Author Interview with Maureen O. Betita & Review and Excerpt from The Changed World

June 29, 2018

As seen in the June issue of Uncaged Book Reviews

Uncaged: Can you tell readers more about the different series you have going?

At present I’m writing mostly stand-alone novels. But I have two series available. Involving pirates, magic, romance, alternate history, action, adventure…the kitchen sink… 😉

Uncaged: Do you write full-time or part-time?

Whatever I choose! I can write full-time or part-time. I am a lady of leisure.

Uncaged: What do you have coming up next that you can tell us about?

I have two novels I’ve been working on. One involves a middle-aged woman who finds herself in a deserted San Francisco, ten years from now… It’s truly a single woman, on her own for 98% of the novel. Another story is a young woman breaking free from her kidnapper, moving toward revenge and redemption… Hoping to have both out before the end of the year.

Uncaged: You are an attending author at Wild Deadwood Reads this year. What are you looking forward to the most from this convention?

*Snicker… I would like to say drinking with friends… But there is more than that. I’m looking forward to the Saturday night reading, the Friday night meet and greet, and my husband and I have tickets for the haunted walking tour on Friday night. So much to look forward to. And I do love meeting readers!

Uncaged: Do you read your reviews? What do you take away from them?

I scan my reviews. I try not to dive too deeply into them, most can be so demoralizing. And I hate that one poor review will stick with me, while a dozen good ones disappear from my memory instantly. I do pay attention to specific critics and adjust what I can.

Uncaged: What is one of the nicest things someone has said to you about your books?

I actually received a hand written fan letter, saying my books brightened her day. Another woman, I met and the NOLA RT, came running up to me, gave me hug, saying I’d written her favorite book and she read it several times a year. The Kraken’s Mirror.

Uncaged: What is your favorite parts about being an author? What have you found to be the least favorite?

I love writing. The story telling aspect entrances me. And making up stuff. 😉 Least favorite? Marketing attempts that fail dismally.

Uncaged: What do you like to do when you aren’t writing? Where is one of your favorite places on Earth?

When I’m not writing I’m making hats. Or sewing. I love making hats. My favorite places on Earth…Took a Caribbean cruise last year, fell in love with St Kitts. Actually, most of the wondrous places I’ve visited in the last decade were from cruises. So…perhaps one of my favorite places is aboard a cruise ship!

Uncaged: What is the hardest part of a book to write? What is the easiest? From start to finish, how long does it take to finish a complete book?

Hardest is knowing when to stop. This is an issue with me, and why my pirate series, Forever a Pirate, is 30 books long. The easiest? Well…world building. I love letting my imagination steer the ship. If I’m on a streak, I can finish a book in 3 weeks. If I’m plodding along, fighting with bad habits, etc… 6 months. Or more.

Uncaged: What would you like to say to fans, and where can they follow you?

I LOVE to hear from fans. Praise, questions, nitpicks…any and all. Share pirate pictures with me on Facebook, or Kraken memes. Love me octopus/kraken memes! If you see me at a conference, please introduce yourself. I am very social and not frightened of readers. I have two pages on Facebook, Maureen O. Betita Author and Maureen O. Betita. The author page isn’t terribly active, simply because of FB policies. I have a newish Instagram account – under my name. Same with Pinterest. Always include the O. when searching, or you might end up following my niece from the Phillipines. A very nice young lady, but not me.

My website has a link to sign up for my newsletter. It’s a great way to be notified when a new book is out.

[symple_box color=”black” fade_in=”false” float=”center” text_align=”left” width=””]Maureen lives along the lovely Monterey Bay and finds great inspiration in being so near the Pacific Ocean. She shares her home with Stephen, her high school sweetheart, married for over 30 years and a cat named Isabeau.

She travels miles and miles to attend pirate festivals, renaissance fairs, scifi/fantasy conventions, steampunk cons and writing conferences.[/symple_box]

maureenobetita.com

The Changed World
Maureen O. Betita
SciFi/Dystopian

In the Changed World, life is cheap, fertile women are valuable, and children are priceless.
A cosmic disruption in time tore the bonds of history apart, leaving a world of hardship, ruled by the survival of the fittest. After the near genocide of her people, Ivy is captured and brutally assaulted. Her daughter is stolen, and she despairs.
Duran, a fellow mercenary, shows Ivy there is hope beyond rage, love beyond hatred…. But will Ivy’s thirst for vengeance destroy everything they have together? Can she save her daughter without losing herself…or the man she has come to love?

EXCERPT
INTRODUCTION

From The Book Of Cruz

In the days before time shattered, the earth rolled with billions of people. Many colors, many countries. Much conflict. Cities rose to the sky, holding every luxury imaginable. Humankind knew their place, which was standing upon everything else. Even their kin.
As was written by a great author of the before, “It was the best of times, is was the worst of times.”
We, the Cruz, were tolerated. Called aliens, we knew the truth and kept to ourselves, in small communities, and did what we did. We were humans, science supported that fact. Our people came from the same roots, but the Cruz evolved…twisted. Or blessed. It all depended on perspective.
The oldest of us remember how full of noise and distraction the old world was, before it changed. But even their memories grow faint, with the years.
The change swept through the galaxy, a great tide that fed on time. It struck with no warning. One moment, the earth was as it had always been, revolving with simple elegance through the ancient sky. Then the wave intersected that path. Instantly, the planet felt the weight of time. Billions of people aged instantly, then in another second, they were dust. Cities crumbled; the monuments of men were swallowed by nature, speeding by to sweep them away.
Coastlines changed, mountains rose, islands sank and in the span of minutes, the survivors stood, alone. The wave swept past, no doubt moving on to wreck havoc through the cosmos, done with us.
Most of our people were spared. We’d always been few, but our instinct to cluster boded well. In the aftermath, we stood together. The rest of the survivors had to find each other and begin again, in small villages and communities. With perseverance, they learned all over again how to grow crops, hunt animals, take care of themselves. We did what we could to assist.
It didn’t take long for the worst of human nature to rise. A decade? Less? Within a century, misery ruled the land. The visitor had done more than steal history, it left behind altered biology. People aged, but they didn’t die. Not naturally. Swords still worked, and axes, and clubs.
And one more thing. Births slowed. And then, they all but stopped.
The survivors needed someone to blame, someone to point a finger at. We were handy. We were different.
In the Changed World, standing out could get you killed.
Or worse.

PROLOGUE

If only this were a nightmare Ivy could wake from. The ground offered no comfort, unyielding and rough, her skin shrank from the ice particles coating the earth. Voices discussed her capture, and how much he would pay them. Distracted by the throbbing in her head she barely heard them, unable to reply, object or counteroffer.
“Pity, she’s one of the last. Not many of them left,” a gruff male voice spoke. “But her price will see us through the winter.”
“Longer, she’s with child. He’ll pay twice for two,” a hard female added, without mercy. “Pity she hasn’t had it, we could keep it and just sell her.”
“World’s gonna be a plain place when they are all gone.” Regret painted that voice. Ivy felt a wrinkled hand brush the hair from her mouth. “I remember…”
“Stuff it, old woman! Memories won’t keep us fed,” the hard voice cut off the memory. “Bind her arms and legs. Denny, you carry her. This is good luck for us, we have to use it!” The orders were obeyed without further discussion. Rough rope bound her wrists, safely enclosed in a bag. They knew Cruz and their tricks.

Helpless, totally helpless. Weak from five months of running, trying to find enough to eat, avoiding the constant patrols as her belly grew and she cursed the unwanted burden. Shelter after shelter came up deserted, nothing but ashes remaining. He’d been merciless.
Her captors bargained well. Ivy recovered enough to attempt talk, but all that accomplished a gag. Fiona, the older woman, tried to offer comfort. The old woman remembered life before the world had changed.
They haggled well and received a high price, she actually didn’t blame them. Life was hard. But now she sat, back to the familiar cell. At least he’d been absent. She had two nights of peace. Many of his clan came to stare at her, but no one spoke. She was fed, but sparingly. And her hands were kept loosely bound at her back. She could have freed them, but why? They’d only redo the rope, tighter. Instead, she welcomed the small mercy.
He’d finally arrived and stood, staring at her through the bars. A tall man, broad shouldered, sun bleached hair falling down his back, tightly braided. He bore scars on his face, one she could be credited for. She nearly smiled at the tear at his cheek, her knife would have taken an eye if he’d been a second slower.
He signaled archers to stand ready before ordering the jailor to enter and undo her hands. The jailor hesitated and Ursus struck him.
She tried to smile, even comfort the man, whispering, “Won’t hurt you…”
Her arms fell useless to her sides as the binding fell away. She swung them, trying to restore feeling in the long denied muscles. Ursus glared at her, then brusquely spit his demand, “Strip.” Ursus, the leader of the bear clan. The brute. The rapist. The murderer.
She wasn’t wearing much to begin with. Rags and strips of cloth stolen here and there fell at her feet. Survival was at stake, she didn’t challenge him. Sensations slowly returned to her hands, enough to do the job. When she finally stood, naked and defenseless, he gazed at her swollen belly, bearing mute testimony to her state. He’d turned to three of his men. “Call the midwife.”
She’d known humiliation, but this as new. Surrounded by men, they gaped and giggled. The midwife trembled, attempting to be gentle, but too aware of what was at stake. Ursus had looked for an heir many, many years, only to be fruitless, as most were in the Changed World.
The midwife leaned back and turned to him. “Due in two months.”
Ursus stared at the midwife. “She was in my bed a solid month. This baby is mine?”
“It seems likely, sir,” the midwife declared gazing at Ivy with pity. Those gray eyes pierced her soul and sent her to the depths of grief. With a soul-wrenching cry, she rolled to one side and surged to her feet, threw herself at the bars, attempting to see one of the poised arrows take her belly.

Two months, Ursus kept her in that cell. Assigned a young boy to watch her, keep her from harming herself. Young Emmett, a Cruz from the greater jails. One of the few left alive. For months, the big blond man had been systematically disposing of the small group he’d captured, all of them known to Ivy. They were the last of the farmers who resisted his authority. Who took up arms to fight him. The last of her blood family.
Emmett had been frightened, but did his best to help her. If she harmed the baby, Ursus would kill him. In front of her. She did nothing to put the young boy in danger. When the little girl slipped free, she’d refused to look at the infant. “Not mine, his! His!”
Ursus was pleased, and made the mistake of ignoring his two captives, emerged in the care of his daughter. Fiona drugged the guards, took Ivy’s hand and led her from the cell. She’d sheltered Ivy and Emmett for a week, seeing strength returned, and told them of the shift in their fortunes. “Rumor comes of a group of Cruz that sail the seas. They seldom touch on shore, knowing they are a hunted people. Each carries a curse, as you do.” She’d transferred her gaze from Ivy to Emmett, “Yours will come, boy.”
Ivy closed her eyes, the night of her twentieth birthday, her genetic curse had settled on her. And for too long she didn’t see it as a curse. Twenty years later, she knew it as such.
Eternal youth. What a f**king joke.

Uncaged Review

In this dystopian book is an original concept with an original take on the apolcalypse. The world after The Change, has been taken over by warlords and different clans. Ivy was captured, tortured and raped by Ursus – one of the worst of the warlords, and becomes pregnant. After giving birth to a daughter, she manages to escape her prison and works as a mercenary, leaving her daughter to be raised by Ursus. When her daughter is old enough, she seeks Ivy out, as Ivy is a Cruz, and with the Cruz bloodline – there is a curse within the bloodline that will manifest when the person turns 20 years old.

There were some good action sequences and a lot of suspense that keeps the reader on their toes. As good of a concept as this book is, there are some missing parts to it, that kept me wondering most of the way through, and some questions that never seemed to be answered. I wanted more. I wanted more information, how did The Change happen? When did it happen? I wasn’t quite sure where we were in the world in this book, was it part of the U.S. at one time? I kept picturing the west coast, don’t know if I’m right. I also got some bit and pieces of when it all occurred, 1957 maybe? I had no idea how much time had passed since it all happened either. I also didn’t get a clear understanding of all the different clans.

Even with that said, I was drawn to the book once I put it down, and wanted to go back – and the more I read and the deeper I got into the book, the more I liked the characters. I will say the book could use a good editor, there were many typos, and even though they were a bit distracting, I think it’s an easy fix. This book could easily have rated higher, and as a series, this has a ton of potential. Reviewed by Cyrene

4 Stars

Uncaged Review – Bloodline Origins by Iuliana Foos

Cyrene Olson

June 28, 2018

Bloodline Origins
Iuliana Foos
Paranormal

Determined to turn her fantasy into reality, Ana starts her journey to become a vampire. Along the way, she learns the truth about their secret society, discovers her prestigious bloodline, and falls in love.

Not all vampires are accepting of humans and war looms in the shadows. An ancient tome reveals the vampires’ alien descent and sparks war.

An army bent on eradicating her coven’s existence threatens her new world. Survival or annihilation will be in Ana’s hands.

Uncaged Review: This is a very nicely done vampire book that breaks out with a very original take on the lore – even though I have read books that have touched on the “alien lore” of the vampire race, this one has also pulled in some traditional folklore that adds so much more dimension to the story. As an author’s debut novel, this is quite impressive.

One of our main characters, Ana has never felt like she fit in anywhere, and coming out of an abusive relationship, she’s very untrusting. When her dreams finally have a chance to become reality, Ana finally feels something is right – until she meets Prince Andre. Ana will find her true self in this book and the author keeps it interesting.

This book does not leave you on a major cliffhanger, but sets up beautifully for the next book in the series and I’m looking forward to it. Reviewed by Cyrene

4 1/2 Stars

Author Interview with Paty Jager – Review and Excerpt from Savannah

Cyrene Olson

June 28, 2018

As seen in the June issue of Uncaged Book Reviews.

Uncaged: You live and breathe the western lifestyle, is this one of the inspirations for your writing? You also write mysteries, how is it different to write in that genre?

Yes, I believe because I have lived rural and a western lifestyle my whole life that it helps me understand how people lived when writing historical westerns and gives me a sense of their struggles. When I started writing they always said write what you know. Historical westerns were the closest to what I knew that I could get. I actually read mysteries before romance and wrote mystery before romance. I love coming up with why someone is killed and who could have done it. In one respect mysteries are easier because they are contemporary, and I don’t have to research history, but on the other hand, I need to know law enforcement etiquette and put my story together like a puzzle of sorts.

Uncaged: Can you tell readers more about the series you have going now?

My Silver Dollar Saloon series is set in a fictional town along the Northern Pacific in the Dakota Territory. Shady Gulch is one of the watering stations and depots for the train to Bismarck. Because of the train the town grew up and with it will come growing pains. Beau Gentry and his lifelong friend, Jules Matthieu, moved to Shady Gulch from New Orleans. They set up the Silver Dollar Saloon. It’s a high-class establishment where Beau gives women who would be dead or have to resort to prostitution a chance to work and get back their self-esteem. He also owns the boarding house behind the saloon. It’s where the women live along with Mrs. Dearling, yet another, woman Beau befriended in her time of crisis. In the saloon the women deliver drinks, sing, and dance. But they aren’t dressed as skimpy as other saloons and the men aren’t allowed to touch them or made crude remarks. If they do, they are kicked out by Beau or Jules. Each book in the series shows how a woman comes to the Saloon and how one leaves to get married. Beau and Jules will eventually have their own love stories as well. I hope as a reader picks up one of the books they discover a community they would like to revisit and fall in love with each character who works in the saloon and townsfolk.

Uncaged: What do you have coming up next that you can tell us about?

Lottie Mae, Book two of the Silver Dollar Saloon series will be out in July. Lottie Mae was a teacher until she was accosted by three of her older male students and lost her job, her family, and her respect. Beau stumbled across her when she was thinking of taking her life. He brought her to Shady Gulch and she’s just getting around to thinking she’d like to apply to be a teacher again when one of the young men, now a man, has showed up in town right after a young woman was accosted on the train and tossed off.

You can also find a short story, Saving Dallie, in the Wild Deadwood Tales Anthology, where Beau, once again, steps in to help a young woman in trouble.

Uncaged: You are an attending author at Wild Deadwood Reads this year. What are you looking forward to the most from this convention?

I enjoy the Wild Deadwood Reads for two reasons, one it gives me a chance to visit places on my way there and back that I’ve always wanted to see, and I like visiting with readers in a unique old west type of setting.

Uncaged: Do you read your reviews? What do you take away from them?

I don’t go actively read reviews, but some of my fans will send me links to their reviews of my books. A review that says they enjoyed the book and the characters makes me happy. It means I did my job. If a review isn’t favorable, and it is one of a few, I figure the story, characters, or whatever wasn’t for them and rather than read more of my books I would like them to move on and read something else they do enjoy. I know every reader has their own taste in what they like to read. I’m the same way. It is rare that I love a book as much as someone else and yet I may love a book that few others do. If I make a few people escape and enjoy my stories as much as I do then I’ve accomplished what I set out to do.

Uncaged: What is one of the nicest things someone has said to you about your books?

When I first became published my dad bought several of my books and gave them to people. One was a receptionist at his dentist office. She is now one of my avid fans. She said, “I didn’t like to read until I read your book. Now I read all the time.” Being a voracious reader from the age of 5 I find bringing the joy of books to someone who hadn’t had that before to be the best complement.

Uncaged: What is your favorite parts about being an author? What have you found to be the least favorite?

My favorite part of being an author is coming up with a story and piecing together the main characters and setting which requires research. I LOVE research. My least favorite part is the business side- promoting, marketing, discovering my audience.

Uncaged: What do you like to do when you aren’t writing? Where is one of your favorite places on Earth?

When I’m not writing I like to go for walks on our property, ride my horse, or sew. One of my favorite places is the Oregon Coast. I love the writing retreats I go on there and spending time there with my hubby and our dogs. We don’t get there as often now that we live on the opposite side of the state.

Uncaged: What is the hardest part of a book to write? What is the easiest? From start to finish, how long does it take to finish a complete book?

For me the hardest part of a book, specifically if it is the first book of a series, is the first 20,000 words. It takes me a bit to get into the main character’s point of view and to establish the settings in my mind. I draw maps and use visuals as well as written out descriptions. The easiest is the last fourth of the book. When the story is heading to and going through the climax or black moment. I’ve spent the other ¾ of the book building up to this moment and I know what has to happen. Hoe long it takes depends on the book and what is going on in my life. I can write a mystery book in a month, IF, I’m at home those 4 weeks and stay focused on the book. I’ve written a 40,000 novella in a week while at the coast when there are no distractions and all I do is write and walk on the beach. The western historicals take about 6 weeks without interruptions.

Uncaged: What would you like to say to fans, and where can they follow you?

If you like murder mysteries a bit darker than a cozy but have the feel of a cozy you might like my Shandra Higheagle Mystery series. If you like raw and real stories of love and redemption, you’ll like my Silver Dollar Saloon Series. And if you like fun, steamy contemporary western romance, you might want to take a look at my Tumbling Creek Ranch series. I enjoy hearing from fans, giving away fun stuff, and writing boks.

If you’d like to check out my 30+ published books, you can find them at my website: http://www.patyjager.net. Here is a list of where else you can contact me and learn more about me, my books, and my lifestyle.

[symple_box color=”black” fade_in=”false” float=”center” text_align=”left” width=””]Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 32 novels, 6 novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery and western romance. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters.

Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it. This is what readers have to say about the Silver Dollar Saloon series: “Paty Jager brings her characters to life, right off the pages of her book. You will laugh, cry, be sad and get angry right along with the characters.”[/symple_box]

Savannah
Paty Jager
Historical Western

Escaping a past full of deceit and larceny, Savannah Gentry goes in search of her only kin, a half-brother she discovered after her father’s death. She hopes Shady Gulch in the Dakota Territory can give her a future. However, she stumbles into the arms of Reverend Larkin Webster, finds herself working in the Silver Dollar Saloon, and soon fears she’s gone from the frying pan into the fire.
After dodging death and incarceration, the Topeka Kid decides to turn his life around and takes on a new identity. Reverend Larkin Webster. It works, until he finds a temptation he can’t resist and steals the heart of Savannah Gentry. When her past collides with his, he wonders if this theft could end up with him losing everything, including his life.

Excerpt

The train stopped. She waited for the others to leave the car before she stood and moved on wobbly legs down the aisle.
The man she’d noticed hopping on the train as it rolled out of Bismarck, stood by the door as if waiting for her to leave. He had on a blue chambray shirt and a white bandana around his neck. He shifted. The glint of sunlight off a shiny gun in a holster hanging on his right hip made her wonder if he was a lawman or an outlaw.
He tipped his hat as she approached. “Ma’am.” His deep voice had a soothing quality.
She nodded and held her satchel in front of her as she passed. That was when she noticed he had a valise in his left hand.
Her mind wandered to thoughts of what he could be carrying. She stepped off the platform and onto the step. The pointed heel of her boot caught in the metal grid. The weight of the satchel pulled her forward.
The moment she realized she was about to take a tumble, an arm snaked around her middle, holding her suspended in air. Her satchel hit the ground and popped open.
A boy ran toward her bag.
“Lord a mercy! No! Stop! Get away!” she shouted, struggling against the arm that held her on the stairs.
“Joshua, close the lady’s bag and guard it,” the deep voice behind her said.
The boy did as asked, snapping the bag shut and standing with a leg on each side of it.
“Can you get your heel unstuck?” the man asked, his arm still circling her.
“I could if your arm wasn’t wrapped around my body like a Georgia crossvine.” She hadn’t meant for the words to come out as haughty as they had.
“Sorry. I didn’t want you to fall.” He released her and remained on the platform above her.
The conductor appeared. “May I help you?”
She raised her skirt enough to show her foot. “My heel is holed up in this grate.”
The man started to reach out then pulled his hand back. “Lark, you better do this.”
The man behind her chuckled. “You afraid Lee will find out you touched another woman?”
The man called Lark eased by her, his tall body brushing her arm.
He set the valise between his legs like the boy stood over her satchel. “May I touch your foot?” His gaze met hers and she couldn’t breathe. Brown eyes, rimmed with copper, peered at her. One dark eyebrow rose as if waiting for her to answer.
“Y-yes,” came out much to breathy.
The handsome man smiled, a dimple appeared on his left cheek.
She stilled her racing heart as he gently, but efficiently, dislodged her boot heel.
“There you go. Miss—”
“Gentry.”
He rocked back and stared at her. “Gentry?”
Why was he repeating her name? “I declare, do you need your ears cleaned? Even with my southern drawl you couldn’t have misheard me.”
“I did hear you.” He walked over and patted the boy on the shoulder. “That was a good deed you did, son.”
The boy grinned up at him and took off at a run toward what appeared to be stockyards.
Lark Webster smiled. He’d known the boy had been about to pilfer the woman’s satchel. Putting him in charge of guarding it with others around to see would give the boy more confidence, something his father didn’t seem fit to do.
He shifted his attention to the beautiful woman. “Are you here to see Beau?” Lark picked up the satchel.
The woman made a grab for it, but he held it away from her. “I’ll carry it. Where do you want to go?”
“I can tote my own bag.” She glared at him with eyes as blue as a Dakota summer sky. Her hair was the color of wheat, ready to harvest. Judging from the fancy coat, bustle, and high heeled boots, she was a woman of means.
Funny, Beau never mentioned any relatives.
“While you may prefer, I’m not about to let a lady carry her own bag when I have a free hand.” He nodded toward town. “Where are you going?”
“To the Silver Dollar Saloon.” The words came out of her bow-shaped mouth as if they soured her tongue.
“Then you are related to Beau.”
She nodded, bouncing the feather on her fancy hat.
“This way.” He led her down the street. As they passed the Allman Hotel, he tipped his head toward the two-story building. “You want to get a room and freshen up?”
The pair of deep blue eyes narrowed. “No.”
She was a woman of few words. He liked that. And made him more certain she was a relation of Beau. He was a man of few words.
“Mind if I drop my valise off at the bank?” he asked, stopping at the door of the bank.
“Just hand over my bag and I’ll not be fret’n you anymore.” She held out her hand.
“You’re not fretting me. I just need to finish my job.” He put both bag handles in one hand and entered the bank. From how she’d yelled at Joshua when he started for her satchel, he had no doubt she would follow him.
The hollow thud of her heels on the wood floor let him know she was right behind him.
“Larkin, I see you made the trip successfully,” his brother, Owen, said, walking out of his office as bank manager.
“Here’s your dispatch.” Lark handed off the valise and spun on his heel, nearly bumping into Miss Gentry.
“Who is this?” Owen asked.
His brother was married, but he had an eye for money, and it was clear he’d pegged this woman as a potential patron of the bank.
“Miss Gentry, my brother, Owen Webster, the bank manager.” Lark stepped back and watched the woman’s interaction with his brother.
“Mr. Webster, it is my honor to meet you,” She held out her hand, limply.
Owen shook hands with her, which put a blush on the woman’s creamy skin.
“If you need to open an account, come see me,” Owen said.
“Bless your heart. I’ll give it a thought.” She glanced at Lark. “Shall we wander?”
He grinned and winked at his brother, who grinned back and shook his head. Lark held out his arm, hoping the woman would slip her hand through the crook at his elbow, but she walked to the door and waited for him to open it.
Back out on the boardwalk, he started across the street. While he’d wanted to escort her properly, it was apparent she had other ideas. He stepped into the street, causing dust to puff up around his legs. The June sun and unending wind had dried what was mud not a month ago, to four inches of dry powder.
He glanced back. Miss Gentry stood on the edge of the wood boardwalk, looking like a person afraid to jump into a river.
“Ye have to pick up yer skirt and not be too proud ta walk these streets,” Mrs. Cleary said, hefting her wool skirt up and stepping into the dust. She glanced over her shoulder at Miss Gentry.
The younger woman heaved a heavy sigh and raised the front of her skirts. The only problem—the back was longer and she wasn’t raising it up at all.
Lark doubled back and picked up the tail of her skirt, following along behind the woman. At that moment, Sheriff Tyson Blake stepped out of his office. He whistled and hollered, “I knew you were good for something other than a preacher!”
Miss Gentry stopped, and he ran into the back of her.
Ty roared with laughter.
Lark’s face and ears heated up hotter than Manfred’s forge.
“Y-you’re a preacher man?” Her gaze traveled from his dusty boots up to his wide-brimmed hat.
“Yes, ma’am. Every day of the week but Wednesday. That day I’m the bank courier.”
She spun around and hurried to the boardwalk in front of the mercantile. Once she set foot on the planks, she said, “Land a mercy, take your hands off my dress.”

Uncaged Review

What a gem of a book this turned out to be. Savannah goes to Shady Gulch looking for her half-brother after her father dies, trying to get away from a smarmy bank collector trying to take everything away, citing her father’s debts, and next he plans to marry Savannah. What she finds in Shady Gulch is true friendships, family and love from a preacher. I didn’t take to Savannah in the beginning with her snobby upbringing, but when you see her growth, and all that outside façade fade away and she becomes someone to root for.

A few laugh out loud moments, a bit of suspense and danger – with a good sprinkling of romance, and readers will enjoy this story. I can’t wait to read more about Shady Gulch. Reviewed by Cyrene

5 Stars

Uncaged Review – Off the Grid for Love by Rena Koontz

Cyrene Olson

June 28, 2018

Off the Grid for Love
Rena Koontz
Romantic Suspense

Jake Manettia, an undercover FBI agent working a public corruption case, stumbles into an opportunity to infiltrate the city’s largest mob organization. That’s not the only fall he takes after witnessing a bank robbery and meeting the beautiful and spirited teller behind the counter.

Mackenna McElroy is that bank teller. She looks down the barrel of a gun on three different days, and per orders from the robbers, empties her cash drawers. Not only is she the FBI’s prime suspect, she’s the woman Jake falls in love with. He’ll do anything to prove her innocence, including jeopardize his career and risk his life.

He’s either a guardian angel or a stalker, Mackenna can’t decide. Nevertheless, she’s attracted to him. And falling for him. But who is he? She presents him with an ultimatum: Either tell her the truth or get out of her life. Honesty is the only thing Jake can’t give Mackenna. Knowing his true identity endangers both their lives.

Broken-hearted and unable to prove her innocence, Mackenna abandons her hopes for freedom and for a life with Jake. Even though it makes her look guilty, she runs. But the mob is onto Jake and Mackenna runs right into their trap to kidnap her, knowing she is Jake’s Achilles heel. And suddenly, they’re both fighting for their lives. Their survival depends on their trust in each other.

Will they find the love they long for? Or will it be the end of something beautiful?

Uncaged Review: When you first meet Jake, you think, okay, this is going to end up being a motorcycle gang book. Wrong. It is a wonderful, thrilling suspencful romance with a goodly number of action scenes and characters you boo or root for during the book.
McKenna McElroy is the lead character. She goes by Kenna and has secrets she attempts to hide. The main one being how her exboyfriend Arthur cleaned her out by taking everything but her clothes and makeup from the apartment they shared. Along with that, he also locked all her accounts so she couldn’t discover he had taken all her money and credit cards, leaving her destitute.
The book opens with a bank robbery and Kenna is the teller. The only thing she is sure of is the gun the man was holding and his green eyes. Everything else if fuzzy.
When the police and FBI are finished with her, she goes to the mall to to kill some time until Aurther is gone. Once there, she goes to a coffee shop, hoping the coffee will help her nerves. She had no idea Arthur was a cheater along with being vindictive.
She noticed Jake or Motorcycle Man as they both left the bank. When he shows up at the coffee shop, she believes he is following her. By the time they finish talking, he is now Jake the Jerk. Afraid he is like Athur, she is willing to deal with her professional and personal life falling apart by herself. That was soldified when Courtney, Jake’s partner shows up. Even so, Kenna is attracted to him.
As the book moves on, you discover Jake is an FBI agent who is helping with a corruption case along with infiltrating the Cabacolli syndicate after rescuing, Vinnie, the heir apparent to the syndicate, when he runs his car off into a lake. Jake runs across Kenna at the grocery store, but Vinnie shows up and cuts into his converstation with Kenna. Jake warns her stay away from Vinnie while attempting to make her aware that she can trust him.
As you can tell, things go from bad to worse. Kenna is robbed two more times, her boss tries to rape her and she ends up kidnapped by Vinnie. Jake does what he can to keep Kenna safe after he realizes he loves the woman who he believes might be part of the robberies. Meanwhile, Kenna is unsure of which side of the law Jake is on, but she keeps believing he is one of the good guys from what he doesn’t say.
This book was a lot of fun as there were so many twists and turns you kept turning the pages to find out what was going to happen next. Even in the darkest hours for Kenna, you hope Agent Crews and Jake find the information which proves she wasn’t helping the band robbers. Even though I knew there was going to be a happy ending, I had to get through all the trials and tribulations to get there. It was a fun read which showed how not all bikers belong to gangs and can be the good guy without being nasty or condesceding, which was refreshing.
This book was a definite 5 stars. I spent almost a whole day reading, wanting to find out more about Jake and Kenna. My only complaint was the need for another run through to catch the last of the errors. A missing word or messed up sentence does pull me from the story, but with this book it was easy to fill in the missing word and move on without being totally pulled into reality.
Reviewed by Barbara

5 Stars

Uncaged Review – Lost Protector by Maggie Mundy

Cyrene Olson

June 28, 2018

Lost Protector
Maggie Mundy
SciFi/Paranormal

Angels and demons are not what you think. They are aliens, and the Midworlders are their representatives on Earth.

Soren is a Midworlder who has no memory of his past. His present life is one of torture where the alien Liliath experiments on him.

Anne is a young woman who has never fitted in. All her life she has had dreams of angels. When she is kidnapped, she is offered an escape by Soren. Can she trust him when he has visions of death and murder?

On the run from her kidnappers, the two of them will have to overcome their differences or the future of the whole world will be at stake.

Uncaged Review: In a battle of humans and angels. If you throw in some demonic angels things will get messy. Soren a half breed is about to battle for his life when he goes on a mission to find out who he really is. This is book three in this series but is a standalone story focusing on Soren and his life. I came into this series without reading the other book’s before. It is a easy read and you can pick up on the story and characters very easy. I really enjoyed this book and may go back to the other two books in the series.. Reviewed by Jennifer

4 Stars

Uncaged Review – Dressage Dreaming by Kimberly Beckett

Cyrene Olson

June 28, 2018

Dressage Dreaming
Kimberly Beckett
Contemporary Romance

Michael Stafford was on top of the world. A proud member of the British Olympic Dressage Team and Olympic gold medalist, his life was perfect. Then, he lost his mount, his fiancée left him for another man, and now his brother has been arrested for manslaughter. He believes his luck has turned when he learns that a beautiful and talented stallion is available in Germany, just in time to compete in the next World Cup competition. The horse’s name is Tempest.

Jessica Warren is an up and coming American dressage prodigy with a brilliant future. Orphaned at the age of 21 when her parents were tragically killed in a car accident and the legal guardian of her younger sister, Jessica has lost her competition mount to injury and needs a new horse if she wants to compete in next year’s World Cup. She learns of a spectacular horse available in Germany named Tempest, but when Jessica arrives in Germany with her trainer, she discovers she will have to compete with the extremely handsome and talented Michael Stafford for the right to ride Tempest. Jessica has nothing but respect for Michael, but sparks fly when they’re thrown together in a competition that both must win. Who will win Tempest? Will Michael be able to trust another woman with his heart? Will Jessica allow herself to be loved, or will her personal demons keep them apart?

Uncaged Review: I’m always happy to read a book when it centers around horses and this one did not disappoint. The characters are well developed and the romance develops nicely between our two main characters. For different reasons, both Michael and Jessica need a horse named Tempest, a talented stallion that could bring their careers back to the International level, and the seller agrees to send the stallion to Michael’s farm for both him and Jessica to work with before he makes the decision who to sell to. But neither counted on falling in love…

As a debut novel, the author has given nice depth to the characters and it’s easy to believe you are a spectator in the book instead of reading it. Reviewed by Cyrene

4 1/2 Stars

Author Interview with June Kramin – Review & Excerpt from I Got Your Back, Hailey

Cyrene Olson

June 28, 2018

As seen in the June issue of Uncaged Book Reviews.

Uncaged: Can you tell readers more about your different series you have going?

I Got Your Back, Hailey is a fun series for me to write. When I first started, I wasn’t even sure where I was going. I love a fast-paced suspense with romantic element. Hailey and Parker sure made that happen for me. E-mails came in with readers wanting to know more on all the other characters as well. I’m happy to let them all share the spotlight, but Hailey is still in charge! As soon as #4 was done, I dove into #5.

This series was a great way to bring back my characters from my Hunter’s Find books. Those are strong suspense, MOB, FBI with the added element of Hunt and Mandy falling for each other throughout the chaos. I didn’t know what to do with them when that publisher closed. They blend so nicely with this crew, they are here to stay!

Other than this series, I have a 3 book time travel romance with a twist of sci-fi in book 3, a 2-part romance with a young, rich gal falling for an older, more down to earth plumber, and a few single titles with sassy, potty mouth gals, and the guys who love them. My newest is a college age/new adult romance.

Uncaged: Do you write full-time or part-time?

I have a full time home business so I write part-time, but I can usually get something in every day. I don’t usually have to set a goal. I write when they yell at me and quit when they’re done. 😉

Uncaged: What do you have coming up next that you can tell us about?

I’ve been pretty good about cleaning up “the trunk” over the years. I’ve really been wanting to put all my energy into adding to this series. Other than the next in this series on the fire, I do have a series of two books I wrote around 8 years ago. I love the stories with my entire being, they just keep getting tossed on the back burner. Quentin is my adorable Texas cowboy/trucker who picks up Jessica in a storm in MN. She’s a handful, like all my gals. As usual, I didn’t know there would be a sequel. I love the additions to their family and what their friends brought to the books. Add a bad guy and a hint of secrets to keep you turning the pages! I hope to get book one out in a few months.

Uncaged: You are an attending author at Wild Deadwood Reads this year. What are you looking forward to the most from this convention?

I wish I could spend more time there for all the great events they have planned. I only get an extra night in so I have to do all the mingling I can with who sticks around town. I love talking with other authors. This is my 2nd year there. Deadwood really is a fun place with such great history. It’s no surprise I based Hailey #5 there. Whoops…the secret is out and you heard it 1st.

Uncaged: Do you read your reviews? What do you take away from them?

I don’t usually go down that rabbit hole. Of course it’s great to hear when someone loves your work, but there is always going to be someone who says “it just wasn’t my thing” and that’s completely understandable. I appreciate everyone who takes the time out of their day to leave reviews. (And that’s not just a line! LOL!) It’s so hard to get people to do it. ESPECIALLY friends. And then there’s the chance they get pulled if Amazon thinks you know them…
Which is funny because I had around 30 5-stars for Hailey and a friend left me a 3. I’ll take honesty any day, though. I had one 3 star that raved and read like a 5 so…to each his own. 🙂 If we all liked the same thing, books would be boring! I get most of my real feedback from my amazing street team. I’m an odd duck that says “beat me up!” I’d rather hear it before it’s out “in the wild.”

Uncaged: What is one of the nicest things someone has said to you about your books?

The e-mails thanking me for the cry are the ones that blow me away the most. Only a writer, right? I get a lot of those for Come and Talk to Me. One gal even sent me a poster she made of her 12 favorite books with that one on it. I’m gushing at my company there.

Uncaged: What is your favorite parts about being an author? What have you found to be the least favorite?

I’d have to say, getting to live every day in someone else’s world is pretty amazing. I build them, but as I write, it’s like I’m watching a movie. Sometimes you feel bad for torturing your poor character, but it all works out. I do a lot of signings. I love talking with readers. I honestly don’t think there’s a bad side to this gig.

Uncaged: What do you like to do when you aren’t writing? Where is one of your favorite places on Earth?

Wednesday is my non-writing day. That’s grandbaby day and my favorite day of the week. It’s everything they say it is!

I’m one of those hopeless “kid at heart” people. I’d hate to say Disney is a favorite place, but it’s true. If you saw my bedroom, you’d think it belonged to an 8 year old girl. I love my princess stuff. Of course going home to Maui is up there, too. It’s not the place, it’s the people. My family is still on the island. I love setting books there and letting people get a taste of what I had growing up.

Uncaged: What is the hardest part of a book to write? What is the easiest? From start to finish, how long does it take to finish a complete book?

I’m what you call a “pantser” when it comes to writing. I never outline or storyboard – the story unfolds as my characters see fit. I’ve never had “Writer’s block.” I guess because I’ve never had expectations of what needed to happen & had an issue getting from A-Z. My 1st published novel was Dustin Time. Surpise! It’s a time travel. I didn’t even know that when I started….or that there would be 3 in the series. That book took 3 weeks to write. I couldn’t slow it down if I wanted to. Nothing has been as fast, though. I’m usually a couple months on a first draft and let things stew for a bit before I hit it again…and again. Then again. Shampoo, rinse repeat before I send it off to my street team. I send it one at a time so I can get feedback and make changes if need be, then it has a couple editors. I only get two books out a year. I want lots of eyes and time for it to “think about what it’s done” before I deem it publishable.

Uncaged: What would you like to say to fans, and where can they follow you?

[symple_box color=”black” fade_in=”false” float=”center” text_align=”left” width=””]Can I just give them all hugs? Seriously, there is nothing better than strangers giving you their valuable time and taking a chance on reading your work. I really appreciate sites like this to bring readers and writers together.

Wife, Mother, Writer, Lunatic. Not necessarily in that order. “There is a fine line between genius and crazy… I like to use that line as a jump rope!”

June, who prefers to go by Bug, was born in Philadelphia but moved to Maui, Hawaii when she was four. She met her “Prince Charming” on Kauai and is currently living “Happily Ever After” in a small town in Minnesota.

Her son and daughter are her greatest accomplishments. She takes pride in embarrassing them every chance she gets. Being hopelessly addicted to 80’s music is her super power.[/symple_box]

junekramin.com

I Got Your Back, Hailey
June Kramin
Romantic Suspense
FREE for a Limited Time

When Hailey stumbles upon a backpack full of money on her nightly jog, she is forced to flee the security of her secret identity.

Although the sudden appearance of a man that had been flirting with her earlier seems odd, Hailey accepts Parker’s help in getting the heavy bag home. Within moments of arriving, they escape under gunfire. The men it was intended for want it back, and Hailey has now made herself a target.

Safe in a motel room, the two of them discover the truth: although their meeting was an accident, Parker had been involved in the bag’s drop and she had been his assignment all along. Now, getting Hailey away safely is Parker’s new mission. Together they struggle to put together the pieces of Hailey’s past and discover that they have more in common than they thought.

Being on the run, keeping Hailey’s family safe, and searching for clues to put away the man that wants her dead are hard enough. Falling in love in the middle of it all was the last thing either one of them expected.

Excerpt

“Exactly what is the plan here?” I asked after another long sip of beer.
“I’m not exactly sure now. The money is definitely not going to do what it was supposed to, and you have no business being involved in all of this.”
“Pardon me, but that’s your fault.”
“Let’s not do this again, okay? Are you forgetting I chose you over the money?”
My eyes lowered. “No. I’m really not sure of the etiquette on how many times I’m supposed to thank you for that.”
“Let’s drop it. What’s done is done. I need to figure out what to do from here. How to get back on track and get you somewhere safe.”
I walked over to the small refrigerator for another beer. “Parker? Is there a chance I can make a phone call?”
“That depends. You going to try to signal for help?”
“No. I…I think I need to let my mom know I’m okay. She normally calls me on Saturdays for an update. I’m worried she’ll think something is wrong if I don’t call soon.”
“We’ll go get you your makeup or whatever you want, and I’ll get a new throwaway phone. You can call her from that. No giving away anything about our location.”
I was getting tired of all this cloak-and-dagger shit. It was wearing on my last nerve. “Who exactly is following you? What was the money for, Parker? Or Gavin. Whatever your name is! This is no longer funny! You think they’d tap my mother’s phone?” I rushed his chair and landed both hands hard on his chest. He grasped my wrists and held them tight as he stood.
“Whoa! Why would you think someone would want you back so bad as to post someone on your mother?”
I shook my arms, trying to get free. “Let me go.”
“You going to be civil?”
“Yes. Please let me go.”
Too nervous now to return to the chair, I stood and peered out of the crack in the curtain. “I need to know something and I need the truth.” I faced him, needing to look into his eyes. The eyes always give it away.
“Fire away.” He motioned that I should carry on with a wave of his hand.
“I think I tripped on this money by accident, but I need to know if I was set up.”
“You? Set up? Why do you think you were set up? How could I have possibly pulled that off?”
“Things just don’t add up. We flee under gunfire…you save me but don’t take the money…”
“Back up. What do you know that you think someone would pay a million bucks for?”
“More like kill me for it.”

Uncaged Review

I’m not a huge mystery/suspense reader for the most part, but I can honestly say, that if they were all as good as this book, this genre would become a new favorite. The author twists and turns a very intricate and twisted plot so well, that I would be thinking one way, only to have that idea shot down, and then think the same thing again a bit later. I’m not real sure how the author kept it all straight, and I can’t say enough about this cast of characters – even all the secondary. The banter between Parker and Donny was enough to win me over and have me laughing out loud, add in Hailey and her twin brother and even with the seriousness of the situations that they are in, the banter just gets better and better.

Mostly a dialog driven book, I never felt I was missing anything, like I do in a lot of these type of narratives. The romance is spot on and who wouldn’t want a best friend like Donny? Five stars doesn’t seem adequate. Reviewed by Cyrene

5 Stars

Uncaged Review – Upon Broken Wings by E.L. Reedy & A.M. Wade

Cyrene Olson

June 22, 2018

Upon Broken Wings
E.L. Reedy & A.M. Wade
Fantasy/Gay/YA

Bound by a dark act of hate and despair, high school freshmen, Andrew and Kiernan, learn that their untimely deaths did not bring an end to their pain, but only began the suffering of those left behind. While his lost memories return, Andrew must master seemingly impossible feats, both spiritual and physical.

As a dark spirit stalks Kiernan through the borderlands of life and death, he must also face the pain his actions have caused his loved ones. To save both their souls, Andrew must convince Kiernan to return to life and open his eyes to the love and beauty which had always been there.

Uncaged Review: Love, hate, bullying, anger, sadness, hope, loss and everlasting happiness. This book is marketed as a LGBTQ Young Adult, and it is that, but it’s so much more. This is not a light read, it’s a book that will have you feeling the full gambit of emotions as you get through it. Don’t be frightened off the gay label on this, this isn’t about sex, it’s about love and acceptance.

The beginning trudges a bit slowly, and the losses that one boy must face seem insurmountable – and the deaths of both Andrew and Kiernan is not the end of their story – but just a step on a different path.

The book jumps a bit, so it loses it’s rhythm in places, but the emotions that the authors take you on are real, and a powerful message of acceptance and hope. After the roller coaster ride of emotions that I went through throughout the book, I felt a sense of peace at the end. Well done. Reviewed by Cyrene

4 1/2 Stars

Uncaged Review – Chaos Among the Vines by Gemma Brocato

Cyrene Olson

June 22, 2018

Chaos Among the Vines
Gemma Brocato
Contemporary Romance

Through a fortunate series of events, Will Bradford’s winery hits the map in a huge way, with demand far outpacing production. After months of chaos and unmanageable growth he decides to bring in a specialist to help him get organized.

Queen of organization Avalon Reece is a closet chaotic. She’s rebelled against a childhood of wanderlust with a hippie mother by striving to maintain order in her life. Everything has a place and she means to see it there. For her, love is messy and she avoids it at all costs. Until she accept a consulting job with Will to put his life in order.

Will sees beyond the straight-laced, orderly woman to the free-spirit Avalon tries hard to hide. That’s the woman he wants, in spite of how it might impact his business.

Uncaged Review: This steamy romance was a fun read. It would be a good beach read for the summer. I’ll start off with my only complaint, and it is a personal one. The people in the seem to like the smug, conceited, silly smile or leer called a smirk. It seems to be a very popular word but is one which grates on my nerves. Once, maybe twice in a book is more than enough for me. Needless to say it was more than that in the book.
With that said, the smirks didn’t take away from the story. You have Avalon, a tightly wound efficiency expert. She is so connected that she has a smart watch, her iphone, ipad and lsptop. The first two are attached to her almost all the time.
Then there is Will, the owner of a vineyard called Rolling in the Clover. He is the exact opposite of Avalon (Ava).
The other characters are Guin-Ava’s mother, Drake-Will’s Accountant and friend, Penny-Drake’s sister and pursuer of Will, Jared-Will’s father whose vineyard failed, Meg- Jared’s old secretary and Will’s until he discovers she is embezzling from him, Beth-Ava’s best friend and masseuse.
The story opens with Guin showing up at Ava’s apartment. Ava know something is amiss and soon discovers her mother stole (Guin calls it borrowed) from her last employer when a man she calls Bad-Ass shows up demanding money, a lot of money to the tune of $240,000. Ava has just been assigned to work with Will to become better organized and more efficient. Ava sells a lot of her things and gives a down payment on her mother’s debt before applying for a loan to pay the rest. She ends up taking her mother with her for the job at Rolling in the Clover to protect her from being found by Bad-Ass, the man sent to collect the money from Guin.
Ava thought Will was attractive in his picture on his website, but in person he is so much more. She also discovers his business is a total mess even though he is successful. He has a large order to be filled but can’t seem to stay on task. It is while she is attempting to streamline the office that they discovers Meg’s perfidy. At that point, Will is trying to get Ava to let her hair down, literally and figuratively.
Meg did more than embezzle. She set him up so he wouldn’t be able to fulfill a big order, leading to failure. Guin discovers the depth of Meg’s sabotage of the business when she takes over the office when Will has Meg arrested. The rift between Will and his father, Jared widens when Jared wants Will to drop the charges against Meg until Will suggests he have Drake go through his past finances because Meg hinted at stealing from Jared, her former employer until Jared’s vineyard failed. Meanwhile, Penny is attempting to claim Will as hers, Beth is telling Ava to loosen up, and Ava and Will are finding an attraction between them they can’t deny.
The characters are dynamic and the storyline keeps you reading to discover what goes wrong next. The sizzling attraction between Ava and Will grows and Guin decides to go the straight and narrow while becoming friends with Will’s mother and other female friends.
It does have a happy ending, but getting there was a lot of fun. If you like your romance with hot sex and characters you won’t forget, you have it here
Reviewed by Barbara.

5 Stars

Author Interview – Pamela Fagan Hutchins – Excerpt and Review of Bombshell

Cyrene Olson

June 22, 2018

As seen in the June issue of Uncaged Book Reviews.

Uncaged: Can you tell readers more about your What Doesn’t Kill You world of mysteries?

Sure! I write series mysteries with kick-ass female amateur sleuths. The novels are romantic, funny, and full of everyday magic. I write in trilogies for each protagonist, then I spin off a character—a friend or family member—and start a new trilogy in the same What Doesn’t Kill You world. All readers’ favorite characters continue, but in supporting roles.

Uncaged: Do you write full-time or part-time?

Full-time!

Uncaged: What do you have coming up next that you can tell us about?

With the publication of Knockout (Ava 3) on June 12th, I will have completed my Ava trilogy in the What Doesn’t Kill You World. The book birthday for Searching for Dime Box is August 7th, and it will complete the Michele trilogy, also n the What Doesn’t Kill You world. Right now I am writing a novella, a short story, and three Maggie trilogy novels that will be released in the summer of 2019.

Uncaged: You are an attending author at Wild Deadwood Reads this year. What are you looking forward to the most from this convention?

Meeting readers who love romantic mysteries and talking books. But there’s so much to look forward to. Meeting authors. Enjoying a getaway in a beautiful, historic area. It’s going to be a blast!

Uncaged: Do you read your reviews? What do you take away from them?

I don’t read them, unless my husband tells me I need to. HE reads all of them! I learned early on that the great ones gave me false confidence and the less than great ones gave me false insecurity. My job is to write from my heart. Now, I do read anything readers send to me directly, and I’ve made friends with some of those nice folks, and put them on my “PFH Rock Stars” advance reader teams.

Uncaged: What is one of the nicest things someone has said to you about your books?

I heard from two sisters who bonded and healed old wounds together reading and talking about my Katie trilogy. They both sent emotional emails telling me how much the books meant to them, and how much they loved them.

Uncaged: What is your favorite parts about being an author? What have you found to be the least favorite?

I love speaking to book clubs! Skype, Google Hangouts on the Air, or even in person. I also love that because of my books I was invited to host a radio show called Wine, Women & Writing, a part of the Authors on the Air Global Radio Network. I get to fangirl to my favorite authors. It’s a blast, and you can catch my shows here: https://www.authorsontheair.com/radio-shows

My least favorite thing is all the things I delegate to my assistant Bobbye (everything but writing and interviews!).

Uncaged: What do you like to do when you aren’t writing? Where is one of your favorite places on Earth?

I love to trail ride my BIG draft cross horse Katniss in the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming with my husband Eric on his even bigger draft cross, Feathers. Usually we have two or three dogs tagging along, too. While we love it in our big old cabin, “Snowheresville,” on the east face of the mountains, we only live there in the summer. We have a lovely place in Texas for the winters, which we call Nowheresville. I hold retreats in both places, and I make them available for readers and writers to hold their own retreats by renting them out on Air BnB, here: https://www.airbnb.com/users/show/127571827

Uncaged: What is the hardest part of a book to write? What is the easiest? From start to finish, how long does it take to finish a complete book?

First draft, hands down, is hardest for me. Second draft is easier, and after that I’m sick of the book and ready to hand it off to my copyeditor. It takes me two days to outline a book, a month to write the first draft, and a month to write the second draft. Then add in a month for beta readers and their feedback, a month for the copyeditor to correct the errors, and a month for proofreaders to find the last few boo boos and my assistant to format and upload it, and I have books on the shelves within six months of writing “Once Upon a Time.” But in the meantime, after I finish the second draft, I’ve started another, which I why I can publish three novels and a few shorter works each year.

Uncaged: What would you like to say to fans, and where can they follow you?

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for buying and reading my books. I can’t believe I’m lucky enough to live this life, doing what I do as a profession. It’s a privilege and honor each time you select one of my books and invest your time reading it.

You can learn more about the books and me on my website and blog at http://pamelafaganhutchins.com. If you’d like to subscribe to my newsletter, I have lots of fun exclusives, discounts, and freebies, like the What Doesn’t Kill You novella I send as soon as you sign up here: https://www.subscribepage.com/PFHSuperstars

[symple_box color=”black” fade_in=”false” float=”center” text_align=”left” width=””]Pamela writes overly long e-mails and the What Doesn’t Kill You romantic mysteries from deep in the heart of Nowheresville, TX and way up in the frozen north of Snowheresville, WY. Pamela is passionate about hiking with her hunky husband and pack of rescue dogs (and an occasional goat and donkey), riding her gigantic horses, experimenting with her Keurig, and traveling in the Bookmobile.

Get free exclusives from Pamela at https://www.subscribepage.com/PFHSuperstars, when you sign up for her newsletter.

Pamela’s mysteries have won a lot of awards, from the 2017 Silver Falchion for Best Adult Mystery WINNER (Fighting for Anna) to the 2016 and 2015 WINNERS for USA Best Books Fiction: Cross Genre (Hell to Pay, Heaven to Betsy). With downloads of nearly 2,000,000 for the What Doesn’t Kill You series, readers seem to enjoy her smart, sassy female sleuths.[/symple_box]

Bombshell
Pamela Fagan Hutchins
Romantic Suspense

A musical career in the making. A murdered childhood friend. One chance to catch the killer.

Ava dreams of building a better life for her daughter through her island pop songs. Her new temp job leads to a once-in-a-lifetime shot at a record deal, but before she can pack her bags for New York, she discovers a dead body outside her office building. Horrified, Ava recognizes the murdered sex worker as her childhood friend.
The single mother finds herself torn between pursuing her life’s passion or justice for her murdered friend. When another friend is killed, she worries the deaths are connected to a shared trauma that she’s been running from her whole life. After dumping her cop boyfriend, she realizes the pain she keeps locked inside could be sabotaging her shot at lasting love.
Before Ava can move on to a bright future in music, she must confront the truth behind her dark past to catch the murderer or she’ll be next on his kill list.

Chapter One

I’m getting too old for this shit.
The Outlook Calendar warns me it’s Monday, June 22, exactly one month away from my thirty-second birthday. I can’t make ends meet as a singer without this crap temp-agency job, still only getting by with my parents’ help and an occasional boost from public assistance. My nearly-toddler’s sperm-donor father is long gone, along with any hope he’ll ever help out financially. For once I agree with my mom: I need a real job, a grown-up job, and those are few and far between on the island of St. Marcos.
I open a browser and pull up the St. Marcos Source news site, thinking I’ll scan the classifieds for something better. The lead story stops me: LAND PIRATES WAYLAY TOURISTS IN WEST END RAINFOREST. Not again.
How many times do these low-life road thieves have to hijack a carful of day trippers before the Department of Tourism passes out flyers at airport baggage claim? Rule One: no bathing suits except where there’s water. Rule Two: keep your fancy-ass cars on the east end of the island.
I click on my horoscope instead of the classifieds, my talon-like nails forcing my fingers flat against the mouse. Before I can process today’s guidance, I hear the unmistakable sound of support-hose-clad thighs rubbing together, feet padding along toward me in closed-toe ballet flats. That’s McKenna. She runs ABC Temps for her parents, even though she’s way overqualified.
I want to tell her she’s better without the hose and little-girl shoes, but I don’t.
I close my browser. My phone vibrates and I glance down, quick. It’s a text from Collin, the Santa Fe cop, muscle-bound and too Top Gun cute for his own good: Why aren’t you answering me?
Collin is my best friend Katie’s brother. A notorious player whose clothes I seem to rip off every time we’re in the same zip code. He can’t take the hint to let me go. Maybe because we burned up the sheets every weekend for two months, pretending the thing between us was going somewhere. I’d told him then I couldn’t make any promises. He told me he didn’t need any. He should have believed me. I shouldn’t have believed him. Now he thinks he knows me, but he doesn’t. And that’s for the best. Keeping our relationship a secret from Katie is the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and if I break up with him now, she’ll never know.
A shudder runs through me, a terrifying flashback to three officers killed in the line of duty in the last few weeks. Collin’s safe, but I can’t stand worrying some fool is going to shoot him down. I’m black, and I hate cops killing so many black people for no good reason or not enough of one—but Collin’s life matters, too. Yeah, he’s got serious potential to break my heart in more ways than one.
I think what I don’t type: It was a fling. I’m not who you think I am. Get over me.
Instead, I run a finger over my ring, a gift from my parents when I turned sixteen, gold inset with chips of ruby. It’s supposed to give me courage. My mom hoped that would be the courage to remain chaste and pure (she’d already missed that boat) and possibly, someday, fulfill her dream that I become a true “bride of Christ” (she was sorely disappointed on that one, too).
I don’t know why I still wear it, but I do. I give it a few seconds, but no burst of courage overtakes me, so I ignore Collin’s text, again. Like I have the other four. Honestly, I’ve never understood why people treat receiving messages like they’re obligated to respond immediately. Free will, baby. Or, as I like to call it, RNO: response not obligated.
Who am I kidding? Ignoring him is harder than I make it sound. I turn my phone facedown to help me stay strong. I wipe sweat from my brow. It’s stuffy and musty and just plain summer hot. ABC can’t afford AC.
McKenna brushes past me, escorting a woman to the front door. “We don’t keep plants here. Sorry.”
The woman is small and Asian and smells fresh, like lemongrass and lavender. She’s wearing a white T-shirt that says GREEN THUMB across the front. “I understand.” She hands McKenna a card. “In case you change your mind.”
The door opens and closes. McKenna slips the card into her skirt pocket.
She comes back my way, plants herself in front of my desk, her arms crossed over her ample bosom. “Ava girl.” Her calypso accent is thick, and she’s smiling at me like she’s reggae Santa Claus or something. “I sending you to the West End today. Pack up.”
St. Marcos is only twenty-six miles long and seven miles across at its widest point. You can drive from the eastern tip all the way to the west coast in less than an hour, and most of us locals live mid-island. I’ve lived in the States. I’ve commuted half an hour, even an hour to jobs. But it’s different here. Here, we moan and groan if we have to drive ten minutes. On-island—that’s how we describe the state of being present on St. Marcos, with off-island meaning we’re anywhere but here—the West End is half an hour and a different time zone from here.
I chuptz, long and loud, sucking a generous amount of spit through my teeth. I make a show of loading my purse with office supplies.
The thought of the drive almost makes me long to return to the cheesy “bar tour” that my fly-by-night manager booked for me last spring—which is how I came to be gigging in New Mexico and reacquainting myself with Collin, after meeting him at Katie’s wedding a few years back. The tour turned out to be an endless series of swingers’ parties. I got a lot of propositions for threesomes, but no recording-studio producer appeared out of the woodwork offering me a deal. I canned the manager and came home.
Because, yes, this slice of heaven in the Caribbean is my home and the place of my birth. This haven for the brilliant-green iguana, the churring mongoose, the bright-winged macaw, and flowers of every color and description. Of rum, endless coconuts, fragrant mangos, and passion fruit.
It’s also an inbred cesspool of politricks as usual, dog fighting, domestic abuse, and desperation. A refuge for drunkards, layabouts, and fugitives.
I feel a sudden temptation to call the manager and beg him to rebook me, even as a glorified lounge lizard. I won’t, though. The saving grace of being home is that I’m not spending time away from my too-rapidly aging parents and my one-year-old daughter. I have a few on-island gigs lined up this summer, but they’re just the same ole, same ole. Tourists drinking themselves blind on cheap rum while no-count men with more baby mamas than sense make plays for me.
McKenna cuts her eyes at me slow, getting the meaning of my chuptz. “Girl, I mean it. And you’re welcome. I hook you up with one of them EDC companies.”
I brighten. If she just tells me it’s a job as an assistant to a music producer or even a fashion designer, my day is made, even though I know it won’t be. My phone vibrates with another text. Collin again. I feel a tug at my heart. I could be in love with him if I let myself, but I’m not the love type. I’d thrown my I Ching coins that morning and asked only one question: “Will this man lead to pain?” Well, they gave me my answer, and the coins don’t lie.
I’m going to have to talk to him sooner or later, though, since his hint-taking skills are less than optimal. I opt for later.
“Thank you.” I blow McKenna a kiss. “What they do, and what I doing for them?” I sling my bag over my shoulder, already moving, my pulse thrumming with renewed hope.
The office phone rings. I ignore it, but when no one else picks it up after four rings, McKenna’s stare finally breaks me. I pick it up. “ABC Temps.”
A nasally female voice assaults my eardrum. “We’re down from the City for the summer. I must have an assistant. Transfer me to someone who can make this happen ASAP.”
Well, la-di-da. “No problem. Right away, ma’am.” I switch over to my yank speech style without even thinking about it, dropping my island accent and talking with a stuffed-up nose like a continental, which is one of the nicer things we call people from the fifty United States. It’s like breathing to talk local with locals and to yank with yanks. Like how my friend Katie picks up a slow drawl when her Texas friend Emily comes around. Whatever my outer speak, it’s always just me inside my head, a black woman with a white father who’s spent most of her life repressing her island roots like the good little chameleon she is.
I transfer the call to McKenna’s voicemail.
McKenna is doing me a solid with this EDC assignment. EDC stands for Economic Development Commission, a business-incentivizing program offered by our local government in cooperation with the Feds. Translation: the US Virgin Islands are allowed to lure in people who have enough money to start a business here. It’s attractive, with generous tax incentives. It comes with a price, though, more than just the assumption propagated from popular media that rich people only move to the islands to engage in criminal activities and scurrilous tax schemes.
To gain the benefits, the off-islander must establish full residency (difficult), be subject to our Water and Power Authority (notoriously unreliable and gallingly expensive), and hire local (slim pickings). McKenna, knowing this well, is offering me up to them, because I’m local and NYU educated. Even if it is just a theater degree with a minor in classical studies. Lead roles in community theater productions are good for the ego but don’t fatten the purse, and I haven’t discovered how to make money yet from Greek and Roman mythology.
“General office work for a company with it own virtual currency. One that own a lot of other companies.” McKenna says this in a tone of awe.
To me that sounds like Greek. “Virtual current, what?” I say it like “wah.” We have a tendency to drop our ending consonants when we talk in local island accents.
“Virtual currency. It digital money, using blockchain technology. Fast, anonymous, and no regulations. People say it the future.”
“Oh yeah, sure. Blockparty. Technology of the future. And how you know all this, Miss Virgin Island Bill Gates?”
She sniffs. “Stanford MBA. I intern for a company into cryptocurrency.” And I just thought she was overqualified before. “You got no idea what blockchain is, do you?”
“None.”
She pushes gold wire-rimmed spectacles up her nose. “Blockchain a digital ledger of linked virtual currency transactions, like in a chain. It protect against fraud and the like, because it all encrypted and one link build on another.”
“That clear it right up for me.”
“You a smart girl. You figure it out.”
“Yah mon.”
“Show up on time and you be fine. And pull you top up,” she adds.
She’s the one who booked me last time for a seven a.m. job after the night I’d gigged until three in the morning. What does she expect? I glance down at more brown cleavage than I expected to see. I roll my eyes and hoist the girls. Lime green fabric slips up and over them. Next time I date a rich man, I’m getting a lift. “Jealous much?”
McKenna, wearing a charcoal circle skirt and round-neck white top that covers all her business, hands me a slip of paper with a name, address, and phone number on it. “You gonna find yourself on the wrong end of attention you don’t want, girl, and I’ma remind you ’bout this conversation.”
“You blaming women dem for bad behavior of men?” I play it cool, like I’m joking. But I learned about sexual attention as a plaid-clad innocent in grade school. Just because a Catholic school hires a man doesn’t make him holy, and the same goes for women. Since then, I’ve seen no evidence to change my mind. And I may not be loaded with money, but I have a whole lot of something with very real value. Yeah, it’s currency, and there’s nothing virtual about it.
A chill comes over me, and I freeze for a moment. A memory of Father Jerome and the unspeakable things he did to me during my school days bubbles to the surface, but I bury it deep again, fast, with all the other bad things in my life, like too many pills and too much booze, like finding my lover Guy with his throat slit and a bad man trying to frame me as a Jezebel who murdered Guy for not leaving his wife. Guy—Guy Edwards—was a Virgin Islands senator, and if it weren’t for my friend Katie, I might have spent the rest of my life in jail for a murder I didn’t commit, with too much time to fight off ugly recollections of Father Jerome and his ilk. As it was, my already-not-sterling reputation took a permanent hit. Repression is my friend.
And, no, I don’t let anyone blame women for the bad things men do.
McKenna, not one for lingering, rolls her eyes at me and walks off. Support hose grind together again. I shiver. Save the planet—say no to synthetic undergarments, I think.
But I don’t say it. I’m in a hurry. I have to drive all the way to the West End to meet some blockchain heads.
***
I veer left, driving my dad’s gas-guzzling beater truck—sorry, Mother Earth, it’s my only option—faster than I should. There’s a maze of potholes (more like field of landmines) on Centerline Road. It’s hard to see them through the lightning storm of windshield cracks that appeared magically a few days after a shoddy island replacement Dad had done recently. Mom’s rosary beads are swinging from the rearview mirror, and I’m feeling more hopeful than I have in donkey years. The reason the EDCs are so attractive here to locals is that they’re the only decent jobs outside of working in tourism, for the government, or at the oil refinery. No, thank you, no, thank you, no, thank you. The refinery has all but closed up now, too, making everything on-island direr, and it was close to desperate before. Temping at a new EDC is usually temp-to-hire, and they always have air conditioning.
I have to land this assignment. I’ll treat it like an audition, which means I should run through my lines. I’ve already found plenty of motivation for my character.
“I Ava, from ABC Temps. Anything you need, we here to help.”
Or I could yank. I try it, watching myself in the rearview mirror. “I’m Ava, from ABC Temps. Anything you need, we’re here to help.”
BAM! My forehead slams into the steering wheel, and all the air is knocked out of me in a whoosh. Sometime later—seconds? minutes?—I realize the truck isn’t moving. What the hell? I put a hand to my face. Warm. Sticky. I look at my fingers. There are more of them than I remember. My hand is like an octopus. A red octopus. I waggle my fingers, and they’re red octopus arms, undulating underwater. I say it aloud. “Undulating underwater.” I like how that sounds and try a few more, making up my own alliteration exercises and mouthing them with exaggerated motions like we had in my theater classes. Sipping cider by the seashore. Taking tea in Tipperary. Gah, I’m tired. I close my eyes and drop my head back.
“You dead?” a dry, quivery voice says from just outside the driver’s-side window. I glance at it. It’s coming from a man with a white afro—now that’s a look, meh son—over wizened skin, his sharp, black eyes fixed on me. “You bleeding.”
Something’s wrong. There’s no window between us. Aha, it’s broken. I peek around the interior. It’s covered in shards of glass. The front windshield is gone, too. And I’d hit the steering wheel—air bags weren’t standard when this truck was built.
“I know you?” the old man says, drawing my attention to his face, which reminds me there’s an electrified cotton ball atop his head.
I squint at him. “Yah,” I say, but then pain clouds my thoughts. “My head hurt, I sorry.”
He nods. “You Gill Butler’s girl. I work with he, years ago. Chappy Nelson.”
“Mr. Nelson. Of course.” Roger “Chappy” Nelson. A down-islander. Barbados? He’d been old even then when Dad brought him on his regular construction crew. Most island men have nicknames, and my mind floats, trying to place the reason for his. Chapped lips. Getting chapped over things. Being chaps with everyone. I’m feeling woozy, a little baziddy.
“This he truck you mash up?”
“Uh-huh.” I mashed up my dad’s truck, and I have no idea how or why. This isn’t good. “What happen?”
“You crash in a pothole.”
Only on St. Marcos. Our potholes are epic. Like vehicle-swallowing sinkholes in the States, except here they’re the result of greed and graft instead of natural disasters. Money changing hands for inferior materials and shoddy workmanship. I should have been watching better where I was going.
I move my head and glass falls in my lap. I know I’m supposed to be somewhere. Directive thinking is painful, but I give it a try, and it works. West End. ABC Temps. A job I can’t bomb. I rest my forehead on the steering wheel, ignoring the immediate sharp pain.
“Ava?” A familiar voice. Also male, but younger, with a Texas accent.
“Huh?” I groan without looking up.
The door opens beside me. Nelson says, “I call the police?”
“No.” My voice cracks. Police mean a job-costing delay, a hassle, an insurance claim, rates going up. Hands grasp me, and I look up. Katie’s husband, Nick, scoops me off the seat and out of the truck.
Nick says, “Thank you, sir. I’ll get her taken care of.”
“You know he?” Nelson asks me.
“Yes. It all good.”
He leaves without further comment, disappearing into a dilapidated building on the side of the road. Trumpet vines grow out of a cracked HEINEKEN sign over its doorway.
Nick sets me down in his own old truck, newer by at least a decade than the one I’d planted nose-first in the pothole.
“You okay for a minute?”
“Yes. Thank you, Nick.”
He returns to my dad’s truck. Nick is all long legs with a lanky but muscular frame, and he’s a fast mover. Cars pass, heads rubbernecking at my misery, and I pretend I don’t see them. He comes back with my canvas shoulder bag and phone. He places them on the floorboard and begins picking glass off of me. I hold very still and let him, even when he pulls a chunk out of my forehead.
After a few minutes working on me, he says, “Want me to take you to the hospital?”
I shake my head, regretting the motion instantly. “No, no. I have to get to my new assignment.”
“What?”
“For my job. I’m supposed to be on the West End. Now.”
Nick cocks his head, pondering me. I’m sure I look dreadful scary. He, on the other hand, is sexy as ever, something I’m not supposed to notice. Olive skin, wild dark hair, intense eyes, sharp cheekbones, and a distinctive nose. A strong face. Hard not to notice. Hard not to show you appreciate. But Katie’s already forgiven me once for flirting with her man, so I follow the rules.
He grunts, a noncommittal sound. “I’ll take you up to Annalise. If Katie releases you, you can borrow one of our cars to get to work.”
Estate Annalise is the name of the big-ass property he and Katie live on with three kids, six dogs, and his parents. It’s also the name of the teenage slave girl who’s been stuck there in limbo as a jumbie spirit for most of two hundred years. Don’t judge—we buy into voodoo here in the islands. You would, too, if you lived here. It’s as plainly true and hard not to notice as Nick’s sexiness.
He steps away from me, brow furrowed, and pushes his hair back. It stands up a little. Katie says he’s a gypsy by his Hungarian heritage, but his wiry hair isn’t so different from mine. “I’ll call Rashidi. We’ll see what we can do about your truck. Sound okay to you?”
Our mutual friend Rashidi and I are in a good place, so I say, “Irie.” Six months ago, I’d have said no—our breakup was too fresh. Rashidi’s forgiven me for not loving him, but no man takes that easy.
My phone rings. Before I can stop him, Nick picks it up from the floorboard and hands it to me. I all but hold my breath, but he doesn’t look at caller ID. I do. It’s Collin, his brother-in-law, my secret. I take the phone, thinking as hard as I can in my condition. Nick climbs into the driver’s seat. I put the phone to my ear at the same time as I press the button to decline the call and send it straight to voicemail.
“Hello? Hello?” I pause for a few seconds for effect, then put the phone down. “No one’s there.”
But Nick doesn’t hear me. He’s already talking to Rashidi.

Uncaged Review

This is the first book in the Ava series, but it’s not the first book in the full set – this one is the beginning that focuses on Ava, who was in the previous books. It held up very well considering I had not read the others in the series first. It was easy to get fully immersed in this story, and the author does a great job keeping the reader on their toes, trying to figure out the murderer – and it took me until the end of the book to find out for sure. Ava is a character I enjoyed getting to know although the one thing that threw me a bit is how she slips from island dialect and slang back to “Yank” speech. Personally, I wasn’t a fan of the island slang.

The story moves at a good pace, and when Ava’s friend is one of the victims, she vows she’s going to get answers. This book was a nice introduction to this author for me, and she’s definitely on my radar now. Reviewed by Cyrene

4 Stars

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