Three Widows of Wylder by Julie Howard
Give a Spooktacular welcome to Julie Howard, author of Three Widows of Wylder, part of the wildly popular Wylder West Series. Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cauldron. Take your choice of a bat wing Chocolate Chip or Pumpkin, or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about Judy and her Three Widows of Wylder.
Okay Julie, what was the hardest decision you ever made?
To go back to work after I had children. I loved my job but was so torn about leaving my kids in someone else’s care. I ended up quitting that job three different times to stay home with my children for a while. It was a stretch financially but we made it work. My employer was soooo patient with me and always took me back.
Who would you recommend this book to and what should readers be aware of before reading it?
This has appeal to lovers of historical fiction, those interested in the American Old West, and women who enjoy stories about strong women who overcome the odds. There is a dark theme in this story – each woman has a terrible secret in her past. This isn’t a light read, though there’s plenty of humor, but it is a story of redemption and survival.
What inspired you to write?
I’m inspired by all the wonderful books I’ve enjoyed over the years. I always wanted to be a writer too and create stories others would enjoy. Books are a gift – I so appreciate the wonderful authors out there who have produced their stories.
Do you see yourself in your characters?
There’s a bit of me in all my characters, even the bad ones. I’m not sure how it could be otherwise. I don’t mean I’ve done the things my characters have, but I can dig deep and find a glimmer of understanding how a character might react a certain way. I try to get inside their mind (strange, because they are literally in my mind) and become them while I’m writing their scenes.
Tell us three things we’d find if we looked under your heroine’s bed?
Great question! I have three main characters. There wouldn’t be anything under Clara’s bed as she’s an impeccable housewife. Mary Rose will have an old corset, a boxful of ribbons, two pairs of knickers, five pairs of shoes and a box of stale candy under hers. Emma will store several rabbit snares under her bed, along with a bag of marbles she won five years ago from a boy in a bet at school.
SPEED ROUND FOR A LITTLE ADDED FUN:
Speed Round (one word only answer): Yep, I know torture for a writer!<evil laugh>
Favorite movie: Squid Game (current series)
Favorite book: The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck
Last book read: Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
Favorite color: Green
Stilettos or flipflops: Flipflops
Coffee or tea: Coffee
Ebook or audiobook or paperback: Anything
Pencil or pen: Pen
Favorite song: Imagine by John Lennon
Favorite dessert: Anything chocolate
Favorite junk food: Nachos
Favorite thing to do to relax: Read!
Champagne or gin: Gin
Paranormal or Historical: Tough one, but maybe historical has the edge
Wonder Woman or Top Model: Wonder Woman
Favorite TV show: Seinfeld
Hot or cold: Cold
I’d die if I don’t have: My family
Now tell us a little about Three Widows of Wylder.
After the death of her husband, Clara flees a hanging judge and seeks refuge with her brother in Wylder, Wyoming.
With secrets of her own and good reasons to flee, spoiled and vain Mary Rose joins Clara on the trek to Wyoming. Surely a suitable man exists somewhere.
Emma is a mystery. A crack shot and expert horsewoman, her harrowing past seeps out in a steady drip. She’s on the run from something, but what?
After the three women descend on Wylder, a budding romance leads to exposure of their pasts. As disaster looms, will any of them escape?
Sneak peek between the pages of Three Widows of Wyyder.
Emma stood, legs apart, one hand on the pistol at her hip. The covered wagon was the type used years ago by pioneers, before trains tamed the prairie, and they still lumbered across areas where tracks hadn’t been laid. Two women sat side-by-side, too focused on their argument to yet notice the camp they entered. Their one horse, overmatched by the heavy wagon, was damp with sweat, its mouth flecked with froth.
“We should have stayed on the main road.” The peevish one appeared much younger, curly gold hair topped by a large straw hat. She wore a light-yellow dress with lace at her wrists and throat, a perfectly inadequate outfit for travel. “Someone could have provided directions.”
The older woman had finely-drawn features, a few strands of gray threaded through her dark, uncovered hair. Dressed in sensible blue calico, she gripped the reins too tight and the poor horse gave a pathetic shake of its head. “The whole point was to avoid people,” she sniped.
Emma strode forward and seized the reins. “For God’s sake, you’re killing him.”
The two women gaped as though at an apparition. The horse, released from harsh hands, lowered its head and halted. Its sides heaved as flies drank at its sweaty flanks.
“Whomever let you two fools handle a horse should be whipped.” Tempted to dispatch the women to hell for their cruelty, Emma rested her hand on the pistol’s handle.
They two travelers spoke in tandem. “Who are you?” and “How dare you call me a fool.”
As Emma crooned into in the horse’s ear, her expert fingers undid the buckles at its shoulders and haunches. By the time the older of the two women climbed to the ground, the horse was unhitched and Emma led it to the creek.
“That’s our horse,” cried the one in yellow. “Clara, what is that insane girl doing? She’s stealing him.”
Emma halted, shoulders stiff. She turned and pointed the pistol at the one with lace at her throat. “I’m no horse thief.” She cocked the hammer. “Apologize.”
Buy Links: Amazon. iBooks, Barnes and Noble, Bookbub, and Goodreads.
About the author:
Julie Howard is the author of the Wild Crime mystery series and Spirited Quest paranormal mystery series. She is a former journalist and editor who has covered topics ranging from crime to cowboy poetry. She is a member of the Idaho Writers Guild and editor of the Potato Soup Journal. Learn more at juliemhoward.com.
Website: http://juliemhoward.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/juliemhowardauthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18116047.Julie_Howard
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Julie-Howard/e/B07D6CS4NQ/
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/julie-howard?list=author_books
Twitter: https://twitter.com/_JulieMHoward
Follow her on Instagram: @authorjuliehoward
It’s been great having you with us today. Good luck with Three Widows of Wylder. I’ll be grabbing my copy. I’ve read and loved all the Wylder West Series!
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Contemporary Romance, Historical Romance, Judy Howard, Mystery, Three Widows of Wylder, Western Romance, Wylder Wesr Series, Wyoming Territory by Tena Stetler with 2 comments.
Twisted Lies by C.B. Clark
Welcome C.B. Clark, a sister Wild Rose author and fellow pantster with her new release Twisted Lies. Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cooler, a Chocolate Chip or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about C.B., and her Twisted Lies. Good to see you C.B.
Thank you for hosting me on Author’s Secrets, Tena! I’m thrilled to be here.
Anyone who tells you writing is easy is selling you a line of drivel. Writing is hard. Very hard. It’s especially challenging when you don’t plot out your story before you start. Yep, that’s right. I’m a pantster, one of those quirky writers who start with a first sentence and a germ of an idea and run from there. I enjoy not knowing what’s going to happen next and letting my characters lead me. Since I write romance, I know that no matter what trials and tribulations my main characters face, they’re going to have a happy ending.
In Twisted Lies, my heroine, Athena Reynolds, was the impetus for the story. Her battle with alcoholism is an important thread. She has a will of her own and provoked many unexpected twists and turns, some heart wrenching, others heart-warming. I rooted for her to find true love and happiness, and I hope you will too.
Tells us a little about Twisted Lies:
Athena Cooper’s tragic past drives her to seek solace in a bottle. The addiction threatens her legal career, and she risks spiraling out of control. When her dog engineers a meeting with an all-too-handsome hunk, it’s lust at first sight…until she discovers his identity.
Businessman Russell Crawford is desperate to find the woman who cheated him out of his inheritance. His shock when she turns out to be the gorgeous red head he had a brief encounter with is only surpassed when she claims his father was a murderer.
Athena and Russ declare a truce and join forces to investigate the mystery of her parents’ disappearance from an isolated island off the rugged Northwest Coast of British Columbia. Russ promises to be her safe harbor as they uncover long-buried secrets that rock her very foundation. Can she overcome a lifelong distrust and open her heart to love?
How about a peek between the pages of Twisted Lies?
How was it possible? After all these years? The past she’d been running from had found her. The nightmare was back. The envelope fell from her shaking hands. Her legs wobbled as she rose and stumbled out of the living room and down the short hall to the kitchen.
Afternoon sunlight streamed through the window above the sink. The cozy kitchen, with its walls painted a cheerful butter yellow, and the well-scrubbed laminate countertops, gleamed. The steady hum of the refrigerator and ticking of the antique clock on the wall were the only sounds in the silent house. The pungent smell of fried onions and roasted garlic from last night’s homemade spaghetti sauce hung in the air.
The efficient kitchen, with its breakfast nook and view of the tidy, fenced backyard and the rolling, grassy foothills and snow-crested Rocky Mountains beyond, was the reason she’d bought the small rancher. This was her favorite room—the place she sought refuge when life overwhelmed her. How many times had she sat there in the evenings after work, sipping a glass of chilled white wine, watching the birds at the feeder on the back porch, breathing in the sweet smells of flowering Saskatoon bushes, regrouping until she was ready to face the world?
These days, her drink of choice was a cup of herbal tea or unsweetened apple juice. Alcohol was off the table…had been for twenty-one unendurable days.
But today, all bets were off.
Buy Links:
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iBooks, and Books2Read – Universal buy link:
About the Author::
Twisted Lies is award-winning author, C.B. Clark’s seventh novel published by The Wild Rose Press. When she’s not busy traveling around the globe or hiking and camping in the wilderness near her home in northern British Columbia, she can be found in front of her laptop plotting the next story.
Social Media Links:
Facebook: cbclarkauthor@facebook.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cbclarkauthor
Blog: https://cbclarkauthor.wordpress.com
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15029617.C_B_Clark
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cbclarkauthor/
Amazon Profile Page: https://www.amazon.com/C.-B.-Clark/e/B01BK61TQG/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1517868402&sr=1-2-ent
Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/c-b-clark
It’s been great having you with us today. Good luck with Twister Lies!
Views: 147
Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged CB Clark, Mystery, Twisted Lies by Tena Stetler with 13 comments.
An Angel’s Unintentional Entanglement #MFRWHooks
Yippee!! #MFRWHooks presents a fantastic summer read, An Angel’s Unintentional Entanglement, my paranormal romance/mystery. WooHoo! AND it’s only #99cents for a limited time! Grab your copy today! Where Warrior Angel, Caden goes, trouble follows until he discovers a badly beaten woman barely clinging to life. Unprepared for the entanglement she brings to his doorstep, will he move heaven and earth to save her? Join the #adventure, download a copy today!
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Pull up a chair and get comfy, grab a drink of your choice from the cooler, a Chocolate Chip or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about An Angel’s Unintentional Entanglement, part of the award winning A Demon’s Witch’ Series. All books can be read as stand alone.
What is An Angel’s Unintentional Entanglement is all about.
Fallen warrior angel, Caden Silverwind, lives alone in Colorado’s rugged Rockies, healing from physical wounds as well as the mental anguish suffered during battles with dark demons. Then he finds a woman barely clinging to life after a horrendous beating. He is not prepared for the entanglement she brings to his life, nor the feelings she awakens in him.
Bureau of Indian Affairs Agent, Mystic Rayne’s personal dilemma and assignment nearly gets her killed. Divine intervention is a complication she never expected and her growing attraction to Caden is undeniable. Can she trust him with her secret?
Their quest to uncover her attacker takes them from the pristine mountains in Colorado to the wilds of Wyoming. Along the way, they find answers which may place them in more danger. Determined to solve the mystery, they must also navigate their feelings and fears to find love and unite heaven and earth.
Sneak peek between the pages of An Angel’s Unintentional Entanglement: New hook
Screams of terror accompanied by mournful howls pierced the crisp night air as Caden Silverwind settled into his chair in front of the crackling campfire. Shadows from the flames danced across the dark tree trunks, curling and twisting in mesmerizing shapes. Caden had heard it all before, but tonight the usual ceremonial chants ended with menacing growls then sudden eerie silence, rather than the quiet winding down of previous nights.
Maybe he should investigate the unearthly sounds that echoed against the canyon walls, but he just couldn’t. The last battle with dark demons had nearly destroyed his body and shattered his soul. Once shimmering marble-gray wings, now hung charcoal black with his muscles barely able to bring them forth from his back to brush the air without severe pain and fatigue.
Against the advice of his superiors, he chose an indefinite sabbatical in the Colorado Rockies. Their rugged strength and majestic beauty allowed him the serenity to pick up the pieces, face his own fears, and contemplate the future, if there was one.
Perhaps I should’ve remained among the warrior angels and used the facilities above to heal physically and repair what is left of my damaged soul. He shook his head slowly taking in the bounty of nature around him. No, I made the right decision. Leaning back in his chair, he relaxed and watched the dancing flames consume the logs until glowing embers were all that remained in the fire ring.
The next morning, dislodged rocks and sticks bounced down the path ahead of him as he stopped to admire the view and noticed something in the brush.
She lay naked, battered, and beaten several yards off the trail. Her long, straight black hair fanned around her head, tangled with twigs and bits of grass. Caden moved silently toward her, stopped, and picked up a Bureau of Indian Affairs ID a few feet from where she lay. He stuffed it in his pocket while watching the surrounding area for signs of her attackers.
Pssst… While you’re here, don’t forget to check out my paranormal romance/mysteries click here.
This is a blog hop! Visit all the Book Hooks from #MFRWHooks – Your next GREAT read is waiting!
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged #MFRWHooks, An Angel's Unintentional Entanglement, fantasy, Mystery, Paranormal Romance/Mystery, Shapeshifters, Tena Stetler by Tena Stetler with 3 comments.
Friday the 13th 2021, Here it Comes – Be Warned! #Writerslife
Friday the 13th
In a year of “what else can possibly go wrong?” August, Friday 13th, 2021 has arrived. As dawn’s early light swept in my bedroom window, I peeked from beneath the covers hesitantly wondering what the day would bring. Never being one to be overly superstitious, I found this feeling unnerving. The date associated with bad luck, black cats, towering ladders not to walk under, and scary happenings creates a perfect storm for the superstitious! I’m not one of those, at least I wasn’t, I long ago embraced Friday the thirteenth, and all things thirteen probably because it wasn’t done in my household.
My mom was the queen of superstitious. She avoided walking under ladders, tossed salt over her shoulder when she spilled some, never broke a mirror to my recollection, and would walk or drive blocks out of her way to avoid allowing a black cat to cross her path. Until that fateful day I brought home the cutest solid black kitten with the bluest eyes. Named him Panther after my high school mascot. He blessed us with his presence for twenty-two years. I miss that cat! He was my lucky charm.
The irrational fear of the number thirteen has been given a scientific name: “triskaidekaphobia”; and this the fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskevidekatriaphobia, from the Greek words Paraskeví (Παρασκευή, meaning “Friday”), and dekatreís (δεκατρείς, meaning “thirteen”). Yeah it’s probably more than you wanted to know. LOL
Ever wonder what started this Frrday the 13th Fear?
Knights Templar
The predominant 20th-century theory suggests that it stemmed from an event that occurred on Friday, October 13, 1307, when thousands belonging to an influential religious military order called the Knights Templar (officially, the Poor Knights of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon) were arrested for blasphemy and other affronts at the command of France’s king, Philip IV. Many were later tortured, coerced into making false confessions, and executed.
When the knights were burned at the stake in Paris, the order’s leader, Jacque de Molay, cried out, “God knows who is wrong and has sinned. Soon, a calamity will occur to those who have condemned us to death.” The holy warrior’s curse and wrongful death put a hex on Friday the 13th through the ages.
Norse Mythology
Do you know the story of Loki? (No not Thor’s brother) At a dinner with 12 of the Norse gods, Loki was not invited. However, the trouble-maker showed up, fighting ensued, and one of the most popular gods (Baldur) was killed that day.
Now that I’m on a roll, got more Friday the 13th fun facts!
Wonder why the mere mention of 13 is considered unlucky? Look no further than Friday the 13th. Today, modern skyscrapers will often skip the 13th floor–going straight from 12 to 14. Similarly, airlines often avoid the number altogether for airplane rows and arrival gates.
Weddings dates, new job starts, going on a trip, or any other auspicious occasions are usually planned to avoid the 13th day of the month — especially Friday the 13th — to ensure good fortune.
The number 13 has been associated with bad luck since the time of Christ, when the Last Supper was attended by Jesus and his 12 apostles. Judas, who would ultimately betray Jesus, was believed to be the last and 13th member to arrive.
Famous people born on Friday the 13th include actors Christopher Plummer, Steve Buscemi, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, director Alfred Hitchcock and Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
Franklin Roosevelt had such an irrational fear of Friday the 13 that he would avoid traveling on Fridays.
For Stephen King, (the famous horror author) the number 13 is scary. Yep he has triskaidekaphobia (fear of the number 13). But when the date falls on a Friday, it’s horrifying. Such a double-whammy of fears has its own name: paraskevidekatriaphobia. Imagine that!
Jack the Ripper claimed his final victim on Friday the 13th in 1888.
Bet you didn’t know months that begin on a Sunday will always have a Friday the 13th. I kid you not,
To sprinkle a little good cheer on this Friday the 13th, heaven knows we need it, take a peek at A Witch’s Journey Series. There are twists, turns, elements of mystery but this is a story about magic, power, love, second chances, and redemption. Not to mention several 5-star reviews!!
In A Witch’s Journey, The McKay Magic is legendary. But when Pepper inherits the property little known secrets emerge.
A heart warming tale, A Witch’s Holiday Wedding, Pepper and Lathen are torn in too many directions, with a covert mission thrown in, will they make it to the alter?
As wildlife rehabilitator, Gwen and veterinarian, Brock at Salem Sanctuary discovery the consequences of Hidden Gypsy Magic, the series continues.
Join the magical adventures, pick up the series today! https://buff.ly/2p28qJU UK links https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tena-Stetler/e/B014E0PEPM
One more good thing about this Friday the 13th is the Paranormal Romantic’s Celebration. Come join in the fun, games, giveaways at Paranormal Romantic’s Fan FB Party.
Views: 295
Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog, My Say What Blog and tagged A Witch's Holiday Wedding, A Witch's Journey, A Witch's Journey Series, black cats, Friday the 13th, Hidden Gypsy Magic, ladders, Mystery, Paranormal Romance, Tena Stetler, Time travel, Timetravel by Tena Stetler with 2 comments.
