#WednesdayWordswithFriends welcomes Kara O'Neal @KaraONealAuthor & The Ranger's Vow

 Good Morning and Welcome!

Kara returns today to share with us information on another installment in her Pike's Run series, The Ranger's Vow...

I’m happy to share my newest release, THE RANGER’S VOW from the Texas Brides of Pike’s Run series! This story allowed me to delve into the life of Sherry Forrester, a feisty, care-free, loyal lady who sews, shares kisses behind haystacks, goes skinny dipping, and has no wish to get married.

She has her life all planned out and is quite happy with her choices.

But then…

A devil-may-care Texas Ranger shows up and changes all her rules.

And isn’t that always the way? We have a plan, then God laughs and shakes it up. Happens every time. When I was younger, I feared that shake up. I tried to control it. Even bartered with Him when I prayed.

But now that I’ve lived, well, enough years, I’m so glad He’s in charge. Because good gracious, if I had to always steer, Heaven only knows where I would’ve ended up.

So, if you’ve got your long-term goal, and you’re rowing straight and can almost touch it, if the stream becomes rapid, just wait. It’ll straighten out again in the way it should. It might mean heartache along the way, and it might take a few months or even years to quiet the raging river, but it WILL be right.

His will is perfect. His timing is perfect. Just trust Him and all will be well.

Sherry has no wish for a husband, but one night with a Texas Ranger…why not?

One night can’t become two…

Sherry Forrester has her life just as she wants it. No attachments. No pressure from her parents to marry. A little bit of money and the freedom to be the lady she desires. When a stranger rolls into town, mysterious and gorgeous, her interest is piqued. Sherry swore she wouldn't give away her heart, but she longs for one night of passion, and the newcomer is perfectly capable of supplying that.

Texas Ranger Luke "Rip" Calhoun is hoping for a few diverting weeks in Pike’s Run. Along with promising to help the local sheriff catch a wily garter thief, he looks for challenging card games, good whiskey and a willing woman. When Sherry Forrester catches his eye—who wouldn't want her after stumbling upon her skinny dipping?—he does the hardest thing ever and waits for her to choose him to warm her sheets for a night. And only one night. For Luke made a long-ago vow never to let love ensnare him.

But what neither plans on is the hand of fate changing their paths…

Excerpt

Luke caught a flash of pale skin as someone arced beneath the water. His breath stilled when the figure broke the surface, revealing a woman about twenty yards from him swimming to the opposite bank. Luke froze, careful not to move a single muscle lest this be a dream and he woke.

All he could see of the woman was her head as she glided away from his side of the creek. Was she naked? He glanced toward the other side and discovered clothes folded on a rock. He could determine the colors, and white peeked between light blue fabric. He knew plenty about women’s garments, and most of their underthings were white pieces of angelic sweetness. Which meant the lady enjoying the water was as bare as could be.

A smile tugged the corners of his lips, but before he could be accused of peeking more than he already had, he dismounted and used his horse to hide her from his view. At the moment, he couldn’t pull Zeus away for anything, so Luke was stuck until the animal decided he was finished. Of course, Luke didn’t want to leave. While he couldn’t see, and hadn’t seen a damn thing, it was nice being near a woman who courted risk and went skinny dipping.

Hell, there was nothing between her and that water. Not one stitch. His mind conjured all sorts of images as the sounds of her body cutting through the stream reached him.

When a screech met his ears, he knew she’d caught sight of the drinking horse and perhaps its owner’s legs. He let out an exhale and waited for the outburst.

“Who’s there?” she cried. “You get out of here.”

He should, but he wouldn’t. He was never more grateful for his stubborn mount. “I can’t, ma’am. My horse has a mind of his own.”

“Ha! A gentleman would find a way.”

He used his bandana to wipe his brow as he remained hunched over in order to keep hidden. “A man has to take care of his horse, ma’am. Can’t survive without him.”

There was a splash. Had she left the creek—or hit the surface with an irritated hand?

“A convenient excuse so you can spy on me.”

He chuckled. “Ma’am, I can’t see, and didn’t see, one thing, I assure you.”

“You assure me? And what good is that? I don’t even know who you are.”

Damn, but he wished he could look at her. “Nope, you don’t.”

A silent moment, then, “That’s it? You aren’t gonna tell me your name?”

“You gonna tell me yours?”

“Not on your life. Why would I let some drifter know who I am?”

“Drifter? Is that what I am?” He’d been called worse.

“Well, how would I know?”

“Then why’d you call me that?”

Zeus lifted his head, looking toward the lady who shared his creek. Luke kept himself from pushing the horse’s nose back to the water in order to prolong this moment normally only possible in nighttime fantasies. Of course, in his dream the lady usually invited him in.

“Would a gentleman spy on a woman as she bathed?”

“If he’s smart, he would.”

“Ha! So you did peek.”

He grinned and watched a grasshopper jump over the toe of his boot. “I admit I looked, but it’s just my luck I couldn’t see anything. You’re too far away.”

Zeus snuffled then turned his head toward his master. He blinked at Luke as if he wondered what the hell the woman was doing skinny dipping in his drinking water. Luke stroked the black then exhaled. He’d have to leave this sprite.

“I feel sorry for you that you didn’t manage to see anything,” she continued, her tone without an ounce of pity. “I don’t mind telling you I’m as pretty as a picture.”

He laughed outright. “I’ve no doubt of that, ma’am, and I can promise you my mind paints a perfect image, so don’t you fret.” He tugged on Zeus’ reins.

She made a noise that was half-laugh, half-disbelief.

He left the idyllic setting, Zeus following behind him. A smile stayed on his lips as he mounted up once he was out of her line of sight. What a damn fine welcome.

About KARA: Born and raised in Texas, I had to make the state the setting for my first series. From the food to the fun, like floating the rivers, it is the fire in my blood that inspires me. My family and friends take center stage in my books. My sisters and best friends are my heroines, and my husband created my favorite hero. Love and family are the point of my stories, and I seek to entertain, relieve stress, and inspire people. Books can take one on a journey that one can relive over and over. I am extremely grateful to those authors who did that very thing for me. I learned and I fell in love with their words and characters. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Find and Follow Kara at the following SM platforms....

Website –  www.karaoneal.com

Bookbub –  https://www.bookbub.com/profile/kara-o-neal

Amazon –  http://www.amazon.com/Kara-ONeal/e/B00FL19TH8/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1465007993&sr=8-1

Barnes and Noble –  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/kara+o'neal?_requestid=845025

Facebook –  https://www.facebook.com/KaraONeal84/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/KaraONealAuthor

Get your copy of The Ranger's Vow where all great E-books are sold. Be sure to check out all of the Texas Brides of Pike's Run series! See all of Kara's visits to our blog HERE.

Oh, Wow, Kara this books sounds as enticing as the rest! And you are SO right about the way God sometimes shakes up our plans LOL! We certainly wish you the best of luck and God's blessings with it and all of your books.

Hope you enjoyed today's post friends and that you'll stop by weekly for Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlight.

Also, if you're in the mind for free books, check out NN Light's monthly giveaway (see sidebar)! I sent January's winner her copy of My Heart Weeps and Love in Season is up for grabs in February so enter today!

Guess that's all for today so until next time, take care and God Bless.

PamT

#WednesdayWordswithFriends guest Kathy Bailey

Good Morning and Welcome to the first Wednesday in October!

I'm still reeling with disbelief. Where has the time gone? The old adage, 'time flies when you're having fun' keeps running through my head and I have to admit, I did have some fun this year but seriously? It's OCTOBER already?!

Whew! I sure hope we can look back at this year and say we had lots of fun and did lots of good things. Look back and count blessings not trials or disappointments.

Anyway, speaking of time, my friend and fellow Pelican Book Group author, Kathy Baily returns and is sharing some tips on Time Management....

Time Management, I loved you. I loved being efficient, making more than one thing happen at once, and the elusive “being productive.” I LOVED balancing my checkbook in the doctor’s waiting room and folding laundry during a phone call. I relished using every bit of time, like my ancestors used every bit of scrap fabric in a quilt. Well, actually, my people knitted afghans, but I feel a kinship with quilters anyway. Nothing went to waste.

And that’s how it was with you, Time Management. We were a good fit. But now it’s time to break up.

The most I ever remember doing was four things at once: nursing my baby, supervising my toddler in the tub, drying laundry (the dryer was located in the bathroom) and reading my Bible for devotions. I prided myself on being able to do, well, a lot of things. I had two children under 3, no money, and my husband was a full-time church pastor. If I didn’t “do,” it resulted in disaster.

I carried this into the rest of my adult life. Why not sew on Girl Scout badges during the district convention, or read a magazine during the movie previews? Didn’t everybody?

Hey, why NOT do paperwork while my mother lay dying in a hospital room? I was there if she needed me.

I was brought up short – but only barely – when a friend from my old neighborhood came to visit me in my new house. I welcomed her, we made tea in the teapot she brought me for a housewarming gift, and then we settled down for a talk. But I couldn’t just “talk.” I brought out some mending, and stitched merrily away until she asked, “Am I keeping you from something?”

That one changed me, at least as far as multitasking with other people went. I realized how rude that must have seemed, and now, when I have company, I have company. But I continued to juggle projects in private, and to justify it. I read everything I could get my hands (um, my one free hand) on regarding time management, even when, technically, I didn’t have to do it anymore.

I wish my wake-up call had been something less mundane and more spiritual. But I didn’t come to my time-management senses until I hung a purple Nine West bag too near the stove and then proceeded to turn on the WRONG burner, thus scorching a pan beyond use and setting fire to the purse. I don’t remember how many things I was doing that day or what they were. I just knew I had to change.

I’m well out of the active-parenting stage, and I don’t have the time demands pulling on me that I had as a young mother. I do a lot, I have a lot done to me, but it can all be done in sequence. I have no little ones or medium-ones tugging on me, nobody’s bleeding, nobody needs me to feed them or wash their faces or hold them till they sleep.

But I’m thinking even young mothers, or dads, don’t need to time-manage as aggressively as I once did. Children need our attention, and I’m prouder now of the time I did spend with my children than the time I spent “accomplishing” things. Especially since I can’t remember what those “important” things were.

Will I still fold laundry while on a long phone call, or address Christmas cards in front of the television? Most likely. And I’ll probably still haul around a “project bag” for waiting rooms. It is as heavy as the weights at the gym, and I don’t have to pay for it.

But more and more, it’s impressed on me that some things are too precious, or fragile, for double-duty. They deserve my full attention. Friends, my great-nieces and first great-nephew, my husband. Church. (I once made out a Christmas list during a sermon.) And for safety’s sake, anything with an open flame.

And if I had my parents back, I would just sit and look at them for one last time. Without “managing” my own time, because there will never be enough of it.

Time management, we had a good run, but it’s over. I don’t, well, have time for you any more.

                

What’s YOUR worst multitasking blunder, and when did you realize you were doing too much?

                

And what’s your best time management tip?

Great post Kathy! I still get asked how I do everything I do. Being organized is the key to time management for me. I have a monthly planner on my desk and EVERYTHING gets written down in it!

Kathleen Bailey is a journalist and novelist with 40 years’ experience in the nonfiction, newspaper and inspirational fields. Born in 1951, she was a child in the 50s, a teen in the 60s, a young adult in the 70s and a young mom in the 80s. It’s been a turbulent, colorful time to grow up, and she’s enjoyed every minute of it and written about most of it.

She attended a mixture of public and parochial schools, graduating from the University of New Hampshire in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in English Literature. She married the Rev. David W. Bailey in 1977, and they lived in Colorado, Wisconsin and Michigan before returning to their home state of New Hampshire. They are the parents of two adult daughters.

She has worked as both a staff and freelance journalist. She semi-retired in 2017, in order to devote herself to a growing interest in Christian fiction. She has won or finaled in several contests, including the 2018 American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis contest. Her debut novel, “Westward Hope,” will be published Sept. 20, 2019 by Pelican/White Rose Publishers.

Bailey’s work includes both historical and contemporary fiction, with an underlying thread of men and women finding their way home, to Christ and each other.

For more information, contact her at ampie86@comcast.net; @piechick1 on Twitter; Kathleen D. Bailey on Facebook and LinkedIn; or at www.kathleendbailey.weebly.com.

Kathy's new book, Westward Hope can be purchased at Amazon for Kindle, and Pelican Book Group in Ebook and Print!

Hope you enjoyed today's post friends and that you'll stop by weekly for Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time take care and God bless.
PamT

#ThursdayThoughts with Kathy Bailey

Good Morning!

Been a crazy few weeks for me. On the 12th my dad and I flew to AK to visit my brother and his family including a brand new grandbaby (for him, great for dad and great niece for me). We returned on the 21st and on the 22nd I embarked on moving. Hopefully, September will be somewhat quieter LOL!

As you well know it is always a pleasure to bring you a brand new author and today is no exception!

Kathy Bailey is a newly contracted author with Pelican Book Group. Her upcoming novel, an Oregon Trail romance with a reunion & secret baby will be out sometime next year, meanwhile, please give her a great big welcome as she shares some thoughts with us on doubt....

            I have always loved the story of the Apostle Thomas, maybe too much. You remember Tom, the follower of Jesus who didn’t believe the breathless, glowing reports from the Empty Tomb. Who had to touch the nail prints and put his own hand against Jesus’s shattered side before he believed.  But when he did, that was that and he went on to win a portion of the known world to his Lord. I’m a little bit of a skeptic, I like to touch and see and hear and smell, and so Thomas’s story always connects with me.

            It’s easy to doubt in the current literary climate. Publishing houses merging, lines and imprints closing, and the dreaded “platform” requirements. (I was scared of “platform” until someone explained to me that it’s basically talking to people on line about what I love, which is writing.) While self-publishing has shed its stigma and smaller boutique publishers are filling a niche, writing fiction is still one of life’s riskier propositions. Ten editors can say “no” without drawing blood once, but do you really want to face an eleventh?

Here are some times when I doubt:
1. When I receive a rejection.
2. When I receive contest feedback that doesn't "get" the story. I'm usually pretty good about contests and taking my lumps, but occasionally the judge and I are not on the same page. Possibly not on the same planet.
3. When I'm away from the keyboard for too long and I let the doubts take over because I have nothing else to think about. IF I’m writing, there is always hope.
4. When I read something that is much, much better than I could have done, at least at this stage of my career.
5. Used to be, when an online or physical friend signed with an agent or publishing house that I hadn't had success with, or when someone got published in a relatively short amount of time. I've grown out of that, I realize that in today's market a success for one is a success for the rest of us. A metaphorical rising tide lifts all Christian fiction boats.
6. Whenever I try to do it myself instead of depending on the Lord, and His timing.

I'm contracted now but still feel doubts. Am I a one-trick pony? Am I a pony at all? We'll see.

My husband is an ordained elder in our denomination, and has served several churches in various capacities. He often quotes his first pastor and mentor who told him, “Be very certain of your call. There will be times when it’s all you’ve got.” The same can be said of the call to write. The world will knock you down, if it notices you at all. You’ll deal with unfair business decisions, such as a line closing the week after you sell to them, and the whims and idiosyncrasies of others. It’s a subjective business. It’s a crazy business. It’s an inexact science.

And if you’re called to write Christian fiction, it’s your business.

There will be times you doubt, and each of us has his or her own way of overcoming doubt. For me, nothing works better than powering my way through. Write something. Write anything. Cull out what was good, and write it again.

Keep an encouragement file with a record of your sales, contest finals or anything else that gives you hope.

Get on your knees, then get back to the keyboard.

The Apostle Thomas went on to preach in Greece and India, founding a Christian sect in India that continues to this day. He gave his life for his faith in 72 AD. He overcame his doubts, gloriously, and fulfilled his call.

Wow, Kathy we all go through doubt...great thoughts!
Now, here's a little more about Kathy in her own word....

            I’m a freelance writer with 35 years’ experience in the nonfiction, newspaper and inspirational fields.  Born in 1951, I was a child in the 50s, a teen in the 60s, a young adult in the 70s, and a young mom in the 80s.  It’s been a turbulent, colorful time to grow up, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it and written about most of it.  I spent 35 years in print journalism, magazines and newspapers, before semi-retiring to pursue my first love, Christian fiction. My debut novel, an Oregon Trail romance not yet titled, will release Sept. 20, 2019 with Pelican/White Rose Publishing.  I’ve finaled in the 2014 Unpublished Maggies, 2015Tara Awards (first in my category), 2015 Lone Star Awards, semi-finaled in the 2015 Genesis Awards, was the overall winner in the 2016 Phoenix Rattler contest, finaled in the 2017 Phoenix Rattler and Indiana Golden Opportunity, and am a finalist in this year’s Genesis contest.

            I can be reached at ampie86@comcast.net; through my Web site, www.kathleendbailey.weebly.com, through Facebook or LinkedIn. 

Hope you enjoyed today's post and you'll check back often for Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time, take care and God bless.

PamT