AN INTRODUCTION By Sarah J. McNeal

Author Sarah J. McNeal

Since this is my first post on the Fire Star Press blog, I would like to introduce myself to you. Some of you may already know me from my monthly posts on the Prairie Rose Publications blog or from comments on blogs here from time to time. Because I have so many books published under the Fire Star Press imprint, I am going to be posting on the second Tuesday every other month here alternating with posts on the 2nd Tuesday every other month at the Prairie Rose blog.

I retired from critical care nursing in 2009 and have devoted my time to writing ever since I retired. I started writing and submitting fiction way back when I was 13. I've had many rejections from those earlier years before I was finally published. Like most of you I have worked to improve my craft and have experienced some other publishing companies along the way. I had some low times and high times, but I never quit. Probably any successful writer has had to stay the course over the years to get where they are today. I  was lucky enough to publish with Rebecca Vickery's publishing company and, when she had to close her company due to her health, I found a home at Prairie Rose Publishing when Cheryl Pierson and Livia Reasoner opened their doors. I feel pretty dang lucky to be a part of this company.

I am contracted with Fire Star Press for the last 2 books in the Legends of Winatuke series. The first 3 books of this fantasy/medieval series have already been published: The Witch-Queen, Cursed, and Quest for the Light of Valmora.

I look forward to getting to know all of you much better. I've read most of the posts here so I have a bit of knowledge about each of you already. I think I'm going to truly enjoy my time here.

The Witch-Queen

Legends of Winatuke, book1

Sarah J. McNeal

Fire Star Press

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The legend begins when love and evil collide.

Excerpt: (Isadore and Prince Gabriel)

Isadore reached the bottom of the stair and made her way with tentative care down the narrow passage to the prisoner's cell. She had never ventured this far before. The dungeon was an awful place. It smelled of damp stone, urine, and fear.

In the shadows of the cell, she made out the Nimway's form as he stood facing the wall beyond the iron bars with his back to her. He stood tall with a broad back that tapered to a narrow waist and hips. From his back sprang two large, yellow wings etched in black. They reminded her of the stained glass windows now falling from their frames in the abandoned chapel of the north wing. The glow from a burning torch shone through his hair and, in spite of its unkempt length and its need of washing, it gleamed like a golden halo in the flickering torchlight. There he stood, magnificent and beautiful, the Heir Apparent to the throne of Valmora, Prince Gabriel of Fionn.

He must have sensed her presence because he started to turn toward her. Her heart pounded against her ribs. She could not catch her breath. Inside her mind her thoughts ran in excited disarray. But a smart rap on her shoulder gained her immediate attention. A gasp escaped her when she turned to find her mother standing close behind her. Mahara had found her out. "What do you think you are doing, Isadore?" Her black eyes darkened and narrowed with suspicion. Without waiting for an answer she grabbed Isadore’s hand in a painful grasp and jerked her around. "Come with me NOW," Mahara commanded.

Excerpt: (Prince Raphael and Rose)

He gazed into her frightened eyes. "You must never take my world, the Nimway or the Black Blood Clan so lightly. There are battles being fought between good and evil every day of which you know nothing." He clasped her arms tightly in his hands. "So know this: Mahara wants one thing more than any other—your father. She has the blood lust. She will use any means that will get her what she wants.. Raven managed to slip through her hands and, worse, he took his true love with him. If you think, she has forgotten this affront you are very much mistaken. She never forgets. Even now, she is thinking of a way to take revenge, and when she figures out how to carry out her diabolical plan, God save us all."

He loosened his grip on her arms and noticed with dismay the red marks his hands had made. Raphael bent down and kissed the marks on her arms. She sighed then leaned her head back with her eyes closed. He could not help himself as he embraced her in his arms. She dropped her head on his chest and wove her arms around his waist. His heart hammered in his chest. "I am sorry." He spoke softly in her ear. His breath caught as he removed the yellow, plastic clip from her hair and released its dazzling brilliance that fell to her waist in flowing locks of fiery copper.

It was almost painful being in her embrace. She held on to him because she was afraid. He knew that. But the nearness of her made him drunk with joy all the same. He tangled his hand in her hair and slowly lowered his mouth to hers. She responded to his kiss and Raphael burned with desire somewhere between heaven and hell. Oh God, how I want her, how I love her. If only there was some way—

CURSED 

Legends of Winatuke, book 2

By Sarah J. McNeal

Fire Star Press

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PAPERBOOK

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The Legend continues with A Curse…A Quest…and Undying Love.

 Excerpt:

Emma held her breath. Something is wrong. Her heart began to pound against the confines of her ribs. Is someone in the apartment? She didn't have a gun or mace, or even a sharp object like a pencil nearby to protect herself. Maybe if she could quietly move across the kitchen she could grab a butcher knife from the drawer beside the sink. Every nerve in her body became electrified. Her muscles tensed with dread.

Out of the darkness, a big hand grabbed her by the shoulder. She took in a ragged breath. Her heart pounded in her ears. What to do now? Her vocal cords froze in her throat as the intruder turned her around to face him. She heard herself whimper and hated her weakness.

"Please don't hurt me," she whispered in a shaky voice.

She heard gruff laughter. "Why would I want to hurt you, Emma?" A light switched on and there, in the glow of a forty-watt incandescent bulb, stood the tall figure of Hawk McKnight. He appeared wild and dangerous, as if he'd walked out of a medieval movie scene. Dressed in a loose, white shirt open halfway down his broad chest and a short leather jacket with sleeves attached by strips of rawhide graced with buttons carved from what looked like horn or bone down the front he grinned at her. Around his slim waist was a wide, leather belt with a dagger tucked in it and a leather bag hanging from his left hip. In a scabbard across his back rested a heavy broadsword which looked as perilous as the man. Emma knew by his attire he must have recently come from that other place where his family and friends originated…Winatuke.

Quest For The Light Of Valmora 

Legends of Winatuke, Book 3

By Sarah J. McNeal

Fire Star Press

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A quest for a magical light...A Gypsy’s love…And a warrior’s sacrifice

Without further comment, he scooped her up in his arms and waltzed with her to the place directly in front of the musicians. Falcon caught Peregrine's eyes and saw in them indifference. Anger swelled inside him. Peregrine could be such an ass. Didn't he care that Falcon danced with Izabelle much too close? What did Izabelle see in his apathetic brother who displayed nothing of the concern or interest he should in this astonishing woman?

Well, things are about to change.

Falcon dipped Izabelle low with only his arm to keep her from falling. He leaned over her body draped across his arm and inhaled her sweet essence floating on the night air. Her breath hitched and her eyes glittered in the dim light as she peered at him, those eyes wide and bright with surprise.

He lowered his mouth and touched his lips to hers.

Sarah J. McNeal

Diverse stories filled with heart

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New Release -- Cursed (Legends of Winatuke Book 2) by Sarah J. McNeal

When Hawk McKnight’s younger brother falls to his death in the mystical Lake of Sorrows, Hawk blames himself. The discovery that Peregrine is actually alive is a double-edged sword—for Perry remembers nothing of his former life, and has taken up a new beginning with a band of Gypsies. The only woman who can heal Peregrine is someone Hawk loves deeply…someone who has rejected him. But if there’s a chance that Doctor Emma Dawson can help his brother, Hawk will swallow his pride and ask for her help.

Emma Dawson carries her own emotional baggage. The only survivor of a horrendous family tragedy, she is a burned-out doctor with no time for a personal life, holding on to the dreams of what she once believed her medical practice should be. She knows the secrets of Hawk’s family, and the beings who live in a dimension called Winatuke, a place of magic and evil creatures. Though she and Hawk were once deeply in love, after the hand life has dealt her, she believes sending him away is the only way to protect him.

But when Hawk turns to Emma to help him save Perry, what choice does she have? She must face her fears and go with him to Winatuke if there is the slightest possibility of saving Hawk’s brother. Can they break the curse that holds Peregrine in its grip? Or will the secrets hidden within the depths of the Lake of Sorrows drag them all into an evil enchantment?

EXCERPT

     A messenger drew Hawk from his morose thoughts.  

     "My liege, I do not wish to disturb you, but Domingomae has delivered a message for you from Prince Raphael." Mericet entered the tent with a sealed parchment in his hand.

     Hawk took the message and noticed that the boy's hair was wet and his clothes damp. "Water's scarce out here, Mericet. Mind you don't waste it by bathing in the middle of the day."

     "Yes, my liege." Mericet nodded his head obediently and waited respectfully by the opening of the tent for further instructions.

     Pulling the dagger from his wide leather belt, Hawk cut the seal from the parchment and began to read. The first words grabbed his attention immediately. "My God," he gasped aloud, "Peregrine is alive." He glanced at Mericet. "My brother is alive."

     Mericet nodded. "That is good, my liege. I am glad for you."

     Hawk leaped from his chair and paced as he continued to read aloud. Your brother is living among the Gypsies, playing his violin, and performing his water show twice a day. But he is altered, Hawk. You must come to Vel’ka Mulano with all due haste.

     He stopped pacing. "Altered? What could he mean?" He shrugged his shoulders. "It's enough that he's alive. When that fiend, Inx, threw him into the Lake of Sorrows, we were all certain Peregrine was dead. I thought I would never see him again."

     Emotion choked at the back of his throat. He stared at the parchment as if he held the Declaration of Independence in his hands. A weight that had pressed upon his heart for months lifted, and he felt as if he could breathe again. The torment of guilt he bore for his inability to save Peregrine withdrew from his spirit.

     

New Release - The Witch-Queen (Legends of Winatuke Book 1) by Sarah J. McNeal

The Dark Isle has been a refuge for evil since time began in the world of Winatuke, and the most depraved and wicked of them all is the witch-queen, Mahara, who rules over the malignant kingdom of darkness.

Mahara has taken a captive, a prince of the Nimway people, and she plans to use him for the revenge that burns in her soul. By forcing her own daughter, Isadore, into marriage with Prince Gabriel, she hopes to gain the power she craves over the Nimway—especially her ex-lover and Isadore’s father, Raven.

Her scheme goes awry when love begins to grow between Isadore and Gabriel. Isadore realizes the only way to save Gabriel is for them to escape together, but at the last minute, that plan fails. Separated from Gabriel,  Isadore is forced to continue to the Nimway kingdom of Valmora alone to seek help from her mother’s enemies.

Once Isadore gains their trust, Gabriel’s brother, Raphael, volunteers to travel to present-day Earth to get help. To save his brother, he must bring Raven back to the world of Winatuke, and ask him to risk his own life in the battle against Mahara’s evil forces.

It seems an impossible task. How can they ever defeat Mahara? With the evil forces she can summon at will, it seems Gabriel’s life will be forfeit. But Isadore refuses to allow that, risking her own life to save him. Forced to follow her heart, Isadore wonders if she can ever win her father’s trust or Gabriel’s love. She only knows she must defeat her mother’s evil vendetta for all time. No matter the consequences she must vanquish THE WITCH-QUEEN…

EXCERPT

     "You think you can fool me, Isadore, but you should know by now that is impossible." Mahara's eyes glowed like two red hot coals of anger as she faced her daughter. "What were you doing with my prisoner yesterday, that arrogant Nimway brat?"

     "Nothing, Mother, I swear it. I only wanted to see what the filthy Nimway looked like." Isadore could not quite look her mother in the eyes. She bent her head to avoid facing her, and stared at the floor. "I did talk to him just a little." She whispered her confession.

     Mahara whirled around, her black gown whispering and swirling around her as if it had a life of its own. She lifted Isadore's chin with her long, thin finger so Isadore would have to look at her. "And what did you two converse about? Be very careful that you tell me the whole truth," she warned, "I shall know if you lie, or omit anything." There was a nasty tone in her voice.

     Isadore shook visibly in her fear. She knew her mother's powers. There was reason to be afraid…very, very afraid. She swallowed the lump in her throat. "We talked about my father."

     Mahara's eyes grew black with rage. "How could you talk with a child of my enemies about the very thing for which I hate them?" She dug her fingers into Isadore's shoulders and shook her. "Why? Why would you do such a thing?"

     Isadore could barely look at her mother so great was her fear. She didn't want Mahara to see this weakness in her. Her words stumbled from her lips, "I...I wanted to know if...if..."

     

New Release I DREAM OF YOU by Sarah J. McNeal (Wilding Series)

Kyle Red Sky has dreamed of the woman with fire in her hair, but when she comes to Hazard, Wyoming, something dark and dangerous follows her. She is reclusive, avoids men, and wears a scarf around her neck to hide a secret. When someone tries to burn down her seamstress shop, Kyle has to take action—even if it means pushing her to accept his help in any way he can.

Beautiful Mia Beckett is a survivor—but only she knows of the horror she’s fled to this small western town to escape from. Finally, she’s found sanctuary from the unspeakable evil that has clouded her past and forced her into the solitary existence she lives. To allow Kyle into her life would put him in harm’s way, and Mia is not about to let that happen—not to someone who cares so much for her.

But Kyle has other ideas. Visions and dreams are sacred in his Lakota heritage, and can’t be ignored. Mia is in grave danger, and he is determined to not only protect her but to show her he will lay down his life for her. When the demon from Mia’s past follows her to Hazard, Kyle stands beside her to battle for their future. Love has never been more powerful than when Kyle Red Sky tells Mia, “I DREAM OF YOU…” 

But will they live to see those dreams come true?

EXCERPT

     Kyle kicked open the door of his mother’s former dress shop despite the sign that read, No Men Allowed. The raging fire upstairs in the private quarters made this an emergency, certainly enough to ignore that sign. Smoke began to fill the shop as he raced up the stairs calling out the name of the new shop owner. “Miss Beckett! Miss Mia Beckett, where are you?”

     As he reached the landing of the second floor, he heard someone cough nearby. With the wet blanket wrapped around him he rushed toward the direction of the cough until he found the woman lying on the floor almost unconscious from smoke inhalation. As soon as he removed the wet blanket from himself and wrapped her in its protective layer, he scooped Miss Beckett up in his arms to carry her away from the flames and smoke. The scarf she wore fell away from her neck and her head lolled back against his chest to reveal a thin, straight scar that ran all the way across her throat from her left ear to her right. It wasn’t an old scar, most likely no more than two or three months in the past. She attempted to raise a hand as if to cover her throat and replace the silk scarf. He’d always seen her wear a scarf of some kind or another around her neck since her arrival in town. Now he knew all those scarves were not her unique sense of fashion, but her desire to hide the scar. She was a woman attempting to keep a secret.

     In a whisper he could barely hear, she said, “Please, don’t let them see.” And then she fell unconscious.

     

New Release -- Home for the Heart by Sarah J. McNeal -- Giveaway!

Lucy Thoroughgood has gone and done it now—fallen in love with Hank Wilding, a man she’s known all her life. He’s content with friendship, but Lucy’s heart has flown the coop and she knows she’s in love with the determined bachelor. When she visits him with a proposition—to let the orphans she cares for learn to ride his horses during the summer—he surprises her with one of his own. She must accompany him to the dancing lessons he’s signed up for.

Secretly pleased, she hopes that perhaps this arrangement might lead to more than friendship. But Hank’s loved hard and lost, with his engagement to one of the popular town girls going south two years earlier. He’s sworn to never lose his heart to another—including Miss Lucy Thoroughgood.

A teenage orphan, Chayton, could be the key to thawing Hank’s heart—but danger follows the embittered boy. Will Hank be able to give Chayton the home he yearns for—or will the boy’s past bring only sorrow to those he cares for? When a Lakota premonition becomes reality, Lucy’s life hangs in the balance. Will Hank have the chance to let Lucy know how wrong he was?

EXCERPT

     In the quiet of the barn filled with the smell of fresh hay, horse manure, and leather tack, Hank sensed rather than heard someone enter the building. Ah, the smell of sunshine and roses. Must be Lucille Thoroughgood. Without turning to look at her, he set the pitchfork against the wall of Lonesome’s stall. “What do you want, Lucy?” he grumbled as a greeting.

     “Mr. Wilding, I have something I’d like to propose to you.” Her voice sounded tense. When he turned to face her, he saw those blue eyes dart away from his to peer at the straw on the floor. She promptly straightened her spine and must have forced herself to look him straight in the eye. Her starched manner made him want to mess with her.

     “A proposal?” He moved closer to her…maybe too close. He felt something shift in his chest like a warning bell. “Well now, I haven’t ever had a lady propose to me before,” he joked, badly, just to get her goat. Generally, women were not to be trusted. He’d learned that lesson the hard way. But Lucy was his old friend since grade school. Even though she must have been born straight-laced and proper, she spoke her truth, plain and simple. Beneath that barbed wire exterior beat a heart of gold.  

     Lucy propped her fists on her hips and he thought she looked like a charming sugar bowl all ruffled up in her pink flowered dress and her sweet, straw hat that sat askew on her gleaming brown hair. She knitted those brows together and narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m not proposing marriage to you, Mr. Wilding. I’m proposing a business deal…sort of.”

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New Release -- LOVE, COME TO ME: Boxed Set For New Adults -- 99 cents

LOVE, COME TO ME is a wonderful collection of love stories from different time periods that is sure to make you long to read each one to the very end without interruption.  Each story is heart wrenching in its own way, guaranteed to have you falling in love with the characters and the stories of their lives. Take a look!

KISSING COUSINS—DIANA TOBIN

Augusta Thompson has lost everything—her parents, her husband, her home…and now, her only child. If she can share her grandmother’s old home with handsome Olympic contender Charles “Web” Webster for one year, she will inherit it.

As time goes by, Web realizes Augusta’s heart and soul have been wounded by her ex-husband. Can Web’s love for Augusta heal her broken heart and allow them a future together? Will the conditions of the inheritance prove to be a help or hindrance for these KISSING COUSINS?

SHATTERED VOWS—LINDA LAROQUE

Annie and Stuart Rayburn’s lives are idyllic until their baby dies of SIDS, and Annie falls into a deep depression. In a moment of weakness, Stuart turns to another woman.

When the “other woman” is killed in a car crash, Stu learns his night of infidelity produced a baby girl—and he now has custody. He begs Annie’s forgiveness but Annie must face her demons and make her decisions. Can she forgive Stu and love the innocent child? Or will she divorce him and move on without the only man she’s likely to love?

WHO IS ELIZABETH?—PATTI BOECKMAN

Pit a feisty, she-cat against a reluctant interloper and watch the sparks fly.

When Elizabeth McDaniel's reclusive, sheltered existence on her grandfather's farm is invaded by Derek Huston, she cannot imagine the result of his intrusion into her life. Derek is soon enchanted with the lovely, spit-fire redhead.

A budding romance, the flowering of Elizabeth's musical talents, and Derek's acceptance into the family follows their first clash of wills. But Derek has a hidden agenda that, when revealed, turns Elizabeth's world upside down.

Is there any hope that Derek can regain her confidence and her love?

FAMILY SECRETS—ZINA ABBOTT

Jennie Howell has a secret, including being thought of as a loyal wife to her husband serving in Afghanistan, a husband who has demanded a divorce.

When Jennie begins to explore her genealogy, family members make it clear they won’t be a part of it—from Grandpa Mike, who wants the biggest mistake he ever made to remain hidden in the past—to  family members Jennie never knew existed.

Is Jennie willing and emotionally strong enough to learn what her family has kept hidden?

THE VIOLIN—SARAH MCNEAL

Genevieve Beaumont is haunted by dreams of a drowning man and her helplessness to save him. When she buys a violin at an estate sale, her life is changed forever. The pictures inside the case are of the man in her dreams, and the news clippings detail his death.

She travels to the small town where he died 90 years earlier, and steps through the threshold of time. It's 1927 all over again, and she has only days to prevent John's death—if she's able. THE VIOLIN has brought Genevieve into the past, and now she must make the decision of a lifetime. Will she return to her life in the future, or stay in the past with John? No matter what she decides, she must find a way to keep the dream of his death from becoming a reality...

FIRE STAR PRESS is proud to offer this wonderful boxed set, chock full of a variety of authors and stories that we know you are going to love. And the price?  Hold onto your hat! You’ll be getting FIVE FULL LENGTH NOVELS for only .99! That’s right—this wonderful boxed set is one we know you’re going to enjoy, and the fantastic price is only one of the reasons why you’ll be glad you snapped up LOVE COME TO ME!

#NewRelease -- THE VIOLIN by Sarah J. McNeal -- #Giveaway!

Leave Sarah a comment below to be entered in a drawing for a free ecopy of her time travel novel, THE VIOLIN.

BLURB

Genevieve Beaumont is haunted by dreams of a drowning man and her helplessness to save him. She buys a violin at an estate sale, and when she opens the case, her life is changed forever. The pictures she finds inside the case are of the man in her dreams, and the news clippings detail his death--a death she has witnessed countless times.

She travels to the small town where he died, almost 90 years in the past, searching for answers. When she enters the abandoned homestead where John Douglas lived with his parents and younger brother, she steps through the threshold of time. It's 1927 all over again, and she has only days to prevent John's death--if she's able.

THE VIOLIN has brought Genevieve into the past--but to what end? She must make the decision of a lifetime--whether to return to her life in the future, or stay in the past with John--the man she's already fallen in love with. Either way, she must find a way to keep the dream of his death from becoming a reality...

EXCERPT

 The man wore canvas trousers, a white cotton shirt with no collar and suspenders. He was fly-fishing in a picturesque scene with steep banks and forests on either side of the river that hurried past rocks and boulders. The water scrubbed his waders, sometimes a few inches below his knees and other times deeper, up to his waist, as the man worked the river using a fishing pole and liquid skill.

 He stood with his back to her. She watched the muscles ripple in his back as he cast his line into the water. The wind ruffled his hair and the sunlight glinted through it. Water gurgled and splashed as it bumped along the rocks and boulders.

 It seemed to be a pleasant scene, but something wasn't quite right.

 Genevieve had a feeling deep in her core, something ominous was about to happen. She tensed. Her heart went into overdrive. Someone screamed. Was it her? The man began to turn, his face almost revealed to her.

 Then, the dream tumbled out of control.

     She couldn't breathe. She found herself under the water, looking up through it into the clear, blue sky. The man's face hovered above the water to peer at her through the surging current. The rippling water distorted his appearance and kept his identity a mystery. He reached toward her as if to help her…and everything went black. 

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