I am still having a difficult time concentrating on reading a book, I hope to get back into it at some point. Still doing book promotions just not reviews
Thank you for your understanding during this difficult time. I appreciate all of you.
Kathleen Kelly
July 2024
Any Triggers: mild violence associated with the era.
Holland, 1944:Undercover British agent Nancy Callaghan has been given her toughest case yet. A key member of the Dutch resistance has been captured, and Nancy must play the role of a wealthy Nazi to win over a notorious SS officer, Detlef Keller, and gain crucial information.
England:Coding expert Tom Lockwood is devastated that the Allies have failed to push back the Nazis, leaving Northern Holland completely cut off from the rest of Europe, and him from his beloved Nancy. Desperate to rescue the love of his life, Tom devises Operation Tulip, a plan to bring Nancy home.
But as Nancy infiltrates the Dutch SS, she finds herself catching the eye of an even more senior member of the Party. Is Nancy in too deep, or can Tom reach her before she gets caught?
Inspired by the true events of occupied Holland during WW2, don't miss this utterly gripping story of love, bravery and sacrifice.
Praise for Deborah Swift:
'A well crafted tale… this book did not disappoint' NetGalley reviewer,⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'There is action, mystery and romantic entanglements stirred into the story for a fantastically entertaining read' NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Deborah Swift never disappoints' NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Deborah Swift is a USA TODAY bestselling author of twenty books who is passionate about the past. Deborah used to be a costume designer for the BBC, before becoming a writer.
Now she lives in an old English school house in a village full of 17th Century houses, near the glorious Lake District. After taking a Master's Degree in Creative Writing, she enjoys mentoring aspiring novelists and has an award-winning historical fiction blog at her website www.deborahswift.com.
Deborah loves to write about how extraordinary events in history have transformed the lives of ordinary people, and how the events of the past can live on in her books and still resonate today.
Recent books include The Poison Keeper, about the Renaissance poisoner Giulia Tofana, which was a winner of the Wishing Shelf Book of the Decade Award, and a Coffee Pot Book Club Gold Medal. Her most recent books are The Silk Code and The Shadow Networkboth set in the Second World War.
Clarinda faces a moment of profound reality—a rattlesnake bite, a harbinger of her imminent mortality—and undertakes an introspective journey. In her final days, she immortalizes not only her own story but that of her parents—a narrative steeped in her family’s insights into Cherokee heritage during the tumultuous years preceding the forced removal of Native communities. In 1818, Clarinda’s father, Cherokee John Ridge, embarks on a quest for a young man’s education at the Foreign Mission School in Cornwall, Connecticut.
Amidst sickness, he finds solace and love with Sarah, the steward’s quiet daughter. Despite enduring two years of separation, defamatory editorials, and societal upheaval due to their interracial love affair, the resilient couple weds in 1824. This marks the inception of a journey for Sarah as she delves into a world both cherished and feared—Cherokee Territory. As John Ridge advocates for the preservation of his people’s land and that of his Muskogee Creek neighbors against encroaching Georgia settlers and unscrupulous governmental officials, the stakes are high.
His success or failure hinges on his ability to balance his proud Cherokee convictions with an intricate understanding of American law. Justice remains uncertain. Grounded in a true story, ‘Tho I Be Mute resonates with a compelling historical narrative, giving an intimate voice to those heard, those ignored, those speechless, urging readers to not only hear but to truly listen.
History is better than fiction. We all leave a legacy. As an English educator, Heather Miller has spent twenty-four years teaching her students the author’s craft. Now, she’s writing it herself, hearing voices from the past. Heather earned her MFA in creative writing in 2022 and is teaching high school as well as college composition courses. Miller’s foundation began in the theatre, through performance storytelling.
She can tap dance, stage-slap someone, and sing every note from Les Miserables. But by far, her favorite role has been as a fireman’s wife and mom to three: a trumpet player, a future civil engineer, and an RN.
Alas, there’s only one English major in her house. Heather continues writing the Ridge Family Saga. Her current work-in-progress, Stands, concludes the Ridge Family Saga.
A Montana Feud brings back all the rugged and passionate characters of the Rodeo in the Blood series for another drama-filled adventure. Fans of thrilling rodeo rides and the complexities of human relationships will find this story absorbing.
During the pandemic shortened 2020 rodeo season, former rivals, Rusty Blackstone and Warren Weston, join forces to pursue their rodeo dreams. At a rodeo in Chinook, Montana, Rusty accidentally reignites a dormant feud between his father and rodeo producer Jake Augustine. Rusty is lucky to survive the ensuing turmoil.
Meanwhile, Warren battles his ex-wife, Jenny, for a portion of his rightful inheritance. Throughout, Rusty, Warren, and Jenny struggle with the new arrangement to share their son, Todd. Warren battles to care for his invalid mother. Unexpected violence mars Rusty and Amanda’s horseback wedding.
Harlan, the only man they all trust, does his best to help them through everything.
As they pulled into the Nebraskaland Wild West Arena on the north side of North Platte, Rusty and Casey were listening to the audio version of Craig Johnson’s book The Dark Horse. Casey, who was driving, parked the truck. In a suspenseful part of the story, neither one of them wanted to get out. Casey killed the engine, but they sat there slightly embarrassed until, after a few minutes, all the electronics in the pickup shut off automatically.
“Dammit, Rusty,” Casey said. “Now you’ve got me addicted to these stories of yours. I guess I could start up again.”
“Don’t you dare,” Rusty said. “We’ve only got an hour to get bulldogging on our minds.” He opened the door and got out. Casey followed. A hot wind swirled and ebbed and swirled again. They unloaded the horses. There was a dark cloud to the south.
“I don’t like the way this wind is gusting,” Casey said. “I hope it doesn’t mean that thunderhead is coming this way.”
“It looks like it’s well south,” Rusty said. “The river is between us and it. There’s probably an air current over the Platte that will push it away from us.”
“I hope so,” Casey said.
More concerned about his horses than the weather, Rusty tied Apache to the trailer and watched as Casey walked Peanut around in a circle. The horse seemed to be walking without pain, at least not much. Rusty wasn’t sure but thought his strides were an inch or two short compared to his normal gate. “How does that wound look?”
“It doesn’t look too bad. The stitches are holding,” Casey answered. “It’s draining a little, but his chest is swelled up a bit.”
Rusty shook his head. “The vet said we could ride him as soon as we figured he was ready. I think we need to give him at least a few days off. I don’t want to ask him to run when he’s sore.”
Casey said, “He’s been stuck in the trailer all day. Why don’t I lead him around for a while, loosen him up? Maybe find him some water.”
“Okay,” Rusty said. “I’ll saddle Apache and go to the rodeo office. I’ll find someone to haze for us. When I get back, I’ll pony Peanut in the arena while I warm up Apache.”
Rusty encountered Wesley Martin, a former world champion steer wrestler who hauled a team of ‘dogging horses, outside the office. He was more than happy to haze for them.
When Rusty rode into the arena, the announcer said, “Our next cowboy is Rusty Blackstone, the current World Champion. He calls that horse he is riding Apache. Apache might be a little bit on the homely side, you can see that for yourself, but he is one of the top two or three steer wrestling horses in Prorodeo. The last time I saw Rusty was at the rodeo in Minot, North Dakota over the Fourth of July. He was traveling with Casey Jones and Warren Weston. They have all competed at the National Finals. I teased them about coming in like a pack of wolves. I was right. They took nearly all the money.”
Rusty had drawn the good steer he had at the Phillipsburg, Kansas rodeo where he’d thrown him in 4.1. Considering the mud at that rodeo, he thought he could be faster on dry ground. Since the steer wasn’t terribly fast, he took a conservative start and threw the animal in 3.7.
The announcer introduced Casey Jones as a National Finals Rodeo qualifier. “He travels with Rusty Blackstone who made a spectacular run here minutes ago. He’s riding Rusty’s good horse, Apache. As I mentioned a few minutes ago, he also got a big chunk of the money in Minot last month and is sitting about tenth in the standings right now.”
Casey threw his steer in 3.9.
“See, what did I tell you?” the announcer crowed after the run. “Only two thirds of the Wolf Pack and they still got a big chunk of the money.
Rusty ended up in second place for the rodeo and Casey third.
After the rodeo, Casey sat in the trailer looking at the road atlas. He said, “It would have been a lot quicker trip if we could have come here directly from Phillipsburg.”
Rusty laughed and answered, “If those rodeo committees had asked me, I’d have gotten them to set up the rodeos so that we could have gone from Sidney to Sikeston to Lawton to Dodge City and then to Phillipsburg and North Platte. I don’t know why they didn’t ask me. Would have saved us a lot of miles. Maybe we could get Ruby to organize them next year.”
Jim Overstreet is a lifelong cowboy and author of A Montana Rivalry. Raising horses for most of his life, he earned multiple titles in tie down roping, from youth rodeo to the senior circuit.
As an accomplished writer, his work has been published in national magazines including Reader’s Digest, Persimmon Hill and numerous equine magazines, including Western Horseman. The American Horse Publications honored him as a winner in their Feature Article category.
Jim rode horses before he could walk. He grew up on the Sun Ranch, a large cattle and horse ranch in the Madison Valley in southwest Montana with a father who was an avid horseman and well-respected cowboy in the area.
He grew up believing that cowboys were special. His father helped him begin training horses and later he learned from Ray Hunt and Tom Dorrance.
Jim’s adult life was filled with roping and rodeos along with raising two daughters with his wife amongst his many horses in the shadow of Montana’s Crazy Mountains.
Jim loves to write, except when he hates it, and although he is old enough to know better, Jim still rides and trains horses. He is passionate about telling stories of the contemporary West that demonstrate the physical toughness, mental determination, and dependence on community inherent to ranching and rodeo.
His first book, A Montana Rivalry, released by Palmetto Publishing in fall of 2023, is the first book in the Rodeo in The Blood Series.
The Source is hunting Talents but Kara Jester is no
distressed
damsel...
WARNING: LANGUAGE, SEX
Binder
The Price of Talent
Book 2
by AK Nevermore
Genre
Spicy
Dystopian SciFi Romance
On an
alternate earth, a cataclysm has altered a subset of the population.
Talents are persecuted for their psychic and physical mutations,
giving rise to two conflicting societies based upon maintaining
genetic purity. And the Source, a shadowy corporate entity dependent
upon the exploitation of captive Talents, is hunting them…
Flynn and Kara have made it
to the north, but they’re far from safe.
In the city of Glynfyls, the
ruling body known as the Assembly has become ineffectual at best and
treasonous at worst, leaving the Northern Territories ripe for
invasion. Under the threat of blackmail, Flynn Scot is forced into a
leadership position to combat the corruption and to protect his
family. Titus is coming, and unless Flynn can convince the Assembly
that the threat from the Source is real, every Talent in the North
faces harvesting.
Meanwhile, Kara is
floundering.
Thrown into a completely new
environment, Talent Kara Jester questions her place in the North and
everything else. Plagued by wedding preparations and without the
ability to bind her resurfacing memories of trauma, she’s a mess.
Then, with the arrival of someone from her past, tensions skyrocket
between her and Flynn.
And it’s mirrored within
the city.
After a string of grisly
murders and abductions, Glynfyls is in turmoil. With the Original
Houses playing games and setting their machinations above the
common’s safety, no one is free from recrimination and rumors
abound. So do threats of civil unrest. And if Flynn can’t find a
way to get out from under his blackmailer’s thumb and set things
right, their fairytale wedding being planned amidst the madness won’t
end in a happily ever after.
On an
alternate earth, a cataclysm has altered a subset of the population.
Talents are persecuted for their psychic and physical mutations,
giving rise to two conflicting societies based upon maintaining
genetic purity. And the Source, a shadowy corporate entity dependent
upon the exploitation of captive Talents, is hunting
them…
Self-exiled to the Outside, Flynn Scot is
oath-bound to a life of strict penance.
Cursed with a vicious temper
and haunted by the blood-stained debauchery of his past, Flynn’s
sworn off women, whiskey, and violence, and doesn’t give a damn
about whispers of the coming war. He sure as hell isn’t in the mood
to make good on a debt when it’s called in, especially when playing
white knight outs him as a Talent, and the damsel in distress as his
soulmate.
On the run from her future
as a broodmare for the Source, escaped Talent Kara Jester is no
distressed damsel.
And the last thing she wants is
to be trapped in a blizzard with a surly—and frustratingly
captivating—thug. Without the suppression meds holding her libido
in check, her biology’s primed to procreate, and Flynn’s growled
assurances that he won’t touch her doesn’t match the hunger in
his eyes.
It doesn’t align with what
fate has in store for them, either.
With elite troops hot on their
heels and the border set to close, it’s a race to the North, away
from Kara’s horrific future and towards the dark past Flynn wants
to keep buried. Clinging to the shreds of his oath, he’s forced to
choose between protecting the woman he’s afraid to love and letting
out the animal he swore he’d never be again. Either may destroy
him, if Kara’s secrets don’t get them killed first.
Flynn put his book aside and eyed the massive pile of wood Kara had brought in. She stacked the last of the logs against the wall, pensive.
“You good?”
Her smile was forced. “Yeah, it’s just so quiet. I’m not used to it.”
She knelt beside him and unwrapped the compress. It’d long since gone cold. His gaze slid over her inspecting his knee. There was a competence and economy to her motions that gave the impression she was very good at what she was doing. He shivered at her touch, and a muscle in his jaw popped.
She peeked up at him. “Cold hands?”
“Yeah.” They were, but that wasn’t the issue.
“You have to stay off it.” She reached forward like she was going to ruffle his hair, then pulled back when he tensed, biting at her thumb.
Goddamn it. That kicked-dog look was back on her face. Flynn closed his eyes, fighting the urge to pull her into his lap and tell her everything would be okay. Wasn’t his f*cking problem.
Lies, lies, lies, lies, lies. Shit was gutting him. Why the hell he felt responsible for her…
He wasn’t. Couldn’t be. Couldn’t handle his own train-wreck. Adding her to that equation would only get her hurt. Last thing he wanted was for her to see what a monster he was. For whatever had been in her eyes before to snuff out.
Screw her not thinking he was a white knight; she’d despise him.
His stomach churned, sick over it.
“Mind if I put on some pants?”
Kara stared at her hands, fingers laced together. “As long as I can get to your knee.”
“Grab me those.” She got his sweats, and he moved the recliner back upright, feeling like an absolute dick. He jerked his head at the cupboard. “Couple cans of soup in there, if you’re hungry.”
She hopped to, like he’d given an order. Flynn’s brow furrowed, pulling on the sweats. What was that about? It was like a part of her had just shut down—
He bit back a groan. That look she had before. The one where he’d sworn she thought she was fucking defective or some shit, and he’d been flat out rejecting her advances. Christ, he wanted to kick his own ass. Having an ugly pr*ck like him say no had to be great for her ego. Motherf—
“How do I…?” She was turning a can over in her hands, frowning.
“Opener’s where you found the forks,” he muttered, watching her push around his meager supply of cutlery. God, he was an asshole, and there wasn’t anything he could say without making it worse.
“This thing?” She held it up for his inspection.
“Yeah, just clip it on and turn the wheel.”
She put her back to him, and it sounded like she was botching the job. Like she needed another blow to her confidence. Flynn sighed, hoisting himself up. So much for staying off his knee.
“You shouldn’t be—”
“I gotta piss.”
Kara turned away, flushing. He limped the six steps to the table and steadied himself with a hand to one side of her, grinning before he could help himself. She was so frickin’ adorable fumbling with the damned thing. How could you be clueless about operating a can opener?
“Here, just—no, not like—come here.” He moved behind her, adjusting her grip, and firmly clipping it onto the side of the can. Damn, she smelled good. As in there-goes-taking-a-piss-right-away good.
“Go on, turn it.” Her fingers were long and slender beneath his. Smooth.
“Like this?” she asked, peeking over her shoulder at him, all innocent and sexy as hell. It twined around him in that heady musk. Flynn’s eyes dropped to her lips—
F*ck, he couldn’t do this.
“Yeah.” He reached past her to grab a stout stick leaning between the cabinet and the wall. Woman was killing him. “Next one’s all you.” He lurched into the bathroom, cursing himself.
Kara’s bra hung limply from the curtain rod, mocking him. He ran the water, splashing the glacial iciness over his head, hard-on throbbing for the umpteenth time today. Pretty soon frostbite wasn’t gonna be a deterrent to j*cking off.
And he was supposed to take her north.
F*cking Cal.
Nothing had gone right since he’d answered his call. And now he was stuck with her and a mandate hanging over his head. Keep his dick in his pants. The hell he would, she wanted him, and if she kept offering it up, who was he to say no?
Flynn blew out noisily, scrubbing at his face. No. That wasn’t him. Not anymore, and she deserved better. Emotions running riot, he doused his head in the sink, soaking his shirt in the process.
Whatever. It stank, just like the rest of him. He peeled it off and chucked it onto the pile in the corner, sponging himself down. A Binder. Why the hell did she have to be a Binder? Bred for talent and beauty. They’d done a bang up job with her. Her in that lacy bra flitted across his mind’s eye. Shit, those halos. He’d never seen—Christ, he needed a cold shower. This goddamn knee. He wouldn’t be able to keep his balance in there…though sitting in six inches of freezing water held a certain appeal. He grimaced, grabbed his scissors, and snipped a few errant hairs off his upper lip—
What am I doing?
He threw the scissors back behind the mirror, disgusted with himself. He’d keep his hands off her. Ducking his head, he sighed, staring down at his tented sweats, then at the dirty laundry pile, and finally, the walking stick.
F*ck my life. How the hell was this gonna work? He snorted, trying to remember the last time he’d had to hide an erection.
AK
Nevermore enjoys operating heavy machinery, freebases coffee, and
gives up sarcasm for Lent every year. A Jane-of-all-trades, she’s a
certified chef, restores antiques, and dabbles in beekeeping when
she’s not reading voraciously or running down the dream in her
beat-up camo Chucks.
Unable
to ignore the voices in her head, and unwilling to become medicated,
she writes Science Fiction and Fantasy full time.
She
pays the bills editing, wielding a wicked hot pink pen and writing a
column on SFF. She also belongs to the Authors Guild, is a chapter
treasurer for the RWA, teaches creative writing, and on the rare
occasion, sleeps.
Lorna lives with her husband in her dream home, loves socialising, and has a passion for the finer things in life.
THE HUSBAND
Dan owns a successful accountancy business, enjoys golf and exercise, and loves Lorna deeply.
Life is good. Until new neighbours move into the house next door.
Perry, a property developer is charismatic and friendly, with a beautiful young wife, Ingrid. They become friends, sharing intimate dinners, trips away, and ultimately a holiday together in Greece. But all is not as friendly as it seems.
While there, a fatal accident occurs that changes their lives.
They don’t all return. But those that do, are hiding a huge secret . . . and there’s someone who will do whatever it takes to make sure that it never comes to the surface.
Providing excerpts has been terribly difficult for this book, the reason being, I don’t want to give too much away. If I say more, it would most definitely spoil the enjoyment of the story. So, sincere apologies in advance for just a few lines – all will become apparent for the reader, I promise.
I write crime/psychological thrillers. All my books have a romance and crime element to them, but my earlier ones do have a lot of adult content. I write much less of that now though (I don’t know any more!).
Each one of my books is different intentionally. I know that occasionally I’ll get a review from a reader that ‘preferred my last book’ and I understand that completely (I have my favourites too). My intention when starting a book is to have the reader swiping the pages well into the night! I always try to provide a good story with lots of twists and turns and a few I didn’t see that coming moments. I sincerely hope I’ve done so with this one . . .
Whatever It Takes (excerpt)
“It’s just going to look like a drowning accident. As long as you stick to the story we’ve rehearsed from the beginning, it’ll be fine. By the time they’ve retrieved their bodies, they’ll be black and blue from the coral so it won’t be evident they’ve been hit. And when they check for alcohol, they’ll have way too much in their system.”
“What about the boat explosion though, you’ve never told me exactly what you’re going to do.”
“Cause I purposely don’t want you to know. Remember, afterwards we’re going to be questioned about it all. The less you know the better.”
“But I wouldn’t breathe a word.”
“I know you wouldn’t. But what you don’t know, you can’t say. You’ll stick to the story as to exactly what happened. We were all blotto, and there was some sort of explosion on the boat. I shouted to get in the water which you’re going to do. You don’t need to ever say any more than that.”
Joy Wood has worked as a nurse most of her adult life and turned to writing six years ago to ‘see if she could.’ Her earlier work was adult romance and intrigue, but more recently she has switched genres to romance with a crime element. Joy lives in the small but charming seaside town of Cleethorpes in North East Lincolnshire and her writing ideas come from watching the tide turn daily, of course with the obligatory ice-cream – someone has to support the local economy!
The first lesson Eilean MacAlistair
learned in blacksmithing: First, you harden, and then you
temper.
Otherwise, your metal will break.
The
same is true with life.
A
few years back, Eilean didn’t temper herself, and she broke
someone. Badly. Hospital badly.
Her
family had to flee Scotland because of her, but now they’ve
returned, and 17-year-old Eilean’s life feels like a forge with the
temperature rising around her. Mamó is sick, her family is straining
at the seams, and magic is real!
An
Otherworld has been calling to her from beneath Loch Lomond.
When
she answers, Eilean discovers a world of blacksmiths in ballgowns,
cruel cyclopses, and chronically critical kelpies.
Because
she didn't have enough problems to deal with already.
Will
Eilean be able to temper herself against everything in this strange
new world, and withstand the weight of her past? Or will she break
once again?
Find
out in the first adventure of Eilean in the Otherworld, The Spiral of
Life, a young adult fantasy inspired by Celtic folklore.
Francesca McMahon was born in
Oxford, England, to a Scottish father and an Essex mother. They
gained a B.A. in Creative Writing at Edge Hill University and was
shortlisted for the university’s Dame Janet Suzman Playwriting
Award in 2019.
Since graduating, Francesca has worked consistently in
publishing while working on her writing of fantasy, horror and
romance fiction, as well as various tabletop RPGs and screenplays. As
a queer person, their work is dedicated to the LGBTQIA+ community,
and she hopes that they will all find a home in her imaginary worlds.
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