Thursday, August 7, 2014

Dawn Luedecke's New Release - To Tame A Montana Heart

Today I'm delighted to welcome author Dawn Luedecke to The Second Half. Dawn is here to share her brand new Western romance entitled To Tame A Montana Heart. Let's take a look!

Blurb
Running from a past of privilege, deceit, and danger, Travis Simms is ready to settle down. What better place to forget all he left behind than the quiet little Montana town of Lolo Hot Springs? His goal is clear — build a hotel and his own destiny without complications —until one of the town’s most troublesome women captures his attention.
Dusty Larson is hell bent on independence, helping her sister run the Triple D Ranch. She can do anything a man can, and do it better, so she certainly doesn’t need one in her life. The only problem is she seems to attract bad luck and danger...and Travis. Can he tame her wild ways and keep his bachelor status intact — or does he risk losing his heart?


Isn't that a gorgeous cover? Dawn's also agreed to treat us to a couple of excerpts.

Excerpt #1

She watched him with care. “I don’t know if I love you. I like you, a lot, but I don’t have the slightest idea what love feels like.”

Travis’ smile grew slowly across his face. “I understand. I’m not sure if I love you or not, but I also don’t think I could live without you. So you will always have that.” His voice was almost a whisper when he said the last.

“Truly?” Her voice cracked and she had to force herself to breathe easy.

“Truly.”

She inclined her head and took two brisk steps toward him. She leaned over and kissed him with all the fever of a thousand fires. He reached up and intertwined his hand through her hair to hold her still as he plundered her mouth.

She released him with a shaky breath and jumped back to turn on her heels. “Put something nice on. I’ll be back with a preacher man.”

“You know, I heard you only have to say ‘I marry you’ three times and then you’re hitched.”

She threw him a sassy look and slammed the door shut.

Excerpt #2

The voices in her head screamed for her to run but she just couldn’t listen. Fists balled at her sides, Dusty prepared for a fight and stalked toward the sound, rounding the corner and tripping just as strong hands reached out and grabbed her shoulders.

The hands picked her up and turned her around to press her back into steel muscles of a rock-solid chest. One arm reached across her collarbone to clasp her shoulder. The other wrapped around her midsection, holding her against a warm body. The offending hands gripped her tight and brought her snug against the length of him. She knew without looking who it was.

“When you walk around after dark, anything can happen.” His warm breath tickled her neck, and shivers raced through her. The hand lining the length of her collarbone made its way up her shoulder and traced the edges of her shirt collar. “You are not safe from anything in the dark.”

With those words, Travis turned her around and slipped his hands behind her back to pull her closer. He bent his head and his next words tickled her lips, “Even me.” The kiss shot like lightning through Dusty. It shocked and excited her, stealing the breath from her lungs. Without conscious thought she lifted her hands and entwined them behind his neck, pressing their bodies closer.

Travis eased Dusty back, but kept her in his grip. “Heaven above, Angel…I’ve wanted to do that since I first saw you at the springs.” He traced the edges of her lips with the rough pad of his thumb. “You are way too beautiful to be out by yourself after dark. Anything could happen.”

“Anything could happen," Dusty rasped out.

Travis released Dusty and her knees buckled. He caught her before she could land on the ground, set her right once again, and gave a deep throaty laugh.

“Anything could happen,” she said again. Dizzy excitement hummed through her body, and all she could hear was the deep thump of her heart.


Biography
A country girl born and bred, Dawn Luedecke has spent most of her life surrounded by horses, country folk, and the wild terrain of Nevada, Idaho and Montana. As a child she would spend many afternoons reading books, watching western classics, and Rogers and Hammerstein movies. When she grew up she decided to leave the quiet country life for a chance to find adventure by serving a successful tour in the United States Coast Guard. During that time she found her soul mate (and alpha male) and started a family and writing career. She enjoys writing historical and paranormal romance and spends as much time as she can working on her current manuscript. For more information visit www.dawnluedecke.com.


Buy Links
The Wild Rose Press ebook
The Wild Rose Press print
Amazon kindle edition
Amazon paperback edition
Barnes and Noble ebook

Social media links
Website
www.dawnluedecke.com
Facebook
Twitter
@d_luedecke
Goodreads
Pinterest
Youtube Book trailer


Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Beware the Kamikaze Quail!

One of the most entertaining discoveries in our new home has been the California quail. OG saw the first quail early one morning, after we bought the house but before demolition began. He returned to the condo and reported 21 quail in the back yard. I was thrilled but had to wait months before it was my turn. One very quiet Sunday morning, as I sat in a folding chair out front waiting for the movers to arrive with our furniture from Minnesota, four quail raced across the driveway as only quail can. I was thrilled.

Because of the construction, we didn't see many more until the landscaping was finished in late February. We occasionally encountered quail standing or running in the street but not in our yard. In late March we moved in, and the real fun began.

What is it about quail and streets? Many times I have watched quail wait patiently on one side of the road until a car approaches then choose that exact moment to zip across right in front of the speeding tires. We call them Kamikaze Quail. It's a definite thing - believe me. We live toward the bottom of a very steep hill, and the quail like to race up and down (always in the middle of the street) in big family groups. Wacky little daredevils. Of their two brain cells, one must be devoted solely to avoiding cars, because I've never seen one hit. 


A couple of weeks ago we filled the bid bath and bought a feeder to see what sorts of birds we might attract. Within a few days it was such a hit we had to add a second. One of the fun byproducts has been a huge increase in the number of quail who come to clean up the seeds that fall on the ground. We have one family with four nearly grown chicks and a smaller family with one chick that come every day. Then they occasionally invite family and friends to the frenzy, er, party.


OG didn't like the boulders when the landscaper initially installed them. They were expensive, and he didn't think they looked natural. However, he's since changed his tune because the quail love them. As soon as the family arrives, the father quail climbs on top of the nearest rock to keep an eye on his little flock. He stays there yodeling orders until everyone's eaten their fill, then climbs down for a quick nosh before leading them off to their next stop. OG gets a kick out of this. I think it brings out the paterfamilias in him.