Mindy Klasky’s Book Quote Wednesday

This week’s word is: “light” and comes from THE CATTLEMAN’S BRIDE, book 3 of the Brides Along the Chisholm Trail series, a western historical romance. 

Ebook / Print / Audio:  https://tinyurl.com/yakyfycg

THE COMMANDMENT

(Release date August 24, 2018)

By Anna Kittrell

Anna works as a middle school secretary in her beloved hometown of Anadarko, Oklahoma, where she resides with her high school sweetheart-turned-husband, Tim. She has written for as long as she can remember, and still has many of her tattered creations—stories she used to sell on the playground for a dime, written on notebook paper. Her love of storytelling has grown throughout the years, and she is thrilled her tales are now worth more than ten cents.

Ten years ago, Briar’s body rejected a government mandated vaccine known as SAP (Serum to Advance Progressivism), formulated to erase God from the mind. Briar was seven years old. She’s been on house arrest ever since.

Now, just weeks from becoming a legal adult, Briar remains non-responsive to her mandatory SAP injections. Along with her rapidly approaching eighteenth birthday looms a grim reality: by order of the Commandment, adulthood means institutionalization for those resistant to SAP.

In a matter of days, Briar will become a permanent resident of the ARC—a facility shrouded in dark rumors of torture, experimentation, and death. Her only alternative is to accept a last minute ultimatum to become a laboratory test subject for a new God-dissolving serum.

With a decade of solitude behind her and a lifetime of confinement before her—what does she have to lose? Except maybe her soul.

Excerpt:

“It’s late September, not the middle of July,” Briar’s mother said, blotting her forehead as she clipped down the walkway toward the car. “Seems Mother Nature didn’t get the memo.”

“Can I drive?” Briar jogged to the driver’s side.

“We’ve already discussed this. You’re not allowed behind the wheel until that thing comes off your leg.” Her mother nodded toward the clunky black box strapped around Briar’s ankle.

The infamous ankle monitor—aka life destroyer. Briar’s electronic prison guard since age seven.

“But that’s so ridiculous. What am I going to do, pick up a bunch of other unlevels and start a crusade? Come on, please? Just to the clinic. They’ll never know.”

“Don’t argue, just get in.” She aimed the key fob at the car.

“You know, Mom, if you had a cuffphone, like the rest of the population, you wouldn’t need that old fob. The car would sense you coming and the door would pop open on its own.”

Briar drudged around to the passenger side and climbed in, the headachy sweet scent of floral air freshener hitting her between the eyes.

Her mom slid behind the wheel and clicked her seatbelt. “Buckle up,” she said, double-glancing at her daughter. “What on earth is that on your head?”

“You noticed?” Briar pulled the seatbelt over her shoulder and snapped it, catching a section of long blue hair in the clasp. “I was chatting with Mouse online, trying to cheer him up.” She plucked the wig from her head, freed the strands from the buckle, and pushed the wig into her bag, causing her furry keychain to fall out onto her lap.

“He was sad about losing his dad.”

The little boy’s face had crumpled as he’d told her he wanted his dad back. She’d known how to make him feel better but had swallowed the comforting Bible verse on her tongue—one of many her grandmother had taught her as a child—and put on the silly wig instead. Blue hair was acceptable. Reciting scripture would get her arrested. Sharing Christian faith was illegal by law of The Commandment. The crime carried an even stiffer penalty than skipping a SAP injection or disabling a fleshcard.

Not that either of those things meant anything to Briar. Her body repeatedly rejected the Serum to Accelerate Progressivism, meaning she had no need for the under-the-skin device that kept track of SAP levels in the brain. Her body’s intolerance of SAP was the reason she couldn’t take a walk around the neighborhood, or drive—or do anything that made life worth living.

The Commandment Trailer // The Commandment FB Page

Website // Author Facebook Page // Amazon Author Page // Email Anna

Amazon: https://goo.gl/Fuca4k

Pelican/Prism: https://goo.gl/9BbDod

Barnes and Noble: https://goo.gl/UWgq3Y

Last week I spent a few days at RWA Conference. For those who don't know RWA (Romance Writers of America) is not only a national romance writer organization but a world-wide organization. Each year they hold a conference in a difference section of the US with tons of workshops (career and craft), book signings, publisher giveaways, industry information for all their members and non-members who attend. No, you don't need to be a member of RWA to attend their conference each year. So that means that you can attend next year in New York!!!!

This trip was more of a therapeutic event for me. While in Denver, the third month of my husband's passing took place on the 19th. I am so blessed and grateful to the friends I have within this organization who were there to give me a hug when they thought I needed it, or a pat on the knee when I thought I'd hidden my tears. I love you all and you mean the world to me. Sometimes I didn't know when I needed your strength when mine is fading, but you did.

I hope you enjoy the article below and the live videos (which were iffy because of the weak connection due to location of events).

Annual RWA Literacy Book Signing Article, Denver Newspaper

RWA Goodie Room  Video / Live Video at RWA

Post Golden Heart Awards Live Video at RWA

		Maria Connor, VA (My Author Concierge) and me
		Golden Heart Luncheon
Western Sizzler Authors Teri Riggs, Sylvia McDaniel, Peggy McKenzie Merry Farmer, Callie Hutton, me		Sylvia McDaniel, Maria Connor,  Heidi Vanlandingham, me
Rita Award Ceremony
		Some of my stash for Birthday Boxes at FB Group Maxine's Book Divas

N O W   I N   A U D I O

Book 3, Brides Along the Chisholm Trail

Audible

Audio Sample

Book 2, Nashville Duets

Audible

Audio Sample

Life throws things at you that you never expected to ever happen.

Last month ago -- March 14 -- my husband was diagnosed with Stage IV brain and liver cancer.  Our normal life is no longer what we once had. It is now filled with cherishing each day we have together. To weather the ups and downs. The good days and the bad days.

Please keep my husband in your prayers.

I have faith that my love, my life, my everything, will be healed by His healing hands. ☝🙏

Read our journey here: https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/randyfritter

N E W   C O V E R S

(details under Romance Bookshelf)

                               

So excited to announce that THE MARSHAL'S BRIDE has tied for SECOND in the Historical Short category of the 2017 IDA Contest!

This novella is set in 1877 using Fred, I.T. as a backdrop! Thank you Mark Rath of the Chickasha Chamber of Commerce for the wonderful idea, and Patricia Cunningham of the Grady County Historical Society for all your help in researching this western historical romance! 

Congratulations to all the winners and finalists! The IDA is a contest sponsored by Oklahoma Romance Writers of America, but is open to all works of fiction in digital format, regardless of romantic content.

http://tinyurl.com/yazav5gl

Welcome to the Romance Resistance

Welcome to the Romance Resistance: The Trump Effect on book sales isn't reaching all genres. Women are buying even more romance novels now....

Cuervo, New Mexico: A Real Ghost Town

Over Labor Day weekend, hubby and I took a quick trip to New Mexico to visit a few friends and to take in the sites. We ran across an actual ghost town along I40!

There appeared to be someone “living” in the house next to the church as there were blankets on the floor and a plastic milk carton, as well as an Ouji Board on the wall! 

We also found the school where the kids of this town probably attended.

Maxine Douglas Affairs of the Heart Newsletter: September 1, 2017Grandparent’s Day is this month...

Grandparent’s Day is this month...: We have two beautiful granddaughters who are sisters and as different as night a...

Maxine Douglas Affairs of the Heart Newsletter: August 1, 2017: Can you smell it? Fall is just around the corner—or so it seems. The first NFL game of the season, college football is gearing up, and... 

A Weekend with the Authors in Nashville was a blast!

It is a small and intimate reader event with a limit of 50 authors attending. There was speed dating, a western party and cookout on Friday night, the signing on Saturday, steampunk party on Saturday night, and so many other events and games for those who attended.

There was everything from dildo races to a western cookout complete with a mechanical bull to a book walk to a steampunk party. This was a new event for me and I wasn't sure what to expect, but I have to say that I had fun with the readers and authors. I’m looking forward to March next year!

Click here to see pictures of the signing, but in the meantime here are some of the pictures captured that weekend. 

Head on over to Fans of A Weekend With the Authors FB page to see what the authors/readers had to say!

A Weekend With the Authors 2017 -- Attending Authors

Ø March 16-18, 2018:  A Weekend With The Authors, Nashville, TN

See you there!

Simply To Die For

I am always looking for ways to give my readers something. I am currently seeking several people who are interested in reading an Advance Reader Copy of Simply to Die For and posting a review within 1-5 days of the release date. Click here to read sample chapters. If you are interested in reading/reviewing the entire book, please send me an email to obtain a link to the ARC.  Thank you!

Marshal's Bride

Near Fred, Indian Territory, 1877

Gabe eased slow and steady along the stage road leading to Fred. “We’re almost there, Abby.”

He was in no hurry to hand over his privacy with Abby yet. The first few weeks being married made him realize how much he’d needed a woman in his life. How much he actually needed Abby to keep him honest with himself. No woman had ever been able to do that.

“Thank goodness! I have grown tired of this jostling about. I’m afraid I may have permanent bruising on my—” Abby stopped short, and Gabe laughed out loud.

“Believe me, you do not have permanent damage on any part of your body.” Gabe glanced over, smiling at the rush of color spreading on his wife’s cheeks. After three weeks on the trail, their intimacies, he’d wondered at how she still blushed like a young woman. Abby was a widow, not unaware of the goings on between a man and his wife. Yet she acted like a young bride new to the ways of marriage.

Gabe found he loved that part of her beyond belief.

“You are truly insufferable!” She laughed, adjusting her sweet little bottom on the wooden bench. “These past weeks I have found how much I enjoy that side of you. You keep me on guard, sir. Don’t change. Ever!”

“I will do my best to abide by your wishes.” Gabe winked at Abby and reined in the mules. The need to hold her overwhelmed his senses.

“Is something wrong, Gabe? Why are we stopping?” Abby looked around them, her eyes full of questions.

Gabe jumped from the wagon then extended a hand. “There will be if you don’t get down from there.”

His blood burned like wildfire through his veins as her hand slipped perfectly into his. Her light girlish laughter filled his heart as she fell into his arms. Gabe gazed into her eyes, falling deeper under their spell. He held her against him to ease the pain of needing her next to him. He pushed a stray lock of hair from her face then covered her mouth with his, completely devouring her. He groaned as his body reacted to her melting against him. This may truly be the last uninterrupted private moments they’d have for a while once he took up as marshal in Fred.

“I couldn’t wait for nightfall, Abby.” Gabe kept her close, her heart pounding against him. “Once we get to Fred, we won’t have much time alone with each other. You’ll have the homestead to make feel like home. I’ll have to see Colonel Frank Fred. I’ll need to get word to Deputy US Marshal Reeves and present my official papers to him, although I’m sure Judge Parker has already made him aware of my arrival. There’s much to be done once we arrive.”

Abby gazed up at him, her doe eyes sparkling with the same need he felt. “I will be waiting when you are done, Gabe. The cold, empty house will be warm and inviting by the time you find your way home.”

“I was wrong in not telling you about the move when you arrived in Dodge. There will be many more things that I will do wrong. Promise me that you’ll never let those indiscretions drive you from me.” Gabe held her hand in his, watching his finger trace the lines of her soft palm. 

Follow Gabe and Abby to Fred

as they settle into their marriage and learn to survive

in Indian Territory.

NOW AVAILABLE
KU / BUY / PRINT

Maxine Douglas Affairs of the Heart Newsletter

Affairs of the Heart Newsletter: March Madness … one month closer to spring and a month full of holidays! Ash Wednesday, Ides of March, National Craft Month, National Women’s History Month, Social Workers Month to name a few. Plus, did you know that March is named after the Roman God “Mars”? AND the second week of March is National Bubble Week! In this month's issue:
FEATURED AUTHOR:  Hywela Lyn
AUTHOR RECIPE OF THE MONTH:  Lynn Crandall~~Quinoa Chili
NEW RELEASES THIS MONTH
QUOTE OF THE MONTH: “Good communication is just as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after” ~~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1906-2001, American Writer)