Mary J. McCoy-Dressel ~ Contemporary Romance

Tag: western romance

• Short Snippet Saturday: On the Run

  Posted at 3:25 pm by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on April 17, 2021

  

  Hey there. Happy spring. I’m still here living the life. <waving>

  It’s been a while since I’ve posted or visited my fellow bloggers, but I’ve been writing. I can happily say I finished book two in the Two-Five Ranch Outlaws series. It’s sitting now before I go back to rip it apart and cut a lot of words. I overwrote. Or maybe I didn’t. Let’s put it this way: I said what had to be said, but it’s a higher word count than I wanted, so maybe I didn’t need to say it all. I’m also 12K words into a holiday western romance. However, that has nothing to do with today’s post. 😊

  Re-cover Reveal

  Since I’ve been away from my blog, I had new covers made for four of my books. I haven’t officially revealed the other three yet, but they aren’t hard to find.

  Today I’m introducing the new re-cover for Finding Kimber, Book Two, from Canyon Junction: Hearts in Love Series—a spin off to the Double Dutch Ranch Series. As the title says, they’re on the run. I’ve changed two names to avoid spoilers. Kimber mentions Stormy. He’s the dog Zach gave her.

  ---

  First the Blurb

  She’s wary of her future. He’s burdened by his past.

  Zachary (Zach) Bryson arrives in Arizona with hopes of leaving the ghosts from his past behind. Hired by a stranger to run a ranch, he meets the owner—a secretive woman with no ranching experience. He’s seen her before, but she wasn’t a redhead with green eyes. In their first encounter, she swept him off his feet without their exchanging a word. Why did she change her appearance? What secrets lay behind those heart-stopping eyes? Seeing this job as a challenge, he sticks around to tackle this hottie head-on.

  Kimber Sinclair is forced to flee her lush Oregon county for a small town in Arizona with sand, saguaros, and dusty cowboys. She settles in to live a lie—to discover the person behind her new identity while she mourns the death of Tressa Garnett—her given name at birth. However, keeping a distance from her ruggedly handsome, broad-shouldered, wise-cracking ranch foreman, isn’t easy. She struggles daily to hide her secret from Zach who demands answers. By telling him the truth, his life could also be in danger.

  If trouble finds her, will she choose fight or flight? Can Zach set aside his own issues, or will his nightmares prevent him from doing what he was unknowingly hired to do?

  

  Snippet

  Thunder growled in the near distance, and heavy clouds rolled in. “Cool. Let’s get this tent put up, cowgirl.”

  She helped him unload the truck but wouldn’t let Stormy out. “Dave wanted us to get burner phones so we can’t be tracked. I haven’t seen anything out of the ordinary on my phone.”

  “Wait. What? The guy thinks your phone has a tracker on it? Rebecca could’ve done it when she visited you. He’s already called you multiple times. What if he’s in on it? Get in the truck.” Zach tossed the bags back into the bed of the truck and sped out of the campground. Hard, blowing rain came down as they pulled out. He drove away from the mountain.

  “What’s wrong? Where are we going?”

  “Away from here. If someone is tracking your phone, or his—”

  “I called his go-phone, but I get it. No camping.”

  “We are camping. While we’re heading west, call him back. Write down the immediate numbers you need from your phone, then write down Tyler’s, Randy’s, Jake’s, and my mom’s from mine. When you’re finished, turn our phones off. I want to open yours up to look for a tracker, or for whatever the hell else could’ve been used.” He stopped at a gas station and checked her phone. “Bastards. I’m deleting this hidden app. Somebody added it to your phone.”

  She was angry enough to growl like the wolves in the desert.

  He checked his own. “There’s nothing on mine. I have a better idea. I’ll download a burner app for any other calls we make. Then Dave will think we’re using a disposable phone. The app acts as a burner phone. We can pay extra for a different area code and use a Boise number like we do now.”

  Kimber sat back and sighed. Tiredness caught up with her. “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah. No worries. Tyler uses the app.” After taking care of the app and the new number, he continued driving until they ended up in traffic miles away.

  Now she’d made Zach suspicious of everything.

  They headed back to the campsite and unloaded. “Randy gave us a blowup bed. Looks like we have to sleep together, partner.”

  “No problem, Zach.” In this awful predicament, his words sparked a glow in her heart. She flashed him a smile and helped him make up the bed. “I’ll never be able to thank you for what you’re doing.”

  Zach glanced at the bed and winked. “My heart’s the only thing you have to thank, sweetheart. Well, maybe one other body part.”

  ---

  Here’s the entire spin off series to date. Read Finding Kimber now: Universal Buy Link for your country. Amazon Series Page.

  

  Amazon Reader Reviews for Finding Kimber

  This book has it all. Attention grabbing, many twist and turns. All the romance intertwined. I recommend this book. Enjoy!!

  This lady tells wonderful Cowboy Romance Stories…

  …I loved this book! I loved the depth of this story! It Had so many different elements included in it.

  Very different and kept me interested to the end. Very good suspense story and very different from most books I have read.

  Enjoy your weekend. Thank you for visiting.

  Posted in #AmWriting, #WritersLife, Canyon Junction: Hearts in Love Series | 9 Comments | Tagged Canyon Junction: Hearts in Love Series, Double Dutch Ranch Series Love at First Sight, Finding Kimber, Mary J McCoy-Dressel Western Romance, western romance, witness protection

• Short Snippet Saturday: Listen for once!

  Posted at 3:32 pm by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on January 16, 2021

  

  Hello again. I’ve decided to stick to my Short Snippet Saturday posts on an occasional Saturday instead of participating in the weekly Book Hooks Blog Hop.

  ---

  Today, I’m bringing you a snippet from Imprisoned in a Cowboy’s Heart, Book One in the Two-Five Ranch Outlaws Series. With this book, I have a clear understanding of why series books sell better to a lot of readers. Book two was supposed to be published in 2020, and book three this year, but book two never made it in 2020. Therefore, I see less sales without another book in the series for a reader to rush into. I’ve heard that readers prefer to buy an entire series, or at least more than just one book. I think low sales on this book proves that to be true. Who knows, really.

  This snippet features Tanyon and Karis, our hero and heroine in this book. Tanyon’s baby brother, Levi, and his older sister, Veronica, or Ronni to family and friends appear in this snippet. Tanyon is speaking to Ronni and Karis. Young punks Logan and Rudy, also make an appearance. They are troublemaking ranch hands, but Logan is bad to the bone. Tanyon has good reason not to like him. Rudy is tolerable. The babies Karis refers to are bottle calves.

  

  Book Description

  *Plunge into the first book in Mary’s Brand-new Western Romance Series—Two-Five Ranch Outlaws.

  Four knife-piercing words in a frantic phone call from her mother, caused Dr. Karis Sutton to leave her cowboy in Northern Arizona to return home. While grief-stricken over a tragic loss, she’d let the man she loved slip away instead of allowing him to console her in a time of need. Now, a year later, and ready to break free from her world of gloom, she drives north to seek a second chance with the moody yet irresistible alpha-owner of the ranch. But she’s forced back to Phoenix to fight to keep two fatherless kids. While doing so, will Tanyon think she’s leaving him again and give up on any chance they might’ve had? She’s pulled in different directions. How will she make it right with so much distance between them all?

  Tanyon Outlaw never thought he’d see her again. Now, she’s returned as part of the summer crew on the Two-Five Ranch. In her sad eyes, he sees straight through to her pained soul while memories of their past love invade each thought. What will it take for his cold heart to grow warm toward her again? Then, when bad things happen on the ranch, it comes in droves. Karis is called back home. A lawsuit looms over his head. Fences are cut to maim or steal his cattle. Someone else has an eye for the woman he longs to love. He’s running out of time. How can he discover why people are out to get him while figuring out what his heart wants?

  Once again, Karis and Tanyon have separate, life-changing matters to attend to, so how will they keep it all together and still find a way to capture the love they once shared?

  *Heat Level: Rated “R” by movie standards – Steamy

  ---

  

  Logan and Rudy, the double-trouble duo, rounded the barn on horses. Logan glanced their way, waited, then nodded. Tanyon ignored him. “I’ll tell you later. Please, listen to me for once?” He glanced at Karis. “Both of you.”

  Karis responded with a nod. “I’ll saddle Joanie. You better have a talk with Max, as well, Tanyon, because of Brielle.” As she left them, Tanyon asked Levi to go into the barn with her until he finished with the calves.

  “I’ll be happy to kick his sorry ass if he tries anything,” Levi muttered on the way.

  In the barn, she walked past Logan and into the tack room for Joanie’s saddle and bridle. Levi brought his horse, Thunder Bay, a white paint gelding into the cross ties and brushed him. Logan and Rudy did the same with the horses they had ridden, but they finished way too soon to have done a thorough job. No surprise.

  “How do you like feeding those babies?” Levi asked Karis.

  She smiled as she used the round brush on Joanie. “I don’t know what it is… Feeding them with a bottle is remarkable, like I’m their mom!”

  “Maybe one day you will be. I wouldn’t mind having another little niece or nephew around here.”

  Karis gasped. “Shame on you, Levi. What a big assumption.” If she hadn’t left a year ago, maybe she’d be pregnant with Tanyon’s child by now. She shook her head to clear it from thinking of such things that had been out of their control.

  Ronni entered the barn to get her thoroughbred from the stall. Logan strode over to her, offering to brush him down and tack the horse for her.

  Ronni smiled at Logan, and Karis reckoned her smile had been fake. A keep their enemy closer type thing.

  “Sure, you can help me.” Ronni replied, winking at Karis across the way.

  Karis eyed them, hoping for Ronni’s sake it was a fake smile. If something went on with those two, no one would be able to keep the shotgun out of the Outlaw men’s hands, if he had anything to do with the lawsuit, but she couldn’t picture Ronni as a cougar.

  Tanyon came in behind Ronni, frowning when he saw she and Logan brushing the horse together. Karis and Levi exchanged glances as they lifted saddles onto their horse’s backs, but neither said anything. She listened to what Tanyon had to say though.

  “Hey, Logan, I heard you were in the loft with that little girl, Brielle. She’s fifteen years old. Unless you want to go to jail or get shot in the head by her dad, you better wipe that smug grin off your face and listen up. Stay away from her and the others.”

  “You got it all wrong—”

  “No, I don’t. I know everything that goes on around here. Everything,” he said narrowing his eyes. He strode over to Joanie to put her bridle on. “You almost ready, Karis? Fox is feeding the calves.”

  She couldn’t picture hard-nosed Fox feeding any baby. “Uh-huh, but I need to get a bottle of water.”

  Tanyon had taken Joanie out of her stall while Karis was gone and had waited outside the barn. The three of them mounted the horses and left the barn at a slow pace. Karis shifted in the saddle to look back at Tanyon standing in the doorway. He pointed to his watch. She’d be having dinner with him in a few hours. The thought made her tremble inside to think the ranch boss might find it in his heart to forgive her.

  Read now: Amazon or Universal Buy Link

  Thank you for visiting today.

  Enjoy your weekend. Stay safe out there.

  Posted in #AmWriting, Short Snippet Saturday | 7 Comments | Tagged Imprisoned in a Cowboy's Heart, mary j mccoy dressel, Short Snippet Saturday, Two-Five Ranch Outlaws, western romance

• #MFRWHooks Family Ties

  Posted at 3:43 am by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on January 6, 2021

  

  Hey there! Most of last year didn’t go as planned, so I had to take an unwanted break from Book Hooks and #MFRWauthor 52-Week Blog Challenge. The 52-Week Challenge is monthly this year instead of weekly.

  Guess what? I published a book amid all the chaos life threw at me. My Book Hook today is for my December release—”a later in life or seasoned” romance. Our heroine Judy Carlson is the matriarch of the Double Dutch Ranch. She appears in all the Double Dutch Ranch books and the spin off series books.

  Seasoned with Destiny: A Gift of Love

  Double Dutch Ranch Series: Love at First Sight #5

  

  Book Description

  Heartaches, hot flashes, and new beginnings.

  Content with her family and new grandbabies on the way, Judy Carlson is happy—despite day-to-day struggles of running a ranch and memories of sadness they share. Menopausal changes remind her birthdays arrive too doggone soon. On sleepless nights, she longs for a partner to snuggle up beside. She never minds gazing at a strong cowboy, a man with a handsome smile, or with an intellectual touch of silver in his hair. She observes this daily in their seasoned ranch foreman, Selva Rosado. Though she won’t admit to an attraction until an emotional and physical warming encompasses her when he’s around.

  However, after dancing a night away with Dale Connor three years ago, she’d considered settling down again. Then he disappeared on a clandestine trip, only to return with intentions as mysterious as his journey, and trouble from his past. She learns how right her family is to worry and how wrong she is to ignore intuition. Yet she can’t overlook their loyal foreman in the background who waits and watches with his own mysteries.

  Two men vie for her hand. How can a cowgal decide which one will park their boots beside hers at the end of each day? Before making any decisions, she aims to discover all of their secrets.

  Heat Level: Rated “sensual–intimately sweet and personal.”

  Universal Buy Link

  ---

  I changed a name in the following to avoid spoilers. Judy’s idea. The name I chose to use for the hero in this excerpt is in capital letters.

  Excerpt

  Tears came to her at the awful sight that met them. She shielded her eyes with her palm. Our lovely ranch may never be the same. Dane drove under the signpost and pulled to the side.

  He faced her. “Sit tight. We’ll take care of this.” A yellow banner saying Sheriff’s Line Do Not Cross had been attached to one side of the signpost when they’d arrived home. The guys got out to take it down. Dane gathered it up and tossed it into the truck bed.

  “Are you ready for this, Mom?” Dane asked, after getting back in. “Stay with us tonight, and you won’t have to deal with the mess. We’ll take care of straightening up inside after authorities had gone through and released it.”

  Judy prepared herself to see more yellow tape on the barn and her once safe home. How would she overcome this? “No, I have to face the demon. Avoiding it won’t make a difference.”

  “Yeah, it will,” Jase said. “Dane, drive to my house so Mom and Brenna can get the baby settled. The three of us will clean up here.”

  Judy clasped JOHN’S hand but kept quiet as Dane turned around and drove the long way toward Jase’s home to prevent her from seeing more. They were right to do so.

  “It’s the best thing to do, Judy,” Brenna said. “I don’t want to see it, either.”

  “I understand, honey.”

  JOHN held her. Instinctively, she leaned into the crook of his arm. She closed her eyes for the duration of the ride.

  At Jase’s, they escorted Brenna, the baby, and Judy inside. Judy had to admit that she liked this idea better. She released JOHN’S hand, got a glass from the cupboard, and filled it with water from the tap. She took a long drink. “You’ll come back to get me when you’re finished?”

  Dane jangled his keys as if impatient. “Of course. It’s easier said than done, but try to relax.”

  “Go get your pistol out of the lock box, Bren.” Jase laid the shotgun down on the coffee table near them. He kissed Brenna and his child farewell. They exited in a flash.

  Clasping her hands at her waist, Judy watched after them until they disappeared out of the driveway. They could’ve lost us. What can be going through their minds?

  Universal Buy Link

  ---

  What is Book Hooks? From the Marketing for Romance Writers Website: Book Hooks is a weekly meme hosted by Marketing for Romance Writers as part of the MFRW Authors Blog. It’s a chance each week to hook readers on your current WIP or any previously published book.

  Visit more Book Hooks from participants at this LINK.

  Thank you for stopping by today. Happy New Year!

  I’m at a medical center having a test, so I’ll visit your “Hooks” posts throughout the week.

  Don’t forget to update your website/blog copyright year.

  Posted in #AmWriting, #MFRWauthor, #MFRWhooks, New Release | 21 Comments | Tagged #MFRWauthor, Book Hooks, Book Hooks Blog Hop, mary j mccoy dressel, New Release eBooks, western romance

• A Book Title, BINGO, and a Snippet

  Posted at 4:26 pm by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on June 24, 2020

  I missed Book Hooks Wednesday again. The post almost made it, yadda yadda yadda…

  This isn’t the snippet I had written for Book Hooks. Instead, this one stemmed from an upcoming post I trashed about Book Titles, which included Hey, Cowboy. The scene you’re about to read is why the title for Hey, Cowboy, Book two is what it is. However this scene is from Howdy, Ma’am, Book One. The snippet explains.

  In the beginning, I didn’t want either of these titles to be for the books, but in the end, they were the perfect choice. I have no regrets. 💙

   

  

  ---

   

  Caulder and Velia got to know each other before the season began. She fought the attraction forming between them, but she only fooled herself.

  Set up: Velia did her best to deny what had happened between them the night before, on their first night on the road, no less. She promised herself and him, it would never happen again. We turn the page to the day after: Modified a bit from the original.

  

  As soon as Caulder came out to practice wearing Wranglers and a shirt with the sleeves cut out, and pumped muscles filling her viewfinder, she almost choked on her own lust. “Focus, dammit!” He strutted around the arena like he owned each grain of sand. He went to every bull and talked to them. When he came nose to nose with one big, ugly critter, she had it in her sights.

  She videotaped him around the horses, patting them on the back, and sliding his hand down their flanks. Like he slid his hand down my flank. “Focus.” She got him on video when he wandered to the other side of the arena. Yes, she got one fine part of him strolling away from her—his tight and toned, nice-looking, feel good ass. She stomped. “Why, dammit, why?” Her camera dangled from the neck strap as she watched him.

  She followed and caught him inside the doorway. “Hey, cowboy?”

  

  He turned toward her with a slow glance over her body, and she was aware of the longing in his eyes. She hurried to him and slid her arms around his neck.

  End of excerpt.

  And that, my friends, is where Hey, Cowboy got its title.

  Thanks for reading. Find more on the Bull Rider Series book page.

  

  ---

  Here’s a cute story about the title for Howdy, Ma’am.

  A while back, a long while back, when this book was new, I sent a gift basket to a reader conference with this book included. Cover models were leading a BINGO game. The card squares had book titles on them. I don’t know which cover model, but I heard from the winner of the basket, that the model had a lot of fun calling my book title for this gift basket. When he drew out HOWDY, MA’AM for a spot on the BINGO cards, he’d repeat the title over and over with his deep voice and drawl. He, and the book, got a lot of attention. It made me glad to have kept the title!

  Enjoy the rest of your week!

  Posted in #AmWriting, Bull Rider Series | 5 Comments | Tagged #WritersLife, A Book Title BINGO and a Snippet, Book Hooks, bull rider series, cowboy, Hey cowboy, Howdy Ma'am, Mary J McCoy-Dressel, western romance

• Saturday Morning: Running on an (UN)Even Keel

  Posted at 10:19 am by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on May 30, 2020

  
  Waving. Good morning to all.

  Update:

  Some of you know I’ve been taking a break to let my eyes rest. I’m happy to say they are showing a bit of improvement. Giving them time away from hours of looking at the computer has helped, but my time at the screen is still limited. I’ve been able to spend a small amount of time each day working on one book while gearing up to format my upcoming book. In a nutshell, I have dry-eyes and macular degeneration, so I won’t take a chance with my eyesight.

  As much as I wanted Judy’s book, the fifth book in the Double Dutch Ranch Series: Love at First Sight to be released in May, it isn’t going to happen. Book five takes place three years after book four ends.

  By the way, Cowboy Boss and his Destiny, book one in the Double Dutch Ranch Series is $0.99 cents. This is the new and revised edition–shortened A LOT yet combined with what used to be book 1.5. Not a bad deal for a book that begins a series where you’ll get to know the whole family including Judy, the ranch matriarch, who binds them all together. Welcome to the Double Dutch Ranch where no one is a stranger at their table.

  I’m grateful for any change for the better to my eyes and for time I can spend working on my books. However, I won’t push it.

  Thankfully, my Kindle reads to me, so I’m able to enjoy books written by other authors without having to stare at the screen. It’s a pleasant distraction, indeed.

  Thanks for your patience.

  ---

  Safe Space:

  On top of dealing with my eyesight and the pressure and stress on myself for NOT publishing a book, I was forced to enter a grocery store because of items I NEEDED and couldn’t get with my pick up order. That isn’t all. I HAD TO OPEN UP MY SAFE SPACE to maintenance when I developed a leak in my bathtub. I figured it would be a one-time thing, but after four visits, he still couldn’t fix the problem. This also means he had to go into my bedroom closet to access the pipes.

  I told my manager I would be wearing a mask and I hoped he would. Her reply did not make my day when she said it was up to him. Well, thanks, lady! Is that even legal? Prayers worked. He wore a mask and gloves. I thanked him. BUT, the problem isn’t fixed. Next week a plumber has to invade my space. God sure is teaching me patience while encouraging me to trust. I’m tempted to tell them all to forget it and let it drip, but if it gets worse or something breaks, then what?

  As my mom would say, “Things don’t run on an even keel all the time.” Something like that. Well, Mom, you were right!

  We’re all in this together.

  Enjoy your weekend, my friends.

  P.S. I didn’t even mention the fact WordPress is changing its editor on June 1st, so now it’s one more thing I don’t have the time or patience to learn. Even though some of you said the new Block Editor was simple, I don’t agree. I looked at it for five minutes and said screw it. Now, it seems I have no choice. On a positive note, the old editor will still be available, but I rarely use it, instead choosing to go into the dashboard and use the old, old editor. What do I do? Use my limited time on the computer to publish a book or learn something I don’t want to learn? The answer is simple.

  Signing off for now…

  Image credit: Pixabay – habunman
  Posted in #AmWriting, #WritersLife | 12 Comments | Tagged #AmReading, #AmWriting, #WritersLife, book publishing, Cowboy Boss and his Destiny, Double Dutch Ranch Series Love at First Sight, even keel, eyesight, Gentlemen Cowboys, mary j mccoy dressel, Saturday Morning: Updates - Running on an Even Keel, western romance

• Book Hooks #MFRWhooks First Love

  Posted at 2:30 am by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on April 29, 2020

  

  Welcome back to Book Hooks, a Wednesday Blog Hop through Marketing for Romance Writers. A link at the end of this post will take you to participating authors.

  We’re back with the last snippet for a while in Whispers of Forever: Mending Christmas.

  The previous posts prior to this episode can be found here. Jake and his son are about to have dinner when someone called his name. Seeing his first love from thirteen years ago set his soul aflame. Previous to where this snippet starts, Jake told Beth about the situation with Paige leaving him. She told him she’d been divorced. Meet Beth:

  ---

  

  That quick, her eyes took on an empathetic seriousness. It was like Beth to put her own issues aside to be concerned about others—a specialness about her she’d always had—one of the traits he had admired back in the day. Jake shrugged as he held his hat with both hands. “About as good as can be expected, I suppose. I tried to talk her into staying. Today, I realized why she wouldn’t. It’ll be hard on my kid. T.J. is staying with me now. At least that’s my plan.” He peeked around the corner to check on his son. “Hey, Macaroni, you have any kids?” She didn’t, but he made small talk before she rushed off. If it had made sense, he’d grab her hand to keep her from leaving.

  “Still the Macaroni, huh?” Beth snickered, peering away momentarily before reaching into her leather designer purse for a credit card. “No, not yet. With what is going on right now, it’s best I don’t…I guess.”

  He nodded and glanced at his son who looked back at him, straw in mouth, one hand wrapped around the cold glass. “Well, I better get seated. Do you wanna—”

  Their gazes connected. “Take care of yourself, Jake. It was terrific to run into you.”

  Her penetrating stare was hypnotic, and he wanted to turn away from her, but he couldn’t pull his eyes away. Guess she didn’t wanna no matter what it was. How could he let her get away? He could have a heart attack any minute and that’d make her stay. “Yeah, for sure. We’ll probably run into each other again…if you’ll be around. This town isn’t big.”

  At least maybe he wouldn’t avoid her the next time like he always had when she’d arrive. He took a step away but whirled around. “Call me sometime. Let’s catch up.” Those words came out of nowhere. Beth smiled softly, and he was taken back many years. The same gut-wrenching pain from their last good-bye twisted his stomach to the point of nausea.

  “Um, are you in the book?”

  He held his hat against his chest, fingering the brim. “Sure am. I have a ranching business now, so yeah, you can find me in the book, online, ask a neighbor.” He chuckled. “Talk to you later.” Heading toward the booth, he peered over his shoulder. “Welcome back to town.”

  “Jake?”

  Oh, God. Beth. Facing her, he lifted his head in a nod as he did another once over. She looked damn good in a little cotton dress with a denim jacket atop it, but it didn’t hide a glimpse of her alluring breasts. Low ankle boots replaced the cowboy boots she’d worn as a teen. Her hair was ten times longer than he’d ever seen it. A trace of a San Antonio tan still remained. Yet, a tiredness lingered in her eyes. “Yeah?”

  Beth walked up to him, and he got another whiff of her sultry perfume. “Is the Coffee Shoppe still in town?”

  

  What can stand in their way this time?

  Second chance romance.

  A Double Dutch Ranch Series Spin Off Novel

  Canyon Junction: Hearts in Love Series

  Filled with both anguish and hope, a young boy and two lonely hearts pursue a second chance.

  UNIVERSAL BUY LINK: books2read.com/u/3JKo0A

  ---

  Oh, boy. It looks like Jake’s heart is not going to settle down yet. This time it’s for a different reason.

  Thanks for reading! HERE’S the link to find participating Book Hooks authors.

  

  Young couple credit: © Nolte Lourens | Dreamstime.com

  Posted in #AmWriting, #MFRWhooks, Whispers of Forever: Mending Christmas | 12 Comments | Tagged #MFRWauthor, first love, Marketing for Romance Writers #BookHooks, mary j mccoy dressel, Second Chance Romance, western romance, Whispers of Forever

• #MFRWhooks Book Hooks: How Would You Feel?

  Posted at 12:29 pm by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on April 15, 2020

  

  For today’s Book Hooks post, I’m continuing with Whispers of Forever: Mending Christmas. I’ll reiterate that this book takes place from October to past Christmastime, but it isn’t considered a holiday story. Last week’s post can be found HERE:

  We’re picking up after last week’s snippet. Tom Brandt is Jake’s new lawyer hired to fight to keep his son in the state. Jake recently found out a truth he’d suspected. He may sound hardhearted in this snippet, but how would you feel?:

  ---

  

  Numbness enveloped his body. Fuzz filled his brain. None of this had come out in court. He took his phone out to call Tom Brandt. “You won’t believe this,” he said to his lawyer. “I have something for you to add to your notes.” Jake proceeded to tell Tom the newest bit of information.

  “This changes everything, Jake. I’ll be in contact with you soon.”

  She was having another man’s baby, but it wasn’t the guy he had seen her with last night. A ball of confusion settled into a corner of his brain to figure out later. He checked his watch. It was almost time for Trace to get out of school. Jake went back into the tack room to wash his hands, then into the house to brush his hair and put on a clean shirt. His dirty jeans would have to do. Tonight, his son was moving back home. Let her try to stop him.

  Pulling onto the 60 toward school, he called Paige. “Have Trace’s things ready. Leave the door unlocked, then find someplace to go,” he barked out when she answered. “My boy is coming back home with me, and I don’t want to see your face when I get there in a couple hours—”

  “But—”

  “Don’t try to fight me on this, Paige, because there’s no way you’ll win. You did this to yourself, lady. Nothing left but to accept it.” Let that sink in. Remaining calm now was important. Name calling would solve nothing and would only get his blood to boil and steam to shoot from his ears.

  “All right. Tomorrow I’ll file to dissolve our marriage.”

  “You’ll get no argument from me this time.” At the school, he parked and then sat a minute until his breathing got back in check. He went inside to the office to ask for a meeting with the principal. A few minutes later, the secretary escorted him through a narrow walkway to his office.

  ---

  Whispers of Forever: Mending Christmas

  Canyon Junction: Hearts in Love Series

  A Double Dutch Ranch Series Spin Off

   

  What can stand in their way this time?

  Rancher Jake Lawton never expects to become a single dad to his nine-year-old overnight. However, one last malicious act his wife had done before leaving them, could affect both he and his son’s lives. By chance, he runs into his high school sweetheart, never expecting the same old yearnings to return with one “How are ya?” embrace. Has their unanticipated meeting arrived at the perfect time, or has years apart put an end to what should’ve been years ago?

  Beth Marconi arrives home to help care for her ailing father. In town, she inadvertently runs into her first love—the cowboy she nearly married after graduation. Sparks ignite before they say hello, but how do they start over when life has left them so bruised? When her ex comes to town, she’s forced to explain the secret surrounding her short-lived marriage. Is Jake the kind of man who will understand, or will he revert to the hell-raiser he had become when Beth left thirteen years ago?

  Filled with both anguish and hope, a young boy and two lonely hearts pursue a second chance.

  Thanks for reading.

  Universal Buy Link

  ---

  Book Hooks is a weekly meme hosted by Marketing for Romance Writers as part of the MFRW Authors Blog.

  

  Participating authors can be found Here, and there are a lot of them doing Book Hooks. At least they get signed up on time. I missed it again this week.

  See you all the next time.

  Posted in #AmWriting, #MFRWhooks, Canyon Junction: Hearts in Love Series | 5 Comments | Tagged #MFRWauthor, #MFRWhooks, Book Hooks Blog Hop, Canyon Junction: Hearts in Love Series, Double Dutch Ranch Series Spin Off Novel, Mary J McCoy-Dressel, western romance, Whispers of Forever: Mending Christmas

• #MFRWhooks: Book Hooks: It’s Not Over

  Posted at 5:29 am by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on April 8, 2020

  

  Well, darn. I missed the sign up for Book Hooks again. Looks like I’m on my own this week without my fellow Book Hooks authors, but we can still join them at the Link below.

  Canyon Junction: Hearts in Love Series

  A Double Dutch Ranch Spin Off Series

  Whispers of Forever: Mending Christmas

  This book does cover the holiday season, but it isn’t necessarily a holiday novel and can be read anytime.

  Set up: In this snippet, Jake is having a conversation with his wife, who is leaving him and taking their son to another state with no intentions of returning. She digs at Jake the best way she knows how to take the blame off herself. We’re in Jake’s POV. See my cute doggie on the cover? She lives on this this series:

  

  “Maybe your precious Beth would be satisfied, but I’m not.”

  All right, there it was. What a surprise. Not. “Why do you keep throwing her up to me? She’s been gone from Canyon Junction for thirteen fu…damn years—”

  “The rumors about her never stop—”

  “Maybe because they aren’t rumors. She and I are a part of this town’s past. People like to reminisce. I don’t!” Jake lifted his hands to his head. “My relationship with her happened way before I met you, Paige. You’re the one I married.”

  “Because you had to.”

  “Regardless, you’re the one I married with no regrets—”

  Paige shook her head and stomped away. “I wanted to travel, but then…then Trace came along and before I knew it, I was a tied-down wife and mother.”

  His cheeks puffed out as he held his words in, but not for long. “You say that like it’s a bad thing. Yeah, I get it more every time I see you. Maybe you’re fooling yourself. It’ll come out eventually. Let me fix what needs fixing. If you don’t think I’ve done—”

  “You have, and you’ve had a complete turnaround from who you used to be, but…”

  Jake swallowed another gulp of beer, set the half-filled bottle on the counter, and headed toward the living room. Her but didn’t go any further. He picked up his hat from the table and stopped at the exit door. She wasn’t getting off that easy. “But?”

  Her eyes remained fixed on the floor. “I want more. I’ve had enough of ranching.”

  “The ranch used to be all you wanted. That’s why I took it over from my parents and built it up. For us.” He blew out a breath and glanced at the lighted pumpkin in the living room. Jake sighed. “Well, go get your more, but leave my son with me. He never said he wanted more. Have you asked him? He wants to stay with me.” Jake paused to catch his breath. “I’ll pick up Trace after school Friday.” He strutted out and down the steps until he got to his truck. Stopping for a moment, he glanced back. The door slammed. He’d hire a new lawyer. This wasn’t over.

  

  ---

  A few Amazon Reviews:

  Best ending ever!

  This book did not have any boring stretches!!!

   I could not put the book down till I finished reading the whole wonderful story.

   

  ---

  About the Book:

  Second Chance Romance.

  What can stand in their way this time?

  Rancher Jake Lawton never expects to become a single dad to his nine-year-old overnight. However, one last malicious act his wife had done before leaving them, could affect both he and his son’s lives. By chance, he runs into his high school sweetheart, never expecting the same old yearnings to return with one “How are ya?” embrace. Has their unanticipated meeting arrived at the perfect time, or has years apart put an end to what should’ve been years ago?

  Beth Marconi arrives home to help care for her ailing father. In town, she inadvertently runs into her first love—the cowboy she nearly married after graduation. Sparks ignite before they say hello, but how do they start over when life has left them so bruised? When her ex comes to town, she’s forced to explain the secret surrounding her short-lived marriage. Is Jake the kind of man who will understand, or will he revert to the hell-raiser he had become when Beth left thirteen years ago?

  Filled with both anguish and hope, a young boy and two lonely hearts pursue a second chance.

  UNIVERSAL BUY LINK: books2read.com/u/3JKo0A

  

  ---

  Visit the other authors in the Book Hooks Blog Hop HERE.

  Book Hooks is a weekly meme hosted by Marketing for Romance Writers as part of the MFRW Authors Blog. It’s a chance each week to hook readers on your current WIP or any previously published book.

  Thanks for your cyber visit this week.

  Stay home. Stay safe.

   

  Posted in #AmWriting, #MFRWhooks, Book Hooks | 7 Comments | Tagged #MFRWhooks, Book Hooks: It's Not Over, Canyon Junction: Hearts in Love Series, Double Dutch Ranch Series Love at First Sight, Double Dutch Ranch Spin Off Series, Mary J McCoy-Dressel, western romance

• #MFRWhooks Book Hooks Wednesday: Conference Room

  Posted at 12:15 am by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on March 18, 2020

  

  Hi, is it Wednesday again? Ah, it must be time for another Book Hooks post. Today I bring you the first book in the Double Dutch Ranch Series: Love at First Sight:

  Cowboy Boss and his Destiny

  The grandma he mentions is Tristan’s mom, our ranch matriarch who is featured in book five: Seasoned with Destiny: A Gift of Love. Snippet modified to avoid spoilers.

  ---

  

  Oh, my God. “I can’t talk right now, Destiny. We have to get there.” His child’s pain hit him like a spear to the chest. He wanted to be supportive while she cried, but he needed support. I have to get there. Have to get there. At the emergency room parking lot, he unhooked Destiny and carried her inside.

  “I have to see her. Nora Trinity. Just brought in…”

  “Just a minute, please.” She glanced at Destiny who still cried. “Do you have someone coming for your child?”

  “Yes, but I can’t wait.” He released Destiny to the floor. She held him as tight as she could.

  The lady called back there and told him it’d only be a minute. A doctor came out and glanced at Destiny. Tristan knelt. “Honey, you have to wait here for a minute. Grandma will be here soon, real soon.” He pointed to a chair. “Go sit right there and don’t get out of it. Don’t talk to anybody.”

  “No, Daddy. Don’t leave me.” She clung to him with both arms.

  There was no expression on the doctor’s face whatsoever.

  “Listen to me. Only for a few minutes. I have to go to the back.” He held her face. “This is the time you need to be big.”

  She shook her head erratically, and shouted, “I’m not big.”

  He picked her up and hugged her. “Take me back, please.”

  They went through the doors to a conference room. “I’ll put a chair outside the door for your daughter,” the doctor stated matter-of-factly. He dragged a chair out of the room, pushing it against the wall beside the door while Tristan fell apart inside.

  Tristan lowered her to the chair. He demanded that Destiny stay. “I’ll be right inside. Right here.”

  She folded her arms across her chest and stared at the floor.

  The doctor closed the door behind him but leaned against it for what seemed an eternity. Silence.

  Tristan’s heart shattered. They were in a conference room. Ah, damn, this couldn’t be good.

  

  UNIVERSAL BUY LINK

  From his experience with women, Tristan Carlson learned that some don’t want a ready-made family, and he and his four-year-old daughter come as a package. Then he falls hard and fast for Nora, but if she isn’t going to give him the trust he needs, their relationship won’t last. Without a warning, darkness falls over the entire Carlson family when a near-repeat of a devastating memory comes back to haunt them, and Tristan fears he and his child will have to suffer all over again.

  When Nora Trinity returns to Canyon Junction, she doesn’t expect to fall for the handsome cowboy she lends a hand to in a parking lot. However, since then, she learns about a past that nearly destroyed him. Now she can lose everything if she can’t find it in her heart to trust he’s a changed man. Then why does he disappear at a time when Nora needs him more than she’s ever needed him before? Has she lost him, anyway?

  Tristan and Nora’s bond is put to the test. They need to be strong enough to overcome issues of trust, family complications, and painful memories. They vow to prevail when circumstances beyond their control attempt to prove them wrong.

  ---

  This book has gone through multiple changes since the first edition. In fact, in 2016 I revised the entire book and cut the length by… Hmm, A LOT. That isn’t all. I gave it a new cover. I removed so much for the purpose of adding book numbered 1.5 to make it one complete book and doing away with the original 1.5.

  ---

  Thank you for reading. While here, click the image below to visit participating authors in this Marketing for Romance Writers Book Hooks blog hop.

  

  Book Hooks is a weekly meme hosted by Marketing for Romance Writers as part of the MFRW Authors Blog. It’s a chance each week to hook readers on your current WIP or any previously published book.

  Image credit – Father and Daughter: Pixabay – platinumportfolio

  Posted in #AmWriting, #MFRWhooks, Book Hooks, Double Dutch Ranch Series | 11 Comments | Tagged #MFRWhooks, #MFRWhooks Book Hooks Wednesday: Conference Room, blog hop, Book Hooks, Cowboy Boss and his Destiny, Double Dutch Ranch Series Love at First Sight, Mary J McCoy-Dressel, western romance

• #MFRWhooks One Fool and a Weaker Idiot

  Posted at 12:03 am by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on February 19, 2020

  

  Hooked by Sundown is book three in the Double Dutch Ranch Series Spin Off. Meet Wade and Sophie.

  Canyon Junction: Hearts in Love Series

  A Double Dutch Ranch Series Spin Off

  Hooked by Sundown

  

   

  Setting the stage: Wade and his best friend Dane went to rescue Sophie’s brother from a bar fight not long after Sophie had an argument with Wade which her brother also caused.

  ---

  Wade shook his head. “I don’t know. I can’t stand when one fool takes advantage of a weaker idiot. He was incapacitated before he got here.”

  Dane got a bottle of water from his truck. “What will you do with him?”

  You’re an idiot, Emory. “I’ll take him to my place.”

  Sophie grabbed his arms. “No, take him to my house, please. Who knows what’ll happen when he wakes up?”

  Wade gave her a stern glare. “Let go of me.”

  Dane nodded at Sophie. “I’d let go of him if I were you.” She did, and Dane said to Wade, “I’ll follow you back and help you get him inside.” He left for his truck.

  At home, they brought Clay into the house and tossed him on one of the spare beds downstairs. Then someone banged on the door.

  Dane answered it to let Sophie in on his way out. “See ya later.”

  “Thanks, Dane.” Wade narrowed his gaze at Sophie, “Go home. He can sleep it off here.”

  “Why did you get involved?”

  “It doesn’t matter. Go on. I’m going to bed.”

  “I want to stay here with him tonight.”

  “Whatever.” He stepped up one step before she called him.

  “Thank you on behalf of my dad, too.” She rushed toward him and stepped up two steps until she was at his eye level. She draped her arms over his shoulders.

  He continued standing there with his hands at his sides. “Why are you doing this? I know what good-bye means. Let me go to bed.”

  “It was a mistake to tell you what I did tonight. I was distraught.”

  Another mistake like the “my kid” incident? “Of course, it was a mistake. A foolish one. I gotta go to bed. Lock the door before you settle in then put a towel under his head so he isn’t bleeding all over my blanket.” He removed her arms from around him. “You’re welcome to the bed in the other bedroom or the couch.”

  Sophie placed a palm against his chest and clenched his shirt. “I’m sorry. I meant it at the time, before I thought straight, but…I need you.”

  “You’re always sorry after the fact. Think first, Sophie. See me for who I am. This on and off shit has to stop. I expected more from you.” He stepped up two steps but she clenched his shirttail.

  ---

  

  Universal Link:

  About the Book:

  Wade Emory falls fast for women, yet it’s a well-known fact his relationships don’t last. On a trip to the Pacific Coast to visit his ill brother, he slips into his bad habit when he meets a hotheaded mom with a son who spews four-letter words. However, after enjoying nearly a week with them, she and the boy leave early. Before she’s gone forever, he convinces her to meet up again to pick up where they left off on the beach. Then, at home, an unexpected visitor pops in, and he learns the past harbors secrets and lies that don’t always stay hidden. Life’s lessons have taught him that people don’t stick around, so how can he prevent a relationship with Sophie from becoming another failure?

   

  Sophie Price-Daniels needs a change of scenery. The opportunity arises when she flies to California to bail her trouble-making brother out of jail. When he directs his anger at her and her boy, a stranger steps in, but a hero is the last thing she wants. She’s alone and living in her self-appointed prison of grief, until…until Wade steps into their lives. As desires long forgotten force their way to the surface, she’s faced with a dilemma—to give in to her needs and accept a new future is possible for her and her son—or back away and continue to believe she’s betraying a man who is no longer with them.

   

  Two lonely people need to trust each other—and themselves—to overcome their unfortunate pasts.

  ---

  What readers are saying about Hooked by Sundown:

  Readers of romance, especially western romance, will find this a satisfying, well-written tale, and I doubt they’ll stop at one. Amazon Review

   I fell in love with the characters right away. Wade and Sophie make you never want to give up on love. Amazon Review

   I couldn’t put this book down until I finished it. Amazon Review

  ---

  #MFRWhooks

  Book Hooks is a weekly meme hosted by Marketing for Romance Writers as part of the MFRW Authors Blog. It’s a chance each week to hook readers on your current WIP or any previously published book.

  Enjoy your weekend. Thanks for reading.

  Posted in #AmWriting, #MFRWhooks, Book Hooks | 8 Comments | Tagged #AmWriting, #MFRWauthor, #MFRWhooks, Canyon Junction: Hearts in Love Series, Hooked by Sundown, mary j mccoy dressel, Short Snippet Saturday, western romance

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