January 16,2020 Good morning. I just read my first blog: Yorkies by DeAnn Smallwood. Do go to sympauthors.wordpress.com and hopefully enjoy my efforts. Then, if you would, let me know. Thanks so much. Yorkies, by DeAnn Smallwood
KADE OUT ON AMAZON SEPTEMBER 13, 2017. KADE, the first book in my Wyoming Brothers Series is out on Amazon.
When the recently incarcerated Hope Jackson knocks on Kade McKune’s door, with three boxes of Girl Scout cookies in her hands, he has no clue his bitter, distrusting rancher’s world is about to be turned upside down.
Lied to and taken to the cleaners by a beautiful blonde, Kade has learned a hard lesson and slams the door to any possibility of a woman in his life. Aren’t they all liars? And Hope, with her lie of omission about her background, unknowingly fits that description.
Kade isn’t about to give her a chance to win his love and to convince him of her innocence. His beloved Double K ranch is doing just fine with the help of his seventy-eight-year-old Gran—the only woman he can trust. He sure doesn’t need Hope Jackson, a recently returned brother and baby girl, and three abused boys complicating things and resurrecting feelings long dead.
Can a bitter, distrusting Wyoming rancher overlook and trust the love of a woman who hides her past?
I am thoroughly enjoying getting to know these three brothers. I should have DECLAN completed by the middle of October, 2017. I hope my readers enjoy reading these books as much as I've enjoyed writing about my three, different but equally strong men.
ONE MAN TO HEAL Welcome back to Chesterfield, Colorado. I introduced you to the beautiful mountain town of Chesterfield in my book: ONE SHINGLE TO HANG. Both books are set in the 1800's. Desperate to escape her abusive aunt, Charity answers an ad for a mail-order bride.
Furtively she boards an early morning train to Chesterfield Colorado and marriage to a man she’s never met. She arrives hungry and destitute only to be told by the station master the prospective bridegroom is deceased. She also discovers he was the town drunk and the “purty” house he described was an unlivable hovel. It was all lies. The news is more than Charity can take. She faints from hunger and shock.
Ted Wilson, half owner of Wilson Sawmill, is at the train station to pick up a saw blade. Ted catches Charity as she falls and realizes he can’t turn his back on this woman. He loads the unconscious Charity into his wagon and takes her home.
While Charity’s future is a concern, Ted’s main worry is his brother, Dev, who lies in an upstairs bedroom delirious and near death. Dev’s arm was accidentally sliced open by an axe and is badly infected. The physician wants to amputate. How can Ted make this decision, knowing his brother wouldn’t want to live without an arm?
Charity awakens and claims to be knowledgeable in healing. Does he dare believe in her and allow her to try and save his brother’s arm and life? Does Charity dare to defy all odds and take the risk not only to heal but to love a bitter, angry man?
I am currently working on my third book in the Chesterfield Colorado series: ONE BROTHER RETURNS. I hope to anchor my seat to the chair and have it ready to publish late summer of 2020. Please join me in accompanying Ted on his journey through heartache to home.
I also invite you to me in my latest adventure into social media. I am doing a blurb. First one ever. It will be ready for viewing January 16, 2020. I'll post the link just as soon as It's available.
Available Now 2013 More Due Out 2014 It's out...January 8th 2014 DEATH IS A HABIT Hi, I'm so excited. The second book in my 'death' series written under the pen name of D.M. Woods is available Jan. 8th at Amazon.com and SoulMate Publishing. If you liked the first book in this series, DEATH CROSSES THE FINISH LINE, you'll really like this one. Carrie and Tom join together again to track a serial killer bent on eliminating selected petite blondes. A serial killer that is filled with anger, remorse and pain. Pain that is methodically inflicted on those chosen. Death that comes in a take-out cup of deliciously brewed latte. A killer dubbed Latte Lover by detectives desperately trying to unravel the identity of this bitterly focused person. The clues are meager--a cup of latte, a missing lock of hair, and an unidentifiable poison. What is the link between the murdered women? Carrie and Tom fight against a time-table known only to the killer. Homicide detective, Tom Watts, isn't beyond exploiting Carrie's particular talent as he lures her back into helping him, needing her gift of perceiving what isn't there, feeling what others refuse to see or acknowledge, and his desire to have her back into his life. He senses Carrie is ready to do combat again since her last brush with a serial killer dubbed, The Jock. A harrowing brush with death that left her healing in a hospital bed. Carrie stops fighting Tom's request and joins this man who holds a piece of her heart. What will stop the Latte Love from deciding that although neither Tom nor Carrie meets the criteria, they could be the next victim?
I am excited to have two of my books, DEATH CROSSES THE FINISH LINE and TEARS IN THE WIND published by SoulMate Publishing. Both books are available at Amazon.com, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada, Barnes & Noble, and SoulMate Publishing. DEATH CROSSES THE FINISH LINE is a new and exciting genre for me. It's also new in the fact that I am writing it under the pen name of D.M. Woods. I'm saving DeAnn Smallwood for my historical romances. This is my first venture into the thriller/suspense category. It is book one of three in my 'Death' series: DEATH IS A HABIT and DEATH WALKS C DOCK. DEATH IS A HABIT is now being edited and almost ready to go. DEATH WALKS C DOCK is in progress. All books feature Detective Tom Watts and Carrie Preston. DEATH WALKS C DOCK introduces another homicide detective: Sharyn Shelton. Sharyn is a leggy blonde with a razor sharp mind and wit to match. DEATH CROSSES THE FINISH LINE is a fast moving thriller bringing wit, intelligence and allure to a plot edged black by recent murders and the certain threat of more to come. Carrie is a motivational speaker who wakes past midnight to the ringing telephone. She knows the voice on the other end: Homicide Detective Tom Watts who begins his familiar plea, asking for her help in solving recent murders that appear to be connected. Carrie has a puzzling and mysterious gift for "seeing what isn't there". She often senses motive, desire, and direction of a perpetrator. She speaks on everyone having this sixth sense if only they will take time to listen to their inner self. Tom recognizes her worth and makes her a part of the investigation team, following a horrendous trail that takes them into health clubs-always the sites of brutal and gruesome deaths, always of women. In a parallel line, the growing tension between Tom and Carrie increases and builds. While focused on the matter at hand, both he and Carrie skirt and avoid the electricity that runs between them.
TEARS IN THE WIND is a contemporary romance, transporting you to the beautiful Big Horn Mountains in Wyoming. Matt Forrister has made his mark carving a ranch out of the rugged Wyoming mountains. He is a loner, suspicious and distrusting of love, fearing he is courted for his wealth. Leanna has just turned her back on the fresh grave of her husband and leaves Colorado in search of a new life. She packs the bittersweet memories of her married life, a small ranch she's been forced off, and carries the secret of her husband's death. Matt is everything Leanna has come to fear and loathe. He is wealthy and good-looking and owns one of the biggest ranches in the area. Leanna immediately despises this man; yet, at the same time, she feels an overwhelming attraction to him. Their early meetings end explosively. Matt is puzzled, angered, and mesmerized by Leanna. He is drawn to her stunning beauty, he is attracted to her spirit. Thoughts of Leanna run like electricity through him. The volatile mix of restraint and passion guides both Matt and Leanna through the chapters that follow. Leanna comes to appreciate and trust the hardworking rancher, the passionate and caring man, who has never known the true love of a woman. Still, something keeps Leanna from letting go and embracing a life so completely wondrous and rich to her. She is still tortured by something. Leanna returns to Colorado and faces the heartbreak and rush of memories. It is then that she can face Matt, open her heart and tell him her reasons for her deep sense of shame and fear. They face one another, open and unafraid, clear about their desires and love.
Then back to my historical romances. They are available in hardback, paperback, and ebook from Amazon, and Kindle. MONTANA STAR Aries Burnett, an American woman born and raised in Philadelphia in 1895, faces a significant prospect and change in her life: she is invited to be bride to a rancher in the wilds of Montana. Aries has spent her life at the side of her father, a renowned medical doctor; she has acquired, over the years, a doctor's knowledge and skill. Because she is a woman during the 1800's Aries is more feared and cast out than respected. With her father's death, all the promise of someday becoming a doctor has gone to the grave with him. Left penniless, in desperation she answers an advertisement listed by Ben McCabe, Big Hole Valley Ranch, Montana. When she arrives in Montana, without a clue of what being a wife and homemaker entails, she discovers that Ben is a young boy, not truly looking for a wife. He placed the ad so that his older brother, Jarrett, might take the opportunity to marry. Jarrett is unaware of Ben's plan.
SAPPHIRE BLUE Meghan O'Reiley is the most mysterious and sought-after citizen in Pig Eye Gulch. Yet no one befriends or even fully trust the beautiful young woman. They seek her out in times of trouble--to heal their sick children or soothe their own ailments--but she is otherwise regarded with superstition and unease. When Conner Hendrickson needs help for his sweet baby daughter Bonnie, Meghan's formerly solitary life is suddenly full of spark and zest. She's wary of getting too close as she knows that a life with Conner cannot be hers. He comes from a life of privilege, having grown up in London's high society. Conner is the owner of the Yogo Sapphire mine and employs most of the citizens of Pig Eye Gulch, and Meghan knows that his aspirations will take him far beyond her rough-hewn Montana mining town. But try as she might, Meghan's love for both Conner and Bonnie deepens each day as she nears the precipice of losing them both.
It's here-out February 2013 available at Amazon.com UNCONQUERABLE CALLIE
UNCONQUERABLE CALLIE: Callie, a proud woman in the late 1800's is a liar and a darned good one, a master of the dubious art. She is also a dreamer. Her greatest hope is to reach a new life in South Pass City, Wyoming, where she can open a bakery and live an independent life. To be successful, she will need her greatest gifts of deception to date. As a woman alone, she has to prove to Seth McCallister, the wagon master that she has the wherewithal ( a wagon and a set of oxen), the stamina, and a mystical fiance who waits at the end of the line. McCallister is uneasy, but also mystified by the audacity and determination of the young woman. He allows her to join the train west. UNCONQUERABLE CALLIE covers the trail of Seth McCallister's wagon train starting out in Independence Missouri, across the endless expanse of daily hardships and obstacles-from snake bites, bear attacks, treacherous river crossings, and parching sun. Seth's deep distrust and concern for the woman traveling alone opens first to admiration then friendship then love that he is forced to hold at bay. What he doesn't realize is that there is no fiance. Callie has fallen in love with Seth but feels certain that once he realizes her deceptions, he'll turn away, ashamed of his love and trust in her. Callie leaves the train in South Pass. In the months that ensue, Seth cannot forget Callie Collins. And he finds out the truth about her, too--including the lies she told to reach her destination. This is an exciting book full of the rigors of life on a wagon train, the hardships of the Oregon Trail, and finding love. Also Out at Amazon.com and SoulMate Publishing WYOMING HEATHER: He rode alone, coming back after five years to an empty cabin, a run-down ranch, and a grave on a hill. A former Texas Ranger burnt out on life and afraid to love. He'd spent five years hunting the man that took his wife's life and left him to die. Heather is a spirited, independent woman living alone on a ranch left to her by her Scottish parents. A woman doing a man's work running a ranch that everyone said couldn't be done, not in this untamed, vastly unsettled land, in the mid 1800's. The ranch was her life and had everything she needed except water. But she'd managed to overcome even that. She stole it from a neighboring abandoned ranch watched over by a lonely cabin and a grave. Whip and Heather meet in an explosive moment on the banks of the Powder River, reacting to one another like fire and wind. But fate heeds no one or no thing. The criminal from Whip's past reemerges in the present. Now, Heather is in danger and Whip stands, once again, on the cusp of loss. Fate shows a calloused Texas Ranger that Heather and love does flourish on the Wyoming plains.
COMING OUT JULY 16, 2014 ONE SHINGLE TO HANG Historical romance set in the late 1800's
Everyone knew Lil Wentfield, daughter of Carter WentfieldIII, owner and president of Wentfield Bank, Denver, Colorado, would never marry. What man would want her? She was too old by society's standards, too set in her ways, and too damned opinionated. Granted, she was a real beauty. When Lil purchased a run-down mansion in the small Colorado town of Chesterfield, and hung her shingle advertising L.M. Wentfield, Attorney at Law, her parents felt there was only one option and that was to place her under a physician's care. Lil's female mind had succumbed to the weight put on it by going against nature and the dictates of a woman's need for a strong, male hand. One of Lil's first clients was a grey-eyed cowboy that came looking for an attorney to keep him from the hang-man's noose. Chesterfield had one attorney, L.M. Wentfield. Drew is drawn to this beautiful woman but feels he has nothing to offer her. He is struggling to build a ranch in the rough Colorado valley. Lil knows she has little to offer a man. She is inept at any homemaker skills such as cooking, sewing, gardening, and keeping house. Can the two of them put their pride and differences aside and recognize their love for each other...a love that conquers all? And will Drew be able to accept Lil's wealth and her determination to practice law as one of the few recognized licensed attorneys in the United States?
Published by SoulMate publishing and available at SoulMate and Amazon.com
Work In Progress: MONTANA MAN MONTANA MAN IS CURRENTLY IN FIRST REVISION AND WILL HOPEFULLY BE READY FOR PUBLISHING DECEMBER 2014 OR EARLY JANUARY 2015. If you enjoyed reading MONTANA STAR, you'll love MONTANA MAN. In this book, I pick up on one of the main characters from MONTANA STAR, Ben. Remember, he's Jarrett's brother and Aries brother-in-law? I wanted to let you know what is happening with this dynamic man. So many of you asked for a sequel to MONTANA STAR. I sat down one day to start writing about a story dancing around in my head and low and behold, Ben took form and I knew the book had to be about him and his life since he left the Big Hole Valley Ranch in Wise River, Montana. I'll update more as the publishing date is confirmed. Here's a sneak look at MONTANA MAN. Hope you like it. Let me know. I love hearing from my readers. Ben rose from the river and like a dog, shook the water from his eyes. Drops glistened on his blue-black hair, ran down his chest and over his thin ribs. He grabbed a handful of sand and feebly scrubbed himself in an effort to wash away the prison stink. This was his third bath since he'd left Yuma Territorial Prison and still the stench lived in his nostrils. Immersing his pain wracked body, he reveled in the clear, cold water of the lazy moving Colorado.
Due to the holidays, Montana Man won't be edited and published until March. That's okay, it's a great read and one I'm sure you will enjoy. Let me know.
While Montana Man is being edited, I've started another book and again based it in Wise River Montana. I've titled it: Montana Rose. You'll meet Rose in Montana Man. Again, the characters took over and I had no choice but to write what they dictated. Hopefully, it will be completed and out for publication in 2015. Seems like a long way off, but time passes so quickly that it will be upon us in a blink. Happy Holidays and best wishes for a wonderful 2015.
IT'S OUT!! MONTANA MAN NOW IN EBOOK & PRINT. I have been so busy writing I've been negligent updating my page here. SORRY. MONTANA MAN turned out to be everything I'd hoped for when starting to write this book. It's one of my favorites. From the moment Wisteria found him half in and half out of the Colorado River, the characters took over and wrote this special love story. If you enjoyed meeting Ben in my book, MONTANA STAR, you'll be happy to be reintroduced to him and to see what twists his life took. You'll hear what happened that made him lose four years of his life imprisoned in the notorious Yuma Territorial Prison. I'm anxious for you to meet Robin. She's a special little lady, and loves her 'en. And...you'll meet Rose, Wisteria's sister. In fact, I became so delighted with Rose, I had to follow her as she tried to homestead in Wyoming. She's alive in my latest book, MONTANA ROSE, which will be out late 2015 or early 2016. I am currently working on a contemporary western romance, CALLIOPE CREEK. It's making me think outside of my box since my mind dwells in the historical western romances that fly off my fingers. I can throw in pick-up trucks instead of stage coaches. New Turn Of Events: My book, MONTANA STAR has been translated into German and became a best seller for historical westerns. This has been a wonderful experience one I never expected to happen.
I promise to write more often. But do join me at The Romance Review's Year End Splash Party where I'll be giving away my book SAPPHIRE BLUE. http://www.theromancereviews.com/images/yes2015.jpg
MONTANA ROSE is due to be out April, 2016. Best of all, I'm 3/4 way through writing my contemporary western: CALLIOPE CREEK. I've really fallen in love with my characters, Trent and Riley. The book is set in the beautiful Colorado town of Meeker. You'll read some interesting Colorado history and hopefully find yourself transported to Riley's Circle S and Trent's Calliope Ranch ranches. Riley is a city gal turned rancher and Trent eats and breathes ranching. Here's a sample: Trent lived alone. He liked it that way. Granted, there were times he was lonely. But the solution to the loneliness was often the same solution to most problems he encountered--a new sunrise. It wasn’t that he didn’t have friends. . . he did. He drew them like a magnet, women especially. One look at those sleepy blue eyes, fringed by devastatingly long lashes, on a face more rugged than handsome, and they were lost. Standing over six feet, his rangy build spoke of hours in the saddle. He was perpetually tan either from sun or the biting cold winds of a Colorado winter. Trent was a loner, a man of few words. All he wanted or needed in his life was his ranch: Calliope Ranch. That was until Riley stumbled into his life. Riley who owned Calliope Falls. Riley, a city slicker who had been left the Circle S by a father she thought dead. Riley who had to have a lesson to even make coffee. Her only job had been with the Peace Corp. Riley who was unloved, controlled and ridiculed by a demanding grandfather and a selfish mother. She defied them by moving to Meeker, Colorado and fighting to show she could make it on a working ranch, her ranch. Trent resented her at first. But slowly he came to realize there was a void in his life and darned if Riley didn’t fill that void. He wanted her beside him, loving and living in the beautiful Colorado Mountains. A sudden fall, resulting in Riley becoming paralyzed only strengthened Trent’s determination to give her all his love. CALLIOPE CREEK NOW OUT EBOOK AVAILABLE AT AMAZON.COM OR SOULMATE PUBLISHING. 2017
Facebook hook: The beautiful Colorado Mountains sheltered Calliope Ranch. Trent drew from the land’s strength. It was all he needed or wanted. He was a loner and a man of few words. That is until Riley blew into his life. A greenhorn, city slicker, determined to make a go of the ranch bordering his. A ranch she’d inherited from a father she thought dead. He teaches her how to make coffee...she teaches him how to love. Caption: He taught a city slicker how to make coffee. She taught a loner how to love.
MAY, 2017 CALLIOPE CREEK NOW OUT IN EBOOK. AVAILABLE AT AMAZON.COM OR SOULMATE PUBLISHING. Just a teaser, but I do think you'll enjoy CALLIOPE CREEK. JOIN ME AT THE ROMANCE REVIEW'S SIZZLING SUMMER READ JUNE, 2017 TO READ MORE ABOUT CALLIOPE CREEK
Join me February 1-29, 2016 at The Romance Review's Mega Anniversary and Valentine's Party. I will be featuring my book, MONTANA MAN.
MONTANA ROSE is being featured in The Romance Reviews Enzine edition. http://www.theromancereviews.com I'm adding an excerpt here just to spike your interest. Hope you enjoy this book...I had fun writing it. Montana Rose Excerpt: Heaviness had entered her body the moment she signed the deed to the small homestead, selling it to the owner of the ranch bordering her few acres. She adjusted the hat with the ridiculous robin perched on a nest of russet-colored leaves. It sat atop her blonde curls, a foolish attempt to thumb her nose at defeat. She may be beaten, but she was still fashionable. Rose sniffed, taking small comfort from the defiant act and took the seat by the window. She rubbed the smudged window as the train pulled out of the station then closed her eyes, blocking out the dusty town and her dreams. When Wisteria’s letter arrived, Rose had quickly grasped the lifeline. Rose, marvelous news. Our schoolteacher has decided to move. There’s an opening, and not only that, there’s an attached living quarters to the school. You’ll be able to maintain the independence that’s so important to you. Rose telegraphed Wisteria her ‘yes’ and here she was sitting on a train headed for Wise River, Montana. Even though she knew nothing about being a teacher. She stood on the station platform and looked around. No one was there to greet her. The only other people were a man and a boy, loading a rather cumbersome trunk onto a wagon. Rose gave an intake of breath as the man’s shirt tightened across his back and muscles rippled. Her eyes were riveted as the man tipped back his black, wide-brimmed hat, and wiped his sleeve across his face. Thick, brown hair, the rich brownness of a mink’s pelt, fell across his forehead then curled on his neck, a haircut long overdue. Rose was informed by the station master that new teacher or not, there was no one to take her to Dr. Ben McCabe’s house. Say, Jesse, you could take her.” The stationmaster looked past Rose. She whirled around, surprised to see the same man who had only a few minutes ago been wrestling a trunk onto a wagon, a wagon large enough to take her and her baggage to the schoolhouse. Relief flooded over her. “That’s wonderful. If you could load my bags, we could be on our way.” “No.” No?” Not answering, Jesse brushed past her and placed a bill of lading in front of the stationmaster. Then he turned on his heel. “Wait,” Rose cried. “You can’t just say no and leave me standing here.” He gave her a steely look, his hazel eyes narrowed as gold flecks darkened. He was handsome in a rugged, chiseled way. His prominent cheekbones hinted at Indian ancestry. And if the situation had been different, she would have found his face and broad shoulders worth a second look. A flicker flared in her heart. Ridiculous. The grim man standing in front of her could not possibly be the cause. He was abominable. “Why?” he growled
Blurb: Rose is a rancher at heart. There’s no doubt in her mind that if given another chance, she can make a success of homesteading. She will not fail this time. People scoff, saying ranching is too hard a job for a lone woman to undertake. But Rose is no ordinary woman. She may be petite, stylish, and beautiful, but she is also strong and driven. Every aspect of ranching brings joy to her heart. Then why is she here in Wise River, Montana, taking orders from a mean-spirited school board and attempting something she has no clue how to do-teaching? Jesse Rivers carries his own baggage on his wide shoulders. He’s been called home by a dying stepmother to take over the Rocking R Ranch and the care of a belligerent and wounded brother. A rugged, lanky cowboy, Jesse is also demanding, surly, and afraid to love. No, he can’t love. What if he has buried inside him the same volatile anger as his father, resulting in brutality by strong fists or a whip? Then Jesse meets Rose. Strong willed, outspoken, determined, and oh-so-desirable. MONTANA ROSE is available at Amazon.com and SoulMate Publishing both in ebook and print. APRIL, 2017
