The dog days of summer continue in my corner of the world with record-breaking temperatures. My doggies are taking short breaks outside, then back inside where it's cooler. For humans looking for projects to stay cool, how about reading a book set in cool weather?
The Bodyguard: A reluctant love story...
The short drive to Mt. Hood passed mostly in companionable silence. However, once snowflakes started falling, Julia sat up straighter in her seat. "The snow is so beautiful. I could sit for hours and watch the flakes come down."
"So why don’t you live in snow country?" Mitch glanced at Julia before returning his attention to the packed snow surface of the road.
"More jobs in the valley."
They lapsed into silence once more. Julia watched the snow deepening along the road as they drove closer to the mountain. Once in the parking area, Mitch helped Julia strap on the skis, patiently sliding along beside her as she adjusted to the awkwardness of having something attached to her feet that was as long as she was tall.
"How long does it take to get used to these?" Julia laughed as her feet tangled together. She would have landed on her fanny in the snow if Mitch hadn’t caught her under the arms.
"We spend most of the winter on skis in Idaho," Mitch said. "After a while, it feels funny not to be wearing them."
Other things feel funny too, Julia thought, as Mitch’s nearness stirred a fluttering in her belly. She was a free woman now. She didn’t have the excuse of being legally tied to another man to stop her from pursuing a relationship with Mitch. So why did she hesitate?
"I’ll race you to those trees." Mitch indicated a stand of tall fir trees pointing like giant green arrows toward the sky. "Do you want a head start?"
"How about if I just tumble forward instead of trying to stay upright?"
Mitch smiled. "Last one there is a mushy snowball."
(EXCERPT from THE BODYGUARD; copyright Genie Gabriel)
Digital formats just 99 cents!
Also available in print.
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Thirteen Magic Pumpkin Seeds: currently available as part of Season of the Witch, a Halloween anthology.
Coming as a standalone October 1!
Overhead, the naked branches of oak trees rattled in the stiff breeze, promising a chilly Halloween day and perhaps spooky times this evening. To Finn, the trees seemed to watch him. Waiting for him to trip over their gnarly roots or slip on the leaves that had been shed onto the spongy ground beneath his feet. Providing proof he could never be as good as his brother or live up to Ethan's example. Unless he agreed to the military's proposal.
(EXCERPT from THIRTEEN MAGIC PUMPKIN SEEDS, in the Halloween anthology, SEASON OF THE WITCH; copyright Genie Gabriel)
Digital versions just 99 cents!
Also available in print.
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Picture Perfect Legacy: romantic suspense
Don't take my baby. Please don't take my baby. The woman's plea whispered in the steady swish, swish of the wipers. Her image wavered among the falling flakes of snow, horror streaking in anguished tears down her face.
Marly O'Shea shivered and forced her attention back to the narrow, twisting road grudgingly carved out of the side of the mountain.
The heater of her Jeep Wrangler valiantly battled the fingers of icy air creeping through the gaps in a canvas top that seemed to shrink each summer while it lay bundled in Marly's garage. She much preferred the heated summer breezes that tangled her over-curly hair in wild abandon to the frigid winds laying icy sheets of moisture in the dips and shadows of the road she now traveled.
A gust of angry wind blasted around a curve, rattling the canvas top of the Jeep. The flurries of snow grew heavier, layering the road in a relentless white. Marly shifted into a lower gear and concentrated on what she could see of the road illuminated by her headlights.
Until she realized the headlights careening through the darkness weren't hers. They bore down on her, like a missile seeking its target.
(EXCERPT from PICTURE PERFECT LEGACY; copyright Genie Gabriel)
Also available in print.
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Something Better: Collie Chronicles, book 3
The wind and rain lashed at the windows of the old castle as Chessie watched from inside. The first eclipse since the refugees had been transported from the Penumbral Dimension was expected soon. Many among them stared intently at the storm. Others paced. A few walked the shapes of the merkaba at one end of the great hall.
This is no ordinary storm, Chap told her. I sense a dark energy at work.
"I feel it too," Chessie said. "I thought the old gray dog, Rhagnall, said the city was protected."
Something has shifted. More than a storm is brewing.
(EXCERPT from SOMETHING BETTER; copyright Genie Gabriel)
Digital versions just 99 cents!
Also available in print.
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