• Welcome!
  • My Books
  • My Blog
  • Interviews, Articles, and Guest Blogs

Judith Sterling

~ Award-winning Author

Judith Sterling

Monthly Archives: April 2020

WILD ROSE PASS by Karen Hulene Bartell

16 Thursday Apr 2020

Posted by Judith Sterling in Uncategorized

≈ 30 Comments

Tags

bestselling author, Buffalo Soldier, Fort Davis, Judith Sterling, Karen Hulene Bartell, Old West, Texas, The Wild Rose Press, Western Romance, Wild Rose Pass

Let’s welcome back a sister Rose (published by The Wild Rose Press), Karen Hulene Bartell!  She’s here to tell us about her recent release, Wild Rose Pass, a romantic journey into yesteryear based on a true story.  Take it away, Karen!

Wild Rose Pass holds a special place in my heart largely because of its setting, Fort Davis, Texas—or Valhalla, as I call it. Like Denver, the town is a mile high, a sky island, rising steeply from the Trans-Pecos Desert. The area captivated me sixteen years ago, when my husband and I missed a turnoff and ended up driving through the rugged Davis Mountains.

Vertical basalt columns rose like thousands of giant fingers reaching for the sky. The palisades, buttes, and bluffs towered above both sides of Wild Rose Pass with a raw, majestic beauty, and I breathed a contented sigh, sensing a homecoming.

Though remote, the sparsely populated area is rich with history—another reason my Western Romance, Wild Rose Pass, appeals to me. The town takes its name from the nearby garrison, Fort Davis, which is now a National Historic Site. Prior to the Civil War, the fort, Davis Mountains, and Jeff Davis County were all named after Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis.

After the War Between the States, the infamous Buffalo soldiers—the African-American cavalry—manned the fort. Then during the Indian Wars, they protected settlers, mail coaches, and freight wagons from marauding Apaches along the San Antonio-El Paso Road and Chihuahua Trail. Even well into the twentieth century, Fort Davis dispatched soldiers to patrol the Mexican border against Pancho Villa’s raids.

But the main reason Wild Rose Pass is so dear to me is because a friend’s great-great-grandfather, José Maria Bill, was the inspiration for my hero Ben Williams. Captured as a young child and raised by Comanches, he worked as an Indian scout, guide, and packer for Fort Davis in the 1870s. During research, when I touched the handwritten quartermaster reports, I connected with him across a hundred and fifty years…and that link made writing the novel personal.

Buffalo Soldier, 9th Cavalry (Denver Public Library)

More about Wild Rose Pass:

Cadence McShane, free-spirited nonconformist, yearns to escape the rigid code, clothes, and sidesaddles of 1880s military society in Fort Davis, Texas. She finds the daring new lieutenant exhilarating, but as the daughter of the commanding officer, she is expected to keep with family tradition and marry West Point graduate James West.

Orphaned, Comanche-raised, and always the outsider looking in, Ben Williams yearns to belong. Cadence embodies everything he craves, but as a battlefield-commissioned officer with the Buffalo Soldiers instead of a West Point graduate, he is neither accepted into military society nor considered marriageable.

Can two people of different worlds, drawn together by conflicting needs, flout society and forge a life together on the frontier?

A peek between the pages:

Reining his horse between catclaw and prickly-pear cactus, Ben Williams squinted at the late summer sun’s low angle. Though still midafternoon, shadows lengthened in the mountains. He clicked his tongue, urging his mare up the incline. “Show a little enthusiasm, Althea. If we’re not in Fort Davis by sunset, we’ll be bedding down with scorpions and rattlesnakes.”

As his detachment’s horses clambered up Wild Rose Pass, the only gap through west Texas’ rugged Davis Mountains, Ben kept alert for loose rocks or hidden roots, anything that might trip his mount. A thick layer of fallen leaves created a pastiche of color shrouding the trail from view. He glanced up at the lithe cottonwood trees lining the route, their limbs dancing in the breeze. More amber and persimmon leaves loosened, fell, and settled near the Indian pictographs on their tree trunks. When he saw the red- and yellow-ochre drawings, he smiled, recalling the canyon’s name—Painted Comanche Camp.

“How far to Fort Davis, lieutenant?” called McCurry, one of his recruits.

“Three hours.” If we keep a steady pace.

Without warning, the soldier’s horse whinnied. Spooking, it reared on its hind legs, threw its rider, and galloped off.

As he sat up, the man groaned, caught his breath, and stared into the eyes of a coiled rattler, poised to strike. “What the…?”

Flicking its tongue, hissing, tail rattling, the pit viper was inches from the man’s face.

A sheen of sweat appeared above the man’s lip. “Lieutenant—”

Buy the book:

Amazon eBook

Amazon Paperback

Barnes & Noble NOOK Book

Barnes & Noble Paperback

More about Karen:

Author of the Trans-Pecos, Sacred Emblem, Sacred Journey, and Sacred Messenger series, Karen is a best-selling author, motivational keynote speaker, wife, and all-around pilgrim of life. She writes multicultural, offbeat love stories that lift the spirit. Born to rolling-stone parents who moved annually, Bartell found her earliest playmates as fictional friends in books. Paperbacks became her portable pals. Ghost stories kept her up at night—reading feverishly. The paranormal was her passion. Westerns spurred her to write (pun intended). Wanderlust inherent, Karen enjoyed traveling, although loathed changing schools. Novels offered an imaginative escape. An only child, she began writing her first novel at the age of nine, learning the joy of creating her own happy endings. Professor emeritus of the University of Texas at Austin, Karen resides in the Hill Country with her husband Peter and her “mews”—three rescued cats and a rescued *Cat*ahoula Leopard dog.

Where to find her:

Facebook   

Twitter   

Instagram    

Goodreads   

Website  

Email

Amazon Author Page  

Instagram

BookBub

LinkedIn

AUTHORSdb

Thanks for joining me today, Karen.  Best of luck with Wild Rose Pass!

FREE AUDIO CODES STILL AVAILABLE!

13 Monday Apr 2020

Posted by Judith Sterling in Uncategorized

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Amanda Uhl, Amber Daulton, Brenda Whiteside, Casi McLean, Emily Heebner, Flight of the Raven, free audiobooks, Jean M. Grant, Judith Sterling, Julie Howard, K. L. Conger, Kathryn Knight, Katie Salidas, Liesel K. Hill, listen and review, ML Erdahl, Samantha Bell, Shadow of the Swan, Soul of the Wolf, Story Origin, Tamara Hart Heiner, The Cauldron Stirred

The audiobook fair on Story Origin is still going strong! There are more than 30 books from which to choose, including four of mine. Request the titles you’d like to review here!

These are the stories I’m offering for free:

How eager would the bridegroom be if he knew he could never bed the bride?

Lady Emma of Ravenwood Keep is prepared to give Sir William l’Orage land, wealth, and her hand in marriage. But her virginity? Not unless he loves her. The curse that claimed her mother is clear: unless a Ravenwood heir is conceived in love, the mother will die in childbirth. Emma is determined to dodge the curse. Then William arrives, brandishing raw sensuality which dares her to explore her own.

William the Storm isn’t a man to be gainsaid. He’ll give her protection, loyalty, and as much tenderness as he can muster. But malignant memories quell the mere thought of love. To him, the curse is codswallop. He plans a seduction to breach Emma’s fears and raze her objections. What follows is a test of wills and an affirmation of the power of love.

A Norman loyalist, Lady Jocelyn bristles when ordered to marry Wulfstan, a Saxon sorcerer. She nurses a painful secret and would rather bathe in a cesspit than be pawed by such a man…until her lifelong dream of motherhood rears its head.

A man of magic and mystery, Wulfstan has no time for wedded bliss. He fears that consummating their marriage will bind their souls and wrench his focus from the ancient riddle his dying mother begged him to solve. He’s a lone wolf, salving old wounds with endless work. But Jocelyn stirs him as no woman ever has.

Their attraction is undeniable. Their fates are intertwined. Together, they must face their demons and bring light to a troubled land.

Lady Constance de Bret was determined to be a nun, until shadows from the past eclipsed her present. Marriage is the safest option, but she insists on a spiritual union, in which physical intimacy is forbidden. Not so easy with a bridegroom who wields unparalleled charm! But a long-buried secret could taint his affection and cloak her in shadow forever.

Back from the Crusades, Sir Robert le Donjon craves a home of his own and children to inherit it. From the moment he meets Constance, he feels a mysterious bond between them. When she’s threatened, he vows to protect her and agrees to the spiritual marriage, with the hope of one day persuading her to enjoy a “real” one. She captivates him but opens old wounds and challenges everything he thought he believed.

Two souls in need of healing. Two hearts destined to beat as one.

Ashling Donoghue never dreamed moving to Ireland would rock her perception of reality and plunge her into a mystery that brings legend to life.

At seventeen, she’s never had a boyfriend, but she feels an immediate connection to Aengus Breasal, the son of the wealthy Irishman who’s invited her family to stay at his Killarney estate. For the first time in her life, a guy she likes seems attracted to her.

But Aengus is secretive, with good reason. He and his family are the Tuatha Dé Danann, ageless, mythical guardians adept at shifting between this reality and the magical dimension known as the Otherworld. Evil forces from that world threaten the Breasals, the Donoghues, and all of Ireland. Ashling must open her heart, face her fears, and embrace a destiny greater than she could ever have imagined.

Happy listening, and happy Monday! 🙂

NIGHT OF THE OWL ~ Spotlight on N. N. Light’s Book Heaven

10 Friday Apr 2020

Posted by Judith Sterling in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Amazon gift card, Barnes and Noble gift card, giveaway, Judith Sterling, medieval romance series, N. N. Light's Book Heaven, Night of the Owl, spring break, Spring Break Book-a-Palooza, The Novels of Ravenwood, time travel romance

The Spring Break Bookapalooza is in full swing at N. N. Light’s Book Heaven, and today, my time travel romance, Night of the Owl, is in the spotlight.  You can read an excerpt from the book, and I also talk about where I’d go on spring break if I could travel and what I like best about spring.  Check it out here!

While you’re there, remember to enter the giveaway.  You could win one of the following prizes:

~ $50 Amazon (US) or Barnes and Noble Gift Card

~ $50 Amazon (US) or Barnes and Noble Gift Card

~ $25 Amazon (US) or Barnes and Noble Gift Card

~ $15 Amazon (US) or Barnes and Noble Gift Card

~ $10 Amazon (US) or Barnes and Noble Gift Card

Open internationally.

Runs April 1 – 30.

Drawing will be held on May 1.

Enter here and good luck! 🙂

WILL RISE FROM ASHES by Jean M. Grant

07 Tuesday Apr 2020

Posted by Judith Sterling in Uncategorized

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

audiobook, Jean M. Grant, Judith Sterling, New England authors, new release, The Wild Rose Press, Will Rise from Ashes, women's fiction, Yellowstone National Park

Author Jean M. Grant–one of my sister Roses (published by The Wild Rose Press)–has a new audio book out: Will Rise from Ashes, narrated by Caroline Hewitt and Andrew Perkins.  Congratulations, Jean!

If you enjoy women’s fiction, check it out.  Here’s a little about the story:

Living is more than mere survival.

Young widow AJ Sinclair has persevered through much heartache. Has she met her match when the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts, leaving her separated from her youngest son and her brother? Tens of thousands are dead or missing in a swath of massive destruction. She and her nine-year-old autistic son, Will, embark on a risky road trip from Maine to the epicenter to find her family. She can’t lose another loved one.

Along the way, they meet Reid Gregory, who travels his own road to perdition looking for his sister. Drawn together by AJ’s fear of driving and Reid’s military and local expertise, their journey to Colorado is fraught with the chaotic aftermath of the eruption. AJ’s anxiety and faith in humanity are put to the test as she heals her past, accepts her family’s present, and embraces uncertainty as Will and Reid show her a world she had almost forgotten.

Where to buy the audio book:

Audible ~ Amazon ~ Barnes and Noble ~ iTunes ~ Kobo ~ Google books

What Jean has to say about the book and some fun facts about Yellowstone National Park:

Yellowstone is a scientist’s Disneyworld. My background is in microbiology, immunology, and marine science, but our family loves all things geology and natural wonders. Research for this book was hands-on.

How about a few fun facts?

  1. It became the first National Park in 1872. Over 5 million people visit it annually.
  2. Yellowstone is a hydrothermal wonderland with over 10,000 hydrothermal features: geysers, hot springs, mudpots, steam vents, and over 500 geysers.
  3. The park is the size of Delaware and Rhode Island combined, covering 2.2 million acres.
  4. Yellowstone is a supervolcano. Two massive magma bodies bubble beneath the park.
  5. There are over 20 supervolcanoes across the globe, Yellowstone being one of them.
  6. The park is not all geology wonderland…there are hundreds of unique bird, fish, and mammal species in this gem in northwest Wyoming. Some signatures: bears (black and brown/Grizzly), bison, and wolves. Because of extensive programs, endangered species now flourish in the park.
  7. Old Faithful has been very faithful, erupting approximately every 90 minutes.
  8. Sadly, human trash and pollution has caused many of the vibrant hot pools to lose their color over the years. However, Yellowstone has created innovated programs to manage waste and human impact.
  9. Yellowstone has had 3 [2 of them being “supervolcanic”] caldera-forming eruptions over the past 3 million years (2.1 million, 1.3 million, and 640,000 years ago, respectively). Will it erupt again? Yes. Soon, like tomorrow? Not likely. The last eruption: 174,000 years ago, with 60 smaller ones since.
  10. The VEI scale measures explosivity of volcanoes and runs from 0 to 8.
  11. Be safe and read danger signs! To date over 92 people have died in the park, mostly from falling into burning hot springs, off ledges, or tempting fate with a bison.

More about Jean:

Jean’s background is in science and she draws from her interests in history, nature, and her family for inspiration. She writes historical and contemporary romances and women’s fiction. She also writes articles for family-oriented travel magazines and websites. When she’s not writing or chasing children, she enjoys tending to her flower gardens, hiking, and doing just about anything in the outdoors.

Where to find her:

Website ~ Twitter  ~ Facebook ~  Goodreads ~ Bookbub ~ Amazon Author Page ~  The Wild Rose Press ~ Instagram

Best of luck with the audio book, Jean!

Cover Reveal ~ BEAR WITH ME by Marilyn Barr

04 Saturday Apr 2020

Posted by Judith Sterling in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Bear With Me, cover reveal, debut novel, Judith Sterling, Kentucky, Marilyn Barr, paranormal romance, secular homeschooling, sensory processing disorder, The Wild Rose Press

Marilyn Barr is a new sister Rose (published by The Wild Rose Press), and today, she’s revealing the cover of her debut novel, Bear with Me.  Here’s the scoop on this paranormal romance:

Blue eyes, dimples, and silky brown hair; Grant Luther has all of Alison’s weaknesses.

When he asks for one last chance to save their marriage, she agrees to relocate their family to isolated Strawberry, Kentucky in pursuit of his career dreams. Grant views Alison’s sensory issues as limitations and protects her from outside threats. When he finds his new job includes changing him into a shifter in a war against the soul-sucking Sluagh he vows to keep the changes a secret. What he doesn’t know is Alison has been hiding a magical secret of her own. One that makes her a target of the Sluagh.

Will Alison emerge from Grant’s shadow to protect her family? And can Grant learn that being different can be a strength not a weakness?

Check out the trailer!

A note from Marilyn:

Bear with Me was originally a journal entry describing my family’s first full day after moving to Kentucky in 2015.  Main character Alison’s struggle to act normal with sensory processing disorder mirrors my own challenges.  Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) is a dysregulation of how the body perceives the world and its use of our seven senses.  Each person has a different combination of over-responsive and under-responsive senses. 

Alison has the same combination as myself, where we are overly sensitive to smells, tastes, and hearing.  Social events that involve eating are a nightmare.  It is not that I am a picky eater, but that different food textures scrape along the inside of my mouth to varying degrees.  I will cook a large repertoire of foods but would only eat five different meals when I went to college.  I knew my husband was “the one” when he didn’t make fun of my eating in our college cafeteria.

While I have normal eyesight with contact lenses, Alison and I are under-sensitive to touch, proprioception, and vestibular senses.  This is where most of my social problems occurred growing up.  I cannot feel if my shoes are on the wrong feet, my clothes are on backward, a sign has been placed on my back, or a teen boyfriend was grabbing my behind.  Because of these issues, I decided to turn this aspect of SPD into Alison’s superpower.  The last two senses describe where our bodies feel they are in space.  Those of us who are under-responsive fidget, dance, and use grand hand gestures to verify the gravitational input most people receive naturally.  You can imagine the trouble I had sitting in a desk at school.

In addition to SPD, Alison and I homeschool our autistic sons; both boys have savant syndrome.  This portion of the autism spectrum is characterized in television shows like The Good Doctor and movies like Rain Man where the person has one outstanding area of expertise to the detriment of other skills.  In Bear with Me, Henrik is a musical savant with behavior troubles in public school.  He sings, composes, and plays the piano at a virtuoso level.  My real son is a linguistic savant.  He excels in the areas of grammar and syntax, not only in English but in many foreign languages as well.

I hope to show readers a growing section of the homeschool community in Bear with Me referred to as secular homeschoolers.  These families homeschool for reasons other than religion.  The children of rural Strawberry are an hour’s drive from the nearest school, so each parent teaches their area of expertise with all the children in the community as classmates.  In real-life Kentucky, we call these groups of families “cottage schools” or “parent-lead co-ops,” depending on whether parents exchange money.  In Strawberry, the parents exchange teaching classes but do not pay each other monetarily.  Green Witch Alison teaches math and science.  Pizzeria owner Rosie Paulino teaches language arts and Italian.  Also, her son Henrik takes online classes from a local university in his area of expertise (as my son takes foreign language classes from Outschool Professors in different countries).

Connect with Marilyn:

website

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram

Amazon author profile

Goodreads

 

Spring into Freebies Giveaway ~ N. N. Light’s Book Heaven

02 Thursday Apr 2020

Posted by Judith Sterling in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Amazon gift card, Flight of the Raven, Judith Sterling, literary giveaway, medieval romance, N. N. Light's Book Heaven, Spring into Freebies Giveaway, The Novels of Ravenwood

Spring has arrived, and N. N. Light’s got spring fever. It could be all the flowers in bloom or the birds singing in the trees, but whatever the case, you can enter to win some amazing prizes, including a few new releases, autographed print books by bestselling and award-winning authors, an audiobook code, e-books galore, and an Amazon gift card. I’m one of the authors participating, and you could win an e-book copy of my medieval romance, Flight of the Raven.

Hurry and hop like a bunny over to N. N. Light’s Book Heaven! If there’s a particular book or prize you’d like to win, be sure to say which one when you enter via Rafflecopter. Enter below and good luck!

Spring into Freebies Giveaway: https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/92db775054

Literary Giveaway Portal:  https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/literary-giveaway-portal

SPRING BREAK BOOK-A-PALOOZA ~ N. N. Light’s Book Heaven

01 Wednesday Apr 2020

Posted by Judith Sterling in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Amazon gift card, Barnes and Noble gift card, giveaway, Judith Sterling, N. N. Light's Book Heaven, Night of the Owl, spring break, Spring Break Book-a-Palooza, springtime romance, The Novels of Ravenwood, time travel romance

Calling all readers! Spring has sprung, and you’re all invited to N. N. Light’s Book Heaven Spring Break Bookapalooza. 31 books featured plus a chance to win one of the following:

~ $50 Amazon (US) or Barnes and Noble Gift Card

~ $50 Amazon (US) or Barnes and Noble Gift Card

~ $25 Amazon (US) or Barnes and Noble Gift Card

~ $15 Amazon (US) or Barnes and Noble Gift Card

~ $10 Amazon (US) or Barnes and Noble Gift Card

I’m thrilled to be a part of this event. My time travel romance, Night of the Owl, will be featured on April 10. I even talk about where I’d go on spring break if money were no option and there wasn’t a pandemic sweeping the world. Speaking of which, I hope you’re staying safe, well, and sane during this surreal time.

Bookmark this get-together and tell your friends:

https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/bookpromos/categories/spring-break-bookapalooza

Enter the giveaway here.  Good luck!

Recent Posts

  • PRG Reviewer’s Choice Nominee ~ TRIP THE LIGHT PHANTASMIC
  • Wintertime Reading Bookish Event ~ NIGHT OF THE OWL
  • New Year New Books Fete ~ TRIP THE LIGHT PHANTASMIC
  • New Year New Books Fete ~ N. N. Light’s Book Heaven
  • Happy New Year!

Archives

  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • June 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • December 2015
  • October 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • January 2015
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • April 2014
  • April 2013
  • November 2012

Categories

  • Uncategorized

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • Judith Sterling
    • Join 402 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Judith Sterling
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...