UPDATE: The winner is…Rhonda Spencer!
*~*~*

I’m scribbling down ideas for the new bounty hunter office in Dead Horse, MT. Now, I need to cast my characters. New hunters to add, for sure. New townsfolk to populate the place. I want to “build out” the town more than I did in the original Bear Lodge town. Dead Horse is located close to Yellowstone, so I have to keep that in mind. In addition to hunters, I’m thinking local sheriff, deputies, ranchers, cowboys, diner waitress and cook, football coach, etc. People you expect to “see” in a small town, and some of the seedier folks, too, who can be part of the scene my hunters operate inside.

So, for fun, and for a prize, how about you make some suggestions. I might not use your idea, but it might spark an idea for me. And if you do see your character in the pages of one of my stories, you can have bragging rights! 🙂 So, for the chance to win a free download of any of my Montana Bounty Hunter stories, suggest away…

And remember, I already have the main character of the first book named…

[click to pre-order!]

Open contests! Enter while you can!

1. Do you love this cover? (Contest) —  Win an Amazon gift card!
2. Answer one question! (Contest) — Win a free download!
3. Any ole reason to party…and open contests! (Contest–2 winners!) — Win a free short story!

UPDATE: The winner is…Jennifer Beyer!
*~*~*

Ready for a new Montana Bounty Hunter agency? It’s already up on pre-order here: Cage. After Brian’s story released (Didn’t get your copy? Order it here: Brian), the agency at Bear Lodge is pretty full up of hunters and their women. I figure that with their success (catching lots of bad guys, the reality show), Fetch Winter, the guy who owns the business, can afford to open another satellite agency. This one will still be in Western Montana, but farther south, close to Yellowstone.  This guy, Cage, is one of Fetch’s new hires, and I’m thinking that some of the hunters from Bear Lodge are going to have to show him the ropes, so you aren’t seeing the last of Reaper and his crew just yet. 🙂

Want to know what Cage’s story is all about? Me, too. I’ve only got this, so far: A former SEAL and MMA fighter, and now, newly minted bounty hunter, has to hunt down his first skip…his ex-wife!

Liberty Ireland gave me the idea of calling the new Montana Town “Dead Horse” — Thank you, Liberty! Now, I’m seeing all kinds of ways of using it. For instance, the local high school football team’s motto will be: “Can’t beat a Dead Horse!”

I have three books to plow through before I write this one, so plenty of time to make notes for fun things to happen to my guy and his underground fight promoter ex-wife. Offer up some ideas, make them as crazy as you like, and you’ll be entered to win a $5 Amazon gift card. Have fun with it. Have them hunting aliens! Just let your imaginations go!

Also, here’s what’s coming next. Two are already available for pre-order. Just click on the covers!

Lawless is Book #5 in my Cowboys on the Edge series. I don’t have it up for pre-order just yet, but that’s going to happen soon. The plan is to have it out by April 28th!

And Hot SEAL, Decoy Bride is part of the SEALs in Paradise series. It releases May 19th!

Cage’s story? I’m shooting for late June!

Brian’s book is finally here! I hope you all rush out and get it! I loved writing it. The story has all the elements you expect from a Montana Bounty Hunters story—strong heroine, to-die-for-hero, danger, hot-as-hell sex—but Brian is more. He’s a physically challenged man who learns he is still a hero. You’ll see. I know you’ll love him!

Here’s what the story is about (GO GET YOUR COPY! I can’t wait to hear what you think!)…

Brian

MONTANA BOUNTY HUNTERS: Authentic Men… Real Adventures…

The haunted gaze of one wounded warrior sparks a challenge in a woman determined to help him regain what he’s lost whether he wants her help or not…

Physical Therapist, Raydeen Pickering, has seen her fill of stubborn veterans, some too angry to get on with their lives, some still living in hell in their minds, and then some unwilling to let their broken bodies hold them back. She hasn’t figured out which Brian Cobb is yet. The first time she met the handsome, wounded warrior, he was wary and defensive, his gaze always sliding toward the door, looking for as a quick escape from the Soldiers’ Sanctuary meetings.

Even now, there’s something about the ex-Army MP, now bounty hunter wrangler, that sets him apart from the other men she’s helped mend. There’s something more–not just the haunted look in his eyes or the stubborn set of his chin. The way he looks at her when he thinks her attention is elsewhere gives her hope that she’ll reach him, and that he’ll let her help him regain more of what he’s lost.

First though, he has to figure out he’s in love with the wrong woman. The one he needs is right here, and if she has to do the chasing, so be it, because those looks he gives her have rekindled a fire she thought was lost forever…

Available in ebook!
FREE in KU for a limited time!
Also available in print!

More Montana Bounty Hunters

Just in case you missed any…

Reaper: https://amzn.to/2NztLpv
Dagger: https://amzn.to/2zo6Dav
Reaper’s Ride: https://amzn.to/2KKkisI
Cochise: https://amzn.to/2zq4avV
Hook: https://amzn.to/2UrpyYh
Wolf: https://amzn.to/2yUTjr5
Animal: https://amzn.to/2H4Roob
Big Sky Wedding: https://amzn.to/2uu0JTu
Quincy: https://amzn.to/2QlleM8
Brian: https://amzn.to/2Uzn8JB

UPDATE: The winner is…Ani!
*~*~*

Tomorrow’s the day! Brian releases into the world sometime after midnight, and I hope you’re ready. I love the story, and I think you will, too. But that’s not why I’m here right now.

I’m nine stories into my Montana Bounty Hunters series, and I think I’m done with the boys and girls in Bear Lodge, Montana. Psst! I’ll tell you a secret. Bear Lodge, MT is not a real place. In my mind, it’s tucked in the northwest corner of Montana, but with easy access to the Canadian border, Glacier National Park, the Kootenai Forest, Flathead Lake, etc.  When I started the series, the guy who ran MBH, silver fox Fetch Winter, was looking to expand his business in Kalispell and put partners Jamie and Reaper in charge of the new satellite agency.

So, now I have a couple of ways I can go to continue the series because I love my bounty hunters and I’m not ready to give up writing about their crazy, extreme lives. I’m thinking you’re not ready either. So, this is what I need help with…because I’m busy starting a new book in a new series, and I don’t want to think too hard! 🙂

For a chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card, help me decide my course.

#1 Does Fetch want to open a new satellite office, with some so far unknown new manager, somewhere else in Montana or does he want to move his office from Kalispell? I don’t want to write in Kalispell because I’d just as soon build my own little town in my mind rather than have to write about places in Kalispell that I’ve never visited.

#2 This town, that’s not Kalispell, what should I name it? Have fun with this one! Just put some ideas forth and let’s see where they go!

If I get enough cool ideas, I might run a poll to see which name readers love the most.

In the meantime, below are all the yummy covers from the stories that are in my Montana Bounty Hunters series. If you’ve missed a story, the links are below! And here’s me hoping you already have Brian on pre-order, waiting for it to download something after midnight…

MONTANA BOUNTY HUNTERS
Authentic Men… Real Adventures…
Reaper: https://amzn.to/2NztLpv
Dagger: https://amzn.to/2zo6Dav
Reaper’s Ride: https://amzn.to/2KKkisI
Cochise: https://amzn.to/2zq4avV
Hook: https://amzn.to/2UrpyYh
Wolf: https://amzn.to/2yUTjr5
Animal: https://amzn.to/2H4Roob
Quincy: https://amzn.to/2QlleM8
Brian: https://amzn.to/2Uzn8JB

UPDATE: The winner is…Debra Guyette!
*~*~*

Book #9 in my Montana Bounty Hunters saga isn’t actually Book #9 in Brian’s story.

Brian first appeared in Big Sky SEAL, which was Book #10 in my Uncharted SEALs series. I made the heroine of that book a bounty hunter and liked writing about her bounty hunter partner, Reaper, and her wounded vet best friend, Brian, so much, I decided to write another series, so Montana Bounty Hunters was born! Brian also appeared in Big Sky Wedding, which lives in the MBH world, but isn’t actually a “numbered” book in the series, so readers have seen quite a lot of Brian over the past couple of years.

I dragged my feet writing his story. His required more research than the other stories. Plus, I had to think of ways to make my wounded guy “heroic”. Yes, he was a veteran who lost his legs in the desert—he’s already a hero—but I wanted to give him a chance to grow and to learn that losing your legs doesn’t make you less. Brian had to get his chance to grow and shine. And I think I accomplished that. As well, I wanted to depict his daily struggles, dealing with his disability, without making the story maudlin, if you know what I mean.

Deeply angsty stories aren’t something I write because that’s not who I am. The thought of going into depression while I read or write a deeply angsty book gives me hives. When I’m “forced” to watch a deeply angsty movie, I tend to yell at the screen—“Get over yourself!” I do know lots of people enjoy that kind of read, but I really do have to wonder why they need to “live” in that misery for however long the story takes to reach THE END. 🙂

So, back to Brian. I think it’s a moving book. But it’s also action-filled, sexy as hell, and funny. Getting all these things to happen inside a book about a wounded vet who hasn’t resolved all his issues wasn’t easy, but once I had the story in my head, I swear I wrote it in like eight days. It was just all there.

Finding the art to make the right cover, however, took forever. I needed the right guy to portray this description I wrote in the blurb of the book: There’s something more—not just the haunted look in his eyes or the stubborn set of his chin. The way he looks at her when he thinks her attention is elsewhere gives her hope that she’ll reach him, and that he’ll let her help him regain more of what he’s lost. 

Brian yearns for more, although he denies it. I needed a guy who could portray that yearning without looking like a wimpy wuss. And I needed a picture that could be adapted so that I didn’t display his legs because, from below the knee, he has none. Not yet, anyway.

Solve the puzzle. Enjoy it!

And if you haven’t already pre-ordered the book, do so now! It drops on Monday!

Solve the puzzle, then tell me whether you’re one of those who loves a deeply depressing, angsty kind of book or are you more like me, impatient with them, for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is…Keri Richards!
*~*~*

Hello all and many thanks for Delilah for having me on her blog.

February is the month of love…and Valentine’s Day, and chocolate!

Did you know there’s a stimulant in chocolate called Theobromine (spell and/or say that twice) a bitter alkaloid found in cocoa and chocolate that affects the central nervous system to release endorphins for pleasure? Incidentally, it’s also the ‘cousin’ to my other favorite stimulant: caffeine. A match made in stimulant heaven.

Sign me up!

In the quaint town of Havenport Rhode Island, the fictional backdrop of my stories, there’s a shop and bakery called Led Zeppoli. In almost all of my stories, I mention the bakery’s famous chocolate croissants and exotic blends of coffee. Caffeine fuels my creative genius…well maybe not genius, but it certainly helps me come up with ideas and stay awake.

Led Zeppoli is a play on words between a certain famous four-member English rock group from the sixties and another decadent treat: the Italian zeppole. Ah yes, the zeppole, a fried dough cookie covered in massive amounts of powdered sugar.

Have you ever tried one? No? Well then get to getting because they are heaven in a greasy bag.

Where I grew up in Staten Island, NY was a popular pizza place called Pizza Town, which was located in walking distance from my high school. Besides the best pizza on the planet, Pizza Town sold zeppole and man, oh, man were they delicious. When you opened the white paper bag the powdered sugar puffed a white cloud of sweet goodness into your face.

Many days after school, I would “hang out” with friends at Pizza Town. It’s where I groused about homework and boys, prom dates, and how much Aquanet we put in our hair. Yes, it was the eighties after all. And it’s where I had many conversations with my high school crush who was tragically unaware of my deep-rooted feelings for him. Incidentally, we are still friends but sadly, the old building that was Pizza Town was torn down years ago.

Good memories, indeed.

What makes you get up and go? Coffee? Tea? Soda? All three have caffeine and I find the older I get the more I need something to help me start my day.

One lucky commenter will be chosen at random
and win a $10 Dunkin gift card.

Rescuing the Ranger

Now onto my latest release: The hero and heroine in my latest story, Rescuing the Ranger are Gabe Preston and Francesca Montefiore. Francesca grew up in Little Italy, NYC and now lives in Havenport and owns the florist shop. She loves the small town, which reminds her of the old neighborhood she left behind. When she volunteers her time to help write letters to the troops, she finds an unexpected connection to Havenport and one sexy, former Army Ranger, Gabe who’s in for a visit. And, when her past comes back to haunt her, Gabe comes to the rescue.

Here’s an excerpt to whet your appetite…

God, she hated making him feel any kind of stress. As much as this connection of theirs felt like a million bucks from the first correspondence, in her heart she knew it would cost him. Getting close to anyone again was dangerous. For him and for her.

How Pete had found her was anyone’s guess.

“Look, Gabe. You said it yourself, you’re decompressing after those tours of duty and I…” She stopped, shaking her head, wanting to warn him away. “I’ll destroy you.”

Her voice broke from exhaustion and worry and…damn it, caring and concern for him stuck in her throat. “My past will eventually annihilate this friendship we’ve built with our letters. It’s best if you don’t get mixed up in it, believe me. That’s one of the reasons I never sent you the email. You don’t deserve it.”

She felt compelled to warn him. Hell, he’d survived war as a Ranger, and she wasn’t about to be the person to bring him harm, not when Adele needed him.

His eyes widened before he let out a cynical laugh.

“You? Destroy me?” He crowded her, pushing her back and against the bedpost. His hands wound around her waist, but she couldn’t look up at him, so she fixated on the perfect vee between his pecks. “That’s not possible. My bike helmet weighs more than you.”

“Not physically,” she whispered. “Here, and here.” Frankie finally glanced up and traced his creased temple with her index finger before flattening her palm on his shirt above his heart. God, he was so solid. It would be easy to lean in and borrow his strength. “I know you went through something traumatic back in Afghanistan. I can tell. Those puckers on your hands feel like burns.” At her words, his face paled. “And, you don’t need more strife.”

He closed his eyes for a second and his jaw locked. “You’re so fucking sweet-natured.” He caressed the side of her cheek. She wanted to melt into his touch.

“Don’t you worry about me, and this isn’t just a friendship. You feel it. Don’t deny it. We’re good together, baby. And believe me, you can’t destroy me. Truth is—you kinda saved me.”

Get your copy of Rescuing the Ranger on Amazon. Available in Kindle Unlimited, too: https://amzn.to/2RstmrF

Have a fantastic February filled with love and lots of chocolate and coffee!

Visit me on social media at:
Nicole S. Patrick website: www.nicolespatrick.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NicoleSPatrickauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NicoleSPatrick
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicoles.patrick/

Thank you, Delilah, for hosting me on your blog today. I’m very excited to be here.

One question I get asked a lot is how I come up with my story ideas. Some are based on experiences, things I see or read, and some are based on my family.

I was so excited when my first book was published. I had worked hard on it with my editor. It was a very proud moment when I saw it on Amazon. It was a time travel romance with a handsome druid knight and modern history professor. Everyone loved the book except one reviewer. I read and re-read the critique and finally realized only a small part of the review was about the story, the rest was a personal attack. Devastated, I spoke to a good friend. A day later I had an email from a very well-published author who talked to me about reviews.

How did I turn that into a story? I used some of that review in the opening to my book Happily Ever After. Well-published author Beth Alexander has fallen off all the list and blames it on a bad review that has gone viral and the new author JD Watson, who has replaced her. She has no idea JD is the man romance covers are made of. He may have been the cause of her fall from literary stardom but only until he became her salvation!

One of my stories is about my brother and his wife. They had been married for ten years when they discovered their marriage had never been registered. Their second wedding was wonderful, but it got me thinking about what I could do with that storyline. You can find Alan and Eloise’s story—yes, I used their real first names—in How to Marry a Stuart Brother.

My most recent story, Heart of the Matter, also comes from a family incident. My mother left me her small bible that was handed down in the family. It had a beautiful mother of pearl cover. I was looking through it and found a letter. It was addressed to my mother but wasn’t in my father’s distinctive handwriting.

This was a story begging to be written. This is truly a love story that just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Heart of the Matter

Digging into the past can be murder…

Addison Moore, a well-known psychiatrist, is having difficulty coming to terms with the death of her grandmother Cookie. The woman was everything to her after her parents died in the plane crash over Lockerbie, Scotland. Little did Addy know that an old picture, tucked away in the family bible of Cookie with a handsome stranger would lead her to a discovery for which she is little prepared.

Ethan Taylor is an art historian. He’s lived with his Great Uncle Ben for a long time and would do anything for him. He never anticipated that Ben’s dying wish would introduce him to Ben’s biggest sacrifice.

Neither Addy nor Ethan are prepared for the lengths at which their families went through to keep Cookie and Ben apart. As they try to put the pieces together, they uncover a decade’s old unsolved murder implicating Cookie and Ben. Will Addy and Ethan’s blossoming love be able to stand the strain of finding the truth? Will they be able to overcome their own matters of the heart?

Excerpt from Heart of the Matter

Havenport, Rhode Island
September, 2019

The dull thud of earth hitting the casket again and again tore at Addy’s heart. Generations of Foxes filled the small family cemetery. Some died well into their old age while others died much before they ever lived, the youngest only nineteen days. Addison Moore looked out over the low wall surrounding the family graves, past the cliff, to the ocean beyond. The beauty of the day and the sailboats gliding across the water was lost on her. Addy gaped at the shovel in her hand then the half-covered casket. A movement to her right made her turn. She faced a lone man standing across the grave, bowed in reverence. She didn’t want to interrupt but couldn’t pull her gaze away. He straightened, raised his head, and she stared into the most compelling gray eyes she’d ever seen. The mingled expression of eagerness and tenderness momentarily blurred her pain, but nothing could ease her grief. Her chest tightened. She struggled for breath against lungs unwilling to operate. Beads of sweat dampened her forehead. Her pounding heart echoed in her ears. Again, she tried to take a breath. Nothing.

“Stay calm. Open your mouth,” the man demanded.

But nothing went in or came out. Breathe, damn it! The silent scream echoed in her head. Her lungs burned for air.

Her eyes flew open. Her breath stuttered. One gasp followed another. Addy gaped at the book in her hand, not quite comprehending what she held. A quick glance at the room and the cobwebs cleared. She was alone. Her body sank deeper into the overstuffed chair. Her tension eased. She took a calming breath and let the life-giving air fill her lungs. Home. Her panic subsided and details of the library came into view. The safety of her family’s old Victorian house, Fox Hole Manor, held her close.

The memory faded until it became a lost dream. Only fragments of the disconnected emotional panic permeated her psyche. She rose and put the psychology book, The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, in one of the many boxes scattered around the room. The bookcase with several empty shelves stared back at her like a boxer’s smile with several missing teeth. She made progress, slow, but progress nonetheless.

The hint of ginger floating on the dusty air made her turn toward the hall. A smile spread across her face. Her grandmother. Many people would expect a robust woman with gray hair, and perhaps an apron and the aroma of freshly baked apple pie coming from the kitchen. Not Addy’s grandmother, who stood tall, sleek, a well-dressed woman with short light auburn hair streaked with silver, and sporting only a touch of make-up.

“Make sure the shelves are dusted and the floor swept. I don’t want the historical society to think I didn’t keep a clean house. Besides, you never know when company may arrive.”

Everything had a place in Cookie’s house, including the twist ties lined up in the kitchen drawer. The woman kept every book, note, piece of paper, everything. Cookie considered herself organized, not compulsive. More often than not, their ongoing discussion, with examples, brought them both to tears.

Fox Hole Manor was one of the oldest homes on Manor Road, an area where the old guard lived in their grand mansions, an extension of the magnificent estates across the causeway in Newport. The children of each generation found a closeness and a tie that lasted a lifetime. They were civic-minded and politically active, with Havenport at the heart and soul of it all.

All those years ago, Edythe Emerson, of the annual Halloween Masquerade Ball fame, and Cookie rallied the other residents on Manor Road and established the Manor Road Christmas Cookie Exchange. One hundred percent of the proceeds went to the Havenport Historical Society.

Nothing was done small on Manor Road, not even the annual Christmas Cookie Exchange. Cookie and Edythe decided on the themes for their houses and each year added touches and refined the décor. The Emersons decided on an elegant Victorian Christmas. Her grandmother branded her event Cups and Cookies at Cookie’s, which brought peals of laughter from everyone. Her grandmother put her heart and soul into decorating the house and handled this event with the same attention. Each meticulously decorated room on the tour represented a different faith’s winter celebration.

Hot chocolate with a dash of cinnamon and pungent ginger cookies greeted each visitor entering the Garden Room. The cups and cookies were always arranged on the table with precision. Yes. Everything had its place. No one would ever accuse her grandmother of a messy house.

The outside of the house, with its welcoming front porch and strategically placed flowerpots in place of railings, was just as important to Cookie as the inside and made Fox Hole Manor at Christmas a mecca for tourists. A must-see stop during the holidays. People came to watch the live deer that magically stayed on the lawn, the 1936 red Cadillac convertible filled with wrapped gifts parked outside the front door in the circular drive, and hear holiday music playing from strategically hidden speakers.

“I’ll make sure everything is neat and clean,” Addy said. “Is there anything else?”

“Concerning yesterday,” Cookie said.

She gave her grandmother a withering glance.

“There’s a finality in shoveling dirt onto the casket. The task takes a lot of love. I’m proud of you. All-in-all, the funeral was well-attended.”

Addy shuddered and searched for her cup of tea without success. “Please find another topic. This one creeps me out.”

Cookie raised a finely shaped eyebrow. “Should we discuss you finding a husband?”

Addy’s eyes welled up.

“So you made a bad choice. Live and learn. I think you should have waited. Neither of you knew each other very long.”

“We lived together for two years. I thought we knew each other very well.”

Another of Cookie’s stares meant to intimidate almost comforted her.

“You came to your senses before the wedding.”

Addie came to her senses a year ago. Her grandmother had it right, as usual. Don’t settle. Wait for the right man.

“It’s time for you to move on. Find your destiny.” Cookie leaned against the door frame. “What’s-his-name was an okay guy. I even liked him until you rushed here and cried in my arms. Afterwards, I pretty much hated him. Has he stopped calling you?”

“Yes,” Addy lied.

Cookie gave her a stink eye.

“Why the evil eye?” she asked, sounding like a high school teenager.

“You are aware Kenneth doesn’t believe the two of you are over. He doesn’t think sleeping with his secretary for the last year of your relationship has anything to do with you. The very obtuse boy thinks you have cold feet, not a cold heart, and doesn’t believe you’ll ever find a better man than him.” Her grandmother’s voice was quiet, but deadly. “I’m holding you to your promise. You’ll wait for the right man. Are you listening to me? Not just any man, not an okay man. The right man. Your destiny.”

Addy nodded. The words were etched in her brain, Cookie said them so often, even well before Kenneth Kendall made it into her diary.

“Was Grandpa Sky the right man?” She could play the deflect game, too.

Cookie smiled one of those wistful smiles loaded with silent meaning, said nothing and headed down the hall.

Addy followed, intent on getting an answer. She entered the kitchen. Empty. Her heart sank. Last Friday’s paper sat on the table next to her cold half-empty cup of tea.

“This is the story of Dr. Jessica Fox Jordan. Jessica was a wonderful woman who was loved, is missed, and will always be cherished. Called “Cookie,” by her only granddaughter, Addison Moore and a privileged few close friends, “Honey,” by her husband Skylar, and Jessie to everyone else, was an amazing wife, mother, grandmother, psychiatrist, and baker of the most amazing cookies. No one could bake a better ginger cookie than Jessica. Attendance at Fox Hole Manor for the Manor Road Christmas Cookie Exchange proves my point. Jessica Fox Jordan was the only child of Madison and Mildred Fox. Madison Fox was the colorful and flamboyant founder of the privately-owned Fox Brewery. Jessica is predeceased by her husband, Skylar; her daughter, Agatha Jordan Moore; and son-in-law, Phillip Moore. She is survived by her granddaughter, Addison Moore.”

The sense of loss hit her hard all over again.

“I miss you, Cookie.” A nervous laugh sounding more like a croak escaped her lips. “I’m not ready to let you go.”

Buy Link: Amazon Kindle Unlimited