Family Skeletons - Book Tour and Giveaway

 

Family Skeletons

Baker City: Hearts & Haunts Book 3

by Josie Malone

Genre: Paranormal Military Romance

Sergeant First Class Sullivan Barlow has plans for her future and none of them include the guy she slept with in a night of weakness. Intending to forget the devastation of losing her best friend in Afghanistan, Sully woke the next morning still alone. Her only solace—she hadn’t told the man her real name.

A career soldier, Tate Murphy has three more years in the Army until he’s eligible for retirement. Seven weeks ago, he met a woman in a hotel bar and spent the night with her. He hasn’t been able to get her out of his mind and can’t believe his luck when he finds her again.

Then they discover their first night together resulted in something they never expected. She’s pregnant, and Tate immediately proposes. Pregnant, struggling with survivor guilt, the last thing Sully needs is to learn her best friend may have died, but hasn’t left yet.

Tate says, ‘sometimes courage is an act of survival’. Sully fears trust is a casualty of war. Will she and Tate ever find it again either by themselves or with the help of those who have passed on before?

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More Than a Spirit

Baker City: Hearts & Haunts Book 2

Home from her Army Reserve tour in Afghanistan, Sergeant First Class Ann Barrett is divorced, unemployed and dealing with her unruly, spoiled six-year-old. The last thing she needs is a ghost playing matchmaker. Not ready to trade in her fatigues for a civilian job as a high school teacher, Ann applies for a position at the Army Reserve base.

Issues arise when she meets her new boss, former Army Ranger, Master Sergeant Harry Colter. He came to Fort Bronson in Seattle to escape his grief when his best friend died in an ambush, but he hasn’t realized he didn’t come alone, or that his buddy is playing ‘Cupid’.

It’s difficult for Ann leave the war behind when so many things enrage her, like her ex-husband and her family that puts the fun back in “dysfunctional.” However, in order to handle what comes now, she must deal with her past, her child and the 20-year-old secret she learns about Harry.

Will a woman with enough baggage to fill a footlocker and a man who knows life comes with no guarantees save each other and find a future?

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My Sweet Haunt

Baker City: Hearts & Haunts Book 1

Cobwebs, eerie sounds and creaky floorboards greet Cat O’Leary McTavish and her twin daughters when they move to their new home, a dilapidated dude ranch near Baker City in the Cascade foothills of Washington State. Her plan to restore the destination resort to its former glory hits a snag when she learns she has the ‘O’Leary Gift’ and can talk to the dead man who still resides in her house.

Former Army Ranger, Rob Williams always planned to run the family guest ranch after completing his military service. Instead, he “bought the farm with his life” when he died in Vietnam, but being dead doesn’t mean he’s going anywhere. Encountering someone who “sees” and “hears” him is a welcome change.

Cat’s determination leads her into danger, when they discover an adversary wants to turn the one-time dude ranch into a gravel pit.

Will a woman with a dream and a man who’s had his dreams cut short, manage to save a ranch and each other when the biggest surprise of all is love?

**Only .99 cents!!**

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Josie Malone lives and works at her family business, a riding stable in Washington State. Teaching kids to ride and know about horses, she finds in many cases, she's taught three generations of families. Her life experiences span adventures from dealing cards in a casino, attending graduate school to get her Masters in Teaching degree, being a substitute teacher, and serving in the Army Reserve - all leading to her second career as a published author. Visit her at her website, www.josiemalone.com to learn about her books.

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What are your top 10 favorite books/authors?

Wild Valley by Charlotte Paul, Airs Above the Ground by Mary Stewart, Annie Jordan by Mary Brinker Post, A Cold Day for Murder by Dana Stabenow (and the rest of the Kate Shugak series too), Born In Fire, Born in Ice & Born in Shame by Nora Roberts, the Three Sisters Island series (trilogy) by Nora Roberts. I also love Jayne Ann Krentz’s books regardless of what name she uses and Patricia Briggs.

What book do you think everyone should read?

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King. This is a fun book whether you’re a writer or not.

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

How long have you been writing?

Since I was 17. Forever! And I don’t plan to stop as long as I’m breathing.

Do the characters all come to you at the same time or do some of them come to you as you write?

Both. However, when I’m writing the Baker City Hearts and Haunts series, I always remember the seven Irish boys who met on a ship bound for America and eventually established the town of Baker City. Most of the people who still live there are descendants of the O’Learys, the McElroys, the Sweeneys, the O’Connells, the Garveys, the O’Neills, and the O’Sullivans. In 1910, avalanches almost obliterated the town and sixty people died. It took months to dig out the bodies and the last funeral was for the teacher who still haunts the school.

What kind of research do you do before you begin writing a book?

I re-read the books that came earlier in the series, so I remember the details. I’m incredibly lucky that I have a wonderful editor who knows my books almost as well as I do, and she keeps the facts straight too. If I’m writing a Liberty Valley Love book, I’ll research whatever magical elements that may appear, i.e., witchcraft, shapeshifters, time-travel etc that I plan to include in the world. If it’s a Baker City book, then I know the inhabitants of Baker City remember their history. They can’t help it since many of the old-timers are still there even if they aren’t ‘alive and kicking’ anymore. Love is real and so are the ghosts although most people can’t communicate with them. If someone does want to know what upsets the local spirits, they’ll visit the new O’Leary in hopes she’ll be able to tell them why they have a problem and how to resolve it.

When I began the Liberty Valley Love series, I returned to my long-time love of western novels. Riding West and looking for a chance to start a new life wasn’t limited to something that men did. There were women who wanted new adventures. The basic theme of the Western continues to attract readers. Redemption, second chances, adventures – none of these are limited to one gender. Today’s western romances continue to revolve around those ideals. Western fiction is truly an American art-form and most of us know the mythos if not the reality.

For example, many women disguised themselves as men when they headed West to new lives. Detailed in The Mayflower Murderer & Other Forgotten Firsts in American History by Peter Stevens, Charley Parkhurst successfully hid her sex for more than 40 years until her death in 1879. Known as the “Boss of the Road,” she drove a stagecoach through the Sierra Nevadas in California. In 1868, Charley registered to vote and cast ballots in elections, something she could do as a “man,” but a right no woman was allowed in 19^th century America.

Once I learned about Charley, I continued more research on the topic. I learned about women who served honorably in the Civil War. Little Jo Monaghan is famous in Idaho as a miner and “cowboy.” Who knew that “he” was a woman? From there, it was a short step to the “What-If” game that authors play. What if I wrote a book about a woman who disguised her gender and set it in Washington Territory? Just the idea meant more research and in pre-Covid days, I read everything I could find about life in Western Washington, collecting oral histories, textbooks, and memoirs. I visited museums and historical societies and listened to the stories that older residents told of their lives.

History can be much more fascinating than you think. And it seemed natural for one of the first books I wrote, rewrote, and rewrote again to be a traditional Western. In A Man’s World, a historical western romance, Trace Burdette masqueraded as a man, fooling everyone but new neighbor, ruggedly handsome Zebadiah Prescott. With their love on the line, they had to deal with the past and the outlaw who killed her grandfather and stalked her.

Do you see writing as a career?

Definitely.

What do you think about the current publishing market?

I need to do more research about what is happening. Currently, I’m on deadline so I’m not that focused on what’s going on in the business. My focus is on writing the best books I can.

Do you read yourself and if so, what is your favorite genre?

Romance, followed by Young Adult stores. I love Pintip Dunn’s books.

Do you prefer to write in silence or with noise? Why?

I love ABBA and played the Greatest Hits CD when I wrote Family Skeletons. Yes, it’s the same songs popularized in the movie, MAMMA MIA. If I’m not listening to music, I’ll turn on the news and listen to Don Lemon report on what’s happening in the world.

Do you write one book at a time or do you have several going at a time?

As Cherry Adair said in one of the classes I attended, professional writers will be plotting, writing, editing, and promoting all at the same time. Currently, I’m working on the Ghost of the Past while I plot Kitchen Witch. When I get stuck, I jump to the next book in my Shamrock Stable series – a Young Adult story about girls and horses.

If you could have been the author of any book ever written, which book would you choose?

I’m happy writing my own stories.

Pen or typewriter or computer?

I’ve written with all three, but I prefer my computer.

Tell us about a favorite character from a book.

I write about girls and women who do things. In My Sweet Haunt, the first book in the Baker City Hearts and Haunts series, Cat McTavish doesn’t wait to be rescued from a bad marriage. She saves herself and her twin daughters when she moves to a dilapidated guest or dude ranch. Granted, she doesn’t expect to find a ghost, much less be able to talk to him, but Rob Williams was so much fun. How could I resist him?

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