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Monday Memories: Big Idea Number 9

2/28/2022

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Are you scared? Trembling? Panicked?


Well, rest easy my faithful readers, Big Idea Number 9 is not at all terrible. You're going to be impressed. You're going to think, "Hmm. Why don't we do that?"

I shall pass this on to you and you must feel free to use it, because it is precious.



In early December, we get out our Christmas decorations. The boxes are filled with homemade ornaments of Popsicle sticks and dough, covered with paint and glitter. (It's a kid's tree. Not an adult one.)

We trimmed the tree while listening to music and giggling, exclaiming over our favorite ornaments and recalling when we made them.

As we worked, my mother cooked. She made a feast that outdid the one in the Grinch's world. We had all sorts of finger foods.

From boiled shrimp to broccoli dip, little smokies to queso, it was a meal that we salivated over.

Cookies, dips, hot chocolate, cheese...

It was glorious.

And when we were done making our tree beautiful with its sparkling, crafty ornaments, we ate around it, watching the lights glow and twinkle, causing the world around us to be cozy, warm and magical.

My mama did good, don't ya think?

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Monday Memories: My ABCs (I Learned 'Em Good)

2/21/2022

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Have I mentioned I'm a competitive person?

Or perhaps I didn't have to. Y'all are probably pretty smart and have read between my lines.

I enjoy a good competition in almost any format. My favorite opponents are boys because what is better than beating a boy?

(Ice cream is better. And bluebonnets. But only by a fraction of a percent.)

I think I get this competitive streak from my father. He'll play about any game. Spades, hearts, poker, pinochle, dominoes, baseball, basketball...it doesn't really matter. To him, it's all fun.

And we played with him. He taught us the ABC game, which is something you enjoy on a long car ride that tests your eyesight, reflexes, and alphabet knowledge. We had to find words that began with each letter and whoever got to Z first won.

We usually played while we drove to Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Do you know how many car trips it took for me to beat him? Huh?

Did you guess 50? Maybe 100?

Well, you're not even close. I feel like we played that game one million times before I beat him. We started when I was in the second grade, and I was almost fourteen, fourteen, before I won.

I still remember what my Y and Z word were.

We were passing the George R. Brown Convention Center, and there was this Asian restaurant across from it called "Yit Ingho". I screamed, "Yit!" so fast because I knew, I knew, where a Z was. We'd played so many dadgum times.

Right after I yelled out my Y word, I whipped my gaze to a blue sign on top of a green freeway board. The lovely, glorious, victorious "Zoo" was there waiting for me. It cried, "Here, Kara! Here I am!"

And hallelujah, I shouted that word at the TOP of my lungs.

It was a good day.

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Monday Memories: Brownies

2/14/2022

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"Come, Kara," my mother says to me. "You're going to join Brownies."

Huh? Join brownies? What is she talking about? You eat brownies. You don't join them.

As I shake my head at my mother, I stupidly follow her to the car without an ounce of bluster or outrage. However, when I reach our destination, I discover....

It is a meeting. With girls from my class. And some lady is talking to us about how we'll have to complete various tasks in order to stay a part of the group.

I have to do work I don't want to do in order to continue with the group....

This group of girls from my class. This group of girls from my class who don't really care about outside activities. This group of girls from my class who could care less about how to drive a go-cart.

I stare open-mouthed at what I'm allowing to happen. I mean, I said nothing on the drive over, and my mother managed to slip Big Idea Number 8 in without a single protest from me. What the heck? Had something taken over my mind? Were my reflexes drying out already? Had I lost my fire?

As I ponder this, the lady in charge keeps talking. And talking. And talking.

And then it is time to leave, and we do some kind of chant before we go, and all the other girls seem to love it. And I'm wondering, where are the aliens that have taken over their bodies? And when would they come for me?

But maybe they already have because I didn't voice my opinion on this Big Idea. Not once. Oh...no.

The second we get in the car, I let Mother know what I think. (Apparently, the aliens hadn't gotten me yet.) To which she replies, "You will enjoy this experience and grow from it."

I groan. I moan. I wail.

But it does nothing. I am a Brownie. Gag.

The only shining spot was one of my friends, Shellie, was there. And I liked her. She understood the beauty of outside. And being silly. Maybe it wouldn't be all bad.

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Wednesday Words: Rock Of Salvation by M. J. Schiller

2/9/2022

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Yeehaw!!!! M. J. Schiller is here with her newest addition to the LOVE AND CHAOS series! I'm so excited to showcase it. M. J. Schiller writes stories with very real characters -- hunky heroes and spunky heroines! So, let's dive in!
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​Sometimes it takes a bad boy to redeem a good girl. But will she end up being his Salvation in the end?
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ROCK OF SALVATION
Love and Chaos Series
Book 4


Jericho Tyler was comfortable in his role as the wild man of Just Short Of Chaos.
Different gorgeous women throwing themselves at him every night? What self-respecting hetero male wouldn’t dream of that? But when Salvation steps out of his shower and into his life, things start to change.

Oh, yeah. I knew the second I saw her that she didn’t belong backstage. And she didn’t belong with a man like me, for sure. But I didn’t let that stop me from seeing just how far she was willing to go to keep up her little naughty girl charade. And if she had something to prove, why not prove it with me?

Salvation Jones was not like the rest of her family.

In a parcel of toe-the-line, conservative preacher’s kids, she stood out like a piece of her costume jewelry at the Inaugural Ball.

I must have had a far-sighted stork reading the directions for my delivery. I was louder than they were. More boisterous. I got into more trouble. I’d heard, “Oh, Salvation,” in my mom’s disappointed voice for so long I began to think the O stood for Olivia, or something. It’s not like I meant to misbehave, but it just came naturally to me. I’d tried to be who they wanted; now it was time for me to truly be myself. They say, “Go big or go home,” so why not start out by seducing a rock star? And not just any rock star, the luscious, womanizing Jericho Tyler. Now that was somebody worth sinning for!

​Sometimes it takes a bad boy to redeem a good girl. But will she become his Salvation in the end?

​

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ROCK OF SALVATION: EXCERPT

​I stepped away from the door and peeled my sweaty shirt off. A shower was going to feel amazing. And I was moving in that direction, until I was brought up short, realizing my shower was already running.

Did Dex get our dressing rooms confused?

It wouldn’t be the first time something like that had happened. I started to cross to rap on the door and it opened, a big ball of steam rolling out. A form emerged through the mist. A beautiful, womanly form. As the steam dissipated, I got a better idea of what I was looking at. She stood with a towel wrapped around her and one twisted on her head. Her gaze lifted to mine.

“Oh.” Her mouth became a perfect circle for a moment. Then she cleared her throat. “Uhh…hello—” She stopped abruptly and ran a hand up the door frame. As what appeared like an afterthought, she cocked the opposite hip awkwardly, in a position that she seemed to think was sexy. And, while it had its merits, her shaky voice, in fact, her whole demeanor told me she was an amateur.

What sort of rebellious preacher’s daughter have we got here, pretending to be a dirty girl?

She wet her lips nervously, which was probably the most provocative thing she had done, even though she did that as if without thinking. “Hello, handsome.”

I stifled a laugh. Her come-on was straight from a movie. No, she didn’t belong here at all. “Okay. Get your clothes on.”

“But don’t you want to….” She gestured vaguely.

It suddenly irritated me. She waltzes in and uses my shower. If I’d done the same to her, I would have been arrested. That flash of anger made me want to embarrass her. I finished her sentence. “Slap the sheets? Screw? Get laid?”

It did knock her back a bit. She blinked. “Yes. All those. I guess….” She chewed on a nail.

I inwardly rolled my eyes. I’d put money on this chick being a virgin. I felt an urge to play with her. It was mean and beneath me, but I had a strong desire to see just how far she would go with this miserable charade of a seduction.

“Okay. Let’s get at it then.” I crossed to her in two big strides. “You won’t be needing this.” I plucked the towel from her and tossed it aside, then pulled her against me.

She gasped and fear shadowed her features. It made me feel sorry for her and wonder what her story was, but I needed to teach her a lesson.

“So, what are you waiting for?” An edge cut through my words, because now that I was near her, and could smell the floral innocence of her fragrance, see her pretty, pouty lips, look into what had to be the most doe-like, amazing eyes I had ever seen, my body awoke.

Oh, shit. I want her. I could so have her without a single worry about whether it was right or not. She was in my shower. But I already knew I wouldn’t do it. Couldn’t do it, to her.

I grasped her chin, tilting her head back. “I thought you wanted to do me?”

She blinked rapidly and I could feel her tremble, which freaking made me yearn for her even more. The towel on her head fell off, exposing red hair with a hint of curl to it.

Shit.

Redheads were my weakness. I brushed my lips over hers. “Come on.” I swallowed but kept trying to push her buttons without engaging mine. “What’s making you wait?” I ran my tongue around her lips and kissed them softly. “Isn’t this what you want?”

Holy shit! I haven’t felt this turned on in a long time, if ever. And it has to be for the virgin I’m unwilling to hurt. This sucks.

I angled my head and lowered my lips until I was a breath apart from her. “This is what you wanted, isn’t it? Huh?” My voice sounded husky. “You want to do it, right?” I kissed her again, longer this time, and deeper. I made the mistake of lifting my gaze to hers, and suddenly I felt weak. Because, in that one moment, I couldn’t see the little girl trying to pretend to be something she wasn’t. All I could see was the desire I had ignited in her.
Her nails raked the skin of my neck and scalp as she threaded her fingers through my hair. With a flick of her tongue, she lashed my lips. Then did it again, searing me with her mouth. Branding me. I let my hand drift down to brush along the skin of her hip. Each new contact with her stirred me all the more. In a rush, I scooped her up from beneath her thighs, and we banged into the wall. I brought my mouth to her neck, grazing her with my teeth, tasting her with my tongue. Her heat against my straining crotch made me even harder.

It was going to take all of my scarce self-restraint to resist her.

She’s somebody’s daughter. She’s somebody’s daughter. She doesn’t know what she’s doing. Although it freaking feels like she knows what she’s doing. She’s simply acting out. She’ll regret giving herself for the first time to a guy like me.

My entire being groaned.

She’s just another girl. Like all the rest. There’s nothing special about her, even if it feels a tad different this time. For me, it will be like every other time. I don’t need this. I don’t need her.

​I pushed away, getting a glimpse of a killer body before turning from my temptation. But I could tell she was determined, and she wouldn’t leave unless I forced her to. Scared her. She was a novice. She would crumble. I could handle her. She was a kitten, and I was the king of the jungle. I was freaking Jericho Tyler.


PURCHASE ROCK OF SALVATION


Book One, ROCKED BY GRACE, is on sale on Amazon for 99¢.
Book Two, ROCKED BY LOVE, is on sale
on Amazon for $1.99.
Book Three, ROCK IT TO THE MOON, is up sale
on Amazon for $2.50.

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About M. J. Schiller

M.J. Schiller is a lunch lady/romance-romantic suspense writer. She enjoys writing novels whose characters include rock stars, desert princes, teachers, futuristic Knights, construction workers, cops, and a wide variety of others. In her mind everybody has a romance. She is the mother of a twenty-seven-year-old and three twenty-five-year-olds. That's right, triplets! So having recently taught four children to drive, she likes to escape from life on occasion by pretending to be a rock star at karaoke. However…you won’t be seeing her name on any record labels soon.


​Website: https://mjschillerauthor.blogspot.com/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/m-j-schiller
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/MJ-Schiller-Romance-Author/286382241460365?ref=hl
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/mjschiller/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mjschiller
Tumblr: http://mjschilz.tumblr.com/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/mjschiller
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6479377.M_J_Schiller
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/M-J-Schiller/e/B009JOQFQQ
​

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Release Day: Sunshine's Welcome

2/7/2022

3 Comments

 
​SUNSHINE’S WELCOME is on the shelves. Delilah’s story is done. And I’m awed.
 
I started writing the TEXAS BRIDES OF PIKE’S RUN series in 2000. The first book, WELCOME HOME, was published in 2013.
 
My Texas Brides series is almost done. Only one book left. I can’t fathom this.
 
And while SUNSHINE’S WELCOME is not the last story in the collection, it is the last that will take place in the past. We’re going to say goodbye to the characters that started Pike’s Run and the Swinging A.
 
My heart can’t take it.
 
While Delilah’s story is hers, it’s also everyone else’s. We go on a journey that recalls what came before her, those who shaped her, and made her Little-Bit, Dynamite, and now…Sunshine.
 
If you’ve been with us through the whole series, I hope you find SUNSHINE’S WELCOME as the proper goodbye to the past. You might want to read it with some tissues. (I sure needed to.)
​
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SUNSHINE'S WELCOME
Texas Brides of Pike's Run
Book 18


​Delilah Davis has all she could want—a loving family and freedom to do as she pleases. Nothing has ever disrupted her world. That is, not until a tall, dark and stand-offish wrangler is hired to work on her family’s ranch. Killian Blake irritates Delilah’s sunshine life, and she’s determined to show him that she’s more than capable of handling herself.

Detective Killian Blake of the Pinkerton Agency must go undercover on the Swinging A ranch to solve a thirteen-year-old murder. Once hired, he expected to be dealing with cowboys. He hadn’t counted on investigating a family with bonds thicker than frozen molasses. And to make matters worse, there’s a beautiful, wild and headstrong female dogging his steps, and cracking the ice around his heart. The closer he gets to Delilah Davis, the more he wants to keep the family secrets. But fate has other ideas…
SUNSHINE'S WELCOME: EXCERPT

Killian Blake trotted down Main Street early Tuesday morning, looking straight ahead, senses alert and aware of his surroundings. A variety of shops stood on either side of the road, along with the Royal Hotel that rose two stories and had an upper balcony. The shingle for the sheriff’s office swung in the chill breeze. Not many people strolled the walks, the colder temperature keeping them inside where fires burned, as evidenced by the smoke wisping out of chimneys.

A quiet place. A small town. Not even on his map. But here he was, on assignment. Who knew for how long, but hopefully the stint allowed him to rest for a few weeks. After chasing Sasha Parker, The Debonair Kid, and his gang of train robbers across five states for six months, Killian was ready for a breather. Even if that reprieve put him back in the corral.

But he’d handle it. After eight years, it might be good to work with horses again. Of course, he still had to get the job with the Swinging A ranch. If he didn’t, Detective Irwin wouldn’t be happy.

It didn’t take long for Killian to reach the end of the line of stores, and he continued on, heading to the cattle ranch located two miles outside of town that was run by the Davis and Lonnigan families. Killian was on the hunt for a position as a wrangler.

The solitary ride out to the ranch allowed him the chance to survey his surroundings even more. He went past pasture and forests of pine before a homestead came into view on his left. A sign proclaiming “J. Lonnigan, Veterinarian” stood at the gate. A one-story cabin about fifty feet in length sat on a gentle rise, while a variety of stables, paddocks, pens and corrals were on the side and behind the dwelling. Someone worked with a mule in one of the paddocks, and children darted around, some carrying out chores while others played.

Though the last name was the same as the owners of the ranch, Killian didn’t stop. He had the advertisement for the needed wrangler folded in his shirt pocket. It indicated that more information could be found at Callahan’s in Pike’s Run, Texas. The bartender at the saloon had told Killian to whom he should apply— J.T. Davis, Kyle Lonnigan or Deacon Tolbert—and that their spread was two miles south of town on the right. It shouldn’t be much farther and once he arrived, he just had to be hired.

When the gate to the Swinging A appeared, black iron against a chill, blue sky, he turned his horse down a path with deep wagon ruts going under the arched entrance. To his right rose a three-story, grand Victorian home, while a dog-run cabin stood to his left. About two hundred yards of freshly plowed land separated the dwellings. Probably for cotton, he surmised.

He trotted toward the cabin as the bartender had directed him to do, but when he knocked on the kitchen door, no one answered. Frowning, Killian headed out of the dog-run and scanned the field. A barn had been a little behind the cabin. Perhaps the owner of the home was inside. Leaving his horse tethered to the hitching post outside the house, Killian walked toward the larger structure.

As he did so, movement in a tall oak grabbed his attention. He slowed his steps as bits of yellow peeked through the branches that, despite the season, still held leaves. Someone was up in the tree.

He moved closer, ducking down to try to get a better view of who sat on one of the higher branches. Petticoats peeked out beneath a yellow linen dress. Struck, Killian barked, “What the hell?”

A feminine squeak and gasp accompanied a crash.

The bright yellow bundle tumbled down, and Killian’s heart flew up into his throat. He shot forward, stretching out his arms, and caught her just in time. He stumbled under the blow but kept his feet, jostling her close against his chest.

Breathing heavily, his pulse beating wildly, he gazed into the bluest eyes he’d ever seen. Auburn hair framed an angelic face that blinked in astonishment. Her full lips parted as she clutched the front of his shirt with one hand and held tight to his shoulders with the other arm.

Oh…what the hell…

​He’d just caught a beauty.

PURCHASE SUNSHINE'S WELCOME

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    Kara O'Neal

    An author who has too much to say is dangerous.

    The subjects on this blog:


    Monday Memories -- My Childhood

    Wednesday Words -- Books!

    To be a guest on my blog:

    Contact: [email protected]

    Monday Memories: Cast

    Kara -- Me
    Maria -- sister
    Wendy -- sister
    Bill -- brother

    M'Lynn -- mother
    Drummond -- father

    Grace -- mother's redheaded friend
    Liam -- Grace's husband
    Gorgeous (Georgie) -- oldest son and friend
    Phillip -- middle son and friend
    Andrew -- last child and friend

    Jo -- mother's "big idea" friend
    Noah -- Jo's husband who builds things
    Jack -- oldest son and friend
    Roxi -- middle daughter and friend
    Lela -- last child and friend

    Alex -- friend who travels the country and lives in Dallas
    Blossom -- friend who lives in Dallas and sells houses

    Miss Holly -- next door neighbor
    Kirk -- middle son
    Scotty -- youngest son

    Lou -- uncle on my dad's side who likes baseball
    Evaline -- my dad's sister who's crazy funny
    Luke -- oldest son and my cousin
    Han -- younger son and my cousin

    Clark -- my mother's brother who bleeds maroon

    Alexander -- my eldest cousin on my dad's side

    Dawn -- cousin on my dad's side that is the same age as Maria

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