Author of over 60 books (might be over 70 now), many of them westerns, Rosanne is a prolific writer and proponent of the romance genre. Today she has a new book out, LAWMAN IN THE HIGH LONESOME. It’s the second book in the Outlaw Series, which features the infamous Outlaw Trail that runs along the Rockies from Montana to New Mexico, occupied mostly by outlaws from the late 1860’s through the early 1900’s.
Civil War widow Elly Lowe is heading for California after losing everything in a prairie fire. She and her family need a new start. On the way, fate interrupts Elly’s plans in a horrifying way, leaving her desperate for help.
In a small Nebraska town, Sheriff Matt Stover grieves the loss of his wife and unborn child in a bank robbery. He has always lived by the law, but he is determined to find and kill the guilty Liberty brothers. Matt sets out to follow the culprits into notorious Outlaw Country, very dangerous territory for a lawman.
When Matt meets Elly along the way, they strike up a sweet friendship, an attraction they know is only temporary. They must go their separate ways, but they will meet again under very different circumstances, leaving Matt to face life or death situations. Will lawman Matt Stover turn outlaw for revenge? Or will Elly’s faith and devotion be enough to bring him peace?
By Fifteen of Your Favorite Historical Romance Authors
You are cordially invited to the most anticipated event of the Season — Lord and Lady Whitwell’s annual ball! This year’s theme is the most extravagant yet…A Midsummer Night’s Dream, filled with fairytale gardens and fantastical costumes, sparkling champagne, and heartwarming romance. Opportunities abound for secret trysts in the shadows of moonlit walks, mistaken identities, delicious unmaskings, and perhaps even a magical spell or two. But one thing is certain—fifteen pairs of hearts will never be the same again. Enjoy this collection of never-before-released novellas by your favorite historical romance authors!
A Midsummer Night’s Romance
Pre-order yours for only 99¢, only until May 18, 2021!
A forbidden love, opposites-attract feel-good romantic romp from New York Times bestselling author: The rakish Duke of Colehaven confidently accepts a dare to find a suitor for an unmanageable ward. After all, how unmarriageable can a pretty young lady be? But when irresistible desires turn his carefully laid plans topsy-turvy, he discovers one night together can never be enough!
Nate Kim has it all. A successful comic book career, a booming business, awesome friends and family. Except, his younger brother just got married, and his older brother just announced baby number three. And…well, Nate has never been close to any of that. Literally. Every time a girl finds out he’s never, uh, been intimate, she hightails it in the other direction. What’s a thirty-one-year-old virgin to do?
Enter Birdie Oliver. She’s a razor-sharp tattoo artist with no ink of her own, who’s mastered the art of avoiding forever. She didn’t mean to make out with Nate Kim. And she DEFINITELY didn’t mean to like it so much. After all, she learned years ago that saying yes meant losing parts of herself. That’s SO not happening again. No matter HOW good those kisses were.
One drunken night ignites something neither of them expected, but there’s one problem: Birdie doesn’t know Nate’s secret. Will Nate’s V-card send Birdie running, or will she be the one to finally make a move?
Once notorious for being the most unruly Kendrick brother, Graeme now runs dangerous missions for the King’s spymaster. Yet nothing has prepared him for Lady Sabrina Bell. The pampered goddaughter of the king himself, she is stubborn, impetuous, and far too good for him. But the bonny Sassenach has her own ideas—and a plan for seduction that no red-blooded Highlander could resist . . .
Since Carli Lancaster’s divorce, she’s worked hard to keep life as normal as possible for her daughters. When she lands a job as cohost of a local morning show, it looks like a fresh start. So does the arrival of a handsome new neighbor, who has more in common with Carli than just a property line.
Ben Chase is also new to single parenthood. And like Carli, he’s focused on the future.
From navigating neighborhood gossip to decorating for holidays to reaching out in times of trouble, they quickly learn to rely on each other. Just like a couple but without the complications of coupling! Sure, there’s attraction. They’re only human. But they’re also friends, and who wants to ruin a perfect relationship with romance?
All Lawrence Trellaway wants when he arrives home in Cherrybrook after wartime service is to return to his gardening and peaceful country life; a life without taking orders. Instead, he finds his parents are as determined as ever to arrange his marriage to their neighbor’s daughter, Miss Eugenia Merritt. However, Eugenia is determined to keep her life the way it is. She likes her independence, her pets and her flowers.
The last thing that either of them wants is to feel obligated to exchange their freedom for a marriage that neither of them chose. But soon each begins to wonder, would it really be so bad for love to bloom where it was planted?
The boy who always felt like mine is now the man I can’t have…
Dig a little and you’ll find photos of me in the bathtub with Ezra Stern. Get your mind out of the gutter. We were six months old.
Pry and one of us might confess we saved our first kiss for each other. The most clumsy, wet, sloppy . . . spectacular thirty seconds of my adolescence.
Get into our business and you’ll see two families, closer than blood, torn apart in an instant.
Twenty years later, my “awkward duckling” best friend from childhood, the boy no one noticed, is a man no one can ignore. Finer. Fiercer. Smarter.
Taken.
Tell me it’s wrong. Tell me the boy who always felt like mine is now the man I can’t have. When we find each other again, everything stands in our way–secrets, lies, promises. But we didn’t come this far to give up now.
And I know just the move to make if I want to make him mine.
A lady left to defend her own honor, the man who will protect her no matter the cost, the unexpected, undeniable passion between them, and the treachery standing in their way.
Four brothers too hot to handle—deadly, damaged and delicious—warrior princes from the shapeshifter “House of Terriot” looking for love in all the wrong places in the 4-book “House of Terriot” boxed set by award-winning bestseller Nancy Gideon, author of the “By Moonlight” series.
The cost of trust is more than she’s willing to pay. But he’ll do everything he can to change her mind…
Nicolette Twistleton delights in thumbing her nose at Society. After all, becoming the Spiteful Spinster was what helped her through being jilted by her betrothed. Putting her faith in another man? Impossible.
Mathias, Duke of Westfall, wants nothing to do with his inherited title and all the public scrutiny it brings. He has dark secrets to protect, and can’t afford to be distracted by the trappings of Society. What he apparently can be distracted by, however, is the lovely Nicolette.
When ghosts from the past emerge and threaten the fragile bonds they’ve begun to build, Nicolette and Mathias find themselves caught between their feelings for each other and devastating scandal. Will love be enough to protect them—or was their happily ever after doomed from the very start?
It is devastating. It is heartless. It is a pandemic.
I only have three things to say today:
Stay safe, my dears. Self-isolate if you haven’t yet been on lockdown. Be kind. Wash your hands. Don’t hoard TP.
If you need some reading suggestions during our quarantine, check out my latest newsletter for recommendations. And a few fun videos. https://bit.ly/3doJaG1
Have you ever met someone and known, within five minutes,
that your souls had met before? That’s how it was for Kerri and I. We went on a
mini-retreat with another writer who is a mutual friend, but we didn’t know
each other. Yet almost as soon as we met in person, I felt as if I’d known her
forever.
We bonded, Kerri and I, over a prosthetic leg toilet paper holder (no lie, see pic) and marshmallow champagne stoppers (also no lie, see pic) and choking on Brussel sprouts (don’t have a pic for that one) and tripping while acting out a book scene (no pic for that, either, thank goodness. That was me!). By the end of the weekend, I’d written something along the lines of 8k and made a life-long friend.
Prosthetic Leg Toilet Paper Holder Not Lying
When you need a champagne cork…
So I would like to introduce you to Kerri Keberly, author of
BUSINESS OF LOVE, a book in which the Greek gods have day jobs. If you have not
read this book, YOU MUST.
Alyssa: Tell me about BUSINESS OF LOVE. What inspired
you?
Kerri: First, thanks for having me on your blog! Second, I’m
glad you don’t have a pic of me choking on Brussel sprouts (That one was me,
folks!).
The Eros & Co. series blends heart, humor, and magic
into every story. It takes Greek mythology and gives it a modern day twist—think
gods with day jobs! In the first book, The Business of Love, Cupid’s
performance is declining big time, so he’s given an ultimatum by the king of
the gods, Zeus. He must bind the hearts of two mortal enemies or he loses his
immortality. No problem, Cupid’s got this, right? Hint: Not so much.
Alyssa: I heard tell Apollo is getting his own story
soon. In fact, I might have read his story (this is what is awesome about being
critique partners, you get to read things before everyone else!). Gimme a
little about him.
Kerri: Yes! Book two, Mergers & Acquisitions (Releasing
January 3rd!), centers around Apollo, Daphne (the nymph he’s been
cursed to forever chase), and their discovery about what it really means to
love and be loved. What can I say about Apollo? He’s Mount Olympus’s shining
victor. Killer abs, sharp dresser, never a hair out of place . . . Basically, he’s the god
of every damn thing and he knows it. The only problem is he’s always too busy
hogging the spotlight to realize that being worshiped doesn’t hold a candle to
being loved.
Alyssa: OK, so let’s nerd out a bit. Why Greek gods, and
what’s your favorite myth?
Kerri: I’ve always loved mythology, folklore, and fairy tales.
My first story was a retelling of the little mermaid somewhere around the first
or second grade. I’m enamored with magic, and I think all of my stories include
some form of magical element because of it.
For this particular series, I was flipping through one of my
many reference books on Greek mythology, and when I came to one of my absolute
favorites, the myth of Eros and Psyche when an idea hit me: What if they broke
up and Cupid’s heart was broken?
Because I love irony and had worked in an advertising agency
for years, I also thought: What if Cupid had a day job? What would happen if he
had to bind hearts even though his heart was hurting? The rest, as they say, is
history.
Some of my other favorite Greek myths include Artemis and
Actaeon, Apollo and Daphne, and Echo and Narcissus, Medusa
. . . Who am I kidding? They are all my favorite!
Alyssa: Last but not least, you have a prequel to
BUSINESS OF LOVE exclusively for newsletter subscribers. What is that about?
Kerri: Oh, yes, the prequel! This was a fun one to write.
Aside from suffering from a broken heart, there is another big reason why Eros
loses his mojo. In book one, he must bind the hearts of Liz and Leo, two souls
he’s been trying to get together for centuries. Much to the dismay of The
Fates, he’s missed his mark every time. The prequel, Behind Schedule, is what
happens in each of Liz and Leo’s lifetimes.
Now for the lightning round I always force, ahem, ask
authors to answer!
Ready? Set? Go!
Blue jeans or party clothes? Blue Jeans.
Sushi or steak? Steak.
Cats or dogs? (Or hamsters?) Cats. Although, my cat is evil so hamsters.
Beer, wine or water? Water.
Coke or Pepsi? (If you answer Pepsi I hereby disown you.
Ask my father.) Coke.
Favorite color? Purple.
Favorite word? You know, I don’t think I have a favorite word
. . . unless @$%! counts?
Least favorite word? Veggies. As in shortening the word, not eating them.
Coffee or tea? Coffee, iced.
And last but not least…Favorite character trait in your
significant other? (Mr. Alexander says my most endearing quality is my ability
to talk. He also says it’s my most irritating quality). There are many, but my favorite is his
sensitivity.
You can sign up for Kerri’s free prequel here:
https://BookHip.com/VSFGCV
And check out the BUSINESS OF LOVE, which I love, here:
MERGES AND ACQUISITIONS COMES OUT TODAY!
AUTHOR
BIO:
Kerri has always told tall tales. When she was in the third
grade, she hid her glasses in the linen closet and told her mother a ghost must
have stolen them. As you might imagine, that story didn’t end well. Today,
however, she tells more lighthearted tales, with happier endings. Fond of
making people laugh, and forever a fan of folklore and mythology, she blends
heart and humor with a dash of magic into her stories. Kerri lives in Michigan
with her husband, son and cat they lovingly but aptly refer to as The
Maleficence, Mel for short.
I spend an inordinate amount of time researching dinner recipes on cooking blogs. Not that I don’t already have a thousand recipes shoved into my recipe binder, but I always seem to need a new one when it comes time to plan dinner. When I find one I like, and that “looks” gourmet, I pretend I’m a chef.
So here is a Pretend Cooking Blog, as if I knew what I was doing. With pictures.
Spaghetti & Meatballs
This is a recipe I scrabbled together using three or four others until I compiled what I wanted. It does take a bit of time to make, so if you’re chauffeuring kids around on a Wednesday evening, save this for Sunday. But if you have about 30 minutes to prep and another 30 to simmer, it’s doable on a weeknight. You might eat a bit late, but I swear, it’s worth it.
Sauce:
28 oz can of crushed tomatoes. If you have only diced tomatoes, you can drain it in a sieve and then smush it through the holes with the back of a ladle for a bit. What’s left will be broken down enough to work. If you choose not to smush, it’s just a chunkier sauce.
3-4 basil leaves, chopped. I grow basil outside in the summer, pick, wash, and freeze individually on a cookie tray. Then I put the lot in a freezer ziplock and use it during the winter. It’s not pretty as it tends to brown a bit when thawed, but the flavor is the same and perfect for a sauce.
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
Chopped garlic. I use a ginormous spoonful from a jar of pre-chopped garlic, so… 1 heaping tablespoon?
2 cups water
8 oz tomato paste
Salt ‘n Pepper (use more than you think you need)
Meatballs:
1 lb beef or .5 lb beef and .5 lb pork (but who ever has both on hand??)
1/4 – 1/2 cup curly parsley. I chop about a 1/2 cup and reserve a little for garnish.
Bread crumbs, 1/4-cupish. Less if fine, 1/2 cup is NOT. Been there, done that, ate weird meatballs.
1 egg
Chopped garlic. Again, I can’t give you an amount as I just go for a spoonful out of the jar.
Salt ‘n pepper (always more than you think)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan (NOT THE FAKE KIND IN THE BOTTLE, BUY A WEDGE)
1/4-ish cup finely chopped onion. If you go as much as a 1/2 cup it’s… oniony.
My recommendation is to build the sauce first to give the flavors time to meld. In a big ol’ pot (I use a Dutch oven), saute the onion in a tablespoon or so of olive oil on medium heat until it browns a bit.
A little tip. I tend to chop both the onion for the sauce and the onion for the meatballs at the same time. For the meatballs, it should be as finely chopped as you can get it, or you end up with big chunks in rather small meatballs. I use a chopper I’ve had for about 15 years that gets the onion very small, very quickly. I checked to see if you can still get them, and you can. At the ‘Zon here, or at BBB here. It works for bell peppers and carrots, too. Not so much for celery though…
Add the remaining sauce ingredients and stir to combine. Turn the heat down to simmer–if not, it will burn! Not that know anything about that. Ahem.
And look! You can use the aluminum can for a spoon rest!
Once that sauce is going, you can mix all the meatball ingredients. I’m sure there is a technique to making meatballs, but I just roll them into little ball about an 1 inch or 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Place them slowly and gently into the sauce so it doesn’t splash back on you. Not that know anything about that, either. Ahem.
Another little tip. I mentioned above not to use the Parmesan cheese that comes in the plastic container. I’m going to reiterate that here. I’m not sure it’s cheese. That doesn’t mean it’s not yummy sprinkled on top of your spaghetti, but for purposes of the meatballs, I recommend a wedge of real Parm (it’s only about $2-$3 if you buy a cheap brand, which is just as good as the $$ stuff, in my opinion) and a Microplane. Now, a Microplane is a specialized tool, and you can absolutely use a real grater instead. But for zesting citrus and grating real Parm, it’s lovely. It’s also an indulgence–mine was a gift. So put it on your Christmas list!
Simmer the meatballs in the sauce for at least 30-35 minutes. Longer is even better to really let the flavors meld. Stir it every now and again to prevent sticking. Serve over noodles, sprinkle with a bit of fresh chopped parsley for garnish, add some garlic bread on the side, and voila! Dinner is served.
