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Adriana Kraft

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horse racing

“Suspenseful, intriguing and truly romantic!” #RomanticSuspense #KU #IndiePub #HorseRacing #Thoroughbred #SportsRomance

January 29, 2024 by Adriana Kraft

Most of the books Mr. Kraft and I write together are steamy erotic romance, typically (but not always) featuring bisexual women. But that’s not where we got our start. When I started this year-long backlist review in my New Years Day blog post HERE, I noted that we accomplished our first goal – to be a published author – in 2005, with a contract for publication in 2007.

That novel is in our other major genre, romantic suspense, where we typically feature a romance between a man and a woman. In the beginning, we attempted to keep a different pen name for each of the two genres, but this quickly became cumbersome, and we brought all our work together under our “Adriana” name in short order.

The press that first released Willow Smoke in 2007 was sold in 2012, so when we received our rights back, we brought it out under our indie imprint in 2014.

Willow Smoke is actually Book Three in our four-book suspense series set in the horse racing industry, Riders Up, but it was the one we polished first, before the other three were fully fleshed out. Each of the books can be read as a standalone, and they can be read in any order.

WHY WILLOW?

When we lived in northern Minnesota, our forty acres included a small marshy area that grew willow shrubs. Following my mother’s custom, I always cut some branches early each spring and set them in a vase inside to open as pussy willows, usually the first blossoms of the year. My husband dabbled in wood carving while we lived there, and gnarled willow sticks made inviting projects to carve, sand, and stain.

Enter Daisy Matthews, the waif Cassie rescued through her Chicago group home job in Riders Up, Book One. By Book Three, Daisy is tall and lanky and holding her own as an assistant trainer at Chicago’s Arlington Park Racetrack.

We did not have a title when we began writing this book, but we did know our characters. The much older Nick Underwood has left the stock market, where he made a killing, and he now runs a small company crafting handmade wooden canoes. When he first encounters Daisy in the Arlington Park track barn, he doesn’t know her name, but he’s struck by her smoky eyes and her tall willowy frame. He decides to call her Willow. Our title was born, but we had no idea how important this small shrub genus would become in our story.

As the story gradually made its way onto the page, we sent Nick and Daisy on a canoeing trip to northern Minnesota’s boundary waters, which we so often enjoyed ourselves. On their way home, he stops at a friend’s home (forty acres and a farmhouse, imagine that!). Daisy has often watched Nick working the wood at his shop, and his friend finds an appropriate willow stick and talks her into getting started carving it.

I won’t give away the story’s ending here – I’ll just say that Daisy’s willow stick plays an important role when the chips are down.

REVIEWS

Five stars at Amazon “Adriana Kraft has created memorable characters that linger long after the story has ended and I’ve closed the book. She has done what an author should—brought me into the book’s world and made me care about the characters so that my world will not be the same as before their foray into it.” Sheila G.

Five stars at Goodreads “Suspenseful, intriguing and truly romantic! What a fabulous story of the blending of two worlds… the plot twists and turns and keeps you on the edge of your seat and the pages turning.” Risha C “…dreams can become reality, love can transcend age… Exciting, engaging and very entertaining story. The character interplay is spot on and the story is extremely well written.” Donna H.

BOOK INFORMATION

Willow Smoke (Riders Up, Book Three)
Cover by Rebecca Poole
B&B Publishing, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-9907476-0-4
ASIN: B00N0DH13I
Length: 88,000 words
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Tags: Horse Racing, Age Gap, Sports Romance
Heat rating: three flames (explicit sex, m/f)

BLURB

When the chips are down, there’s nobody there.

Apprentice horse trainer Daisy Matthews grew up on the streets of Chicago, and if she learned anything, it was that she could count on no one to help her, ever. She knows she has to tough it out, protect herself, and when necessary, protect anyone she cares about. All by herself. No one else will do it for her.

Wealthy businessman Nick Underwood receives a thoroughbred in payment for a bad debt and is thrust into Daisy’s world.  She teaches him about horse racing; he teaches her about love.  When Daisy’s seamy brother-in-law threatens Nick’s safety, she doggedly tries to stop him by herself, but flees to the familiar streets when he attacks. Can Nick find her in time – and if he does, will she still want him?

EXCERPT

Set Up: An interloper has appeared at the stall where Daisy is soaking her horse’s front legs to cool them.

“So tell me,” Nick said, “where can I find a horse named RainbowBlaze?”

“RainbowBlaze!” Daisy gasped and glared at him again. “Why? What do you want with her?”

“Damn, you’ve got to be the most protective woman I’ve ever encountered. If you must know, she’s my horse.”

Daisy opened her mouth as if to speak. She glanced quickly at the chestnut mare. “There must be a mistake,” she stammered. “RainbowBlaze belongs to Michael Barnes.”

Nick crossed his legs and leaned against the stable wall, giving Daisy Matthews a slow satisfied smile. He’d found his horse. And he had a new employee. This could be more interesting than he’d imagined.

Furthermore, being his employee made Matthews safe to be around. He had a firm rule against personal involvements with employees. He flashed a look at the slender woman’s nipples that showed faintly through an orange tank top. Didn’t she know what she looked like?

Too young. He closed his eyes. He might be old enough to be her father. His eyes sprang open and he appraised her again. Maybe, maybe not.

“The horse did belong to Michael Barnes.” Fright flickered across the blonde’s face and quickly disappeared behind a steely gaze. “Mike’s fallen on bad economic times. Turned out he couldn’t pay his debts. Showed up at my office with a bill of sale for some damn race horse and begged me to take it to clear what he owed me. Against my better judgment, I agreed.” Nick raised his open palms upward. “So, here I am.”

Daisy’s hands, resting at her sides, curled into fists.

“You look like you’d like to slaughter me for your supper.” Nick stood. Ignoring the woman, he pointed at the horse with the oversized socks. “So I take it this is RainbowBlaze.” He glanced back over his shoulder at the woman. She gulped and nodded. “Is the horse any good? How much can I get for her?”

Daisy sputtered and Nick suppressed a laugh.

“She’s a damn good mare. She’ll run her heart out for you, if you treat her right. But she won’t work just for anyone.”

“Sounds like you’ve got a thing for my horse, kid.”

“Suppose so.” Daisy studied the dirt at her feet. “I’ve known her since she was foaled. Was there to help her mother give birth. I’ve been there every step of the way when Rainbow was with Cassie Travers, and then when Michael Barnes bought her it was with the understanding that she’d come to Sam’s barn and be with me.”

When the woman stopped to catch her breath, Nick said, “You didn’t answer my question. How much is she worth?”

Daisy shrugged. “Maybe,” her voice quaked, “fifty thousand. Maybe more.”

“Hmm. Michael said a hundred grand.”

He watched the spirit flow out of the young woman. Her glistening eyes grabbed at something inside him that he hadn’t experienced for a long time. Not thinking, he reached for her chin.

“That horse,” he said softly, “means a lot more to you than a hundred grand, doesn’t it?”

BUY LINK

Available exclusively at Amazon and on Kindle Unlimited

https://books2read.com/u/4AagPe

 

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Filed Under: Blog, Excerpts, Romantic Suspense Tagged With: age gap, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, horse racing, KU, Romantic Suspense, sports romance

“I don’t dream small.” #MFRWHooks #RomanticSuspense #SportsRomance #Sale #99¢

May 17, 2023 by Adriana Kraft

Welcome to MFRW Hooks, where the authors of Marketing for Romance Writers share snippets from their stories to entice you into wanting more. Be sure to click on the links at the end to travel!

This week I’m sharing from one of our steamy romantic suspense novels set in the world of thoroughbred racing. All four of them are on sale from now through mid-June to celebrate the race for the Triple Crown. Here’s a favorite snippet from Willow Smoke, Book Three in our Riders Up series.

BLURB

When the chips are down, there’s nobody there.

Apprentice horse trainer Daisy Matthews grew up on the streets of Chicago, and if she learned anything, it was that she could count on no one to help her, ever. She knows she has to tough it out, protect herself, and when necessary, protect anyone she cares about. All by herself. No one else will do it for her.

Wealthy businessman Nick Underwood receives a thoroughbred in payment for a bad debt and is thrust into Daisy’s world.  She teaches him about horse racing; he teaches her about love.  When Daisy’s seamy brother-in-law threatens Nick’s safety, she doggedly tries to stop him by herself, but flees to the familiar streets when he attacks. Can Nick find her in time – and if he does, will she still want him?

EXCERPT

Set Up: Though Nick intended to sell the horse, he changed his mind and hired its intriguing trainer, paying her up front by making her half owner. He’s just phoned her to work out more of the details:

“I’m going to have a messenger bring by Blaze’s papers for you to sign,” Nick continued. “The sooner we get the paperwork completed, the quicker she can race again.”

“You know where I live?”

“It doesn’t take a private investigator to determine that. Most of your personal information has to go on the ownership papers. As well as your Assistant Trainers License. Right?”

“Right. I didn’t think about that.”

“Besides, I make a point of knowing everything I can about my employees and partners.”

“I’m not your employee, Mr. Underwood.” She knew she must sound harsh, but she couldn’t help it. Sometimes the man really galled her. Like right now. “We may be partners by some strange circumstance, but I work for Sam Gallagher.”

“Whoa there, kid. The lady has a temper. I like that. Shows fire and will.” He paused. “I’ll have to think on that. You may be right. You may complicate my life yet.”

Daisy frowned. “Well, you sure as hell have complicated mine.”

“Yeah, but aren’t they nice complications? A week ago you didn’t even know I existed. You didn’t own a racehorse. And you were probably planning to waste time you could spend educating me playing around with some college guy.”

Brushing hair off her brow, Daisy chewed on her lip. She wasn’t experienced at this kind of repartee. She only knew how to tell guys no, not how to give them a let’s-wait-and-see signal.

“Cat got your tongue, kid? Am I really going to complicate your life that much?”

He sounded far too pleased with himself. “I don’t know. Depends on how much time you require, I suppose. I not only have my job—I do have to study, too.”

“Will I be imposing on your social life? Do you have a steady man in your life?”

“Not hardly. Well, I mean,” she stammered, “not one.”

“Still playing the field, huh? Well, I shouldn’t get in the way too much, then. If you’re a good teacher, this may not require a lot of time.”

“You mean if you’re a good student, don’t you?”

“Now, that’s more like the woman I remember with straw in her hair. Do you realize that you are drop dead gorgeous with a half dozen pieces of straw sticking out of your hair? The guys must be lined up around your block with their tongues hanging out. I’m sure they won’t like my intruding on their time, but I won’t let that deter me. Are you still there?”

“I’m here.” Daisy tried to keep her voice steady while her heart raced wildly.

“Maybe you’ll just have to put some of the guys on ice for a while. I can be quite demanding, and I make no apologies for that. There never is enough time to do everything I want to do. But this horse thing is now at the top of my to-do list. And that includes you. Remember, you’ve been paid in advance.”

“I remember. Owning a part of Rainbow Blaze far exceeds any of my dreams.”

“Listen kid, if you hang around me much you’ll have to get used to expanding your dreams. I don’t dream small. It doesn’t take any more time to dream big than small.”

BUY LINK

On Sale now through mid-June for just #99¢

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N0DH13I/

BOOK INFO

Title: Willow Smoke (Riders Up, Book Three)
Can be read as a standalone
September 1, 2014, B&B Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-9907476-0-4
ASIN: B00N0DH13I
PRINT ISBN: 978-0-9907476-6-6
Genre: Romantic Suspense, Sports Romance
Tags: Horse Racing, Age Gap
Heat rating: three flames (explicit sex, m/f)

Click on the links to travel to the rest of today’s hooks:

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Filed Under: Blog, Excerpts, Romantic Suspense Tagged With: #99¢, Horse Addict, horse racing, Romantic Suspense, Sale, sports romance, Triple Crown

“You’re hardly big enough to swat a fly!” #99¢ #SALE #SnippetSunday #SnipSun #TripleCrown #HorseRacing

May 14, 2023 by Adriana Kraft

Welcome to Snippet Sunday – ten sentences from all your favorite romance authors! You’ll find them all at this Facebook Group every Sunday:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/SnippetSunday/

The Kentucky Derby is history, and it’s on to the Preakness this coming Saturday, the second leg in the Triple Crown. The Derby Winner, Mage, is slated to run, keeping open the potential for a triple crown win this year.

Our four steamy romantic suspense novels set in the thoroughbred racing world are on sale for just 99¢ each, now through mid-June, to celebrate this year’s race for the Triple Crown.

Book Two, Heat Wave, draws on our years in Iowa, our own experience raising and training horses, and a family member’s journey to sobriety. That young man has read and vouched for those elements of Ed’s journey in Maggie’s story. We celebrate all who struggle and succeed.

EXCERPT

Set Up: Today’s snippet comes a little later in the conversation that began last Sunday. Ed has come to Maggie’s farm to accept the job she’s offering.

“My husband died over two years ago,” Maggie continued. “He left a sizable insurance policy. It may be enough to make the farm profitable – if  not, Con-Ex Farms or some other conglomerate will swallow up this land and my family’s heritage like it’s just so much dust.”

“Ah, so now I at least know something about the larger game you’re in.” He nodded grimly. “So that’s why you had to resort to digging a broken-down trainer out of his hiding hole – you have to play some ace cards or fold. It’s ante up time, and I’m part of the ante.”

“I hadn’t thought of it that way.” Maggie frowned. “This is no game to me. But I see your point. Anyway, I want you to teach me how to train horses.”

“What?” Ed jumped to his feet. “I thought you wanted me to train them and then turn them over to someone else at the track. You’re hardly big enough to swat a fly!” Uh oh, his mouth had got him into trouble again. When would he ever learn to engage brain before mouth? But the sparks firing out of those large round blue eyes might have been worth the gaffe.

Scrambling to a stand, Maggie gestured toward door. “If you are incapable of working with and teaching a woman—even a short one—to work with horses, Mr. Harrington, you can leave right now. I don’t need you. You can crawl back from wherever you came from.”

REVIEWS

Goodreads: Five Stars: Heartfelt with mystery and hope…made me cry. Spot on interplay between the main characters…well written and extremely enjoyable to read. Donna H.

Amazon: Five Stars: I felt like I was on a roller coaster reading this story! Laughing one second, then felt like crying the next, always on the edge wanting to know what is going to happen next. Amy B.

BUY LINK

99¢ SALE

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JZ6GW6G

BOOK INFO

Title: Heat Wave
Series: Rider Up, Book Two
Can be read as a stand-alone
Author: Adriana Kraft
Publisher: B&B Publishing
Publication Date: April 30, 2014
ISBN 978-0-9907476-2-8  ASIN B00JZ6GW6G
Length: 93,000 Words   418 Pages
Genres: Romantic Suspense, Erotic Romance, Sports Romance
Pairings: M/F
Tags: Horse Racing, Thoroughbred Racing, Small Town, Saving the Farm, Young Widow, Horse Trainer
Heat rating: 3 flames

BLURB

During an oppressive Iowa summer of drought and farm foreclosures, widowed Maggie Anderson makes a bold decision: She’ll merge her love of horses and her family’s three hundred and twenty acres into a horse farm and try her hand at nearby Prairie Meadows Racetrack, where racing purses have just been augmented by the recently added casino gambling.

Down on his luck after being falsely accused in a racing scandal and banned from training, former Arlington Racetrack trainer Ed Harrington has skulked home to Des Moines to drown his sorrows and wait for the dust to clear. He’s unprepared for the piercing robin’s-egg-blue eyes of pint-sized Maggie Anderson, who finds him at a flophouse and offers him a job. Can he pull himself together and meet the challenge?

As the two forge a tumultuous working partnership, they soon discover someone is out to get Maggie’s farm and will stop at almost nothing to force her off the land. Can they find and stop the culprit before someone is killed? Can they survive the far greater danger unleashed by the raw passion simmering just beneath the surface of their relationship?

~ o ~

…about the foal in my promo photo at the top of this post – I’m well aware he’s not a thoroughbred racehorse. His sire is Arabian, his dam, pictured with him, is a Saddlebred, and we gave him a role in Book Four in the series, Detour Ahead.

FIND EVERYONE’S POSTS IN THIS FACEBOOK GROUP:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/SnippetSunday/

 

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Filed Under: Blog, Excerpts, Romantic Suspense Tagged With: erotic romance, horse racing, Horse Trainer, Romantic Suspense, Saving the Farm, Small Town, sports romance, Thoroughbred Racing, Young Widow

“I’m not very calm…” #MFRWSteam #RomanticSuspense #HorseRacing #BookSale #99¢

May 9, 2023 by Adriana Kraft

Welcome to the MFRW Steam Hop,
where the authors of Marketing for Romance Writers
entice you with steamy excerpts from their erotic romance stories.

Scroll to the end for more of this week’s tempting excerpts

For today’s steamy except, I’m drawing from a book we’re currently promoting to celebrate this spring’s horse racing Triple Crown. All four novels in our romantic suspense series Riders Up are on sale for just 99¢, now through mid June. Heat Wave is Book Two in the series.

EXCERPT

SetUp: The temperature is scorching, the sexual tension is even hotter, the kitchen faucet leak is steadily dripping, and Maggie’s kids are away at summer camp. Maggie and Ed are in the kitchen studying pedigrees and bloodlines of potential broodmares when the dam breaks.

Maggie moaned softly when Ed easily picked her up and laid her on the kitchen table. Sale catalogs and pedigree charts tumbled every which way.

Ed leaned over to kiss her lips, her neck, and then her breasts. Each breast received equal oral attention: each orb washed, each nipple stroked to full extension, each crown suckled.

Clasping her bare legs tightly around his bottom, Maggie rocked back and forth. Ed smiled when she pressed his head gently downward. He needed no more encouragement. With his tongue he traced a trail across the rivulets of perspiration forming on her flat stomach.

“I’m not a yearling filly to be gentled,” she squealed huskily. She applied more encouraging pressure to his head.

“I’m not very calm,” he muttered, moving his tongue lower still. Her sex opened before him. The soft fleece of golden ringlets was already soaking, and not just from the humidity.

He breathed deeply, sucking her scent into his lungs, never wanting it to escape. She tasted slightly salty. He would never get enough of her. His tongue searched further. Her legs jerked; her thighs squeezed. He paused for air.

“Oh my God,” she screamed. “Don’t stop now!”

In response, Ed slipped two fingers into her cleft. Spreading her thighs wide, wiggling her bottom, she offered him a better angle. He probed deeper while his tongue tapped her clit. Repeatedly, he rhythmically grazed and licked her engorged flesh.

* * * *

Through the hazy fog of her mind, Maggie became aware of what Ed was doing. His subtle, sensual movements matched the beat of the faucet drip. Excruciating. Exhilarating.

She waited. He flicked his tongue and plunged his fingers. Maggie moved closer to the edge. As the faucet dripped, he continued his excruciating pace. This was different. She’d never before been played like some erotic instrument. The edge was near. She was the edge.

Shaking uncontrollably, she felt her release cascade through her body. When at last she hunched forward on her elbows to peek through teary eyes at Ed’s head resting on her belly, Maggie ginned lazily. “What a way to beat the heat.”

REVIEWS

Goodreads: Five Stars: Heartfelt with mystery and hope…made me cry. Spot on interplay between the main characters…well written and extremely enjoyable to read. Donna H.

Amazon: Five Stars: I felt like I was on a roller coaster reading this story! Laughing one second, then felt like crying the next, always on the edge wanting to know what is going to happen next. Amy B.

BUY LINK

99¢ SALE

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JZ6GW6G

BOOK INFO

Title: Heat Wave
Series: Riders Up, Book Two
Can be read as a stand-alone
Author: Adriana Kraft
Publisher: B&B Publishing
Publication Date: April 30, 2014
ISBN 978-0-9907476-2-8
ASIN B00JZ6GW6G
Length: 93,000 Words   418 Pages
Genres: Romantic Suspense, Erotic Romance, Sports Romance
Pairings: M/F
Tags: Horse Racing, Thoroughbred Racing, Small Town, Saving the Farm, Young Widow, Horse Trainer
Heat rating: 3 flames

BLURB

During an oppressive Iowa summer of drought and farm foreclosures, widowed Maggie Anderson makes a bold decision: She’ll merge her love of horses and her family’s three hundred and twenty acres into a horse farm and try her hand at nearby Prairie Meadows Racetrack, where racing purses have just been augmented by the recently added casino gambling.

Down on his luck after being falsely accused in a racing scandal and banned from training, former Arlington Racetrack trainer Ed Harrington has skulked home to Des Moines to drown his sorrows and wait for the dust to clear. He’s unprepared for the piercing robin’s-egg-blue eyes of pint-sized Maggie Anderson, who finds him at a flophouse and offers him a job. Can he pull himself together and meet the challenge?

As the two forge a tumultuous working partnership, they soon discover someone is out to get Maggie’s farm and will stop at almost nothing to force her off the land. Can they find and stop the culprit before someone is killed? Can they survive the far greater danger unleashed by the raw passion simmering just beneath the surface of their relationship?

This is a Blog Hop – click on the links to travel to the other steamy posts!

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Filed Under: Blog, Excerpts, Romantic Suspense Tagged With: erotic romance, horse racing, Horse Trainer, Romantic Suspense, Saving the Farm, Small Town, Sports Romance Pairings: M/F, Thoroughbred Racing, Young Widow

“You’ve been vouched for…” #99¢ #SALE #SundaySnippet #SnipSun #TripleCrown #HorseRacing

May 7, 2023 by Adriana Kraft

Welcome to Snippet Sunday – ten sentences from all your favorite romance authors! You’ll find them all at this Facebook Group every Sunday:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/SnippetSunday/

Did you watch the Kentucky Derby yesterday? Those late scratches threw everyone’s tickets into a mad scramble to replace horses. What a race! And now it’s on to the Preakness, always two weeks after the Derby.

Our four steamy romantic suspense novels set in the thoroughbred racing world are on sale for just 99¢ each, now through mid-June, to celebrate this year’s race for the Triple Crown.

Book Two, Heat Wave, draws on our years in Iowa, our own experience raising and training horses, and a family member’s journey to sobriety. That young man has read and vouched for those elements of Ed’s journey in Maggie’s story. We celebrate all who struggle and succeed.

EXCERPT

Set up: On the porch at Maggie’s farm. Ed has just driven to the farm to accept the job Maggie has offered him to train her horses.

“There is one thing – you know I can’t take your horses to the track.”

Maggie nodded. “I know about the ban, Ed. That doesn’t have anything to do with me. You’ve been vouched for, and that’s enough—there are likely a lot of bridges yet to cross. Let’s take them one at a time.”

“I’m all for that, Maggie.” Harrington lifted his cup in salute.

That was the first time he’d called her Maggie. It sounded too familiar, yet they had to be on a first name basis if they were going to work together as a team. She took a short breath, excited about actually beginning to put in place her plan to save the farm. Her nerves tingled at the prospect.

Or, perhaps her nerves were responding to the man who pronounced Maggie in a gravelly voice that oozed intimacy.

REVIEWS

Goodreads: Five Stars: Heartfelt with mystery and hope…made me cry. Spot on interplay between the main characters…well written and extremely enjoyable to read. Donna H.

Amazon: Five Stars: I felt like I was on a roller coaster reading this story! Laughing one second, then felt like crying the next, always on the edge wanting to know what is going to happen next. Amy B.

BUY LINK

99¢ SALE

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JZ6GW6G

BOOK INFO

Title: Heat Wave
Series: Rider Up, Book Two
Can be read as a stand-alone
Author: Adriana Kraft
Publisher: B&B Publishing
Publication Date: April 30, 2014
ISBN 978-0-9907476-2-8  ASIN B00JZ6GW6G
Length: 93,000 Words   418 Pages
Genres: Romantic Suspense, Erotic Romance, Sports Romance
Pairings: M/F
Tags: Horse Racing, Thoroughbred Racing, Small Town, Saving the Farm, Young Widow, Horse Trainer
Heat rating: 3 flames

BLURB

During an oppressive Iowa summer of drought and farm foreclosures, widowed Maggie Anderson makes a bold decision: She’ll merge her love of horses and her family’s three hundred and twenty acres into a horse farm and try her hand at nearby Prairie Meadows Racetrack, where racing purses have just been augmented by the recently added casino gambling.

Down on his luck after being falsely accused in a racing scandal and banned from training, former Arlington Racetrack trainer Ed Harrington has skulked home to Des Moines to drown his sorrows and wait for the dust to clear. He’s unprepared for the piercing robin’s-egg-blue eyes of pint-sized Maggie Anderson, who finds him at a flophouse and offers him a job. Can he pull himself together and meet the challenge?

As the two forge a tumultuous working partnership, they soon discover someone is out to get Maggie’s farm and will stop at almost nothing to force her off the land. Can they find and stop the culprit before someone is killed? Can they survive the far greater danger unleashed by the raw passion simmering just beneath the surface of their relationship?

~ o ~

…about the foal in my promo photo at the top of this post – I’m well aware he’s not a thoroughbred racehorse. His sire is Arabian, his dam, pictured with him, is a Saddlebred, and we gave him a role in Book Four in the series, Detour Ahead.

FIND EVERYONE’S POSTS IN THIS FACEBOOK GROUP:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/SnippetSunday/

 

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Filed Under: Blog, Excerpts, Romantic Suspense Tagged With: erotic romance, horse racing, Horse Trainer, Romantic Suspense, Saving the Farm, Small Town, sports romance, Thoroughbred Racing, Young Widow

“Very Nice…” #SundaySnippet #SnipSun #Steamy #RomanticSuspense #Sale #KentuckyDerby

April 30, 2023 by Adriana Kraft

Only six days to the Kentucky Derby! All four books in our horse racing romantic suspense series are on sale for just 99¢, now through mid June.

This week’s snippet continues the scene from Cassie’s Hope – Clint and Cassie are just meeting for the first time.

Set up: Cassie has trailered her dad’s prize thoroughbred filly from Illinois to Wyoming to try to get her first stakes win and is just getting Hope settled into her stall…

Our last sentence last week: This was no drugstore cowboy…

EXCERPT

He stepped closer, and she could make out a scowl. Dark eyes snapped a foreboding anger. Raven black hair framed chiseled features, searing them into Cassie’s brain. Her toes curled involuntarily and she rubbed Hope’s coat vigorously.

Who the hell was he? And to top it off, he didn’t even seem to notice her – his eyes appraised only the horse.

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

Cassie kept on 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.

REVIEWS

An emotional roller-coaster, with twists and turns you never see coming! …I feel I know them, 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, Goodreads

Just downloaded this book yesterday and didn’t set it down until I was finished. Great story! Great characters with steamy love scenes. Will look for more suspense written by this author. Would recommend this book to all romantic suspense readers. Billie D.

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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?

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Filed Under: Blog, Excerpts, Romantic Suspense Tagged With: Churchill Downs, Contemporary Romance, crime, horse racing, Kentucky Derby, romance, Romantic Suspense, Steamy Romance, Triple Crown

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