About:
The Cowboy's Charms was a fun book to write. The characters go on a cattle drive which created all sorts of adventure. Plus, someone sabotages them repeatedly. I had a lot of fun with that. 

I wrote this book to showcase the heroine's inner strength. She has to work against her toxic thoughts and believe that she is good enough. That people need her. That she has something to contribute.

Angelique Morgan has, without doubt, a TON of grit. She comes from wealth, falls in love with J.T. Davis, who has started a brand, new ranch, and has to learn how to do everything. Cooking, sewing, ironing, laundering, shooting. The list goes on.

Add to that, her need to be perfect at all of it. And when she isn't, she struggles. A lot.

She also has an interest in medicine and reads medical journals. She's learned so much about illnesses, injuries, and other things that she can hold her own with any doctor.

I loved getting Angelique through her forest of difficulties. She deserved the happy ending she got.

But I also must thank my inspiration for this book. My best friend. My sistie. My sunshine!

I hope you enjoy The Cowboy's Charms as much as I did writing it.

Buy The Cowboy's Charms!
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Excerpt:

“Will you sit?” J.T. asked.

Angelique visibly swallowed while walking to a chair.

As she looked up at him with worried eyes, he almost fell to his knees and declared his love right then. He gritted his teeth to keep control of himself. Plain speaking was needed at the moment, not more passionate speeches.

“I’ve been thinkin’ on what you said last night.” His nerves threatened to get the better of him, but he pushed forward. “I gotta tell you a few things before we go further.”

She straightened in her chair as if physically preparing for what he was about to say.

He cleared his throat. “I don’t have the money to hire a cook for the house or servants. Woman’s work is long. A lot of times, my ma is hard at work long after my pa is done.”

She opened her mouth, but he stopped her with a hand in the air. “I’m not sayin’ you can’t do it. I just need you to fully understand what’s ahead.”

She closed her mouth and waited for him to continue.

“It’s physical work. Work that requires serviceable clothing and no corsets.”

She blushed to the roots of her hair.

He cleared his throat and kept going. “You’ll be alone a lot. I’ll be out on the range most days until sundown. Fall and winter don’t usually require as much work as the spring, but seein’ as how I’m startin’ out, we won’t have shorter days like most ranches. I’ll have to teach you to shoot a gun.”

Her eyes widened.

“Not that my family or Kyle’s has ever had any lick of real trouble on our farms,” he rushed to assure her, “but it’s better that you know how.”

He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, wondering what else he should say. “We’ll be buildin’ a lot. I might need your help with that.”

Her mouth fell open, but she quickly shut it.

“I can’t teach you what a woman does throughout the day, but Ma and Emma can. They’ll be glad to help.” He smiled, realizing they would love Angelique and she them. “The house will be pretty close to them, just on the other side of the creek.”

He fell quiet, realizing the questioning part of the conversation was upon him. “Have you ever spent an entire day doing physical work?”

She bit her lip and nodded. “I helped the hospitals after the hurricane. So many people were hurt, they needed extra hands.”

He lifted his eyebrows, expecting to have been given a different answer. “I don’t mean to embarrass you by askin’ that. I just…” he trailed off, feeling the need to confess his feelings in a rush.

The hell with it.

“I love you.” The admission came out firm and true. A wash of relief spread over him. “I think you had me from the moment we met. But I can’t be selfish. I can’t put you in a life you know nothin’ about.”

She stood, her eyes bright with certainty. “Your world is foreign to me, I can’t deny it. However, I know with every fiber within me that I am supposed to be with you.”

His throat dried up as his heart tried to gallop out of his chest.

She continued. “I follow directions well. I’m smart. I understand there will be no rest. As I told you last night, I want to work hard. I want to be a part of what you’re doing.”

He smiled softly, pleasure wafting through him. Her words made him feel like success would be his. If someone like her believed in him, he could do and be anything. In three strides he had her in his arms. “I give you my word that if you want to seek some kind of education, I won’t mind. I’ll help you gain your dreams.” The promise was spoken fervently, surprising him with its urgency. But he meant what he said.

After pulling back a bit, she placed a palm against his cheek. “I love you,” she whispered.

He captured her lips with his, overcome with emotion and gratefulness. They joined together, getting as close as clothing would allow, the kiss firmly cementing their intentions to create a future together.

When he pulled away and gazed down into her lovely face, his mind exalted with prayer. Inheriting a ranch had surprised him, finding her astounded him. If it was a dream, he hoped he never woke.

Today, we welcome Jan Scarbrough and the fabulous box set of Last Chance Beach: Summer's End!
 
I’ve joined the ladies from the Romance Gems Blog in a summer beach read taking place at fictitious Last Chance Beach. Last Chance Beach: Summer’s End is box set releasing August 4th. It is available only on Kindle Unlimited. The price, if you don’t belong to KU, is a mere 99 cents!

Where do you live and why?
For now I live on a small island called Last Chance Beach. I only arrived here recently after a three month journey cross country from my former home in New Jersey, searching for a place that called out to me.  Last Chance Beach called loud and clear.  I don’t know what the future may hold but for now I’m happy renovating a little cottage with the help of a very hunky handyman named Noah Ramsey.

What is your profession and do you enjoy it?
Before I left New Jersey I was a licensed practical nurse specializing in geriatrics. I worked in an assisted living facility where I loved working with the residents and enjoyed socializing with most of my colleagues. I’ve temporarily set aside my scrubs to learn the entirely new skill of home-renovation, but that doesn’t mean I won’t go back to it someday.

How would others describe you? Are they accurate?
When people first see me they tend to think I’m delicate because I’m rather small. They’re often surprised by how strong I really am. I hope people see me as independent, adventurous, and capable, but honestly, I don’t care what other people think of me!

When you met Noah Ramsey was it love at first sight?
My first glimpse of Noah wasn’t love at first sight, but it awakened some wonderful tingly feelings I hadn’t experienced in a long time. Would you think I was shallow if I said the first thing that impressed me about Noah was the sight of him, shirtless, doing carpentry?

Was it love at first sight for Noah?
I don’t think Noah was very happy to see me when I first arrived at the cottage he was renovating, and I wanted to rent the cottage next door. He wasn’t quick to open up to me at all. In fact I had the sense he was guarding secrets of his own. It took many weeks of working together before Noah grew to trust me, and love seemed to sneak up on both of us.

What do you like most about Noah?
Although it turned out Noah grew up in a very wealthy family, he’s a down to earth type of guy. He’s patient with me and also not afraid to admit he doesn’t know something, and will set about learning it.

What does Noah like most about you?
Noah is happy that I like a simple life and simple pleasures. He spent most of his life surrounded by people who judged their worth by material things, the latest fashion, etc.  I believe Noah is impressed that I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty.

If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
I’ve already done quite the journey, which is how I ended up on Last Chance Beach, and I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be at the moment.

What's one thing you learned from your personal love story?
I’ve learned that many people dream of winning the lottery, believing the windfall will make all their worries disappear.  I quickly learned that having a fortune brings with it it’s own set of problems, and that my happiness came not from what I have, but from what I do.

That's beautiful, Moira. And it's awesome that you're trying something new and renovating homes. Wow! That's impressive.

Can't Buy Me Love
Last Chance Beach - Summer's End - Anthology
Contemporary Romance

​For the first time in her life, lottery winner Moira Campbell doesn't have to worry about money, except for her concern about people wanting to take advantage of her generosity. Noah Ramsey grew up with privilege and is absolutely certain people are attracted to his wealth. Both happen upon Last Chance Beach, where they are able to fashion new lives away from prying eyes and greedy outstretched hands. When sparks ignite between the two, both must decide whether to risk revealing their true identities to trust in love.

Excerpt of Can't Buy Me Love

​One minute he was standing in the newly remodeled kitchen. The next he was nearly knocked off his feet, enveloped in a happy, squealing female body as she threw her arms around him, and improbably jumped up and down at the same time.

“Thank you so much,” she said. “You put in a good word for me, didn’t you?”

“I might have.”

She fit so nicely in his arms. He hugged her tighter, savoring the mix of feminine curves and finely toned muscles. He drew in the now-familiar scent of suntan lotion and some sort of citrusy shampoo, and finally gave in to what he’d been fantasizing about since his first glimpse of her stretching outside her car.

With her arms still looped around his shoulders, she leaned back, grinning up at him. “This is just the best news,” she said.

As he watched, her grin slowly faded. He felt the moment she grew aware of his body pressing into hers. Her eyes widened, blinked, and she licked her bottom lip. And that was that.

He threaded his fingers through her hair, drew her head closer, leaned in to taste those lips himself. She hesitated just for a moment, but then her arms tightened around him and she gave herself over to the kiss.

Seconds, minutes, long undetermined stretches of time passed while he lost himself in the sensation of soft lips, silky hair, seductive scent. His body responded with an insistence he hadn’t felt in ages, with a wonder he hadn’t felt maybe even since his first few romantic encounters as a young man. She made no move to pull away, and her soft sighs had his head spinning.

Finally, they pulled apart, but continued to look into each other’s eyes. Both breathing hard. Was she as affected by the intensity of that kiss as he was? He certainly hoped so.

Bio:

Hannah Rowan wrote her first book at the age of seven, with blonde, brunette, red-headed, and black haired heroines whose names began with the letters A, B, C, and D. Oddly enough, it was never published. But Hannah has since been a local reporter, confession author, book reviewer, humor columnist, and magazine writer. She has a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology and is a certified hypnotist. She published romantic comedy with Kensington Precious Gems, and published one of the first e-books back when people thought e-books would never catch on. She is currently at work on a romantic comedy series and a women’s fiction novel.

A life-long Jersey girl, Hannah lives in northern New Jersey with her hunky husband and two frogs named Fred and Ethel. When she’s not writing, Hannah enjoys her work at an assisted living facility, going to water aerobics and swimming, and taking long hikes in a new-to-her park with the Hunk as often as possible. And of course, she often stays up far too late, reading.

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Every once in awhile we are given rare opportunities to be angels on earth. It is in these moments we find out how selfless we are. It is a greater test than one of our physical stamina, though sometimes being selfless takes physical strength.


​
My mother has been tested to the limits of her endurance throughout her life. Why that is, I cannot tell you. God has his reasons for things and it is pointless to analyze, explain, or question. He does not make mistakes...

I haven't written about Bill and his medical condition for a few months. This is to mirror how it was for me as a child...done...over...a thing of the past.

That is a luxury we have as children. We don't have to pick up pieces, do damage control, smooth ruffled feathers, or dry tears. Our parents, on the other hand, have to see a problem through to its end.

There were lots of doctor visits, tests, sleepless nights, prayers, and medicine. I am sure she was on edge for 15 months, waiting for seizures, and praying they would stop.

Detecting a seizure in an infant is almost impossible. Often doctors miss them even while the child is in their care. I know my mother watched my brother like a hawk, noticing every twitch, every day dreamy expression, willing God to allow her to see within Bill and predict when and where it would happen.

I know this because I could feel it within her as a child. Often I prayed for her as much as I did Bill. I may not have liked church, but I used the direct line to God to exhaustion.

Whenever I think back on what my parents must have gone through, I am always awed. I used to wonder how they captured the strength to get through those years.

As a forty-four-year-old I now know from where they drew their strength...

Love.

A phenomenal emotion. Powerful. Determined. Selfless and true.

Some of you might disagree with me and say it was God that gave them the strength, but you are forgetting what God is. He is love. God is love.

So, it was love that gave my mother the ability to lie on a gurney in Sunday dress, hose, and heels with Bill laying on her torso, not moving a muscle for three hours straight because it was the best and most peaceful sleep he'd had in awhile.

My mother...love weakened her and strengthened her...and she did great things.

"And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13

The Sheriff’s Gift
Texas Brides of Pike’s Run Series, Book 2
Historical Romance
 
About:
The Sheriff’s Gift was a wonderful book to write. It allowed me to delve into the lives of the people in the town I was creating. Alice Parker, the heroine of the story, is the schoolteacher, and Conner Lonnigan, the hero, is the sheriff. They are highly involved in the lives of the townsfolk and are often called upon to help. Alice and Conner are strong-willed people with caring hearts and no-nonsense attitudes. Not only are they perfect for the town, they are perfect for each other.

The Sheriff’s Gift sets up several other books in the series. Many of the students, once they are old enough, end up with their own stories. It has been so much fun watching them grow and change and establish their futures.

​Writing is a joy, and I’m so glad I get to spend time with these wonderful characters!

Another important or fun fact about this story is that the heroine is based off of one of my sisters. She is, and always has been, one of the most important fixtures in my life. She is my rock. She is my hero. Alice is made better because my sister exists.

Buy The Sheriff's Gift!
Barnes and Noble: https://bit.ly/38juYvY
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-sheriff-s-gift-3
Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1521104564

​Blurb:
Strong-willed and independent, Alice Parker is certain she’s meant to be a school teacher. She accepts her first position in Pikes Run, ready to mold the minds of young children, but unprepared to deal with her attraction to Sheriff Conner Lonnigan. If the board finds out she’s tumbled into his embrace more than once, she would be fired.

Sheriff Conner Lonnigan is awed by Alice Parker. He falls for her almost immediately, but the demands at home forbid him from marrying. Conner’s duties as sheriff control his days, and his mother’s panic attacks control his nights. He doesn’t have the freedom to devote himself to Alice, but that can’t stop him from pursuing her anyway.

Alice and Conner fight their love for each other, but the wants of the heart become too much to ignore. As they battle the demands of their jobs, the couple finds that ultimate fulfillment can only be found in each other's arms.

​Excerpt:
“What is it?” Alice asked.

He didn’t reply until she was outside. “I have somethin’ for you.”

She gave him a sideways glance. “I hope it isn’t another complaint from Beulah.”

He grinned down at her. “Nope.” He jerked his head in the direction of the yard. “Come on.”

She followed him into the yard and toward the barn. When they entered the building, the cows lowing and the horses swishing their tails, he stopped and pulled her into an empty stall.

They were alone except for the animals. This was what she’d tried to avoid, and here she was, despite her usual unflinching self-control, in the wrong situation. Though her heart exalted, her mind raced for ways to get this over with quickly.

He smiled down at her, his hand still at her elbow from when he’d pulled her over. “You look pretty today.”

“Only today?” she heard herself ask. Oh, dear! She was flirting.

He chuckled low and deep. “Every day. You’re always pretty.”

In her wildest dreams, she’d never thought to hear a man say such a thing. “What did you want to show me?”

He flushed beneath his confident smile. “A present. I ordered it for you.”

Alice’s heart stopped then sped like a locomotive. “Truly?” she whispered.

He nodded.

“But…but I didn’t get you anything,” she protested.

His smile turned soft, and her knees went to jelly. “Just havin’ you here is present enough.”

If he said anything else as tender and beautiful, she might faint from want of him. “Oh,” she murmured.

He gazed at her for a few moments more before reaching into his coat and pulling out a box wrapped in brown paper. He handed it to her.

Gingerly, she took it and unwrapped it slowly, wanting to savor the moment. Once the paper was gone, she sprung the latch on the box and lifted the lid. Her throat ached with emotion when she saw what sat in the velvet casing.

A small ceramic house, the rooftop covered in snow, stared up at her. It was beautiful. She ran a finger over its smoothness. “Thank you,” she rasped.

“There’s more.” He took it from her and lifted it out of its case. “It’s open in the back. You can put a candle here and since the windows are cut out, it’ll look like there’s—”

“Firelight,” she breathed. Awed and deeply touched, she gazed up at him. He’d remembered her memory of her mother and bought her a gift to commemorate the time. “Oh, Conner. How wonderful.”

He swallowed. “You like it?”

She closed her eyes in disbelief then opened them once more to look up into his handsome, dear face. “I adore it.”

​And in that moment, everything she’d ever wanted changed forever. She loved Conner Lonnigan with all her heart. The emotion stampeded through her, causing her to tremble with its force. She couldn’t stop herself from rising up and taking his lips with hers.

For this post of Friday Friends, I'd like to introduce you to Margo Aleckson, the heroine in Magical Currents, a paranormal romance by Karen Elaine. Margo appears in the second book in the Mythical Warriors series.

We're going to ask her some questions.

Where do you live and why?
Hello, and thank you for having me here today! I live in beautiful Morro Bay along the coast of California. I saw a sweet little cafe space for lease while I was visiting the area and it provided me the perfect opportunity to begin my new life after my divorce.

What is your profession? Do you enjoy it?
I have a degree in Chemistry and spent several years as a high school chemistry teacher before moving here. I loved teaching and working with my students. Baking, which overlaps with chemistry in many ways, has always been a passion of mine, and creating this breakfast cafe, funneling all my energy and devotion into something I love has been a wonderful gift.  Building up my business for The Generous Cup went a long way to helping me heal after my disastrous marriage.

How would others describe you? Are they accurate?
Around here, I am mostly known for my cinnamon rolls and pastries. But my friend Sue, who runs Gray Rock Bed and Breakfast, called me adaptable the other day. Graeme frequently refers to me as stubborn. I am happy to own up to those descriptions.

When you met Graeme Stone, was it love at first sight?
He definitely stirred my interest the first time he came into The Generous Cup for breakfast. He spent an hour or more after he finished eating, just drinking pots of tea and writing in one of the leather notebooks he always seems to carry. It wasn’t just his good looks and wild brown hair that caught my attention. Graeme is a very intense person. Every time he turned those incredible blue-gray eyes on me, my brain just sort of froze. All I could see or think about was him, no matter how busy the cafe was. And that was before I knew he was a wizard. After what happened during my marriage, it took me some time to really trust Graeme. But once I did, falling in love with him came soon after.

Was it love at first sight for him?
Not quite. He tells me he found me fascinating and attractive. But the first time our hands brushed, there was a spark, for both of us. He told me it was a gift from his father’s side of the family. A way to recognize the woman he could find happiness with. That was all it took for him to go home and get a move on with the home repairs he’d been neglecting! I maintain he fell in love with my baked goods first.

What do you like most about Graeme?
Graeme is a very genuine man. There’s no pretense with him. He is kind and gentle and caring. He risks his life to help weres, and most weres would just assume kill him on sight. He has the biggest heart I have ever known.

What does he like most about you?
You will have to ask him, but I know he has a serious desire for my cinnamon rolls.

If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
When you are married to a wizard, travel takes on a whole new meaning!  He sets up links between two mirrors and off we go! We pop back and forth to Scotland to visit with his mother and go to his favorite pub all the time. We have talked about taking a kayak vacation through the Galapagos Islands, so I think that’s the answer I will go with.

What's one thing you learned from you own personal love story?
The importance of accepting people for who they are and being willing to fight for those you love. Becoming involved with Graeme and his world overwhelmed me, at first. My entire perspective had to shift. But it didn’t change who I was or who had to be. It just helped me to grow into a stronger version of me. I know it will help me be a better parent when our child is born.

Thank you, Margo! We've enjoyed getting to know more about you. What a cool way to travel! You are so lucky!

Magical Currents
Mythical Warriors Series, Book 2
Paranormal Romance

While hurrying home to beat a storm, Margo Aleckson is attacked by a man who becomes a bear before her eyes. She is rescued by Graeme Stone, a frequent customer to her café, and weregriffins Tobin and Riley Saint-James. As a former high school chemistry teacher, she struggles to find rational explanations for the wonders of this world of magic and alchemy that has suddenly been thrust upon her. The quiet man who lives in the lighthouse has turned out to be a bit more complex than she’d ever imagined.

Graeme is a powerful sorcerer who has discovered something is causing young shifters to attack and kill the potential-mates essential to the continuation of the weres. The first time he’d brushed up against Margo, their essences had resonated in rare recognition. He never intended for his seduction of the enchanting brunette to begin with her being dragged into the web of dangers assaulting his world. How is he supposed to protect the stubborn woman from rogue weres and magical attacks if she insists on keeping him at arm’s length?

Once Margo starts keeping company with sorcerers, shifters and mythological creatures, she has unfamiliar faces peering back at her from mirrors, unexpected marriage proposals, lightning strikes on clear days and towering waterspouts in the bath tub. She also experiences the peculiar challenges of dating a magic user. When the quiet embers between Margo and Graeme flare into sparks of desire, she discovers the passion between them burns hot enough to singe an unwary woman. But only by working together is there any chance to maintain the fragile truce between sorcerers and werebeasts, get to the source of the genetic poisoning and keep Margo and the other potentials safe.

Excerpt of Magical Currents

You two fledglings think you have what it takes to dispense justice?” the man sneered.

With all her strength, Margo swung her fist, digging the tip of the key into his check. He roared like a wounded animal and shoved her to the ground.

Margo landed hard on her shoulder. She heard the fabric of her shirt rip.

Her two defenders advanced forward and put themselves between her and the imposing menace. Margo back-peddled across the asphalt, tearing gouges in her palms and the seat of her pants, trying to get away. She slammed into a grounded pair of legs and looked up into Graeme Stone’s face. In the faint light, his features were sharply defined.

His intense gaze pulled her in, arrested the hostility surrounding them. Margo’s cold terror receded, and she was able to take a deep breath, collect her wits, push aside her fear and find calm. For a brief moment, warm security enveloped her.

The moment ended. Margo was again aware of the freezing rain soaking her and the unfolding violence. Stone gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze, but by a flash of lightning she saw his countenance was now set, hard and fierce. The wind blew the collar of his rain slicker against the sides of his neck.

“Hold, griffins. Don’t be so quick to pass judgment. There’s more going on here than what you see on the surface.”
The three paused with fists raised.

“Use your gifts to look more closely at him. Don’t let yourselves be blinded by actions he’s not responsible for. Smell past his own scent to the evil that’s infected him.”

The circle of tense males expanded to include Graeme.

“Who are you?” the first rescuer on the scene demanded.

“What are you?” clarified his companion. “You aren’t human or were.”

Margo was lost. The conversation was veering off in a bizarre direction. She was relieved not to be choking anymore, but it was clear her assault was no longer the focus of her rescuers’ concern. Were those three men sniffing the air?
The fellow who had cornered Margo bristled. “Sorcerer!” he snarled, rising to the balls of his feet.

“Easy, gentlemen.” Stone’s cadence was low and even. Margo felt a push of strength in his voice with his request for calm. “Don’t make any hasty assumptions. There’s far more going on here than any of you realize, and a great deal more at stake.”

Buy Magical Currents on Amazon today!

Bio:
Karen Elaine is a California native who has relocated to Southern Arizona. She is the author of the shapeshifting paranormal romance series Mythical Warriors.  Paranormal Romance is one of her favorite genres because there is so much room for her imagination to play. 

It is her hope that her stories take you on an adventure and help add a bit of magic to the way you view the world. She strives to create worthy heroes and intelligent heroines who are not afraid to follow their hearts.

Her family keeps her well-grounded and her two poodles make sure she takes time to explore the possibilities.

Connecting with Karen Elaine
Website
Email: Karenelaine.stories@gmail.com
Facebook