Christmas in the Highlands (Virtual Tour & Giveaway)

Today I’m pleased to share Madelyn Hill’s holiday anthology, CHRISTMAS IN THE HIGHLANDS. Read on to find out more about this pair of Christmas stories set in Scotland, as well as a giveaway happening through December 20th.

Christmas in the Highlands

by Madelyn Hill

Genre: Historical Romance

Blurb

A FAMILY FOR CHRISTMAS
CHRISTMAS IN THE HIGHLANDS, BOOK ONE

Laird Malcolm Sutherland needs a bride. He has few requirements of his new wife; demands he should have insisted on with his former betrothed—namely, honesty, loyalty, and resources.

Lady Rossalyn Gordon will do anything to be rid of her tyrant father, even if that means deceiving the man who offers her an escape. If revealed, those secrets will either bring her mercy, or thrust her back into the hands of the devil who sired her.

When Rossalyn’s bastard of a father arrives at Sutherland Keep, going back on his word and ordering her return, Malcolm must decide if he can forgive his wife enough to listen to his heart and have a family for Christmas.

HIS BY CHRISTMAS
CHRISTMAS IN THE HIGHLANDS, BOOK TWO

Fiona Sutherland longs for love with the man she has pined after since she was a lass. When he weds another she is devastated, and questions why the man she pledged her heart to has forsaken a vow made in their youth. Could loving her be so hard?

Cameron Munro adores Fiona from afar, knowing her heart has been set on another. She is everything he desires—strong, loyal, and fiery in spirit.

Determined, he pledges to prove his love to her and win Fiona’s heart by Christmas.

Read an Excerpt

“I want to woo a wife.”

Brae tipped her head back and laughed. “You’ll not be needing my help with that, lad. Why, I could go in the kitchen and announce you’re looking for a wife and the lasses trample me trying to get to you.”

He chuckled, relaxed in his chair, and crossed his arms over his chest. “I want to woo Fiona.”

Abruptly, Brae sobered and then her eyes widened. “Fiona,” she exclaimed with wonder and a bit of surprise. “Are you certain, lad?”

He grinned. Fiona had earned her contrary reputation honestly. “Aye.”

“Well.” That single word held a heavy dose of skepticism. “‘Twill be tricky. She’s hurting and not likely to receive your attention. She’ll refuse you if you push her.”

Aye. Fiona was an independent woman, but with a vulnerability about her and something painful in her gaze that resulted from more than Mal’s so-called betrayal. Cam had witnessed it too many times. When those green eyes turned sad, it broke his heart. For her soul was strong and if sadness lingered, ‘twas a grievous wound within her.

“Lad, you’ll have to go slowly.” A quick smile flashed on Brae’s aged face. “Little things. Things a lass such as Fiona would appreciate. Nothing obvious.”

Aye, from what he knew of Fiona, she wouldn’t want a gift-giving swain made public. “Could you send a meal to her chamber as a courtesy?”

Brae’s smile forced her wrinkles to crease around her eyes. “For certain, Cam. ‘Tis a kind gesture.” She patted his arm and relayed his desire to one of the kitchen lasses.

His wooing would need to be quick, for if Fiona discovered his plan she’d fight him and the desire he kenned she’d have for him if she just gave him a chance.

Aye, he’d court her, gently but swiftly, for he’d only a fortnight.

And she’d be his by Christmas.

Enter for a chance to win free eBooks, Amazon Gift Card or a Holiday surprise. Give-a-Way ends December 20th! http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/f9e303c017/

Meet Madelyn Hill

Madelyn Hill’s novels have been nominated for the coveted InD’tale RONE Awards, awarded Favorite Historical Novel by Uncaged Book Reviews and Historical Novel of the Month by Long & Short Reviews.

She has always loved the written word. From the time she could read and all through her school years, she’d sneak books into her textbooks during school. And she devoured books daily. At the age of 10 she proclaimed she wanted to be a writer. After being a “closet” writer for several years, she sent her manuscripts out there and is now published with Soul Mate Publishing. And she couldn’t be happier! 

A resident of Western New York, she moved from one Rochester to another Rochester to be with the love of her life. They are busy with their 3 children, grandson and a naught dog named Cannoli! They love to cook, go to the movies, and hang out with friends.

Amazon Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQKK4HG/

Amazon UK Buy Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01MQKK4HG/ 

Amazon Canada Buy Link: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01MQKK4HG/

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MadelynHill.com

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Cause for Eliminiation (Blog Tour & Giveaway)

Cause for Elimination

by Marla A. White

GENRE: Mystery

Blurb

Reclaiming her life after a devastating riding accident, equestrian Emily Conners’ world shatters again when she discovers her friend and boss laying in a stall with a smashed skull. Now jobless and with a handsome cop underfoot investigating the case, she’s torn between wanting the killer found and keeping her own secrets safe.

Detective Justin Butler always gets his killer, but this victim has a stampede of enemies and few leads to go on. Stonewalled by the tight-knit equestrian world, he looks to Emily for help, but she’s strangely reluctant. Is she hiding something, or is she afraid of their growing attraction?

As the search for the murderer heats up, their hearts become entangled and their lives at risk, forcing Emily and Justin to work together to find the killer before they strike again.

Read an Excerpt

“Is that Larry’s trailer?” Lottie asked, sounding annoyed.

“The third one to leave the barn today,” Emily grumbled and studied her ragged fingernails, too afraid to meet Lottie’s gaze. “You still convinced I can do this? Take over her clients, I mean?”

“Kid, I think you can do anything you set your mind to.”

The moment hung there between them, full of potential and fear, until the chirp of Emily’s cell phone rescued her. She glanced at the screen, snorted in disgust, and shoved the device back in her pocket.

“What was that about?” Curiosity outweighed courtesy for Lottie. It was one of her traits Emily both hated and adored.

“It’s the cop who’s investigating Pam’s death. He wants me to introduce him to Ben Sanders.”

Her friend nudged Emily with her knee. “I understand the man is quite handsome.”

“Trust me, he’d be the first to tell you so.”

Lottie raised an eyebrow at her vehement response. “Why not show him around? I can imagine worse ways to spend a day. Or night.”

Blushing at the insinuation, Em stammered, “After last week’s rains? The muddy, pothole-ridden street to Ben’s place will suck the detective’s expensive little hybrid up to its windshield wipers.”

“Take Ellie May.”

“Why should I get my truck dirty? You’re welcome to—”

The obnoxious meep meep of a sports car horn cut Emily short. She glanced over her shoulder and clenched her jaw at the former beauty queen driving an expensive red convertible. Right behind her rolled Emily’s truck, glowing from a wash and fresh coat of wax. Both vehicles parked along the driveway as far from the dust kicked up by the riders in the other rings as possible.

“Oh, crap,” she muttered.

Marla A. White will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click here to enter the giveaway!

Meet Marla A. White

Marla White is a story analysis instructor at UCLA and writing coach who lives in Los Angeles. She graduated from the University of Kentucky (go Wildcats!), where she took her first horseback riding lesson. After dabbling in hunters, barrel racing, and weekly trail rides, she fell hopelessly in love with the sport of eventing.  She conquered Novice level before taking a break to pursue novel writing but hopes to return to the saddle someday soon.  Her first novel, “The Starlight Mint Surprise Murder,” was published in 2021 followed by the first two books in her Keeper Chronicles series. When she’s not writing, she’s out in the garden, hiking, or putting together impossibly difficult puzzles.

Social Media Links

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheScriptFixer

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Buy Links

Books2Read:  https://books2read.com/u/b6zjM6

Amazon:  https://amzn.to/3qk7XCP

BookBub:  https://www.bookbub.com/books/cause-for-elimination-by-marla-a-white

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62233827-cause-for-elimination

All Author: https://allauthor.com/book/70256/cause-for-elimination/

horse/man by Julia Merritt (Blog Tour & Giveaway)

horse/man

by Julia Merritt

GENRE: Fiction – Literary

Blurb

What happens when your entire identity revolves around a way of life that is becoming obsolete?

 

In the 1920s, as Canada progresses through the Industrial Revolution, horses are still the rural engines of survival. As a child Adam lives this reality on his family’s farm in the Ottawa Valley, planning to take over one day and have a family of his own. When his parents die during the Great Depression, nineteen-year-old Adam is disinherited in favour of his brother and is forced to move to the city to find work. Without a formal education his choices are few, yet he finds a place to use his horsemanship skills in the dwindling forces of the Canadian cavalry based near Montreal. There he finds pride in being a mounted soldier, and friendship with his fellow dragoons. But the cavalry units are mechanized by the beginning of World War Two, and when Adam is sent to Europe, he must abandon his equine partners for trucks and tanks. In the catastrophic experience of war, he will lose everything once again.

 

Broken in body and spirit, he returns to Canada where he must confront the question of survival in a world that doesn’t seem to have a place for an injured soldier. Full of poetic reflections on what it means to work with horses, horse/man is a powerful story about a man searching for dignity and connection in the face of a rapidly shifting world.

Read an Excerpt

Adam got onto his knees for a better view, holding on to the side of the wagon.

The car revealed itself to be a shiny Model T. Perhaps the driver, like the horses, could not resist the lure of moving in the sunshine. Adam watched the car bump slowly over the ruts, advancing towards them. Grey smoke wisped behind it.

Ciaran slowed the team to a walk, and they could hear the engine, a hum that grew to a rumble. Pete and Jack jerked their heads as it got close, banging into each other.

“Go on, get up,” Ciaran growled. The horses’ ears twisted sideways and forwards, trying to decide between the driver or the instinct to flee. The wagon’s tongue rattled as their legs jostled.

The car driver slowed and lifted his hand as he passed the wagon. Ciaran raised his hand in response, the other clenched on the lines attached to Jack and Pete’s gaping mouths. When the car had gone safely by, he reached over, picked the buggy whip out of its holder, and smacked each rump with the corded lash.

“Go on, trot!” he commanded, loosening the lines. The team straightened out and carried on with their jobs. Adam stared at the receding vehicle, wrinkling his nose at the stench of the fumes.

Julia Merritt will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click here to enter the giveaway!

Meet Julia Merritt

Julia Merritt has been captivated by horses ever since she could see out of the car window. Then she grew up and became a public library CEO and certified animal bodyworker. She lives in Ontario, Canada, with her thoroughbred horses and smooth collie dogs. This is her first novel.

Connect with Julia Merritt

WEBSITE http://www.juliamerritt.ca/

FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/firehorseperformancebodywork

INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/j.a.merritt/

TIKTOK https://www.tiktok.com/@j.a.merritt

GOODREADS https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60353574-horse-man

Get your copy of horse/man   

AMAZON.COM https://www.amazon.com/dp/0228856566

AMAZON.CA https://amazon.ca/dp/0228856566

INDIGO CHAPTERS https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/horse-man/9780228856542-item.html

BARNES & NOBLE https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/horse-man-julia-merritt/1140954662

BOOK DEPOSITORY https://www.bookdepository.com/horseman-Julia-Merritt/9780228856566

SMASHWORDS https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1129973

Ella (Virtual Tour & Giveaway)

Ella

(Prairie Roses Collection)

by Nancy Fraser

GENRE: Sweet/Inspirational Western Historical Romance

Blurb

To get away from her late husband’s questionable deeds, Ella Winslow takes her three children and heads west to the unsettled Washington Territory to claim land she believes she’s inherited from her father.

Tucker McAlister was fired from his position as deputy marshal for arresting the mayor’s brother-in-law for spousal abuse. His mentor has found him another job, first escorting the wagon train going west, and then as the new marshal in the growing town of Tacoma, Washington Territory.

The trail is long and hard, yet Ella is more than up to the task. Still, Tuck feels the need to watch over her and her children, whether she wants him to or not. It isn’t until they arrive in Washington that he realizes his protection will now need to extend even further than the wagon train itself.

Will Ella’s faith allow her to trust again and make a safe home for her family, while welcoming Tuck into her heart?

Read an Excerpt

Whispering Willows Farm

Maryvale, Missouri

April 16, 1870

Ella Winslow turned toward the kitchen door, the loud crash of wood on wood causing her to startle. Raising her head, she met her brother’s angry glare.

“What the devil are you thinking, Sis?” Connor Miller asked. “You can’t just up and take off with your children. And crossing the country in father’s prized possession, no less? Have you lost your senses?”

“I’ve never understood why everyone claims it’s women who are moody, hysterical even. We can’t hold a candle to a flustered man.” Narrowing her gaze, she gave Connor the same no-nonsense look she often used on her daughter and two sons. “It’s my decision to make. With my husband dead and buried, there’s nothing holding me here. As a matter of fact, given the legacy Peter Winslow left behind, I’d say taking my children away from this town is the right thing to do.”

“So, I’m nothing, am I?” Connor asked angrily.

The hurt she could see in his eyes caused her a small niggle of pain, a moment’s pause.

“Of course, you mean the world to me. You’re my brother, the only family I have left, other than my precious children.”

“Then, why are you leaving?”

Her shoulders heaved on a deep sigh. “You know why. I’m tired of having the good people of Maryvale stare at me with pity, while gossiping about me behind my back. Not to mention the way the children have been teased in the schoolyard.”

“This whole mess will blow over soon enough.”

“I’d like to believe you… that the people I’ve known my entire life will come to their senses and realize I had nothing to do with Peter’s abhorrent business dealings. And, his…” Her voice lowered before trailing off. She couldn’t bear thinking about all the secrets her late husband had harbored. All the evil deeds he’d done.

“He was a liar, a cheat, and—assuming the reports from the marshal’s office are accurate—a cold blooded killer. His actions were his own. You had nothing to do with them.”

“Tell that to the townsfolk who treat me, and my children, like steamy piles of horse dung.”

“Now who’s being hysterical?” Connor teased, his familiar grin firmly back in place.

“Not hysterical, just fed up with being treated so poorly.” She dipped her hand into the pocket of her apron and produced a piece of paper, waving it in the air. “The farm, the last of father’s workshop projects, and this… it’s all that’s left of any value.”

Connor snatched the deed from her grasp and unfolded it, scanning the page for what was likely the hundredth time.

“You don’t even know if this paper is valid. Didn’t you say the land office never responded to your letters?”

“No matter,” she insisted, swishing her hand in the most dismissive way she could manage given her own doubts. “The solicitor who handled the sale of the house and the disposition of claims against Peter’s estate said it’s a legal document. And, thankfully, never part of Peter’s holdings so it couldn’t be used to cover his debts.”

Connor’s voice softened. “You and the children are welcome to stay here with me and Millie.”

Ella reached up and cradled his cheek in the palm of her hand. The threat of tears warmed her eyes. “You’re sweet to offer, but you and your new wife don’t need us hanging around when you’re just starting out. The children and I will be fine.”

Connor shook his head, pulling away from her caress, and dislodging his thick dark curls until they fell across his forehead. “It’s not safe, setting out in a wagon train all alone. Four months—maybe more—on a dusty trail is no way for a lady to travel.”

“I won’t be alone. I’ll have my children, and at least seven other wagons.”

“What if they’re not all going as far as you are? You may be the only wagon on the Naches Pass Trail. You should wait for a year or two, until the railroad is finished. They plan to reach Olympia and Tacoma by 1872.”

“They haven’t met their previous expectations, what’s to say they’ll make this one?” Ella asked. “I don’t want to risk losing out on my claim once the population starts growing.”

“You can’t live in a wagon.”

“According to our father’s notes, he… they… built a small cabin on the property.”

“I wouldn’t be putting any faith in the jabbering of that old fool.”

She gave Connor’s cheek another pat. “Sometimes, dear brother, faith is all we’ve got. I trust the Lord will protect us on our journey.”

Nancy Fraser will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click here to enter the giveaway!

Meet Nancy Fraser

Nancy Fraser is a best-selling and award-winning author who happily jumps across multiple romance genres with gleeful abandon.

She’s also the granddaughter of a Methodist minister known for his fire-and-brimstone approach to his faith. Nancy has brought some of his spirit into her Christian romances. And, her own off-beat sense of humor to her clean & wholesome books.

When not writing (which is almost never), Nancy dotes on her five wonderful grandchildren and looks forward to traveling and reading when time permits. Nancy lives in Atlantic Canada where she enjoys the relaxed pace and colorful people.

Website: www.nancyfraser.ca

Blog: https://romancesweetreads.blogspot.com/

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Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7206382.Nancy_Fraser

The Royal Fifth (Virtual Tour & Giveaway)

The Royal Fifth

by James Peyton

GENRE: Adventure Thriller

NOTE: The book is on sale for $0.99

Blurb

The Royal Fifth: The amount of stolen treasure Conquistadors were supposed to give to the Spanish Crown.In a world corrupted by its past, what could turn a sensitive artist into a killer?

 

Young Santa Fe artist, Martín Cortés, is devastated by the deaths of family members and the loss of a huge emerald that once belonged to Hernán Cortés.

 

Colin Glendaring, a disgraced archeologist with an insatiable passion for pre-Columbian artifacts, is responsible. Martín learns that another family descended from the Spanish Conqueror lives in Oaxaca. Rather than kill Glendaring, he heads south. He discovers an unconventional household that includes Ilhui, a beautiful young woman with a dangerous political agenda.

 

Martín is stunned when he learns how the family manages to live so well…then alarmed when he discovers that Glendaring is on his way to Oaxaca. Martín and Ilhui are soon accused of murder. On the run, they are betrayed, and Ilhui is kidnapped by a guerilla leader known for recreating grisly Aztec rituals.

 

With time running out, Martín makes a pact with a ruthless army officer and a crooked federal policeman. Will it be a deal with the devil, or can he do what has to be done to save his new family and love?

Read an Excerpt

MEXICO, 1531 A.D.

Spanish Captain Federico Alvarado pulled his horse to a halt. Directly in his path, the boulder-strewn mountain seemed to rise forever into the robin-egg sky, like a giant’s stairway to heaven. He glanced behind him at the eighteen men in peaked iron helmets riding stout horses and the ten mules laden with the captain general’s treasure. What exactly they carried, Federico did not know. Only six of their burdens weighed enough to indicate gold or silver. Based on the amount of the one-fifth promised payment—the royal fifth—that was normally sent to the king, the others obviously held something of great value. Possibly some of the priceless emeralds he’d heard Cortés had taken from the Aztec king.

Over the last two days they’d lost six men to Indian attacks and were dangerously low on food and water. But he calculated they were no more than a day from their destination, the valley of Huaxyacac.

For a moment Federico reflected that if this mission ended well his star could rise like lightning in reverse. A grand home would replace the mud hovel where he lived with his Mexican wife. They could afford a servant and help her family. But gazing at the seemingly impassable range, he wondered if his commander had understood the conditions on the ground.

James Peyton will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click here to enter the giveaway!

Meet James Peyton

Award-winning Author James Peyton infuses his novels with stranger-than-fiction encounters and true-to-life characters based on his extensive travel and research. Realism in his plots and action comes from that background and his experience in martial arts and tactical firearms.

The Royal Fifth is based loosely on historical events surrounding the Conqueror, Hernán Cortés, brought into the present time. It will be followed by a mystery-thriller series featuring federal policeman, Artemas Salcido. Artemas is the illegitimate son of a Mexican governor and his Yaqui servant. Following his mother’s suspicious death, he was sent to be raised by the village priest. He attended Harvard on a scholarship and returned to Mexico vowing to fight corruption—only to receive his real education, where the grade is often life or death.

Website: jameswpeyton.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/216986.James_W_Peyton

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/James-W.-Peyton/e/B001K7XKJA