In the West in the 1800s, men own their women—and treat them any way they want. Rand’s way was to knock his around. Marly’s taken it for years, but now, six-gun in hand, she’ll take no more. Sooner or later, her “loving” husband will come home from drinking himself stupid, and find out just what it means to hit his wife once too often. (32 pages)
Velda Brotherton has a long career in historical writing, both fiction and nonfiction. Her love of history and the west is responsible for the publication of 25 books and novels since 1994.
But she’s not about ready to stop there. When the mid-list crisis hit big city publishers, she turned first to writing regional nonfiction, then began to look at the growing popularity of small presses as a source for the books that continue to flow from her busy mind. Those voices simply won’t shut up, and so she finds them a home.
First she obtained a conversion of rights for her out-of-print historical romances and published all six to Kindle. Within a matter of months, she placed a western historical romance, Stone Heart’s Woman, with The Wild Rose Press, an award winning publisher of both print and E books; then a mainstream paranormal, Wolf Song, was accepted by SynergE Books.
Not satisfied that her career might level off, she produced an audio book of Montana Promises along with Jeff Justus. The Montana series is also available as a boxed set. A novella, The Legend of the Rose, based on the true story of Cimarron Rose, is available on Kindle. Stone Heart’s woman is also available in audio.
While Wild Rose Press continues to publish her western romances, including Wilda’s Outlaw: The Victorians, and the second in the series, Rowena’s Hellion, in a change of pace, the press published her Vintage love story, Once There Were Sad Songs. The most thrilling experience in her writing career came when Oghma Creative Media contracted her book, Beyond the Moon, a story she has treasured since its first writing in 1985, and signed her to a four-book contract. One is to reprint the Ozark cookbook containing recipes from her mother’s collection and stories of growing up in Arkansas during the depression,
The most fun she’s had came when owner/designer of Oghma Creative Media, Casey Cowan, suggested a new brand. Sexy Dark and Gritty so well fits her writing style that it was quickly adopted.
This busy writer who has co-chaired a large weekly critique group since 1988, also gives two yearly all-day workshops and mentors promising young writers, plus teaches at conferences in a four-state area. She isn’t sure what will come next. With all those voices in her head, she’s bound to let some of them out to play before long.
Website: veldabrotherton.com
When Hollywood burns you, it’s time for a rewrite.
Fiona Moore is done playing nice with Hollywood. A former screenwriting star now sidelined by ageism and a biting sarcasm problem, she finds herself jobless, friendless, and left with only her dog and an impressive stash of disdain for the industry that’s ditched her. Enter Jack Reynolds, a bright-eyed, thirty-year-old film student with a boundless love for classic cinema—and a very distracting smile that makes Fiona question if a twenty-year age gap is really such a big deal. Despite her attempts to keep him at arm’s length, Jack is determined to help Fiona reclaim her place in the spotlight, and together they embark on a passionate, if snark-filled, quest to write the next great blockbuster.
But when their hard work is stolen by a sleazy Hollywood producer, Fiona and Jack decide to go off-script. Armed with a screenplay about the perfect crime, they set out to pull off the heist of a lifetime—one that’s clever, classy, and just this side of legal. As their partnership heats up on and off the page, they’ll discover that while Hollywood may be all about illusions, their feelings just might be the real deal.
Fast-paced, funny, and full of twists, Twice Upon a Crime is a madcap caper that will leave you cheering for this unlikely duo—because revenge is sweet, but falling in love is even sweeter.
We’re not troublemakers. We’re trouble finders.
Step into a world where shadows hold secrets and cryptids rule the night. Ruby’s dream of exhilarating adventures takes a spine-chilling twist when she becomes an apprentice at The Goodnight Agency. But the supernatural underworld she thought she knew proves far more treacherous—and thrilling—than she ever imagined.
Goodnight is a hub for all things enigmatic and bizarre, a haven for creatures straight out of tabloid tales. Yet, as Ruby soon learns, mysteries are not merely stories. When an innocent old woman narrowly escapes murder, Ruby becomes a suspect .
Amidst the chaos, Ruby finds herself entangled with the Skohlars, a clandestine race of intelligent rats, entrusted with secrets potent enough to reshape reality itself. And as if that’s not enough, a group of kidnapped Sasquatches unravels a feud among The Scene’s own Guardians, leaving the agency in a perilous struggle.
The Long Goodnight is a pulse-pounding adventure where friendships are tested, mythical creatures come to life, and the line between reality and fantasy blurs.
A tyrannical queen. A rising rebellion. A choice that will change everything.
All Anna wants is to grieve her sister in peace. But peace is the last thing she’ll get. After the tragic accident shatters her world, her life takes an even darker turn when her father is imprisoned in the castle and her mother is summoned by the ruthless queen. Terrified of losing what’s left of her family, Anna demands to go with them, despite the dangerous path ahead. As a shapeshifter who can’t transform, she’s already a target under the queen’s brutal laws—and the castle is the last place she wants to be.
Enter Redford, her sister’s former fiancé, with an offer she can’t ignore—join the Rising, a rebel force determined to tear down the queen’s rule. Redford promises refuge, but when a ghost from Anna’s past shows up with a twisted opportunity to serve the queen, the lines between right and wrong begin to blur.
Anna faces an impossible choice—join the Rising as their poison maker or stay at the castle and create a weapon so monstrous, it could change the kingdom forever.
