MERRY CHRISTMAS, MONTANA – Release Day Blog Post Featuring Author Elsa Winckler!

It’s release day for Merry Christmas, Montana, the final story in the Millers of Marietta series. I had so much fun planning Riley’s and Mitch’s story, not only because I fell a little bit in love with the hero myself while writing him, but also because it’s a Christmas story.

I love everything about Christmas – the trees, the lights, the songs, the decorations, buying presents for the grandkiddies, baking cookies, planning the menu, welcoming the kids home. 

I’m from South Africa, so for us Christmas means long, hot summer days and braais, the Afrikaans word for “barbeque”. Most South African boys can braai before they can talk! It’s the time of year when schools close and people go on holiday. Christmas for us, like everywhere else, is also more than just a holiday, it’s a time for cherished traditions, heart-warming moments and family. 

And have I mentioned how much I love Christmas songs? Even though most of them don’t make any sense in sunny South Africa! When writing this story, though, I had the delightful opportunity to “escape” to Marietta, Montana where Christmas is actually “white”, where words like “reindeer” and “sleighbells” and “sleigh ride” and “snowman” are indeed the appropriate words to use in a Christmas song!

In this story Mitch and Riley find the courage to give love another chance, to step out of their comfort zones and find happiness – my wish for all of you this year.

Thank you for all the messages and reviews – I so appreciate your feedback. 

Whether you’re in front of a fireplace or on a beach, I hope you’ll enjoy this story!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

About the Author.

Author Elsa Winckler headshotI have been reading love stories for as long as I can remember and when I ‘met’ the classic authors like Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, Henry James The Brontë sisters, etc. during my Honours studies, I was hooked for life. 

I married my college boyfriend and soul mate and after 43 years, 3 interesting and wonderful children and 3 beautiful grandchildren, he still makes me weak in the knees. We are fortunate to live in the picturesque little seaside village of Betty’s Bay, South Africa with the ocean a block away and a beautiful mountain right behind us. And although life so far has not always been an easy ride, it has always been an exciting and interesting one! 

I like the heroines in my stories to be beautiful, feisty, independent and headstrong.  And the heroes must be strong but possess a generous amount of sensitivity. They are of course, also gorgeous!  My stories typically incorporate the family background of the characters to better understand where they come from and who they are when we meet them in the story. 


Meet Tule Publishing’s First 10 Cowgirls as Part of our #Tule10 Anniversary!

Tule Publishing has hit a milestone 10 years and we’re celebrating all month long with showcasing some of our first 10’s! Learn more about our first 10 authors, meet our first 10 cowboys and cowgirls, and maybe find yourself wrapped up dreaming of the holidays with our first 10 Christmas stories!

We are so thankful for each of you for continuing to put your faith in us to continue bringing you amazing reads. You are a crucial part to our success and we couldn’t have made it to our 10th anniversary without you! We hope you stick around all month for more celebratory blogs and are looking forward to another 10 years – cheers!

Meet Tule Publishing’s First 10 Cowgirls

Big Sky Mavericks, Book 1
Big Marietta Fair, Book 2

Some dreams come with a big price tag.

Bailey Jenkins left her hometown of Marietta, Montana at eighteen, poised to take college and the rodeo world by storm–despite Paul Zabrinski. On the eve of her great escape, at the top of the Ferris Wheel at the Big Marietta Fair, he invoked his great-grandmother Hilda’s curse. “If you do this, Bailey Jenkins, I will hate you forever. And I’ll call on my great-grandmother to curse you. She was a Gypsy witch, you know.”

Fifteen years later, Bailey’s back–shattered, humbled by fate and bruised at the soul level but determined to rebuild–once she helps her parents get back on their feet. She didn’t expect Paul Zabrinski to meet her plane, but seeing him strong, handsome and successful is somehow fitting. After all, Bailey didn’t need Paul’s gypsy great-grandmother to put a curse on her–Bailey already had the worst luck on the planet.

Never say never.

One look at Bailey Jenkins–his first love, the woman he adored…and cursed–and every emotion Paul Zabrinski felt fifteen years earlier comes rushing back. The love of his life broke his heart and made him hate her…or so he thought. The line between love and hate is very narrow, with only so much room for forgiveness. But Paul Zabrinski owns Big Z Hardware and Construction. If anyone is capable of building a bridge for them to cross together, it’s him.

Carrigans of the Circle C, Book 5

For years Callan Carrigan has been her father’s right hand man, so when her dad’s will names city slicker Court McAllister the new owner of The Circle C Ranch, Callan feels betrayed on every level.

Then she and her sisters find their mother’s diaries, hidden from them by their father since their mother’s accidental death 18 years ago, and the shocking revelations explain a lot. Reeling, Callan seeks refuge in the local saloon, where it seems no one can reach her, until Court offers her a challenge.

If she agrees to be foreman at the Circle C for one year, he’ll deed the ranch back to her and her sisters. The deal seems too sweet at first—until Callan realizes Court has his eyes on something she protects even more than her family’s land—her heart.

Wildflower Ranch, Book 4

Australian cowgirl Bridie Willis travels to Montana to escape the pain of losing her father. Headstrong and determined, she plans to spend the summer alone photographing wild animals. Instead she finds herself saddled with a stubborn cowboy as a back-country guide.

Ethan Morgan has been shaped by a childhood spent on the run. Cautious, steady and conservative, he is tasked with ensuring the beautiful, risk taking cowgirl doesn’t ditch him or come to any harm.

But the biggest challenge Ethan must face is to accept how Bridie makes him feel. And the biggest risk Bridie must take is to trust in her heart.

Wildflower Ranch, Book 6

Headstrong cowgirl Peta Dixon has put her life on hold this Christmas to prove she can run her ranch as well as any man. There isn’t anything she can’t ride, fix, or stare down, and the only things to scare her are long hemlines and sky-high heels.

Self-made rancher Garrett Ross normally doesn’t take orders – he gives them. But when asked to step in to act as a temporary foreman on a Montana ranch over the holidays, he can’t refuse.

Yet when Garrett meets the beautiful and stubborn ranch owner, he realizes he’s signed on for a whole lot of trouble. Cynical and jaded, he has no time for feelings. And when Peta meets the man she’s to share her life with until Christmas, she discovers she no longer wants to be the person others expect her to be…

Will the rancher finally listen to his heart and admit he can’t live without a certain straight-talking cowgirl?

The Gallaghers of Montana, Book 5

He knows who she is…but she doesn’t

PI Mitch Hardeman is an expert at finding people, so when Glenna Gallagher disappears from the ranch where she works, her brothers hire Mitch to find her. He thinks his job is done after he tracks her down, but Glenna doesn’t know him, and she doesn’t remember her brothers or even her real name. Mitch must earn the beautiful cowgirl’s trust so he can bring her back home.

She doesn’t know who she is… but she knows who she wants

With traumatic amnesia caused by a bus accident, Glenna Gallagher knows nothing of her life before that day. She only knows she’s in danger, and that Mitch offers protection and the truth about her identity. But once home in Marietta, her memories are still missing. Can she convince Mitch that she doesn’t need to remember her past to know he’s the only man she wants? And will she regain her memory in time to save herself and the man she loves from the danger that follows her?

Blackberry Cove Cowboys, Book 1

When Kendall Kelly‘s career as the free spirited punk country crossover queen ends in a fiery ball of doom and humiliation, she has no place to go but back to her hometown Blackberry Cove, California, where she abandoned her secret husband years ago without so much as a note. She’s hoping to pick up the pieces of her shattered life and finally cut the last tie to the only man she ever loved.

As part owner of Kelly Family Farms, Damian Sloan has spent the last few years rebuilding the floundering business into a growing organic farm. He thought he’d moved on from his broken heart, but when Kendall barges back into his life—broken but beautiful as ever—he soon realizes he hasn’t forgotten. Or forgiven. Kendall threatens everything he’s built, but he can’t quite turn her away.

Damian and Kendall must put aside their differences for the success of the farm they both depend on. Maybe, in the process, they can rebuild what they tragically lost.

The Tremaynes of Texas, Book 4

What happens when a tenacious sheriff takes on a determined cowgirl and her champion bull?

It’s never easy to make it in a man’s world, and cowgirl Tori Tremayne has chased the same dream most of her life—producing a champion bucking bull on the pro rodeo circuit. With her prize bull Maximus, she’s so close to winning top prize in the finals this year she can taste it. She can’t afford any distractions, especially not the tall, dark and swoony sheriff she’s admired all her life.

Sheriff Gray Dalton has been in love with Tori since they were kids. He doesn’t want to change Tori or derail her goals, but he does want to combine their dreams—build a life and family with her while she continues to pursue her career and passion. Gray knows he has to shake Tori up so that he can step out of the friend zone she’s so determined to keep him in.

Can Gray prove to Tori that with him she can have it all—career, love and a family?

The Hartman Brothers, Book 3

She has a lot to prove and won’t get distracted by a cowboy again…

Barrel racer Ella James Sanders has one goal for her breakout year in Pro Rodeo—to make it to the National Finals Rodeo and prove to her hometown that she’s more than a girl raised on the wrong side of town. But her dream quickly crashes when an accident injures her and her horse, ending her rodeo season and leaving her in the care of the man who carelessly broke her heart years ago.

Cowboy and veterinarian Ty Hartman knows what it’s like to be rejected by those close to him. Ty’s loved Ella since high school, but she’s rejected him twice so he’s resolved to keep his distance and protect his heart…until an accident forces Ella and her horse into his life and he can’t step aside. As he cares for the feisty cowgirl, he feels himself falling for her again.

Can he convince this cowgirl that not only is he a man she can trust, but that he’s also a man she could love?

Texas True, Book 4

They’re made for each other, he just needs to prove it.

Pilot Nate Kershaw may be one of Whiskey River’s biggest players, but from the moment he met cowgirl Damaris Walker, he was smitten. After sharing a searing kiss years ago, she made her feelings clear so Nate doesn’t dare press for more than friendship. No other woman can win his heart, so when his beloved grandmother tells him her dearest wish is to see him settled down, Nate decides it’s the perfect opportunity to convince Damaris they’re meant to be.

After a devastating betrayal years ago, Damaris is still unable to trust or risk her heart—especially with a charming lady-killer like Nate. Against her common sense, she agrees to be Nate’s fake girlfriend and finds herself falling for him harder than she did two years ago.

When Damaris learns Nate has been deceiving her about his true feelings, her fears and trust issues reignite. Will Nate be able to convince Damaris to overcome the pain of the past and take a risk on forever—with him?

The Raffertys of Last Stand, Book 4

Sometimes the line between love and hate is blurry…

Cody Rafferty and Britt Roth may have grown up on adjacent Hill Country ranches, but they’ve always been oil and water. Britt knows it’s because Cody’s a tech nerd who doesn’t get the ranch life she loves. Cody knows it’s because Britt’s a single-minded cowgirl, who lives to complain about the technology he loves. Their families claim it’s because they were born within minutes of each other.

They’ve declared one truce in their lives—when Cody’s father was KIA overseas. Neither of them expected there would be another, but when Cody suspects a crash of his test drone spooked Britt’s champion barrel racing horse, endangering her life and future, he calls a second truce. Prodded by guilt, he steps up to take care of Britt and her beloved horse. Britt balks, but Cody’s hard to refuse even for a tough cowgirl. Forced together, they learn surprising things about each other neither ever knew.

Can these two lifetime adversaries learn to get along, especially when they realize that the sparks that fly between them aren’t fueled only by anger?

. . . . . . . . . .

Thanks for stopping by to meet the first 10 cowgirls of Tule Publishing! Here’s to a great year of #Tule10!


Fall Into Our October 2023 Releases! (Plus Enter the Giveaway!)

Read more about our new releases for October!

GIVEAWAY: We will pick ONE winner to receive a digital book of their choice from the October releases. Comment down below saying which book you’re looking most forward to reading! Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY. The winner will be randomly selected at the end of the month.

Someone Murderous at the Midnight Motel by Kris Bock
(Tule Mystery)

Release Date: October 2, 2023
The Accidental Detective, Book 5

She didn’t anticipate a career change at fifty…

Forced to leave her celebrated career as an international war correspondent after an injury, Kate Tessler now dabbles in detective work in her Arizona hometown. She and her sister, Jen, need to take any job offered if they want to become true PIs. When Jen’s college friend asks them to investigate suspicious activity at a motel he inherited, it sounds like a free vacation with a little surveillance thrown in.

But when Kate’s hot flashes wake her in the middle of the night, she wanders outside to cool off and stumbles over a dead body. Soon they’re caught up in their toughest—and most dangerous—case yet. Kate and Jen can’t trust anyone at the motel or the local police force they suspect of corruption. Good thing they have their eclectic senior sidekicks to share the undercover work.

The lies pile up, the villains multiply, and the motel is hiding more secrets than they ever imagined. When they finally get a break in the case, Kate needs to ensure she and Jen aren’t collateral damage.

The Texas Cowboy’s Christmas Miracle by Debra Holt
(Texas Born)

Release Date: October 10, 2023
Texas Heritage, Book 4

All they need for Christmas is a second chance nudge…

Sixteen years ago, MacKenna Davidson was a runaway bride, and she never found the courage to face her jilted fiancé and family back in Burkitt, Texas. Then her sister’s nuptials set off the very chain of events she’s feared: a sense of homecoming she can’t untangle.

Matteo Montez survived MacKenna once, and he refuses to fall for her again. But he has no choice except to team up with her when a fellow attorney informs them that a mutual friend has passed and named Matteo and Mackenna as her children’s guardians. How can he crush these little angels’ hopes for a family, especially at Christmas?

Mackenna is willing to work with Burkitt’s hottest bachelor to build a picture-perfect holiday, as long as her heart doesn’t get involved. Because she, too, has secrets that prevent her from picking up her past. But Christmas is a season of surprises and even a miracle or two—especially when Mackenna and Matteo have a guardian angel rooting for their happiness.

The Body in Seven Dials by H L Marsay
(Tule Mystery)

Release Date: October 11, 2023
The Lady in Blue Mysteries, Book 1

Inspired by the remarkable life of Dorothy Peto, the Metropolitan Police’s first female superintendent.

In 1914, the idea of a female police officer is dismissed as absurd, but to a small group of determined women, not impossible.

With men departing to fight for king and country, women have new opportunities at home. Dorothy Peto and her fellow suffragettes propose forming the Women’s Police Volunteers to assist police keep order. At first, the suggestion is derided, yet the force is stretched thin. As Dorothy and her friends train and organise to help refugees fleeing the war and guide terrorised Londoners to shelter during the Zeppelin raids, the ‘ladies in blue’ gain a grudging acceptance.

During one nightly bombing raid, Dorothy discovers the body of a beautiful, Belgian refugee in Seven Dials. Convinced the woman was murdered before the bombs fell, Dorothy’s determined to investigate even though the battle-scarred Scotland Yard Inspector remains skeptical of her ideas and enthusiasm. As the list of suspects grows—a British aristocrat, a Belgian gangster and a wealthy German industrialist—Dorothy must outwit the killer, and even some within the WPV.

Clued In Christmas by Mia Heintzelman
(American Heart)

Release Date: October 12, 2023
Love & Games, Book 3

Nadia Sikes usually loves the holidays—cozy game nights, snowy mountain girls’ trips, hours decking the halls at Love & Games. But when her two best friends and co-owners find love, all she wants is to tuck away her heart and make it through the season.

Quietly handsome bookstore owner and single dad Micah Hamilton is determined to a) build lasting Christmas memories with his little girl and b) avoid Nadia. When his daughter asks to attend the holiday festivities at Love & Games, though, Micah is forced to introduce the woman who broke his heart, to his child she never knew existed.

The scene would drive anyone to plot their romantic reunion…and someone does. Between turkey dinners, tree decorating, and mistletoe kisses, mysterious notes begin showing up at the game store. As Nadia strings together clues, motives, and suspects for this twisty whodunit, she and Micah are blindsided by the return of their desire.

Is it a mistake to lose themselves in each other again? Or will a Christmas miracle bring them back to where they belong?

Merry Christmas, Montana by Elsa Winckler
(Montana Born)

Release Date: October 16, 2023
The Millers of Marietta, Book 3

She doesn’t believe in miracles, but maybe this holiday her son’s Christmas wish will change her mind.

Single mom Riley O’Sullivan isn’t one to complain, but with her closest family members now settled in Marietta, Montana, while she still calls Portland home, finding good help isn’t as easy as it used to be. With Christmas approaching, Riley and her young son Dylan are excited to be in Marietta with family for the holidays; but she certainly doesn’t need maddening Mitch Miller coming to her rescue, awakening her senses, or making Dylan ask questions about what dads do.

Mitch Miller left his successful financial career behind him when he moved to Marietta with his two sisters. He’s not looking for love, but Riley captivates him like no other woman ever has. She thinks he’s an overprotective grinch–with good cause–but it’s clear to everyone Riley and Dylan could use a little Christmas magic and he’s willing to help. It’s not as if he’s offering his heart.

Perhaps all it will take to bring them together is the Christmas wish from one special little boy.

Once Upon a Christmas Beauty by Kyra Jacobs
(American Heart)

Release Date: October 17, 2023
Bourbon Falls, Book 2

This Christmas will be one for the books if they can open their eyes to the possibilities…

Mia Brooks-French threw everything she had into her marriage…until she walked in on her husband and his assistant. Now she’s shifted her focus to being the best mom possible to her sixteen-year-old daughter, her classroom of third graders, and her family’s struggling bookstore. Even Christmas is shaping up to be a challenge this year.

Unfortunately, businessman and bestselling author Alex Wellingham didn’t get the memo. This Christmas, he’s decided it’s finally time to go after the girl he’d firmly locked away in his memories. But Mia isn’t ready to let college bygones be bygones or risk her heart a second time.

His surprise trip to Brooks Books in flames, Alex accepts help from Mia’s sister, Delaney. The duo concocts a tale guaranteed to buy Alex time with Mia and the bookstore a featured guest for an upcoming charity event. But when snowflakes begin to fly and the fibs snowball, can Alex and Mia wake up and decide if this second-chance romance is the real gift of the season?

A Match by Christmas, by Jami Rogers
(American Heart)

Release Date: October 19, 2023
The Evergreen Brothers, Book 3

It’s going to be a merry Christmas—but only if they survive the wedding first.

Tuck Evergreen’s annual holiday plans are uncomplicated: return to Melody, Wyoming, for a few weeks, catch up with his family, then fly home to New York City. After all, Tuck promised his late father that he’d always honor his dreams of living in the Big Apple. But this year, he’s the best man in his brother’s wedding—which means he must tangle with the maid of honor, social media influencer Elle Morrison, daily.

Elle hasn’t enjoyed being around Tuck since he dissed her on Christmas three years ago. She’s done a great job of ignoring him since. But when the wedding couple falls ill just days before their I dos, it’s up to Elle and Tuck to finish pulling the event together.

Tuck despises public attention while Elle has made a career out of it. Thankfully, their rocky start quickly turns into a smooth friendship. Can they move past their differences to find their happily ever after, even as the secrets surrounding them begin to crumble?

Christmas in River’s Edge by Nan Reinhardt
(American Heart)

Release Date: October 23, 2023
The Weaver Sisters, Book 3

You can go home again…

After a painful divorce from her high school sweetheart, triplet Jenny Weaver returns to River’s Edge with her young son. While happy to be reunited with her sisters and working at the family’s marina, she has no intention of jumping into the dating pool, especially going into the holidays. Then Gabe Dawson, once a shy nerd who tutored her in history classes, arrives home transformed into a handsome hunk who makes her pulse race.

Archeologist and history professor Gabe Dawson thought he’d long ago outgrown his teen crush on Jenny. Back in town for a few months to help his mom post surgery, he can’t resist reaching out to Jenny. She’s as beautiful, warm, and funny as he remembered and soon Gabe is reconsidering his future.

Gabe is determined to seize this second chance, but can he convince a very wary Jenny that a globe-trotter is ready to come home for good this Christmas?

Christmas in Crickley Creek by Laurie Beach
(Southern Born)

Release Date: October 24, 2023
Crickley Creek, Book 3

She doesn’t need gifts under the tree this holiday season. What she longs for is a second chance.

Emma Shea Abernathy is fully aware of her social role: marry well, live extravagantly, and, most of all, exhibit perfection. And it started with saying “I do” to future governor Trent Broadway.

With her carefully crafted life in full swing, she knows she’s made a big mistake. Leaving it all behind, she hides out at her great-grandmother’s beach house in Crickley Creek. There, she discovers a secret room containing a well-preserved 1920s Prohibition speakeasy–and some surprising information about the women in her family. This leads to a new plan: to become a woman who acts contrary to what is expected. In other words, a Firefly Girl.

The problem is, no one else embraces her change of heart, especially her first love, Scruggs Willingham III. He still refuses to forgive her for marrying someone else. Despite the olive branches she extends throughout Crickley Creek, it appears she’ll spend Christmas alone.

Until a rare Christmas snow brings the one miracle she needs: the freedom to accept herself.

Her Cowboy Christmas Hero by Jeannie Watt
(Montana Born)

Release Date: October 26, 2023
Return to Keller Ranch, Book 4

She’s never had a true family Christmas….

As a child, Alex Woodson appeared to have it all, yet her life was an illusion. Now independent, Alex returns to the one place she was briefly happy—Marietta, Montana and starts an interior painting business. Her first client is the Keller Ranch. When Cade Keller unexpectedly arrives home, Alex promises herself she can ignore her former high school crush, who barely knew she existed. But the handsome cowboy is up in her business, flirting and tempting her with holiday activities she’s always dreamed of.

After leaving his job as an oil rig operator, Cade heads home to the family ranch for Christmas and to re-think his career. Seeing the former Woodson princess painting his family’s home is a distracting mystery he intends to solve. But the more time he spends with Alex, the more he’s intrigued.

Cade tells himself he’s just being neighborly by inviting Alex to join his family for their holiday traditions, but he’s lying. He’s falling hard—unfair with his uncertain future. Alex is wary, knowing life is never a fairytale.

A Poinsettia Paradise Christmas by Janine Amesta
(American Heart)

Release Date: October 30, 2023
Love in El Dorado, Book 2

This Christmas a lump of coal might just turn into a diamond….

Natalie Gonzalez-Torres has never been a fan of Christmas. As the manager of her family’s coffee shop, she avoids all the holiday kitch. But this year, her uncle assigns her to run a coffee cart at Poinsettia Paradise tree farm to prove she’s ready to become a full partner. The assignment feels like a lump of coal in her non-existent stocking, until a Christmas tree farmer helps uncover her inner elf. Too bad she’s already given up on finding love.

Mason Lavigne bursts with expansion and improvement ideas for his family’s Christmas Tree Farm, but his dad still still sees him as a kid. This Christmas, Mason’s determined to prove his worth, especially after his dad mentions he’s thinking of selling. With his stress off the charts, helping Natalie is a bright light this holiday season as long as Mason’s not distracted from his mission by her sparkling eyes and quick wit. They both have something to prove but doing it together might be more than they can resist.


THE UNTOLD STORY OF CAROL BINGLEY – Release Day Blog Post Featuring Author Jane Hartley!

How The Untold Story of Carol Bingley has traveled around with us.

Hello!

I hope you enjoy the story of how The Untold Story of Carol Bingley has traveled around with us for the last eight months.

Only three people knew I had written a book. My husband, one of our daughters, and myself.

My novel had the working title of How To Make a Town Gossip. Because that was who Carol was, the town gossip of Marietta, Montana. I submitted a finished manuscript of 78,000 Tule Publishing on the 27th of October, 2022.

On the 27th of January 2023, I received an email telling me that although they liked my book Carol’s story had been rejected by Tule for breach of copyright. I knew nothing about copywriting except that you cannot reproduce anything out of a book. I didn’t realize that characters in books belong to their authors. So that was that. I set about rewriting my manuscript without Marietta, Montana, or Carol Bingley.

On the 19th of January 2023, my husband and I were in Tamworth NSW for Australia’s largest country music festival when I received an email from Tule Publishing to see if my manuscript for How to Make a Town Gossip was still available. We were 1119 kilometers from home. As you can imagine I read and reread the email and then started a happy dance up the street. There was plenty of music to dance to with all the buskers in Peel Street in Tamworth.

By the 8th of February, I had signed a contract with Tule for Carol. I was officially a Tule author!

On the 18th of February 2023, I received my welcome pack from Tule. Time was ticking by on the 1st of March and I got my first round of edits from Jane Porter Tule’s founding author.

On the 7th of March, I received my cover artwork and totally loved it. During March there was a book bio to write, and publicity shoots taken. For someone who is excellent at staying in the background, this was an awful lot of change for me to be front and center.

The next lot of edits came through as we reached in Broken Hill, 1149 Kilometers from home. Instead of a couple of days in Broken Hill, we stayed for four nights as we knew I wouldn’t have reliable internet where we were headed.

Silverton is about 11 kilometers from Broken Hill, and if you are a Mad Max film fan, this is where Mad Max 2 was made.

On the 1st of June, it was time for a blurb to be written up.

Then I got this amazing email on the 8th of August while in Sydney, 722 kilometers from home.

So as you can see, The Untold Story of Carol Bingley has traveled around a lot. Carol has been a constant in my life for eighteen months or more. I don’t remember the date

I started to write about Carol, but it has opened a space in me I didn’t know existed. I’m typing furiously to get more books out, so you can read them as well.

Thank you and PLEASE let me know what you think of The Untold Stroy of Carol Bingley.

Take care, Jane Hartley

About the Author.

Jane lives in a seaside town in Victoria, Australia. She married her childhood sweetheart over 40 years ago. They have three married children and six delicious grandbabies. When the COVID-19 lockdowns came, Jane started writing and didn’t stop. Writing was another outlet for her creative side. She is also the sewer of pretty dresses.


PROMISE ME PLEASE, COWBOY – Release Day Blog Post Featuring Author CJ Carmichael!

Ten years. That’s how long Tule Publishing has been in business. I feel fortunate to be one of the “founding” authors for this business. My involvement dates back to a phone call from Jane Porter when she asked if I would have any interest in writing a book for this new company she was thinking of starting. We agreed to meet at my cabin in Montana and brainstorm some ideas. The guest list grew to include Megan Crane and Lillian Darcy—two talented authors who I was soon going to get to know very well!

The four of us talked characters and stories; we cannon-balled off the dock into “refreshing” Flathead Lake, and then started drawing a map of our fictional town. Lillian christened our town “Marietta” and we baked luscious cherry crisp to celebrate. Once we had the concept for our 75th Copper Mountain Rodeo stories down, we hit the road, challenging the capacity of my medium-sized sedan’s trunk. 

We drove through Missoula, then Butte and Bozeman, until reaching Livingston, the approximate location we wanted for our fictional town. We took dozens of photographs of things that inspired us. Historic homes, traditional barns, beautiful horses and majestic mountains. As we cut through scenic Paradise Valley we mentally created ranches and legacies, family conflicts and tragedies, world-building for the stories to come.

This trip did more than cement friendships and create memories that I’ll cherish all my life. It also inspired books which became the foundation of a new publishing company.

With Tule Publishing I’ve had the creative freedom to write books on my own terms, the kind of books that I longed for as a reader. Over the past ten years I’ve written seven stories in my Carrigans of the Circle C series, two stories in the multi-author Love at the Chocolate Shop series, and four stories in the Bitter Root Mystery series. I’ve also re-published four titles that I previously published with Harlequin.

Now, with the publication of Promise Me Please, Cowboy, I want to thank Jane Porter for including me on this amazing journey of hers. Thanks for that phone call Jane! And here’s to the next ten years for Tule Publishing!

About the Author

CJ Carmichael headshot

USA Today Bestselling author C. J. Carmichael has written over 45 novels in her favorite genres of romance and mystery. She has been nominated twice for the Romance Writers of America RITA Award, as well as RT Bookclub’s Career Achievement in Romantic Suspense award, and the Bookseller’s Best honor.

She gave up the thrills of income tax forms and double entry book-keeping in 1998 when she sold her first book to Harlequin Super-romance. Since then she has published over 35 novels with Harlequin and is currently working on a series of western romances with Tule Publishing. In addition C. J. Carmichael has published several cozy mystery series as an Indie author.

When not writing C. J. enjoys family time with her grown daughters and her husband. Family dinners are great. Even better are the times they spend hiking in the Rocky Mountains around their home in Calgary, and relaxing at their cottage on Flathead Lake, Montana. Visit C.J.’s website at http://CJCarmichael.com

 


MARRY ME PLEASE, COWBOY – Release Day Blog Post by Author Sinclair Jayne! (Plus Giveaway!)

Happy September Tuligans!

Fall is my favorite season (pumpkin-spice!), but September is my favorite month because as a student and then a teacher I was heading back to school and now it’s my daughter’s birthday month. I’ve been crazy anticipating this September because it’s Tule Publishing’s 10th birthday. I know tin or aluminum is considered traditional to celebrate the 10-year-anniversary, and while that may not sound exciting or romantic, those materials are known to be resilient, and Tule Publishing has definitely been resilient this past productive decade. 

Tule Publishing is the brain-child of author and publisher Jane Porter and her author friends and fellow creative geniuses Megan Crane, CJ Carmichael and Lilian Darcy. The four of them roadtripped through Montana and inspired by their friendship, the gorgeous scenery, and desire to support other authors’ creative visions, they created the town of Marietta, Montana in Paradise Valley. Ten years later, Marietta is still going strong (and the Tule world has grown far outside Montana) as evidenced by how we decided to celebrate.

The first Marietta series included four romance novellas playing out during the (invented) 75th Copper Mountain Rodeo. Take Me Cowboy by Jane Porter, Tempt Me Cowboy by Megan Crane, Marry Me Cowboy by Lilian Darcy and Promise Me Cowboy by CJ Carmichael. To celebrate we decided to attend the 85th Copper Mountain rodeo, and lucky me, Jane Porter, Megan Crane and CJ Carmichael invited on their adventure. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CJ hosted us in Canmore in Alberta, Canada (in January—brrrr)  where we laughed, walked, savored the scenery and occasionally plotted and created our cowboys. I’ve been an editor at Tule for about nine and a half years, and I have seen Marietta grow and thrive, and I’m thrilled to once again be a part of Marietta and the Copper Mountain Rodeo. 

Marry Me Please, Cowboy was such a fun book to write because…cowboy, barrel racing cowgirl, secret baby, jilted bride, former special forces soldier, and a “death bed” vow to a best friend. I loved being back in Marietta, and once again obsessing over bull and bronc riders on YouTube. While my book is part of Tule’s Ten Year Anniversary 85th Copper Mountain Rodeo, it’s also going to spin out from the birthday celebration in October to become book two in my Coyote Cowboys of Montana series—yes, also set in Marietta, of course.

For an autographed copy of book one in the Montana Coyote Cowboy’s seriesthe Cowboy’s Word and some Montana and cowboy reader swag, tell me where you would want to go on a retreat with a group of friends—what would you do there…maybe start your own town?

Marry Me Please, Cowboy releases September 19th, and I will be hanging out with Tuligans in the Tule Book Group at 4 pm (PST) on my release date.

Happy September and happier reading—Sinclair Jayne. 

 

About the Author.

Sinclair Sawhney is a former journalist and middle school teacher who holds a BA in Political Science and K-8 teaching certificate from the University of California, Irvine and a MS in Education with an emphasis in teaching writing from the University of Washington. She has worked as Senior Editor with Tule Publishing for over nine years. Writing as Sinclair Jayne she’s published fifteen short contemporary romances with Tule Publishing with another four books being released in 2021. Married for over twenty-four years, she has two children, and when she isn’t writing or editing, she and her husband, Deepak, are hosting wine tastings of their pinot noir and pinot noir rose at their vineyard Roshni, which is a Hindi word for light-filled, located in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Shaandaar!


Discover Tule Publishing’s First 10 Books as Part of our #Tule10 Anniversary!

Tule Publishing has hit a milestone 10 years and we’re celebrating all month long with showcasing some of our first 10’s! Learn more about our first 10 authors, meet our first 10 cowboys, and maybe find yourself wrapped up dreaming of the holidays with our first 10 Christmas stories!

We are so thankful for each of you for continuing to put your faith in us to continue bringing you amazing reads. You are a crucial part to our success and we couldn’t have made it to our 10th anniversary without you! We hope you stick around all month for more celebratory blogs and are looking forward to another 10 years – cheers!

Discover Tule Publishing’s First 10 Books

Release Date: September 8, 2013
The Flint Brothers Take Montana, Book 1
The 75th Copper Mountain Rodeo, Book 1

Too much temptation…

Chelsea Collier wants nothing more than to save the old depot built by her railway baron ancestor and turn it into a museum—until it’s sold out from under her!

Jasper Flint made himself filthy rich in the Texas oil business by the age of 35. Now he wants a quieter life and building a microbrewery in Marietta, Montana is the perfect project.

Neither one of them knows what to do with the passion that explodes between them! But Chelsea knows a man like Jasper will never stay in one place for too long. Can he convince her that this time, he means to stay?

 

Release Date: September 22, 2013
The 75th Copper Mountain Rodeo, Book 2

Champion barrel-racer Tegan Ash has nothing left to go home to in her native Australia and every reason to stay in the USA. But her visa is about to expire, and her prospective groom has called off their green-card wedding.

Jamie MacCreadie doesn’t actually want to marry a woman he can’t stand, but his best friend and fellow rodeo rider Chet has just let her down and, somehow, he finds himself offering to do the deed instead.

There’s no chance it could turn into the real thing, because they have nothing in common… do they?

Release Date: October 6, 2013

Melinda and Rob MacCreadie have been married for nearly thirty years, but she is the worst wife for a hard-working Montana rancher and she knows it.

With their five children grown and finding love, Melinda is daunted by the idea of accepting newcomers into the family. She and Rob still hold a secret that dates from before the birth of their triplets all those years ago.

Rob is such a fine man, strong and good-looking and endlessly patient. He’s wise, too, but is he right to insist that it’s time to tell people what happened? Does he really understand how she feels?

Release Date: October 9, 2013
The Carrigans of the Circle C, Book 1
The 75th Copper Mountain Rodeo, Book 3

Sage Carrigan never meant to be the other woman. Unfortunately, bronco rider Dawson O’Dell neglected to mention he was married the night he invited her to his bed after they’d both placed first in their rodeo events. When his wife walked in on them, Sage was deeply hurt and humiliated.

After an accident in the ring the next day, Sage decides she’s quitting the rodeo, and cowboys, to become a chocolatier in her hometown ranching community, Marietta, Montana. She’s doing just fine, but then Dawson shows up –five years later, with a little girl in tow. He’s here for the Copper Mountain Rodeo hoping to win big. But he’s also got plans of settling down with his daughter and buying a house–the very same one that Sage has been dreaming about. He says he’s here for her and he’s making lots of promises. But can he keep them?

 

Release Date: October 24, 2013
Love on Chance Avenue, Book 1
The 75th Copper Mountain Rodeo, Book 4

When Jenny Wright‘s fiancé leaves her standing at the altar in a Vera Wang bridal gown she can’t afford, she’s humiliated and heartbroken. To have Marietta hero bull riding champ Colton Thorpe witness her shame – makes the rejection even more devastating.

Jenny and Colton grew up in the same rough neighborhood and they both left home right after school to pursue big dreams. Now they’re both back, with Colton as the celebrity chair for the 75th Copper Mountain Rodeo, and Jenny in disgrace.

Sexy, rugged Colton didn’t get to be a national champion by chance. He’s a man that takes risks and goes after what he wants. During the rodeo weekend, Colton makes it clear he wants Jenny. Flustered but flattered, Jenny finds it difficult to resist his charm. But what happens when the rodeo ends and Colton leaves town? Will she dare to dream again?

Release Date: October 31, 2013
Bar V5 Ranch, Book 1

A touch of ginger.
A dash of spice.
A cowboy and a pastry chef…
A recipe of naughty and nice.

Spending the holidays with her brother after hitting a crossroads in her career, Rachel Murphy keeps her dream of owning a pastry shop alive by creating custom gingerbread houses for clients in a small Montana town. And her Christmas wish list keeps growing this year—a bigger kitchen, a family, a place to call home…and maybe someone to share it all with.

When handsome dude ranch owner Nate Vaughn grants one of Rachel’s Christmas wishes—offering her a workspace of her own—she can’t refuse. As they grow closer, Rachel and Nate find more than pastries heating up in the kitchen. Is mixing business with affairs of the heart a recipe for disaster? Or will all of Rachel’s wishes come true?

 

Release Date: October 31, 2013
The Scott Brothers of Montana, Book 1

Annie Prudhomme never expected to be back in Marietta, MT and her family is fond of reminding her that she left them and the town behind in search of better things. A humiliating divorce that cost her everything she’d gained has driven her back home and her family isn’t about to welcome her back into the fold. She’s in town to rebuild the old home that she inherited and to move on once again.

Carson Scott never forgot Annie or the way she left. Now that she’s back in town he’s realizing that the old flame still burns hot but he can’t risk his heart the way he did last time now that he has his son to think about it. Being trapped together during a December snowstorm gives them a chance to rekindle their romance but is Annie back for good or is she just looking for a cowboy for Christmas?

 

Release Date: November 21, 2013
Bar V5 Ranch, Book 2

Spending a quiet Christmas housesitting and reading novels about hot cowboys sounds perfect to Caitlin. Until a stray kitten brings her face-to-face with Noah, her crush from college. Watching the handsome vet in action melts Caitlin’s heart and brings back long forgotten emotion. She would be safer back at the house lost in the pages of a book. But a toe-curling mistletoe kiss tempts her to stay. Maybe she won’t be spending this Christmas… alone.

Veterinarian Noah Sullivan isn’t a Scrooge, but the Christmas Eve tradition of hanging mistletoe in the clinic’s waiting room annoys him. Kissing doesn’t belong at the Copper Mountain Animal Hospital. Noah rethinks his position when Caitlin Butler arrives with a stray kitten she found freezing in the snow. All he wants now is to maneuver the pretty preschool teacher under the mistletoe. If he’s not careful, he’ll wind up on Santa’s naughty list.

Mistletoe Magic is a short story companion to the Copper Mountain Christmas series.

Release Date: November 29, 2013
Taming of the Sheenans, Book 1

She’s determined to make Christmas perfect…

After a set-back, Harley Diekerhoff led a quiet life and kept to herself. Taking the temporary job at the Copper Mountain Ranch as widower Brock Sheenan’s housekeeper seemed perfect for her. But her calm cocoon is invaded with the arrival of Brock’s pre-teen twins, Mack and Molly, who’ve never experienced a proper Christmas.

Annoyed at first by Harley’s interference, Brock is secretly pleased she’s changed his tiwns’ world. It doesn’t hurt that he finds Harley incredibly attractive, fierce, smart and passionate. It’s also an added bonus that she’s not afraid to challenge him and get his blood heated! But when sparks fly and the attractions sizzles between them, Harley’s not so sure she can handle something permanent with this dark, taciturn cowboy who doesn’t know how to let her in.

Can Brock hold on to her and pray for a Christmas miracle…

Release Date: December 28, 2013

Unbeknownst to her boyfriend, Sassy South Carolina hairstylist, Rainey Brown, is headed to Missoula, dead set on giving her minor league baseball player boyfriend of four years an ultimatum. Either put a ring on it or let her go, preferably not the latter.

When Rainey’s piece of crap car dies in the middle of Nowhere, Montana, she’s sure she’s a goner, until gorgeous restaurateur Beck Hartnett stops to help. Beck falls hard for Rainey, and knows she would admit she’s fallen for him too, if she wasn’t too stubborn to admit it. Beck has five days before the car is repaired to steal Rainey away from a boyfriend who doesn’t deserve her. Five days before she’s gone for good.

. . . . . . . . . .

Thanks for stopping by to check out our first 10 books of Tule Publishing! Here’s to a great year of #Tule10!


Check out our September 2023 Releases! (Plus Giveaway!)

September New Release graphic

Read more about our new releases for September!

September marks Tule Publishing’s 10 Year Anniversary and we’ve got some amazing releases to kick off our celebration!

GIVEAWAY: We will pick ONE winner to receive a digital book of their choice from the September releases. Comment down below saying which book you’re looking most forward to reading! Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY. The winner will be randomly selected at the end of the month.

Take Me Please, Cowboy by Jane Porter (Montana Born)

Release Date: September 5, 2023

The 85th Copper Mountain Rodeo, Book 1
The Calhouns & Campbells of Cold Canyon Ranch, Book 1

Two worlds. One love. No compromise.

Professional rodeo cowboy Rye Calhoun has been the primary breadwinner for his family since he was seventeen. Now thirty, there’s still no time for romance, and there certainly isn’t room for beautiful Texan Ansley Campbell, an artist with big dreams…dreams that don’t align with his.

When Ansley Campbell’s ailing uncle needs someone to help him at Cold Canyon Ranch in Paradise Valley, Ansley volunteers, eager for some breathing space from her family of overbearing men.  But when her uncle Clyde has an accident the weekend of the Copper Mountain Rodeo, handsome cowboy Rye Calhoun is there to help.

From the moment Rye and Ansley meet, their chemistry sizzles, but their worlds are nothing alike and neither of them is in a position to compromise. Is love really enough, or are they asking to have their hearts broken?

Deadlier Than Fiction by Carol Light (Tule Mystery)

Release Date: September 7, 2023

Cluttered Crime Mysteries, Book 2

Can she get the right read on this situation before someone ruins the ending?

Professional organizer Crystal Ward is at a crossroads with her business, Organizing Chicago. Her husband, Rick, isn’t on board with online advertising, and their friends and family are running out of referrals. And now her client’s husband is outraged to learn that Crys donated novels he had promised to his brother. Crys’s only hope of salvaging the situation is to recover the titles.

But she shouldn’t have judged those books by their covers. The secret they contain is valuable, and she’s not the only one trying to find them. What’s more, she’s now hiding a secret of her own. She’d promised Rick, a former homicide detective, that she’d avoid sketchy situations that could land her in danger. Her best move? To team up with a retired detective, who suddenly has his own agenda.

With danger mounting, she must use all of her sleuthing skills to sort out friend from foe and fact from fiction before a killer can write her own final chapter.

 

Tempt Me Please, Cowboy by Megan Crane (Montana Born)

Release Date: September 12, 2023

The 85th Copper Mountain Rodeo, Book 2
The Flint Brothers Take Montana, Book 3

Five years ago, when Sydney Campbell came through Marietta on her way to the big Grey family Christmas, she ran into newcomer Jackson Flint in Grey’s Saloon. Directly into him.

In Montana to build some bridges with his older, billionaire half-brothers, Jackson didn’t plan to stay. Sydney was just visiting family from her high-stakes life in D.C. For one night they lit each other on fire, kissed goodbye, and never thought they’d see the other again.

But Jackson built more than bridges and put down roots. And just about every holiday, he’s watched Sydney turn up in town. The fire that always blazes between them gets hotter every visit, but this time is different. This fall, Sydney decides to stay a while. With the 85th Copper Mountain Rodeo taking Marietta by storm, Jackson knows this is the chance he’s been waiting for.

And he means to take it—if he can convince the only woman he’s ever wanted that there’s more freedom in loving him than letting go.

Four Silences Broken by H L Marsay (Holiday)

Release Date: September 13, 2023

The Secrets of Hartwell, Book 3

Welcome to Hartwell, a village full of cobbled streets, ancient curses and hidden secrets.

As the village prepares for Christmas, friends Lucy, Rachel, Meera, and Jo try to put the shocking events of the summer behind them. Though some secrets, it seems, refuse to remain silent.

Lady Lucy Hanley’s confidence has been boosted by making a success of her inherited estate and falling in love again, though ghosts from her past still threaten her. Rachel Foxton is finally happy and active in village life again, but is worried the person closest to her might destroy all her hard work and progress. Dr. Meera Kumar’s dream wedding is approaching, yet not everyone in her extended family is happy for her or wishing her well. And a trip to London and some unexpected news turns former detective Jo Ormond’s world upside down, forcing her to rethink her plans for the future.

As the year draws to a close, can the four women finally unravel the last of Hartwell’s secrets and move forward—together or apart?

Avery Daniels is Off Limits by Season Vining (American Heart)

Release Date: September 14, 2023

Romance in the City, Book 3

The heart wants what it wants…convenient or not.

Instead of winning a prestigious cooking competition, Sundia Sharma won infamy by breaking her tailbone on television. Thinking her culinary dreams are over, she prepares to head back to her corporate accounting job. That is, until a world-famous celebrity chef, impressed by her innovative recipes, offers her an internship at his new restaurant. It’s Sundia’s last shot to prove to herself—and her family—that she has what it takes. If only her crush wasn’t the chef’s personal assistant…and her new roommate.

With a love ‘em and leave ‘em reputation, Avery Daniels is practically famous—perhaps infamous—as far as West Coast lesbians go. As the right-hand woman to a celebrity chef, Avery barely has time to breathe, let alone do dinner or dates. She prides herself on staying cool in all situations, but something about Sundia gets under her skin—and in the stone-cold heart she denies having.

Sundia can’t afford any more mishaps—or temptations—and firmly friend zones Avery. But staying apart gets more challenging as both their walls slowly crumble in and out of the kitchen.

The Key to Forever by Kelly Cain (American Heart)

Release Date: September 18, 2023

Secret Ties, Book 3

She doesn’t need a man, but she does want a family.

Tori Matheny comes from a family of strong women who are all close and happily single. She plans to live the same way—an occasional fling, but never settling down. What’s the need? She is, however, curious about her birth family despite her adoptive mom and aunts strongly discouraging her search. Tori’s always known she was adopted and has never been able to shake her lifelong curiosity. When she runs into a childhood friend with plenty of time on his hands, he seems like the ideal candidate to help with her search.

After a nomadic lifestyle serving for years in the Veterinarians Without Borders program, Ethan Borden is permanently home and finally ready to settle down—buy a home, marry, and have children. He’s always had a crush on Tori, so when she asks him for help, he’s hopeful it’s the beginning of so much more.

Ethan is happy to help Tori find her birth family, but when Tori learns Ethan is hiding a deep family secret, can their budding relationship survive the generational betrayals?

Marry Me Please, Cowboy by Sinclair Jayne (Montana Born)

Release Date: September 19, 2023

The 85th Copper Mountain Rodeo, Book 3
The Coyote Cowboys of Montana, Book 2

She has her eye on the prize. He has his eyes on her.

Former soldier, now rodeo cowboy, Huck Jones doesn’t believe in love or marriage. Still, a promise is a promise, and he’s prepared to honor his fallen team leader’s wish to walk his sister down the aisle in Marietta, Montana. When the groom bolts moments before the ceremony, Huck offers himself as her alternative groom.

Barrel racer Willow McBride hates the cowboy code, and the soldier code is even more annoying. She’s pregnant, not helpless, so when her late brother’s sexy friend offers himself as a sacrificial husband, the answer is a resounding no. She wants love not duty. Plus, the 85th Copper Mountain Rodeo is looking to be her last as a competitor, and she intends to win.

Huck may no longer be a soldier, but he still believes no man—or woman—should be left behind. He’ll need to woo the beautiful, stubbornly independent cowgirl and change her mind. Failure is never an option.

Fate’s Final Season by Leigh Ann Edwards (Muse)

Release Date: September 20, 2023

Maidens of the Mystical Stones, Book 5

Will the fallout of this mystical year finally be their undoing?

During the final season of the magical pact, a disheartened Rhianwyn Mulryan arrives in Welshland as Princess Lilliana, poisoned, cursed, and desperately afraid that Broccan is lost to her forever. A mysterious sorceress may be her only hope of survival, but can she be trusted? As Rhianwyn faces Lilliana’s enigmatic husband, Prince Tyven, and his brothers––all rumored to be cursed with dragon blood—the arrival of her own estranged husband further jeopardizes their marriage…and their lives.

Sir Broccan Mulryan is determined that he and his wife will put their tumultuous past behind them, but before he’s fully forgiven her, he receives a baffling order to protect Princess Lilliana. Only Lilliana doesn’t quite seem herself…

Back in Wessex, a ruthless bishop throws the kingdom into upheaval, endangering the lives of Selena, Elspeth, and the true Lilliana. To end the despised pact and reclaim their lives, all four women must return to the sunstones, together. But will they live long enough? And if they do, will discovering the source of the pact save them or tear everything apart?

Return to Embthwaite Farm by Kate Hewitt (Holiday)

Release Date: September 25, 2023

The Mowbray Sisters, Book 1

Welcome to Embthwaite Farm, a charming English home in North Yorkshire, belonging to the fractured Mowbray family…

When Rachel Mowbray left behind her family farm in North Yorkshire at eighteen, she never planned on returning. But when her ex-childhood sweetheart calls and insists she return due to her father’s declining health, she travels north. Every moment home reminds Rachel why she left—her sister Harriet is both hostile and cold, her father barely communicates with anyone, and the house feels stuck in time. Plus, her old neighbour and ex, sheep farmer Ben Mackey, still has the power to make her pulse race…a decidedly unwelcome realization!

As a can-do businesswoman, Rachel wants to sweep in and fix everything, but it seems as if no one actually wants her help and nothing goes according to plan. Even more alarmingly, she must face the confounding memories of her own childhood—and she questions how many of them she can truly trust.

As Rachel navigates her father’s health crisis and confronts old hurts with her sister and community, she wonders if she can finally find her happily-ever-after in the most unexpected place of all—home. But will she—as well as Ben—have the courage to fight for their future together this time?

Promise Me Please, Cowboy by CJ Carmichael (Montana Born)

Release Date: September 26, 2023

The 85th Copper Mountain Rodeo, Book 4

Marietta has a way of bringing people together…

Cowboy Chet Hardwick is in Marietta, Montana, to compete in the 85th Copper Mountain Rodeo. Chet’s not there to make any waves, he needs to focus on the rodeo, avoid his deadbeat father, and return home. But when the beautiful owner at his bed-and-breakfast needs assistance, Chet can’t resist stepping in to help.

After a life-altering accident, Amy Arden left her Wall Street job and impulsively bought Bramble House B&B. While she learns the ropes, she’s also determined to uncover a secret from her late mother’s past—Amy’s birth father. The staff aren’t happy with Amy’s new ideas and quit, leaving Amy struggling to keep the fully booked inn operating. She finds an unexpected ally in one of her guests, a handsome, lone wolf cowboy, who is surprisingly easy to talk to. But just as their friendship heats up, ghosts from both their pasts arrive at Bramble House.

Amy knows Chet is the man she wants, but as Chet receives news that will take him far from Marietta, will he find his way back to her?

The Untold Story of Carol Bingley by Jane Hartley (Montana Born)

Release Date: September 27, 2023

The 85th Copper Mountain Rodeo, Book 5

Carol Bingley has a certain reputation in Marietta, Montana. She’s an infamous gossip and overly generous with her sharp opinions. But Carol’s been hiding a painful secret.

Forty years ago, sixteen-year-old high school student Carol Franklyn was madly in love with a bad boy cowboy with an irresistible smile, and sexy swagger. The day he asked her to meet him at the local hangout, the Main Street Diner, Carol thought all her dreams had come true. What she didn’t know was that she had become a pawn in a cruel and manipulative game that would spin her life painfully off course.

Now happily married to a man who loves her unconditionally, Carol finally is ready to share her painful past, but will she be believed? And can she be forgiven when she faces two of Marietta’s most powerful, tight-knit families?

Carol has lost so much. But this Christmas, she hopes she can find two puzzle pieces of her past, and sets out on a journey hoping she will finally be healed, not once again hurt.

An Autumn to Remember by Robyn Neeley (American Heart)

Release Date: September 7, 2023

Brooks Bend, Book 2

Sometimes the secret ingredient is right under your nose…

Executive Chef Sloan Leary just received the invitation of a lifetime to create signature holiday dishes for a premier meal delivery service. If she wins the contract, she can finally expand her restaurant to Paris, fulfilling a promise to her late grandmother. But first she’ll need to complete her annual two-week culinary exchange. Sloan is shocked when she’s sent to a small-town diner in Brooks Bend, Connecticut. If that weren’t enough, she learns her audition is to create dog food for pampered pooches—she’s never even had a pet.

Ex-military handyman Alex Edwards knows plenty about dogs—his beloved labradoodle is also his emotional support companion. So he’s happy to help newcomer Sloan create a Thanksgiving meal fit for canine cravings. When Sloan encourages him to go all in with his carpentry business, Alex pulls back. He stopped taking risks a long time ago and is happy with his slower life…right?

As they work to find the right seasonings, can Alex and Sloan rewrite the meal plans for their futures…with each other?

 


THE COWBOY’S LOST FAMILY – Release Day Blog Post Featuring Author Roxanne Snopek!

Man and woman sitting in a field, embracing.

Hello Tuligans! Welcome to the launch of THE COWBOY’S LOST FAMILY

This is a book about secrets and lies, about family and friendship, about who we think we are…  who we really are… and who we could become.

In this dual timeline story, we have our hero Brade Oliver searching for his biological family in one timeline, and the events that brought him into existence in the other, earlier timeline. It’s a little wrenching, all in all, and the most ambitious project I’ve undertaken so far in my writing career. There are no cliff-hangers, per se, although the full mystery isn’t solved until the fourth and last book. You will hopefully smile at some parts and maybe tear up at others, but I guarantee a satisfying ending to each book. Also, watch for the dog… because it’s not a Roxanne Snopek book without a dog, right? 

This is, naturally, a love story. Our heroine Kendall McKinley is struggling under the weight of too much responsibility given to her too soon. She’s witnessed the shadow side of the whole love-marriage-babies thing with her mother and would far rather be a cool aunt than become a wife or mother herself. But she can’t help but be attracted to Brade’s honesty and willingness to be vulnerable—not to mention the hot, rich, cowboy-doctor part. 

Kendall envies Brade’s lack of family obligation; she knows it’s not that simple, but when she comes home after work to find supper unmade, laundry undone and light bulbs burned out, she can’t wait to launch her younger siblings into the world… if not outer space. Brade, however, envies the family bonds she has, no matter how dysfunctional and wonders why she can’t see how lucky she is.

Of course, Kendall takes care of her brother and sister anyway, no matter how they annoy her. She takes care of her friends, too, because that’s who she is. She’s used to handling everything herself, to putting on a good face and pretending everything’s fine. Even when it’s not. She’s not used to letting someone else care for her, so having a man listen to her… cook for her… and rub her feet… upends her worldview. Brade has no time for lies, no interest in anything but the truest of truths, but how can she trust him to love the real Kendall McKinley… when her own parents couldn’t?

As they get to know each other, their idea of identity is challenged. They are both more than what they see themselves as. And isn’t that the best part of letting people know and love us? Even though it’s not easy, we’re challenged to become our best selves. If we’re lucky.

Will Brade find the deadbeat father who abandoned his mother? Will Kendall make peace with her own mother? Is there another kind of family out there for both of them? I hope you enjoy following Brade and Kendall on their journey of discovery… and find love along with them.

About the Author.

Born under a Scorpio moon, raised in a little house on the prairie, USA Today Bestselling Author Roxanne Snopek said “as you wish” to her Alpha Farm Boy and followed him to the mountain air and ocean breezes of British Columbia. There, while healing creatures great and small and raising three warrior-princesses, they found their real-life happily-ever-after. After also establishing a successful freelance and non-fiction career, Roxanne began writing what she most loved to read: romance. Her small-town stories quickly became fan favorites.


THE COWBOY’S REDEMPTION – Release Day Blog Post Featuring Author Paula Altenburg!

Cowboy holding rope over shoulder with field behind him. Text reads Paula Altenburg, USA Today Bestselling author, and the title of The Cowboy's Redemption.

I’ve been writing in Grand, Montana for five years now, and it’s begun to take on a life of its own. With the release of The Cowboy’s Redemption, my eighth book in Grand, I thought I’d give readers a chance to get to know the town itself a little better. 

“Grand hugged the banks of the Yellowstone River. The first McGregors to settle here had been Irish sutlers evicted from a British fort for selling whiskey to soldiers. The two enterprising brothers took the money they’d earned and invested it in cattle—although, according to family legend, they never quite managed to stay on the right side of the law. Whiskey barrels continued to overflow in the McGregor cellars well into the twentieth century. 

“The town got its name from the plans those two brothers had dreamed up for the town. Unfortunately, Grand got upstaged by nearby Billings and its grip on the new railroad. For his part, Jake was happy with the way history played out. Grand’s population topped out at six thousand—a nice, even number. ” ~ The Rancher Takes a Family

The boardwalk on the waterfront, which borders the Yellowstone River, is another favorite place for characters to hang out:

“Glittering lights trussed the underbelly of a black, star-speckled sky. They draped from every tree, shrub, and railing. Every storefront—every business—they all shouted, let the season begin. 

“He’d come downtown intent on buying the perfect gifts for his nephew and niece at the annual midnight craft fair. They’d shut down the waterfront from the town hall to the library. No cars allowed. People flowed freely down the main street, then up the river boardwalk, checking out handcrafted merchandise at the numerous vending stalls.” ~ The Cowboy’s Christmas Baby

Originally, Grand had two ranches—the Wagging Tongue, which belongs to the McGregor brothers and borders on the Tongue River, and the Running River Ranch, its next-door neighbor. Since then I’ve added the Endeavour Ranch, home to an indoor arena and a PRCA-sanctioned rodeo that takes place every February, a seasonal smoke jumping operation for the state of Montana, a free clinic, and a group home for troubled youth.

Grand now has a high school, a strip mall, a daycare, law firm, sheriff’s office… Hannah Brand, from Sweetheart Montana, set up her own brewery here, too. The Grand Master Brewery and Taproom first appears in The Montana Doctor and has become one of my favorite places. I’ve used it in several books now: 

“The Grand Master Brewery and Taproom occupied a weathered brick building that had once been an old dairy. The building itself dated from the mid-1800s when Grand was established. Inside, pub tables with chess boards carved into them butted the walls on opposite sides of the room. Regular tables that seated four people—more, if the people were friendly—hogged the real estate under the street-facing front window. Long shelves held an assortment of board games. A metalwork cowboy riding a bucking bronco hung from the ceiling. Hannah’s brother, an artist, had made it for her.

“The bar, complete with a brass footrail, squared off against the front window from the back of the room. Right next to the bar hovered a door that led into the brewery itself. Between that magic door and the brewery lurked another, more private, entrance to an apartment above.” ~ The Cowboy’s Christmas Baby

And Grand continues to grow. 

Another Tule author will be joining me very soon (and yes, I’m excited to welcome her! She brings her own unique voice and a brand-new, 4-book series). My question for readers becomes, how do you like stories written by different authors set in the same worlds? 

About the author

USA Today Paula Altenburg headshotBestselling Author Paula Altenburg lives in rural Nova Scotia, Canada with her husband and two sons. A former aviation and aerospace professional, Paula now writes contemporary romance and fantasy with romantic elements. You can connect with her at www.paulaaltenburg.com.