I’m so excited it’s finally here! Knox and Carleen were so much fun to write! What should you expect? Do you see that cover? It’s the story. Seriously. Girl chases boy. Boy chases girl. Sexy times abound. And I’d so move to Dead Horse if it existed. If you have the time and the inclination, tell someone about it and/or leave a review so another reader will know it’s worth a read. I can’t wait to hear what you think about it! Enjoy!
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 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.
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.
I’m so excited! If you pre-ordered Jackson, you should already have it! It’s a fun, sexy read, and you’ll see the other hunters and folks from around Dead Horse “peopling” the story, too. I love writing in this world. I hope you enjoy their latest adventure. If you have the time and the inclination, please leave a review!
MONTANA BOUNTY HUNTERS:
DEAD HORSE, MT Authentic Men… Real Adventures…
The games begin when a bounty hunter, who likes working alone, clashes with a cable TV showrunner who’s determined to make him a part of her show…
Jackson Black’s life is just fine. He is free to work when he wants, as much as he wants. He has the freedom of the open road, nothing and nobody weighing him down—until he crosses paths with a group of bounty hunters deep in a national forest, who are trying to steal his skip from under him. Worse, the hunters have a film crew with them, led by a woman who won’t take no when he refuses to sign a contract for the use of the footage her crew has filmed. After giving her his firm no thank you, he loads his skip into his vehicle and drives away.
Rachel Cabot didn’t get where she is, the showrunner for her network’s two highest-rated cable shows, without being committed to her job. She’ll do whatever it takes. If it means following Jackson Brown then catching him on tape doing something sketchy to “convince” him to do what she wants, so be it. However, she suffers immediate remorse and decides to apologize to Jackson but can never find the right moment to do so. What she doesn’t know is that Jackson has turned the tables on her.
When Jackson is invited to join the hunters on a high-value takedown, with Rachel’s crew accompanying them, their personal stakes just get higher.
This is the last day of March! Where does the time go? Without any further ado, I’ll dive right into my recap…
March
Work-related:
I completed work on my latest Montana Bounty Hunter story, Mica! And I published it!!!
I’ve been doing minimal work on the Silver Soldiers anthology, which comes out May 9th! Mostly, working on a promotional calendar with the authors in the anthology.
I completed only 3 editing projects for other authors in March. The injury to my hand severely impacted my ability to work at my usual pace, at least for the first half of the month.
Health-related:
I continued wearing the brace on my hand until March 17th. The break is healed, but now I have to work on physical therapy to improve my hand’s function. My hand aches after I use it for a while, and my fingers get numb when I hold a paintbrush or pen for very long.
I had a visit with a cardiologist this month. He has me wearing a monitor stuck to my chest for a week to see how it functions day to day. It’s beating a little slowly and has a slight arrhythmia. My blood pressure is still way too high, but the cardiologist adjusted my meds, and we’ll see how that goes.
I haven’t been dieting like I should, what with my heart and blood pressure issues, and I haven’t been great about cutting my salt intake. My weight loss is stagnant! I think I was a little depressed by my hand injury. I could tell because I wanted to sleep way too much and didn’t want to go out at all. I don’t like to wallow in negativity, but it has been hard to motivate myself to move forward.
As for physical activity, I’m not doing enough. Again, I’m feeling tired all the time. Which I know has to do with my weight, meds, and inactivity. All my issues are interrelated. I just need to get my fat ass off this chair and move more often.
Happiness-related:
I’m back participating with my local art guild or humanities council. We had some planning meetings for upcoming exhibits and programs. It felt good to get out and mingle again.
I am still participating in the #the100dayproject art online art challenge. As of today, I’m on Day 38. Here are a few of my March pieces…
April
For work-related, I plan:
To complete my short story for the Silver Soldiers anthology.
To compile all the Silver Soldiers stories into the anthology and get it formatted for release on May 9th.
To begin work on Cold Hard Cash, the first of the We Are Dead Horse series.
To complete 4 editing projects in April!
For health related, I plan:
To restart counting those points for my Weight Watchers diet (I hate that word) and hopefully shed at least another 5 pounds, remembering, as always: Slow is good!
To continue to reduce salt, processed food, and incorporate foods good for blood pressure (spinach, broccoli, bananas, red wine).
To get the pool cleaned up—as soon as the weather cooperates—so that the minute the water is warm enough, I’m swimming (hopefully by end of April).
To begin walking and counting my steps.
I’ll re-dedicate myself to doing more housework, too, because my art room is a disaster. And cleaning is exercise, right?
For happiness-related, I plan:
To continue producing some small piece of art every day as part of #the100dayproject. I’m volunteering several times a month to sit in the Art Center to keep it open. I use those quiet days away from my computer just to paint!
Try to complete one of the many already paid-for online art classes I’ve lined up to do.
To blog about art (on my Emerald Casket site) just to keep myself honest!
To work toward re-opening my Etsy store!
Contest
Comment on anything you’ve read in this post. Tell me what you’re doing to make yourself happier and healthier. Tell me what you plan to read in April…
Like I said, comment on anything for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!
Dear Friends! Mica is here! I hope you’ll read it and that you’ll love it! As always, there’s plenty of action, humor, and sexiness! And if you have the inclination, leave a review somewhere. Tell another reader it’s okay to take a chance on a crazy little town called Dead Horse! ~DD
MONTANA BOUNTY HUNTERS: DEAD HORSE, MT
Authentic Men… Real Adventures…
An ex-Special Forces bounty hunter, who likes working alone, accepts the challenge of teaching a feisty young woman how to hunt…
Former Army Special Forces, Mica Ford, is a bounty hunter now. He likes the work and likes being his own boss. When a hunt goes awry, and a team of hunters from Montana Bounty Hunters provides an assist, he’s persuaded to at least listen to what the head of their agency has to offer and agrees to a meeting.
Amy Calloway wants more than anything to prove to the people of Dead Horse, Montana, that she’s not a loser simply because she shares a last name with “those Calloway brothers.” Since she’s not cut out for any other more reputable job, she has set her sights on being a bounty hunter. She’s fit, has spent an afternoon or two at the firing range, and has watched every episode of Bounty Hunters of the Northwest – We’re Dead Horse. When she walks into the MBH office to ask for a job, she knows she’s as ready as she’ll ever be.
Mica has no intention of accepting a job with MBH, but he watches Amy work up the courage to demand her chance. Her sincerity and courage impress him, and it doesn’t hurt that she’s cute as hell. He finds himself accepting a trial run working with the team and then commits to training Amy—just to make sure she stays safe. However, keeping her safe while teaching her how to hunt becomes a challenge when Amy starts improvising during takedowns…
Plagued with guilt after her brother’s death, a grieving woman has a chance at a second chance.
Living in a haze of mistrust and tragedy, Chosen Shaw has closed herself off from everyone. Once known for her ability to see things that can help others, she’s now the woman who killed her brother.
Bend Ryder is the new sheriff in town and has a mess to clean up after the last one met an untimely death. He’s eating, sleeping and breathing a cold case involving a mysterious kidnapping, and is willing to do anything to solve the case—even if that includes looking outside of the box. Truthfully, he doesn’t believe Chosen has a “gift” but enlisting her help might be his only hope.
But, she’s left that world behind. Can he convince her to help?
Soon, they find themselves embroiled in another kidnapping.
The two find a solid connection, despite the pressures all around them. As trust and romance grow, the demons of the past start to build walls. They have a tight hold on her emotionally and physically. If she has any chance for a future with the man she loves, she must absolve herself from the guilt and let love heal her heart…and help solve a crime that has been a dark cloud over Second Chance.
Protecting His Second Chance is a story of grief, guilt, angst, redemption, and a happily ever after. Love is the ultimate healer.
“It’s okay. This happens to all men.” The seductive blonde brushed her fingers down his bare abs.
Bend Ryder drew his hand away from his forehead and looked down at the woman curled up beside him in his bed. She peered up at him through a veil of thick eyelashes and her plump lips slowly eased into a teasing grin. Farrah was new in town, visiting after her uncle, Sheriff Jackson Mellough, met an untimely death on Snowbleed Mountain.
Two days after his private funeral, the town of Second Chance elected Bend to office—or rather dumped the duties into his lap and expected him to clean up the mess. Since then, he’d been busy undoing everything Mellough had done over his long career.
Farrah slid her fingers along the waistband of his boxers. “It’s the stress.” Her slight movement caused the sheet to slip away from her hip. A diamond glistened at her belly button and a quarter sized heart tattoo sat an inch above her pelvic bone. Sweat beaded Bend’s brow and he cursed under his breath.
“Maybe I can help solve the problem,” she purred.
She shifted to her knees, but Bend caught her shoulders in a gentle grip. Her chin snapped up and she nailed him with her brooding brown gaze. The tip of her tongue slid over her bottom lip as if to remind him what he was missing.
A woman as beautiful and desirable as Farrah had never faced this problem, he surmised, even if she tried to pacify his ego by saying this sort of thing happened all the time. A streak of disappointment sliced through him. Truthfully, he’d never had this particular issue before tonight.
Maybe it was the stress.
“I don’t think this is going to work.” He kicked the sheet away from his feet and slid to the edge of the bed. “Sorry.” He stood, glancing down at her. She now had the sheet tight against her breasts as if she were saving the view for someone worthy.
Damn. He was broken.
Grabbing his jeans off the floor, he stepped into them. He realized her gaze was still on him, maybe expecting him to change his mind? He continued to pull his clothes on.
“I think I know what’s happening.” She bounced on the springy mattress, her smile returning.
“Then you mind explaining it to me?” What he wanted was for her to get dressed and leave so he could lick his wounded pride in peace.
“That case you’ve been working on. The cold case with the missing child. Something like that could just about wear down anyone.” She grabbed her cellphone from the nightstand and scrolled through the screen, giggling. “Do you have TikTok, cowboy?”
“Nope.” He turned his back to her.
“You should. These videos are so weird but they’re funny. Anyway, we could make a video with you asking the public for help. We can do that now.”
“I’ll think about it.” But he knew he wouldn’t. He didn’t want anything to do with social media, and he especially didn’t want to look at her. He was embarrassed, and no doubt this would be the first and last time he and Farrah would be naked together. She didn’t need to waste her time on a man who just dipped out on her.
The case of the missing five-year-old, Bradley Hoffman, did weigh heavily on Bend’s shoulders. Once he’d taken over as sheriff, he’d gone through the unsolved cases in the area and something about the information—or rather the lack there of—set off alarm bells in his head. For the last two months, Bend had been eating, sleeping, breathing the mysterious kidnapping. The boy had been riding his bike alone and he vanished from the dead-end road leading to the apartment complex where he and his mother lived. The bike had been found but the boy was gone. Mom’s call to Mellough didn’t come until the next day. Not one witness came forward and out of the ten or so people interviewed no one saw anything suspicious.
“It’s not called a cold case for no reason.” Farrah pushed herself off the bed, completely confident in her nude body.
He slowly fastened each button on his shirt while he watched her dress. She even did that with an air of seduction. He’d be kicking himself in the ass for days—maybe longer. He hadn’t been with a woman in months, and his dry spell wouldn’t be ended today. “I’ve turned over every stone, every piece of dirt, and I’ve found nothing. How can a child disappear without a trace?” He dropped down on the end of the bed and dragged over his boots.
Once she had her romper into place, she flounced over and plopped down beside him. “You’re being too hard on yourself. Jackson had been a lot of things, but one thing’s for certain, he loved the attention a solved, high-profile case brought him. Maybe this case isn’t solvable?”
Bend had never been a quitter. He wouldn’t have taken the job unless he knew wholeheartedly that he was a right fit, and had the right intentions. He agreed that Mellough loved his ego being stroked, but the man also had a lazy streak the size of Montana. “Every case is solvable.”
Farrah laid her hand on his shoulder. He liked her, but happily ever after just wasn’t in the cards for them. They enjoyed hanging out, grabbing a beer on occasion and discussing life. Although she could be a bit flighty and ran through men like an out-of-control bulldozer, she also had a good head on her shoulders. She had a lot of dreams for her future. Earlier, they’d been downstairs in Crew and Brew shooting some pool when out of the blue she asked if she could see his bedroom.
The rest was history…literally.
“Hey, it’s important that you stay ahead of this. You’re better than my bastard of an uncle. People don’t doubt this, so don’t doubt yourself. There will be plenty of cases.”
He offered her a smile. “You’re a good woman, Farrah.”
“I know.” She stood and jutted her chin at the crumpled bed sheets. “And that’s why I’m not going to let this bother me.”
This is just a quick flyby like all my posts lately. I’ll be so happy to be rid of this stupid hand splint thingy. Tapping keys with three fingers is a pain. Doing shift key things is an even bigger pain because it slows me down while I use my right thumb them hunt and peck to find the keys with my left hand. My left-hand doesn’t know where the keys I hit with the right are, so I have to look down at the keyboard. Again, *whine*whine*whine*
I’m such a baby. And how I hate to call a kid or my daughter to pick things up for me or carry things downstairs for me. It’s endless, and then they get mad at me if I attempt it on my own. Gah
How are you doing today?
This is just a quick reminder that this freebie will go away soon,
so download your copy now! The Runaway Bride
I think every day until my splint comes off, I’m going to gripe. Today, I have a bumpy rash between my fingers. After I shower, I’m going to leave off the splint and let my hand dry with some anti-yeast cream to see if that helps. My fingers being forced together all day is likely making it humid there. *whine-whine-whine*
I pushed around a vacuum cleaner with my hip and left hand yesterday. Tried to dust, but it took too long, so I decided I’d live with the dust until I can bribe a grandkid to do it for me. I directed the cleaning of Loki’s fish tank, but my daughter was horrified by the smell of fishy water and the poop. Again, I’ll bribe another kid to help with that, too. *whine-whine-whine*
I wish I’d broken my left hand because I can’t write with my left, so I’m abandoning my planner for the time being. *whine-whine-whine*
Tonight, after I do some real work today (editing), I’ll clear my desktop which has been a gathering place for coffee mugs and mail I can’t open without ripping it to shreds. All my scissors are naturally right-handed. I’ll give the 9-year-old my letter opener and have her go to town opening all my mail and laying it on my newly cleared desktop. *whine-whine-whine*
EVERYTHING IS A FUCKING PROCESS THAT HAS TO BE PLANNED. I’ll shower today and maybe forgo underwear to make my life a little easier. Wish I had a muumuu to throw over my head so I wouldn’t have to deal with pulling up my pants. *whine-whine-whine*
You folks have been wonderfully patient reading through my whine-fest. Here’s your reward:
