#Coming Soon to The Cowboy and The Harlequin"

[folkimplosionmusic]

Tim Buckley

Martin Aston, MOJO, July 1995

IN 1965, THE LOS ANGELES MAGAZINE CHEETAH dubbed three emerging singer-songwriters – Jackson Browne, Steve Noonan, and Tim Buckley – 'The Orange County Three'.

Browne progressed towards a comfortably feted stardom which endures to this day Noonan vanished into the ether after one album. And somewhere between their two paths drifted the late Tim Buckley. Between rabid adulation and ignoble obscurity, between legendary status and the losers' list, his is a fixed position, like a star that shines fiercely in the night sky but in space was extinguished eons ago.

Twenty years after his death on June 29, 1975, diehard disciples complain of the mismanagement of Tim Buckley's legacy. Here was a man whose recordings remain extraordinary cross-pollinations of folk-rock, folk-jazz, the avant-garde and all points in between. They are, in the words of Lillian Roxon's famed 1969 Rock Encyclopaedia, "easily the most beautiful in the new music, beautifully produced and arranged, always managing to be wildly passionate and pure at the same time". A shame, then, that they are still to be posthumously rewarded with a decent CD reissue campaign.

"When an artist finally comes through all this mess, you hear a pure voice," said Tim Buckley three months before he died. "We're in the habit of emulating those voices when they're dead."

TIMOTHY CHARLES BUCKLEY III WAS BORN IN AMSTERDAM, New York on Valentine's Day, 1947, his family uprooting westwards a decade later to Anaheim, home of Disneyland and strip malls. He grew up with music. Grandma dug Billie Holiday and Bessie Smith, mom adored Sinatra and Garland. Timothy Charles III himself leaned towards the gnarled county of Johnny Cash and Hank Williams, the lonesome sound of the singing cowboys. The kid even taught himself to play the banjo.

Larry Beckett, the Buena Vista high school friend who added erudite lyrics to Buckley melodies over the years, recalls how schoolboy Tim always wanted to sing. Buckley had learnt how to use his perfect pitch from crooners like Nat 'King' Cole and Johnny Mathis but chose to exercise his range by screaming at buses and imitating the sound of trumpets. His voice set sail for the edge early

Jim Fielder, Tim's other best buddy at school, recalls first hearing the Buckley voice. "One hesitates to get flowery but the words 'gift from God' sprung to mind," he says. "He had an incredible range of four octaves, always in tune, with a great vibrato he had complete control over. You don't normally hear that stuff from a 17-year-old."

Recruited by C&W combo Princess Ramona & The Cherokee Riders, Buckley played guitar in a yellow hummingbird shirt and turquoise hat. The Princess soon saw that Timmy's heart wasn't in country – his nascent love of Miles Davis and John Coltrane testified to that – so suggested he turn instead to the burgeoning folk scene. Despite an intuitive gift for its melodic nuances, 'folk-rock' was a tag that would later irk him. Buckley was always cynical about how the business worked. "You hear what they want you to play when you're breaking into the business," he told Sounds in 1972, "and you show 'em what you've got."

With Fielder on bass and lyricist Beckett on drums they formed two bands, the Top 40-oriented Bohemians and the more esoteric, acoustic Harlequin 3, who would mix in poetry and freely ad-lib from Ken Nordine's Word Jazz monologues.

Buckley quickly won great notices in LA, and the 'Orange County Three' accolade only heightened the interest of the music business. Mothers Of Invention drummer Jimmy Carl Black was impressed enough to suggest a meeting with Herb Cohen, a manager with a curiously dual reputation for unswerving breadheadedness and courageous work with mavericks from Lenny Bruce and the Mothers to Captain Beefheart and Wild Man Fischer. Instantly smitten – "there was no question that Tim had something unique" – Cohen sent a demo to Jac Holzman at Elektra, home of folk-rocking excellence.

"I must have listened to it twice a day for a week," said Holzman. "Whenever anything was getting me down, I'd run for Buckley. He was exactly the kind of artist with whom we wanted to grow – young and in the process of developing, extraordinarily gifted and so untyped that there existed no formula or pattern to which anyone would be committed."

Buckley in turn told Zigzag that he respected Holzman because he believed Jac only signed multi-talented acts who made each album an individual statement. Yet Buckley's self-titled debut album in 1966 was also his most generic. "I was only 19," Buckley later recalled in Changes magazine, "and going into the studio was like Disneyland. I'd do anything anybody said." The beat-guitar chime of Lee Underwood and the songs' baroque dressings were blood-related to The Byrds, par for the folk-rock course. "Naive, stiff, quaky and innocent, but a ticket into the marketplace," was Underwood's verdict. But you can discern what Cohen and Holzman had so clearly appraised: above all, that soaring counter-tenor voice and remarkable melodic gift.

The follow-up, Goodbye & Hello (1967), was tainted less by convention than by overambition. Producer Jerry Yester probably saw the chance to drape Buckley's ravishing voice in all the soft-rock flourishes at his disposal, while Beckett's convoluted wordplay was just the wrong side of pretentious. Buckley had radically outgrown the first album's high-school origins, his voice now adopting the languid resonances of his Greenwich Village folk idol Fred Neil on the aching ballads 'Once I Was' and 'Morning Glory'.

"Me and Tim hung around in Greenwich Village during the 1960s," recalls the reclusive songsmith of 'Everybody's Talkin'' and 'Dolphins'. "Tim was completely immersed in the music 24 hours a day He ate, drank and breathed music. I would not be at all surprised to learn that Tim worked on chord progressions and melody lines in his dreams, he was that committed to the art form."

In the Neil vein, Buckley's bristling 'I Never Asked To Be Your Mountain' is a six-minute epistle to his already estranged wife Mary Guibert and son Jeffrey Scott (better known now as Jeff Buckley).

"The marriage was a disaster," says Jim Fielder. "Mary was full of life and talent, a classical pianist and Tim's equal. But the pregnancy made it go sour, as neither of them was ready for it. To Tim it was draining his creative force, and Mary wasn't willing to take the chance on his career, putting it to him like, Settle down and raise a baby or we're through. That kind of showdown."

In the climax to 'I Never Asked To Be Your Mountain', Buckley yelped, pleaded, even shrieked "Baby, pleeeaEEESSE!"), the first evidence of the places his pain would take him. Honesty was the key. When Buckley and Beckett played it autobiographical – exquisitely vulnerable, naive yet insightful – the results were stunning. When they played to the gallery it sounded forced. Of the title track's anti-Vietnam tract, Buckley said, "I just hate the motherfucker. It's like, 'OK motherfuckers, you want a protest song, here it is'. They were bugging the hell out of me so I figured, just this once, and then I wouldn't have to do it again.

"Talking about war is futile," he reckoned. "What can you say about it? You want it to end but you know it won't. Fear is a limited subject but love isn't. I ain't talking about sunsets 'n' trees, I'm involved with America...but the people in America, not the politics. All I can see is the injustice."

Elektra's Jac Holzman, however, felt positive: a poster of Buckley loomed large over Sunset Strip. "As we got deeper into 1967 and Vietnam," Holzman observed, "the combined effect of his words, his music, his passion, his persona struck a particular resonance. To some extent he was the bright side of people's tortured souls, and maybe of his own tortured soul. He could express anguish that wasn't negative."

Goodbye & Hello reached 171 on the Billboard chart, but Buckley wasn't in the mood to consolidate. Instead, when Tonight Show guest host Alan King made fun of his hair, the singer retorted, "You know, it's really surprising, I always thought you were a piece of cardboard." On another outing he refused to lip-synch to 'Pleasant Street' and walked out.

WITH HINDSIGHT, UNDERWOOD TRACES Buckley's depressive tendencies to his father who "suffered a head injury in the Second World War and from then on his insecurities and rage made life miserable for Tim. He saw Tim's beauty, and called him a faggot and beat him up. He looked at Tim's talent and said he'd never make it. His mother didn't help: she'd tell him he'd die young because that's what poets always did. So he grew up deeply hurt and feeling inadequate, yet driven by this extraordinary musical talent that possessed him." The result, Underwood ventures, "gave Tim a deep-seated fear of success...he wanted people to love him but, as they did, he pushed them away".

"Long after his death," says Beckett, "I realised that there were very few songs he wrote that didn't have the word 'home' in them. It seemed like he felt homeless, and nothing would restore it. He seemed OK in high school, maybe a little wild, but he got increasingly neurotic. He'd almost welcome a negative comment that would reaffirm his feelings."

When, in 1970, Jerry Yester's wife Judy Henske poked fun at the line "I'm as puzzled as the oyster" in the majestic 'Song To The Siren', Buckley instantly dropped the song from the set. "He took the smallest criticism to heart," says Larry Beckett, "so that he couldn't even perform a song which he admitted was one of his all-time favourites!"

Another incident stands out from this period. Tim's choirboy looks and froth of curls had attracted a Love Generation-style teenybop following. At a show at New York's Philharmonic Hall, his most prestigious to date, various objects were thrown on stage, a red carnation among them. Buckley stooped down, picked it up and proceeded to chew the petals and spit them out.

"He was very vulnerable and emotional," says Beckett's ex-wife Manda. "It made him terribly attractive to everybody of both sexes. People just sort of swooned around him because he was so sweet. I think that frightened him. He was difficult to deal with because he was scared of his power over people. He almost seemed to reject his audiences for loving him so much. He wasn't mature enough to accept that kind of attention."

Tim would also embroider the truth. At school he'd lied about playing C&W bars, while Larry Beckett remembers dubious boasts of female conquests. Buckley also claimed to have played guitar on The Byrds' first album, which Roger McGuinn always denied. "Tim liked to feed the legend," Beckett recalls with a wry chuckle. "He was quite amoral – if a lie gave a laugh or strengthened his mystique, that was fine. But his music was always honest."

"If someone dared him to do something, he'd do it," recalls British bassist Danny Thompson, who accompanied Buckley on his 1968 UK visit. "This free spirit was what most people saw, but I also saw a bit of a loner. Unlike most people who get into drugs, he wasn't a sad junkie figure. He was more of a naughty boy who said, 'OK, I'll have a go, I'll drink that'."

If he admired Hendrix and Hardin and Havens, Buckley frequently railed against the rock establishment. "All people see is velvet pants and long, blond hair," he fumed. 'A perfect person with spangles and flowered shirts – that's vibrations to them."

"He viewed the blues-oriented rock of the day as white thievery and an emotional sham," says Underwood. "He criticised musicians who spent three weeks learning Clapton licks, when Mingus had spent his whole life living his music.

Retreating to his home base in Venice, LA, Buckley and Underwood took time out to immerse themselves in the music of the East Coast jazz titans. Miles, Coltrane, Monk, Mingus and Ornette Coleman all provided inspiration as rehearsals slowly metamorphosed into jam sessions. The day before playing New York's prestigious Fillmore East theatre, Buckley asked vibraphonist David Friedman to rehearse for the show. Seven hours without sheet music later, a new sound was born.

With Happy/Sad (1969), Buckley began to arc away from the underground culture that had launched him. New York photographer Joe Stevens, a good friend of Buckley's at the time, recalls the singer's suspicious attitude towards the forthcoming Woodstock festival. "He said, Are you really going? Oh man, it's going to be awful.' Yet we used to hang out on a friend's farm which was like a scaled-down Woodstock, with hippy girls walking around, weird food, drugs, freedom and trees."

Although Jerry Yester was again involved, Happy/Sad was the polar opposite to Goodbye & Hello's crowded ambition: spacious, supple, a sea of possibilities. The line-up was just vibraphone, string bass, acoustic 12-string and gently rippling electric guitar. "The Modern Jazz Quartet Of Folk," enthused vibraphonist David Friedman. "Heart music," Buckley offered, and Elektra used his words in the ads like a manifesto. Happy/Sad's only real comparison is Astral Weeks, a similarly symmetrical, fluid work that revels in its lack of boundaries while possessing a unique tension.

"The trick of writing," Buckley felt, "is to make it sound like it's all happening for the first time. So you feel it's everybody's idea."

Van Morrison, Laura Nyro and John Martyn were also melting the walls between rock, blues, folk and jazz; at 22, Buckley was the youngest of the bunch. He'd also caught the jazz bug the hardest. Yester revealed that the band resisted second takes, while 'Strange Feeling' was bravely anchored to the bass line of Miles Davis's 'All Blues' before Buckley's voice set sail, caressing and cajoling.

"Being with Tim was like going out with an English professor," recalls Bob Duffy, Buckley's tour manager at the time. "He was very serious and almost stodgy, exactly the opposite of what you'd think a rock star would be. He wasn't in the music business to get laid. If one of the guys in the band came up and mentioned women, 13 of them would run out of the room, except for Tim who just sat there, guitar in hand, almost like he was teaching himself the songs again even though he'd played these songs 200 times, because he wanted the show to be as musically performed as possible. I saw incredible shows that he got depressed about, and wouldn't talk to anyone afterwards – he was very Zappa-like in that demanding way, but he was one of the sanest people on that level that I worked with."

As its very title acknowledged, despite Happy/Sad's sun-splashed backdrop, musical invention and lyrical joie de vivre, its mood was acutely introspective. Critic Simon Reynolds has described it as "a poignant premonition of loss, of an inevitable autumn..."

Lyrics had clearly shifted to a secondary, supportive role. Larry Beckett says he was politely informed that the singer would pen the lyrics alone. "He was moving toward a jazz sound, so to have wild poetry all over the map, you'd miss the jazz. But it was my feeling too that Tim felt his success was due to my lyrics rather than his music, so he wanted to see how well he'd do alone. He tended to believe the worst about himself..."

"It was very hard for me to write songs after Goodbye & Hello, because most of the bases were touched," Buckley admitted. "That was the end of my apprenticeship for writing songs. Whatever I wrote after that wasn't adolescent, which means it isn't easy because you can't repeat yourself. The way Jac [Holzman] had set it up you were supposed to move artistically, but the way the business is you're not. You're supposed to repeat what you do, so there's a dichotomy there. People like a certain type of thing at a certain time, and it's very hard to progress.

In another interview Tim said, "I can see where I'm heading, and it will probably be further and further from what people expected of me."

"He was very friendly and open to ideas, not a prima donna or a hypocrite," recalls John Balkin, who played bass with Buckley in 1969-70. "There was no drugs, sex and rock'n'roll in relation to him as an artist, not like Joplin and Hendrix, getting stoned before or during a gig. He felt stifled and frustrated by the boundaries that be, trying to stretch as an artist but making a living too. I remember Herbie Cohen saying, 'Go drive a truck then'..."

PROGRESSION WAS NOW BUCKLEY'S WATCH-word. Dream Letter, recorded in 1968 at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall, was already more diffuse than Happy/ Sad, lacking the pulse of Carter CC Collins's congas. The budget couldn't afford him or bassist John Miller, so Pentangle's Danny Thompson was drafted in to play an intuitively supportive – and barely rehearsed – role.

"I got a call asking me to turn up and rehearse everything at once," recalls Thompson. "He refused to get into a routine of singing 'the song'. We did a TV show, and when it came to doing it live Tim said, 'Let's do another song', which we'd never rehearsed. It was two minutes longer than our time slot, and the producer was putting his finger across his throat, and Tim looked at him with a puzzled expression and carried on, like art and music was far more important than any of this rubbish that surrounds it. He was fearless."

Clive Selwood, who ran the UK branch of Elektra records, recalls the same episode: "Tim had got a slot on the Julie Felix Show on BBC. He turned up to rehearsals with Danny Thompson an hour late; he shuffled in, nodded when introduced to the producer, unsheathed his guitar, and they launched into an extemporisation of one of his songs that lasted over an hour. The producer and Felix watched open-mouthed, not daring to interrupt. The most exhaustingly magical performance I have ever witnessed – and all to an audience of three. When it was done, Tim slapped his guitar in the case, said 'OK?' to the producer, and departed."

A year later after a heady bout of touring, including the Fillmore East's opening night alongside BB King, Buckley's muse was flying high. In 1968 he'd sounded enraptured, a wayward choirboy testing the limits of a new-found sound, but the voice of 1969 scatted and scorched, twisting and ascending like a wreath of smoke. The music mixed blues, jazz and ballads, throwing in calypso, even cooking on the verge of funk. A key Buckley moment arrived at the climax of a simmering 14-minute 'Gypsy Woman' (from Happy/Sad), when he yelled, "Oh, cast a spell on Timmy!", like an exorcism in reverse. Few singers craved possession so hungrily.

A little-known artefact from this period is his soundtrack music for the film Changes, directed by Hall Bartlett who later went on to helm Jonathan Livingston Seagull. A live set from the Troubadour, finally released two years ago, previewed material that surfaced on Lorca (1970). The album was named after the murdered Spanish poet, whose simultaneously violent and tender poetics Buckley was vocally mirroring. On the song 'Lorca' itself, and on 'Anonymous Proposition' and 'Driftin',' Buckley floats and stings over a languid blue-note haze – crooning and stretching half-tones over shapeless stanzas.

"We never had any music to read from," bassist John Balkin remembers. "We just noodled through and went for it, just finding the right note or coming off a note and making it right." Buckley regarded the title track as "my identity as a unique singer; as an original voice."

The timing wasn't great. Now tuning into such mellow songsmiths as James Taylor, the Love Generation was in no mood to follow in Buckley's wayward footsteps, any more than Buckley had kowtowed to Elektra's craving for old-style troubadour charm. As Holzman says, "he was making music for himself at that point...which is fine, except for the problem of finding enough people to listen to it."

"An artist has a responsibility to know what's gone down and what's going on in his field, not to copy but to be aware," the creator responded. "Only that way can he strengthen his own perception and ability"

Around this time Holzman was poised to sell Elektra, which upset Buckley Although major label offers were on the table – "a lot of bread, which makes me feel really good" – he decided that money wasn't the issue: "That's not where I'm at. I can live on a low budget." After some deliberation he signed to Straight, a Warners-distributed label formed by Herb Cohen and Frank Zappa. "It would be better for me to stay with one man who had taken care of me," he said. "No matter what anyone thinks of Herbie, he's a great dude." But he capitulated to Cohen's demand to record a more accessible record: aptly named, Blue Afternoon (1969) is a collection of narcotic folk-torch ballads.

"Tim always wrote about love and suffering in all their manifestations," says Lee Underwood. "He felt that underneath love was fear, fear of love and success and attention and responsibility" In the album's centrepiece, 'Blue Melody', Buckley keens: "There ain't no wealth that can buy my pride/There ain't no pain that can cleanse my soul/No, just a blue melody/Sailing far away from me." In 'So Lonely', he confessed that "Nobody comes around here no more". In press material for the album, Buckley said the songs had been written for Marlene Dietrich.

Blue Afternoon beat Lorca to the shops by a month. With two albums vying for attention, his already diminished sales potential was halved. (Lorca didn't even chart). Buckley never commercially-minded, was still looking forward. "When I did Blue Afternoon, I had just about finished writing set songs," he told Zigzag. "I had to stretch out a little bit...the next [album] is mostly dealing in time signatures."

Has any troubadour ever stretched out quite as Buckley did on 1970's Starsailor? Buckley's third album in a year in the words of bassist John Balkin, was "a whole different genre". Balkin, who ran a free improvisation group with Buzz and Bunk Gardner of the Mothers, had introduced Buckley to opera singer Cathy Berberian's interpretations of songs by Luciano Berio, inspiring the ever-restless Buckley to new heights. Over throbbing rhythms and atonal dynamics, the Gardners' blowing was matched by Buckley's gymnastic yodels and screams: one moment he sounded like an autistic child, the next like Tarzan. Everything peaked on the title song, with its 16 tracks of vocal overdubs. Larry Beckett, recalled to add impressionistic poetry to expressionistic music, also had a field day: to wit, the likes of "Behold the healing festival/complete for an instant/the dance figure pure constellation." Indeed.

"For the 'Starsailor' track itself," recalls Balkin, "we wanted things like Timmy's voice moving and circling the room, coming over the top like a horn section, like another instrument, not like five separate voices. His range was incredible. He could get down with the bass part and be up again in a split second."

Fiercely beautiful, Starsailor is a unique masterpiece. Aside from 'Song To The Siren', the album was the epitome of uneasy listening. "Sometimes you're writing and you know that you're not going to fit," Buckley responded. "But you do it because it's your heart and soul and you gotta say it. When you play a chord, you're dating yourself...the fewer chords you play, the less likely you are to get conditioned, and the more you can reveal of what you are."

If Starsailor came close to Coltrane's 'sheets of sound', it was hard not to see it as commercial suicide. Attempts to reproduce Starsailor live didn't help. "The shows Tim booked himself after Starsailor were total free improvisation, vocal gymnastics time," recalls Balkin. "I can still see him onstage, his head down, snoring. There was one episode of barking at the audience too. After one show, Frank Zappa said we sounded good, and he wasn't one who easily handed out compliments."

"BUCKLEY YODELLING BAFFLES AUDIENCE," ran a Rolling Stone headline. As Herb Cohen says today, "he was changing too drastically, playing material that audiences weren't necessarily coming to hear and that was beyond the realm of their capability"..."An instrumentalist can be understood doing just about anything, but people are really geared to something coming out of the mouth being words," a resentful Buckley said in a subsequent press release. "I use my voice as an instrument when I'm performing live. The most shocking thing I've ever seen people come up against, beside a performer taking off his clothes, is dealing with someone who doesn't sing words. If I had my way, words wouldn't mean a thing."

Buckley was driven into deep depression by Starsailor's failure. Straight wouldn't provide tour support, the old band had fragmented because there was so little work for them, and Buckley was reduced to booking his own shows in small clubs. At last he shared the bitter, neglected status of his jazz idols. Underwood confirms that in order to take the sting away, Buckley dabbled in barbiturates and heroin. When Buckley prefaced 'I Don't Need It To Rain' on the Troubadour album by saying, "This one's called Give Smack A Chance", it was a dangerous joke. "He was mocking the peace movement, the whole Beatles mentality of the day" says Underwood.

At least his personal life had improved. He'd re-married, bought a house in upmarket Laguna Beach (subsequently painted black to outrage the neighbours), and effectively gone to ground. "I'd been going strong since 1966 and really needed a rest," was Buckley's explanation. "I hadn't caught up with any living." He also inherited his wife Judy's seven-year-old son Taylor.

Judy doesn't recall any drug abuse. Nor does she remember Tim driving a cab, chaffeuring Sly Stone or studying ethnomusicology at UCLA, as the singer often claimed at the time. Instead, she recalls Tim reading voraciously catching up with his favourite Latin American writers at the UCLA library and channelling his creative urges into acting.

The unreleased 1971 cult film Why? Starring OJ Simpson was shot during this period. "It was their first film but both Tim and OJ were incredible actors. The camera loved them," remembers co-star Linda Gillen. "Tim had this James Dean quality He's so handsome in the movie and yet such a mess! You know those Brat Pack kind of films, where people play prefabricated rebels who see themselves as kinda bad but they have a PR taking care of business? Well, Tim was the real deal. He didn't give a fuck how he looked or dressed. He had no hidden agenda. He had an incredible naivety.

"We used to improvise in the film. Tim's character talks to the effect that you can't commit suicide. You can't amend your feelings for other people; you have to find that thing that's good in you and keep that alive. A lot of the group had been onto my character about taking heroin but Tim would always be the sympathetic one. But that was Tim. He'd understand where they were coming from, why they would do what they did.

"On set, I used to hum to myself to fight off boredom and Tim would pick up on what I was humming, like 'Miss Otis Regrets', and we'd end up harmonising together" she continues. "I loved Fred Neil, and asked if he knew 'Dolphins', which he sung for me. He'd say 'They got to Fred Neil, don't let it happen to you'. He'd talk in this strange, paranoid, ominous way, about 'the man'. That night, we went to buy Fred's album and bypassed Tim's on the way! He never hustled his records to me; he wasn't a self-promoter.

"I wondered why Tim was working on this schleppy movie, because I knew people like Roger McGuinn who were making millions, and he said, very silently 'I need the money'. We were only earning $420 a week on the film, and I said, is that all the money you have right now? and he said, 'No, I'm getting a song covered,' which I think was 'Gypsy Woman' which Neil Diamond was going to do."

Meanwhile, the comic plot of his unfilmed screenplay Fully Air-Conditioned Inside was based on a struggling musician who blows up an audience calling for old songs and makes his escape tucked beneath the wings of a vulture, singing 'My Way'...

WHEN AN ALBUM FINALLY EMERGED IN 1972, Buckley had once again avoided covering familiar ground. Greetings From LA was a seriously funky amalgam of rock and soul. His youthful verve might have gone, but his wondrous holler whipped things along. "After Starsailor, I decided to re-evaluate, and I decided the way to come back was to be funkier than everybody," he boasted. But would radio stations play a record as shocking lyrically as Starsailor had been musically?

Judy was the new muse ('An exceptionally beautiful woman, provocative and witty too," says Underwood) and the album was drenched in lust. In a year when David Bowie made sex a refrigeratedly alien concept, Buckley wrote a set of linked songs in a sultry New Orleans populated by a constellation of pimps, whores and hustlers. "I went down to the meat rack tavern," was the album's opening line; and it closed on, "I'm looking for a street corner girl/And she's gonna beat me, whip me, spank me, make it all right again..."

Buckley explained his reasoning to Chrissie Hynde when she interviewed him for the NME in 1974. "I realised all the sex idols in rock weren't saying anything sexy – not Jagger or [Jim] Morrison. Nor had I learned anything sexually from a rock song. So I decided to make it human and not so mysterious."

Producer Hal Willner who subsequently organised the Tribute To Tim Buckley show at St Anne's Church, Brooklyn, remembers the singer at this time. "I saw Buckley live four times, including two of the best performances I've ever seen. He was everything someone could look for in music, totally transcendent. The first time took 100 per cent of my attention, like taking some sort of pill. You'd expect it from guys like Pharoah Sanders and Sun Ra, but that's a very rare feeling to get in rock. Another time he opened for Zappa in his Grand Wazoo period, and the audience was incredibly rude to him, booing and heckling. But he handled it beautifully just carrying on, talking sarcastically, trying to get them to blow pot smoke on the stage. He was a genius in every sense. He should be seen on the same level as Edith Piaf and Miles Davis."

"Rock'n'roll was meant to be body music," Buckley stated in Downbeat magazine. But diehard fans wanted to know why he was now singing rock'n'roll. "His last albums were dictated somewhat by business considerations," says Lee Underwood, "but few understood they were also dictated by major music considerations. Where else could he go after Starsailor's intellectual heights except to its opposite, to white funk dance music, rooted in sexuality? At least Tim's R&B was honest, unlike the over-rehearsed stuff that pretends to be spontaneous. Greetings is still one of the best rock'n'roll albums ever to come down the pike. Throughout his career, he constantly asked and answered a question that can be terrifying, which is, Where do we go from here? People criticised him during Lorca and Starsailor and wanted him to play rock'n'roll, but when he did they said he sold out."

True compromise was far more detectable on 1974's album Sefronia, released by Cohen and Zappa's new DiscReet label under the Warner Brothers umbrella. "Everyone was second guessing where he should go next," says his old friend Donna Young, "and Tim started listening to what other people thought."

Some new-found literary acumen was displayed on the title track, a ballad as lush as the album's reading of Fred Neil's 'Dolphins'. But five of the songs were covers, including the sappy MOR duet 'I Know I'd Recognise Your Face', while pale retreads of Greetings' honeyed funk served as filler. Guitarist Joe Falsia was now in the Tonto role, Underwood having stepped down to deal with his drug addiction. Herbie Cohen was obviously calling the shots. "Some of those songs were beautiful but you have to get through Herb's idea of what is commercial," says Underwood.

As commercial compromises go, Sefronia was terrific – radio-friendly and lyrically approachable – but Buckley knew the score. "If I write too much music, it loses, as happened on Sefronia. Y'know, it gets stale." In reference to the folk-rock era, he observed that "the comradeship is just not there any more, and it affects the music." His boisterous barrelhouse sound was showcased at 1974's Knebworth Festival in Britain, where Buckley opened a bill that included Van Morrison, The Doobie Brothers and The Allman Brothers Band. It was his first UK show since 1968, and few knew who he was.

Photographer Joe Stevens reacquainted himself with Tim at a DiscReet launch in London: "He was sitting at a table signing autographs, which I couldn't have imagined him doing before. When he saw me he said, 'Come on, let's get out of here,' before they'd even said, 'Ladies'n'gentlemen, Tim Buckley!' We hit the street, took some photos, then took a taxi back to my place. He spent two days curled around my TV set, cooing at my girlfriend. We got calls from Warners accusing me of kidnapping their artist! You could see what had happened to him. The youth had gone out of his face, and his smile would break into a frown as soon as it had finished."

Look At The Fool (1975), with its frazzled, Tijuana-soul feel, was purer Buckley again, but the songwriting meandered badly – 'Wanda Lu' remains one of the most ignominious final songs of any brilliant career. "It just seemed that the more down he became, the more desperate he sounded," his sister Kathleen told Musician magazine. "The work of a man desperately trying to connect with an audience that has deserted him," pronounced Melody Maker. The photo on the back cover caught Buckley with a quizzical, defeated expression. Look at the fool, indeed. Honest to the end.

In 1974, Buckley wrote to Lee Underwood: "You are what you are, you know what you are, and there are no words for loneliness – black, bitter, aching loneliness that gnaws the roots of silence in the night..."

"Tim felt he'd given everything to no avail," says Underwood. "He was even suicidal for a short while because he felt there was no place left to go, emotionally speaking. He was gaining new audiences and improving his singing within conventional song forms, but comments that he'd sold out made him feel terrible. He never understood his fear of success, and remained divided and tormented to the end. I urged him to take therapy shortly before his death, when he was feeling very bitter, to the point of suicide, but he said, 'Lose the anger, lose the music'."

"We saw a lot of him over the years as disillusionment set in," says Clive Selwood, who, inspired by Buckley's session for BBC's John Peel Show, later founded the Strange Fruit label and its Peel Sessions. "When we first met he spent his leisure time cycling across Venice Beach, guzzling a six-pack. When we last met, he was carrying a gun, in fear of the reactionary side of American life, who despised his long hair. He said, 'If you're carrying a gun, you stand a chance'."

"He continually took chances with his life," adds Larry Beckett. "He'd drive like a maniac risking accidents. For a couple of years he drank a lot and took downers to the point where it nearly killed him, but he'd always escape. Then he got into this romantic heroin-taking thing. Then his luck ran out." Buckley's most revered idols were Fred Neil – who chose anonymity rather than exploit the success of 'Everybody's Talkin'' – and Miles Davis, both icons and both junkies. "He lived on the edge, creatively and psychologically" says Lee Underwood. "He treated drugs as tools, to feel or think things through in more intense ways. To explore."

One planned exploration was a musical adaptation of Joseph Conrad's novel Out Of The Islands and a screenplay of Thomas Wolfe's You Can't Go Home Again. Of more immediate consequence, Buckley had won the part of Woody Guthrie in Hal Ashby's film Bound For Glory. The role might have restored him to public consciousness as well as financial independence, but in the end it went instead to David Carradine.

Buckley was still up for playing live. After a short tour culminating in a sold-out show at an l,800-capacity venue in Dallas, the band partied on the way home, as was customary An inebriated Tim proceeded to his good friend Richard Keeling's house in order to score some heroin.

As Underwood tells it, Keeling, in flagrante delicto and unwilling to be disturbed, argued with Buckley: "Finally in frustration, Richard put a quantity of heroin on a mirror and thrust it at Tim, saying, 'Go ahead, take it all', like a challenge. As was his way, Tim sniffed the lot. Whenever he was threatened or told what to do, he rebelled."

Staggering and lurching around the house, Buckley had to be taken home, where Judy Buckley laid him on the floor with a pillow. She then put him to bed, thinking he would recover; when she checked later, he'd turned an ominous shade of blue. The paramedics were called but it was too late. Tim Buckley was dead.

"I remember Herb saying Tim had died, and we all just sat there," recalls Bob Duffy, Buckley's old tour manager. "It wasn't expected but it was like watching a movie, and that was its natural ending."

"It was painful to listen to his records after he died," says Linda Gillen. "I remember how vibrant he was. He had that same lost alienation as friends who had committed suicide. He was smart, wonderful, mean nasty, kind, racist, and a loyal friend, all kinds of contradictions. A true original."

"When he died, I took a week off," remembers Joe Stevens. "He was special – an innocent in an animal machine."

IN 1983, IVO WATTS-RUSSELL of the 4AD label had the inspired notion to marry the vaporous drama of the Cocteau Twins to Buckley's 'Song To The Siren'. Punk's Stalinist purge was over, and the result was a haunting highlight of post-New Wave rock, launching both This Mortal Coil and Buckley's posthumous reputation.

Before he died, Buckley had been planning a live LP spanning the various phases of his career. Sixteen years later Dream Letter was released to great acclaim. "Nobody would have listened before," reckons Herb Cohen. "Things have their own cycle, usually close to 20 years. You have to wait."

"He knowingly compromised his fierce artistic ideals, but his gut feeling was that he'd get more freedom later," says Larry Beckett. "If he'd gone into hiding for 10 years, no end of labels would have recorded anything he wanted. Things do come around."

"He was one of the great ballad singers of all time, up there with Mathis and Sinatra," believes Lee Underwood. "He would have pulled out of his youthful confusion, expanded his musical scope to include great popular and jazz songs. Tim Buckley didn't say 'I am this, I am that'. He said, 'I am all of these things'."

© Martin Aston, 1995

[leylayilmz]

Ah, sibling quarrels. She was all too familiar with them; knowing that, she hummed in agreement that it probably was for the best. "Tell that to my brother. Wait, are you saying you think I'm nice?!" The brunette looked over at him incredulously, amusement surfacing on her features. Interesting. If so, she really was doing her job well at maintaining the facade of being the nice barista baker girl who sells good books to people and does not, at all, run a book club that tends to refer to smutty books sometimes. Like the one she currently has in her hands. "Some would argue that I'm an ass." There was a list, she was sure. Heat suddenly coloured her features, and like a deer caught in headlights, Leyla found herself faltering to come up with a response. "Uhm," the brunette clears her throat, racking her brains in a bid to deflect from answering that question in any way, shape or form. Looking past Jeremy now, she furrows her brows. "I swear.. did I just see your brother? Is that him over there?" Anything to try and hide that damn book in her bag. Wait, where was her bag?! Her hands touched the surface around her as she attempted to maintain his gaze. Laughter soon spilled from her lips, however, still failing to find her bag. "Oh god, Harlequins? Please. It's just a cowboy romance. Harmless book club recommendations." And she had just gotten to a very interesting part right when the drama all unfolded. "Nothing you would be interested in."

Head shaking some, Jeremy's hand cradled his chin and slowly stroked his beard. His eyes drifted off in the direction Leyla had indicated Derek had stormed off too. She was right, who knew which way he turned. It was pretty pointless to try and chase after him now, his brother's evasion tactics had gotten too good. "You don't have to apologize. If I hadn't hesitated in going after him then I would've caught him by now, but... it's probably for the best." Even saying so out loud didn't do a whole lot to comfort his worries, though he knew at some point he needed to stop this back and forth with Derek. He was a full adult now. "Come on now," a teasing tone finally appeared, "there's no way Leyla Yilmaz could be in the club." She'd always seemed far too sweet. The reaction about her book however had piqued his interest. Clearly it was something she was shy or embarrassed about, maybe both. His lopsided grin grew as she tried to hide the cover and was vague with her explanation. "Cowboys and things, huh?" Jeremy began reaching for the book in her lap, "seriously... what is it?" There was laughter in his voice now. "Don't try to change the subject. We both know Derek is in deep hiding by now." Fully amused, his fingers landed on the edge of the back cover of the book, "is this one of those Harlequin's that my mother used to read?"

[ambrial-blog]

As a boy traveling on the treacherous  pirate ship Loo-Loo land Blitzo mysterious falls into mermaid infested waters. Blitzo doesn’t know how to swim.

He was born with a defective heart. Lord Mammon and the sea pirate Fizzourali had taken a liking to him. (his remaining sisters were locked in the barracks used as severing winches for the captain and his crew.  While Blitzo was made to entertain Lord Mammon. During a turbulent storm, he is thrown overboard and is rescued by a Mer-Serpent named Striker.  The Mer-Serpent then takes him to a sandy island behind a gigantic reef trying to revive the boy.

He tilts the Harlequin head as Blitzo coughs up sea water, Blitzo wake up to a  low hissing noise and someone stroking his face. Striker is watching him intently his yellow-bedeviled eyes glowing a low hiss vibrating at the back of his throat as he takes in the many scrapes and cuts, the jagged abrasions that ran down his torso.

But he also notices the heart-shaped mark on his forehead, he loves to shower kisses on that spot and splash the boy with his long tail. He needs to kiss Blitzo to learn his language. But right now is perfectly content with keeping the tiny imp all to himself. He wants to see the boy, grow and flourish but is frustrated because Blitzo doesn't understand him, he is constantly trying Striker's patience. The Mer-serpent had never taken care of anyone in his life- he was alone, for as long as he could remember.  content with keeping Blitzo to himself until the boy comes of age. Then, he could kiss him all he wanted.

“I have to get back to Loo-Loo land, my sisters are in danger!” night crept in and so did an icy chill Blitz had made a kindling fire away from the seashore. He had learned the hard way not to build a bonfire near the sea. Striker would just splash it out.  He had scavenged around for his dinner finding fish near the shoreline. Stryker's s way of apologizing

Blitzo knows It isn't  feasible to live on this island forever, much to the serpent's adamant ways of getting him to stay. Striker brings him beautiful seashells of various shape, size and color. But the boy is adamant on leaving

Striker has an ever growing possessive streak, any attempt to get off the island was meant with the business end of his tail. The harlequin winces as the wind is knocked out of his lungs and his wounds are split open. Stryker eyes widen as he reaches for the imp his tail wrapping around his wrist Blitz is pulled through the hot sand towards the salty seas. He struggles as Striker licks the wound with his tongue he keeps Blitz tightly secured in his tail. Listens to the seething hiss as he washes the wound out with salt water before nuzzling the boy. He doesn't understand why Blitz is crying or what he had done.  Eventually Blitz rests his head on Striker's shoulder as the Mer-Serpent wraps his wound with seaweed.

“Why don't you understand me?”  How can I make you see, that I don't belong here my place is with my sisters” he breathes into Striker's ear.  

Blitzo has tried nine times to leave the island each time he was dragged back onto shore after being half drowned by an irritable sea-serpent. Striker was tempted to kiss him, despite the age differences so that he could interact with him on a wider scale. The boy is dripping wet from the sea his clothes need to come off and a fire needs to be lit. Striker gives Blitzo three swift and meaningful swats on the backside with his hand. Blitzo backed  up holding his hands up rubbing his butt. He tackles the Mer to the sand screaming at him. His hits doesn't register with the Mer as he dangles Blitzo up with his tail. He smiles amused as he nuzzles the boy. “Such a little firecracker” thought Striker.

That night Striker decided to stay with the boy, putting fish onto the skewers placing  them close to the bonfire. Later that day he had fished out a water-logged blanked from one of the undersea shipwrecks and draped it over some wire before diving back into the ocean to find something, the child would like.  

He watched as Blitz began to stir and shiver his head resting in his arms his naked form scooting closer to the kindling fire. Blitzo was wheezing his body burned with fever. He could see the luminescent glow from the serpents eyes and hear a faraway cry of an owl. The Owl circling him was known as an Ares Goeita a demonic bird with a piercing cry.  

Blitz crawled into the brush to hide pulling his shaking limbs closer to him, shielding his face. His stomach rumbled and his fever flared. Tears brimmed his eyes. Striker had returned just in time to see the boy crawl his way into the brush he looked up growling at the circling fowl.  He flicked  his tail shooting sea water at the Goeita as the large bird landed on the island.

Blitzo's  eyes were glazed over  as he lifted his head to the sound of crunching sand, he cranes his neck peering up and out through the large shrubbery his golden eyes catching a glimpse of the naked form of an owl prince.

Stolas's crimson eyes widened upon seeing the boy, panting and out of breath. He patted the spot next to him realizing something was wrong as the boy crawled out. His eyes darkened upon seeing the faded scars on his body he lifted his cape up to warm the child's naked body.

“My name is  Prince Stolas little one what are you doing on my island?” Blitz didn't respond he was fast asleep nestled against the prince's side.  

Stolas closes his eyes at the instant fizzing sound of a rattlesnake a deep growl emanates at the back of his throat.  The Serpents tail splits into a pair of legs as Striker places  a knife to the prince's throat his body is dripping wet his golden-yellow hair clinging to his neck. The crimson gleam  of the hilt catches the setting sun. as Striker growls as Stolas peers up into the murderous eyes of the Mer-serpent.

“I'm guessing he belongs to you, or you've cobbled onto him because whatever falls into the nine seas is yours to toy with.”  

“All you Mers are just alike toying with little- impish- playthings he is far from his own people. And he holds the markings of  a pirate ship”

“They hunt your kind,  and your enamored with one of their own”  

“You can't even communicate with him properly unless you kiss him”

Stryker digs the knife in deeper “Did I touch a nerve! “mind your own business, Owl”  the Mer growls “This is my island not yours blue-blood”

“My mistake,  Blitzy is freezing and the fire is dying” states Stolas. Standing up brushing the sand from  legs and placing  his red velvet cape around the naked child.

“You Mers are insolent children fighting over a shiny object”

To Be Continued 

[danielleurbansblog]

Review: Heartbreaker by Joanne Rock

Review: Heartbreaker by Joanne Rock

Synopsis:

From passion to betrayal and back again…

He knows she’s coming for him… And he’s ready to turn the tables!

When tabloid columnist Elena Rollins shows up uninvited to a private, star-studded party at Mesa Falls, Gage Striker sees red. Though it’s been six years since their abrupt breakup, the scars—and attraction—are still fresh. Certain his ex has a score to settle, the playboy…

[spookysmazeofbooks]

Settling An Old Score

My thoughts

Rating : 4

Would I recommend it? Yes

Would I read more of this series ? Yes

Would I read more by this author? Yes

First off I want to thank Harlequin Intrigue for inviting me to read and review this book, because so far they've never let me down when it comes to their Suspense romance , and every time I pick up one of their books I tend to get lost in their stories as well as in their characters . And the same can be said about this one. Right from the start the story the story had me hooked and the characters themselves became some of my all time favorite ones. I loved how close Eli and his family was , how they was there for each others back when ever they needed help. As for Ashlyn herself  I loved how she was strong and would do anything to keep her daughter safe, and how she came to realize that it wasn't Eli fault that her best friend was killed . As for the story  itself here is what I loved about  how it was an intense, fast-paced read that grabbed my attention from the very first page and didn't let go until the end. There was plenty of drama, action, and suspense to keep me on the edge of my seat, and after reading it I realized that I wanted to read more books by this author .

Author bio: USA TODAY bestselling author, Delores Fossen, has sold over 70 novels with millions of copies of her books in print worldwide. She's received the Booksellers' Best Award, the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award and was a finalist for the prestigious Rita ®. In addition, she's had nearly a hundred short stories and articles published in national magazines. You can contact the author through her webpage at www.deloresfossen.com

Author links:  Author website: https://www.deloresfossen.com/  Author newsletter: https://www.deloresfossen.com/newsletter.html  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deloresfossen/?hl=en  Twitter: https://twitter.com/dfossen  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDeloresFossen/  Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/240672.Delores_Fossen  Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/deefossen/

A Texas Ranger gets the shock of his life when he comes face to face with a woman from his past in USA TODAY bestselling author Delores Fossen’s latest suspense! A past tragedy destroyed their love. A vulnerable newborn brings them back together. Within moments of discovering a baby on his doorstep, Texas Ranger Eli Slater finds himself being held at gunpoint by his ex, Ashlyn Darrow. She claims she was tipped off that the still-gorgeous cowboy kidnapped her newly adopted daughter because of the bad blood that defines their past. They quickly realize Eli’s been set up and now Eli is determined to protect Ashlyn and her daughter. But regaining her trust will be as easy as ignoring the attraction even a lifetime apart can’t erase… From Harlequin Intrigue: Seek thrills. Solve crimes. Justice served. For more action-packed stories, check out the other books in the Longview Ridge Ranch series: Book 1: Safety Breach Book 2: A Threat to His Family Book 3: Settling an Old Score Book 4: His Brand of Justice

Sales links:  B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/settling-an-old-score-delores- fossen/1135634504?ean=9781335136633  Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082WGC5P2/ref=dp-kindle- redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

 Google:https://books.google.ca/books/about/Settling_an_Old_Score.html?id=SRzFDwAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y  Indie Bound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781335136633  Harlequin: https://www.harlequin.com/shop/books/9781335135919_settling-an-old-score.html  Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51158473-settling-an-old-score

Excerpt, SETTLING AN OLD SCORE by Delores Fossen Ashlyn knew it would take more luck to pin Dominick down on that. Especially if he had in-deed hired those gunmen. As soon as Kellan walked out, Eli took hold of her hand and moved her out of the doorway. Out of view from the windows, too. She hadn’t needed a reminder of the danger, but that gave her one any- way. “There are too many puzzle pieces,” she said. “In the meantime, you and I—maybe Cora, too—are in the crosshairs of a killer.” He didn’t argue with her. Couldn’t. Because it was true, a frustration that they both felt. That frustration was in every muscle of his body when he pulled her into his arms. As he’d done in the kitchen, he brushed a kiss on the top of her head. A kiss of comfort. And it worked. Ashlyn could practically feel some of the tension slide right out of her. Of course, the heat came in its place. No surprise there. She’d been dealing with it for much too long. He pulled back just a little and looked down at her with those smoky gray eyes. They weren’t stormy now but had some of the same fire that she was certain was in her own. “Yeah,” he said as if he’d known exactly what she was thinking—and feeling. “If we were still in high school, I would just coax you into taking a trip out to my truck. That won’t work this time, though.” “No.” Since he could be dangerous. And also since sex should be the last thing on their minds. But Ashlyn wanted to make this moment a little lighter than spelling out those reminders. “Because we’re sensible adults now.” The corner of his mouth lifted, causing a dimple to flash in his cheek. Yes, a dimple. It was another weapon in the arsenal of Eli Slater, hot cowboy. But the smile didn’t last long. “Soon, we’re going to have a brief talk about this,” Eli drawled, his voice all smoke and heat. “And then we’ll deal with it. I’ve got some ideas as to how we can do that.” Now she smiled, and even though she figured it was a mistake, Ashlyn brushed her mouth over his. Again, not a full-fledged kiss, but it could have qualified as foreplay. Short foreplay.

[readingontheedge]

Carrying the Greek Tycoon's Baby

(Greek Island Brides #1)

By Jennifer Faye

Contemporary Romance

Paperback & ebook, 256 Pages

March 1st 2019 by Harlequin Romance

 From one night…

To nine months!

 In this Greek Island Brides story, for jaded tycoon Xander Marinakos, renowned wedding destination Infinity Island is just another opportunity to expand his empire. Until he’s captivated by its beautiful owner, Lea Romes… When their one night together has unexpected consequences, Xander must negotiate the deal of a lifetime, and put his guarded heart on the table to convince independent Lea they can be a family…for infinity! 

Goodreads│Amazon│B&N│Harlequin│iBooks│Kobo 

About the Series

 Greek Island Brides

Finding love that lasts to infinity!

 All marriages that take place on renowned wedding destination Infinity Island are guaranteed to last forever!

 And the picturesque Greek island is about to weave its magic for friends Lea, Popi and Stasia. They dream of finding their own happy-ever-afters... And they’re about to meet three billionaires who will sweep them off their feet—and down the aisle!

 Follow Lea’s journey from surprise pregnancy to dream proposal in

Carrying the Greek Tycoon’s Baby

 And coming soon…

 Book # 2 - Claiming The Drakos Heir (releases June 2019)

 The rebel bachelor is back…

To claim her baby!

 In this Greek Island Brides story, pregnant surrogate Popi Costas is faced with raising her late sister’s child alone, until the baby’s wealthy uncle arrives to take charge! Apollo Drakos is distractingly handsome, but Popi won’t let that stop her from fighting to keep the baby. Yet as she gets to know the man behind the wild card reputation, Popi’s reconsidering welcoming Apollo into her new little family… 

Pre-order now! 

Kindle UK│Kindle CA│iBooks│Nook│Kobo│GooglePlay│Harlequin 

Coming September 2019...

 Book #3 – Wearing The Greek Millionaire’s Ring 

About the Author

Award-winning author, Jennifer Faye pens fun, heartwarming contemporary romances with rugged cowboys, sexy billionaires and enchanting royalty. Internationally published with books translated into nine languages. She is a two-time winner of the RT Book Reviews Reviewers' Choice Award, the CataRomance Reviewers' Choice Award, named a TOP PICK author, and been nominated for numerous other awards. 

Website│Goodreads│Facebook│Twitter│Pinterest│YouTube│BookBub│Newsletter 

Freebie 

Tour Giveaway 

1 winner will receive a $25 Amazon eGift Card 

Open internationally

Ends March 13, 2019 

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b9a55db3351/?  

Excerpt

He patted the couch cushion next to him. “Come over here.”

She didn’t trust herself being so close to that sexy hunk of a man, but she refused to let on that he still got under her skin. She forced her feet one in front of the other. She perched on the edge of the couch, leaving as much space between them as possible.

She could still remember how good his kisses were and how his hands created the most arousing sensations wherever he touched. The mere memories sent her heart racing. When her gaze met his, there was a challenge reflected in his eyes.

She glanced at the clock on the stove. “If you don’t hurry, you’ll miss the ferry. It’s the only one today.”

“Is this the way it’s going to be?”

She turned her full attention to him. “How what is going to be?”

“You and me. How do I even know the baby is mine?”

“I’d like to think that no one would lie about such an important thing. But you obviously don’t trust me. So after the baby is born, a test can be done. But there’s no way I’m having one of those great big foot-long needles stabbed into my stomach.” She visibly flinched at the memory of what she’d seen on the internet. She didn’t like needles. They all looked huge to her.

“I want to trust you, but I’ve had people lie to me in the past about much smaller matters.” Pain reflected in his eyes.

“It’s understandable that you would want confirmation. It isn’t like we’ve been in a loving, committed relationship.”

His eyes widened. “Is that what you want? For us to marry for the sake of the child?”

“No.” It was a short, straight-to-the-point answer.

His gaze narrowed. “Are you sure?”

Why was he pushing this so much? Surely he didn’t think marriage was a good idea, did he? It was not even like they were in love. They were, well, they were friends at best. And not very good friends at that.

“I’m sure.” Her tone was firm. “Besides, you don’t have time for a family. You’re always working.”

“I can make time for everything—” Just then his phone buzzed and he retrieved it from his pocket.

“Point proven.” 

[tonkipages]

Quickdraw cowboy

QUICKDRAW COWBOY CRACKED

QUICKDRAW COWBOY ZIP FILE

QUICKDRAW COWBOY DOWNLOAD

The fearsome Starr clan descends on Great Bend to wreak havoc and mayhem on anyone who stands in their way. Honey comes to grips with her feelings for Hoyle when a romantic connection from his past jeopardizes their budding relationship. Hoyle and Eli race to track down Cole Younger before he slips out of their grasp for good. Great Bend’s race for mayor heats up when a rival campaign manager ends up dead. When a cattle drive doesn’t go as expected, Hoyle enters Eli in a rodeo to win enough money to pay off the debts on his family’s failed farm. Pearl must face her past when a mysterious visitor threatens to derail the “straight and narrow” life she’s built for herself.

QUICKDRAW COWBOY CRACKED

Hoyle and Wanda follow the trail of an opium gang after a train happens to run over a rival dealer.Įli finds farming more than it’s cracked up to be when an infestation devastates his entire crop. Hoyle must quell the rampage of an angry town after a stray bullet claims the life of a beloved friend. Hoyle and the gang race to rescue one of their own after a kidnapping by the vengeful Cole Younger. Tidwell, stand in for Prostitute/Hoyle's step-daughter, Pearl, as Honey's girls'. Hoyle, Eli, Mayor Dodge, and school teacher, Mr. This cowboy is a sure shot to the heart Riley Lawrence is an e. Sheriff Hoyle and Eli use trigonometry (learned by Hoyle at Harvard University) to determine that murderers were on Mayor Dodge's property. Read 12 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. Sheriff and Harvard man John Henry Hoyle visits a nearby town. Sheriff John Henry Hoyle weighs competing interests using a specialized interest-weighting algorithm he developed during his time at Harvard. Books by Joanna Wayne Harlequin Intrigue The Kavanaughs Riding Shotgun Quick-Draw Cowboy Big D Dads: The Daltons Trumped Up Charges Unrepentant Cowboy. Sheriff John Henry Hoyle presents testimony in a criminal case, utilizing expertise gleaned from his studies at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After Frank James attempts to rob the bank, Hoyle and Eli apprehend Frank's girlfriend, Pearl Starr (Alexia Dox), who just might have a secret link to Hoyle's past. Hoyle's old school chum from Harvard, Xavier (Robert Cuthill) arrives in town to open a new bank. Sheriff John Henry Hoyle attempts to use his state-of-the-art forensics training from Harvard to solve a rancher's murder. On November 4, 2013, Hulu announced it would renew the show for a ten-episode second season, which began on August 7, 2014. On August 5, Hulu debuted the first two episodes of Quick Draw. On April 30, 2013, Hulu announced two new original television series, The Awesomes and Quick Draw.

John Lehr as Sheriff John Henry Hoyle, Harvard graduate.

✔️ By purchasing any file from our shop, you are agreeing to all terms stated above.Fresh off the stagecoach from Harvard, Sheriff John Henry Hoyle and his reluctant Deputy Eli introduce the emerging science of forensics to hunt down the Wild West’s most dangerous criminals. ✔️ The purchase of this file does not transfer rights or ownership to the buyer. ⚬ You may NOT upload this file to any print-on-demand service. Look up the Cowboy Fast Draw Association (a.k.a CFDA) website to learn more and see if this is the hobby you want 2. ⚬ You may NOT sell or resell this file in any format, include this file in any collections of files, or digitize this file for embroidery. Become familiar with the ways of cowboy action shooting. ⚬ You may use this file on finished products for personal use and small commercial use of up to 200 items. ⚬ If you have problems and other concerns with the design, please let me know and I will try to respond as soon as possible.

QUICKDRAW COWBOY DOWNLOAD

⚬ Once payment is confirmed, you will receive a download link E-mail from Etsy. ⚬ Accepts payment through Paypal or any credit cards, just proceed with Paypal checkout and enter your credit card details. Cold Iron is created exclusively.Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970, AMD R.

QUICKDRAW COWBOY ZIP FILE

⚬ You will receive a zip file consisting of the design in SVG, AI, EPS, PDF, and PNG formats. Dance with the deadliest duelists in the worlds first virtual reality puzzle shooter. INSTANT DOWNLOAD will make t-shirts, tote bags, printables, cards, posters, stencils, beer mugs, coffee mugs, aprons, vinyl wall decor, stickers and so much more! This is a Digital Product: SVG, EPS, PDF, PNG, AI Vector File

[cathygeha]

REVIEW

Sweet Home Cowboy

Jasper Creek #3

 Standalone quartet of splendid stories that put a smile on my face today as I watched four half-sisters find their happily ever after cowboy partners in Jasper Creek. The four women settle into their new home, soon to be The Four Sisters Farm, and in so doing the bonds that began to form at camp when they were thirteen only become stronger. I liked all four of the sisters and the men that they ended up with. Every couple had issues to contend with and did so admirably.

 TEDDY by Nicole Helm:

Teddy ends up with Beau but only after she feels ready and he deals with some past demons from childhood. Teddy is a bee whisperer and loves chickens…sweet and charming but with a backbone

 JOEY by Maisey Yates:

More mechanically minded, Joey likes to learn from experts when tackling new projects. Hollis is the man to help with the old farm equipment and perhaps he will help with a few other things, too.

 GEORGIE by Jackie Ashenden:

Con is best friends of Georgie’s brother and has been there pretty much always until one day things begin to change and prickly Georgie is not sure what to think…even though Con is sure what he wants.

 ELLIOT by Caitin Crewes

Elliot is the sister with the freest spirit and she openly embraces what she wants, Colt. Colt’s sense of duty almost derails the couple’s budding romance…until he sees the light.

 All of the characters have some growing to do as individuals and as couples. It was fun watching them interact as I got to know them and the men they ended up with.

 Thank you to NetGalley and HQN for the ARC – This is my honest review.

 5 Stars

  BLURB

SWEET HOME COWBOY S is a Western-themed anthology featuring four stories from bestselling authors Maisey Yates, Nicole Helm, Jackie Ashenden and Caitlin Crews!

Four half sisters create the family they’ve always dreamed of in this enchanting quartet from bestselling authors Maisey Yates, Nicole Helm, Jackie Ashenden and Caitlin Crews.

The Hathaway sisters might have grown up apart, but when they agree to move to Jasper Creek, Oregon, to revitalize their grandfather’s farm, it seems a straightforward decision. Until they meet their neighborhood cowboys…

Sweet-natured Teddy has never met a man worth taking a risk on, until now. Tomboy Joey has more affinity with farm equipment than men, until a brooding cowboy changes her mind. Prickly baker Georgie can’t resist the temptation of the most forbidden cowboy of all, and sparks fly between ceramicist Elliot and the grumpy single-dad rancher next door.

The sisters’ feelings are anything but simple, but with the love and support of each other, they discover that a cowboy might be the sweetest thing of all about coming home.

Buy Links:

BookShop.org

Harlequin

Barnes & Noble

Amazon

Books-A-Million

EXCERPT

PROLOGUE

It was never comfortable for people when four sets of vi­olet eyes zeroed in on them with the level of intensity the Hathaway sisters could manage.

A fact the half sisters had learned when they’d first met at summer camp, thanks to their families, who’d been care­ful to give the girls the opportunity to meet each other, without the pressure of having to become friends or even real sisters.

But sisters they had become that first day at the age of thirteen. In each other, they’d found kindred spirits. Not just in the unusual color of their eyes, but in the depths of their passions, and in their driving need to forge family out of the fragments their father had left behind when he’d impreg­nated all their mothers at different points in the same year.

So that, as adults, though they lived in different parts of the country, they were the best of friends. Sisters, through and through, and when Georgie had informed them of Grandpa Jack’s heart attack in Jasper Creek, the rest had rushed to the small Oregon town to see what they could do.

Grandpa Jack looked at each of them with his usual squinty-eyed suspicion. Though their father had never made any effort to be a part of his daughters’ lives, Grandpa Jack had always made it clear he’d be there if needed.

But not to expect him to be cheerful about it.

“Didn’t all have to come,” he grumbled, shifting in his hospital bed.

“Well, of course we did. And we’ll stay until you’re on the mend,” Teddy said, patting his hand. The squinty-eyed suspicion became a full-fledged scowl as he pulled his hand away.

While Teddy was all about gestures of affection, Grandpa Jack was decidedly not.

Which made the fact Georgie was the only local grand­daughter a blessing as she shared the discomfort with such goings-on. He turned his glare to her. “Didn’t have to call them.”

Georgie shrugged.

“She was right to,” Joey said firmly, meeting Grandpa Jack’s scowl with her own. “We won’t hear another com­plaint about it. A waste of time. You know how stubborn we are.”

Grandpa Jack grunted.

Elliot smirked. “Wonder where we got it.”

A nurse knocked on the door, then poked her head in. “Sorry, girls, it’s time to head home. Visiting hours are over.”

“Girls,” Elliot muttered under her breath with a consid­erable amount of disdain for the word.

But Teddy pressed a kiss to Grandpa Jack’s wrinkled forehead, Elliot touched his shoulder, and Georgie and Joey hovered at the door until they all left the room, chorusing goodbyes.

“I hate leaving him all alone,” Teddy said as Elliot linked arms with her. Teddy reached out and took Joey’s arm.

“He’ll be home soon enough,” Joey reassured her. She gave Georgie an apologetic shrug, then linked arms with her too, so they were a unit as they walked out of the hos­pital into the cool spring evening.

“He’s not going to let you fuss over him, Teddy. It isn’t his way,” Georgie said pragmatically as they walked to her truck.

Teddy frowned. “I think you misjudge my tenacity.”

Elliot’s eyebrows winged up. “Do we?”

Teddy wrinkled her nose, but didn’t argue with Elliot.

“I found an Airbnb closer to the hospital,” Georgie said, sounding tired as she climbed into the driver’s seat. “I knew this wouldn’t be a quick visit and we’d need more room than Felix and I have.” Georgie had grown up with her half brother right here in Jasper Creek.

The four sisters climbed into Georgie’s truck. Whatever belongings they’d packed were strapped into the bed of the truck from when Georgie had picked Joey and Teddy up at the airport this afternoon, after Elliot had driven down from Portland.

Georgie drove onto the highway, and it was only about fifteen minutes later she parked in front of a pretty little farmhouse just outside of Jasper Creek.

“This place is amazing,” Teddy said.

“Much better taken care of than the main house at Grandpa Jack’s property,” Georgie returned.

The women got out, grabbed what they’d need for the night, then headed inside.

“I’ll make us some dinner,” Teddy said, already mov­ing for the kitchen.

“The host said she left some things for us to eat when we arrived,” Georgie replied, dropping her stuff in the front room.

They all descended on the kitchen, which was quaint and old-fashioned—something that suited all four women to the bone. On the table were a variety of baked goods.

“I found a teapot and some tea,” Teddy said.

“Scones and sweet rolls for dinner sounds good to me,” Joey said, already unwrapping the plate of baked goods and digging in.

Elliot found plates and set the table, shoving one at Joey as she’d already plowed through three-fourths of a scone.

“Do you think Grandpa Jack is stressed about the ranch? And that’s what caused this?” Teddy asked, fiddling with the stove.

“I think he’s an old man who eats poorly and smokes cigars regularly. But…” Georgie sighed.

“He’s been talk­ing about selling off the last piece of land to Colt West next door. He’d keep the

cabin and about an acre around it, but the rest would go to Colt.”

“Even the main house?” Joey asked, as she licked crumbs from her fingers.

“You could hardly call it that these days. It’s falling apart at the seams.”

Teddy frowned. “That’s just not right.”

Georgie shrugged. “He hasn’t lived in that house in de­cades. He’s a single, old, grumpy man. He’s finally accept­ing he can’t really take care of the ranch. Why not sell?”

“It’s our legacy,” Joey said. Then she looked around the table. “Isn’t it?”

“It’s our absent father’s legacy,” Elliot returned. “As­suming he’s still alive.”

All eyes turned to Georgie, who was the only one who’d ever had any contact with Mickey Hathaway. She lifted her shoulders. “Far as I know.”

Silence filled the room until Teddy’s teakettle began to whistle. She poured tea for everyone, then took a seat at the kitchen table. As far as she was concerned, this was all fate. The timing, the chance of all four of them com­ing here at a point in their lives where they got to decide what came next.

“We’ve always talked about how much we wanted to live there, so why don’t we?”

“Why don’t we what?” Joey replied, mouth full with her last bite of scone.

“Live there. Do what we all love to do. Put together some kind of…business. Honey, eggs,” Teddy said, pointing to herself. “Produce,” she said, pointing to Joey. “Ceramics.” Elliot’s specialty. “Our sweet Georgie’s baked goods,” she said, grinning at Georgie’s negative reaction to being called sweet.

“Most of us are already selling our wares anyway. Why don’t we do it here? The four of us.”

It would be more than the year her mother wanted, more than just learning some independence. It would be actually, hopefully permanently, forging that independence. Well, with her sisters. Which suited Teddy better. She didn’t want to be alone. She wanted to be a part of a family. Her family.

“You’d move here all the way from Maine?” Joey asked dubiously. “Leave your mother?”

Teddy sniffed. “I can leave my mother.” Then she wrin­kled her nose. Subterfuge wasn’t her

strong suit.

“She wants me to move out anyway.”

“Why?” her sisters demanded, offended on her behalf.

“She thinks I need a year of independence. To find my own way. Apparently twenty-five is too old to have always lived with your mother, according to her.”

When none of her sisters argued, she glared at them. “You agree with her?”

Elliot shrugged. “I don’t disagree with her.”

“Well, anyway, this would solve that, wouldn’t it? We can fix up the house. I’m sure some people need bee re­moval around here, so I’ll start a new hive. Buy new chick­ens. Elliot can drive her ceramics van down here. Joey, you could start the farm of your dreams with local produce and flowers—a brand-new challenge, all yours. Georgie, you can design the baking kitchen you’ve been planning since childhood. And we’ll be close enough to Grandpa to help him—and far enough away he won’t beat us away with sticks.”

They looked at Teddy, varying looks of consideration and concern on their faces. But as the idea took shape in Teddy’s mind, she knew it was exactly right. This wasn’t some new dream out of left field; it was an old dream.

And if she had to be independent, why not make that old dream a reality?

“We always wanted to live in one place. Like a real fam­ily,” Teddy said. She would have reached out and grabbed all their hands if she had three herself. As it was, she only looked at them imploringly. “Sisters. Live together. Work together. It’s the dream. Maybe something good can come out of Grandpa’s health scare. If Grandpa lets us live in the house, and we pool whatever our savings are together, it’s not a financial stretch. Elliot and I can keep our indepen­dent businesses running while we get our joint business set up. Then we split the farm profit four ways.”

“Profit. That is optimistic at best,” Georgie said.

“You know I am all about optimism,” Teddy returned.

A wind chime tinkled from the front room, which was odd considering there shouldn’t be enough wind to make it move here inside.

“Did someone leave the door open?” Joey asked, push­ing back from the table. The girls got up and walked to­ward the door, which was indeed open.

“Look at that,” Elliot said.

They stepped out onto the porch together. Beyond the dogwood in the front just beginning to bloom, the sun was setting in a riot of colors—bright magentas, deep oranges, fading into lavenders and lighter pinks.

“It’s the most beautiful sunset I’ve ever seen.”

“That’s a tad dramatic, Teddy,” Georgie said gently, though her voice held all the awe of someone who agreed, but would never admit it.

“We have to do it,” Teddy said, her voice almost a whis­per. “This is a sign. Don’t you believe in fate?”

Elliot nodded. “Yeah. I’m mobile. I go where I please. Why not right here?”

Georgie shrugged. “Don’t know about fate, but it wouldn’t change much for me, except you guys would be close. I’d like that. Felix is talking about leaving Jasper Creek.”

Teddy reached out, but Georgie stopped her with a quell­ing look. “It’s fine.” She offered a smile, or Georgie’s ver­sion of a smile anyway. “Especially if you guys are here.”

All eyes turned to Joey.

“I have to talk timing over with my mom. I don’t want to leave her short-staffed,” Joey said, her eyes still on the sunset. Then she pushed out a breath and looked at her sis­ters and grinned. “But why the hell not?”

Teddy smiled at the sunset, feeling a bit teary over the whole thing. But it was meant to be, she was sure of it. “Four Sisters Farm.” She looked at each of her sisters. “That’s what we can call it. Because it’ll be ours. Always.”

 Excerpted from Sweet Home Cowboy by Nicole Helm, Maisey Yates, Jackie Ashenden, Caitlin Crews. Copyright © 2022 by Nicole Helm, Maisey Yates, Jackie Ashenden, Caitlin Crews. Published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

AUTHOR BIO

Maisey Yates is a New York Times bestselling author of over one hundred romance novels. Whether she's writing strong, hard working cowboys, dissolute princes or multigenerational family stories, she loves getting lost in fictional worlds. An avid knitter with a dangerous yarn addiction and an aversion to housework, Maisey lives with her husband and three kids in rural Oregon. Check out her website, maiseyyates.com or find her on Facebook.

Author Website: http://www.maiseyyates.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/MaiseyYates.Author/

Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/maiseyyates

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maiseyyates/

Jackie Ashenden writes dark, emotional stories with alpha heroes who've just got the world to their liking only to have it blown wide apart by their kick-ass heroines.

She lives in Auckland, New Zealand, with her husband the inimitable Dr Jax and two kids. When she's not torturing alpha males, she can be found drinking chocolate martinis, reading anything she can lay her hands on, wasting time on social media, or forced to mountain biking with her husband.

Author Website: https://www.jackieashenden.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jackie.ashenden

Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/jackieashenden

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jackie_ashenden/

Caitlin Crews is a USA Today bestselling, RITA-nominated, and critically-acclaimed author who has written more than 100 books and counting. She has a Masters and Ph.D. in English Literature, thinks everyone should read more category romance, and is always available to discuss her beloved alpha heroes. Just ask. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her comic book artist husband, is always planning her next trip, and will never, ever, read all the books in her to-be-read pile. Thank goodness.

Author Website: https://megancrane.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MeganCraneAndCaitlinCrews/

Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/megancrane

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meganmcrane/

Nicole Helm writes down-to-earth contemporary romance and fast-paced romantic suspense. She lives with her husband and two sons in Missouri. Visit her website: www.nicolehelm.com

Author Website: https://www.nicolehelm.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorNicoleHelm

Twitter: https://www.instagram.com/nicole_t_helm/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicole_t_helm/

[marjaystuff]

Elise Cooper Interviews Nicole Helm

Summer Stalker (North Star Book 1)

Shot Through The Heart (North Star Book 2)

Harlequin Pub

May/June 2021

Two books soon to be out, Summer Stalker and Shot Through The Heart by Nicole Helm, are the first in the “North Star Series.” Summer Stalker comes out in May and Shot Through The Heart comes out in June. This series is a spin-off from her last series of books, “Sons of Badlands,” where the North Star group was prevalent.

Summer Stalker opens with Shay now in charge of the group and allocating assignments.  Reece Montgomery has been with North Star for six years after he retired from the military.  He is now tasked with finding out who is after a bed and breakfast owner, Lianna Kade, and her seven-year-old son, Henry. Her husband was murdered and had a hidden past. Now that past has come to haunt his wife and child.  

Lianna is a strong woman who decides she must be the bait to draw the bad guys out.  She and Reece pretend to be a couple. But they seem to be drawn to each other. What they must overcome is the trauma of their past. She having to deal with her husband’s adversaries, and he the pain of parental abandonment. They both want the feeling of home. Reece also has never been in love, and he struggles to identify those feelings. Now they put these feelings aside and work together to find out who is after Lianna and Henry.

Shot Through The Heart is more of a spy novel.  The female heroine, Willa Zimmerman, is a lot like Lianna in that she is a strong woman but pretends to be easily manipulated and acts dumb.  The hero, Holden Parker, another North Star operative, is like Reece in that he is a loner and former military. He also struggles with his feelings for Willa. Now they must work together to find her parents, former CIA operatives, and to eliminate the threat to Willa and her parents by finding the hit men.

What makes this story interesting is the farm setting with all the different animals.  The author also turned the tables on her hero by having him chained up and captured by the heroine. He must convince her he is not one of the bad guys and she must convince him she is not a dipsy woman.

Both books have likeable and realistic characters. The story is fast-paced and suspenseful with the relationship between the hero and heroine having great banter.  Anyone who enjoyed the last series will want to read these two books.

Elise Cooper: Shay is now the leader?

Nicole Helm:  She is a secondary character in all the books of this series and plays a large role. Shay as a leader is smart and as a former operative knows what is needed.  But she is uncomfortable dealing with the emotional aspect of having to lead her co-workers. She sometimes had to be firm and authoritarian with those she worked side by side.

EC:  What is the goal of the North Star Group?

NH: They want to protect the innocent.  They have been described as a vigilante group because there are some things that must be done outside the law.

EC:  Describe the hero, Reece in Summer Stalker?

NH:  Guarded, noble, lonely, independent, protective, and serious. I had him as former military to make the operative well versed on how to handle certain aspects of the mission

EC: Describe the heroine, Lianna?

NH: She is first and foremost a mother.  Henry, her son, is the reason she strives to build a new life. She wants a normal life for her child.  Because of her past she is suspicious and anxious.  

EC:  What about the relationship?

NH: Lianna does not trust Reece initially.  They both are confused by their feelings and have awkward moments.  

EC:  Henry has interests of baseball and video games?

NH:  Because Henry used to live in San Francisco I made him a Giants fan.  Since they moved to Wyoming to open a bed and breakfast, he became a Twins fan.  Wyoming does not have Major League baseball, so I looked it up and found that most Wyomians root for the Minnesota Twins. I wanted to put in baseball because I am a huge fan that roots for the St. Louis Cardinals. The video game was put in because my son was seven, the same age as Henry, when I wrote this book, and that is his interest.

EC:  A scene in Shot Through The Heart reminded me of the scene in “Misery.”

NH:  I have never seen it.  But I did want the hero chained to the bed and thought it would be entertaining to have him wake up from a concussion and see he is captured.  Then he realizes it was not done by a bad guy but by the heroine who seems to hold her own with him.

EC:  Why the farm setting?

NH:  I love farms and farm animals. One of my first books involved a farm.  I wanted to return to that, so I made the heroine own a farm and not involved with the military or cowboys.  She has a crazy animal menagerie.

EC:  How would you describe the heroine, Willa?

NH:  Deceptively naïve and innocent.  She wants a quiet and simple life, far from the life of her parents, who is the big mystery in this story. She is resilient, determined, independent, honest, a fighter, and self-sufficient.

EC:  Willa is a paradox?

NH:  She pretends to be a solitary farm girl with an aura of helplessness.  A silly farm girl who is sheltered, vulnerable, and immature.  The Willa that she is, versus the Willa she wants to be are at odds.

EC:  How would you describe the hero, Holden?

NH:  Deceptively laid back, protective, calm, strong, and a quick thinker.

EC:  What about the relationship?

NH: Both are baffled by each other, but as they work together, they realize they can rely on each other.  In the beginning, Holden underestimates her.  

EC: What about your next books?

NH:  This will be a six-book series with Shay’s story as the last book.  The next book is Mountain Side Murder and it’s out in December. It is Sabrina’s story and opens with the same scene as the one in Shot Through The Heart as they get their assignments.  Holden is in this one and they continue to have their siblingesque relationship.  The book after that will be Elsie’s book.  She is not only the tech guru in this book but gets into the field because the mission is in her hometown.  There is not a title yet and it will be out in January.

THANK YOU!!

[arnoldjaime13]

Blog Tour- TILLBRIDGE STABLES Scavenger Hunt by @NinaCrespo21 With An Excerpt & #Giveaway! @HarlequinBooks & @RockstarBkTours

 I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the TILLBRIDGE STABLES SCAVENGER HUNT by Nina Crespo Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post to find the secret word (it’s purple) and make sure to enter the giveaway! Make sure to follow the tour schedule at the bottom of this post for all the stops! Each word you enter is another entry for the giveaway!

  About the Books:

Title: THE COWGIRL’S SURPRISE MATCH (Tillbridge Stables #3)

Author: Nina Crespo

Pub. Date: Paperback: January 26, 2021. eBook: February 1, 2021

Publisher: Harlequin Special Edition

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 288

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Google Play, Bookshop.org

Free preview: https://preview.aer.io/9781488075322

Grab the paperback on January 26th before the eBook! It’s only $4.99!

A sweet charade takes an unexpected turn!

Dearly beloved, we are (not) gathered together…

Maid of honor Zurie Tillbridge has been working secretly with best man Mace Calderone to plan her cousin Tristan’s wedding to a well-known actress. To keep their wedding plans from leaking to the press, Zurie and Mace must pretend they are the ones getting married. Cake tasting and flower arranging seem like harmless fun…until wary workaholic Zurie realizes she’s feeling something real for her fake fiancé…  

  Title: HER SWEET TEMPTATION (Tillbridge Stables #2)

Author: Nina Crespo

Pub. Date:  October 1, 2020

Publisher: Harlequin Special Edition

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 207

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Google Play, Bookshop.org

Free Preview: https://preview.aer.io/9781488070143

When good things come in bad-boy packages.

She vows to find the right kind of guy but a tempting stranger challenges everything…

“Bad Choices” should have been Rina Tillbridge’s middle name and it’s time to turn over a new leaf. But when stuntman Scott Halsey struts onto her property for his latest film, her impulsive alter ego threatens to make a comeback. The quintessential thrill-seeking stuntman has no designs on commitment. So why are all his red flags igniting white-hot passion…and inspiring dreams of a Hollywood ending?

REVIEWS:

“Rina and Scott’s slow burn romance is emotional, lighthearted, cute, is very entertaining and addictively different.” Shaka, BookBub

“Fun flirty and super cute.” Joelle, Goodreads

“If you need an escape, a distraction or if you want to have a good time, pick this romance between a cafe owner/baker and a movie stuntman.” Aly, Goodreads

    Title: THE COWBOY’S CLAIM (Tillbridge Stables #1)

Author: Nina Crespo

Pub. Date: February 1, 2021

Publisher: Harlequin Special Edition

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 209

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Google Play, Bookshop.org

Free Preview: https://preview.aer.io/The_Cowboys_Claim-MjUzMTg3-1921

He’s discovered his leading lady.

The role of her dreams: in his arms. 

Chloe Daniels is determined to land the role of a lifetime. Even if she’s terrified to get on a horse! And the last thing her reluctant teacher, Tristan Tillbridge, wants is to entertain a pampered actress. But the enigmatic cowboy soon discovers that Chloe is as genuine as she is gorgeous, and he’s determined to make her his. Will this unlikely pair discover that the sparks between them are anything but an act?

REVIEWS:

“Smooth pacing, likable characters (along with Chloe and Tristan, there is Rina and Mace), and a compelling plot make THE COWBOY’S CLAIM a solid read.” Romance In Color

“I loved these two together. I cannot wait to read more in this series!” Crystal, Goodreads

“If you love a series about tight-knit families, family-run businesses with lots of drama, and an opposites attract type of romance, you’ll love this new series by Nina Crespo!” Katie, Goodreads

“Watching the budding romance that happened in this story was that perfect combination of the slow burn and steaminess you could equate with a romance that will keep you reading…” Danaburk, BookBub

  SCAVENGER HUNT POST:

“We could.” Chloe nodded. “But with the tabloids spreading false stories about me and the lead actor in the film being in a relationship, and paying for pictures and any scrap of news from the set, if we start planning a wedding, our personal life could be spun into some sort of crazy, jealous love triangle. We don’t want that. We’re even keeping our engagement a secret.”

As Rina glanced down at Chloe’s left hand, a glum expression took over her face. “So you won’t get a chance to share the good news or show off that beautiful ring?”

“No.” Chloe’s gaze drifted to the platinum band with a marquis-cut diamond. “I’ll have to keep this in my jewelry bag until we seal the deal at the courthouse or the twenty-four-hour chapel.”

Chloe smiled, but Zurie caught the brief flash of sadness in her eyes. And the look of resignation in Tristan’s.

He might not realize it now, but someday he would miss not seeing Chloe walk down the aisle. And they both might regret not sharing their vows with their family and close friends in attendance. But Tristan would take his disappointment to the grave to protect Chloe.

Before she could second-guess herself, Zurie let the words spill out. “It won’t become a media circus if I’m making the plans instead of you.”

Varying levels of doubt crossed Tristan’s, Chloe’s and Rina’s faces.

“It’s a lot of work...”

“We couldn’t ask you to do that...”

“No. You’re already doing too much...”

But the answer to Lily’s question showed clearly in Zurie’s mind.

Her father would want her to make sure Tristan and Chloe had their big day. “Team Tillbridge.”

The rallying cry her and Rina’s father had used to motivate the family to get things done caught Tristan’s and Rina’s attention. The doubt in their faces melted slowly into smiles.

“Okay.” Tristan nodded. “If you think we can team it out, I’m game.”

Rina nudged his arm. “Of course we can.”

Confused, Chloe looked at the three of them as if they’d suddenly started speaking a foreign language. “Team Tillbridge? Team it out? I don’t understand.”

Zurie reached out and squeezed Chloe’s hand. “It means family takes care of family.” 

About Nina:

Nina Crespo lives in Florida where she indulges in her favorite passions — the beach, a good glass of wine, date night with her own real-life hero and dancing.

Her lifelong addiction to romance began in her teens while on a “borrowing spree” in her older sister’s bedroom where she discovered her first romance novel.

Let Nina’s sensual contemporary stories and steamy paranormal tales feed your own addiction for love, romance, and happily ever after.

Stay connected with Nina on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest or through her newsletter.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest | Instagram | Amazon | BookBub

  Giveaway Details:

1 winner will win a $10 Amazon Gift Card, INTERNATIONAL.

1 winner will receive  a signed print copy of a book from the Tillbridge Stables series (reader's choice), US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Scavenger Hunt Tour Schedule:

Week One:

1/25/2021

Rockstar Book Tours

Kickoff Post/Scavenger Hunt Clue 1

1/25/2021

Lisa Loves Literature

Scavenger Hunt Clue 2

1/26/2021

BookHounds

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1/26/2021

A Dream Within A Dream

Scavenger Hunt Clue 4

1/27/2021

Becky on Books

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1/27/2021

Pass Me That Book

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1/28/2021

Pine Enshrined Reviews

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1/28/2021

The Obsessed Reader

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1/29/2021

Books A-Brewin'

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1/29/2021

Fire and Ice

Scavenger Hunt Clue 10

Week Two:

2/1/2021

Two Chicks on Books

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2/1/2021

Wonder Struck

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2/2/2021

Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers

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2/2/2021

The Momma Spot

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2/3/2021

Jaime's World

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2/3/2021

The Phantom Paragrapher

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2/4/2021

Three gals and plenty of books

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2/4/2021

Westveil Publishing

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Books a Plenty Book Reviews

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2/5/2021

I'm Shelf-ish

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[jenniferfaye34]

#Giveaway + Excerpt ~ The #Prince and the #Wedding Planner by Jennifer Faye... #books #RoyalRomance #NewRelease #books #romance #readers #amreading #PrincPrism

On Tour with Prism Book Tours

Note from the Author

Thanks so much for joining me for the launch of The Bartolini Legacy trilogy. This family saga filled with secrets, surprises and lots of romance begins with THE PRINCE AND THE WEDDING PLANNER.

Sometimes it’s a choice to change your life—such as starting your own wedding business. Other times, change can be thrust upon you with a phone call or in this case, the turn of a page.

Wedding planner Bianca Bartolini’s life has been thrown into a series of cascading changes when she returns to Tuscany for her parents’ funeral. Yet when she uncovers her mother’s journal, she comes across a bombshell of a secret. The words on those weathered pages put everything she and her brother and sister know about themselves, their parents and their relationships into question.

Crown Prince Leopold’s younger sister is getting married but what should be a joyous occasion is anything but harmonious. Leo needs some peace and quiet if he is ever to choose a wife—a mandated requirement before he can be crowned king. And then he latches onto the idea of hiring wedding planner Bianca—someone who will report to him and bring peace back to the palace…

I hope you’ll join Bianca and Prince Leo in this royal romance as they wrestle with the past and come to terms with the present in order to have a happily ever after future.

Happy reading,

— Jennifer

The Prince and the Wedding Planner (The Bartolini Legacy #1)

By Jennifer Faye

Contemporary Romance

Paperback & ebook, 256 Pages

March 1st 2020 by Harlequin Romance

When different worlds collide…

…sparks fly!

With her family name on the line, wedding planner Bianca Bartolini needs this royal wedding to go perfectly—she can’t afford distractions. Too bad the bride’s dashing brother has other plans! Duty-bound Crown Prince Leo has mere weeks to announce his own engagement, but none of the candidates measure up to Bianca. They’re the most unlikely match, but might that just make them perfect for one another?

(Affiliate links included.)

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Go to Jennifer's Contact Page HERE and order your bookmark(s)!

EXCERPT: PROLOGUE February, Tuscany, Italy This was a living nightmare. Bianca creaked open the door to her parents’ bedroom. She peered inside, just like she used to do when she was a little girl. She paused as though waiting to be bid entrance. That would never happen. Bianca tentatively stepped into the room, her gaze hungrily taking in her surroundings. The bed was made just as her mother left it each morning. There was still an indentation on her father’s pillow as though his head had just been there—as though he would return to it that evening. But that wasn’t to be the case. Her parents had died. The acknowledgment made her heart clench. One minute they’d been vibrant and active. In the next moment, they’d died in a horrific vehicle accident. They hadn’t been going anywhere special. It hadn’t been a special day. It had been a perfectly ordinary day on a perfectly ordinary ride to the city to do some ordinary shopping. And yet it had ended with extraordinarily horrific results. The backs of Bianca’s eyes burned with unshed tears. She blinked repeatedly and sniffled. She had to pull herself together. Falling apart now wouldn’t help anyone. The funeral had just concluded and the will was to be read shortly. Everything was being pushed into fast forward as the vineyard had to be maintained. Springtime would soon be here and work would kick into high gear. Without someone in charge, the Barto Vineyard would suffer—her father’s legacy would languish. His precious prize-winning grapes would wither on the vine. The family’s attorney thought with the vineyard at stake, it was reason enough to push her and her two siblings to read the will today of all days—while she was still wearing her black dress from the funeral, while the estate was still filled with mourners that had come to pay their respects. All Bianca wanted to do that day was remember her parents—to bask in the love that lived within the walls of this vast villa. She pushed the door closed before stepping further into the bedroom. It was here, within her parents’ suite of rooms, she felt closest to them. It was here that her mother showed her how to put on makeup for the first time. It was here that her father had told her she could go away to university in the UK. Bianca walked around the spacious room, running her fingers over her mother’s elaborately carved dresser with the huge mirror suspended above it. She picked up her mother’s silver hairbrush and noticed the few long dark strands of hair tangled around the bristles. The last of her mother. Tears clouded Bianca’s vision as she thought of never seeing her parents ever again. It still seemed so utterly inconceivable. She kept walking around the room, her fingers tracing over all the things, that until just days ago, her parents had touched—had used. The thought tugged on her heart strings. How could they be here one moment and then gone the next? Bianca pressed a shaky hand to her mouth, holding back a wave of emotion that threatened to drown her in unbearable sorrow. She struggled to make sense of it. Why had they been stolen away when they were still so vital—still so needed? When she still didn’t have their approval—their blessing for the choice she’d made about her path in life. Knock. Knock. “Bianca, are you in there?” It was her brother’s voice. “Yes.” She’d been found too soon. The door creaked open and Enzo’s somber face met hers. Thankfully, he didn’t ask what she was doing in their parents’ room. She didn’t want to explain how she was grasping at anything that would make her feel close to them once more. “Everyone is waiting for us downstairs in father’s study.” The moment was at hand. Her parents’ final wishes would be known. And then the estate would be divvied up between her, her older brother and her younger sister. It would be so—so final. Her parents’ absence from their lives would be undeniable. “I... I’ll be there.” She turned her back to him, not wanting him to see the unshed tears shimmering in her eyes. She could be strong like him. She could get through this agonizing day without crumbling into a million pieces. She needed to think about anything but the hollow spot in her heart. She lifted her head and her gaze came to land on the old photos on the wall. It was a collage of her grandparents, her parents’ wedding and herself and her two siblings. They’d all looked so happy— “Bianca, they loved you.” And then her brother exited the room, closing the door softly. It was like her brother to cut through everything to get to the heart of the problem. Did her parents love her like they’d loved her siblings? She had her doubts. Bianca paused next to her mother’s nightstand. It was there that she noticed her mother’s journal. She recalled coming across it as a child and her mother shooing her away. She’d asked her mother what she wrote in her journal and her mother said it was a way to vent or a chance to mark something memorable. Her mother didn’t write in it often. Her mother had said she liked to reflect upon where she’d come from, so she knew where she was going. As a teenager, Bianca had tried keeping a journal of her own, but with two nosey siblings close to her own age, it didn’t go well. And when her little sister announced one evening at dinner that Alfio Costa had kissed Bianca after school, she had burned her journal and vowed never to write in one again. She so desperately longed to hear the gentle lilt of her mother’s voice but she couldn’t recall it. It was like her mind had erased the memory. How could that be? If she was already forgetting her mother’s voice, how soon until she forgot what she looked like and their moments together? She knew that she was being overly dramatic, but her emotions at the moment felt amplified. She didn’t know how to calm them. She picked up her mother’s journal. Her fingers traced over the buttery soft binding. Inside were her mother’s final words. Her fingertip traced down over the gold gilded pages. Part of her wanted to open the cover and let her mother’s voice speak to her. And another part of her said not to do it. Whatever was written within those pages was none of her business. The struggle raged within her. Tour Schedule

March 2nd:

Launch

Rockin' Book Reviews

Thoughts of a Blonde

Books and Zebras

March 3rd:

Pause for Tales

Wishful Endings

Bookworm Lisa

Jorie Loves A Story

March 4th:

Deal Sharing Aunt

Reading Excursions

Andi's Book Reviews

Two Points of Interest

March 5th:

Harlie's Books

Baroness' Book Trove

Peaceful Pastime

Splashes of Joy

March 6th:

Locks, Hooks and Books

underneath the covers

Bookish Jottings

Hallie Reads

March 7th:

Grand Finale

About the Author

Award-winning author, Jennifer Faye pens fun, heartwarming contemporary romances with rugged cowboys, sexy billionaires and enchanting royalty. Internationally published with books translated into nine languages. She is a two-time winner of the RT Book Reviews Reviewers' Choice Award, the CataRomance Reviewers' Choice Award, named a TOP PICK author, and been nominated for numerous other awards.

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Tour Giveaway

- One winner will receive a $25 Amazon gift card and one of Jennifer's backlisted titles, winner's choice of print (US only) or ebook (if outside the US)

- Three winners will each receive one of Jennifer's backlisted titles, winner's choice of print (US only) or ebook (if outside the US)

Ends March 11, 2020

ENTER HERE

[ambrial-blog]

Was It Worth It.

Was it worth it? Moxie's voice hisses at him, chained to the wall where Blitz dare not tread. It was a forbidden room: A sacrificial room. Blitzo's heartbeat thudded in his as he looked around for a way to get to Moxie. "Choosing him over us! Yells Moxie. "Open your eyes Blitzo, he is using you to achieve overlord status. At first, Blitzo had been all in, sick and tired of Stolas. Even if the Owl prince didn't mean to, he had chipped away at something he shouldn't have, something buried deep within Blitz himself.

A glimmer of murderous intent, Striker had caught a glimpse at what simmered beneath Blitzo's skin during the pain games.  But as Blitzo sat on his throne surrounded by the finer things in life. The was one thing Striker was adamant about him giving up, one thing Striker drilled into him from the very start. "That within these cobblestone walls, that once stood the pious Goetic mansion, no sliver of a  previous life was permitted.  Instead of opening his eyes, Striker strived to keep them closed. Focused on him and whatever current mission they were undertaking. They were side by side through it all,  but to be truthfully honest, Blitzo never felt so lonely. Anything that had to do with the former life that he tried to hold onto, Blitzo had to hide from Striker.

The Overlord Imp was bound to find out about his betrayal. His obligation as a father outweighed the need for a mate.  He now walks a thin line between loyalties, unable to leave the castle walls. There are others like Striker posted at various intervals of the castle, rooms he is not permitted to go into. But Blitzo could no longer ignore the nagging sensation at the back of his head.  He followed his instincts into a room that was heavily guarded by Striker's men. Serpents: with a wraithlike appearance posted on all sides. Only to find Moxie barely conscious and bleeding onto the floor. "Lord Blitzo, I suggest you turn around because, on the next full moon, this little lamb will be sacrificed." Speaks the Guard reaching for Blitz's arm. "No, No, he is with me! Shouts Blitzo yanking his arm back.  Moxie looks up, blood near the corners of his mouth.  A light of hope flickers within his eyes as he struggles against his shackles upon hearing Blitzo's voice.

Blitzo rams his elbow into one of the Guard's chests. The serpent doubles over as two others come, each putting a hand to Blitzo's arms. Blitz throws one into the wall while flipping the other onto his back, punching his face quickly.

"Blitz behind you!" Shouts Moxie in a raspy voice, his eyes wide and fearful.

Blitzo falters upon hearing his voice: crack in his ears, his hand around a guard's throat. Striker's personal Guard has an arm wrapped around Blitzo's neck. "That enough, Lord Blitz, that vermin isn't worth your time. Please come with me quietly; Lord Striker is waiting for you in the den, or is there a problem? Jaxx inquires. Was there a problem? Blitz laughed bitterly, glaring up at Jaxx.

"Why? Demanded Blitz, is Moxie set up to be your sacrificial lamb! You bastard!  and why is Striker going after members of my family?" He hisses, breaking Jaxx's hold pressing a dagger to the Guard's throat as he waits for his answer, "You need to take that up with Lord Striker, Master Blitzo" Jaxx answers his eyes a steely green darkens.  As he watches, Blitzo lowers the dagger.

"I think I will Jaxx, in the meantime make Moxie comfortable."

Blitz couldn't do anything at the moment to help out Mox, not without blowing everything he worked so hard for.  

In the wee hours of the morning, sunlight filters in through the translucent curtains. A letter arrives through an open window the currier: A grey, prestigious owl.  It was a letter from Stolas, A Stolas he never really got to know. Blitzo petted the owl, And when he opened it and read what was inside. he knew he had made a terrible mistake.   His eyes widened. He could almost hear Stolas as his eyes skimmed the letter.   "My dearest Blitzy,  even now as I write this letter, I can feel death's icy caress. My hand quivers, and my heart pangs upon seeing you with him. I never knew how much you hated me or the burden I was to you. I hope one day you can forgive me for all the trouble, I was to you. I just wanted love, to be loved. My Blitzy, I know how hard your life was; I just wanted to be a part of it. I don't blame you, my love. You did what you thought was right.   Blood speckled the letter, forming a heart as a single owl feather was pressed into the letter.

"A memento, My dear Blitzy of the love I still hold for you." Stolas.

Blitzo must now gather the courage to face his past and confront his present. How many family members had Striker stashed here? How many were alive? Why was Striker brutally honest about something and deceptively cunning about others?.  Blitz could feel the pull, the magnetic attraction that had him coming back for more. It was like a bad addiction, and Striker was the drug. Striker knew the effect he had on Blitzo and used it as a form of control.

As Blitzo's boots clacked across the marbled corridors as he sought out a way of freeing Moxie and finding Millie and Loony.  Trying to find answers to his numerous questions.  Striker will stop at nothing to keep Blitzo in the dark until he has Alastor's head pinned to his wall in his trophy room.  It would make an excellent little addition to the ones he had already mounted to the wall- his growing collection.    Dark laughter resonates throughout the room. A shadowy figure sits beneath the severed head of the Goeita Prince on a throne made of ebony. His citrine yellow eyes pierce's the Guard that kneeled before him. As a clawed figure tip swirls the blooded wine.   "So you've come to gravel at my feet," hisses the Overlord. "Blitzy gave you the slip. Why am I not surprised? Striker growls. "If only you had been doing as I require, none of this would be necessary," spoke Striker as two of his personal guards flanked the fledgling. "Blitzo would have remained blissfully unaware of the whole thing. Now you have him questioning my whereabouts every full moon." "Your Lordship, I-I- please have mercy, he surprised us, that's all."

"Now your telling me, you have reason to believe my mate, is plotting against me, And you had the gull to inform him of about our plans, for our little sacrificial lamb!" snarls Striker, his claws digging into the arms of his throne. "And now, you have reason to believe he is planning a rescue. Did you at least slaughter the owl that sent him this letter! "Someone is toying with me, Zarr. Do I look like a man that likes to be toyed with!" Zarr's body trembles as he clutches the other Guard's forearm for support. The Guard pulls him onto his feet a knife is placed at his gullet. "On second thought proclaimed Striker, I might still have some use for you yet Zarr but you need to be taught a lesson." "Take him to the torturing chambers and begin removing his eyes and tongue and feed them to that hell-hound down in the dungeons. "I haven't provided for her in a while. I bet she is ravenous. Zarr screamed as they led him out of the trophy room. But, the serpent Overlord didn't realize the connection  Blitzo has with the radio-talk overlord demon- a link that could destroy everything they worked so hard to rebuild. It was getting harder and harder to keep Blitzo from discovering the horrible truth surrounding Goeita's death and its repercussions on the world. As the truth starts to unravel, the gunslinger will have to scramble to keep up his charade. Blitzo is beginning to slip out from under with each step he takes towards his family, it one step further from the Overlord.

With A candelabra in hand, Blitzo descended down the narrow winding stairs. It was dark, cold, and damp the further he trod. Until he came across a mammoth-sized kennel.  He kneeled before the cage placing the Calabria down, his eyes scanning the far reaches of the cell there; lying in piss and blood was Loona gnawing on an eyeball.  One crimson eye shot open as she spat out the eye into a corner. The sight of Blitzo made her rise to her feet. She grimaced as she walked. There was a scar running across her eye as she dragged her chains, trying to get closer, needing to know that this was real. that Blitzo had finely come for her. "Loony, Loony, Loony," cries Blitzo, I've found you!"

[kattitudereads]

Blog Tour - Cowboy Christmas Redemption by Maisey Yates | Review

Blog Tour – Cowboy Christmas Redemption by Maisey Yates | Review

Christmas is coming to town soon, y’all! So drop your lassos, hang those hats, shuck off those cowboy boots, and gather ’round this here campfire-under-the-stars-in-the-wide-open-desert for my stop on Harlequin’s blog tour for Cowboy Christmas Redemption by Maisey Yates.

Cowboy Christmas Redemption, the 8th book in the Gold Valleyseries (but can 100% be read as a standalone), was the sweetest,…

[secondlookblog]

The Cowboy is Dead and the Clown Will Claim His Throne

It all started with a tweet. My brother, Moses Mascuch, @mosesmyshoe, college sophomore and sartorial tastemaker-- quote: “trend prediction: we are close to - may have already reached - peak saturation of the cowboy aesthetic. predict a dropoff soon. what’s next: who can say, but I’m putting my money on clowns...” (hyperlink is mine). Knowing Moses, this tweet was 80% a joke, but jokes aside, he’s onto something. 

Consider: Maximalism, poofy sleeves à la MaisonCléo, acid green, slime green, Millenial Pink, this Rachel Comey FW19 hat, these Rosie Assoulin shorts,  La Veste (mixing loud prints, gingham, stripes, cloth buttons), pom poms, glitter, @beerbottles_chainsaws, Sir Babygirl, the Jacquemus micro bag. WE ARE CAREENING RAPIDLY DOWN A CULTURAL HILL, GAINING SPEED AT A RATE FASTER THAN WE CAN THINK, AND I DON’T BELIEVE WE EVEN REALIZE IT, BUT AT THE END OF THIS LINE IS...THE CLOWN. 

If the sartorial cowboy is a reaction against the impotent simulation of life in the digital age, a harkening back to a function, quality, artisanship, and tactility, as well as a wry mocking of the fascism of the Trump era, then the clown is what we turned to when we looked in the mirror and instead of this we saw this and this staring back at us. That’s when we knew: we will never return to austerity and restraint; we are a frivolous, emotional, overstimulated nation trying to go viral; we’re boo boo the fucking fool. We are all, at our core, waiting to be revealed for the frauds we are-- children in adults bodies, facing a fucked up future that we are woefully unprepared for. Those among us who lead the cultural flock are already embracing this helplessness as an epic cosmic comedy: we are not the heroes we need us to be-- we’re clowns. 

Cheer up. The clown can be cute, nay, downright joyful! The clown is a mishmash of everything that’s making us happy. It’s a walking Instagram feed. The clown wants to be liked, and so it trades in delight. Yes, it’s desperate for attention, but try wearing a ruff and a cone-shaped hat covered in pom-poms and you too will know the joy of having all your cards laid out on the table. 

I think there might be redemption in the clown. Isn’t it, in some ways, the return of the repressed? We can stop acting like these walking superegos and let excess and emotion and desire come to the fore. The clown is a trickster of sorts, refusing to play by the staunch rules of respectability, delighting in contradiction and elusion, frightening because he is so unpredictable, so impossible to pin down. He is uniquely resistant to authority; consider the trope of the terrifying clown, like the murderous clown panic of 2016. The clown is both dangerously brazen and yet impervious to capture. We are haunted by those qualities (literally haunted, the fear of clowns is pervasive in our culture) because they threaten the very systems of authority that are the underpinnings of our culture, not just the police and the law, but authority writ large-- patriarchy, racism, hierarchy in general. The clown, a derivative of the court jester, is actually the foil to the dictator: in popular lore, the jester is always getting the better of the King. 

So actually, maybe we do need clowns. Maybe cowboys are false heroes, enforcers of a bygone era of paternalism, a self-appointed police force tasked with patrolling the liminal spaces of our territory and weeding out the “Other” as they encroach. Maybe the clown is the antidote to politically-constructed division-- laughing at the systems of authority which create these hierarchies to confine us in and dousing their faces with their squirting flower. I think we instinctually know this: think about the reaction to the new mascot for the Philadelphia Flyers, Gritty. Gritty is a clown! And immediately he was deemed a hero of the proletariat and a “nonbinary leftist icon.” And yeah, much like the tweet that started this whole cowboy vs. clown thing, it was mostly a joke. But I still think we’re onto something. 

It’s cats playing musical instruments. It’s like the ur-garment for ugly novelty librarian sweaters. In terms of chic-ness: the ruffle at the shoulder, the ruff just generally (I think I’m going to buy a ruff), the hat with pom poms. And, as they say, IT HAS POCKETS. 

Harlequin is the next big pattern I’m calling it now. 

In  case you weren’t convinced. 

I would wear this blouse. 

I’m loving the white stockings with the black lace up. 

I too aspire to wear a portrait of a goose on my shirt. Loving the mix of patterns and colors-- red, lavender, and orange together feels very current. Doesn’t this feel Rachel Antonoff-esque to you?  

Mood. 

Ok this is giving me all the quilted, applique, cecilie bahnsen, ulla johnson, romantic vibes that are sprouting up right now!!! 

[thesassybooskter]

NO GETTING OVER A COWBOY by Delores Fossen: Review

No Getting Over a Cowboy by Delores Fossen Series: Wrangler's Creek #2 Published by Harlequin Books Publication Date: March 28th 2017 Genres: Contemporary Romance Pages: 384 Source: Publisher Format: eARC Goodreads Buy Online: Amazon ♥ Barnes & Noble ♥ Kobo

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The golden cowboy of Wrangler’s Creek returns home to Texas to discover some old flames never fizzle…

There are plenty of things Garrett Granger hadn’t counted on losing—his child to miscarriage, his wife to another man and the family business thanks to a crooked CFO. He also hadn’t counted on moving back to the family ranch, where he’s met by another surprise—former flame Nicky Marlow, who is renting his grandmother’s old house.

Nicky’s been rebuilding her shattered life since her husband’s death two years ago. But Garrett’s timely arrival in Wrangler’s Creek doesn’t automatically make him the missing piece of the puzzle. Even if he does seem to adore her two-year-old daughter… Even if seeing him again stirs up old feelings Nicky would gladly keep buried, forcing her to wonder if moving forward has to mean leaving everything behind…

  Review

The defining word for this book is: chaos, but of the entertaining variety. Just like the first book in the series, this one starts out with drama from the very first page and there is no slowing down all the way to the end. If you enjoy that much crazy in your books, and by crazy I mean scheming ex-wives, police investigations, meddling family members, a nympho widow, etc., then read on. Personally, I just threw up my hands and hung on for the bumpy and enjoyable ride. 

After the eventful past year where Garrett Granger, along with a sizable number of the population was treated to a video of his wife with her lover, the resulting media fallout and end of his marriage, all he wants is some peace and quiet to expand the ranch and deal with his feelings. He’s not about to get his wish any time soon, between the random women popping in to offer him comfort of a sexual nature and the group of women who just set up on the ranch as a support group for widows, led by none other than his ex-girlfriend.

Nicky Marlow is trying to rebuild her life and the one place she hopes will help her and her fellow widows is the one place she always sought refuge in on the Granger ranch and she’s not going down without a fight, especially as she has given up everything for this new start and she has the other women counting on her to make this work.

Well, day 1 isn’t so wonderful for everyone with the discovery of a body on the ranch and the need to re-settle the women in the main ranch house, leaving poor Garrett to hide out in the guest house, but he can’t hide from Nicky and her daughter, especially when it’s clear that his mother is trying her hand at matchmaking between them and her little girl is a constant reminder of his own loss.

 Nicky has her own secrets that she wants to keep that way, but coming back to Wrangler’s Creek is testing her resolve in a big way and reviving her feelings for Garrett which she thought she had gotten over. The only chance she and Garrett have depends on both of them coming clean about their secrets, but it’s a daunting task to undertake. With everyone rooting for them and interfering to help things along, there is only one end for them: happy ever after, but getting there is going to be an eventful ride.

These characters were over the top and mostly hilarious and I really enjoyed this book. With a story set in a small town, I was expecting any and everything and I wasn’t disappointed. This is definitely one book to read if you enjoy small towns and their drama. I’m definitely looking forward to the rest of the series!

  About Delores Fossen

When Delores Fossen was a child, she used to sneak around and collect fingerprints, hair strands and fibers left by family members and guests. At age eight, she solved a crime. Well, sort of. When someone nibbled off the ear of her chocolate Easter bunny , she searched for clues and soon discovered that her sister had chocolate bunny breath. With that "case closed," Delores believed she’d discovered her calling--she wanted to be a Texas Ranger or FBI agent. But after realizing that she just wouldn't be very good at chasing down bad guys, she opted for a slightly different career path--she creates fictional cowboy cops and other law enforcement officers. Writing romantic suspense is something she enjoys immensely, and it has earned her the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice and Booksellers Best Awards, and she was a finalist for the prestigious Rita.

Married to an Air Force colonel and the mother of four children, Delores has lived in England and all over the U.S. She’s had a variety of careers and jobs: an Air Force captain, a special ed teacher and a rehab counselor. None was as fun or challenging as the time she’s spent as a stay-at-home mom. She still collects fingerprints, hair strands and fibers every time she dusts or vacuums, which isn’t very often.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

NO GETTING OVER A COWBOY by Delores Fossen: Review was originally published on The Sassy Bookster

[mk1comics]

August Mature/Misc Highlights: Lots of Mike Mignola goodies follow - and more!

Dark Horse » Hellboy In Hell Library Edition HC

Dark Horse » Mr Higgins Comes Home HC

Dark Horse » Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. 1955 Secret Nature (One-Shot)

Dark Horse » Lobster Johnson Mangekyo (One-Shot)

Dark Horse » The Visitor: How and Why He Stayed TP

Dark Horse » Baltimore Vol. 8: The Red Kingdom HC

Dark Horse » Harrow County Vol. 6: Hedge Magic TP

Dark Horse » Harlequin Valentine: 2nd Ed HC

Dark Horse » Shaolin Cowboy: Wholl Stop the Reign HC

Dark Horse » Lady Killer Vol. 2 TP

Dark Horse » Grandville Force Majeure HC

Dark Horse » Michael Chabon Escapists TP

Vertigo » Hellblazer Vol. 17: Out of Season TP (MR)

Vertigo » Sweet Tooth Book 1 TP (MR)

Top Shelf Productions » Roots TP

Top Shelf Productions » Bottled TP

Image » Mage Hero Denied #1 (of 15)

Image » Redlands #1 (MR)

Image » Annual TP

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Image » Extremity Vol. 1: Artist TP

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Image » Hard Place #1 (of 5) (MR) Cvr A Stelfreeze

Image » Magdalena Reformation TP

Image » Old Guard Book 1: Opening Fire TP (MR)

Image » Savage Town Ogn TP (MR)

Image » Sexcastle TP (MR)

Image » Spy Seal #1

Image » Sun Bakery Fresh Coll TP (MR)

Image » Tim Seeley Action Figure Collection Vol. 1 TP

Image » Beauty Vol. 3 TP (MR)

Image » Copperhead Vol. 3 TP (MR)

Image » Eclipse Vol. 2 TP

Image » Low Vol. 4: Outer Aspects of Inner Attitudes TP (MR)

Image » Manifest Destiny Vol. 5: Mnemophobia & Chronophobia TP (MR)

Image » Paper Girls Vol. 3 TP

Image » Think Tank Vol. 5: Animal TP

Image » The Walking Dead #170 (MR)

Albatross » Galaktikon #1

BOOM! Studios » Mech Cadet Yu #1 (of 4) Cvr A Main Miyazawa

BOOM! Studios » Amory Wars: Second Stage Turbine Blade HC

Comics » Things You Shouldnt Remember

Dynamite » Turok #1 Cvr A Lopresti

Devil's Due Digital » Larks Killer #1 (of 7) Cvr A Bartel

Fantagraphics » Love & Rockets Magazine #3 (MR)

Oni Press » The Tea Dragon Society HC

Oni Press » Night's Dominion: Season Two #1 (MR)

Comics » Jeff Steinberg TP (MR)

Oni Press » Stumptown: Square One Vol. 1 (MR)

2000 AD » Judge Dredd Complete Case Files Vol. 29 TP

2000 AD » Judge Dredd Complete Case Files Vol. 14 TP

Titan » Dan Dare The Mission of the Earthmen HC

 Valiant Checklist

Valiant » War Mother #1 Cvr A Mack

Valiant » Divinity #0 (of 4) Cvr A Ryp

Valiant » Faith Vol. 4: The Faithless TP

Zenescope Checklist

Zenescope » Gft Dance of the Dead #1 (of 5) Cvr A Chen

Zenescope » Gft Neverland Return of Hook #1 (One-Shot) Cvr A Otero

Zenescope » Gft 2017 Armed Forces Appreciation #1 Cvr A Reyes

Zenescope » Van Helsing vs. the Mummy of Amun Ra TP

August 2017 Order Book Open: Comixology customers can head here to view pull/subscribe & order away. Mk1 will be working our way through the catalogue and posting our findings to the COMING SOON page as per usual.   More info about the Comixology service and Mk1′s mail order options can be found on our FAQ page.

Full  August 2017 Solicitations from all publishers  can be viewed at Comixology or Previews World.

Links for August 2017 Shipments:

Full Dark Horse Solicitations

Full DC Solicitations

Full IDW Solicitations  

Full Image Solicitations

Full Marvel Solicitations

Full BOOM Solicitations

Full TITAN Solicitations

Full Valiant Solicitations

Everything from every publisher shipping from August 2017.

The Previews Catalogue can also be viewed over at PREVIEWS WORLD - here’s the link.  If using the PREVIEWS WORLD method download the TXT file - either delete the unwanted items or copy the wanted items into an email and send it to shop@mk1.co.nz (or just copy direct from the webpage).  We will respond with a price quote and place your order once you confirm acceptance.

We will be adding new posts from the August 2017 offerings as we uncover them.  Check out these pages for more Mk1 Monthly Previews:   May 2017 , June 2017 and July 2017

The How to Love comics blog has an excellent beginners guide to reading new comic solicitations - check it out here.