Adriana Kraft

When it's time to heat things up...

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I came here to win a horse race #8Sunday #MFRWAuthor #RomanticSuspense

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Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, where writers share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of their writing on Sunday.  Be sure to visit other participants at http://www.wewriwa.com/  and read and comment on their #8sunday posts.

Spread the word: Twitter hashtag #8sunday

We’ve sat in the stands at Wyoming Downs and watched a California shipper breeze past the local Wyoming and Utah horses for an easy win, so we know something about why Clint Travers has a negative reaction to Cassie before they’ve even met. It’s a bit of a stretch to think a Chicago trainer would go to the expense and effort to ship a horse in just to get a win – the small purse will hardly cover expenses. But Cassie’s dad is a savvy trainer. He knows two things – the horse needs a win to build her confidence, and she’ll come back to Chicago with an altitude advantage. If all goes well, her next purse – in Chicago – will more than make up the difference.

EXCERPT

The cowboy glared at Cassie and anger crept into his voice. “You’re just trying to get a cheap win for your horse.”

“That’s horse racing, isn’t it?” Cassie’s voice rose, and she boldly returned his hard stare. “And the favorites win only a third of the time. So?”

“Uh huh—unless someone ships in a ringer. This filly will go off three to five. The bettors aren’t gonna be very happy with you, either.”

“Well, hot damn. I didn’t come here to win a popularity contest. I came here to win a horse race. And that’s what we’re going to try to do.”

High stakes, a fiery Irish redhead, her stunning racehorse, and a fiercely loyal rancher.

Cassie’s Hope
Series: Riders Up! Book One

B&B Publishing:
November, 2013

Ebook, Paperback
Novel: 71,000 words
Cover Artist: Rebecca Poole
Three flames:

Explicit sex: M/F

 

BLURB

What happens when a fiercely loyal widowed half-Ute cowboy meets a fiery redhead with an Irish temper to match? Cassidy O’Hanlon – Cassie, to her friends – has set aside her Chicago career for six months to train racehorses for her dad after his stroke.

Furious the interloper has shipped in a ringer from the Chicago circuit to his Wyoming turf, Rancher/trainer Clint Travers sets out to put her in her place. Sparks fly immediately, but after their rocky start, the two quickly forge a passionate relationship, and he follows her to Chicago.

When it becomes clear someone is drugging Cassie’s horse, Clint sets out to solve the mystery, but storms off in a cloud of wounded pride when suspicions turn to him.

Can love trump pride?

REVIEW

Five stars at Goodreads: “…I took their journey with them. I felt their pain, their sadness, their struggles, and most of all their love. And that is the mark of a truly good book.”  Faith

BUY LINK

Print and e-book: Amazon
Free at Kindle Unlimited

 

Be sure to stop by the rest of the
Weekend Writing Warriors at this LINK –
you’ll be glad you did!

The first 2000 steps #MFRWAuthor #Health #Boomers #Motivation

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“Watch that first step, it’s a doozy!” Sometimes just taking that first step towards a more healthy lifestyle is a giant undertaking. But here’s the thing – those steps have to happen over and over, just like Groundhog Day, which popularized but probably did not originate the “doozy” phrase.

Now that I’ve discovered 8000 steps a day is the threshold that makes a discernible difference in my energy level and mental alertness, the challenge is how to fit them in.

I’m an early riser, usually up without an alarm between five and six a.m. I wake with a mental list of the tasks I hope to polish off in the two hours before my husband gets up. I usually wake feeling energetic and motivated, not wanting the rest of my day to get cluttered up with what I leave undone in the early morning.

BUT I’m starting to learn that if I don’t take advantage of the cool morning hours to make a significant dent in my daily 8000 steps, I don’t reach that goal. Polishing off 2000 steps before breakfast seems to be the minimum required to get to 8000 by the end of the day.

Now my marching orders become a little more daunting: I have to fight my urge to “get things done” and decide that staying fit, healthy, energetic and alert outranks whatever I might accomplish short term. It matters more. I have to give up maybe twenty minutes worth of tasks (and feelings of accomplishment) and convince myself that the mood elevation, long term benefits, and yes, feeling of accomplishment from reaching my steps goal is worth it. Every morning. Over and over.

How to motivate myself to keep doing it? I’ve got lots of tactics and will share more about them down the road. Right now, a picture might be worth a thousand words (and it sure helps with 2000 steps!)

We spend much of the winter in southern Arizona. Almost every morning, the Arizona sky puts a smile on my face as I’m walking. That’s a draw to at least set foot out the door – and as I’m sure you know, taking that first step is all important, whether or not it’s a doozy.

So far, so good!

I need to slow down… #MFRWAuthor #MWTease #EroticRomance

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Welcome to MidWeek Tease, where authors share tempting snippets to tide you over till the weekend. A huge shout out to author Angelica Dawson for hosting our blog hop every week!

We’re continuing our back-list love with another excerpt from Writing Skin, Book Two in the series The Diary. Sometimes even women can miss-read each other’s cues…

 

EXCERPT

Luci worked the skirt down over Chai’s hips and she stepped out of it. “You are a gorgeous woman,” Luci murmured, toweling one leg and then the other. “I love your deep-copper skin tone.”

She reached for the dark thong.

“Leave it,” Chai said, grabbing her wrists. “I need to slow down.”

Luci felt a wave of disappointment and embarrassment course through her body—how had she misread things so badly?

“Hey,” Chai said, grabbing her by the chin. “I don’t mean stop; I just mean let’s slow down and enjoy the journey.” Chai dipped her head and slanted her full lips across Luci’s mouth.

BLURB

What would it be like to be romanced by not one but two potential partners, simultaneously? Luci Parker has finally achieved the career of her dreams as an erotica author – but the only romance in her life these days is in the books she writes. Long attracted to both men and women, Luci despairs of ever finding just one person to settle down with.

Owners of a South Side Chicago bookstore, Chai and Frank Ferguson eagerly devour Luci’s books as fast as she can write them, and now they wonder if she might be the woman they’ve been looking for.

Frank is deeply in love with Chai but knows she’ll never be complete without a woman to love as well. Can he match the passion of not one but two exquisite and complicated women at the same time? Will Luci even want him? And if Chai truly falls in love with Luci, will there be room for him?

All three characters in this intense erotic love story wrestle with the meaning of love, lust and commitment as they struggle to find themselves—and each other.

BUY LINKS

Writing Skin is available in print in the two-volume series, The Diary, or solo as an e-book:

     

Print Link                                             Ebook Link
Amazon Print                                  Amazon E-Book

~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

Don’t forget to stop by all the other fabulous Midweek teasers:

Maybe I overreacted some… #8Sunday #MFRWAuthor #RomanticSuspense

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Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, where writers share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of their writing on Sunday.  Be sure to visit other participants at http://www.wewriwa.com/  and read and comment on their #8sunday posts.

Spread the word: Twitter hashtag #8sunday

When you apologize to someone, don’t you expect them to acknowledge it, at least a little? These two are gunning for each other so hard the apologies just fly by unnoticed. Do you think maybe there’s a reason for that?

EXCERPT

“Whoa there, don’t get all bent out of shape. I’m Clint Travers.” The stranger rested a hand on Hope’s withers. “I run some horses here from time to time. Didn’t mean to impugn your horsemanship, ma’am.”

“Well, fine.” Cassie pushed stray hair from her eyes. “Maybe I overreacted some.”

He ignored her attempt at apology. “So, this is the filly that’s created such a fuss around shedrow.”

“What do you mean? I didn’t know anyone noticed.”

“Not notice! You got to be kidding—or incredibly naive.”

Cassie clenched her teeth and glared at the stranger.

“Strike that last comment,” he said quickly. “I seem to be putting my foot in my mouth.”

“Apparently you’ve a large enough mouth for it to fit, with plenty of room to spare.”

High stakes, a fiery Irish redhead, her stunning racehorse, and a fiercely loyal rancher.

Cassie’s Hope
Series: Riders Up! Book One

B&B Publishing:
November, 2013

Ebook, Paperback
Novel: 71,000 words
Cover Artist: Rebecca Poole
Three flames:

Explicit sex: M/F

 

BLURB

What happens when a fiercely loyal widowed half-Ute cowboy meets a fiery redhead with an Irish temper to match? Cassidy O’Hanlon – Cassie, to her friends – has set aside her Chicago career for six months to train racehorses for her dad after his stroke.

Furious the interloper has shipped in a ringer from the Chicago circuit to his Wyoming turf, Rancher/trainer Clint Travers sets out to put her in her place. Sparks fly immediately, but after their rocky start, the two quickly forge a passionate relationship, and he follows her to Chicago.

When it becomes clear someone is drugging Cassie’s horse, Clint sets out to solve the mystery, but storms off in a cloud of wounded pride when suspicions turn to him.

Can love trump pride?

REVIEW

Five stars at Goodreads: “…I took their journey with them. I felt their pain, their sadness, their struggles, and most of all their love. And that is the mark of a truly good book.”  Faith

BUY LINK

Print and e-book: Amazon
Free at Kindle Unlimited

 

Be sure to stop by the rest of the
Weekend Writing Warriors at this LINK –
you’ll be glad you did!

 

 

Sounds like something you’d do…#MWTease #MFRWAuthor #Polyamory

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Welcome to MidWeek Tease, where authors share tempting snippets to tide you over till the weekend. A huge shout out to author Angelica Dawson for hosting our blog hop every week!

Time for a little back-list love. What if you’re a well-known erotica author, making a good living, and your personal life sucks? That’s our character’s dilemma in Writing Skin (The Diary, Book Two). Luci’s first full length work, a first-person erotic diary, was so authentic her sister believed it and set off to pursue and halt the lecherous professor she was convinced had debauched her younger sister. That story (The Diary, Book One) has its own happy ending, and now her sister wants to fix Luci’s current problem.

EXCERPT

“How long has it been since you’ve even been out with a man?” Kate asked.

“Not long enough.” Luci hugged herself against a shiver. “I don’t seem to have what it takes for a guy to hang around.”

“Nonsense, you probably intimidate the hell out of them. I don’t think I’ve ever known a slip of a woman like you who intimidates so easily. I know, I know,” Kate held up her palm, “you don’t try to intimidate. Most guys probably aren’t accustomed to dating women who write erotica.”

“So true.” Luci grinned. “Had a date ask me to take a taxi home once he heard about my writing. Another wanted me to crawl under the restaurant table and give him head as soon as I told him I wrote erotica.”

“Sounds like something you’d do.”

“In my college days, but even then, I finished my drink before taking on an appetizer.”

BLURB

What would it be like to be romanced by not one but two potential partners, simultaneously? Luci Parker has finally achieved the career of her dreams as an erotica author – but the only romance in her life these days is in the books she writes. Long attracted to both men and women, Luci despairs of ever finding just one person to settle down with.

Owners of a South Side Chicago bookstore, Chai and Frank Ferguson eagerly devour Luci’s books as fast as she can write them, and now they wonder if she might be the woman they’ve been looking for.

Frank is deeply in love with Chai but knows she’ll never be complete without a woman to love as well. Can he match the passion of not one but two exquisite and complicated women at the same time? Will Luci even want him? And if Chai truly falls in love with Luci, will there be room for him?

All three characters in this intense erotic love story wrestle with the meaning of love, lust and commitment as they struggle to find themselves—and each other.

BUY LINKS

Writing Skin is available in print in the two-volume series, The Diary, or solo as an e-book:

     

Print Link                                             Ebook Link
Amazon Print                                  Amazon E-Book

~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

Don’t forget to stop by all the other fabulous Midweek teasers:

“Very nice,” he drawled at last… #8Sunday #MFRWAuthor #RomanticSuspense

by

 

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, where writers share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of their writing on Sunday.  Be sure to visit other participants at http://www.wewriwa.com/  and read and comment on their #8sunday posts.

Spread the word: Twitter hashtag #8sunday

Here’s more from Riders Up, Book One – think some sparks are gonna fly? Cassie’s prepping her horse for a race at a small Wyoming race track:

EXCERPT

The handsome stranger walked around the horse. “Very nice,” he drawled at last.

Cassie continued grooming, doing her best to ignore the man.

“You’re gonna wear a hole in that horse with all that hand rubbing,” he commented dryly.

Cassie straightened. Her lips flared. Her cheeks burned as if on fire. Her eyes bore into the man. “And just who the hell are you? And what gives you the right to criticize how I groom my horse? I’ve been tending horses since I was big enough to walk.”

 

High stakes, a fiery Irish redhead, her stunning racehorse, and a fiercely loyal rancher.

Cassie’s Hope
Series: Riders Up! Book One

B&B Publishing:
November, 2013

Ebook, Paperback
Novel: 71,000 words
Cover Artist: Rebecca Poole
Three flames:

Explicit sex: M/F

 

BLURB

What happens when a fiercely loyal widowed half-Ute cowboy meets a fiery redhead with an Irish temper to match? Cassidy O’Hanlon – Cassie, to her friends – has set aside her Chicago career for six months to train racehorses for her dad after his stroke.

Furious the interloper has shipped in a ringer from the Chicago circuit to his Wyoming turf, Rancher/trainer Clint Travers sets out to put her in her place. Sparks fly immediately, but after their rocky start, the two quickly forge a passionate relationship, and he follows her to Chicago.

When it becomes clear someone is drugging Cassie’s horse, Clint sets out to solve the mystery, but storms off in a cloud of wounded pride when suspicions turn to him.

Can love trump pride?

REVIEW

Five stars at Goodreads: “…I took their journey with them. I felt their pain, their sadness, their struggles, and most of all their love. And that is the mark of a truly good book.”  Faith

BUY LINK

Print and e-book: Amazon
Free at Kindle Unlimited

 

Be sure to stop by the rest of the
Weekend Writing Warriors at this LINK –
you’ll be glad you did!