If you didn’t already know, I’m fast at work on my next Montana Bounty Hunter story, Mica. It’s scheduled for release on February 28th.

I’m having fun with the story, I hope you will too. Naturally, we meet our hero in the middle of a takedown of a skip. I love dropping my heroes and heroines in the middle of the action. Action scenes fly by fast, and there are so many things that can go wrong. I hope you enjoy meeting Mica. He hasn’t met his love interest yet, but she will make a big impression. 🙂

Be sure to get to the end of this post. I have a big ole list of contests you still have time to enter!

Montana Bounty Hunters: Dead Horse, Montana — Mica

MONTANA BOUNTY HUNTERS:
DEAD HORSE, MT
Authentic Men… Real Adventures…

Mica Ford wasn’t one to hold grudges. At least not these days. Grudges required fury and bile, and he’d had his fill of pointless anger and heartburn.

However, he was beginning to get a bit perturbed by the crew of bounty hunters working out of an office in Dead Horse, Montana. This was the third time they’d crept into one of his stakeouts. Twice now, he’d had to withdraw from a takedown and let them score his target. There were just too many of them, and again, he hadn’t wanted a dustup, wasn’t looking for a fight. But this time, he’d be damned if he let them scoop a third bounty right from under his nose.

This time, his target was one Norman P. Rudd. The bounty was high enough that Mica could live off the proceeds for a good four months. According to the bail bond company’s description, Norman had failed to appear before the judge to begin his trial for numerous charges stemming from an incident where Norman had gone “postal” on a neighbor whose political campaign posters didn’t share his flavor of affiliation.

Norman hadn’t stopped at simply pulling up the neighbor’s signs and burning them in a bonfire in the middle of the man’s front yard. No, he’d taken a tree branch, set the end on fire, and then torched his neighbor’s house and RV and then set wood he’d stacked beside a propane tank on fire. The explosion from the tank had rattled and broken windows throughout the neighborhood, including Norman’s. Even before the firetrucks and police arrived, the neighbor had pulled in front of his house, jumped out of his pickup, and the two men had entered into a brawl. The neighbor had been horrified by the damage to his home and belongings, but worse, his favorite blue tick hound had been locked inside the house when it was set on fire.

The house and RV? Mica wouldn’t have bothered to do more than shake his head and collect the insurance—belongings didn’t matter much, and you couldn’t take them with you when you left this world, but he could understand someone goin’ loco over the murder of a four-legged best friend. For that alone, Norman was a piece of shit who deserved to spend the rest of his days in jail. However, since he’d lost his mind and fired up his neighbor’s property, Norman had proven himself to be a bit smarter, evading police and bounty hunters while hiding out in the Absaroka Range. Mica couldn’t guess his intentions, but he suspected Norman thought he could hopscotch through mountains and forests to hide out there for a while until he lost some weight and grew a beard—something to disguise his ugly, memorable features. His mistake had been coming in for a night to shower and sleep in a soft bed.

Mica had tracked him to a motel in Belgrade, Montana. The night manager had just confirmed that someone of Norman’s broad build had indeed rented a room at the end of the building. He’d asked for menus from restaurants that offered delivery, then he’d kept quiet, not budging from his room.

Mica had already walked the perimeter of the building and tried peeking into the room, but the curtains were pulled closed and the frosted glaze on the bathroom window behind the building didn’t allow him to make out anything other than the fact there was a light turned on inside the room.

Before he could bust in the door, he had to know that Norman was inside. So, he’d hunkered down in his truck, waiting for his break, hoping Norman ordered food before the last restaurant closed for the night.

He watched through his tinted windows as another SUV and a truck pulled into the lot. He groaned when he saw the female hunter, Marti of naked-body-shop-video fame, enter the motel office. When she’d come out, she’d scanned the parking lot, and her gaze had locked on his vehicle.

So, she knew someone else was on Norman’s trail. Mica snorted. They might have the advantage of more hunters to enter the chase, but he had the better vantage, parked right in front of Norman’s room while they had to park farther down the row.

A small compact sedan entered the lot. It had a lighted sign on top of it, advertising Papa Ralph’s Pizza. So, Norman wasn’t starting his diet anytime soon. The sedan moved slowly down the row of parking spaces, then stopped right behind Mica’s vehicle. A car door slammed, and a lanky teenager ran toward the door, carrying an insulated pizza delivery bag that looked like it held two pizza boxes. Mica partially lowered his driver’s side window so he could listen as he watched the kid knock on the motel room door.

The lights inside doused. The kid stiffened and backed away a step, his head turning side to side like he was unsure of his safety. Read the rest of this entry »

My new book, The Pepper Peach Murder (from Wild Rose Press), is a cozy mystery—the first I’ve tried. My other books have all been romances, contemporary and paranormal. But to me, cozy mysteries are also romantic mysteries. Or anyway, they should be, as far as I’m concerned.

When I told friends and family that I was working on a cozy mystery, a lot of them asked me what a cozy was exactly. Some things about cozies are easy to explain. Most of them are written from the heroine’s point of view, and a lot them are written in first person. The heroine usually has some kind of interesting occupation: there are lots of bakers, for example, and caterers and crafters and owners of bookstores or country inns. But the image a lot of readers have of the cozy heroine is Jessica Fletcher, a decidedly unromantic lady who wrote mysteries in Cabot Cove, Maine. Jessica did occasionally have a date or two, but she was much more into solving mysteries than dancing in the moonlight.

As a romance writer, I didn’t want to limit my heroine that way. I wanted her to have a love life along with her jam making and murder solving because that was the kind of book I wanted to read myself. Donna Andrews’ Meg has her Michael; Kerry Greenwood’s Corinna has her Daniel. And my Roxy has her Nate.

Now since this is a mystery rather than a romance, Roxy also has a murder to solve. But since it’s a romantic mystery, solving the mystery will involve solving Roxy’s love life. She had a bad experience as a line cook in Denver and has come back to her hometown of Shavano, Colorado, to restart. But Roxy has concentrated on getting her jam business off the ground rather than her relationships with men until she meets chef Nate Robicheaux at the local farmers market. The two hit it off immediately. There’s just one problem (other than Roxy’s nervousness about getting back on her feet romantically): another local chef, Brett Holmes, wants Roxy on his arm and in his bed, and he won’t take no for an answer.

When someone kills Brett in his restaurant kitchen, Roxy’s the logical suspect since she and Brett had a shouting match in front of the farmers market vendors. Now, she’s got to clear her name and keep her business afloat while she and Nate discover just how much she’s back on her game again romantically.

There’s a lot on her plate, but Roxy can handle it. After all, she’s the Jam Queen of Shavano County, and she wants her romance to be like her jam: sweet, hot, and very tasty.

~MB

UPDATE: The winner is…bn100!
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Born in the segregated South of Heilberger, Alabama in 1927, Coretta Scott’s early life was shaped by her family’s long history in fighting against racial injustice. In 1945, she entered Antioch College in Ohio to study music, all the while actively engaging in civil rights activity through the college’s Race Relations and Civil Liberties Committees and the local chapter of the NAACP.

She won a scholarship to the New England Conservatory of Music and moved to Boston in 1952. There she met Martin Luther King Jr. They married in 1953 in a ceremony in which she had the vow to obey her husband removed. After completing her degree in voice and piano in 1954, she moved with her husband to Montgomery, Alabama.

In 1968, she did not allow the tragedy of his assassination to stop her pursuit of justice. She established The King Center to advance his legacy and ideas. To make sure that legacy was not whitewashed, she fought to make sure quotes reflecting his stance on the Vietnam War were included in the King Memorial dedicated in Washington DC in 2011.

In the 1980s, she drew comparisons between the fight against apartheid and the Civil Rights Movement. After meeting with Winnie Mandela and Allan Boesak, she came back to the US and urged then-President Regan to approve economic sanctions against South Africa.

In 1983, she urged amending the Civil Rights Act to include gays and lesbians as a protected class. She called on the civil rights community to join in the struggle against homophobia and anti-gay bias in 1993. In 2003, she made history by inviting the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force to take part in observances of the 40th anniversary of the March on Washington and her husband’s “I Have A Dream Speech.” It was the first time that an LGBTQIA rights group had been invited to a major event of the African-American community.

Having been an advocate for peace as early as 1957 when she helped found The Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy, it came as no surprise she spoke out against the attack on Iraq in 1993. In 2004, the government of India awarded her the Gandhi Peace Prize.

In 2005, she allowed Antioch College to name a center after her. The Coretta Scott King Center for Cultural and Intellectual Freedom addresses issues of race, class, gender, diversity, and social justice. She received numerous awards and recognitions for her activism before she died in 2006.

Moneta Sleet Jr.’s Pulitzer prize winning image of Coretta’s stoic expression while she holds her youngest daughter on her lap during her husband’s funeral is indelibly branded in my memory. Yet, I hope you can see from what I just shared that she enhanced that dignified image by living the life of a courageous activist whose impact rippled across the nation and in the world.

For a chance at a $10 Amazon gift card, share your thoughts on the life of Coretta Scott King or any courageous woman you admire.

Better To Marry Than To Burn by Michal Scott

Blurb: Wife Wanted: Marital relations as necessary. Love not required nor sought…

A bridal lottery seems the height of foolishness to ex-slave Caesar King, but his refusal to participate in the town council’s scheme places him in a bind. He has to get married to avoid paying a high residence fine or leave the Texas territory. After losing his wife in childbirth, Caesar isn’t ready for romance. A woman looking for a fresh start without any emotional strings is what he needs.

Queen Esther Payne, a freeborn black from Philadelphia, has been threatened by her family for her forward-thinking, independent ways. Her family insists she marry. Her escape comes in the form of an ad. If she must marry, it will be on her terms. But her first meeting with the sinfully hot farmer proves an exciting tussle of wills that stirs her physically, intellectually, and emotionally.

In the battle of sexual one-upmanship that ensues, both Caesar and Queen discover surrender can be as fulfilling as triumph.

Excerpt:

“Our children?” She swiveled in her seat. “You made no mention of wanting children, just marital relations as necessary. I understood that to mean intercourse.”

“I wrote I wanted to leave a legacy.”

“A legacy. Not a dynasty.”

“Legacy. Dynasty. Is there really so sharp a distinction?”

“To my mind there is. I understood you meant to affect future generations—endow schools, found churches, create civic associations. I didn’t realize that meant children. I agreed to having sex, not having children.”

 “Of course I want children.” His brows grew heavy as he frowned. “Doesn’t having sex lead to having children?”

“Not with the right precautions.”

His frown deepened. “Precautions?”

“There are many ways to prevent your seed from taking root, Mr. King.”

“I want children, Mrs. King.”

Her lips twisted and her brow furrowed, but she kept her silence.

“All right,” she said. “You can have children with any woman you like. I won’t stop you. I free you from any claim to fidelity.”

“Legacy—or dynasty if you will—means legitimacy. No bastard will carry my name, not when I have a wife to bear me children.”

“I see.”

Her tone signaled she didn’t.

Buylink: https://amzn.to/2KTaGPH

UPDATE: The winner is…Tamye Whitener!
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My day starts with a cup of coffee. I need a couple of cups just to get going in the morning. Then I have another around noon because I don’t dare have one later in the day or I’ll be up to the wee hours of the morning.

Coffee is more than just my jumpstart. Always has been. When I was in the Army, we called it “Lifers’ Blood,” and yes, we drank out of an urn of coffee that kept it warm all day, but the coffee had the consistency of molasses by the time the afternoon rolled around. Still, we drank it. Actually, it was a badge of honor to sip a cup of the sludge without grimacing.

These days, my daughter and I sit sipping coffee outside in the morning, rain or shine, warm or cold weather, while the dogs have their morning run. We talk about what we’re doing that day, gossip about family and friends, share news about politics and celebrities—all over our favorite beverage.

I’ve decided that since my daily brew is the center of so much of our lives, that we deserve an upgrade. For convenience’s sake, we both have Keurigs. Truly, it makes terrible coffee. We’ve tried different brands, but they all pretty much taste the same coming out. We do love how fast we can get our cup in the morning, but I’m willing to put in the time to produce a decent cup for our morning “share” session.

Years ago, I had an espresso/cappuccino maker. It was a pain in the ass to operate and clean. However, espressos, cappuccinos, and lattes are my favorites when I go out to someplace that actually makes a decent cup. Hell, I’d also love a coffeemaker that makes a decent plain cup of coffee.

So, for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, help me out. Share your recommendations for improvements. Do you love a particular brand of K-cup? Do you have a coffeemaker you love? Do you have a recipe for a fancy coffee that I could try making with what I have?

Folks a while back were saying blogs were dead. That no one reads them anymore. That they’re a waste of an author’s time.

I didn’t believe it then, and I don’t now. Lately, what with the chaos over at Twitter, the rumblings are...blogs may be the only social media platform we can control. When something goes sideways, if you’ve already built your online blog community, you still have a place to connect with readers.

I’m lucky in that I enjoy blogging. I’ve been doing it for years! I open up my daily post, see that white space, ready to be filled, and I let my fingers do the talking. Yes, I still have Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram. I have a TikTok account I haven’t yet put to use, but in the mornings, when I start my day, I find my rhythm here. Sure, sometimes I’m only posting games (I love puzzles!) or talking about my wacky life, my collections of junk that are so dear to me, my animals, my family… Everything that’s me. Do I overshare? Probably. I try to make it fun. I’m generally a very happy, upbeat person, and I hope that comes across. I love leaving folks with a smile.

So anyway, I do have a purpose today. I thought I’d remind you all that you can SUBSCRIBE to this blog. What does that mean? Every time I post a new blog, you get it sent directly to your email inbox. You don’t miss my free stories, the notices about my new books coming down the pike (what does that phrase mean?!), contests for gift cards. I ask you questions, and I READ your answers. I do love to get to know you. Plus, I love to share this space with other authors, so you get to meet a wider community of writers. I vary it as much as possible so it’s not boring! 

How do you subscribe? Look to the left of this post. See that FOLLOW MY BLOG at the top? Enter your email, and you’re done. Yes, I post once a day. Every day. You can decide to delete it if the topic isn’t to your taste. I try to alert you in the subject line when there are contests, excerpts, guest bloggers, puzzles. You can choose the content you want to open.

There. That’s my PSA (public service announcement). Now, go about your day. And remember, there are several open contests, a couple of them involving fun puzzles just below today’s post. Have fun, and I’ll see you tomorrow.

See? That wasn’t so painful, was it? ~DD

UPDATE: The winners are…Pamela Reveal and miki!
*~*~*

This past week has been a bit of a trial. First, I came down with a respiratory infection (cough, stuffy ears) last Wednesday. I did a home COVID test, and then went to the doctor on Friday. No COVID, but I’m on steroids and antibiotics. That was after last Tuesday when I broke a tooth. So, I went to the dentist last Thursday, and had a cleaning, ex-rays, and was scheduled for a crown. *choke* I went in Tuesday of this week for the temporary and am now $1000 poorer. The dang thing keeps popping off. I had several nights where the coughing and the sore jaw kept me sleepless. Wah-wah. I know.

All of that mess put me behind my tidy, productive work schedule, so although I’m feeling better now (not fully purged of the infection or wearing my permanent crown just yet), I’m suffering from having to do tons of pages of edits to catch up. Which means, no time to write, which means as soon as the edits are out the door, I have to power down to get the pages written. January is turning out to be soooo stressful.

And add to all that, and we sprang a leak in the upstairs bathroom two days ago, which dumped water into the downstairs bathroom, and now we have repairs to make there… We fixed that leak, and another popped up yesterday. It never, ever ends. And I committed to going to Hawaii in July?

That’s three or four disasters, right? They’re supposed to come in threes, right? Are we done yet?

Anyway, I wanted to do a little giveaway today. Since I recently mailed all the hand painted bookmarks and postcards I owed to readers already, I thought it was time to give away some more. If you read eBooks, stick them in a recipe book!

For a chance to win one of these, tell me how YOUR January is going so far!

UPDATE: The winner is…bn100!
*~*~*

Happy New Year, Dear Reader! And just like that, 2022 is over and 2023 is here. I don’t know about you, but it feels like January has gone by SUPER quickly, even though it’s only the 10^th of the month so far—but it feels like it was just the 20^th of December, like, yesterday!

One way of slowing time down is writing by hand. I have an avid journal practice; do you like to journal? Whether you do or not, another practice I adore is that of letter writing. I have pen pals all over the world, and love getting “happy mail” in my inbox. And what better time to talk about writing letters than on the eve of “Month of Letters!”

What is Month of Letters, you say?

So glad you asked!

Like National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMoo (nanowrimo.org), Month of Letters is a daily writing challenge – but instead of a story, the challenge is to write letters. Specifically, in the month of February, mail an item every day, and write back to everyone that writes you. It’s that simple! What do you write? The list is practically endless:

• A postcard
• A genuine letter, on paper and everything!
• A picture
• A newspaper, if you get one, or magazine cutting
• Even a fabric swatch!

I’ve mailed bookmarks and handmade coasters (I weave them on my Zoom loom (https://schachtspindle.com/product/zoom-loom-4-x-4/) and they fit perfectly into most card envelopes.  At just 4 inches by 4 inches, they don’t weigh a lot and I usually don’t even need to add extra postage!

I even have a close group of friends who all share “non-bill mail” with each other, and use any excuse to do it:

• January 23^rd is National Handwriting Day
• February 14^th is Valentine’s Day
• March or April have Mother’s Day
• May is my birthday month (May 8^th)
• June is Father’s Day
• July has Independence Day
• August is back to school
• September has Labor Day (and it’s a great opportunity to educate ones’ younger friends and relatives on where the weekend came from)
• October is, of course, Halloween – or Samhain for us Wiccans
• November is American Thanksgiving (October has Canadian Thanksgiving)
• December are the Winter Holidays and New Year’s Eve

So many opportunities to write! Now, you just need to find pals, right?

Look no further than the Month of Letters website, https://lettermo.com/. Registering is free, and once you do, you can make friends and share addresses. Unlike Incowrimo, another letter writing challenge, you have to be logged in to see addresses, and your address isn’t available to the public like it is on Incowrimo.

So, tell me, Dear Reader: What do you like to send or receive in the mail?

A. Catherine Noon
“My own experience has taught me this: if you wait for the perfect moment when all is safe and assured it may never arrive.”
~ Maurice Chevalier
acatherinenoon.com | noonandwilder.com | writerzengarden.com | knoontimeknitting.com

*~*~*

NOTE FROM DELILAH: I love this idea so much, I’ll offer to send one commenter one of my hand-painted postcards as a prize!