April Showers—when it rains it pours by Jan Scarbrough

When I heard the theme for April, I immediately thought of my book Kentucky Rain. After all, showers are on the cover!

I-64 between Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky

Sheets of rain pummeled the windshield, the steady flap-flap-flap of the wiper blades filling the silence of the SUV. Kate Lawrence gripped the steering wheel, unsure whether her blurred vision came from the glare of oncoming headlights reflecting off the rain or from the tears welling in her eyes.

It had been a month since her divorce was final, and tonight was the first time Jerry had taken their daughter. Visitation was an ugly, ugly word.

For the first time since my divorce years earlier, I was ready to write about it in Kentucky Rain. “Exchanging children” had been a staple of many Friday nights and Sunday afternoons.

Kentucky Rain is the last book in an eight-book series called Bluegrass Reunions. Each book is set in Kentucky and most stories deal with a reunion or second chance at love. Most books have a single mom, but she is a mom for various reasons. Not until Kentucky Rain did, I write about the aftermath of divorce.

When I received my rights back from the initial publisher of the series, I was able to revise each book. My editor looked at each one. I bought new covers to consistently rebrand them. Then my husband published the series on eBook sites for me. Being able to publish these books myself allowed me great freedom. They were better books after another review and edit.

That’s the joy of self-publishing. It’s plenty of work, but it’s worth it because I can write what I want to write. And when something doesn’t work out, I can make a change.

That’s what’s happening to another series of mine. My first three western romances are getting a new series title. I’ve revised each one of the three books. My editor has done her redlining. I have new covers. I’m ready to rebrand the stories of Brody, Mercer, and Liz into The Dawsons of Montana. Who knows? There may be a fourth book in the works. Big happy face.

All three books are on Kindle Unlimited for a limited time.

Which one? Paperback or eBook? by Jan Scarbrough

Ghost Mountain Ranch Series

“Hello. I’m a romance writer. Yes, I have published books. You can find them at Amazon. They are cheaper as ebooks.”

When I tell people, I write romance novels and hand them my card, hoping they will buy a copy of one of my ebooks, I often get the standard “Oh, I don’t read ebooks. I love to feel a real book in my hands.”

How do you come down on this topic? Do you prefer real paperback or hardback books, or can you make do with a digital novel on your tablet or cell phone?

An article written five years ago shows scientists were becoming concerned about the switch to digital. “Research suggests that recall of plot after using an e-reader is poorer than with traditional books." See the article Readers absorb less on Kindles than on paper, study finds in The Guardian.

My bookshelves 

For myself, I have shelves of paperbacks and hardbacks. Mrs. Neff, my ninth-grade teacher, told us we should own books. And of course, my father collected books. My mother read library books all the time.

Over the years, I’ve culled my books, giving them to a charity book sale. But I still have hundreds. I also have hundreds of ebook downloads from Amazon. It's so easy to "Buy with 1-Click."" When I wait at a doctor’s office or when I take my lunch hour at work, it is very convenient to open the Kindle app on my iPhone and start reading. It's easier than carrying a bulky paperback.

Paperback version

However, I like to use paperback when I’m doing research and underlining and taking notes. Yet, I find it’s easier to read an ebook on my iPad in bed. No trouble holding the book and turning pages.

So, I come down on both sides of the fence. Not totally for, but certainly not against. What do you think about ebooks? Do you prefer the feel of paper or are you digital all the way?

Ghost Mountain Ranch Series on Kindle

Ghost Mountain Ranch Series in Paperback

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Check out our Comment and Win Monthly Giveaway!

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Have you bought your copy?

LAST CHANCE BEACH is the island paradise where Dreams go to live again and Wishes may come true. It's Summer's End on the island, and the cottages, condos, hotels, and bungalows are filled to capacity.

There's plenty of time left to find summer fun and summer love, new romances and second chances, hot alpha males and heartwarming heroes, love at first sight and romantic delight, enemies to lovers and opposites attract.

Throw a log on the beach bonfire tonight and celebrate LAST CHANCE BEACH: Summer's End, a special romance collection of 14 all-new short stories from bestselling and award-winning authors. These summer stories—created especially for this collection—will thrill the hopeful romantic in you. Some are sweet: some are sizzling! Some are humorous; some are serious. All the stories will make you sigh!

LAST CHANCE BEACH: Summer's End will make you want to book a vacation to the island of legend and love, the place where soul mates find each other and love at first sight happens all the time!

Summer is sizzling with stories by Jan Scarbrough

Hot summer days are the perfect time for a cool drink, shade, and a beach read.

LAST CHANCE BEACH: Summer’s End

Look for the pre-release buy link soon. Only 99cents.

LAST CHANCE BEACH is the island paradise where dreams go to live again and wishes may come true. It’s Summer’s End on the island, and the cottages, condos, hotels, and bungalows are filled to capacity.

There’s still plenty of time to find summer fun and summer love, new romances and second chances; hot alpha males and heartwarming heroes, beach bunnies, dudes, and romance popping up when you least expect it.

Throw a log on the beach bonfire tonight and celebrate LAST CHANCE BEACH: Summer’s End, a special collection of 14 short stories from bestselling authors—all new, never published before—that will thrill the hopeful romantic in you. Some stories are sweet; some are sizzling hot. All will touch your heart and make you want to book a vacation to LAST CHANCE BEACH!

Hot August Night by Joan Reeves, NY Times and USA Today Bestselling Author
Can a chef and a hot dog loving cop resist desire when they’re forced to share the same overbooked beach cottage?

Something New by Liz Flaherty, USA Today Bestselling Author
Their lives are all planned out--until they're not.

I Do…Again by Nancy Fraser, Amazon Top 100 Author
Can they re-ignite what they once had and take a last chance on love?

The Man in Gull Cottage by Caroline Clemmons, Amazon Top 100 Author
Will the solution to her dilemma drive them apart or into one another's arms?

That One Summer by Maddie James, Amazon Top 100 Author
He's the one who got away. She's the one who couldn't commit.

Romancing the Spouse by Jan Scarbrough, Amazon Bestselling Author
Can she turn back the clock to save her marriage?

Blue Sky Summer by Kathleen Lawless, Amazon Bestselling Author
Of all the beaches on the coast, who does she see again? Him!

Hangover Husband by Bonnie Edwards, Amazon Bestselling Author
What happens in Vegas doesn't always stay there

One Last Shot by Marcia King-Gamble, National Bestselling Author
She can run, but can she hide?  Will love still find her?

Secondhand Hearts by Kathryn Hills, Award Winning Author
Life takes you down many winding paths. Will theirs lead to love on Last Chance Beach?

Perfume Paradise by Connie Vines, Award Winning Author
Fragrance and love cannot be hidden.

Dreams of the Past by Laura Hunsaker, Award Winning Author
Can dreams of the future erase her nightmares of the past?

Beach Kisses & Sunset Wishes by Nora LeDuc
She wants someone interested in a fling. He wants someone interested in a ring.

Can't Buy Me Love by Hannah Rowan
Things aren't always what they seem.

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The Ghost Mountain Ranch

The secrets of the past still haunt the living…

My Ghost Mountain Ranch series is also part of the summer fun. So far, the books about Hank, Darby, and Slade are available at most ebook retailers. Kelsey’s story is on preorder for release July 17.

HANK

On Christmas Eve, Hank accepts the job of ranch foreman over the mountains in the Gallatin Canyon, Montana. But something dark is happening at the Ghost Mountain Ranch, where the past is reaching out in dangerous ways to haunt the living.

DARBY

Thirty years ago, Darby Heston fled her family’s Montana dude ranch. Now she must return to help her father. Would the boyfriend she’d abandoned still be there? Hank Slade has never stopped loving Darby, but is he willing to risk his heart again? Secrets tore them apart once. Given a second chance at love, will more shocking secrets from the past destroy their hopes for the future?

SLADE

Slade Heston is spending the summer as a hired hand at his grandfather’s dude ranch, trying to figure out life, not fall in love. Laurie Chastain is supposed to write promotions for the ranch, but she has a secret goal. What did a 1970s radical resistance group have to do with her grandfather? Laurie’s only clue leads her to Ghost Mountain Ranch. Will their growing attraction be enough to protect Slade and Laurie from the ghosts of the past?

KELSEY

Kelsey Heston’s using the skills learned at her family’s Kentucky horse farm to improve tourism at her grandfather’s dude ranch. But what is her old college sweetheart doing here? Max Lee has come to Ghost Mountain Ranch searching for a missing woman. Instead, he finds Kelsey. But old secrets are stirring, secrets someone might be willing to kill to keep. Can they finally lay the old ghosts to rest, or will the echoes of a decades-old murder destroy their second chance at love?

July's Rafflecopter draw runs from July 1^st  through the 31^st.  Who couldn’t use an Amazon Gift Card?

New Release: Ghost Mountain Ranch by Jan Scarbrough

Sometimes a simple suggestion leads to a two-year writing project. That’s what took me and my character Hank from the setting of the McKenna Ranch in Paradise Valley, Montana, into Gallatin Canyon which is across the mountain. It didn’t hurt that my husband and I had spent three days at the Covered Wagon Ranch in 2016.

To gather the back story for my series, I read a few books. One had the long title of Days of Rage: America’s Radical Underground, the FBI, and the Forgotten Age of Revolutionary Violence by Bryan Burrough. I’m not going to say any more about the back story, because it will ruin the plot.

So, now my series is finished. I wrote the lead in book in 2017. At the end of the Christmas story, Hank, the McKenna’s wrangler, gets a job at Ghost Mountain Ranch where he grew up. This sets the scene for reuniting with his old girl friend Darby. They’re older now and both need second chances.

Darby’s twin children “star” in the other two books. Slade, the first of these books is on preorder, and the last one Kelsey will be available soon.

Thirty years ago, torn by shock and guilt over the death of her mother, Darby York fled the dude ranch where she’d grown up in Montana. In her new life in the bluegrass of Kentucky, she’d become a horse groom, an artist, married a wealthy Thoroughbred owner, raised twins, and been widowed. But now, with word her father is growing feeble, Darby has to finally face the truth: no matter how far you run, the past has a way of catching up. Her father hadn’t been the only man Darby had left behind. Would the boyfriend she’d abandoned still be there?

Hank Slade, wrangler at Ghost Mountain Ranch, has never stopped carrying the torch for Darby. Her vibrant red hair may be tinged with gray now, but the natural, unsophisticated look about her remains—a look that speaks of home and comfort to Hank. But is he willing to risk his heart with Darby again?

What is the truth behind the death of Darby’s mother? When the past once again intrudes on the present, will Darby do what she’s always done—what her mother did—and run away? Grief and secrets had torn Darby and Hank apart once. Given a second chance at love, will the revelation of more shocking secrets from the past destroy their hopes for the future?

Darby: Ghost Mountain Ranch Book 2 is available at most ebook retailers:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2AExEb7

More Universal Buy Links: https://books2read.com/Darby

My book Secrets is FREE on KindleUnlimited today through Saturday!

Don’t forget our Amazon Gift Card Monthly Giveaway.

More Than Romance by @KaraONealAuthor #RomanceGems

Valentine's Day has come and gone, but that doesn't mean romance has. And for those of us who write romance, well, we're in the thick of it daily.

But one thing I've noticed about romance novels is that, very rarely, does every scene contain "romance".

What these books have more of is heart. And love. And struggle. And pain. And courage.

Most of the books I read are about real people facing problems and overcoming them. Our heroes and heroines aren't having meals by candlelight every night, and rose petals aren't raining down from the sky or covering their beds.

Does that happen sometimes? Yes. Because we're reading about people who are falling in love, and so, yes, there will be violins and flowers when appropriate.

But more often than not, you'll find a heroine who is working hard to be the best version of herself, who falls in love and changes for the better. Even if the book has fantasy in it, like dragons or fairies, you'll still be reading about a man or woman going on a journey to what matters most.....

Love. In all its forms.

And this makes me sigh with happiness. It makes me giddy. I love romance novels; with guaranteed happy endings, and people finding their soul mates, I can't help but swoon.

Probably my most "romantic" novel is The Cowboy's Charms. J.T. Davis and Angelique Morgan fall for each other pretty quickly and get married early on in this story. As a reader, you'll watch them struggle through some tough odds.

Angelique's father is J.T.'s rival for an extensive inheritance, and her father sets out to sabotage J.T., his daughter's husband. J.T. has inherited a large amount of cattle and starts his own ranch. Only if he drives 1500 head to Wichita will he get the rest of the cattle. If he doesn't succeed, his winnings go to Angelique's father.

After a series of problems, like sick livestock and cattle rustlers, J.T. insists that Angelique go on the drive with him. Well, that's no place for a woman, especially not one who was raised as an heiress. Still, Angelique is determined to do her best and help her husband get the steers to market.

This sets the stage for all kinds of romance, and here is one scene I like very much:

Angelique found she wasn’t as embarrassed to be in town as she’d thought she would be. Being on J.T.’s arm obliterated all worries and bolstered her confidence. He hadn’t said anything about the food poisoning incident, but his actions told her he didn’t blame her. Her love for him strengthened every day. She would make him proud in some way, even if she had to crawl across a field of cactus to do it.

They stepped onto the boardwalk, strolling slowly with the moon as their guide. “I think most of the stores are closed,” she observed. She felt him look at her. 

“I didn’t expect they’d be open,” he told her. “We’re lookin’ for fun, not shoppin’.”

Angelique smiled as they passed a tailoring business. “You don’t like shopping? Even if it’s for me?”

His breath strangled on a cough.

“Hmmm… Did I get your tongue?”

He laughed outright and pulled her closer to his side. Hearing him laugh warmed her heart. If she could keep him happy always, she’d be content.

“I can’t wait for you to meet Jane. She’ll like it that you can stump me.”

“Your cousin sounds like an amazing woman. Going to college, living on her own.” Angelique sighed. “I’m not sure I could do that.”

J.T. stopped and tipped her chin up to look at him directly. “You have more strength than you realize. And I’m gonna prove that to you.”

His words sent a sweet ache rushing through her. Pasting on a smile, she declared, “Well, who decided to let talk turn to troubles? I thought we were looking for fun.”

He took her cue and led her toward the only lights in town. Angelique saw a line of saloons ahead of them. “I can’t go inside one of those,” she gasped.

“Who said anything about going inside?” he countered.

Confused, she made no response. Once they reached the first saloon, J.T. pulled her into the alley then around to the back. He stopped there and turned to face her.

“What are we doing?” she asked him as cries of revelry filtered through the walls of the night-time establishment.

He took her hands in his. “We’re gonna dance.”

She cocked her head.

“Do you hear the music?”

Her pulse raced with excitement and romance. “Oh, J.T.,” she breathed.

Pulling her into his embrace, he held her much closer than would have been allowed at a sociable. “This settin’ has its advantages.”

Angelique moved her body against his as longing for him grew swiftly. The night they’d planned had been stopped by the sickness of Trap and Booker. Her upset and weariness had kept her from thinking of the time they’d missed.

“I see you agree with me,” he whispered near her ear.

There was no more talking as he led her in a slower dance than the music asked for. The piano player banged out a reel, rarely missing notes, but J.T. ignored the rhythm. Instead they circled a small area, holding each other close.

Angelique could feel his heart beat and drew security from the slow and strong pulse. With him by her side, she could get through whatever life threw at her.

Confidence and courage grew, and she realized all she’d needed was time with him. Real time. She could make it to the end of the drive. She would be careful. All decisions would be double checked, and any worry or exhaustion would not show on her face.

Sliding her hands up his arms, she linked her fingers behind his neck. He pulled her flush against him as she lifted her mouth to his. Their kiss consumed her immediately, burning her with need and desire.

He didn’t take her back to camp for a while. They danced in the moonlight until she was almost mad from waiting. “Can we go?” she finally asked, hearing the urgent, husky timbre in her tone. “Do you have to watch the cattle right away?”

He stopped their swaying. “You’re ready to leave?”

She nodded. “I feel properly and thoroughly romanced.”

“Then let’s hurry before something else happens.”

She laughed in delight as they ran to their horses, glad for missing petticoats as keeping up with him would have been much harder. They galloped to camp, handed their horses over to Slim and went straight to their tent. They saw no one else as people were either watching cattle or in town.

J.T. propped himself up on an elbow as he lay next to her. “I love you,” he whispered.

Tears clogged the back of her throat. “How did I get so lucky?” she rasped.

In answer, he kissed her.

There is nothing else like romance novels, and I read all kinds of books. I've read books by Lou Holtz, Stephen King, and Anne Rice. I read classics and Shel Silverstein. And I love all of those, as well, but nothing sparks my joy like a romance.

I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day! Don't forget to participate in our giveaway and visit our Book Fair! We love bringing books to y'all and we have so many that you're sure to stay in a constant state of giddiness!

Click the link to learn more about the Pike's Run Series.

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