Audio Spotlight: Queen of the Lycan by Karina Espinosa

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Cover Designer: Covers by Christian

Narrator: Nicole Poole

Publisher: Tantor Media

Publication Date: Nov. 1st, 2022

Long live the Queen … so they say. 

With my arrival to Scotland and my coronation right around the corner, I’d never been more nervous than I am now. Known for having enemies, I didn’t realize becoming Queen would garner even more. I’m not the only one after the throne and the battle for the crown might cost me my life. 

The Summits on one side and the Council on the other, it’s a fight to stay on top and protect the lunas from a man’s world. But I’ve never been one to back down, especially when it comes to the lunas. The Summits and Council are in for a rude awakening when I shake things up and turn their worlds upside down. 

On top of all that, there’s an evil lurking in the forest and it’s after one thing—me. With my mating ceremony coming up, I don’t know how I’m going to survive it all. 

The goal is the crown, but can I keep it?

Buy on Amazon | Audible | Bookshop.org

About the Author

Karina Espinosa is the Urban Fantasy Author of the Mackenzie Grey novels and The Last Valkyrie series. An avid reader throughout her life, the world of Urban Fantasy easily became an obsession that turned into a passion for writing strong leading characters with authentic story arcs. When she isn't writing badass heroines, you can find this self-proclaimed nomad in her South Florida home binge watching the latest series on Netflix or traveling far and wide for the latest inspiration for her books. Follow her on social media!

Connect:

Web: https://www.karinaespinosa.com/

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2rQFsj2

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7784354.Karina_Espinosa

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TweetsByKarina

Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/karinaespinosa/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/instabykarina/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/karina-espinosa

Spotlight: Ship Got Real by T.L. Anderson

When there is Love at Sea, can a broken heart find a reason to beat again? When Avery Santos agrees to act as a wingwoman for her best friend on a week-long cruise, she doesn't expect a love at sea theme. But thanks to a sexy blind date with fellow passenger, Colin Turner, this week-long trip has suddenly become more than she bargains for. Fans of vacation romances will devour SHIP GOT REAL by T.L. Anderson, a steamy blind date romance

Read Now! 

Amazon https://amzn.to/3QShWen 

When my best friend cons me into going on a cruise with him as his wingwoman, I didn’t expect a love at sea theme.

Add in speed dating, an insane scavenger hunt, and the sexy blind date he sets me up on and the entire trip becomes so much more than I’m ready for.

After experiencing what heartbreak can do to a person, falling in love is the last thing I want to do. Ever.

There’s just one tiny problem…

Colin Turner.

Ship Got Real is a blind date romance, part of the Love at Sea multi-author series. Get ready to set sail through the Caribbean on Festival Cruises’ most alluring voyage with eight of your favorite authors - happily ever after guaranteed!

Experience everything the Love at Sea series has to offer. From speed dating to masquerades, guests are sure to enjoy the hot days and steamy nights. Explore hidden waterfalls, swim with dolphins, and watch as eight couples find their forever on the open ocean.

Excerpt 

Copyright 2022 @T.L. Anderson

The red lighting in the hallway of the cruise ship gives it an eerie glow instead of the romantic vibe I’m sure they were hoping for. I keep waiting for a man in a mask to come jumping out like an old 90’s thriller as we head towards our suite. “This place is unreal,” I grumble.

“Isn’t it amazing!” Evelyn, my younger sister, says enthusiastically. Her blonde hair flies around her as she whips her head around taking everything in. Her blue eyes wide at every small detail. “Oh my god Colin, they have disco elevators!” She quickly pushes the up button and does a little dance in place as she waves to other random guests.

Crossing my arms I lean against the wall taking it all in. “I wouldn’t say it’s amazing. It’s more like an expensive petri dish floating on water.” I watch as someone sneezes then touches the door handle into a room. Disgusting.

She slaps me on the arm, “Oh stop. Can you not be your brooding self for once?” The elevator doors open and she rushes inside staring at the ceiling and at the blue bubbles lighting the walls. “Look at this place. We are going to have so much fun!” She pushes the button for deck 15.

“Hmm,” I grunt. Refusing to even see the fun side of this trip. The only reason I agreed to come along was because her boyfriend broke up with her leaving her with an extra non-refundable ticket. Of course though, she was sneaky enough to not tell me it was a love cruise. Why the hell she would want to bring me is beyond me. “There’s no way in hell I’m going to be okay with watching you flirt and bring guys back to our suite this entire trip.” I narrow my gaze at her. 

She blows out a sigh while rolling her eyes. “Come on Colin, for once stop being the protective older brother and just let loose. Besides, maybe you’ll meet someone special here too.” She grins while rubbing her shoulder conspiratorially against mine.

“Doubtful,” I say as I exit the elevator onto deck 15. I look for our cabin 15331Z, the rooms here are larger than the below decks. I see the Fab Suite listed on the door and raise an eyebrow at her. 

She waves me away. “Don’t give me that look. I have money, even if I only work at a craft store. I do save my money.” She holds her card up to the electronic key reader and the door unlocks. “Besides I didn’t expect to be ditched by he who I will not name before this trip. So I wasn’t going to waste a few grand on this excursion over some hurt feelings.” She ushers me inside.

The room is gigantic. We enter through a hallway with a closet on the side for our clothes then a bathroom on the right. The entryway opens up into a large sitting room area with a television, gaming console, a guitar on the side, and a mini bar. “Damn, this had to set you back a bit of money.” I grab my phone out of my pocket and open my venmo. With a quick punch of my fingers I send her a chunk of money that should cover my portion of the room.

Her phone dings and her eyes narrow. “Colin Brayden Turner you better not have done what I think you just did.”

I slide my phone back into my dress slacks and walk into the bedroom ignoring her soft curses from behind me. She’ll complain, but she’ll accept it. The room is spacious, but I only see one large bed in the room. “So where exactly am I sleeping because this is not going to work for us.”

She grabs her suitcase and plops it onto the bed. “My dear brother, you get the couch.” She smirks as she flops onto the queen bed and stretches. 

I glance back at the smaller looking modular couch and accept the fact that my six foot frame will not fit well on it. Maybe I should have just booked a separate room. Her laughter causes me to glance her way.

“You should see your face right now.” She shakes her head while hopping off the bed. “Don’t worry big bro, the couch turns into another queen bed. The sectionals push together.”

Thank fuck. I grab my bags and drop them in the closet and start hanging up my clothes. “What’s on the agenda for tonight? I’m sure you have something planned that I just can’t wait to hear about.” Sarcasm drips from my voice.

She cackles again, “Oh, you have no idea."

About T.L. Anderson

T. L. Anderson writes romance filled novels that sometimes have a twist of suspense. Her characters are strong-willed, heart-felt, and at times angst-ridden.

She currently lives in Wisconsin with her husband, adventurous daughter, her baby boy, two mischievous dogs, a stubborn cat, and two guinea pigs.

Since the age of 3, she has loved reading and writing her own stories. Now her passion has developed into a career. After earning a certificate from the Children's Institute of Literature she decided it was time to put the multiple characters in her head onto paper so she can share her stories with the world.

She has a slight obsession with doughnuts, coffee, and dinosaurs. When she's not writing you can find her lurking on social media looking for new books to read, taking care of her mini-zoo at home, or having her nose stuck in a book.

Follow: Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | Goodreads | BookBub | Website | Amazon|

Spotlight: Revenge Honeymoon by K.J. Gillenwater

Publication date: October 30th 2022
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance

What happens in the Caribbean, stays in the Caribbean...

Emily Small has a big heart, a loud mouth, and a terrible taste in men. She’s used to living in her perfect best friend Ruby’s shadow – but when Ruby is left devastated at the altar, Emily becomes desperate to save her friend from heartache... and salvage their non-refundable cruise!

Emily hatches an ingenious plan to soothe Ruby’s broken heart by island-hopping together as an act of revenge. There’s only one teensy problem: the cruise is for newlyweds only. Naturally, they have a solution. They’ll pretend to be a married couple!

But their ten days of fun are about to spiral into a crazy, messy adventure that risks leaving a few hearts broken along the way – because when Emily bumps into the ship’s hot photographer, Max Keeling, she begins to wish she could rethink their arrangement. If her deception gets discovered, would they boot her off the boat? But Emily can’t keep her hands to herself, and her cruise fling could bring everything crashing down.

How can she support her best friend at the worst moment in her life while pursuing an out-of-her-league guy in the Caribbean? And can she somehow find a way to have the best of both worlds?

As a hilarious, sexy, and heartwarming read that strikes the perfect balance between feel-good emotions and laugh-out-loud humor, Revenge Honeymoon is a fun and memorable romantic comedy that you won’t be able to put down. Scroll up and grab your copy today!

Note: This book was originally released on Kindle Vella in serialized format. This version has been edited with an additional epilogue added.

Excerpt

“That was Tyler,” Emily gulped. Her mouth so dry she wished she had a bucketful of water to drink. “He’s not coming.” Her voice dropped to a bare whisper.

The cousins gasped and clutched one another in horror.

The make-up artist, who had been waiting to do final touch-ups, packed up her case in a flash and squeaked out of the room without a word.

Ruby’s eyes widened, her mouth formed an ‘o,’ and her body vibrated a fine tremor. “Oh no, was he in an accident? I told him not to drive himself. I’ve read so many stories about brides and grooms getting in accidents on the way to the church. Nerves, they said. Should I go to him? Where is he? Was he driving his father’s car or the rental? I hope he wasn’t driving the rental. We have to make it to our suite at the Hilton tonight, and I really don’t want to take an Uber. Or have my father drive. Oh, that would be so embarrassing.”

“Ruby.” Emily grasped her friend’s arm, the fine Mikado silk cool under her fingers. A long-sleeved dress for a late fall wedding maybe was too warm for the Tampa location, but it had been so gorgeous on her friend’s slender body there had been no other choice at the bridal boutique. “He’s calling off the wedding.”

Nausea soured Emily’s stomach.

Why did she have to be the one who picked up the phone? 

One of the cousins burst into tears. 

Ruby stood stock still in the middle of the bride’s dressing room. “But—” 

Rhonda Madison Evers entered wearing a royal blue mother-of-the-bride dress covered in sequins. “My darling. The make-up artist told me the news. How could that man be so cruel?” She curved her arms around her only daughter. 

“Mom, I don’t understand. How could he not be coming?” Ruby crumpled to the floor.

“You’ll crush your dress!” Mrs. Evers gasped and knelt beside her. She yanked at her daughter’s arm as if her will alone would lift up the one-hundred-twenty-five-pound woman and her ten pounds of underskirts and heavy fabric. “We can still return it.”

“No, we can’t. It’s been altered.” The bride spoke in a monotone. 

“Well,” said Mrs. Evers, “there’s always eBay or Craigslist, I suppose.”

“Facebook Marketplace is better,” mumbled a cousin.

Mrs. Evers shot daggers in the woman’s direction.

“I need to talk to him.” The bride snapped her fingers at Emily. “Get Tyler on the phone. I will just demand that he come.”

Emily gulped and bit at her lower lip, then got up the courage to tell her best friend since grade school the worst thing a best friend could say. “Tyler doesn’t want to get married. Do you really want to force a man to marry you, Rubes?”

“But he promised me. He gave me this ring.” Ruby held out her hand for the cousins, her mother, Emily, and now the florist who’d arrived with her wedding bouquet. A gorgeous pear-shaped 2 ½ carat diamond decorated her left ring finger. “Would he have given me this ring if he didn’t want to marry me?”

“He doesn’t want to marry you, Rubes.” Emily knelt and put an arm around her friend. The bride sagged against her.

The florist quietly set the bridal bouquet on a chair and scrambled for the door.

Emily led Ruby to an empty chair and her mother sat beside her. “He’s an awful man. A terrible, mean, awful man. Who would do that to my little girl?” Mrs. Evers took her daughter by the hand and gripped it tightly. 

“Ow, mother, that hurts.” Ruby pulled her hand out of her mother’s grasp and began to nibble on her freshly manicured nails. “What do we do about the guests?”

“Your father is telling them now,” Mrs. Evers reassured her.

“What will we do about the reception?” Ruby pulled the veil out of her hair.

“We’re inviting everyone to meet us over there,” her mother answered. “We’ve already paid for the hall, the food, the entertainment. We might as well have a party, don’t you think, darling?” 

“What will we do about the honeymoon?” Ruby kicked off her satin heels and rubbed her toes.

“Well, I guess you’ll have to cancel,” sighed Mrs. Evers. “Maybe they’ll give you credit.”

“No, wait, I have a better idea,” said Emily.

And that’s when the revenge honeymoon took shape. That very moment. And Emily Small’s life would never be the same.

Buy on Amazon

About the Author

K. J. Gillenwater has a B.A. in English and Spanish from Valparaiso University and an M.A. in Latin American Studies from University of California, Santa Barbara. She worked as a Russian linguist in the U.S. Navy, spending time at the National Security Agency doing secret things. After six years of service, she ended up as a technical writer in the software industry. She has lived all over the U.S. and currently resides in Wyoming with her family where she runs her own business writing government proposals and squeezes in fiction writing when she can. In the winter she likes to ski and snowshoe; in the summer she likes to garden with her husband, take walks with her dog, and explore the Big Horn Mountains. She has written multiple books and plans on writing more.

Connect:

http://www.kjgillenwater.com/

https://www.instagram.com/kjgillenwater/

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKJGillenwater

https://twitter.com/kjgillenwater

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2966445.K_J_Gillenwater

Spotlight: Fatal Secrets by Jen L. Grey

Dark Angel Book 4

Author: Jen L. Grey

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Publication Date: Oct. 27th, 2022

The truth shattered everything.

After having our worlds ripped apart by everything we'd uncovered, my mate and I thought the surprises were behind us. Unfortunately, Fate has other plans.

As a trained warrior, I'd always been confident that I would win, especially with my love by my side. But this war is something different, and I'm not quite sure Justice will be served.

Battle is imminent, and the residents of Shadow City are greatly outnumbered. My mate, friends, and family stand together to protect our home as well as the rest world... even if the fight brings our death.

Buy on Amazon

About the Author

USA Today Bestselling Author

Reading has always been one of my favorite hobbies, even as a little girl. When I was a toddler, my parents would read stories to me over and over. I would hear them so often that I had the books memorized and could recite the story word by word.

My favorite genres are fantasy, paranormal, and contemporary romance. So of course that's what I'm inclined to write.

​I have a husband, two young daughters, and a mini Australian Shepherd. I've lived in Tennessee the majority of my life and love the state.

I'm extremely addicted to caffeine and enjoy drinking coffee and lattes.

About the Author

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3SBVUNT

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17153032.Jen_L_Grey

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

Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/138638240054476/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorjenlgrey

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jen-l-grey

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorjenlgrey/

Website: https://www.jenlgrey.com/

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@authorjenlgrey

Spotlight: Hate, Rinse, Repeat by Whitney Dineen & Melanie Summers

Christmas is a time for hate...

Maisy Moore is not looking forward to the holiday season. As owner of the only hair salon in Gamble, Alaska, she’ll be run off her feet helping her clients get dolled up for Christmas and New Years Eve parties. Parties she’ll never be invited to.

But that’s not the worst of it. As a single mom, she knows she still won’t be able to give her seven-year-old son, Jack, the kind of magical Christmas his classmates get. Telling him how much she loves him will only get a kid that age so far. If only she could give him what he really wants—to know who his dad is. 

The last thing Maisy needs is for NHL star Chase Evans to come waltzing back into town like he’s God’s gift to women. But that’s exactly what Chase does.

After a taking a crosscheck from behind, Chase’s season is over. Instead of scoring goals, he’s recovering from shoulder surgery, and according to his mother, there’s no better place to recover than home. Because let’s face it, basking in the glow of local adoration won’t be too bad. There are no fans quite like hometown fans.

The last thing Chase expects is to find Maisy Moore still single. He decides to see if maybe they could rekindle their brief romance that occurred the night of their ten-year high school reunion. But when he tries to talk to her, he discovers Maisy’s feelings of lust have turned to loathing. And he’s determined to find out why.

Will Maisy manage to keep the identity of her son a secret? Will there be a holiday miracle that will reunite two hard-headed lovers? Will the BOGO special on shampoo and conditioner be a hit?

Find out in the deliciously funny and ridiculously romantic final installment of the Love is a Gamble Mom-Com Series.

Buy on Amazon

About the Author

Whitney Dineen is a rock star in her own head. While delusional about her singing abilities, there’s been a plethora of validation that she’s a fairly decent author (AMAZING!!!). After winning many writing awards and selling nearly a kabillion books (math may not be her forte, either), she’s decided to let the voices in her head say whatever they want (sorry, Mom). She also won a fourth-place ribbon in a fifth-grade swim meet in backstroke. So, there’s that.

Whitney loves to play with her kids (a.k.a. dazzle them with her amazing flossing abilities), bake stuff, eat stuff, and write books for people who “get” her. She thinks french fries are the perfect food and Mrs. Roper is her spirit animal.

Connect with Whitney Dineen:

https://whitneydineen.com/

Meet Melanie Summers:

I got SUPER lucky and my first novel, Break in Two, a steamy contemporary romance cracked the Top 10 Paid on Amazon in both the UK and Canada, and the top 50 Paid in the USA. My Full Hearts Series was then picked up by both Piatkus Entice (a division of Hachette UK) and HarperCollins Canada. 

My first three books have been translated into Czech and Slovak by EuroMedia. Since 2013, I've written and published sixteen novels and three novellas (and counting). I've sold over a quarter of a million books around the globe, and received two Bronze Medals at the Readers’ Favorite Award in the Chick Lit Category for The Royal Treatment (2018) and Whisked Away (2019), and one Silver Medal at the Readers' Favorite Awards in the Women's Fiction Category for The After Wife (2019).

Not bad for a newbie, eh?

I'm from Edmonton, Canada, where I live with my taller half, our three 'spirited' children (such a nice word to describe the chaos, no?). We also share our home with the cuddliest no-eyed dog ever, Lucy, and a furry Cuban dictator named Nelson. When I'm not writing, I love reading (obviously), snuggling up on the couch with the gang for movie night (which would not be complete without lots of popcorn and milkshakes), and long walks in the woods near my house.

I also spend a lot more time thinking about doing yoga than actually doing it, which is why any authorized photos of me are taken ‘from above’.

Oh, and I also love shutting down restaurants with my girlfriends. Well, not literally shutting them down, like calling the health inspector or something. More like just staying until they turn the lights off.

Connect with Melanie Summers:

https://www.melaniesummersbooks.com 

Spotlight: The Fifth Daughter of Thorn Ranch by Julia Brewer Daily

Emma Rosales is the heiress of the largest ranch in Texas—The Thorn. All the responsibilities of managing a million acres now fall into her fifth-generation hands. A task Emma could handle with her eyes closed…if The Thorn were any ordinary property. The Thorn is home to many things. Clear, cloudless skies. Miles of desert scrub and craggy mountains. A quiet disrupted only by whispers of the wind. And an ancient web of secrets that won’t let Emma out alive without a fight. The Fifth Daughter of Thorn Ranch is a family saga as large as the state of Texas.

Excerpt

Chapter 1

Emma, The Thorn Ranch, southwest Texas, present day

Emma swore under her breath and reached down to where her stirrup had been. The leather supporting her foot had torn, and her leg dangled against the horse. Damn, she thought. I should’ve taken a newer saddle. Emma had been so distracted by her argument with Jeff Bower that she was off her game. Now, she was a three-day ride from the barn and unable to exchange any equipment.

Three mornings before, she had lifted her great-grandmother’s saddle from its post, yearning for a connection to her long-gone Abuelita. The leather, hand-tooled by a master artisan, was exquisite, but the worn seat verified someone used it for more than horse shows or parades. Emma imagined her tiny great-grandmother herding cattle from this same perch and shouting commands to the vaqueros. She now fidgeted in her relative’s saddle. Will I ever have her instincts? Emma often questioned her mother about what they required of her.

“You’ll be this operation’s leader,” her mother always told her. “But you’ll often be needed as an extra pair of hands, and you’ll need to know about crops and care for the animals.” There were more than five hundred horses and 7,500 head of cattle, far too many for Emma to say grace over. She wished she could ask her Abuelita Lola if she had ever worried about the expectations placed on her.

Like Lola and generations of Rosales women before her, Emma was an only child and heir to the kingdom surrounding her. Kingdom was a lofty word, but the pressures seemed as great as those faced by the Queen of England. Emma was twenty-two, but often, she felt as if she were twelve. Her hands on the reins dampened at the thought of her responsibilities. Emma felt strong yet insecure, accomplished yet lonely.

She never considered she would do anything other than managing the ranch until recently. Then, Emma began thinking about an animal practice in a small town.

Maybe knowing The Thorn was a million acres and larger than the cities of Los Angeles and New York City combined gave her pause. The Thorn was a living, breathing entity that demanded constant attention.

The ranch had a single fence surrounding 1,600 square miles of the property, spanning eight counties. Since returning from college in the spring, Emma rode the fence line daily. It always needed repair and gave her an excuse for being alone, so she carried a saddlebag of tools. Private rides gave her time to think about her future and were an uninterrupted silence, rare in the hustle and bustle of ranch activities with vaqueros or her parents.

On this ride, she avoided Jeff Bower, as well. She did not want to see him or think about his intentions toward her. Unfortunately, their last shouting match still echoed in her ears. It stung to think he was more interested in owning the ranch than having a relationship with her.

With a firm but gentle hand, Emma pulled the reins and stopped her horse under a tree. It was as if the land took a deep breath and when it exhaled, the scorching air screamed across the expanse. Hives broke out on her neck, exacerbated by a searing pant of blistering wind. Her thick black hair swirled around her face as it escaped its clasp, and she dropped her reins to sweep it back into a ponytail.

Emma scribbled notes in a small spiral-bound book about borders requiring additional barbed wire or fence posts. They’d dispatch a truck for those. It was helpful to keep fences mended, but Emma was more interested in areas on the ranch she’d never seen than in repairing boundaries. There were miles of The Thorn where her mother claimed no one had ever ridden.

Ravenous Grand Canyon-like cavities traversed many sections where the magnificent Pecos and Rio Grande rivers crossed their property. The Rio Grande, which formed the boundary of their land with Mexico, was Texas’s longest river. It was impossible to cross in places because of the swift current—unless you wanted to take your life in your hands.

In the shade of a leafy mesquite tree, heavy with frothy blooms, Emma examined the land more closely. Some of her college friends visited the ranch during school breaks. They hated the rocky terrain, especially those who had moved from states with the perpetual green of pine trees and the shocking purples and pinks of exotic azaleas or camellias.

When Emma visited those same friends in the south or northwest, their landscapes heavy with humidity and swollen with constant rains, she longed for the dryness of her corner of the world. Many thought the desert isolating and unattractive with its low scrubs for trees and cactus plants for foliage. But Emma saw beauty in the desolation.

She guided her horse around gigantic cacti that looked like eerie monuments reaching for the sky. She loved when the prickly pear blossoms were yellow against the spines of its body, and then rich red fruit burst forward.

Emma learned painful lessons from picking the fruit; hair-like needles embedding into her fingers. It took days for the minute spikes to wear out of her flesh. After that, she selected the fruit while wearing thick leather gloves and a hand-held torch to scorch the prickles. Then, her grandmother could handle them to make preserves.

She liked standing at the stove stirring a bright fuchsia syrup from the fruit. Abuelita Valeria, her mother Josie’s parent, placed it into jars to save for the winter, and they spread the luscious jelly on toast in the mornings.

Suddenly, Emma noticed the darkness of the sky. She was far from the ranch house, spending the last three nights on a blanket under the stars. She’d always camped, alone when possible, and with her parents away in Europe for the summer, she was free to come and go as she pleased. Her saddlebag hung behind her, stuffed with beef jerky, Flora’s cookies, and two water bottles. Emma knew where streams and rivers were if she needed refills.

Jagged streaks of lightning filled the sky and thunder rumbled. Fascinated, Emma watched the atmosphere light up like the explosions on the ranch when they celebrated with fireworks.

Skittish, Honey-Boy snorted, and his head darted from side to side. She sped him up, gripping her knees and pushing her weight into the one remaining stirrup for support. Cliffs of red sandstone rose around her trail, and she looked around for a place to shelter. Then, without warning, Honey-Boy lurched into a stumble that took him to the ground.

Emma pitched forward over the horse’s head onto the hard granite soil. She heard a loud snap behind her as she hit the ground. Smacking the hardened, cracked clay, Emma rubbed her cheek and pulled herself to a sitting position. What was that?

Buy on Amazon | Bookshop.org

About the Author

Julia Brewer Daily is a Texan with a southern accent. She holds a B.S. in English and a M.S. degree in Education from the University of Southern Mississippi.

She has been a Communications Adjunct Professor at Belhaven University, Jackson, Mississippi, and Public Relations Director of the Mississippi Department of Education and Millsaps College, a liberal arts college in Jackson, MS. 

She was the founding director of the Greater Belhaven Market, a producers’ only market in a historic neighborhood in Jackson, and even shadowed Martha Stewart.

As the Executive Director of the Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi (300 artisans from 19 states) which operates the Mississippi Craft Center, she wrote their stories to introduce them to the public.

She is a member of the Writers’ League of Texas, the Women Fiction Writers’ Association, The Official Pulpwood Queens Book Club, Women Writing the West, and the Women’s National Book Association.

A lifelong southerner, she now resides on a ranch in Fredericksburg, Texas, with her husband Emmerson and Labrador retrievers, Memphis Belle and Texas Star.