Friday, March 25, 2016

FREE Today! January Black Ice



Dear Gentle Readers,

Today January Black Ice, the first in the Cat Collier Mystery series is free at  http://tinyurl.com/zmv3jeq


January Black Ice

Mary Catherine Collier is called to the penthouse apartment of the city’s very rich, most influential lawyer, Detrick Bittmor. He has a very personal assignment for her. It involves a mysterious young man who sits on a park bench every day at noon and stares up at Bittmor’s top floor apartment.

Mary Catherine, or Cat, as she’s better known, has a soft spot for this lawyer with a nasty reputation. There’s something about this old man she likes, and even found charming.


Detrick Bittmor thinks the young man on the park bench resembles a younger version of himself. He thinks this young man could be his son from an affair he had many years ago with a beautiful New Year lawyer. This man could be his only heir.


And old man Bittmor isn’t getting any younger.


And if you like this one,  February White Lies and March Blues are out now. I'm working on the fourth story, tentatively titled April Yellow Moon. But for it to find it's way to you, the first three have to have good numbers and a decent number of reviews on Amazon.com.

So...if you download January Black Ice free today and if you like it, please consider leaving a short review on Amazon.com. It would be much appreciated. 

Hugs,
Carol

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Melissa Huie's Broken Rules Cover Reveal



Kate Parker learned at a very young age to guard herself, and her heart, so she doesn't get hurt. At twenty-seven, she’s mastered the art of putting up walls. With her dangerous career as a rising FBI agent, Kate is very careful to keep her circle close. With her frosty glare and no tolerance for games, too many people are intimidated. Weakness isn’t permitted in her line of work, and in her world – love is a weakness she just can’t accept.

Noah Russo had his life all sorted out. Until it took a tragic turn. Picking up the pieces, he leaves his job in Miami and comes home to start a new life. A life that he didn’t expect. Gone is the adventure, the heart-pounding excitement, the sultry heat that he left behind – along with a blue-eyed girl who stole his heart.

When their worlds collide, Kate does everything in her power to keep Noah at a distance. But when it comes to matters of the heart, all rules were made to be broken.




Twenty-six-year-old Megan Connors’s life is not going in the direction she thought it would. With her love life in the dumps, she doesn’t think it could get any worse until her long-time crush, Shane asks to move in. After all, he has no clue that she’s been in love with him for the past ten years. But fate has a way of turning things around. 
As their relationship goes from “just friends” to lovers, life takes a turn for the unexpected. Shane isn’t the person that Megan once fell in love with all those years ago. Shane has a past; deadly secrets that are only revealed once the FBI knocks on Megan’s door. 

Secrets, tragedy, and deceit force Shane—and Megan—to make choices that will change their lives forever. Once Megan learns the truth, will she still want to be with Shane? Or will someone else be at the end of her broken road? 

The Broken Road contains mature themes, heart-pounding action, edge-of-your-seat suspense, graphic violence and steamy romance, with a side of strong language, drug dealing, and a lot of sarcastic humor.

       

The Sequel to the sexy, suspenseful novel The Broken Road. 
“Not a day had gone by that I didn’t dream about Shane, that one day he would come home to us. I imagined that our days would be filled with long talks and moments of reconnection, and our nights would be full of hot, sweaty sex. But things weren’t going the way I had imagined. Baby steps, Megan. He just needs to adjust. I couldn’t change the past and we would have to take things in stride. We couldn’t be the same couple we once were, not overnight.” 

When Shane Turner shows up at Megan Connors’s carport one rainy night, Megan thinks she’s dreaming. The man who has held her heart since high school, and the father of her unborn child, is supposed to be dead, killed in an explosion at a safe house. But somehow Shane has survived, and Megan believes that with him home safely and their baby on the way, they will finally get their happy ending. 

But it soon becomes apparent that all is not what it seems. Shane is home, but he’s brought some demons back with him, demons that Megan can’t fight alone. Shane is a haunted man, plagued by paranoia and distrust. He believes that danger threatens their lives at every turn, and it is tearing their life together apart. 


In this compelling sequel to The Broken Road, Shane must deal with the present and the future, with the cartel—and himself. Megan must protect her family and, when the time comes, must make the ultimate decision. 

Will Shane and Megan have their happily ever after, or will it just be another broken promise?

Melissa grew up in Maryland by the Chesapeake Bay, where her favorite memories took place near the water. Now she lives near Washington, D.C. with her family and her two wonder-mutts. In between the chaos of laundry, chasing after her three children and trying not to burn dinner, Melissa continues to find her escape by feeding her addiction of reading and writing about love, suspense, and sarcasm.

    

HOSTED BY:

Saints and Sinners













Tuesday, March 22, 2016

The Work of Martin SaldaƱa

The Work of Martin SaldaƱa



Dear Gentle Readers,

I first saw the unmistakable work of Martin SaldaƱa while on vacation in Colorado Springs, CO, at the art museum there.  There was something about his work that I just loved.

There is a playfulness about his paintings, a fresh look at something old, that totally re-energizes the subject matter. 




Look at this.


Will you ever be able to look at Blue Boy the same way again?


I wish these photos were of better quality because they don't do his work justice.  I tried to buy something in the gift shop that had his images on them, but they didn't have anything.






And while we're talking about Blue Boy, we can't leave Pinkie out.


In 1950, Martin SaldaƱa was invited to try out an art class... by mistake.  


He was the only 76 year-old in the class at Denver Art Museum and instantly became enamored with the idea of 

painting scenes from his childhood in San Luis Potosi in Mexico.  His paintings have been described as endearing, innocent, and lively, but no matter how you describe them, they are charming and show the artist's great love of life.



Martin SaldaƱa painted every day, usually completing an new oil painting every three days.





Martin SaldaƱa died at the age of 91.  Before picking up the paintbrush, Martin was the head cook at The Brown Palace Hotel, a landmark in Denver, CO.



Just goes to show you, you are never to old to find that spark of inspiration that may change your life and the lives of those who appreciate your work.  


We owe all this to a wrongly-addressed invitation to an art class.

Thank you, Martin SaldaƱa. Your work makes me smile. Your vibrant use of color and simple designs excite me.  You have made my world a better place.

Hugs,
Carol    

Monday, March 21, 2016

Elspeth McLean, Artist Extraordinaire!





Look at what this woman does with stones and paint!

These gorgeous painted stones are by Elspeth McLean, an Australian artist born in Gooseberry Hill, a small suburb in western Australia. She showed her artistic tendencies at a very early age.







She moved to the East Coast of Australia at the age of nineteen to follow her dream of becoming  a full time artist.


Elspeth now lives in Canada.







Elspeth creates breathtaking masterpieces of tiny, colorful dots in beautiful patterns on round ocean stones.  Each one is more beautiful than the next. 



Follow Elspeth McLean on Facebook by visiting her beautiful page at:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Elspeth-McLean-artist-/113764415348201?fref=ts




None of these photos are mine. I got them online or at website.  Her work is available for sale at 
etsy. com