Cold River is FREE as an ebook on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, itunes

 

I'm offering my book COLD RIVER as a free ebook for a period of time.  You can get it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble (Nook), itunes and Smashwords.

Here are the links:
Click here to find it on Amazon.

Click here for a Nook ebook.

Click here for an itunes ebook.

Click here for a copy on Smashwords. 

Enjoy!

And tell a friend.

Tons of ebooks seriously discounted for 5 days.

A couple of groups of authors have banded together to offer a huge list of ebooks marking down prices to a range from FREE to $1.99, with the majority of them marked  FREE or $0.99.

I'll list my books first  and then I'll give you a link to Bookmarked Bargains where one list is. After that is a list of 23 more seriously discounted books..

Now for my books:

First the FREE one. This one is set in the San Juan Islands in Washington State.

COLD RIVER:

Mandy Steenburg thinks her doctorate in education has prepared her to run any school district—until she tangles with the residents of a backwoods district in the Pacific Northwest. When Mandy lands in the middle of an old feud and someone keeps trying to kill her, instinct tells her to run. With the river rising, will she find a reason to stay and chance the odds?

Click here for a purchase link. Remember the price for Cold River is FREE.

These next ebooks are each $0.99. They're both set in the red rock country of Southern Utah.

TROUBLE AT THE RED PUEBLO

Who’s Spider Latham? Think John Wayne meets Miss Marple. Spider is called in to untangle the web of lies and deceit that threatens to ruin the Red Pueblo Museum. And when a handsome playboy is killed with the museum’s Anasazi axe, things really get dicey.

Click here for a purchase link. The Price for Trouble at the Red Pueblo is $0.99.

THE McCARRAN COLLECTION

Bridget Olasfson, a beautiful archivist with a painful secret, comes to Utah's brilliant red rock country to catalog the McCarran Collection. She finds herself caught up in a dangerous intrigue involving a lost boy, a drug cartel, and possibly murder. What will she do when the only way to save the boy is to give up the man she loves?

Click here for a purchase link. The price for The McCarran Collection is $0.99.

Here's a link to the Bookmarked Bargain Page. These books will be on sale from Oct. 12th to the 16th.  Before you move over to that site, read through the list below to find 23 other books priced from FREE to $1.99.

Check out these books listed below before you travel to the Bookmarked Bargains Page. 

This sale lasts from Oct. 12th through the 17th.

It's time for another HUGE multi-author promotion! We've gathered a robust collection of books for you to choose from, all of which are rated PG13 and below. There's something here for everyone--we even have some non-fiction! Listed alphabetically by the author's first name. Enjoy!

Discern

Andrea Pearson

Original Price: $3.99
Sale Price: FREE
Movie Rating: PG - PG13 for fantasy violence
Genre: YA Paranormal/Urban Fantasy

Available on Kindle, iTunes, Kobo, Nook

As an FYI: Praxis, Perceive, and Observe, books two-four of this series, are available for $0.99 for the week of this promotion only (down from $4.99).

Nicole Williams is an Arete—a fourth child with magical abilities—yet no matter how hard she tries, she can’t Channel her power. In fact, she seems to be the only student at Katon University who fails at magic.

This doesn’t stop her from competing to be included on a university-led expedition to Arches National Park. She is determined to show everyone, but mostly herself, that she does belong. Yet, to qualify for the trip, she must produce at least a speck of Wind magic, and that appears to be impossible.

Nicole turns to her best friend, Lizzie, for help, along with fellow student Austin Young, who is considered by all a magical rarity. He also happens to be the hottest guy on campus and just might be interested in her.

As the competition progresses, Nicole wonders if she’s making the right choice—especially when she learns that the strange fossils they’ll be studying in Arches might not be as dead as everyone thinks.

Dissension

Adrienne Monson

Original Price: $8.99
Sale Price: $1.99
Movie Rating: PG13 for violence, two swear words, and sexual innuendo
Genre: Paranormal Romance

Available on Kindle, Nook

Leisha used to be a loving mother with a perfect family, but that was more than 2,000 years ago. Though she holds the memory of that time dear to her heart, she must now focus on trying to escape the eternal and bloody war between her kind—the Vampires—and the Immortals, an undying race sworn to destroy her people. Leisha soon finds herself captured by the government, only to be saved by a young and mysterious human girl. What follows is the beginning of a long and tortuous journey as Leisha and her newfound friend run for their lives while searching for the one thing that can bring an end to the conflict—the prophecy child.

Blood Crown

Ali Cross

Original Price: $4.99
Sale Price: $0.99
Movie Rating: PG13 for violence and sensuality
Genre: Science Fiction

Available on Kindle, iTunes, Nook

Androids have claimed power over what remains of the human race. They rule without remorse. They are the Mind and humans exist only to serve them. But it wasn't always so. Before the android uprising, select droids, called Servants, were pivotal in engineering a new human race with nanotechnology enhanced DNA. The Blood Crown theorem was to be humanity's crowning glory and the key to their survival in deep space. But Serantha, Daughter of the West, was the last female to receive Gifts from her Servant and when the Mind mutinied, she was hidden away, and presumed dead. Without Serantha there is no hope of the Blood Crown being realized so Nicolai, Son of the East, abandons his crown to join the rebel forces. He might not provide the future for his people he had once dreamed of, but he will not go down without a fight. When Nicolai discovers Sera among a small compliment of kitchen staff, everything changes--but Sera's Gifts were never completed and she is ill-equipped to face a legion of androids determined to wipe her, and every other human, out of existence. Their only hope is the Blood Crown--but even if Serantha and Nicolai can realize their potential it may be too late to save mankind.

What If It's Love?

Alix Nichols

Original Price: $3.99
Sale Price: FREE
Movie Rating: PG13 for sensuality
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Available on Kindle, Kindle UK

What If It's Love? is Book One in the Bistro La Bohème series. Book Two, Falling for Emma, is on sale on Kindle for $0.99 (regularly priced $3.99) October 14-20.

When the hottest man in Paris - Rob Dumont - shows interest in geeky, introverted heiress Lena, she suspects something fishy.

And so she should.

A New Beginning

Amelia C. Adams

Original Price: $2.99
Sale Price: FREE
Movie Rating: PG for light kissing and mild violence
Genre: Western Romance

Available on Kindle, iTunes

Handsome young heir Adam Brody sees nothing but possibilities in the sprawling old building he's just purchased. With a little hard work, he will transform it into a hotel to meet the needs of those traveling by railroad. Aunt Caroline believes he's lost his mind, but she agrees to help him give it a try.

Left a widow with a small daughter, Elizabeth Caldwell must find work. When she sees an advertisement in the newspaper inquiring about cheerful young women to work in a hotel, she decides to apply. However, the hotel owner specifically requested single ladies, so she must hide her former marital status, and her child, if she wishes to get the job.

With cloudy pasts to overcome, both Adam and Elizabeth want to believe in a bright future. Will they find the strength they need in each other, or will their differences keep them apart?

Return to Moon Lake

Amy Gamet

Original Price: $2.99
Sale Price: $0.99
Movie Rating: PG13 for behind closed doors sex
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Available on Kindle, Nook

Lisa Addario is struggling to make peace with her family and her own bad decisions, while ex-soldier Greg Mora is desperate to carve a new life for himself after war. Can two broken people heal the wounds from their past, or will their demons destroy their chance at happiness forever?

Books in the Love on the Lake series (each can be read as a stand-alone story):

Treasure on Moon Lake (Tori and Jed)

Fortune on Moon Lake (Melanie and Rafael)

Return to Moon Lake (Lisa and Greg)

The Superstitious Romance

Anastasia Alexander

Original Price: $3.99
Sale Price: $0.99
Movie Rating: PG
Genre: Sweet Romance

Available on Kindle, Nook

Friday the 13th has always been unlucky for history professor Camille Britain, and this one doesn't seem any different. In an effort to escape her failed marriage, Camille is renting a cabin in beautiful Island Park, Idaho, where she meets wildlife photographer Jackson Armstrong, who scoffs at her superstitious ways and infuriates her with his offers of help.

Camille doesn't need another man—not even one as compelling and attractive as Jackson. Especially when he seems hung up on another woman. And yet Camille can’t deny the passion between them or the way Jackson makes her feel.

This Friday the 13th upsets both their worlds by forcing Camille and Jackson to see things about themselves, their families, and each other that might—with a little help—change them forever. Maybe this time superstition is on their side.

The Superstitious Romance is a "sweet romance" about a strong woman who feels weak, a man who doubts himself, and a powerful love that changes everything.

Exodus

Andreas Christensen

Original Price: $3.99
Sale Price: FREE
Movie Rating: PG13 for mild profanity and violence. No sex
Genre: Science Fiction

Available on Kindle, iTunes, Kobo, Nook

When mankind faces extinction, how can anyone survive?

In 2072, Earth faces the ultimate extinction event. In an America turned authoritarian, a race against time begins. To send a starship to a distant planet, where the remains of humanity can survive. Only a small number will be chosen for this final endeavor to save mankind from extinction, and among the contenders only the most resourceful will have a chance.

But while the government wants to choose loyal subjects in order to create another version of the society they have engineered, there are those who secretly conspire to let the starfarers choose their own destiny, free from the bonds of their mother world.

As mankind on Earth faces its final blow, the selected few set course for Aurora, more than 40 light years away!

Follow Tina Hammer, scramjet pilot and officer, Kenneth Taylor, Harvard professor and alienated by the nation he once held so dear, Maria Solis, daughter to one of the richest men in the world, a girl who would never have been chosen, except for her dad's money, on their various paths toward the greatest adventure in human history.

The Captain of Her Heart, Vol I of the Buchanan Saga

Anita Stansfield

Original Price: $6.99
Sale Price: FREE
Movie Rating: PG13 for mature content, mild language, and mild sexual implications
Genre: Historical Romance

Available on Kindle, Nook

The year is 1777. As the brooding mists of war settle over a stark American battlefield, Captain Ritcherd Buchanan yearns for his native England—and for Kyrah Payne, the woman he loves. Wounded and disheartened, he eventually returns home, only to have Kyrah torn cruelly away from him and deported for a crime she didn’t commit. Desperate to bring her home, he joins a band of privateers and finds himself embracing the American patriot cause—a cause he’d once sworn to defeat.

All alone in a country at war, Kyrah becomes a victim of the breach between her own impoverished circumstances and the aristocratic upbringing of the man she loves. They had been best friends and confidants for more than half her life, but now she wonders if Ritcherd will ever be able to find her—or if he’ll even try. And she fears that the chasm between their worlds can never be bridged.

A powerful and deeply moving saga, its intricate plot expertly woven and guaranteed to keep any reader turning its pages. The only disappointment is that the book ends!

Moonlight

Ann Hunter

Original Price: $2.99
Sale Price: $0.99
Movie Rating: PG13 for mild violence and romance
Genre: YA Fantasy

Available on Kindle

"My most beloved brothers, and father,

I feel as though I have failed you. With Mother's death and the threat of Ciatlllait's dark powers looming, I am not sure I am strong enough to save you. But I will try.

War is coming. I am just one girl. I feel so small, but I will draw strength from Mother's final words: You are never alone."

--Aowyn

One vow. One curse. One thousand moons.

While Princess Aowyn's six brothers are favored by their father, Aowyn is the jewel in her mother's crown. When the Queen dies, Aowyn takes a vow to protect her brothers and father from the hungry eyes of the queen's handmaiden, Ciatlllait - who is more than she seems.

In order to save her family, Aowyn risks a dangerous deal with the dark creature Sylas Mortas. But magic comes with a price: and Aowyn soon realizes the one she has paid is too steep.

Only true love can reverse the spell...but it will take one thousand moons. Can she keep to her word with war and romance on the horizon?

Set in a Celtic world, "Moonlight" is the story of faith and true love woven through a breathtaking coming of age retelling of the classic fairy tale "The Swan Princess"

Dead Running

Cami Checketts

Original Price: $4.49
Sale Price: $0.99
Movie Rating: PG for mild violence
Genre: Clean Romantic Suspense

Available on Kindle

Cassidy Christensen is running.

Running from the mercenaries who killed her parents.

Running from a scheming redhead intent on making her life miserable.

Running from painful memories that sabotage her dreams of happiness.

With two very tempting men competing for her attention, she hopes she’ll finally have someone to run to, but can she trust either of them?

A light-hearted and clean romantic suspense, by #1 Bestselling Christian author, Cami Checketts, Dead Running will have you lacing up your running shoes and racing for the sequel, Dying to Run.

ConQuest

Dhayaa Anbajagane

Original Price: $3.99
Sale Price: FREE
Movie Rating: G
Genre: Science Fiction

Available on Kindle

An ordinary man would fear the realm of the unknown.
An extraordinary boy would conquer it.
Enemies can come from a different country, different continent or even a different planet, but what if they came from a different Universe? When a freak space phenomenon threatens to tear open the ancient seals of the Universe, teenage rookie Q and his crew are told to head out and gather vital data on the situation.
What they weren't told is they wouldn't be coming back.
Thrilling, adventurous and action-packed, ConQuest promises to be a page turning read that'll always keep you guessing.

New World Orders

Edward G. Talbot

Original Price: $3.99
Sale Price: $0.99
Movie Rating: PG13 for action violence and some profanity
Genre: Political (Action) Thriller

Available on Kindle

Killing Kennedy was only the beginning. . .

In the nineteen-sixties, a group of wealthy men concludes that it's already too late to stop global warming from destroying the planet. But they have a plan to save themselves.

Twenty years later, Jack Crowley and Jim Patterson stumble onto the conspiracy, and every answer they find is accompanied by more questions - and more deaths.

Jack is a former idealist, turned cynical by his years working as a New York tabloid editor. But his enthusiasm returns as he looks into the work of a NASA scientist who tells Jack about cover-ups at the space agency. Jim is a detective with little patience for conspiracy nuts. But he hates loose ends, and is unable to let go of the inconsistencies in another suspicious NASA death. Soon, his investigation leads him to Jack, and they join forces.

As Jack and Jim dig deeper, they are targeted by the type of killers that don't usually miss. From Washington to Las Vegas to the Middle East, they manage to stay one step ahead of their pursuers in a race to expose the truth, and maybe, just maybe, save the world.

With No Regrets

Julie N. Ford

Original Price: $4.99
Sale Price: $0.99
Movie Rating: PG13 for mature themes, mild innuendo, farmer swearing, and a couple of passionate kisses
Genre: Women's Fiction/Romance

Available on Kindle, iTunes, Nook

Living With No Regrets Is Harder Than It Seems

Finley isn’t exactly sure when her life began to feel unfamiliar. She suspects the transformation started long before she caught her husband and fellow garden club member doing the white-trash-two-step on her new Bernhardt sofa. Now free from the shackles of a loveless marriage, and with her children off to college, she’s finally able to go searching for the missing pieces of her heart.

Finley’s best friend, Cathyanne, is already working hard to ensure that Finley finds true love this time around. But when Finley is unwittingly tossed into the arms of two men—their sexy trainer and her neighbor, a popular country star—Cathyanne fears finding the right guy will be more complicated than she ever could have imagined.

For Finley, building a new life feels as impossible as flying a paper airplane to the moon. But maybe, just maybe, with the right help, she will find her whole heart—even if it’s in the very last place she thinks to look.

To Swallow the Earth

Karl Beckstrand and Ransom Wilcox

Original Price: $3.75
Sale Price: FREE
Movie Rating: PG for violence
Genre: Western Suspense

Available on Kindle, Nook

108 years in the making! What if you came home after a journey and your family was no longer there? What if someone else was living in your house, running what you used to manage—and trying to kill you?

Wade Forester must stay in the shadows because, it seems, everyone has reason to shoot him. His father has disappeared, and his sister won’t speak a word to anyone. Beautiful Patricia Laughlin is searching for her family as well. Few people gain her trust or approval, though powerful landowner Bridger Calhoun just might be the man to do it.

After a clash throws them to opposite sides, Wade must decide if risking his life to help Patricia is worth the trouble. Bridger must win Patricia’s heart, and Patricia must learn which killer to trust with her life.

Set in Nevada’s historic silver rush, and reminiscent of Crichton, Grey, and L’Amour, the writing comes from intimate knowledge of the era and area. Having lived off the land, Wilcox depended on his wit, grit, and strength—and that of his animals—for survival, just as these characters do. Wilcox and Beckstrand weave authentic detail and care for the terrain and its creatures into a mystery that will make your heart pound and fill your lungs with the “rarefied air” of the old Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Comes with additional short story.

Cold River

Liz Adair

Original Price: $2.99
Sale Price: FREE until the 17th, then $0.99
Movie Rating: PG for some mild adult themes
Genre: Romantic Suspense

Available on Kindle

Mandy Steenburg thinks her doctorate in education has prepared her to run any school district - until she tangles with the moonshine-making, coon-dog-owning denizens of a tiny district in Pacific Northwest timber country. She's determined to make a difference, but the local populace still looks to the former superintendent for leadership. When Mandy lands in the middle of an old feud and someone keeps trying to kill her, instinct tells her to run. And though she has to literally swim through perilous waters, she finds a reason to stay and chance the odds.

Finding Success in Failure

Lucas Carlson

Original Price: $6.49
Sale Price: $0.99
Movie Rating: G
Genre: Non-fiction Business Advice

Available on Kindle, iTunes, Kobo, Nook

Want to make millions (or even billions) as an entrepreneur in just 18 months? 

So did I. And I used to read anything that promised it. 

It was a constant disappointment. Time after time I would read these books feeling like I couldn't apply or reproduce their efforts. 

But after 10 years of struggling, something finally clicked. I signed up over 100,000 users for what started out as just a side project, raised almost $10 million, and ended up having my company acquired. 

So what did I do differently? 

The real question you should be asking is what I DIDN'T do to find success in failure.

In every field, from chess to gymnastics, we can make bigger gains by reducing mistakes than by making winning moves. This is especially true in business. We study the greats, trying to extract valuable lessons, when avoiding a few key blunders would be more valuable. 

Fortunately, advice on what not to do is universally applicable. The ways to fall down the mountain are shared by all climbers, no matter which path they've chosen. 

This book is here to teach you how NOT to fall down the mountain. 

How can you be an entrepreneur that beats the odds? How do you build a successful business that not only changes the world for the better, but creates generational wealth for you and your family? You simply need to avoid mistakes -- and this book will show you how.

You Belong with Me

Melissa Storm

Original Price: $2.99
Sale Price: $0.99
Movie Rating: PG13
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Available on Kindle

Would you let your dog choose your boyfriend?

Maybe Charlie Rockwell should have thought a little harder before adopting the large, out-of-control rescue dog she saw featured on the local news—but, then again, her life has always been best with no waiting, no attachments, nobody to hold her back.

Will Porter lives a life of order and routine, so, of course, he's miffed when a savage Rottweiler picks a fight with his golden retriever at the dog park. His anger quickly vanishes when he looks into the tearful eyes of the dog's owner—eyes that look strikingly similar to his ex's. Even though he'd like nothing more than to run in the other direction, he's unable to ignore the beautiful stranger's request for help in taming her new dog.

Can Will get past her resemblance to his ex and finally learn to love—and trust—again? And can Charlie find the fun in a simpler existence? Who knows, maybe opposites really do attract.

Paladin: Pawn

Michael Young

Original Price: $3.99
Sale Price: $0.99
Movie Rating: PG for some scary elements
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Available on Kindle

When nerdy eighth-grader Rich Witz unwittingly becomes a paladin, a white knight in training, he is thrust into a world where flunking a test can change the course of history, and a mysterious bully is playing for keeps with his life.

Rich’s grandmother leaves him one thing before disappearing for good—a white chess pawn with his initials engraved on it. The pawn marks him as the next in an ancient line of white knights. He must prove himself in a life-or-death contest against his nemesis, a dark knight in training. With the ghost of an ancestor for his guide, he has seven days to complete four tasks of valor before his nemesis does, or join his guide in the realm of the dead. 

Paradise Lot

R.E. Vance

Original Price: $2.99
Sale Price: FREE Oct 12th and 13th, then $0.99 until the 17th
Movie Rating: PG13
Genre: Urban Fantasy

Available on Kindle

The gods are gone. All of them.

Their last message to humanity was: "Thank you for believing in us, but it is not enough. We're leaving. Good luck." At first no one took them seriously. Until, that is, all the denizens of all the heavens and hells started showing up on people's doorsteps.

Creatures that were once thought of as myth are now refugees striving to adapt to life on earth. Trouble is, after eons of living forever, they're not very good at being mortal.

Caught in the middle is Jean-Luc, a struggling hotelier who (reluctantly) promised to help these wayward 'Others' live in this new GoneGod world. But taking care of his guests, keeping his hotel afloat and dealing with the constant drama of the Others' lives is figuratively killing him. And now that an unusually strange Other is in town, his figurative demise might soon become more literal.

Paradise Lot is a new urban fantasy series by R.E. Vance that chronicles the adventures of the humans and 'Others' alike, as they struggle to navigate this strange, new post apocalyptic godless world.

The January Cove Series: Books 1-5

Rachel Hanna

Original Price: $6.99
Sale Price: $2.99
Movie Rating: PG13 for fade-to-black sex scenes
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Available on Kindle, iTunes, Nook

The first 5 books of the January Cove series!

Welcome to January Cove, a quaint beach town on the coast of Georgia where true love always wins and happy endings are the catch of the day.

In the first 5 books of the January Cove series, you'll meet the Parker family. There are 4 brothers (Kyle, Aaron, Jackson and Brad) and one sister (Addison). Books 1-5 follow each of the siblings through the trials of falling in love, and you'll also meet their mother, Adele, who raised her five children alone after becoming a widow at a young age.

These books will make you swoon and leave you wanting more. Don't start reading them before bed or you may not get a wink of sleep!

The January Cove series books are the perfect beach reads. If you love small town romance set in a beach town with rich characters and amazing love stories, this series will be a new favorite!

Numbers Game

Rebecca Rode

Original Price: $2.99
Sale Price: $0.99
Movie Rating: PG13 for some violence and heavy themes
Genre: Dystopian (Science Fiction)

Available on Kindle

Treena isn't sure she wants to be Rated anymore. Sure, she's prepared for Rating Day her entire life. Sure, she's one of the top contenders in Level Three school. But this number will brand her forever—a valuable citizen, or a pathetic waste of space. And then there's the the issue of being within 100 points of her top-rated boyfriend if they'll attend the academy together.

But Rating Day comes and her number is announced--and it shocks everyone.

To get her life and boyfriend back, Treena must go undercover and expose a military spy. Doesn’t sound too hard, except that someone wants her dead. And then there’s Vance, the mysterious soldier with a haunted past and gorgeous brown eyes. Together, they discover a dark numbers conspiracy, one that shatters the nation’s future. Treena must join up with Vance if she is to survive the dangerous game of numbers—and the terrible war that rages within her heart.

The Change

Teyla Branton

Original Price: $4.99
Sale Price: FREE
Movie Rating: PG13 for violence
Genre: Urban Fantasy

Available on Kindle, iTunes, Nook

Death, Life, or Love—Unbounded Always Play for Keeps

There are only two ways to kill Unbounded, and fire isn’t one of them—as law school dropout Erin Radkey learns the hard way. By fluke of a recessive gene, she has become Unbounded, a nearly immortal being with paranormal abilities.

Erin’s Change separates her from her loved ones and alters everything she believes to be true. A week earlier she was considering a marriage proposal; now she contemplates the best way to stay alive. Caught in a battle between two Unbounded groups, the Emporium and the Renegades, she is also hunted by a secret mortal society sworn to eradicate the Unbounded gene.

As Erin plunges into this dangerous new life, she must carve out her own place in the madness, protect her mortal family, and decide which group she should join. Her unique ability is vital to both groups in the race to secure an identification software that spells death for all Unbounded—or enslavement for the entire mortal world. Some will stop at nothing to use Erin as one more pawn in a battle that has spanned centuries. Erin’s undeniable attraction to Ritter Langton, whose family was massacred by opposing Unbounded two hundred and forty years ago, complicates her choices. There are no second chances. Death, life, or love—Unbounded always play for keeps.

Non-stop action, terrifying consequences, and powerful romance make The Change an exciting addition to the world of romantic urban fantasy.

Water Bottles for Team Rwanda

Clay &  Bosco with the first delivery of bottles.

Sabotage Cycling Gear is selling water bottles with the Team Rwanda logo on it. For every bottle that is purchased by you and me, a bottle is donated to the Rwandan cycling team. They have trouble covering basic cycling necessities for the team, and water bottles are scavenged and recycled. Click here if you want to help this courageous team with this basic item. Purchase of water bottles also helps fund their trip to  worlds.

How did I, a senior citizen and one who never in her life used pedal clips, come to be involved with the Rwandan cycling team? It’s a great story, and I’ll tell it below, but you can’t read it until you’ve gone to Sabotage Cycling and bought your bottles. Well, maybe you can read on. I’ll put another link at the end. 

Clay on his first trip to Rwanda.

My son Clay is a passionate cyclist. Last year, as he traveled for his job with the government, he took a Ritchey break-away bicycle with him. After work and on weekends he’d explore the particular country he was in at the time.

He was riding the roads in Rwanda and met up with one of the members of Rwanda’s team. They rode together for a couple of hours, and through hand gestures and rudimentary English, they were able to talk cycling and get acquainted.

Clay told us about the encounter on one of our Skype sessions, and when Christmas came around, remembering the conversation, I got him the movie Rising From Ashes for Christmas. Here’s the blurb from the web site: 

“Rising from Ashes” is a feature length documentary about two worlds colliding when cycling legend Jock Boyer moves to Rwanda, Africa to help a group of struggling genocide survivors pursue their dream of a national team. As they set out against impossible odds both Jock and the team find new purpose as they rise from the ashes of their past.

One of the things you learn from this wonderful, well-done  
movie is that bicycles are an integral part of the Rwandan transportation system. In such a poor country, they’re often cobbled together out of materials at hand—usually wood. Just google "wooden bikes in Rwanda" and you'll see what I mean.

Our whole family was powerfully moved by the movie, and Clay was especially intrigued when he found out that Tom Ritchey (mountain biking pioneer and manufacturer and the “Ritchey” of Clay’s Ritchey bike) was the author of the cycling team resurgence in Rwanda. There’s a great writeup of Tom Ritchey’s connection to Rwanda at the end of his Wikipedia article.  

When Clay returned to that country for work after Christmas, he got in touch with Team Rwanda and asked if there was anything they needed him to bring over. He met up with some of them and had some great rides.

In the meantime, Clay and some cycling buddies began designing and selling cycling gear. Their company name is Sabotage, and they’re having a lot of fun and some success with their shoestring enterprise. When Clay heard that Team Rwanda had no water bottle sponsor, it was a logical step to have Sabotage do what they could to supply bottles to Team Rwanda.

So, there you go. If you need some water bottles, or if you’d like to plan ahead for Christmas presents, or just want to foster some goodwill, I hope you’ll go to this link and buy a water bottle or two…or a dozen. 

Go Team Rwanda!

  

Of Trombones and Tender Mercies

If I knew fifty years ago what I know now, I would have urged my husband, Derrill, to keep his college trombone and find a group to play with. But the expediencies of food and shelter and a growing family create different priorities when you're young.

We always had music in our home, though. Derrill's college trombone was sold to buy a marimba, and that was sold to buy a string bass that we toted with us through several moves. We found a friend who played guitar, and for a couple of decades we spent many family evenings singing folk songs.

Derrill playing in the Peach Days Concert

We got seven kids raised and launched, and about the time we had an empty nest, Derrill bought a beater trombone on Ebay. That led to another trombone, which led, finally, to the vintage Bach Stradivarius trombone. It's a model used by many professional musicians, a truly fine instrument.

I know Derrill would like to have been able to play jazz trombone. He has a great ear and a real appreciation for the art form. After he got the Bach trombone he took lessons and spent lots of time woodshedding out in his shop.

He played this horn in the Skagit Concert Band in Mt. Vernon, Washington and for a short time in the Symphony of the Canyons here in Kanab, Utah. But he was frustrated with his inability to pick up where he had left off over fifty years ago.

There was the timing problem, too. As we push on through the middle seventies, we realize we haven't time to learn things that are going to take years of dedication. Life becomes a matter of choices.

In light of that fact, Derrill figured he didn't have time left on this earth to learn to do the Bach horn justice, so he decided to sell it.  He is not trombone-less, as he has another horn that is easier for him to play. Still, advertising the Bach Stradivarius was hard for him to do.

Mike Hettwer, a man in Oregon, bought the horn for his son, Matt, who was studying for his master's degree at California State University at Long Beach. Derrill boxed it up and sent it off, and months later got an email from Mike:

Matt Hettwer, left, winner of competition.

I just wanted to let you know that Matt is putting your trombone to good use. Last week he competed in an international competition in Valencia, Spain, and won! The event was sponsored by the International Trombone Association. He won the Carl Fontana Jazz Trombone event. Thanks again for selling your trombone to us. He is so happy to have it!

Derrill replied:
What a pleasing message. Thank you. We send our congratulations to your son. It was a great horn to own, but far better that it be in the hands of such a talented musician.
Mike's wife Kami wrote back, saying:
Matt's prize is an Edwards trombone, but he says he will continue to use the Bach exclusively.

Kami also sent a link to a newspaper article about Matt's win.

So there you have it. Not only is the Carl Fontana Jazz Trombone competition a very big deal, but you can see from the newspaper article that Matt Hettwer is a dedicated jazz trombonist.

So what is the tender mercy? It's a little hard to explain, but here you have a man, a septuagenarian, who now has the time to practice that he didn't have as a young father trying to provide for his family. He's able to buy a nice horn, but in the meantime his body has betrayed him.Seeing the music is harder and remembering the quick passages is trickier, and his arm doesn't work like it used to.

So when he finally realizes that's one dream that's not going to be realized, he sells his nice trombone. He packs it up and sends it off and figures that's the end of it.

But it's not. He finds out that this horn that he spent hours and hours practicing on is now in the hands of a dedicated musician, one who loves jazz and is mastering the craft. One who's won a prestigious award. With Derrill's Bach trombone.

So, though Derrill hasn't yet gained facility as a jazz trombonist (I still hear him out in the shop playing along with  Louis Armstrong CDs), his favorite horn is playing lots of jazz. There's a lot to smile about, there.

Announcing my new book THE McCARRAN COLLECTION

I've had the launch party, so I guess I'd better post my new book on my blog. I'm calling it THE McCARRAN COLLECTION, and it's about an archivist who comes to Kanab to catalog a collection of papers. These papers are housed at the fictional McCarran House, which is based on the actual Heritage House in Kanab.

The Heritage House was built in 1894 for the Bowmans, who sold it about the time it was completed. The house was occupied by Chamberlains from 1897 until 1973, when it was purchased by the City of Kanab as a heritage center. (From 1937 on, it was Lillian McAllister Chamberlain who lived there with her husband June--short for Junior.)

I had begun this story in a different setting, but when we moved to Kanab, Utah, and I toured the Heritage House, I determined that this was my new McCarran House.

Here's the blurb for The McCarran Collection:

Bridget Olasfson, a beautiful archivist with a painful secret, comes to Utah's brilliant red rock country to catalog the McCarran Collection. She finds herself caught up in a dangerous intrigue involving a lost boy, a drug cartel, and possibly murder.  What will she do when the only way to save the boy is to give up the man she loves?

Here's a link to where you can find it on Amazon.com. If you read it and like it, I'd be glad if you post a review on Amazon. If you don't like it, well you can post that, too. 

Southern Utah's Toadstool Hike

One of my family’s favorite places to go in Southern Utah is the Toadstool Hike. One Thanksgiving day we took the whole family. There were seven children, the youngest 3, and as we were hiking along they were shouting, “This is the best hike EVER.”

It’s  ¾ mile to the first toadstool. It’s an easy up and down, following a wash. Nothing difficult.

How many toadstools? I don’t know. Part of the fun is in spotting new ones.  There are plenty!

After discovering the first red toadstool, and after exploring the area around it, go to your left and around a point, and you’ll find more toadstools, including a fairy ring.

Fairy ring

I have friends who write fantasy, and I keep telling them that the fairy ring would make a wonderful portal to another dimension.

The whole area looks like something from another world. It would be a great landscape for a science fiction movie, too.

To get to the trailhead, you drive east of Kanab toward Lake Powel.  After you go through the Cock’s Comb and cross the Paria river, the parking lot will be on the left after you pass milepost 20. (If you’re coming from Page, it will be on the right just past milepost 19.) Here are the directions from the BLM web page, but I’m sure there is a sign marking the trailhead at the parking lot.

The trailhead is located on Hwy. 89, 45 miles east of Kanab, 12 miles west of Big Water, or 1.5 mile east of the Paria Contact Station. There are no signs marking the trailhead. A short access road on the north side of the highway leads to a hiker’s gate in the fence line. A power pole near the fence is a good landmark. Visitors should park near the hiker’s gate. This is a moderate 1.5 mile round trip hike. A trailhead register is located a short distance from the fence. Follow the wash and a well defined social trail to view the hoodoos. Exploration in the general area will reveal other hoodoos and balanced rocks. Cryptobiotic soil crusts are prevalent in the area and should be avoided when exploring off trail. Return to the trailhead the way you came.

As I said, it’s a wonderful place to take kids. It’s also a wonderful place to teach youngsters about caring for the environment. There are lots of rocks they can climb on there, but I hope you’ll talk to them about how fragile some of the toadstools are and make sure they don’t climb on them.

Better details about the hike can be found here 

Here’s a link to a web site with more pictures of the toadstools

The beauty of the Toadstools is that they're so accessible. We've met people from all over the world as we've made the hike. 

An interview with Pamela France, author of LIFE SOUP - A Memoir

When I moved to Kanab three years ago, I was delighted to find a chapter of ANWA  (American Night Writers Association) was forming. I had been a member of this vibrant LDS women's writers group for ten years and was glad to have a local chapter to attend.

One of my fellow chapter members was Pamela France, and it's been exciting to see her complete her book and have it published. In her book LIFE SOUP she confronts a difficult subject--sexual abuse and incest--in a sensitive and nonthreatening way. Make no mistake, you will feel her pain, but she writes in such a way that you aren't afraid to tackle the subject with her.

I already had someone come to me, knowing I was a writer and knew Pamela, and ask me to tell her how much reading the book helped her. If you know someone who is dealing with the aftereffects of this blight, tell them about Pamela's book. I'll put a purchase link here and at the end, too. This is too valuable a book to miss out on.

I asked Pamela if I could post an interview on my blog to let people know about her book. She graciously consented, and she'd like to host a drawing for a free ebook copy. If you'd like to win a copy of Pamela's book, post a comment below. I'll have a drawing on Wednesday, June 17 for all those people who have commented and award the book.

Here's the interview:

1.      

      LIZ: Why did you wait so long to write your book?

PAMELA: The healing process follows its own course. It takes years to understand oneself and when abuse is thrown into the mix, it can take even longer. I have been writing all my life and I found it very beneficial to get my thoughts and feelings out in this way. I wanted to share my testimony of Jesus Christ. My hope is that it might touch the hearts of those caught in the throes of traumatic abuse. Conveying this in a readable and inoffensive way took time.  

LIZ:   What is your background that allows you to offer credibility to other people?

PAMELA: I survived my father's abuse. Throughout my life I have taken many opportunities to read, study and experience what I could that would help me to deal with its effects. Along the way, I learned much and wanted to help other in similar circumstances.

LIZ:  How did you gained your love of writing and your desire to write?

 PAMELA: I must admit that reading and writing in my teen years became an escape. Reading especially took me away to other places and helped keep my mind off my troubles. I love most genres of literature and have immersed myself in everything I read. My favorite categories are mystery and historical fiction. I believe writing is a wonderful way to heal wounds of the heart.

LIZ:   What gave you the confidence to write a book on this controversial topic?

 PAMELA: Frankly, my confidence was in the Lord. I hope that my writing my book helps repay some of the debt for the blessings He provides in such abundance. Sharing my story was not easy for me. Fortunately, I have a very loving family and friends who care. These people encouraged me to continue. I believe I had more determination and hope than confidence. Mia Angelo's quote says it well - "There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you."

LIZ:   Did you ever feel sensitivity towards those in your book whose names you included?

When I shared my manuscript with my beta-readers, I ask if I should use real names or fictional. My sister Paula, a major character in my childhood and healing journey, said, "We are who we are." I am so appreciative of her attitude and support. My topic is sensitive, but it is my story to tell.

LIZ:   Who has this book benefited and why?

PAMELA: Since writing this book, I have been surprised at the unexpected benefits. One friend shared a wish that she could have read it many years ago. She felt it would have helped her better understand and love her own mother, who was also a victim of incest. Many have told me that they shared the book with a friends dealing with similar circumstances such as: the mother of a child victimized, a woman dealing with effects of abuse perpetrated on her during childhood and now trying to raise her own children. Other victims also shared support and appreciation that I had a voice when they had none. Abuse can make one feel so isolated. I needed to tell my story to let others know that they are not alone and that someone cares and understands.

LIZ: Thanks so much, Pamela, for sharing your story. As promised, here's the purchase link again. Don't forget to comment for a chance to win an ebook copy. This is a valuable book, folks.