SUMMER READING!

By Caroline Clemmons

From readers I’ve heard that it’s still cold in parts of the United States. That is NOT true in North Central Texas. In addition to heat, we have high humidity. I pity the workers who are stuck in the sun all day. They must be very uncomfortable.

As usual, I’ve been indoors writing in my office that my family members call my pink cave. Hero makes certain to keep my computer submissive—it’s getting crankier and crankier as it ages. I like working here where I have air-conditioning, a ceiling fan, a nearby bathroom, and a nearby bed. I’m surrounded by my reference books, some lovely prints and photos, plus some of my collections (angels, nativity scenes, religious items, and my collection of little girl statues given to me by our daughter. I do love my Kindle, but there are many reference books I prefer in print.  

Do I ever have a lot of news for your today!

If you’re staying indoors reading, I have just the thing for you. My latest release is AN AGENT FOR JUDITH, book 77, of the Pinkerton Matchmaker Series. I love the cover, which was created by Black Widow Designs, which is V. McKevitt. As you can tell by the book number, this multi-author series has been incredibly popular with readers. AN AGENT FOR JUDITH is available in e-book, print, and is enrolled in KU. The Universal Buy Link is https://mybook.to/Judith

Here’s a description:

Judith has vowed to rescue her brother. Peyton is determined to protect his group. Together they must outwit a cruel and powerful man.

Judith McAdams’ brother in New Mexico hasn’t been heard from since a letter saying he was being bedeviled by a neighbor who wanted his ranch. Judith wires the marshal to check on her brother. When he refuses, she goes to the Pinkerton Detective Agency in Denver. There she learns that as a civilian she can’t accompany a Pinkerton agent on a case. However, if she marries a Pinkerton agent she can become an agent.

Peyton Knight values his job as a Pinkerton agent and is good at being a lawman. To keep the job he reluctantly agrees to a marriage of convenience with Judith. Together they will go to her brother’s rescue. Peyton is impressed with the beautiful and spirited redhead—if only she would admit he knows best. He even admires his mother-in-law but how did he end up with her on their trip? At least he’s found three men he trusts to help him rescue the brother.

Their journey is filled with obstacles. Will Judith’s brother still be alive by the time they reach him? When they resolve the ranch issue, will Judith and Peyton part ways?

An earlier book in the Pinkerton Matchmaker Series, AN AGENT FOR MAGDALA, is reduced to $ .99 through July 5. The Universal Buy Link is https://mybook.to/Magdala.

Also at this time, I have several Christmas books on sale for the month. These three are reduced to    $ .99 for the entire month of July. Here they are with their Universal Buy Link:

ANGEL FOR CHRISTMAS https://mybook.to/SuziQ

WINTER WISH https://mybook.to/Serena This book was part of the Christmas Wishes box set.

MISTLETOE MISTAKE https://getbook.at/mistake

As they say on television ads, but wait!—there’s more. You can preorder DESPERATE IN DELAWARE, book 11 in the Yours Truly: The Lovelorn Series. It releases on July 7. Yes, that’s next week! It’s already up for preorder so snag your copy today. 

The heroine, Mina Stapleton, explains:

I will wait no longer! Since my parents’ death I’ve been living with my sister’s family. I help care for her home and her adorable children. I love my sister, but when will I have my own husband and children? There is not even one eligible man near my age in our small town. I hear the snickers and hurtful remarks—old maid, spinster, on the shelf. My cousin sent me a newspaper clipping from a Yours Truly: The Lovelorn’s column. Imagine my surprise when the letter to the columnist read as if I had written it. I’ll do it—I’ll follow the Lovelorn’s advice. I refuse to watch my life disappear until I’m left with only regrets!

The preorder link is http://mybook.to/Mina

I’ve given you a lot of shopping to do today. I hope you’re able to find books in this post to add to your Kindle. 

Until next month, stay safe, smile, and keep reading.

WRITING FOR A BOX SET

What goes into a box set with linked stories? Stay with me and I'll explain.

Here we are barely past Halloween, but Christmas books and novellas are popping up right and left. That’s fine with me because I love Christmas time, that is the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. In fact, it’s my favorite time of year. I like decorations strewn all through the house.

Writing stories set during the Christmas season makes me happy. Actually, writing stories set anytime keeps me content. Like other authors, I appreciate readers who buy and read my stories so I can keep writing.

Over the years, I’ve been in numerous box sets/anthologies. Usually, they have a theme such as the Old West, Contemporary West, or Christmas but each author chose what she wanted to contribute. This year, I’m part of a Christmas box set in which each story takes place in 1890 in the town of Mistletoe, Montana and is appropriately titled WILD WESTERN WOMEN – MISTLETOE, MONTANA. You can purchase the book on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M6BD4TB/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1477957862&sr=8-9&keywords=Caroline+Clemmons

Interweaving our stories involved my coordination with Sylvia McDaniel, Kirsten Osbourne, and Merry Farmer. Fortunately, we four work well together and planned our plots to include as little of one another’s characters as possible. That way, there’s no chance of contradiction from one story to the next.

In my story, MISTLETOE MISTAKE, I may have made a grievous error. Since my heroine is the new doctor in town and has not been well-received, I decided to have a measles epidemic. My idea was that her tireless work would endear her to the town (and our hero, the sheriff). Well, that part worked, because I made sure it did. ☺

I love children in a book because it gives readers the chance to see how characters react to a child. What I consider a mistake is that I “have a cast of thousands” as the term goes for too many characters in a story. I do hope readers can keep track of all the children who come down with measles. I had no trouble, but they’re real people in my head. ☺

Measles may seem like a minor illness, but in the 19^th century, measles was sometimes fatal, caused deafness, and created other problems such as encephalitis. My great-great grandfather, Robert Gamble, died of measles in 1888 Tennessee, two years before this box set takes place.

Mistletoe, Montana receives several snowstorms and one great blizzard. I admit I got cold writing the snowy parts. This reminded me of the book JAMIE that I wrote some time back in coordination with Sylvia McDaniel (ETHAN), Callie Hutton (CALEB), and Cynthia Woolf (GIDEON). Those four books also involved a blizzard. I promise I almost froze while writing JAMIE. ☺ (Recently, we boxed these four books together at https://www.amazon.com/Surprise-Brides-Jamie-Caleb-Gideon-ebook/dp/B01HOWDC9W/ref=sr_1_39?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1477958167&sr=1-39&keywords=caroline+clemmons.)

You can see that authors immerse themselves in the books they’re writing. I’m now working on another Christmas book and will be keeping the fan in my office on high so I’ll stay cool. Writing two Christmas books and a winter book has me in the mood to dig out the Christmas decorations, but I’ll wait until the weekend after Thanksgiving. This new book is ANGEL FOR CHRISTMAS, a contemporary. I’ll tell you about that one next month. Or, you can sign up for my newsletter here and be the first to receive the news and a Christmas surprise.