#SaturdaySpotlight is on Kristen Joy Wilks & Yellowstone Yondering!

Good Morning!

If you've followed me for long you know I absolutely LOVE to promote new-to-me authors. Our guest is a fellow Pelican Book Group author who has never had the opportunity to visit - until today! So please welcome Kristen Joy Wilks with her book, Yellowstone Yondering....

When a free-spirited wildlife photographer loses her Scottish terrier in a herd of bison, she sets out to rescue her furbaby before he is devoured. But will she succeed when Yellowstone National Park is chock full of boiling, bubbling, and rampaging hazards (both mammalian and geographical) — not to mention a rule-obsessed park ranger whose many rescues thwart her efforts to find her poor pup?  

 Excerpt: He handed her a stack of pamphlets, not only on pet regulations within the park, but also papers that listed safe camping techniques, wild animal safety, and motorcycle repair for beginners. Where did he get all of this material? Surely the park did not concern itself with what kind of leather polish she used on the seat of her vehicle.

          “I noticed that you are not wearing biking leathers.”

          “Of course not. I look terrible in black.”

          If possible, his scowl increased in intensity.

          “Also, it is incredibly hot. If I don’t crash, I’ll be fine.”

          The ranger handed her a pamphlet showing a number of grievous injuries and mangled motorbikes, some of them still in flames. “I’ve compiled a list of motorcycle accidents in the park from the last decade. Please consider the purchase of protective garments appropriate to your mode of transportation.”

          Kayla snatched the paper out of his hand and squinted at his name tag which read ALEXANDER BRANDT in precise block lettering. “I’ll take it into consideration, Ranger Brandt. Can I go?”

          Mr. Brandt shook his head and indicated her camera and the equipment tucked inside the open saddle bag. “All park animals are wild. Stay one-hundred yards from bears and wolves and at least twenty-five yards from bison, moose, elk, big horn sheep, deer, and coyotes.”

          “Of course they’re wild. Surely, everyone in this line knows that?”

          “Yes, you would think so. Yet somehow I’ve spent the entire summer discouraging park goers from sneaking up to place their children, children mind you, on the backs of rambling bison and grazing moose for photos. Yesterday, a group of twelve tourists were snapping selfies not five feet away from a Grizzly with cubs and so I say again, the animals are wild!” The ranger paused a moment to collect himself.

          “OK, then, let me assure you of my sanity. I am fully aware that these are bear-infested wilderness areas. I swear never to perch my dog upon wildlife of any kind and will personally tackle any parent who attempts to do so. Safety first … you can let me through anytime now.”

          The ranger raised one brow and lowered his sunglasses. “You might want to skip the tackling part. They would most likely sue.” Man, his eyes were blue … and intense, apparently he had no intention of shortening the lecture. “Now, do not feed any of the animals. Even a marmot can give you Bubonic Plague.”

          Bubonic Plague, really? Kayla snatched her park pass from his hand and was about to pull forward when he gave her just the hint of a smile. It transformed his stern expression, pulling her gaze to those blue eyes and bringing out a single dimple in his cheek. Annoying and cute. How charming. As Ranger Brandt stepped back and waved her forward, he managed to smash her glimpse of Mr. Dashing with some unsolicited wisdom.

          “Remember, no one will enjoy your beautiful photos if you get an antler gouged through your eye.”

          Kayla glanced back and smiled. “Actually, nothing increases sales like the tragic death of the artist.” As Ranger Brandt’s eyes hardened and he opened his mouth to reply, Kayla revved the engine and kicked Canary into gear.  

Author Bio: 

Kristen Joy Wilks lives with her camp-director husband, three fierce sons, and a slobbery Newfoundland dog. She has blow-dried a chicken, smuggled bacon into the movie theater, and fought epic Nerf battles instead of washing dishes. Kristen writes about the humor and Grace God gives amidst the detritus of life. Connect with Kristen on her Website, Facebook, Pinterest. Get a copy of Yellowstone Yondering at Amazon, B&N and PBG. Watch the Trailer HERE.

Wow, Kristen, this book sounds really wonderful! I've been to several National Parks but Yellowstone isn't one - yet. Hopefully soon!

Good luck and God's blessings.

PamT

#SaturdaySpotlight is on Clare Revell and All That Glitters!

Good Morning!

Clare Revell is no stranger to our blog. She recently shared treasures with us and introduced us to her newest release, All That Glitters.

Today we'll get a peek further into the book.

Gold medalist, Peter Stanmore has returned home a broken man and intends to put the past behind him. But love isn't so easily repressed, and second chances are rare.

Jill Davenport has given up any hope of marriage and a life of her own, after all, years ago, she lost the only man she ever loved. But the truth is impossible to hide.

When secrets are revealed, decisions must be made in spite of the consequences. Can what was once lost be found, or is love destined to remain forever lost?

Excerpt: 

Peter Stanmore stood on the Olympic podium, the men’s figure skating gold medal surprisingly heavy around his neck. From the speakers to one side of the ice rink, the United Kingdom national anthem played while the Union Flag fluttered over his head. This is for you, Mum and Dad. Tears pricked his eyes as he sang along. He’d watched ceremonies like this before and couldn’t believe the number of athletes who shed tears during them, yet here he was doing the very same thing. Crying and smiling with overwhelming happiness and at the same time, in awe of what he’d just done.

It had to be the pinnacle of his career. Proof, if proof were needed, that God honors those who honor Him.

Peter had made a concerted effort never to compete on a Sunday, which resulted in him being dropped from teams or not even selected. Sundays were for God, not for skating and definitely not for competitions. And it seemed his faith and determination were now paying off. Just as it had for Eric Liddell decades before him.

Peter finally had the medal he’d craved, without having to compromise either his beliefs or his promise to the Lord along the way.

And the glory went to God, not him.

He waved as the anthem ended and posed for photos with the other medalists, including the obligatory kissing-the-medal picture that he’d never seen the point of before and still didn’t now. As the cameras flashed around him, the ‘if onlys’ began to filter through his mind.

If only things were different.

If only Mum and Dad were here. His heart broke that they weren’t here to share it with him. An accident had ripped his family apart just months before the Olympics, taking his parents from him and leaving him alone. He hoped that somehow they were watching him from heaven and shared in the mixed emotions that filled him.

If only Jill had been here to collect it with him.

His career had begun in pairs skating. He and Jill worked their way up to the nationals and just as they were about to make it big, he’d messed up completely. As a result he’d made a career decision he now wished desperately he could undo. He’d allowed himself to be persuaded the right hand path was better than the left. That meant leaving Jill behind, a decision he’d regretted every moment of every day since.

This should have been both of them, not just him. He needed to call her, to put things right, to try to atone.

Three hours later, he sat on the couch in the team hotel still trying to pluck up the courage to call Jill.

Winston Brown, one of the bobsleigh team, nudged him. “Hey, a bunch of us are going to celebrate your win with a bottle of soda and a game of darts. Coming?”

“Sure, why not.” He grabbed his coat and followed them outside. It was snowing again and the wind turned the heavy flakes into a blizzard. As Peter stepped out onto the wooden decking, his foot slipped on the ice beneath him sending him flying to the floor. His ankle snapped with an audible crack as he landed.

Pain ricocheted as stars danced in front of his vision. For a long moment he wasn’t sure if he would throw up or pass out. Either way, nothing made much sense. He closed his eyes, hoping the pain would just go away.

Sometime later he opened his eyes to find a doctor wearing surgical scrubs beside his bed. He remembered falling and vaguely remembered an ambulance, but that could have been a dream. The smell told him he was in hospital, and he was definitely awake. Wide awake. He glanced down at his legs, but his vision was obscured by a screen. His stomach plummeted. “Doctor, what have I done? And please, don’t sugarcoat it with platitudes. I need to know.”

“OK, Mr. Stanmore. When you fell, you shattered your ankle. So we had to operate to screw your ankle back together. The metal pins will need a mention in your passport—I’ll give you a letter for that. You’ll be able to walk, possibly without a limp eventually, but I’m afraid your competing days are over. Your ankle just won’t take the strain of the jumps and turns.”

The bottom fell out of his world. The irony was not lost on him.

Only a few hours ago, he’d been on top of the world, literally. Now, he was at his lowest ebb. As the doctor left, Peter closed his eyes as the words of Psalm 31 filled his mind.

Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak.

~*~

Jill Davenport picked up the local paper and put it on her mother’s tray. Despite it being the previous day’s news, her mother liked reading it over breakfast. Not that she remembered what she’d read, but it gave her something to do for a while. The headlines were once more dominated by the victorious Olympic team who, having won more medals at a Winter Games than any previous British team, had visited both Downing Street and Buckingham Palace yesterday.

In the middle of the picture stood Peter Stanmore—the kid next door who grew up to be a friend, then more than a friend, and a skating partner…until the lights of stardom called him away, leaving her behind.

Buy links

Pelican Book Group

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Clare is a British author. She lives in a small town just outside Reading, England with her husband, whom she married in 1992, their three children, and unfriendly mini-panther, aka Tilly the black cat. They have recently been joined by Hedwig and Sirius the guinea pigs. Clare is half English and half Welsh, which makes watching rugby interesting at times as it doesn’t matter who wins.

Writing from an early childhood and encouraged by her teachers, she graduated from rewriting fairy stories through fan fiction to using her own original characters and enjoys writing an eclectic mix of romance, crime fiction and children's stories. When she's not writing, she can be found reading, crocheting or doing the many piles of laundry the occupants of her house manage to make.

Her books are based in the UK, with a couple of exceptions, thus, although the spelling may be American in some of them, the books contain British language and terminology and the more recent ones are written in UK English.

The first draft of every novel is hand written.

She has been a Christian for more than half her life. She goes to Carey Baptist where she is one of four registrars.

She can be found at:

http://www.revell124.plus.com/clarerevell/

https://www.facebook.com/ClareRevellAuthor

https://twitter.com/ClareRevell

http://telscha.blogspot.co.uk/

https://uk.pinterest.com/ClareLRevell/

https://www.instagram.com/clarerevell/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B005NZT2O2

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005NZT2O2

http://pelicanbookgroup.com/ec/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=45

Hope you enjoyed today's spotlight and that you'll drop by each week for Tuesday Treausres, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time, take care and God bless.

PamT

#TuesdayTreasures Guest Post by Clare Revell

Good Morning!

Today's guest, Clare Revell has shared treasures, thoughts and the spotlight before but today she returns with another treasure and a brand new book!

Take it away Clare.....

In All That Glitters, Peter thinks he’s finally attained his dreams. Only he learns that what he really wants isn’t any of it—it’s not that gold medal he wins at the Olympics. Jill on the other hand, is convinced that if only she had her dreams, then life would be perfect.

They are both so very wrong.

True treasure isn’t what’s lying at the end of the rainbow. It’s found in everything around us.

For me that’s found in the little things, like sunsets and rainbows and family. I’ve been married almost 25 years. And it’s gone in a flash. My children all live at home still, but the rest of my family are scattered all over the country—and world, and we are together so rarely now. Mum says all she wants is everyone together for more than a few hours at a time, and yeah, that really would be a thing to treasure.

Clare is a British author. She lives in a small town just outside Reading, England with her husband, whom she married in 1992, their three children, and unfriendly mini-panther, aka Tilly the black cat. They have recently been joined by Hedwig and Sirius the guinea pigs. Clare is half English and half Welsh, which makes watching rugby interesting at times as it doesn’t matter who wins.

Writing from an early childhood and encouraged by her teachers, she graduated from rewriting fairy stories through fan fiction to using her own original characters and enjoys writing an eclectic mix of romance, crime fiction and children's stories. When she's not writing, she can be found reading, crocheting or doing the many piles of laundry the occupants of her house manage to make.

Her books are based in the UK, with a couple of exceptions, thus, although the spelling may be American in some of them, the books contain British language and terminology and the more recent ones are written in UK English. 

The first draft of every novel is hand written.

She has been a Christian for more than half her life. She goes to Carey Baptist where she is one of four registrars. 

She can be found at:

http://www.revell124.plus.com/clarerevell/

https://www.facebook.com/ClareRevellAuthor

https://twitter.com/ClareRevell

http://telscha.blogspot.co.uk/

https://uk.pinterest.com/ClareLRevell/

https://www.instagram.com/clarerevell/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B005NZT2O2

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005NZT2O2

http://pelicanbookgroup.com/ec/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=45

All that Glitters can be picked up at Pelican Book Group, Amazon UK and Amazon US

Hope you enjoyed today's post and that you'll return each week for Tuesday Treasured, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight!

Until next time take care and God Bless.
PamT

#SaturdaySpotlight: Flirting With Danger by Wendy Davy

Good Morning Friends!

Well Spring is underway with plenty of those April showers here in SW Louisiana. I hope you're staying dry. We're certainly trying to.

Today our spotlight is on fellow Pelican Book Group Author, Wendy Davy and her newest release, Flirting with Danger which is one of the Pure Amore' titles! So without much further ado.....

As a repossession specialist, Gavin Sykes has the means to legally and morally do what he does best—take things that aren't his. He thrives on repossessing high-end merchandise, hoping to atone for his shadowy past. But, even with all his experience, he never could have anticipated the future that awaits him.

When Sabrina Grady is hired to expedite the repossession process, she finally has the means to fulfill a promise she made long ago. New to the trade, what she lacks in experience she more than makes up for with courage, determination, and sheer willpower. While she expects Gavin to be a fierce competitor, she never could have anticipated his unwavering resolve or his intense desire to protect her.

Caught in a game of cat-and-mouse, Gavin and Sabrina must choose between seeking the thrill of the chase and seeking each other.

Excerpt: 
Gavin leaned forward, propping elbows on his knees. The movement exposed portions of his tattoo and Sabrina’s gaze zeroed in on it. She swung a leg over the bench, straddling the seat as she edged closer. "Let me see your tattoo." 

 "You’ve already seen it." 

He angled his head, meeting her gaze. 


"Yes, but I haven’t touched it." 

He stilled, but his pulse went into overdrive. Blood rushed through his ears and his palms broke into a sweat. No one had dared ask him before. The tattoo represented a distinct time in his life—a time he would never forget. He’d shared so much of himself already. Should he share this, too? 

With compassion swirling in her gaze, Sabrina took hold of his heart, ensnaring him with her desire to understand. He couldn’t deny her. Not now. Not ever. Slowly, he straightened. Keeping his gaze on hers, he tugged his T-shirt from his waistband and drew it over his shoulders and head before setting it aside. Firelight danced over his skin highlighting the tattoo. The vibrant colors ranged from brick red and canary yellow to creamy orange. Thin black lines created a border around each flame. 

Sabrina traced the contours with her fingertips applying gentle, warm pressure as she explored. "It’s as if these lines are reining in a wildfire." 

He’d never thought of it that way, but her interpretation was fitting. "Maybe so, but I’ve yet to be tamed." 

She tugged her lower lip between her teeth, meeting his gaze with unabashed interest. 

Gavin’s mouth dried. If anyone could handle him, Sabrina could. "Are you up for the challenge?"

Flirting with Danger is available by subscription only through the Pure Amore' line. Sign up today and get a discount and FREE books as a bonus!

Wendy Davy is an award-winning inspirational romance writer who enjoys outdoor activities and small town charm. As you read her books, you will visit special places close to her heart. No matter where her characters come from or where they take you, it will always be an exciting journey, page after page. Ms. Davy enjoys traveling and searching for new places to include in her stories.

She loves to hear from readers and can be contacted at wendy@wendydavy.com

Visit her website: http://www.wendydavy.com/

I certainly hope you enjoyed today's spotlight!

Stay tuned next week for another Tuesday Treasure, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight!

Until then...take care & God Bless!

PamT