The Reviews are in!

TEXAS PROMISE
by: Celia Yeary
There are good books, and then there are good books. The ones I’m talking about are the ones that when you reach the last page you feel as though you are losing contact with dear friends. That is how I felt when I finished Celia Yeary’s first book in her Cameron Sisters series, Texas Promise... This is a book I’d describe as a ‘keeper’. It will certainly stay on my e-shelf to be read again in the not too distant future. I will also be keeping my eye out for the sequel...If you have not read Celia Yeary’s books I highly recommend you start now."

Sherry Gloag -- The Heart of Romance Blog

"Texas Promise is the second book that I have read from this author...I love the female characters that this author creates -- they have such determination and strength of character even when all around them seems hopeless... This is the first of two books focusing on the lives and loves of the Cameron sisters. I look forward to revisiting such a rich and vivid setting to see what's in store for Jo's sister True."

Rose Love Western Romances Reviews
Rating = 4 Spurs

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PORTRAIT OF MURDER
By: Faye Daniels

This was one fantastic suspense story and I could not put it down. I completed this in one sitting even though it was much too late and my eyesight was blurry but I just couldn't stop reading until I came to the end. I enjoyed everything about this book... This is a must-read for those who enjoy romantic suspense."

Theresa Joseph - The Romance Studio
Rating = 5 Hearts

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WHITE TIGER
by: Vijaya Schartz

White Tiger contains an adventurous action filled storyline in a world full of Humans, Godds, Reptoids, and Mutants. The world the author has created is both unique and extremely well constructed creating a feeling that is a little bit science fiction and a touch fantasy-like in nature. The character of Tora is especially well developed and realistic. She is strong, confident, stubborn, and loyal to a fault. Her unique abilities add spice to these personality traits.

Tami Brady, Amazon Reader
5 Stars

Schartz's writing is crisp, original, and filled with creativity. The plot is smooth, action-packed, and moves fast.From the first page to the last, "White Tiger" will take the reader for a breathless ride filled with action, adventure, myths, and love.

Stephanie Burkhart, Author of "The Hungarian"
5 Stars

*****
THE BOREALIS ANTHOLOGY, BOOK 1
by: PI Barrington, J. Morgan, Gail R. Delaney

"Leave it to P.I. Barrington to build a romantic thriller in space. This is an exciting read that keeps you off balance and wondering where the next revelation with happen (Inamorata Crossing...) This is a fun and engaging story and has the tone of a fairy story of old. It is as exciting as you would expect from a science fiction set in space, and the romance warms the heart. J. Morgan has created a fun and eventful story with characters that have sparkling personalities. They are so real it is like losing a friend when the story ends (Kiss me, Kate)... Sarina and Theron are both very strong and likable characters that make you want to cheer them on. Their feelings are deep and leave a lasting tug on your heart ( Forgive Us Our Debts)... Each story is unique to itself but all are set in the same time and place. They are charming stories of love and space, and as each story ends you feel as though you have lost a friend. This is a fast paced and exciting book full of danger and adventure and all brought together by love."

Blog Critics

Author Spotlight Week - Celia Yeary shares her passion for Westerns

Romance? Didn’t read it. None, zip, nada. Too trite, I’d heard—the novels always ended the same way—happily-ever-after. Same plot, boy meets girl, they fall in love, have a falling-out, make-up, get married. “What’s wrong with that?” I asked a cynical friend who only read literary works.

Then, one day in 1990, I visited a used-book store and bought a paperback by Janet Dailey titled
This Calder Range. I couldn’t put it down. Remember, I love Westerns, and this even had a HEA. I fell in love. I searched the used-book stores and eventually the library until I’d found and read all ten in the Calder series. Her latest, I believe, was released a couple of years ago. From there, I discovered LaVyrle Spencer, a master of romance writing, Dorothy Garlock, Maggie Osborne, Linda Lael Miller, and Jodi Thomas—plus many more. I still search for new authors who write exciting, satisfying Western Romance.

In 2004, I sat down and began to write a story. And yes, it was a Western romance—a historical. Probably I’ll never be in the same category with my favorite authors, but each one has been an inspiration and a benchmark for me.

Why do I write the West? I find it difficult to put into words.
The Last Frontier, perhaps? That’s the name for space exploration and Star Wars.
Romance in Sweeping Vistas with a love story set in a different time, perhaps? That’s how we describe novels set in early Scotland.

The Era of the Strong, Silent type who always gets the girl while he brings justice in full measure, perhaps? That’s how we describe Indiana Jones adventures.


See? I cannot exactly describe my feeling when I begin a new Western Historical novel, either reading one or writing one. Oh! Now I know Why I Write the West! It’s like falling in love.


Celia Yeary-Romance...and a little bit 'o Texas
http://www.celiayeary.blogspot.com
http://www.celiayeary.com
New Releases
Texas Promise-eBook-Desert Breeze Publishing
Making the Turn-print & eBook-Wings ePress

Author Spotlight Week - Q&A with Celia Yeary

I'd like to welcome author Celia Yeary to the blog day. Celia is a dear friend from the Book Spa and I'm tickled pink to have her here today.

STEPH: I don't know much about Texas Promise. Can you tell us a little about the story?

CELIA: It’s the first in a two-book series called “The Cameron Sisters,” which developed from the first novel about their father Jeffrey “Buck” Cameron and their mother, Marilee Weston, titled TEXAS BLUE. In the end of that first novel, there were two daughters—Josie and True. So, I wrote a novel for each of the sisters and the two became The Cameron Sisters: Books I and II.
TEXAS PROMISE tells the story of the older daughter Josephine Cameron who married her childhood sweetheart, Dalton King. But as adults, they don’t get along as well as they did as children, resulting in Dalton leaving after three weeks to join the Texas Rangers. The plot is complicated when he is presumed dead, but returns just as Jo is packing to leave for the New Mexico Territory to meet her birth father.

STEPH: What was in the inspiration for the story?

CELIA: I wanted Jo to meet her wicked birth father, but I needed a way for her to get from Austin, Texas to the wilds of the New Mexico Territory to do so. Also important was for her to marry Dalton, so I made him a Texas Ranger so he could lead her to her father and protect her at the same time. The rigorous journey gave me the opportunity for Jo and Dalton to become reunited and fall in love, for real this time, instead of childhood love.

STEPH: How long have you been writing?

CELIA: About six years. I’m still considered a newbie, I guess, but I’m a fast learner and very motivated when I learn something new. I never wrote a thing in my life before 2004.

STEPH: How do you create your characters? Do you cast them? If so, who are the leads?

CELIA: This question always stumps me. The characters just appear. I can’t explain “creating” them, can you? Sometimes I do cast characters, but not often, and if I do, I don’t remember the actor I used. Dalton is tall, dark, a little somber (unlike his sunny personality as a child), a good man who wants to do the right thing. Jo was an isolated child, which made her a little timid of the outside world. But when she did break out, she blossomed into a courageous, bold, independent woman.

STEPH: What attracts you to writing westerns?

CELIA: So many possibilities to write a story! I can include danger, adventure, hardships, Western vistas, horses, and a way of life that made our country great.

STEPH: How did the story find a home with Desert Breeze?

CELIA: Finding a publisher with an open mind to a two-book series ready to go isn’t as easy as you’d think. I heard “let’s do the first one, then we’ll see about the second one.” I could have gone that way, but I held on to them, and just as I wouldn’t separate sisters, I couldn’t take the chance I might not get the second one with the same publisher. But Desert Breeze stated in the guidelines the exact words I looked for—that they were interested in series, especially if they were fully developed. Yessss!

STEPH: Do you have any hobbies you'd like to share with us?

CELIA: Reading and writing—now—takes up much of my time. Before writing, I learned how to play golf at age 40, and played hard and fast for years. I had to give that up for various reasons, and I cast about looking for something else. In my younger adult years, I did crewel embroidery and created some very pretty things, mostly as gifts. When I tired of that, I made wreaths—for gifts. When I wore that one out, I painted t-shirts—to give away. After that, I made scrapbooks—as gifts! In between all that, I earned two degrees and taught high school biology.

SETPH: What's your favorite place to visit in Texas? A festival? A town? the coast?

CELIA: I have visited all over Texas, and lived in almost every corner. My favorite is Big Bend National Park, and the towns close by—Alpine, Marfa, and Marathon. Very interesting and unique and wild.

STEPH: Fun question: If you were a NASCAR driver, who would you want to sponsor your car?

CELIA: American Airlines and maybe they’d let me always fly First-Class and Free!

Featured September Release - Texas Promise by Celia Yeary

ABOUT THE BOOK:

After two years, Jo King’s life as a widow abruptly ends when her husband returns home to Austin. Unable to understand her angry and bitter husband, she accepts a call from the New Mexico Territory to meet her dying birth father whom she knows nothing about. Her plan to escape her husband goes awry when he demands to travel with her.

Dalton King, believing lies his Texas Ranger partner tells him about Jo, seethes with hatred toward his wife. Now he must protect Jo from his partner’s twisted mind, while sorting out the truth. Jo’s bravery and loyalty convince him she’s innocent. But can they regain the love and respect they once shared?

EXCERPT:

"You're going? Tell me you're not making this trip. Who's going with you? Surely you're traveling with someone." His voice rose once more.

Now, she really did fly off the handle. There was no reasoning with him, no normal conversation. All he could do was accuse, question, and demand. Well, she'd had enough. She slammed out the back door into the twilight.

In instant motion, Dalton slammed out right after her.

"You come back here and answer me!"

She whirled around and leaned from the waist. Pointing a finger at him, she said, "You... you can go to... perdition!"

He came close, spread his legs, and hooked his fingers on his hips. Thrusting his head toward her, he said, "What? I've never heard you talk like that. And the word is 'hell,' lady, 'hell!' Say it! Tell me to go to hell!"

"You... you can go to... hell! There, I said it! That's the only place for you now! It's certainly not with me! You... you abandoned me! And, and you humiliated me! Furthermore... you--" The tears bubbled up from the crack in her heart, spilled over, down her cheeks, and into the corner of her mouth. Sobbing and shaking, she made one last attempt at getting her point across. "I... I h-hateyou!"

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Celia Yeary is a eighth-generation Texan, and her life revolves around family and friend --- and writing. San Marcos has been her home for thirty-five years. She has written three romance novels for a small press, essays for Texas Co-op Power magazine, and several different topics for her weekly blog. She also writes women's fiction and hopes a publisher comes along who likes these stories, too.

The author is a former science teacher, graduate of Texas Tech University and Texas State, mother of two, grandmother of three, and wife of a wonderful, supportive Texan. Celia and her husband enjoy traveling, and both are involved in their church, the community, and the university as retired faculty.

Desert Breeze congratulates Celia on her latest release!