Beyond Romance: Charity anthology

Wednesday, February 12, 2020

Show Australia some love - #CharityAnthology #ValentinesDay #Giveaway @WildRosePress

Coming on Valentine’s Day from The Wild Rose Press!

Stories in this collection are contributed by authors who care about Australia and the relief efforts from the devastating bushfires. All profits from the book will be donated to charities involved with the recovery efforts. The publisher and authors are not affiliated with the charities. They simply want to show Australia their love and support.

Each of the three volumes highlights a different set of genres. The anthology series includes some of my favorite authors of romance and women’s fiction.

Volume 1

A collection of Short Stories in Mainstream Fiction,

Women's Fiction, Thrillers, and Mystery

A Solicitous Wife by Madeleine McDonald

No One Knew by Larry Farmer

Pinochle by Brenda Whiteside

The Tuesday Night Meeting by Peggy Jaeger

911, What's Your Emergency? by D. V. Stone

Tall Tales by Laura Strickland

Fare Gain by Alexandra Christle

The Note by Stephen B. King

Three Ghosts by Julie Howard

Detective Paws and Lip Gloss by Maureen L. Bonatch

The Ring by Margaret Ann Spence

Portrait of a Gunfighter by Hywela Lyn

Six Hours or So by Lisa Wilkes

Prussic Acid by Melody DeBlois

Volume 2

A collection of Romance, Young Adult, and Women's Fiction Short Stories

Che Gelida Manina by M. S. Spencer

Recipes for Love by Carol Henry

Waiting for Caleb by Gini Rifkin

Wings of Fire by Jana Richards

A Lark by Gabbi Grey

Apple Crisp by Terry Graham

Goody Twoshoes by Mark Love

The Number by Barbara Bettis

Deadly Homecoming by Peggy Chambers

An Egg-Cellent Witness by Marilyn Barr

Season of Withered Corn by Judy Ann Davis

Beneath the Pines by Debby Grahl

Christopher Reisner by Linda Griffin

Unexpected Love: Chase Allen by Anna Lores

The Cowboy and the Lady by Jean Adams

The Heart Necklace by Amanda Uhl

The Relaxation Response by Darcy Lundeen

Dancing Through Tears by Jeny Heckman

Volume 3

A collection of Paranormal, Horror, and Sci-Fi Fiction Short Stories.

The Pilot's Son by CJ Zahner

The Vengeance by Rhonda Gilmour

A Climb to Kill by ML Erdahl

Born of Fangs by Sydney Winward

Johnny Appleseed by Robert Herold

Rebellion in Slot III by Roni Denholtz

Home, Sweet Mobile Home by Alana Lorens

The Filthy Human by Tori V. Rainn

Baby Daddy by Kerry Blaisdell

The Witch of Calico Island by Cat Dubie

Stained-Glass Vision by Mary Morgan

A Witch's Protocol by Tena Stetler

I Choose Life by Kristal Dawn Harris

Together Forever by N. Christine Samuelson

Where Is Your High School Sweetheart? by Donna Kunkel

Lost and Found by Joanne Guidoccio

Nursery Chimes by D.S. Lucas

Why not buy all three volumes? Every purchase means more help for the responders, and the victims, human and animal.

Volume One Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0848W2HQT

Volume Two Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0849MSLBT

Volume Three Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084H4J37S

Want to do more? Click over to my Charity Sunday post from last month and leave a comment. For every comment I receive between now and the third Sunday of February, I'll donate $2 to the Australian Red Cross.

The publisher is giving away a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Banishing Scary Tragedies - #MMRomance #mathewshepardfoundation #alberkennedytrust @Cathy_Brockman

By Cathy Brockman (Guest Blogger)

Have you ever lived through an environmental or other tragedy? How did you handle it?

With so many of these happening lately like the Santa Ana Fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, ice storms and floods in places they don’t usually occur, this has been on my mind lately.

In February of 2009 we were awakened by pops and snapping sounds. Looking out the window was lie looking into a snow globe. Everything was cover in ice and tree branches were breaking off blocking the roads. It was both beautiful and scary. The power was off for one week in our neighborhood, the water for two days. Others in the area affected (it was a huge area affecting more towns, cities and communities) weren't as lucky, some being out over a month.

What does this have to do with writing? I deal with emotional pain or stress by expelling it. I remove it from my mind by writing it down on paper and trapping it in a story. Of course, I twist things up, romanticize it, and make it less scary for me. If you don’t write books you can always just write it in a journal.

Last November a friend of mine sent me a link to anthology she thought I might like subbing to. I was given the chance to send one of my babies (I mean stories) into the world for all to see.

RJ Scott was offering a few new MM authors the chance to join her and some other established MM authors in an anthology called Love for All Seasons. I was overjoyed when my story was accepted.

Here is an excerpt from my story "Winter’s Chill". See if anything looks familiar from above.

Lane

A peculiar crackling noise yanks me from an arousing dream. After ten long years I finally left my unfaithful boyfriend; dreams and fantasy are all I have now. Since glimpsing my neighbor a few weeks ago, he has been my one and only star.

Scrubbing my hands over my blurry eyes, I notice the room is pitch black. Even late at night, the skylight provides a shimmer from the street lamps. A glance towards my blank alarm confirms that the power is out.

My skin prickles from the chilly room and I wince when my feet hit the frigid floor. Using the flashlight app on my phone, I locate my slippers, robe, and head to the living room.

My mouth drops at the sight framed in my big bay windows. I woke up in a true to life snow globe. Or should I say ice globe? There are so many icicles that my smaller fruit trees are sagging to the ground. It’s the most beautiful, yet terrifying sight I’ve seen.

Luckily having lived a decade in North Dakota, I’m used to surviving snowy winters. I flip on the generator I had installed when I purchased the house, then head back to the coffee pot. I need to go out and put ice-melt on the porch and see if my neighbors need help.

My patio has an awning, and I hope it kept the ice from building up by the back door. With a few hard pushes, it gives. I can easily get to the greenhouse shed where I store my shovels and de-ice supplies.

The pile of snowmelt I stocked up on is easy to locate. When I purchased the extra cases of water and bags of ice melt, my friends, especially my sister, teased me.

I load my little cart with a few bags and a snow shovel. After I get my sidewalks and porch salted, I’ll see if my neighbors need help. I imagine most aren’t prepared for ice.

After I got my porches and sidewalks coated, I took a bag to my renter, helped her hook up a portable generator. At my neighbor’s I raised my hand to knock, chicken out. I dump the ice melt on the front and back porches since I see him use the back more than the front. I am freezing and exhausted.

All I can think of is getting back inside for another cup of coffee and some dry clothes. I’m unloading my cart and putting the empty sacks in my trash receptacle when I hear an awful bang. Peering out of my shop door, I see that darn pine limb laying on my back-porch roof.

I’ve meant to ask Sherry if I could have it cut before she moved. It’s not entirely severed, then BAM, the rest breaks loose and falls on the other side of the fence smashing it. I swear I hear a muffled yell.

As I approach the backyard through the carport, I notice boots sticking out. The branch is so wide it’s hard to get to where I see him. I trek over the mess careful not to slip.

I hold my breath hoping not to find him impaled or his skull smashed. I exhale when I see his head is free. It is mostly a web of branches splayed over him, encasing his shoulder and leg. There are so many offshoots. I will have to cut part of them off to free him.

“Hey. Can you speak?” I tenderly touch his face to check for blood. He has a knit beanie on, but I see no signs of bleeding. Eyes the hue of new jeans flicker open.

“Shit. I’m dead.”

I chuckle. “You’re talking. That’s an excellent sign you’re alive. We need to get you out from under this tree soon. I can’t see your leg or any of your body. Can you tell if any of the branches pierced you?” I need information before calling 911.

“No, I don’t think so. You’re not an angel?”

I laugh aloud this time. “No one I know has ever called me an angel.”

Anthology Contents

RJ Scott - The Last Chance

V.L. Locey - Brioche for Two -

Annabelle Jacobs - Beach Boys

Chris McHart - Favorite Flowers -

DJ Jamison - Special Nights

Cathy Brockman - Winter’s Chill

EJ Smyth - Who do you love, My Valentine

CM Valencourt - Sweeter than Honey

Buy Links

UNIVERSAL BUY LINK - www.books2read.com/LoveSeasons

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C81TYH6

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/816746

Barnes and Noble: to follow...

Kobo: to follow...

iBooks: to follow...

GOODREADS LINK

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39755654-love-for-all-seasons

About Cathy

Cathy loves her grandkids, cats, cooking and working to make her patio an outdoor haven. When she's not writing stories with sexy cowboys, strong women, and the small towns they live in she's probably working on expanding her doll collection, crafting, reading, or listening to audio books.

I’m giving away an ebook copy of the anthology to one lucky reader. Leave a comment and tell me if you’ve ever lived through a tragedy and how you dealt with it?