I’m having a hard time deciding which book, or books, to enter in the Colorado Romance Writer’s Award of Excellence contest. Can you help? It has to be a book published in 2014. Vote for the one or two you like best in the comments section.
Gathering Clouds – published in January
Dreams and desires are different for everyone. They can be simple or complicated. Sometimes life has been so hard we forget what it means to dream about anything. Who has time for desires with all it takes to just keep our heads above water. Such is the case for Gabrielle and Theo. Two people with such different outlooks on life and people it’s amazing they even meet. But sometimes our dreams make us do desperate things.
Gabrielle can’t let her restaurant close after fifty years of uninterrupted service. She is desperate. Her head chef is walking out and she needs a new one to stay open. If she loses the Silver Lining it would kill her. She needs someone willing to start immediately, but all the talented chefs already have jobs. A friend recommends a man just released from the prison where she works. Word was he planned to return to Colorado. Can she put her dream in the hands of an ex-con?
Theo returned to his hometown in hopes he had been forgotten. His only desire is to get work in a kitchen and live as invisibly as possible. Jobs are hard to come by for an ex-con. When a petite pixie walks into the gym and offers him one, Theo doubts it has anything to do with his culinary skills. After spending three years in prison for trying to help someone, he has no intention of doing anything that might land him back there. Unfortunately, what he wants and what he gets are usually in direct opposition to one another.
Can Gabrielle trust the Silver Lining to a man who only sees clouds looming on the horizon? Can Theo learn to trust enough to help someone again? Will they both be victims in the twisted games of others?
Eenie Meanie Minie No! – published in April
Nikki Sterces is a high school English teacher with a past. That past returns with a vengeance reeking havoc on her quiet life. Threatening phone calls are only the beginning. Shortly after one of these calls, her high school sweetheart, now Detective Joseph Fitzpatrick, knocks on her door and informs her they believe her uncle has been murdered. Can this be the answer to her prayers? Will her fears all disappear with the death of her lecherous uncle? It doesn’t take long to realize the answer to that question is no.
Joe Fitzpatrick’s adopted son fears losing his father and being alone. This motivates Joe to return to Pinecrest, Colorado where the crime rate isn’t half what it was in Chicago. At least, it wasn’t when he grew up there. Now, he’s investigating a murder that brings him face to face with the love of his life. The woman who stole his heart and disappeared. He remembers her as an innocent, but she’s changed since he knew her in high school. Could she really have killed her uncle? Worse than that, could she be killing the other members of her high school clique? No one can change that much, can they?
Her Master Diver – published in July
Blaze thought leaving school would get her life back on track. It seems to be working as she’s invited on the dive of her dreams. Then life throws her into a storm, a break-in, hit and run, sabotage and murder all center around her.
Lazaro hates treasure hunters. The excitement Blaze has for every item found on a dive has him suspicious she is one. His physical attraction to her only feeds his distrust. When she’s added to the people on the team to dive for La Trinité, he’s furious. Before they set sail, he finds himself protecting her from a stalker she denies exists. Will her stalker follow them on the dive? Will he be able to protect her? Will he be able to protect his heart when he sees her true colors?
Can Blaze and her charismatic project manager unravel the problems surrounding the expedition, or will her Masters men brothers have to fly out to save the day?
Ha
rlan’s Haven – published in November on Veteran’s Day
Harlan Granger is facing a fate worse than death. He’s been discharged from the Army thanks to a piece of shrapnel near his spine. He was born to be a soldier and hasn’t a clue what to do as a civilian. Hopefully, he can keep himself occupied with work on his parents’ house until the worst happens. All too soon, he realizes the peace and quiet he so desperately needs to heal and think isn’t to be found in his hometown. Trouble has found it’s way to Bluff’s Corner, and it’s centered around his brother’s business. His brother’s pixie-like neighbor has Harlan’s trouble radar going off the charts. It’s not just his attraction to her that has him second-guessing himself, he’s sure she’s hiding secrets of her own, secrets that could be dangerous both to her and his brother.
Rilie Lazar is finally beginning to enjoy life. The people in Bluff’s Corner, Colorado are friendly but not nosey. Her quilting business is going well and her best friend is the funniest guy she’s ever known. At least, he was until the night his brother walked into the bar. He might be the best looking Alpha male she’s ever met, but he’s putting a definite damper on the atmosphere. Worse, he’s bringing back memories she would rather keep buried. Memories that have her looking over her shoulder and being on guard all the time. She thought she left all that behind, but what if he’s right? What if her past has followed her to Colorado? Can she keep her friend and his brother out of harm’s way or will they pay the ultimate price to keep her safe?
Butterfly Bride – published in December
Two years have past since Artemis told Emma he would call and she said she would answer. Artemis drives down to Chapel, Colorado in a storm, to propose to Emma who is now working at the Colorado office of Clandestine Investigations, but even if she says yes, will it ever happen? They have to work their way through sabotage of a friend’s bar, the escape of their nemesis from prison, and murders. That doesn’t even take into account their own uncertainties about their relationship. ? Someone is sabotaging their friend’s bar and trying to ruin Clandestine Investigations where Emma now works. Will they ever make it to the alter or will one of them pay the ultimate price to save the other? Emma starts to doubt she’ll ever be a butterfly bride.
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