Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

        Hello all! It’s the Sunday after Thanksgiving and football is blaring from the television as I write this (my DH is a huge football fan). Hope you all had a wonderful holiday filled with loving family and friends and enough food to make your dining room table groan under the weight. I know I did…and I’m so thankful for all of it. I’m also still full, although that doesn’t stop me from picking at the leftovers….I love Thanksgiving Day leftovers, don’t you? Sure, I’ll have another piece of cheesecake….but I digress.

         I was fortunate enough to take the whole week of Thanksgiving off from the day job (and the bathroom scale, although said scale has been giving me the stink eye since last Sunday). What did I do with my time off? Well, I cooked and cleaned and baked and read, and played with the dog (my being off really messed up her schedule, not to mention my DH’s routine) and avoided said bathroom scale like it was the plague. Oh, and I watched a bunch of those holiday movies on the Hallmark Channel (love those movies and all those happily ever afters!) I particularly enjoyed Operation Christmas. For a sap like me, those happily ever afters really make my day and I’m not embarrassed to admit that I may shed a tear or two while the credits roll.

         What else did I do? I wrote (and not just in the morning as is my habit during the work week) and I finally finished my current work in progress. I didn’t write “The End” though because there’s still editing to do (and cutting! Oh my gosh, the cutting! I tend to get a little wordy) and the dreaded synopsis to write but for all intents and purposes, the story is done! I’m happy the story has ended (and with the way it ended…because this story really kicked my butt!).

I’m a little sad, too. It’s hard to say “Goodbye” to Theo and Eamon, Granny and all the rest of the characters who have been in my life for the better part of a year (I’ll even miss the bad guy!), but I will revisit them and that’s always a good thing.  

         Well, gentle readers, tomorrow is Monday and back to the day job for me (there are bills to pay and work to be done) but I so enjoyed my time off and getting to spend time with family and friends (and that includes my characters). Hope you did, too!

As always, happy reading (and watching those Hallmark movies and stuffing yourself with….stuffing!)

Marie

New Release: Fearsome Foursome

This book was a wily and untamable creature. As my 13th novel, I suspect the characters decided to ban together to thwart me. They did not succeed.

Fearsome Foursome is the fifth book in the Mars Cannon series.

Mars Cannon was thrilled not to be included in Mrs. Janowski’s newest club: The Fearsome Foursome. Mars had enough on her plate without having to chase after four feisty seniors. Reopening the Hog with Rand was a project, to say the least. If only she could persuade Brett and Rand to get along, then her life would be perfect.

Well, not really.

Perfect was never in her grasp, not when Emily had followed Brett back from Italy and took over Mars’ house and Brett’s office. Not when Rand instigated fights with Brett. Not when Brett worked around the clock. And certainly not when Ida was arrested for murder and Mars had to take her place in the Fearsome Foursome.

When Ida refused legal counsel and wouldn’t speak with friends or family, the Fearsome Foursome gathered to help. But poking around in Ida’s past proved daunting. It was clear from the start that Ida was protecting someone. But who and why? The ladies plodded on the best way they knew how, causing havoc, wars, and banishment. If that wasn’t enough to knock Mars over the edge, Brett gets caught with another woman.

Find your copy of Fearsome Foursome here.

Haven't read the first book in the series? Get it for FREE.

Want to be part of Mrs. Janowski's Fearsome Foursome crew? Enter to win the uniform by going to my Facebook page and commenting on the giveaway. Deadline is end of Sunday 11/27/16.

Dark Angels by Karleen Koen

Growing up in Louis XIV’s France, Alice Verney returns to her homeland, England under the rule of Charles II. 

Alice has many ladies-in-waiting that she feels in charge of and to find them suitable matches, or more to keep them from the wrong matches they’re headed for.  She has her eye on her own fantasy match with Balmoral. 

She hopes her father can help her with Balmoral, but can she trust her father?

When Alice returns to England, she finds that the loyalties have switched.  She needs to reorganize her plan.  The ladies-in-waiting have gone their own ways, falling in love instead of looking for a “good” match.   

Alice insists on keeping her mind on the perfect match with Balmoral, who is considerably older and fraught with health concerns.  Although…there is a young man who notices her and becomes close to her.

Will she go with love or connections for herself and her young lady friends?  It’s a twisted route throughout the palace to find the answer.

Happy reading,

Dawn

PRESIDENTIAL PURCHASE- A PRESIDENT'S CONFESSION New Release!

The love of America. 

Because I love my country, have visited and enjoyed many others, I still feel blessed to live in the United States of America.

We, as citizens, have unlimited freedoms and choices.  Many other countries have liberties, but my experience tells me that the US has more.

Here’s where it gets a little sticky.  As I know, you have experienced the longest and most controversial presidential campaign probably in your lifetime.  I had to use my ability to make a statement.  We’re allowed to do that in the US. 

I’ve wanted to write this novel for several years.  I’ve always wondered why authors say that instead of just writing it.  My reason is I needed to educate myself, I needed to experience more, I needed to grow in my thinking.  As I have a BS in Political Science and have attended law school, my mind is buzzing with all the governmental action, which it may be a curse that I found the campaigning of all involved so fascinating.

My freedom to write such a story has focused on the questionable tactics to get to Washington. 

I found this my most difficult book to write.  I thought my fingers wouldn’t be able to keep up with my thoughts because there was so much fodder to work with.  The hard part was focusing on a main topic versus covering everything.

Once I focused, it came!

Here’s a short description:

What will it cost? 

A novice journalist learns the scathing details of the former President of the United States’ deadly campaign for office.

Dale Sorenson got the surprise call of his life. Former President Robert Manfield insists on detailing his path to the presidency with the caveat that it’s revealed to the citizens of the United States of America.  The corruption and deadly consequences of becoming president of the greatest democracy on earth will astound the country, if they live to tell the story.

I hope you find it thrilling, I hope it creates suspense, and I hope it gives you a little something to think about.

It’s available at amazon.com/presidential-purchase-a-president’s-confession/dawn-kunda

Leave me a question and you’ll be in the running for a free ebook of Presidential Purchase- A President’s Confession!

Your opinion matters,

Dawn

 

Witches and Gargoyles Fly Again!

Hey, ya'all. How's everyone doing?  Great, I hope!!!  Well, here we are again...it's Thursday night and my blog is due tomorrow, and I got nuthin. LOL  I was supposed to be going under the knife tomorrow morning for a bone fragment in one elbow, but I got a last minute reprieve, which is a VERY good thing, given that this has been one of those weeks where everything you do seems to fall apart and ends up a pile of junk on the living room floor.  :)  So surgery postponed and now I don't have to worry about the doc getting hit by lightning while he's got a metal probe stuck in my elbow. Yeah!

So, what I'm gonna do instead is give you a sneak peek at the new cover for my story that's coming out later this week.  It's the first book in the SpellMaker Series...a new series about witches in cowgirl boots, hiding in plain sight, and gargoyles who wear cowboy hats.  It came out in September as part of the Butterscotch Martini Girls box set, Bodyguard.  But now I'll be publishing it stand-alone under its own cover.  Woo Hoo!  So, here's the cover, and I hope you love it because I designed it myself. There's an excerpt posted below...Enjoy!  And if you love it, keep an eye open for it to come out on Monday!

That's my story, new and nutty, and I'm stickin' to it.  Hang on tight now, 'cuz we're gonna go real, real fast!

Love ya,

Kayce

Excerpt from...Witch's Pass

Grant addressed the men.  “Gentlemen, as I said on the phone, my daughter Quayk is missing.  No one has seen her since this morning.  What do you need to know about her?  Do you need a picture?”

McCall shook his head.  “No, we have all that.  Pulled it up before we left.  I have two members of my team I would like to leave with your family.  They will provide protection while they question them to see if there is anything else we can learn.”  He turned his head and motioned toward a group of people standing next to his truck.  “Garcia.”

A tall, slender woman with caramel skin, dark brown eyes, and long, black hair pulled back in a ponytail stepped forward.  She wore black leggings, a black short-sleeve T-shirt, black boots, and had a gun belt strapped around her hips.

“This is Alice Garcia.  She’ll be in charge of things here at the house.”

The woman smiled and nodded as she met Grant’s gaze fearlessly.  “Hello.  I’ll take good care of your family.”

Grant had no doubt she would.  He could sense a comfort spell emanating from her also.  He could tell from the flavor of the spell that she was an Empath, and he was grateful she would be able to sense his family’s needs and put them at ease.

McCall turned back toward his truck.  “Slicer.”

A man dressed in dark pink from head to toe stepped forward, and it was clear from the way he moved, he was probably gay.  The man was of mixed blood and could have been a Prince clone.   But his most prominent features were his eyes—a light golden brown, with slightly horizontal, oval-shaped irises.  Not at all what he’d expected.  Grant turned toward McCall and raised one brow.  “Slicer?”

One side of McCall’s mouth pulled up in a grin.  “Yeah.  This is Eric Rittenhouse.  We call him Slicer because of his special talents.”

Grant stared at the man.  “And what would those be?”

McCall chuckled.  “He’s a cat shifter.”

Grant met McCall’s gaze.  “Seriously?”

That explains the eyes.

McCall nodded.  “And people like him.  So they tell him shit.”

Holy hell, what a crew!

Grant smiled at Rittenhouse.  “Okay, welcome aboard, Slicer.  Take good care of my family.”

“Oh, you know I will, sir.”  Slicer gave him a salute that was something straight out of a sitcom routine, and Grant had to resist the urge to laugh.

McCall turned back toward the group next to the truck.  “Okay, the rest of you come on up.”

The group stepped forward and formed a line in front of Grant.

McCall introduced each of them individually.  “This is Tracker—our field survival expert, and a lion shifter.  He can track anything that walks, hops, runs, or slithers, and sometimes even things that fly with a little assistance.”

Alex pointed to a man carrying an automatic weapon.  “Shooter here is our ordnance expert and a military-trained sniper. He a can hit a bird in flight at a mile every time with the naked eye.  He’s a falcon shifter.”

The next man to step forward was dressed in black and fairly non-descript—someone you might see and never remember later.  “This is Boxcar, and he’s a raccoon shifter.  He can get in and out of anything, and don’t shoot dice with him if you want to keep your shirt.”

Alex motioned for a man in a well-worn white straw hat to step forward.  “Cowboy here is my ranch foreman, and has a team of search and rescue experts that work with him.”  Cowboy nodded and stepped back in line.

Grant asked, “Is he a shifter too?”

Alec shook his head.  “No.  He’s a psychic with strong telepathic abilities.  That makes him good with animals, and he can communicate with his search and rescue team over long distances, even without these headsets.”

“And this is Meow.”  Alex grinned as he introduced the last man.  “He’s our main strategist, an expert in stealth recovery, and trained in human psychology and behavior.  He can read you like a book, and has an astounding ability to imitate the sound of any animal.  You hear a kitten outside the door, don’t go check.”

Grant met Alex’s gaze.  “Shifter?”

Alex laughed.  “No, Human.  Just weird and twisted.”

Hidee Ho, Good Neighbor

         So I’m standing in my kitchen, shredding chicken for enchiladas for dinner and I take a peek out my window and I can’t help myself. I start shaking my head and laughing.

Do you all remember the show Home Improvement? And how Tim Taylor would talk to his neighbor, Wilson, over the wood fence? Well, this is what I’m seeing…but it’s a little different.

We don’t have a wood fence. Ours in block. And my DH is not standing on the ground, peeking over the fence, only seeing a portion of our neighbor’s face like we saw Wilson’s. No, that’s not quite good enough. My DH is standing in the bed of his truck.

This is not a one time occurrence. This happens all the time, sorta like Tim and Wilson. Or housewives of old, talking to each other as they hung laundry on the line (I will admit, I did this quite often in my old neighborhood. Invariably, my neighbor and I would end up doing laundry on the same day and chat while we hung up our clothes).

         I don’t think my neighbor has ever said the words “Hidee Ho, Good Neighbor” like Wilson did but I’m sure whatever they say, it’s close enough. What do they talk about? Oh, everything but today’s topic is football (it is, after all, Sunday).

And it’s all good. He’s a great neighbor and he and my DH have become really close friends (that goes for me, as well). We look out for each other and that’s the way it should be.

         Actually, I’m quite fortunate. I’ve had good luck with neighbors (I know, that makes it sound like I’ve lived a million places, but really, I haven’t….we were in our first home for thirteen years and we’ve been in this one for nearly twenty…I’m not one for moving around a lot…did that too often when I was a kid and even when my DH and I did move, almost twenty years ago, the new house was only two blocks away).

         Friendships are important. So are good neighbors.

         When I write, my characters all have that one friend (or sometimes, it's a relative), the one they confide in the most, the one who will tell them the truth, whether they want to hear it or not. And that’s the way it should be as well.

         Here's hoping you have good neighbors, too!

As always, happy reading (and talking over the fence).

Marie

DESIRES OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT by Lexi Post Released!

Desires of Christmas Present 

(A Christmas Carol Book 2)

by Lexi Post

Sometimes not knowing is better…for everyone.

Spirit of Christmas Present, Kentucky born Coco Baker, has just been given the assignment of her career, but she must partner with a Scottish upper class snob, who thinks he knows what’s best for their living client. Despite him, she’s determined to do well on this case and find out what the arrogant man is hiding. 

Ian Fergusson has carefully cultivated a standoffish presence in the afterlife, letting no one get close for fear of them discovering his greatest failing in life. When he’s required to work with the vivacious Coco, both his desire and his fear escalate.

Unfortunately, Coco won’t leave well enough alone and to protect her, Ian finds himself forced to face his past and risk his heart and soul…again.

Excerpt:

   Coco turned around in her chair. Ian Fergusson stood just inside the door. His tall, broad-shouldered physique looked hard beneath his golf shirt even while relaxed. His face was equally hard as were his steel grey eyes. His angular jaw and sharp nose with a slight hook downward would have been enough to warn anyone to stay away, and beneath his short red hair were equally sharp ears. Everything about him was unrelenting.

   He looked down his nose at her before raising his gaze to Cameron who had stood at his entrance. “I was informed that you needed me for a case. I can come back when you’re done.”

   Her boss held out his hand and smiled. “No, come in. You’ll be working with Coco on this one.”

   Ian raised an eyebrow and strode forward to clasp Cameron’s hand. “I was unaware you ever sent two spirit guides on one case. I have always worked alone. I complete my assignment successfully that way.”

   Cameron nodded as he sat again. “Please.” He motioned toward the other chair.

   “I’m good.” Ian waved him off.

   Coco gritted her teeth. That was so like him. He thought he was above them all and could do what he wanted. She turned her gaze to Cameron. “Why do you need two of us?”

   Ian frowned. “Yes. I can’t imagine a case so difficult that it takes two spirit guides.”

   A team player he was not, but she’d already known that.

   Cameron studied her, then Ian. When his gaze drifted between them, it was obvious that whatever he was about to say was important. Finally, he spoke, but didn’t make eye contact with either of them. “Your case is my wife.”

   Shocked, she sat forward in her chair. “Your wife? But I thought—”

   Ian interrupted her. “I was of the understanding that we were not allowed to take assignments directly related to us.”

   Cameron’s gaze moved to Ian. “We aren’t. However, this case has been given approval by Remiel.”

   “I didn’t realize special dispensation was possible.”

   Seriously? She swallowed an exasperated sigh. “That’s exactly what Cameron just said.” Dimwit. She shook her head at Ian.

He didn’t even acknowledge her, his gaze riveted to Cameron.

   Her boss stared Ian down, which gave her a certain amount of satisfaction. Cameron’s voice was hard. “This is a unique circumstance, Ian.”

   Her new “partner” had the grace to back down. Shoot, how was she going to control him if he tried pulling that crap on her? Maybe she needed to channel Cameron’s deep tones.

   The silence grew awkward so she jumped in. “What can we do for your wife?”

   Cameron finally stopped glowering at Ian. Maybe he didn’t like her partner either. That had to suck to not like your own employee. When she was alive, she had times when just being nice to her fellow workers was tough.

   “Holly has stopped her deep mourning thanks to the spirit guides I sent to her last Christmas, but she has failed to join the living. She goes to work and does her errands, but beyond that, she stays by herself. It’s become worse with the Christmas season.” Cameron paused. “It’s critical that she begin to socialize again.”

   Ian nodded, but Coco wanted more. “If your wife has stopped her mourning, why is she not socializing? Do you know? That might help us with our approach.”

   “I believe it’s because she doesn’t want to intrude on other people’s lives. She thinks everyone else has the perfect life. Also, people who have come into our shop have shown her pity and she hates that.”

   Coco could hear the pride in Cameron’s voice. Rumors around the lounge had it that Cameron and Holly had one of those rare loves that only happen to one in a hundred couples. She’d seen many perfectly matched couples both while alive and in her new existence. If what her boss and his wife had once had was even better than that then she would do whatever it took to help Holly.

   She glanced at Ian. He remained absolutely still, staring at Cameron. Did the man have no reaction? No feelings? His appearance seemed to grow more distinct, intense. She blinked. Nope. He was still a hard statue.

   When she looked back at her boss, he was studying her, but he quickly moved his attention to Ian. “Do you have any questions?”

   “Yes, one.” He paused and spared her a brief look. “If you have Coco, who is quite capable of handling a case, then why do you need me to accompany her?”

   Her mouth dropped open in astonishment. Was that a compliment from “Mr. Holier Than Thou”? The man did nothing but argue with her about anything and everything when they came into accidental contact with each other. Now he complimented her?

   Cameron’s mouth had opened and closed a couple times before he gave voice to his thoughts. “Coco, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to talk to Ian alone.”

   She rose. “Of course. I’ll drop in and see how Holly is.” She looked at Ian. “If you are still on the case, just find me when you’re ready.”

   “He will still be on the case.” Cameron’s hard tone sent a shiver down her spine. He was an easy going boss, not like her last one, but he did have a certain tone that made a person want to hightail it out of his office.

   “Great.” She didn’t mean the word in any way, but she also didn’t want to piss off Cameron. Phasing, she floated down through the floor, anxious to meet the woman who had captured her boss’s heart.

Buy Links:

Amazon |  Barnes & Noble  | iBooks | Kobo | Amazon AU | Amazon UK

 If you haven't read Pleasures of Christmas Past, you may want to start with that one. Just sayin' ;-)

Always, Lexi

www.lexipostbooks.com