Valentine Blitz Day #10: BROKEN DEEDS, BROKEN HEARTS

 

At the age of fifteen, Carly Sue McCluskie ran away from the family farm to escape her abusive great uncle Ezra and the torment of her classmates only to end up homeless on the streets of Salt Lake City. Eight years later, she reluctantly returns to oversee Ezra’s estate and is not surprised to learn someone killed the old codger. What she didn’t expect is someone attempting to kill her.

Seth Wakely and his family have been feuding with the McCluskies for a lifetime, but that doesn’t stop him from helping a neighbor in need. Seth is as surprised as a pig laying an egg when he learns someone in their little country town might have killed Ezra and now Carly Sue’s life is in danger.

Seth finds himself torn between protecting her and the bitter memories of the past, including what he did to Carly Sue. Good thing he can send his Border collie, Jewel, over to protect her.

Will their Hatfield and McCoy relationship continue, or will Carly Sue and Seth be able to conquer the anger which corrals them and, instead, learn to love?

          

        

Bestselling author, Cindy A Christiansen, has combined her love of dogs with her joy of writing to create an award winning combination. Her novels always include canine characters both in the pages and on the cover, an extension of the credit she gives to her extraordinary rescue dogs for their part in helping her overcome numerous challenges. In a reciprocal gesture for their love and devotion, a portion of the proceeds from her books are donated to assist abandoned and abused dogs.

She lives in Utah with her loving husband, two creative children with autism, and a pack of rambunctious dogs.

Fly into a good book!

Facts about the Author:

1.     Readers would be surprised to know that I am actually allergic to dogs, but that doesn't stop me from having them and loving them!

2.     I have always wanted to make a difference in people's lives.

Connect with the Author:

                     
 

List of My Top 10 Favorite Things:

1.     Puppies and their puppy breath

2.     A cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream

3.     Dragonfly jewelry

4.     Homemade buttered popcorn

5.     A book that puts you through a lot of emotions

6.     Playing with my dogs

7.     Quality time with family

8.     Sharing time with friends

9.     Helping others

10.  Classic black and white movies

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They killed the old codger-BROKEN DEEDS, BROKEN HEARTS http://bit.ly/1PO8sJ3 @CindyDragonfly #ZinaAbbottBooks

 

Valentine Blitz Day #8: CHANGES OF THE HEART

 

A coincidence is God’s way of staying anonymous.

Buying the 1920s farmhouse south of Phoenix, where the rumors of John Dillinger’s gang hid out in the 30s, is supposed to be Grace Evanheart’s way of escaping an old romance. When she finds an ancient diary with a map under the bedroom’s floorboard, the rumors solidify into fact. She doesn’t know who to trust with the news; Micah Stevens, the handsome deputy and the great grandson of the original landowners with whom she’s attracted, or Jerry, the young historian who seems too intent on learning about her new home?

Micah seems convinced their paths cross exactly at the right time and in the right place for them to fall in love. Now he just has to convince Grace of the same thing before suspicions of his real motive have her running again.   

      

"Debra lives in Southwest Arizona, and has been married to Mike for 36 years. She's the mother of two awesome sons, who married their forever loves, and she's a grandmother to three beautiful grandchildren with one more on the way.

Debra wrote her first novella thirteen years ago just for grins. That brief taste into the world of an author started an undeniable writing obsession rivaling only her love of chocolate. She's an award-winning fine artist, and loves traveling with her husband."

Facts about the Author:

1.      Readers would be surprised to know ... that I went to 13 different schools growing up. I actually went to 5 different high schools. We moved a lot. This is probably why I’m such an introvert. So if you see me at a conference or a book signing, say hi. You don’t know how much that would mean to me.

2.      I have always wanted to ... learn to tap dance. We just saw Riverdance in Tucson. It was awesome!!!

Connect with the Author:

                

Top Ten List:

1) I have an intense fear of flying, bad enough I need medication to even walk toward a plane.

2) I have an unreasonable fear of heights. I’m pretty sure this has an impact on my fear of flying.

3) I’m terribly claustrophobic. That might have something to do with my fear of flying—maybe.

4) I’m a multiple-award winning fine artist specializing in portraits. I received a drawing kit for Christmas when I was seven or eight years old, with a drawing pad, pencils, one of those silly gum erasers, and an awesome book that had step-by-step examples. I drew a little boy wearing a sombrero, and my mother used the side of a pencil and shaded it, making it pop off the paper. I used this memory in one of my books.

5) This little known fact is one that my husband dislikes; I love bags—handbags, tote bags, and messenger bags with sayings on them. I can’t pass by a display of bags without Mike grabbing my elbow and hurrying me by them. The top shelf in my closet is solely for bag and purse storage. I’m pathetic. It could be worse, I suppose. I might have the same obsession for matching shoes with each bag.

6) I’m married to a retired cop, who’s brother was a cop/latent identification expert, and who’s dad was a cop for 34 years, and now we have a son who’s in law enforcement. I’m never at a loss for experts when writing.

7) I was a volunteer with our local police department for several years. I rode with willing officers, went on calls with them. On occasion, I even helped in taking report information and traffic control. They didn’t let me carry a gun, although I did design their shirt patch.

8) I write a little bit of myself into every story. In Changes of the Heart, poor Grace deals with my clumsiness. Really! Once, I sprained my ankle so badly, the doctor told me that it would’ve healed faster if I would’ve broken it. My foot turned black from my toes up to my knee.  

9) Changes of the Heart was a top 3 finalist in the 2014 Marilyn Brown Unpublished Novel Contest. Marilyn and her husband have set up an endowment at Utah Valley University to honor superior works of fiction written by literary artists.

10) I dislike coconut. I mean, really, sincerely, honestly dislike coconut.

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HE IS A GOOD MAN Now in Lariats, Letters and Lace

He Is a Good Man is one of eight stories about love and letters in the West included in Prairie Rose Publication’s 2016 Valentine’s Day anthology, Lariats, Letters, and Lace. The other seven authors are Linda Carroll-Bradd, Agnes Alexander, Kaye Spencer, Gail L. Jenner, B.J. Betts, Patti Sherry-Crews, and Niki Mitchell.

About He Is a Good Man:

A letter delivered from the grave changes everything for two young people.

          Convinced he won’t make it out of the Civil War alive, Joshua persuades his best friend, Hal, to promise to deliver a letter. Joshua’s childhood sweetheart, Malinda, waits for him to return to her in California when the war ends—but Josh won’t be coming back. Instead, he asks Hal to deliver his last letter to Malinda—in person.

To learn more about the Santa Clara Valley in California where Malinda and her family made their home, click HERE.

Excerpt:

     “I’m trying to finish the letter I was writing to Mali last night. I told her I got shot, but it’s getting hard to write. You finish it for me, Hal. Tell her I love her. Tell her to think of me fondly as a childhood friend, but…go on with her life and be happy.”

     Hal reached over and pried the paper out of Joshua’s fist. He rooted around on the ground until his fingers closed around the pencil Joshua had been using. He smoothed the crumpled sheet reasonably flat on his knee before he read the last few barely legible sentences in order to know where Joshua had left off and where he should start.

     “Josh, what do you mean by telling her you’ve done all you can for her future? That doesn’t make much sense.”

     “That’s between Mali and me. She’ll know…when the time comes.”

     Hal shrugged and began to write, being careful to not poke the pencil through the paper weakened by the creases resulting from Joshua clutching it while fighting off his pain. He had almost finished writing the words Joshua had requested when his friend, with a voice noticeably weaker, spoke to him once more.

     “Hal, you still got that other letter I asked you to take to Mali when I die?”

     “You’re not going to die, Josh. But, yeah, I still have it.”

     “And your word’s still good, isn’t it? You won’t mail it to her, but you’ll take it to her in person. You can mail the one you’re writing on now, and the one for my folks that’s in my coat pocket…but the one I gave to you before…you swear you’ll take it to her yourself in person? And you’ll do those other two things you promised to do, too?”

     “My word’s good, Josh. I meant every word I promised.” Hal fought down the surge of annoyance that his messmate would question his honor. He turned to stare in the unfocused eyes of his closest friend. “As long as I live to return home, I’ll do what I swore to do. I doubt she’ll appreciate me doing the one, but I’ll give her the option.”

     “Thanks, Hal. I’ll die in peace knowing you’ll do that.”

     “Just hush up about dying, Josh. What did you write in that letter, anyway?”

     “Between…me and Mali,” Joshua barely mumbled his words loud enough to be heard as shock and the loss of blood took its toll. “You…just take it to her.”

About Zina Abbott:

Zina Abbott is the pen name used by Robyn Echols for her historical novels. Her novel, Family Secrets, was published by Fire Star Press. Her novelette, A Christmas Promise, along with the first two novellas in the Eastern Sierra Brides 1884 series, Big Meadows Valentine and A Resurrected Heart, was published by Prairie Rose Publications. He Is a Good Man was published in the Lariats, Letters and Lace anthology.

The author is a member of Women Writing the West, American Night Writers Association, and Modesto Writers Meet Up. She currently lives with her husband in California near the “Gateway to Yosemite.” She enjoys any kind of history including family history. When she is not piecing together novel plots, she pieces together quilt blocks.

Please visit and follow the Zina Abbott’s Amazon Author Page by clicking HERE.

Contact Zina Abbott:

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