Free eBook on New Year's Day

I've been working on a project for a while now, and my delight is so great to have it finished that I'm giving my readers a New Year's Day gift.

My second novel, Ride to Raton, is now available as a multi-format eBook from Smashwords.com. Go to http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/7862 tomorrow and use Coupon Code KB62V to get a free copy.

Thank you.

How do you read eBooks? Cell phone? Dedicated reader? Computer?

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone is enjoying friends and family today, with grateful thoughts for the Savior and Redeemer of the world. Here's a little reminder of what Christmas is really all about. Enjoy!

Winter is Here!

From time to time in the past I've mentioned that I have to shut down my computer and get off the Internet. This usually occurs in the summer when I see lightning or hear claps of thunder. I don't want my electronics to get fried or to get a nasty loss-of-power surprise.

In winter--which, incidentally, came in with a flourish this week--it's a different story. During snow storms, power lines, wherever they run through the forest, are subject to ice coating, and that sometimes brings them down. Other times, I fear the best of connections must fail, and the lines in my neck of the woods have been around for some time. I don't know how often they receive maintenance. On private property, things can get chancy, especially in places like mine where mobile home owners don't have control of the situation.

Here's an illustration of why I sometimes lose power in winter:



See the ice-laden line in the center of the photo? That's the reason.

I finally did something about the situation this year. I purchased a UPS, an uninterruptible power supply unit, into which I plugged my computer and monitor. This will keep me online until I either let the software shut down my computer (I'll get around to installing that someday) or I do a manual shutdown.

Here's a shout-out and sincere thanks to utility linemen and women who venture forth in all kinds of weather conditions to restore power and phone service when the lines go down or other calamities need fixing through their hard work.

Book Review: Dawn's Early Light, by L.C. Lewis

I am so happy to finally have all three volumes of L.C. Lewis's Free Men and Dreamers series together in one place. For a couple of years, volume one was in one place, and what I thought was volume two was in another. To my horror, upon finding and looking at volume two, it was not the book I expected, but one from some other author's series altogether. While that's not entirely horrible, it was a let-down. Then I was able to purchase volume two, and the other day, volume three, Dawn's Early Light arrived in the mail. Yippee!

The reason I'm so excited is that I read Dawn's Early Light as an advance reader copy, and once I located/purchased the first two volumes, I knew I could start the whole series and learn all about the main protagonists, Jed and Hannah, from the beginning.

L.C. Lewis is a masterful writer, drawing the reader into her book with rich characterization and a keen eye for detail. The subject matter is not bad, either. This series, after all, is set against the panorama of America's early history as a nation.

Many years ago, a great writer told me that each historical novelist has his or her own favorite war. Mine is the Civil War. Laurie Lewis focuses on The War of 1812, when our resolve to be a nation was tested by Great Britain. She includes much about the state of the western world, weaving her characters into the broad tapestry of world events. She does an excellent job. I'm looking forward to volume four.

Since this book can stand alone, if you're a lover of historical fiction, you'd do well to order it from Amazon, Deseret Book, Seagull Book & Tape, or your favorite bookstore.

FTC Disclaimer: I received a copy of Dawn's Early Light for my review.

Happy Birthday, Rob

My husband, had he lived, would have been celebrating his 63rd birthday today. We always joked about which one of us would be pushing the other in the wheelchair as we advanced in age, but I could never get a picture in my mind of that. Perhaps it was an omen.

Happy Birthday, Sweetheart. I know you're busy on the Other Side. Make sure that Mansion has a computer room! Love you.

I Survived the Storm

Whew! That was something. Two days without reliable power. A day without phone service. Water leaks coming through a light fixture. I was terrified all night.

Despite all the promise of snow, we didn't get too much here. It was the wind that caused much of the trouble. Trees are down everywhere throughout the forest. A tree even killed a hunter when it crashed into his tent and hit him on the head.

However, I'm still here! Thanks be to God for his goodness.

Altared Plans by Rebecca Talley

I was reminded by a friend, Tanya Parker Mills's blog that Altared Plans is on my TBR pile. Rebecca Talley is someone I respect, and a good writer, to boot. I've got to dig the book out and read it, one of these cold nights.

Here's the trailer:

The back cover blurb gives us a hint that the book is aimed toward an LDS (Mormon) audience, but hey, good reads are good reads, right? Even if "BYU-land" has its own language.

“The perfect day. The perfect marriage. The perfect groom. WHAT COULD GO WRONG?

Caitlyn has been preparing for her perfect wedding all her life. But when her fiance abandons her at the altar, Caitlyn vows she’ll never love again.

Going to BYU doesn’t make that easy, however, and avoiding all social contact can only last so long. When her bishop calls her to be the “mom” of her family home evening group, Caitlyn is suddenly thrust into surprising circumstances that leave her flustered with the attention of two unwanted suitors.

Travis, the FHE “dad,” has plans to woo Caitlyn by using his cowboy charms, while Chase has his own ideas for dating her. Will Travis or Chase change her mind about love? Or will it be deja vu?

Follow Caitlyn through all the flirtatious looks, dates, ex-girlfriends, and unexpected surprises. Altared Plans is a light-hearted romance that is sure to please.”

I'm looking forward to learning how Caitlyn's story comes out.

The Year is Rushing to a Close!

Wow! Thanksgiving celebrations are over and November has finished up. It seems like a headlong dash is occurring toward December 31. Where has the year gone?

I've stuffed a lot of things into this past year, and I'm not going to name them all off for you. Take my word. I've done a lot!

I will mention the new territory I've dipped my foot into, becoming a member of Twitter early in the year, and last December, joined Facebook, where I also have a Fan Page. I also produced an eBook of my first novel, The Man from Shenandoah, which is available in ten versions at Smashwords.com. I created a new book trailer for it as well, which is on YouTube.com and below.

I just finished the Spanish Glossary I'm adding to the upcoming eBook version of Ride to Raton, so that should go up this week. Icing on the cake is that Trail of Storms received enough nominations from fans to be in the running for a Whitney Award. Life is good.

Remember that books make excellent gifts for all occasions. All my novels are available at my website and at online booksellers. Save an Author. Buy a Book!