Cowboy Kisses News! By: Julie Lence

Due to prior commitments, Patti Sherry-Crews is taking a summer hiatus. Her July spot is being taken over by guest author, Elizabeth Clements. Patti will resume blogging this fall, though we don't have a specific date. You can still keep up with her through her social media pages.  Thank you!
Julie

Some Halloween Viewing for CK Readers

I, for one, was surprised when Cowboys and Aliens hit the big screen back in 2011.  The thought of combining my beloved cowboys with a bunch of aliens did not sit well with me.  Even more surprising was discovering that the combination of cowboys and the various permutations of the paranormal has been going on in cinema since at least 1935. A little investigation, spawned by no less than True West magazine, has brought up this short list of films to delight and (in some cases at least) spook you through the Halloween season.  All films are currently available through either Netflix or Amazon Video:

Still from Riders of the Whistling Skull

1)     The Return of Dracula, 1958—calling this a western might be stretching it a wee bit but most of the action does take place in California.  After killing a fellow train passenger in Transylvania (where else?), the blood-sucking Count takes the man’s identity, heads to CA, visits the dead man’s family, and begins a killing spree. 

2)     Billy the Kid vs. Dracula, 1966, starring John Carradine.  With a title like that, this hardly needs an explanation.  As the poster says, ‘The West’s Deadliest Gunfighter! The World’s Most Diabolical Killer!’ The bloody Count travels west by stagecoach and has toothmarked his next victim. Presumably, Billy hasn’t been shot as yet by Pat Garrett and has some indefinable relationship with one Betty Bentley, whose blood the Count is out to get. Drac pretends to be Betty’s uncle, Underhill.  You get the idea . . . .

3)     The Phantom Empire, 1935, starring Gene Autry, plus there

was a remake in 1986. This was a series of twelve episodes in which the singing cowboy discovered the lost civilization of Mu beneath his Radio Ranch. He attempts to stop war between the Muranians led by a subterranean queen and, well, his listeners—and pals.

4)     Riders in the Sky, 1949, another Gene Autry vehicle. Anyone who knows the country/western song ‘Ghost Riders in the Sky’ will immediately get the idea of the main event here. Detective Autry takes one last case to help a lovely lady rancher clear her father’s name when he’s been wrongly accused of murder. Gene goes looking for the three witnesses who can clear the innocent man, and ends up singing the popular song.

5)     The Valley of Gwangi, 1969, starring the rather dishy James Franciscus. They don’t come much weirder than this one, folks.  Members of a Wild West show head to Mexico’s Forbidden Valley after discovering a 50,000,000 year old midget horse. There they discover dinosaurs still exist and aim to take home an Allosaurus, Gwangi, to lighten up their act.  Great scene of the cowboys lassoing the dinosaur.

6)     Riders of the Whistling Skull, 1937, starring The Three

Mesquiteers with an early appearance by renowned stuntman Yakima Canutt. The Three Mesquiteers starred in a series of fifty-one B westerns between 1936 and 1943, including eight with John Wayne, believe it or not. In this episode, the three accompany an archaeological expedition along with a woman on the team whose father has been lost in the Indian village of Lukachukai. As several deaths occur and a member of the team appears in an adorable pajama onesie (worth the one hour viewing alone), it turns out the tribe is under the control of a power-mad white man.  Most of the actors seem to have graduated from the Wooden School of Dramatic Art, the music is strictly left over from silent films and, by my reckoning, it contains the worst Native American dancers in the history of cinema.  Somewhat hard to swallow is the 1930’s view of Indians but, if you can ignore that, for the fifty-two minutes of watching, it might be worth the laughs.

7)     The Hanged Man, 1974, starring great jobbing actor Steve Forrest, and meant as a pilot episode for a series that never took off.  With several well-known faces in this, it’s surprising it didn’t make the grade.  It has Cameron Mitchell (Buck from The High Chaparral)  as a greedy mine-owner after the heroine’s ranch and mine; the perennially old Will Geer, Grandpa from The Waltons, as Nameless, the lady’s ranch hand; and Academy Award winner Dean Jagger as Forrest’s lawyer; plus it was produced by Bing Crosby Productions. The storyline sees Forrest as wrongly convicted gunslinger Devlin who somehow survives his swing on the noose only to sport what looks like a Burberry scarf around his neck to hide the rope marks.  Devlin, now hell-bent on doing good, gets caught up in the dispute between the lady mine-owner and the villain after her mine. Numerous Biblical and Christian references throughout might not have garnered a wider audience with those who prefer their sermons on Sunday. It is, however, well-acted albeit slow moving at times.  The ending is straight out of Dante’s Inferno.

I haven’t mentioned more recent films because most of you will know about movies such as High Plains Drifter, Westworld, and the aforementioned Cowboys and Aliens.  The old films are not only spooky in several senses but good for laughs. However, should film-viewing not be your scare of choice, may I direct you to a duet by Patti Sherry-Crews and myself, and wish you all a very Happy Halloween.

The Wild West gets even wilder when Nat Tremayne sends out his agents from Psychic Specters Investigations offices in St. Louis and Denver. Across country and across time, these agents will stop at nothing to unravel the mysteries that beset poor unsuspecting ranchers and cowboys who have no idea what they're seeing . . .or not, as the case may be.
In Patti Sherry-Crews' The Ghost and The Bridegroom, P.S.I. Agent Healy Harrison is sent to Tucson to rid a rancher of the ghost in the bedroom interfering in his marriage to a mail-order bride. Healy doesn't think she's destined for romance--until she meets Pinkerton detective Aaron Turrell. But when their two cases dovetail, will their newfound love survive the ultimate showdown  between mortal and immortal.

In Andrea Downing's Long A Ghost and Far Away, agent Dudley Worksop aims to unravel the mystery of Colby Gates' dead wife. Lizzie not only seems to have reappeared as a ghost, but has time traveled from 2016 to the 1800s. Can revenge be had for her murder? And can the couple be reunited across country and across time?
 Available at all good eBook-sellers snd, of course, Amazon 

https://www.amazon.com/Files-Nat-Tremayne-Tales-Hauntings-ebook/dp/B0767HWT6S/

Come Love a Cowboy! Please do!

Back in April, seven best-selling and award-winning authors as well as myself

got together to produce this anthology of eight stand-alone Contemporary Western Romance novellas—stories of cowboys who are also firefighters, bronco busters, wealthy ranchers, and just plain ol’ bad boys. The original boxed set is still on sale for just 99 cents until April 1 at https://www.amazon.com/Come-Love-Cowboy-Kathleen-Ball-ebook/dp/B01D5876UK/  Several of the original authors, myself included, have got together with four more authors—Hildie McQueen, Kristie McCaffrey, Carra Copelin and Devon McKay—to bring out stand-alone sequels and brand new stories in a further boxed set—available June 1. Watch this space for information, but for now, get a head start and buy Come Love a Cowboy!

Here are the stories available in the current boxed set.

Luke’s Fate by Kathleen Ball

Meg O’Brien hoped never to lay eyes on the one man who broke her heart. To her dismay, Luke Kelly arrives at her ranch a much different and broken man. Can Meg ever forgive his callous treatment of her and help Luke become the man he used to be?

Grant Me The Moon by Caroline Clemmons

All Tory Fraser intended was to show her high school history club students a local archeology dig. How could she know the excursion would involve a murder?

Three for The Win by Keta Diablo

Hollis should have known better than to fall for a bone-melting man like Stede. He’s gone now and Eli is left to pick up the broken pieces of her life.

Border Affair by Hebby Roman

When his partners’ daughter is kidnapped in México, a self-made millionaire must confront his feelings about their affair and the future of their relationship.

Leaving Necessity by Margo Bond Collins

Mac has one week to convince his ex-girlfriend Clara not to sell his oil company. In this high-pressure reunion, can they strike love again?

The Shape of Destiny by Julie A. D’Arcy

A young male shape shifter. A beautiful female ranch owner. Can love be born in a web of deceit?

Bad Boy, Big Heart by Andrea Downing

She’s a New Yorker escaping her parents.  He’s a Wyoming cowboy supporting his dad. One summer, two young people—three months to find love.

           Desert Heat by Patti Sherry-Crews

A single mother struggling to keep her guest ranch puts her own desires on hold. When a handsome and persistent fireman sets his sights on her, she must decide how much she’s willing to give.

Here is an excerpt from my story, Bad Boy, Big Heart:

  

K.C. was licking her lips over a piece of cheesecake when Breezy ambled over.

“I heard,” she said in an undertone. “I’m so sorry, K.C. I really didn’t know or I certainly would have told you. All I knew was Jamie could be very unpleasant but nothing like that. You know, spoiled brat unpleasant.”

K.C. gulped down another mouthful. “Well, he certainly was ‘unpleasant’ and a ‘spoiled brat.’”

“Are you all right? You know if you ever want to talk about it or need a shoulder, mine is at the ready. And you know where to find me, though I suspect you have another shoulder in mind.” She tipped her head toward Chay, who had just come in and was chatting with one of the guests.

K.C. glanced across as he squatted down to speak with a little girl, tilting his hat back off his face and giving the child a wink as he rose again. Her stomach did a back flip.

“So how do you like the cheesecake?” Breezy was saying. “It’s my own recipe—chocolate mocha cheesecake. You seem to be doing pretty well with it but, of course, you may only be eating it to be polite.” She sauntered off in a stream of giggles.

And then a second fork was coming from above into that cheesecake.

“Do you always just take what you want?”

“Oh, shit, I’m supposed to ask! Sorry.” Chay slid into the chair opposite her at the long refectory table. He looked her in the eye. “May I please have a bite of your cheesecake?”

“Why don’t you get your own? In fact, shouldn’t you be starting with lunch and then dessert?”

“Had a sack lunch and got in earlier than expected.” His fork dangled threateningly over the waiting slice before he swung the fork like a pendulum.

“Oh, go on then. I guess you deserve it.”

Chay shoved a forkful into his mouth, having obvious difficulty chewing as he was smiling so much. Finally he got it down, stretched to grab a napkin from another clean place setting, and gave a wide grin to K.C. “Am I your hero, then? Riding in to save the day? How are you?”

“I’m fine. Thanks. Fine, but reluctant to keep telling everyone I’m fine.”

“Okay then, message received.”

K.C. studied him for a moment, melting at his pale green eyes. She suddenly reached across and gently poked the small dimple in his chin. Oh dear, what was she going to do about this man?

“You’re supposed to ask, aren’t you? You can’t just go around poking people in the chin, can you?”

“Golly. What have I started?”

“I don’t know. What have you started?” The smile was replaced by a very direct look.

“I…I’ve been told things about you. I don’t want to be a summer romance. And I do have to leave at the end of the summer, and the summer is fast fading.”

“It’s only June, K.C.” He hesitated before, “What sort of things were you told?”

K.C. looked around to make sure they weren’t being overheard. “That you like to…to date the girls who work in the office because we leave at the end of the summer, and it makes for a clean break.”

“True.”

K.C. blinked at his honesty.

“But it doesn’t mean it will always be the case.” Chay fidgeted on his chair. “What time do you get off? Let’s go for a ride. You do ride, don’t you?”

“I ride…English.”

“Oh, yeah. Bob said something about that. That can be fixed. So what time?”

“Five-thirty weekdays, Saturday noon as long as the check-outs are complete. Sunday is hit or miss; I work virtually all day until all the check-ins are done.”

“Hmmm. I’m taking out a pack trip tomorrow, back Friday. Meet me down at the barns as soon as you’re off Saturday.” Chay swung out of the chair and stood, then leaned in and stabbed one more bite of cheesecake. “Saving you calories,” he said. “You’d be amazed at what goes into this.” And with that, he stuffed the piece in his mouth and was off.

K.C. sat there, turning over Chay’s words in her mind: ‘It doesn’t mean it will always be the case.’ Yet the fact was, her Master’s degree meant two years…oh, what was she thinking? That was way ahead and, while she knew she was deeply attracted to Chay, it didn’t necessarily mean…. She stared at the remaining cheesecake on her plate, then pushed it away.

What was ‘the case’?

And here are a couple of reviews from Amazon:

“…How she  {K.C.} and Chay overcome each obstacle is an exciting, suspenseful, fun, and romantic read that is just pure enjoyment. I loved the interactions between the two characters and how author Andrea Downing so skillfully takes the reader on an emotional roller coaster ride right along with the characters. The result is a fun, romantic, suspenseful story that you’re sure to enjoy.” – Dali

“- Bad Boy, Big Heart by Andrea Downing I loved this story. The backdrop of the Tetons made it extra special. Chay was to die for and K.C. was a great match. The writing is crisp and no nonsense. The story is really good. I was sorry when the story ended since I wanted to know more about these characters.”—Debera

Well, Debera—you won’t have long to wait.  City Boy, Country Heart comes out in a new boxed set June 1.

 Please find me at:

WEBSITE AND BLOG:  http://andreadowning.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/writerAndreaDowning

Twitter:  @andidowning  https://twitter.com/AndiDowning

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6446229.Andrea_Downing

Linkedin:  http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=124888740&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile_pic

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE:  http://www.amazon.com/Andrea-Downing/e/B008MQ0NXS/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0