When Charli bets everything on a secret, will she find the deck stacked against her?
The Music of Gambling On A Secret
Former runaway-turned heiress Charli Monroe is hiding her sordid past and planning a future in Colton, Texas. Attending the local college for a degree in social work, she intends to raise cattle on her newly purchased ranch, which she plans to open as a home for troubled teens. Only a few glitches—the Victorian mansion is crumbling, the barn needs a roof, and her oilman neighbor wants more than friendship. When she meets Dylan Quinn, Charli is willing to take a chance on the town drunk to help her rebuild the rundown ranch.
Dylan has his demons, too. The former Special Forces commander can’t get past his ex-wife’s betrayal and the botched mission that left him with much more than a bad limp. Certain the greedy oilman next door to Charli wants much more than just her heart, Dylan’s even willing to stop drinking in order to protect her.
When things get dangerous and secrets of the past are revealed, is he only looking out for his new employer, or is she the new start he so desperately needs?
CONTENT WARNING: Details abuse of a minor, drug abuse, alcoholism, swearing, spicy sex, murder.
COVER QUOTE: “Full of intrigue, tangled pasts, and raw emotions, this one is guaranteed to keep you turning pages from start to finish and then wishing for one more chapter!”
Carolyn Brown, New York Times bestselling author of Just a Cowboy and His Baby.
Ms. Brown also named Gambling On A Secret as one of her favorite romance reads in 2012 in the Happy Ever After Blog on USA Today.Carolyn Brown, New York Times bestselling author of Just a Cowboy and His Baby.
Giveaways below: Gambling On A Secret ebook, custom jewelry, & 2 Grand Prizes
The Music of Gambling On A Secret
Music
plays a big part in all of my Westerns, particularly country music. I’m a huge
fan of country and often tell people I was even country when it wasn’t cool, to
quote the great Barbara Mandrel.
But
in Gambling
On A Secret country wasn’t the only music I heard while I was writing
it, or the only music my characters are fans of. My heroine, Charli, loves all
kinds of music. She’s a country fan, and is especially a fan of her secret
older half-brother country star Nate McConnell. She also grew up on the sounds
of James Taylor, Carly Simon and the fictional Sisters McGinnis (think the
sound of The Mamas and the Papas). Charli gets the surprise of her life when
she finds out the lead singer of the group is not only her neighbor, but the
respected Texas lady, Jackie McGinnis Cartwright who is the mother of the
county sheriff and local country singer Logan Cartwright.
Dylan,
the hero of the story, dislikes country music and listens to very loud 80’s
rock. AC/DC, Guns ‘n’ Roses and Def Leppard, to name a few.
The
music played in the local saloon is all country. If it’s not coming from the
jukebox, Logan Cartwright is burning up the stage with his country band Texas
Justice.
Here’s
what I envision the soundtrack of Gambling On A Secret would sound
like...
Brooks
and Dunn— Boot Scootin’ Boogie (This
song is playing on the jukebox as Dylan enters the bar—Chapter 2)
Travis
Tritt— T-R-O-U-B-L-E (Logan
Cartwright and his band Texas Justice is playing this song to a rowdy crowd in the
Longhorn Saloon—Chapter 4)
George
Jones (Blake Shelton)— Ol’ Red (Another
song Logan sings while Dylan and Logan’s brother, Sheriff Zack Cartwright talk
about Charli—Chapter 4)
Guns
and Roses— Sweet Child o’ Mine (The
song on the radio while Dylan and Charli travel to the tractor dealership—Chapter
4)
Warrant—
Heaven (Another song on the radio—Chapter
4)
Def
Leppard— Love Bites (Song on the
radio that Dylan works to in the stable—Chapter 5)
George
Jones— She Thinks I Still Care (Jukebox
song playing in the bar—Chapter 10)
AC/DC—
Highway to Hell (Another rodeo song
while traveling to the cattle auction—Chapter 15)
Garth
Brooks— The Dance (The song Charli is
playing on the radio on Memorial Day in the kitchen scene in Chapter
17—Although the actual song in the story is fictional and sung by her secret
half-brother Nate McConnell and is titled Of
All the Memories.)
Lee
Greenwood— God Bless the USA (One of
the songs playing over the sound system at the Memorial Day banquet—Chapter 17)
Toby
Keith— American Soldier (Also playing
at the Memorial Day banquet—Chapter 17)
Alabama—
Feels So Right (Logan sings this at
the ball—Chapter 22)
Charlie
Daniels Band— Devil Went Down to Georgia
(Another one of Logan’s songs at the ball—Chapter 22)
Little
Texas— God Blessed Texas (The last
song at the ball—Chapter 22)
If you’re a writer, do you incorporate music in your
stories? Of if you’re a reader, do you like it when authors bring music into
the background of their stories?
Excerpt:
“Ferguson,
what are you doing here?” Dylan barked.
Leon
ambled toward them on the stone path. “I’m saving a young maiden from torment.
What are you doing here, playing the part of the devil?”
“I’m
Miss Monroe’s new manager.” The deadly edge of his voice matched the flintiness
of his eyes. “If there’s anyone to save the young maiden from, it’s you.”
“Mr.
Quinn, please.” She turned to Leon. “Leon, is there something I can do for
you?”
He
smiled, showing off perfect white teeth in a face handsome enough to belong to
an actor. “I was just passing by on my way home and decided to stop. How are
the boys working out?”
Dylan’s
stance widened and his hands flexed at his slides. “What boys?”
“Charli
and I have entered into a business arrangement.”
She
lost the battle with the urge to wrap her arms around herself. As much as she
appreciated Leon’s kindness, respected him, and was even a little attracted to
him, something about him didn’t sit right with her. He represented her peers in
the community. According to Mrs. Pratt, besides the Cartwrights, she and Leon
were undoubtedly the wealthiest residents in the county. No one in Colton could
learn about her past. It would ruin her, and Leon, no doubt, had the means to
dig up the dirt.
“Really?”
Dylan stepped closer to her in a protective manner. Whiskey tainted his breath
as the warmth of the exhalations tickled her cheek. “What kind of business
arrangement?”
She
could protect herself. Dylan Quinn wasn’t any safer than Leon Ferguson.
Stepping away from him, she forced her arms to her sides. “Mr. Quinn, I can
handle this.”
She
faced Leon. “I’m amazed by how much the men got done since starting on Monday.
The foreman told me last evening they’d be reseeding another fifty acres for
hay this morning. And they have the corrals fixed and started on the fencing in
the north pasture.”
“Good,
good.” He glanced at Dylan. “I’ll be going, unless you need a more reliable
exterminator. I couldn’t help but overhear about your snake infestation. I can
give you the name of the company that has gotten rid of the snakes in our lakes
over on Oak Springs for years.”
Although
he presented the perfect solution, she didn’t the like way Leon had looked at
Dylan as he said the word exterminator. “No, Mr. Quinn is quite capable
of getting rid of the snake.”
“Oh,
I’m sure he is.” Leon tipped his hat. “Let me know if there’s anything else I
can do for you, Charli.” Dylan’s jaw tightened as his uncle glanced at him.
“It’s good to see you up among the living again.”
Leon
headed back to his Porsche. With no pretense of lowering his voice, Dylan said,
“Now, there’s a snake no one wants in their garden.”
Upon
hearing the jibe, Leon’s shoulders jerked in mid-stride.
Rattled
by Leon’s attention and the snake fiasco, she turned on Dylan. “You aren’t off
the hook. I want those snakes gone.”
“We’ll
see.”
“I
hate snakes.” She shuddered and put her hands on her hips. “Maybe I should have
asked him who the exterminator is.”
Bio:
Sara Walter Ellwood is an award winning author whose novel Gambling On A Secret was named by bestselling author Carolyn Brown in the Happy Ever After Blog on USA Today as one of her favorite romances of 2012. Although Sara has long ago left the farm for the glamour of the big town, she draws on her experiences growing up on a small hobby farm in West Central Pennsylvania to write her stories. She’s been married to her college sweetheart for nearly 20 years, and they have two teenagers and one very spoiled rescue cat named Penny. She longs to visit the places she writes about and jokes she’s a cowgirl at heart stuck in Pennsylvania suburbia.
She also writes paranormal romantic suspense under the pen name Cera duBois.
**PLEASE LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE GIVEAWAY**
~One poster from every
stop will win a Gambling On A Secret
ebook
~One commenter from each
stop will win a piece of custom jewelry.
(The winners of these
two prizes will be announced the day after the tour stop.)
I also have 2 Grand
Prizes!
~First Grand Prize is a SWAG PACK, including a
signed copy of Carolyn Brown’s Just
a Cowboy
and
His Baby. Also included is a copy of D’Ann Lindun’s Shot
Through the Heart, a pen, a notebook, a horse themed mini calendar,
a patriotic themed day planner, and more all tucked away in a reusable tote bag
at the end of my blog tour.
~Second Grand Prize is a
$10 Gift Card to either Amazon or Barnes and Noble.
If you follow the tour and comment as often as possible, you increase your chances of winning!
If you follow the tour and comment as often as possible, you increase your chances of winning!
(The winners of the Swag
Pack and Gift Card will be announced on March 1, 2013.)
(Swag Pack is only
eligible for US residents to win. The jewelry and gift card are eligible to US
and Canada residents only. The ebook is eligible to anyone, unless prohibited
by law.)
For the GRAND PRIZES:
Closed - Check with the author for the winners!
First off this blog design is amazing and secondly the cover on this book is pretty stunning. I can't wait to read this.
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