.com/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/sabrina.york.14  

Facebook Author Page -  https://www.facebook.com/SabrinaYorkBooks

Twitter - @sabrina_york https://twitter.com/sabrina_york

Amazon Page - http://www.amazon.com/author/sabrinayork

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5817917.Sabrina_York

Pinterest – http://www.pinterest.com/sabrinayork/boards/

Saranna DeWylde

Saranna De Wylde has always been fascinated by things better left in the dark. She wrote her first story after watching The Exorcist at a slumber party. Since then, she's published horror, romance and narrative nonfiction. Like all writers, Saranna has held a variety of jobs, from operations supervisor for an airline, to an assistant for a call girl, to a corrections officer. But like Hemingway said, "Once writing has become your major vice and greatest pleasure, only death can stop it." So she traded in her cuffs for a full-time keyboard. She loves to hear from her readers.

Social Media Links

Website – www.sarannadewylde.com

Facebook – www.facebook.com/Saranna.DeWylde.3

Facebook Author Page – www.facebook.com/SarannaDeWylde

Twitter – www.twitter.com/SarannaDeWylde

Amazon Page - http://www.amazon.com/Saranna-DeWylde

Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1228621.Saranna_DeWylde

Pinterest – www.pinterest.com/SarannaDeWylde

Roxie Rivera

A New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, I like to write super sexy romances and scorching hot erotica. I live in Texas with my red-bearded Viking husband and a sweet but rowdy preschool-aged daughter with autism and heart defects. We also have two wildly rambunctious Great Danes named Hannibal and Murdock.

My other book writing alter ego--Lolita Lopez--was named one of Latina Magazine's Eight Erotic Latina Authors To Check Out. Lo writes deliciously steamy tales for Forever Yours/Grand Central, Mischief/Harper Collins UK, Siren Publishing and Cleis Press.

Social Media Links

Website – http://www.roxierivera.com

Blog – http://www.roxierivera.com/news

Facebook Author Page - https://www.facebook.com/WriterRoxieRivera

Twitter – http://twitter.com/lowriter

Amazon Page - http://www.amazon.com/Roxie-Rivera/e/B00936H1MW/

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ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE, ELIMINATE THE NEGATIVE!

Like most people, I choose to surround myself with positive people. Sure, bad things happen to each of us. That doesn’t mean we have to dwell on them and over-share at every chance. I do sympathize with anyone who is facing tragic news. I want to offer whatever solace I can, but I don’t want to know in excruciating detail and repetition each minute part of the news.

Beth Trissel, author, plant expert, wife, mom

A good example of how best to handle misfortune is my friend, Beth Trissel. Beth is always calming in her posts at https://bethtrissel.wordpress.com Recently, a business venture in which Beth and her husband and family have been involved met disastrous circumstances. Beth quietly announced the event, but has remained positive and has only referred to the closing of the cooperative dairy project a couple of times. Though obviously her heart is aching, she is on to writing and marketing her wonderful fiction and non-fiction books, planning her spring garden, and getting on with life. I admire Beth tremendously, not only for her handling of this traumatic blow, but for her books and her gentle nature and her wonderful blogs.

“Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow.”  – Mary Radmacher

Last weekend, Hero and I and Darling Daughter 2 went to Lubbock to join in celebrating the 90^th birthday of Hero’s favorite aunt. (Darling Daughter 1 is recovering from rotator cuff surgery and realized that, although she wanted to come with us, she would be miserable riding so far in the car and back.) But back to Hero’s aunt. Aunt Kathryn is only related to Hero and his cousins and siblings by marriage, yet she is everyone’s favorite aunt.

Our lovely sister-in-law Carol and Aunt Kathryn

Why is she everyone's favorite? For one thing, Aunt Kathryn is a real sweetheart. I have never seen her when she wasn’t smiling and her lovely blue eyes twinkling. She has few blood relatives left, but her reception was full of her late husband’s nieces, nephews, and their families. We all dote on her.

She is always supportive of others. Another thing about her is her positive attitude. Years ago she was in a horrible auto accident when a drunk driver hit the vehicle in which she and her husband were riding. Kathryn’s foot was severed from her leg except for a small piece of flesh. She cradled her foot while her husband removed her from their vehicle because he feared a fire. She was in the hospital for several weeks, and her husband ( J.C.) had a cot moved in so he could remain at her side. Doctors didn’t believe she would ever walk again even if the repair to her ankle took. They’d had to remove a portion of shattered bone. She fooled them. In spite of being an adult, part of the bone grew back. She does limp a bit and endures back pain, but nothing can keep her down. Doctors pronounced her recovery a miracle. She’s just that kind of person. No wonder everyone enjoys being around her. If you met her, you’d guess she is fifteen years younger than her actual age.

" Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." ~Leo Buscaglia

Compare that to a woman I used to know. When I met her, she went on and on about the little girl she’d lost. Due to her age, I thought this person must have had a child late in life. She would telephone anyone who’d listen and go on for an hour or more unless stopped by a hasty excuse (which I learned to have handy when she called). To my dismay, I later learned she had lost this child twenty years earlier and had two sons who had listened to her bemoaning her daughter’s stillborn death all their lives. She had become an emotional vampire. I realize the death of a child would be more tragic than about anything else I can imagine. But in my opinion, to ignore the loved ones remaining instead of celebrating them is a tragedy—to say nothing of needing counseling.

As a contrast, a good friend lost a baby to SIDS, yet she rarely mentions this child. Does she think of him? Of course, I'm sure she does. Has she still been a loving and exemplary mother to her other two children? You bet she has, but she’s moved forward and embraced all life has to offer rather than live in the past. She has a shirt which proclaims, "Live Your Dream." She's doing that.

“What we once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes part of us.” Helen Keller.

I want to leave you with a one of my favorite quotes by Audrey Hepburn. I’ve always admired her beauty, but for years I had no idea of her wisdom and compassion.

Audrey Hepburn as she appeared in "Breakfast At Tiffany's"

"For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.

For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair, let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day.

For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms.

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands;

one for helping yourself, and the other for helping others." Audrey Hepburn

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MANY CHANCES TO WIN!

We’re having Valentine’s Parties and you’re invited to both.

Pioneer Hearts Facebook Group authors are having giveaways from February 1^st -14^th. Log onto https://www.facebook.com/groups/pioneerhearts/ and follow the conversation for the day to qualify. Some of us are allowing the winner to name a character in our next book. Each of us has a giveaway. 

My day is Tuesday, February 10^th, so please come chat with me then.

Sweethearts of the West blog members have a party from February 4th-14th and you’re invited. Check Lily Graison’s post on the blog at http://sweetheartsofthewest.blogspot.com/2015/02/valentines-ebook-giveaway.html

for February 4^th. There’s a Rafflecopter for you to follow for an entry. Prizes will be awarded February 15^th.

Isn’t February a great month? Okay, a cold month, but great things happen in February. Things that sometimes involve chocolate, yum, and others that involve prizes and surprises. And the month isn’t even half over yet. Wow, the possibilities! 

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DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES?

 This is not meant as a religious post, but one about a place that sounds interesting and which I would like to experience for myself. Do you believe in miracles? I do and have seen many occur in my lifetime. Okay, that sounds religious, doesn't it? Not meant to be, but just a statement of my opinion.

My family members are Protestants who have a healthy respect for others' beliefs. Each of my immediate family is interested in all religions. Since we learned of Chimayó several years ago, Darling Daughter 2 and I have wanted to travel to El Santuario de Chimayó, Santa Fe County, New Mexico, USA. (Santuario is Spanish for "sanctuary".) This adobe Roman Catholic Church is locally known as the “Lourdes of America.”

Some say that before the Spaniards arrived, a hot spring that then flowed near the site was sacred to the Tewa Indians for its healing powers.

A National Historic Landmark since 1970, the shrine is famous for the story of its founding and as a contemporary pilgrimage site. It receives almost 300,000 visitors per year and has been called "no doubt the most important Catholic pilgrimage center in the United States." 

Pilgrims coming to El Santuario de Chimayó
One man carries a cross

In case you haven’t heard of Chimayó, allow me to enlighten you.

The story goes that sometime around 1810, a Chimayó friar was performing penances when he saw a light bursting from a hillside. Digging, he found a crucifix, quickly dubbed the miraculous crucifix of Our Lord of Esquipulas. A local priest brought the crucifix to Santa Cruz, but three times it disappeared and was later found back in its hole.

By the third time, everyone understood that El Senor de Esquipulas wanted to remain in Chimayó, and so a small chapel was built on the site. Then the miraculous healings began. These grew so numerous that the chapel had to be replaced by the larger, current Chimayó shrine -- an adobe mission -- in 1816.

Mission Santuario de Chimayó

Another version says Señor Abeyta, a man from Guatemala, was watching his sheep and contemplating his blessings though he was sick. When a vision of his patron saint, San Esquipula, beckoned to him he went to the place where the saint had appeared. He knelt and was cured immediately. Other people also were cured there, and Abeyta built the chapel in thanks.

Whether you believe one story or disbelieve both, many people seek this place for healing and for personal blessings, In Santuario de Chimayó, the crucifix still resides on the chapel altar, but its curative powers have been overshadowed by El Posito, the "sacred sand pit" from which it sprang. El Posito is behind the main altar. 

Offerings left on the fence of Chimayó

The Prayer Room, which is located in the sacristy of the church (next to the pit), is filled with discarded crutches, braces, and handmade shrines. Also in proximity to the site is a restaurant, a burrito stand, and a gift shop that sells everything from souvenir T-shirts to refrigerator magnets.

Prayer Room crutches discarded by those healed

You cannot buy sand in the gift shop, but the store sells empty "Blessed Dirt" petri dishes that you can fill up with sand from the shrine.

Petri dish filled with blessed dirt

The Welcome Center provides a handy map guiding visitors to each important station—the Chapel, the Madonna Gardens, Our Lady of Sorrows Monument, the Prayer Portal, and more. The sacred dirt pit is in a room where photography is now forbidden but here is a photo from an earlier time.

El Posito, the sacred sand pit behind the altar

Obviously, if 300,000 people carried away dirt each year, the hole would have grown much larger and be a mighty cavern or resemble a strip mine by now. Sand from the surrounding hills replaces that carried away and is blessed. At times, this must be done twice a day. The sand is either rubbed on the person who needs healing or carried home to one who could not come or to be a blessing. Sometimes sand is mixed with saliva so it sticks better to the afflicted area of the person needing the cure. A few have even eaten the sand. I know, euwww. But what would you do to be cured of a debilitating affliction?

What about you? Do you believe in miracles? 

Sources: 

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story

Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Santuario_de_Chimayo

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DIAMOND RINGS ARE DEADLY THINGS TOUR

Tour Schedule

Diamond Rings are Deadly Things by Rachelle J. Christensen
Adrielle Pyper knows how to plan a wedding, and she is especially good at pleasing bridezillas. But when her biggest client and best friend is murdered just three days before the wedding, Adri’s world falls apart. She moves to the resort town of Sun Valley, Idaho, and starts from scratch. Thanks to Adri’s impeccable taste and unique style, she lands two celebrity clients, and her business seems headed for success–that is, until someone vandalizes the specialty wedding dresses she imported from overseas. The race is on to uncover a secret hidden within the yards of satin and lace before Adri becomes the next victim. With a delightful blend of mystery, toe-curling kisses, humor, and spine-tingling thrills, Diamond Rings are Deadly Things is a romantic suspense novel that will keep you turning pages long into the night.

Amazon

DIAMOND RINGS ARE DEADLY THINGS Excerpt from Chapter 1

 “Wait a minute.” Lorea ran her hand along each of the gowns hanging in their individual garment bags. “Please tell me I can’t count.”

“Um, math isn’t my favorite subject either.”

Shaking her head, Lorea began pulling all the packing material from the box.

“What’s wrong?”

“There are only nine dresses.” Her chin trembled slightly as she hurriedly recounted the gowns. “One is missing and I think it might be the one with the beaded hemline.”

My throat felt chalky. “The one Sylvia ordered in case she didn’t like her gown?”

Lorea kept pulling packing material out of the box—long strips of brown paper were strewn across the floor. I dropped to the ground and began digging through the box. Then I stood and recounted the gowns.

“Let’s open up each bag and pull them out. Maybe there are two gowns in the same bag.”

Lorea’s eyes lit up with hope. “That’s probably it.”

Neither of us spoke and the sound of plastic and rustling satin covered the dull roar of blood pumping in my ears. We were working against the clock for Sylvia’s wedding and we couldn’t afford to upset her.

“It’s not here. I can’t believe it,” Lorea cried. “Of all the dresses to go missing, it would be Sylvia’s alternate.”

My imagined conversation with the dressmakers took a drastic turn, but I slowly breathed in and out. “You know what? She’s going to love her first choice. You’ll steer her in the right direction. Maybe convince her it would be bad luck to try on the other dress when the first one was obviously designed for her.”

Lorea’s face had red splotches on it and she blinked her eyes to clear the moisture.

I pointed at the gown with the gaping hole. “Let’s concentrate on one problem at a time. I’ll make some calls. You fix the hole. I know you can work with that diva. I’ll back you up.”

I knelt next to the box and began tossing the packing paper back in, but I froze when I focused on something caught in the tape lining the bottom of the box. Leaning forward, I reached for the tiny pearl. Three more beads were stuck in the corner. “Did any of the other dresses have pearl beading?”

“No, it was just that one.”

 “Let’s empty the box completely and see if we can find any more of these beads.”

“Huh?” Lorea studied the bead in my hand and gasped as I picked up the others.

A powdery residue hugged the corners of the cardboard and the packing tape glimmered in the light with the same fine particles.

“What’s this?” Lorea held up a shiny piece of metal.

My skin prickled with goosebumps. “That looks like part of a razor blade.” I closed my eyes, but not before the image of blood trickling down a knife point seared my consciousness. The foreboding sense of discomfort threatening my good mood broke through my dam of positive thinking. A million negative outcomes flowed through my mind and I felt cords of tension tightening my shoulders. Taking a shaky breath, I opened my eyes, commanding myself to stay in the present, and focus on Lorea. “I don’t understand. Do you think our shipment was tampered with?”

Lorea tilted the silver blade. “How fast can you get China on the phone?”

Praise

“I love Rachelle J. Christensen’s stories and characters, and Diamond Rings Are Deadly Things is another thrilling mystery to add to my collection. Don’t be surprised if you have to stay up all night to finish he book!” ~Rachel Ann Nunes, author of Before I Say Goodbye


Diamond Rings are Deadly Things pulled me right in from the first page and held me captive until the very end. Great characters, a compelling plot, a surprising twist at the end … Rachelle Christensen knows how to craft a great mystery. ~Tristi Pinkston, author of the Secret Sisters Mysteries


A cunningly crafty mystery with just the right mix of romance. Readers won’t be able to get enough of Adrielle Pyper, stunning party-planner turned heroine. ~Nichole Giles, author of Descendant

Author Rachelle J. Christensen

Rachelle J. Christensen was born and raised in a small farming town in Idaho. She graduated cum laude from Utah State University with a degree in psychology.

She enjoys singing and songwriting, playing the piano, running, motivational speaking, and of course reading. Rachelle has an amazing husband, five cute kids, three cats, and five chickens.

Website * Facebook * Twitter

Blog * Goodreads * Craft Website

Blog Tour Giveaway


$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash


Ends 2/25/15


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Thanks for stopping by!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU! WE WON!

Jacquie Rogers and I are grateful to all y'all who rallied around and voted for MAIL-ORDER TANGLE for January Book of the Month at Long And Short Reviews! You are the greatest of readers and friends.

Jacquie and I had fun working out the linked plots for these two books, MAIL-ORDER PROMISE and MAIL-ORDER RUCKUS. Jacquie can't help being a pleasure--she is a vivacious, upbeat person. You may have heard us laughing when we talked on the phone about writing these books. 

Although she lives in the Seattle area now, Jacquie grew up in Idaho where her book is set. Although I lived in Southern California for seven years as a small child, I grew up in Texas, where all my books are set. Well, all my books except for one novella are set in Texas, LONG WAY HOME. Not all of them take place in the Lubbock area of West Texas.

In fact, only two are set in West Texas, HOME SWEET TEXAS HOME and BE MY GUEST. The Kincaid series is set in Central Texas in a fictional town about thirty miles from the State Capitol of Austin. The Stone Mountain series is set in the fictional town of Radford Crossing in the real Palo Pinto Mountains of North Central Texas. The McClintocks are near Bandera, MAIL-ORDER PROMISE is set near Bastrop in Central Texas.

Lake Bastrop

Bastrop is a lovely small city. When I first saw this town, I was captured by the picturesque setting. I'm glad Jacquie and I decided on that area for MAIL-ORDER TANGLE. Bastrop is on the Colorado River and has a historic shopping area on the main street. Lost Pines State Park is nearby. 

Enough about Jacquie and me. This post is really about YOU! Thank you to each of you who voted for us, read the book, and/or left a review! 

 

WOO HOO! VOTE FOR US, PLEASE, FOR LASR BOOK OF THE MONTH!

MAIL ORDER TANGLE, by Jacquie Rogers and myself, is up for book of the month at Long and Short Reviews. We received five stars for these stories and couldn't be happier. Okay, we would be a little happier if we won this poll at Long and Short Reviews. Yeah, a LOT happier.

Voting is February 1st and 2nd only. Here's where to vote: http://wp.me/p2ZcT9-aT6  Remember, voting ends February 2nd, so please don't delay. We're counting on you.

Here's the 5 star review again (I love writing that):

Sisters… so close to each other yet so different from each other. They are willing to do anything for their loved ones. Being Mail Order Brides is the last chance for a happiness in their lives.

Mail Order Tangle is a set of two books written by two different, popular and best selling western authors.

Mail Order Promise by Caroline Clemmons

Ellie Dickerson becomes a contract mail order bride to a Texas rancher. She agrees to marry to on one condition. Her sister gets to stay with them. However, upon arrival she finds out that her fiancé is dead.

Erik takes a promise from his younger brother Kage on his death bed, to marry his fiancé. A promise to a dying man is binding. Though Kage made the promise he is not willing to marry a city gal. Nonetheless he is willing to take care and make sure she and her sister have a home.

Kage wants a rancher wife. And is dead set that Ellie doesn’t have what it takes to become one.
Through it all, there is someone lurking eager to do anything, even kill to get what he wants.
Will their love conquer?

I was pretty surprised from the first chapter in how different the sisters were from each other. Ellie is a social butterfly. Much more comfortable interacting with other people in dinners and parties than being in the kitchen or cleaning. However, she gets no choice when her fiancé dies. The simple truth is, they can’t go back from where they came. She sets herself to become the kind of rancher wife that Kage wants. Ellie is very stubborn. She makes a drastic transformation to become and survive being on a ranch.

I loved reading how she changed herself. Learning different tasks. Trying again and again until she gets it right. This is a Historical western romance novel. I expected guns and animals and all aspects of ranch life. I got all of that and more. The writing set the scene put me in the story. It was not only romance, for me there were times that made me smile like a fool while other times I couldn’t contain the tears. There was a myriad of emotions to be felt while reading.

If a book can make you feel things then it’s a very good book. This is a very good book.

Mail Order Ruckus by Jacquie Rogers

Matt Johannsen, cousin to Kage returns to the ranch that they built together before Kage had to go back to take care of Erik’s ranch.

Laura Dickerson, older sister to Ellie, is set on having Matt choose her for his bride; for that, she contracts to become a mail order bride in the same town where Matt lives.
Matt is hesitant to marry with his ranch taking all of the money that he makes. But he is put in a very tight place when he sees Laura with all the other brides. Laura is bound to get married, to him or someone else.

More, there is someone who wants to destroy Matt and his ranch.

Laura Dickerson met and fell in love with Matt. However, Matt is adamant. He will marry after one or two years after his ranch has gotten profit. Though this decision is taken out of his hands. I very much liked seeing how everyone came together and plotted behind his back so that Laura has every resource and advantage to get him married to her.

There was something about how the how the animals are depicted in these stories. It was terrifically funny. It really added a comic relief layer to the stories that kept them from being overly dramatic or serious.

It also portrays other mail order brides and their road to love. They find their love and it is entwined with Laura’s. I loved hearing the other bride’s stories. It is written in a way that the reader knows that Laura is the main character and the other brides are the secondary.

Perfect book to unwind at the end of the day and get lost.

Thanks for your support for MAIL ORDER TANGLE! Jacquie and I will appreciate your vote! And if you haven't yet read our duet box set, here're the buy links:

Amazon http://amzn.to/1yZyIfs

Kobo http://bit.ly/167JGUN

Nook bit.ly/1ExiM7A

If you love romance with a dash of humor and adventure, MAIL ORDER TANGLE is for you!

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