This month's theme is IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, or #ICYMI for those of us who are hashtag aficionados. I actually have 2 books that have been released this month - one indie, one traditionally published - that I didn't do a great deal of promoting due to... life stuff happening at the same time.
I released my first Western romance with a paranormal twist this month. THE SHERIFF & THE PSYCHIC is about a small town, biracial Sheriff and a visiting psychic with a tragic past. It is the first in a three-book series titled Welcome to Renewal.
Police Psychic Silvestra Coeltrain comes to Renewal, OK to visit with old friends and to heal. After a year in which she was tested physically, mentally, and psychically, all she wants to do is sleep, fish, and bask in the tranquility of the sleepy town.
Sheriff Caleb Blackbear doesn’t understand the feelings he’s quickly developing for Renewal’s newest visitor. She responds to his kisses with a passion that equals his own. But she’s an enigma, filled with secrets and evasions, and he’s a suspicious man.
When several of the local ranches begin losing cattle to a mysterious illness, it’s Silvestra who claims the animals are being methodically targeted and killed. As Cal’s investigation zeros in on who and what could be slaying the animals, the murder of a prominent rancher’s daughter – and Cal’s former lover – complicates things. With Silvestra’s life now in danger, Cal is determined to keep her safe at any cost.
But can he?
I loved writing this book because it was such a departure from the Contemporary Romcoms and smalltown family romances I usually write. I had to do a great deal of research on all things psychic-related, and I knew nothing about cowboys and cattle ranches when I started. If I'm ever a contestant on Jeopardy and they have a category called THINGS ABOUT COWS I'll ace it!!! Writing about a Native American who'd been bullied and the subject of racial hatred in his past was something I've never done before, either, and just reading about how Native Americans have been ostracized and marginalized in this country was eye-opening.
And infuriating.
The second book released this month was from Magnolia Blossom Publishing titled THE HAUNTING OF WILTON JUNE ( Romantic Hauntings book 2)
Hotshot movie director Wilton June is in pre-production for a new movie. The moment he sees Maison Toussaint he decides it’s the perfect setting for the film and wants to rent it. The one stumbling block? The owner isn’t sure she can let her ancestral home be used in a movie.
Botanist Jerica Toussaint needs cash – a lot of it – to keep her home up to code and her herbal healing business alive. June’s financial offer is oh-so-tempting, as is the director himself. But the house has a secret Jerica’s guarded her entire life. Can she, in good conscience, rent it to a man who may expose it?
Convincing Jerica to trust him with her home – and her secret – is no easy feat and after a time Will realizes he needs to convince her to trust him with one more thing: her heart.
This story came after last year's MERRY'S GHOST and deals with Merry June's brother, Will. This was another book that had me delving deep into research because my heroine, Jerica Toussaint, is a botanist. I knew nothing about botany when I started the story but now I can give a dissertation on the care and keeping of hybrid plants and the multiple uses of various herbs for healing.
The story is another Paranormal - but you probably already guessed that based on the title! There are three more books planned in the series, all due in 2023, so I'll keep you posted on the future releases. I'm really enjoying writing about ghosts, witches, and things that we need to stretch our imaginations ( and my writing skills!) to believe.
As usual, I'm now off to the next book - or books, as it were. I have 4 more releases this year and I need to get cracking.
Be well and until next month, Happy Reading. ~ Peg
