During this wonderful Labor Day holiday, the harpies and I (and 27 other authors) are going on a Labor of Love Blog Hop (#LOLHop). From sweet to dark, divas of romance work their fingers to the bone for your reading pleasure in the Labor of Love Blog hop from 9/4-9/6. Come join me and enter to win a Kindle with new, heart-pounding titles just for you!
Happily ever afters only come after heart-breaking work, and this Labor Day weekend, we are celebrating our written labors of love by giving our readers a chance to win a brand-spankin’ new Kindle with our personal bests. That’s right, you could win all of our books! Aren’t you excited? We are! So here’s your chance, just click the link below to enter our giveaway:
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The Turning Creek series, set in a small mountain town in Colorado in 1858, is full of the descendants of Greek half-myths and monsters. From the moment I started writing about Turning Creek and the harpies, I fell in love, with the mountains, with the people, and with the harpies themselves. What is life and adventure without a little love?
The scene I have chosen is from Storm in the Mountains, which is on the Kindle we are giving away. It features Marina, a sword wielding, whiskey slinging harpy, and Reed, an honest sheriff trying to hold peace in a valley full of monsters. Reed has heard rumors of a chimera in the area and has asked Marina on the hunt as back-up.
From the Back Cover: Marina Ocypete is a harpy, a Remnant of the Greek myth living in a small town in the Colorado Territory. She would rather start a decent fight than sit around idle. The local sheriff offers her a job as a deputy which seems like a better choice than suffering from boredom, but Reed Brant has a way of getting under her skin. With the influx of Remnants in his town, Reed needs Marina’s skills as a harpy to keep the peace. His head knows she is not the get married and settled down type he wants, but she might be just the thing his heart desires. When women start disappearing in Turning Creek, it will be up to Marina and Reed to find the cause behind the fear gripping their town. Marina will have to choose between a fate she never questioned and the man who makes her believe even a harpy can have a heart.
eBook available from Amazon, Google Play, Nook, AllRomance, and Kobo.
Print available from , CreateSpace and Amazon
Excerpt of Storm in the Mountains
Marina looked around the creek. They had been walking upstream long enough. “There are no signs of an exit here. Let’s go back and move downstream.”
They passed the spot where they had turned north and kept going. The sun was arcing towards the mountain peaks, and the decent light would be gone soon. Pressure to find some trace of the chimera, if that was actually what they were looking for, ate at Marina.
“What was your mother like?” Reed asked.
Marina tried not to think of her mother often. “I think she cared for me in her own way. Harpies are not the best of mothers. She taught me what she thought I needed to know to survive.”
Reed paused on his side of the creek and moved his gaze from the gravel to Marina’s face. “And what does a harpy need to know?”
“How to fight in my mortal form. How to use a knife and a sword. She was an old-fashioned sort, so I had to teach myself how to use a firearm. She taught me how to use my harpy skill of speed, how to be a weapon, and to love what I am.” Marina felt her harpy preen with pride at the list.
Reed chuckled and walked on. “I can see your pride shining from here. I’ll admit you’re the fastest thing I’ve ever seen. Don’t get too full of yourself.”
Marina grinned in delight. “That’s the best compliment I’ve had all day, Sheriff.”
The sun sunk lower until the bottom of the orange orb touched the peaks to the west. If they were going to find something, it needed to be now. It would soon be too dark to do any tracking.
Marina listened to Reed’s measured steps on the other bank. “What are we going to do if we find the chimera or whatever it is?”
Reed looked at the coming sunset then turned to Marina. “I know how you like to swing first and maybe ask questions at a later date. I’d like to talk to it first and see if he means harm. Most of the people around here don’t know a thing about Remnants, and I think we’d all like to keep it that way for now. So we talk first.”
Marina put her hands on her hips. “I’m the model of peace and patience. I’d never start a fight unprovoked.”
Reed snorted. “Unless you were restless.”
Marina laughed and kept walking. “Best way to shake out the boredom of a day. Followed by a stiff drink.”
The sound of Reed’s footsteps slowed, and Marina turned to ask him if he had found something. The hair on her neck rose seconds before a tan and black blur bounded from the trees and knocked Reed from his feet and into the water of the creek.
The change exploded over her in a flurry of feathers. Her harpy screamed in outrage as she dove for the chimera holding Reed under the water in the stream as he struggled. That slinking piece of filth is not going to drown him, she thought. Reed was hers to protect. Hers.
I hope the idea of Greek myths flying around the mountains and getting into shenanigans sounds as much fun to you as it does to me. The first book in the series, Lightning in the Dark is also available. The third book, Letters in the Snow, will be out early 2016.
Need something to read? Comment on this post for a chance to win an ecopy of Lightning in the Dark in the format of your choice. Answer the question: What is your current labor of love? I will announce the winner on 9/8.
Thank you for join joining our Labors of Love Blog Hop. To read more fabulous stories, click the link below and work your way through our participating authors: