"
Gambling on a Secret" is a new romantic mystery that just came out earlier this month that tackles some tough topics, including child abuse, alcoholism and drug abuse. It sounds like something I'll enjoy very much and I can't wait to get my hands on it.
Author Sara Walter Ellwood long ago left the farm for
the glamour of the big town, but she draws on her experiences growing up on a small
hobby farm in West Central Pennsylvania to write her stories. She’s been
married to her college sweetheart for nearly 20 years, and they have two
teenagers and one very spoiled rescue cat named Penny. She longs to visit the
places she writes about and jokes she’s a cowgirl at heart stuck in
Pennsylvania suburbia.
She also writes
paranormal romantic suspense under the pen name of Cera duBois.
Read on for an excerpt and some info about the book.
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“Ferguson, what are you doing here?” Dylan barked.
Leon ambled toward them on the stone path. “I’m saving a
young maiden from torment. What are you doing here, playing the part of the
devil?”
“I’m Miss Monroe’s new manager.” The deadly edge of his
voice matched the flintiness of his eyes. “If there’s anyone to save the young
maiden from, it’s you.”
“Mr. Quinn, please.” She turned to Leon. “Leon, is there
something I can do for you?”
He smiled, showing off perfect white teeth in a face
handsome enough to belong to an actor. “I was just passing by on my way home
and decided to stop. How are the boys working out?”
Dylan’s stance widened and his hands flexed at his slides.
“What boys?”
“Charli and I have entered into a business arrangement.”
She lost the battle with the urge to wrap her arms around
herself. As much as she appreciated Leon’s kindness, respected him, and was
even a little attracted to him, something about him didn’t sit right with her.
He represented her peers in the community.
According to Mrs. Pratt, besides the Cartwrights, she and
Leon were undoubtedly the wealthiest residents in the county. No one in Colton
could learn about her past. It would ruin her, and Leon, no doubt, had the
means to dig up the dirt.
“Really?” Dylan stepped closer to her in a protective
manner. Whiskey tainted his breath as the warmth of the exhalations tickled her
cheek. “What kind of business arrangement?”
She could protect herself. Dylan Quinn wasn’t any safer than
Leon Ferguson. Stepping away from him, she forced her arms to her sides. “Mr.
Quinn, I can handle this.”
She faced Leon. “I’m amazed by how much the men got done
since starting on Monday. The foreman told me last evening they’d be reseeding
another fifty acres for hay this morning. And they have the corrals fixed and
started on the fencing in the north pasture.”
“Good, good.” He glanced at Dylan. “I’ll be going, unless
you need a more reliable exterminator. I couldn’t help but overhear about your
snake infestation. I can give you the name of the company that has gotten rid
of the snakes in our lakes over on Oak Springs for years.”
Although he presented the perfect solution, she didn’t the
like way Leon had looked at Dylan as he said the word exterminator. “No, Mr.
Quinn is quite capable of getting rid of the snake.”
“Oh, I’m sure he is.” Leon tipped his hat. “Let me know if
there’s anything else I can do for you, Charli.” Dylan’s jaw tightened as his
uncle glanced at him. “It’s good to see you up among the living again.”
Leon headed back to his Porsche. With no pretense of
lowering his voice, Dylan said, “Now, there’s a snake no one wants in their
garden.”
Upon hearing the jibe, Leon’s shoulders jerked in
mid-stride.
Rattled by Leon’s attention and the snake fiasco, she turned
on Dylan. “You aren’t off the hook. I want those snakes gone.”
“We’ll see.”
“I hate snakes.” She shuddered and put her hands on her
hips. “Maybe I should have asked him who the exterminator is.”
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Author: Sara Walter Ellwood
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Mystery
Format: ebook
Length: 99,000 words, 265 pages
Release Date: January 7, 2013
