UPDATE: The winner is…Beth!
*~*~*

I can’t wait to share the story I just finished writing!

It’s one of those projects of the heart that writers seldom get to do. I’d put it on my schedule so many times, but knowing what actually sells had me pushing it aside year after year. This year, I used my determination to complete the NaNoWriMo challenge to finish the darn story.

I hope you’ll read it. It was soooo much fun to write, and it made me cry at the end. If you haven’t pre-ordered your copy, just click on the cover! It’s a cute cover, right?

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle then tell me which of these LGD story elements I listed for the puzzle intrigues you!

UPDATE: The winner is…Pansy Petal!
*~*~*

I’m busy working on a book this NaNoWriMo! It’s one I’ve been wanting to write for forever. Seriously. I shaped the opening of the story back in 2002—twenty-one years ago, and those first chapters were sent to many, many writer’s contests, and gained awards, but something happened that pushed this project to the back of the line—I got published. And then I got published again, and again, and again.

I learned what I could write that would sell, and every time I saw Little Green Dreams in my “Future Projects” folder, I’d sigh because I knew (know) it would be a hard sale.

So, why now? I love this story for a whole lot of reasons I’ll try to explain here.

#1 — It’s the only story I’ve set in Arkansas, where I currently live, and where I spent my high school and college years.

#2 — My father, who passed in 2019, led me down the train tracks in his hometown of Gurdon, Arkansas, so that I could get “the lay of the land” when I wrote about the Gurdon Light. He was delighted I thought the legend was “worthy” of a book.

#3 — Many of the characters I write about in the story are modelled after real people I’ve met. If you read the story, you may think I’ve written some over-the-top characters, but yes, they’re that funny and odd.

#4 — It’s a story that’s hard to pin into one genre. It’s contemporary, a romantic comedy, and it’s both a sci-fi and paranormal tale. So, there!

Despite all the reasons I know I should concentrate on something you’ll be eager to read, I’m stubbornly, finally, writing this story—a strange little homage to my roots and my dad.

Little Green Dreams

Still no official cover, but I’m working on it!

Sometimes, Joe Franchetti hates his job at the National Informer, especially when he’s sent on assignment to cover a story involving aliens from another world. When he is sent to investigate the story of a woman in rural Arkansas who claims her husband was abducted by aliens, he vows to debunk her story, no matter how much the truth might hurt her attractive daughter.

Sandra Billingsley has a problem. Her stepfather is missing, and her mother is the prime suspect in his disappearance. In addition to protecting her eccentric mother from a possible murder investigation, now she must contend with a national tabloid reporter set on exposing her mother as a murderess or a madwoman.

While the investigation turns up more suspects and the local townspeople scheme to profit from the “alien invasion”, Joe and Sandra work together to unravel the mystery, knowing their attraction is doomed to end in pain when the truth is revealed.

Pre-order your copy now!
Read an excerpt here!

Contest

I’m a huge fan of Sci-Fi movies and TV. My favorites include ALL THE STAR TREKS, Arrival, Aliens, Farscape, and Firefly.

For a chance to win your choice of story from among my backlisted books, tell me which science fictions movies or television shows you would recommend!

Little Green Dreams

(I don’t have the final cover yet!)

Coming December 19th!

Sometimes, Joe Franchetti hates his job at the National Informer. Especially, when he’s sent on assignment to cover a UFO story. When he is sent to investigate the story of a woman in rural Arkansas who claims her husband was abducted by aliens, he vows to debunk her story, no matter how much the truth might hurt her attractive daughter.

Sandra Billingsley has a problem. Her stepfather is missing and her mother is the prime suspect in his disappearance. In addition to protecting her eccentric mother from a possible murder investigation, now she must contend with a national tabloid reporter set on exposing her mother as a murderess or a madwoman.

While the investigation turns up more suspects and the local townspeople scheme to profit from the “alien invasion”, Joe and Sandra work together to unravel the mystery, knowing their attraction is doomed to end in pain when the truth is revealed.

Pre-order now!

Malcolm

Coming January 16th!

I know very little about what’s going to happen in Malcolm’s book, but I do know things are shaking up in the Dead Horse office. Some folks are moving to Yellowstone soon, so Malcolm will be a newer addition to backfill the Dead Horse agency. What happens after that? Who knows? I won’t until I put my fingers on the keys, but you know it’s going to be fun!

Pre-order now!

What Happens in Bozeman

Coming February 20th!

All I know about this story is that it takes place in Bozeman, Montana, in the middle of a snowstorm, when two people, who never expect to see each other again, go for it. Only, they see each all too soon back in Dead Horse, MT. He’s the fireman daddy of a kid in her brand-new classroom…

Pre-order now!

UPDATE: The winners are…commenters 1-8! Congrats, all!
*~*~*

Yes, I’ve said it before—I am a word nerd, a true logophile, a “lover of words.”

When I was a kid, I loved finishing my reading assignments because then I could go to the front of the class and read through the very large dictionary my teacher kept open on a podium. I loved learning new words and finding out their etymology (their origins). I studied Latin for four years during junior high and high school and loved it because I learned even more about the origin of everyday words. So, yes. I’m a complete nerd, and I was meant to be a writer and editor—it just took forty years for me to discover that!

Today is an unofficial holiday: Dictionary Day. It’s a celebration of Noah Webster, born on October 16, 1758, who is best known for publishing An American Dictionary of the English Language. It’s the great-grandfather of today’s The Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

If you’re a word nerd like me, check out the Merriam-Webster website! There, you have access to their on-line dictionary and thesaurus, plus you can play word games and pick out gifts for the word nerds you love! You can even subscribe to “Word a Day” and MW will send you a new word to love every day. There’s also a phone app you can download!

So, do you love words and dictionaries? Do you have a favorite word? For a chance to win a downloadable book on my backlist, comment below!

Also, don’t forget…

Releasing tonight after midnight…

Pre-order the eBook now!
Or order your print copy now!

Before I pull my tarot card, I just wanted to remind you that Hard Knox will be released sometime after midnight tomorrow! Have you preordered your copy yet?

Sunday Tarot

Grrr. The card isn’t actually “The Devil.” That’s Pan, the half-goat/half-man, playing his reed flute while holding the chains of two humans (with horns, why?) who are dancing to his music. It also appears that they are inside a deep dark cave, which, to me, indicates Pan is trying to hide something. When I look at this card, I think it’s telling me that I will be captured by a mood or temptations around me this week that will try to keep me doing things I shouldn’t.

When I check The Mythic Tarot book, it tells me that I can free my “creative power” by gaining knowledge to face “my own darkness.” Okaaaay. I like my interpretation better.

In any case, I will have my work cut out for me to get anything done.

Open Contests

1. FREE READ! “Ripples” from SILVER SOLDIERS! Download now! — This giveaway ends very soon! Get your FREE copy now!
2. Saturday Puzzle-Contest! — Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Word Search: Businesses you find in a small town… (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Saturday Puzzle-Contest, Plus a Bounty Hunter Poll! — Win an Amazon gift card!

In case you haven’t ordered your copy yet! Here’s a reminder.

After relentlessly pursuing the biggest badass around and failing, Dead Horse, Montana’s wild child offers him an irresistible proposition—one night of passion, one and done, and she’ll walk away forever…

Dead Horse, Montana’s wild child, Carleen Crossley, knows what she wants—or rather—who. She’s spent years chasing after Knox Ramsey, the biggest badass in Dead Horse, MT. However, she’s resigned herself to the fact that her methods of gaining his affection aren’t reaping any rewards. Yes, her antics keep the townsfolk amused, and Knox definitely knows she’s alive, but she has yet to break through his cold, hard heart to claim her man.

For Knox, Carleen is impossible to ignore. She’s everywhere he is. The sexy vixen has made him uncomfortably aware that she’s his for the taking, and the Lord knows he’s tempted. However, he knows he’s not the man for her. He’s his father’s son with his father’s temper, and he won’t succumb to Carleen’s charms because she deserves better than him. So, when her sexy short skirts and heavenly scent drive him crazy, he curls his fists and pretends disinterest to keep from reaching for her.

In one moment of frustration over his refusal to really see her and everything she’s offering, Carleen proposes a deal Knox finds impossible to resist. One night of passion—one and done—and she’ll never bother him again.

When she keeps her promise afterward, Knox’s pursuit begins because once was not enough.

Pre-order your copy now!

I struggled for a few months at the end of last year and the beginning of 2023. I wasn’t feeling well, broke a hand. Wasn’t motivated. I missed a couple of releases. One, I’m not sure I’ll ever write. The other, Hard Knox, felt…off. I wasn’t ready to write it because it wasn’t where I needed to start my We Are Dead Horse, MT series. So, I took the hit for Hard Knox and moved on to Mica, which I loved writing. I was back with my bounty hunters in my comfort zone. Only then was I ready to tackle Cold Hard Cash, which became the first book in the new series centered around the “townies.” In Cash’s story, you see plenty of Knox and Carleen who are the stars of Hard Knox. I hope you’ll be ready for them because it’s going to be HAWT! It’s out on pre-order now! AGAIN.

Remember, I have the next bounty hunter book, Jackson, coming out in July! I’m writing that story as we speak, and you know what you get with the hunters—lots of action, humor, and sexiness!

A few days ago, I was also given back the rights to a novella that had appeared in the Men in Uniform anthology, published by Entangled a few years ago. My sister, Elle James, put together a new cover for the book, and now, it’s up for pre-order. If you love Navy SEALs, this story is for you. There’s some military complex criming going on, perpetrated by the heroine’s billionaire ex-fiancé, who’s building some high-tech armor for the battlefield—but you’ll need to read the story to see how it all goes down.

Coming June 27th!

Pre-order your copy now!

Coming July 11th!

Pre-order now!

Coming September 12th!

Pre-order Now!