Spotlight on New Christmas Story Released Today: The Unwanted Christmas Guest by Penny Estelle

Welcome, Penny Estelle to the J.Q. Rose blog!  

Congratulations on your release today of your first Christmas story. The Unwanted Christmas Guest is a contemporary romance. Can't wait to hear all about it!

A contemporary romance just in time for Christmas

I can’t tell you how excited I am that my very first ever Christmas story is being released today.  The Unwanted Christmas Guest is a story about Elizabeth McMurphy, an up and coming high powered attorney, who is after vengeance.  Her sights are set on one of the richest and most powerful families in Colorado. Steve York is an obnoxious reporter that thinks the ice queen has gone too far and does all he can to get under her skin.

When one of the worst blizzards in history, hits Colorado and leaves a hurt Steve York, stranded with Elizabeth in a mountain cabin, she must decide to either take care of him, or throw him out to fend for himself.

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Excerpt

“What’s going on here? Where the hell are my pants?”

      Elizabeth practically jumped out of her skin. Steve stood in the bedroom doorway, wearing only some tight fitting pink sweats.

“I found you after your car went nose to nose with a tree.” She crossed her arms. “The question is, what were you doing up here in a snowstorm? Were you coming up here to spy on me?”

      “Jesus, my head hurts.” Steve groaned and sat at the kitchen table. “And don’t flatter yourself.” He brought up his hands to rub his eyes and push on his temples. He started to say something when a giggle and a round of undistinguishable sounds caught his attention. Steve stared at the little girl, a whisper of a smile on his pale face. “You have a daughter?”

      She chose to ignore the question. “Again, Mr. York, you were headed…where?”

      “I was going to see some friends in Granby, then on to Steamboat to spend the holidays with my family.”

      “You figured on taking a short cut on Badger Springs Road?”

      “Basically,” he muttered. “I had a phone in my pants pocket…” Steve looked down at the pink sweats. “Yours, I presume?” At her nod, he asked with a smirk, “And you’re the one that took my clothes off?”

      “Junior, my neighbor.”

      “If you’ll allow me to use your phone, I’ll call Triple A and get myself and my car out of your life.” He reached over to Katy and she latched onto his finger, the brightest smile ever illuminating her sweet face.

Elizabeth quickly picked her up, as if he would contaminate her by his touch.  “Phones are out.”

      “Internet?”

      “Nope.”

      “How the hell do you live here?” he asked irritably.

* * *

Please find The Unwanted Christmas Guest and my other stories at my  MuseItUp Publishing author page.

Feel free to stop by and check out my other stories and/or leave me a message.  I love visitors!

www.pennystales.com

www.pennyestelle.blogspot.com

https://twitter.com/Pennystales

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5820078.Penny_Estelle

http://www.facebook.com/pennystales

http://www.amazon.com/Penny-Estelle/e/B006S62XBY

Hobby Hoedown Explores Back Roads with Author Penny Estelle

Multi-genre author Penny Estelle stops in today with some photos of one of her back road explorations, a hobby she and her husband enjoy. She is also celebrating the release of her third book in the Wickware Sagas, Flash to the Past.

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Hi everybody.  I want to thank JQ for letting me visit with her on her blog today.  What a great idea to find out the different hobbies people are into.

My husband and I have been retired for four years now.  We live in a very rural area.  When I feel restless, anxious, or just plain old bored, I like to pack an ice chest, grab the GPS and the gun, get the dog in the car, and head out to the unknown. 

We have an old Suzuki Samuri, that has been beat to death on these excursions.  We have been all over Arizona, from ghost towns to old mines. 

No, I don't believe this is Penny's car!

Our latest trip was to the ghost town of  Signal, home of the McCracken Mine.

What I understand is it was established in 1877 and was, at one point, a booming town of 800 citizens, until finally petering out 1932.  

Apparently there were problems getting freight to and from the town and shop keepers had to order six months in advance.  Some of us just aren’t that organized!

I write both kids stories and for the adults.  I would love it if you would stop by anytime to check out my stories or just to say “Hi”.  My books and I can be found at:

www.pennystales.com

www.pennyestelle.blogspot.com

https://twitter.com/Pennystales

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5820078.Penny_Estelle

Take a peek at Penny's latest book releasing tomorrow, Friday, July 19!

Flash to the Past

Historical fiction/time travel

 Can snooty, seventh grader Kristy Sawyer’s day get any worse?  It’s a Monday at Langdon Middle School and first thing in the morning Kristy is sent to see Principal DeWitt. His long, drawn out lecture makes her late for Miss Wickware’s history class. But the worst is when she finds out she is being partnered with nerdy Larry Peables to do an oral report on some historical Molly Picture, or Pincher, or Pitcher. And the report is due tomorrow!

Her plan to bat her eyes and flirt with the little nerd, sure that he will jump at the chance to do whatever she wants, blows up in her face when he flat refuses to do the research.  Her day takes a drastic turn for the worse when she and Larry find themselves in 1778, Trenton, New Jersey.  During their trip back in time, Kristy and Larry come face to face with the British, George Washington, become involved in the Battle of Manmouth, and of course, meet their oral report subject, the famous Molly Pitcher.

She has only Larry to help her figure out why they are there and how are they going to get home.

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Flash to the Past is Book 3 of the Wickware Sagas, and if I can say this outloud, my favorite story.  If all goes well, it will be released tomorrow – July 19! 

There will be five stories all together.  Please visit my author page at MuseItUp Publishing and you can check out all three stories, so far.

Penny Estelle's Short Story: At What Price?

Short story by P.A. Estelle

Today is a pretty special day. Author Penny Estelle is my guest and I stop at Penny's blog as I wrap up the Book Tour for Girls Succeed. After reading about Penny's intriguing story, hop on over to her Penny's Tales blog and discover the non-fiction e-book for girls, Girls Succeed: Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women. Be sure to enter the drawing by leaving a comment here and/or at Penny's blog to win prizes.

Welcome, Penny. 

Good morning J Q.  I want to thank you very much for inviting me to stop by and chat.

I would like to talk about my very first “adult” story - At What Price? 

The story is about a grandmother who steps up to take care of her granddaughter, who was abandoned by her own mother.  The little girl’s name is Rio. 

I actually have a granddaughter named Rio.  My Rio is six-years old, going on twenty-six.  The only similarities these two Rios have in common is the long, curly, wild hair.

* * * *

Katherine Gardner is awakened at 6:30 in the morning with a call from a strange woman who claims to have her granddaughter, Rio. This woman is calling the police if Katherine doesn’t make arrangements for somebody to pick this little girl up.

Katherine is a fifty-six years old woman and all alone, since her husband died over three years ago. Her life takes a dramatic turn when six-year old Rio comes to stay with her. Rio is a scared little girl whose life is filled with uncertainty and fear.

In her grandmother, Rio finds a safe haven and an unconditional love that she has never known in her six short years and Katherine has found a love to fill the void that has been absent for way too long.

Unfortunately Katherine’s daughter, who deserted Rio, has other ideas.

Excerpt:

Rio seemed excited about the prospect of going to school, but when it was time to take her to class, she was as pale as a hen’s egg and had a death grip on my hand. The fear in her eyes was heartbreaking. I gave some flimsy excuse about school already being in session for the day so we would start fresh tomorrow.

            The receptionist said, “It won’t be easier tomorrow. I can assure you, she will be perfectly fine if you allow us to take her to class now.”

            This bitch had no heart. “I’m aware and thank you for your concern. We will be back tomorrow.”

I took Rio to the store to buy school supplies and a few new dresses, but she seemed to retreat back to the scared little girl I found in the plane.

            At dinner, I talked about the new friends she would meet and all the stuff she would learn in first grade. I was babbling about riding the school bus when she interrupted me.

“Mimi?” she whispered, “Where will I go next time if nobody picks me up from school?” She bit her lip, as if to keep it from quivering, and her eyes seemed to fill her entire face.

I pulled my chair next to hers and ran my hand down her mass of tangled curls, physically hurting for my granddaughter. “Rio, as long as you are with me, I will pick you up – always! That’s a promise. I love you and you will always be safe with me.”

Download a sample or buy At What Price? at these online booksellers:

SolsticePublishing

 Amazon

 Barnes & Noble

Smashwords

I have written three MG/tween stories and one non-fiction story about my and my hubby’s life living “off the grid.”

Hike Up Devil’s Mountain

Billy Cooper’s Awesome Nightmare

A Float Down the Canal

SOLAR – One Family’s Reality

I (and my books) can always be found at:

www.pennystales.com

www.pennyestelle.blogspot.com

Twitter - @pennystales

pennyestelle@yahoo.com

Feel free to stop by anytime.  I love visitors!