Single Mom

My Latest Release is Out!

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It’s an exciting week for me – the release of my first Love Inspired Suspense – WILDFIRE THREAT was the 24th. Whoo, hoo! I loved every moment of writing this book, and I realized why when I recently gave an interview. So many things about Wildfire Threat are very personal and special for me, and not just because it’s my first Love Inspired Suspense.

I’ve been writing for Harlequin a long time. I admit it, I sometimes don’t have to work as hard as other authors to land a new contract. My editor knows me and can depend on me to deliver a book in good shape and on time. But when this opportunity came around, I had to work hard for it and go up against a lot of other authors. There was no golden ticket or cutting to the head of the line. When I got the call, I felt really good. My hard work paid off.

Purchase Wildfire Threat

As you can guess from the title, the story is about a wildfire. In this case, it’s headed straight for the fictional Arizona small town of Happenstance. For many, many years, we owned a small vacation home in Young, Arizona, a place that’s considered the most remote town in the state. One year, a wildfire came close enough we could watch it from our front porch. That inspired the book that became my first Harlequin sale about a Hotshot. About ten years ago, the Young fire came “this” close to destroying the town. Yes, it was the inspiration for Wildfire Threat.

My son, an avid outdoor enthusiast, helped me brainstorm the book. We had several long sessions where we tossed ideas back and forth. Okay, I tossed ideas out there, and he told me why they wouldn’t work. He is the source for much of my information about herding cattle and driving trucks and ATV through the burning wilderness.

Lastly, the heroine’s grandfather suffers from dementia. My own sweet mother, who I lost last year, suffered greatly from this terrible disease. It did my heart good to write about the love and devotion my heroine has for her grandfather, the tender, kind and respectful way my hero treats the older man, and how the family copes — which isn’t always easily. Writing the grandfather allowed me to honor my mother in a small but meaningful way.

To celebrate the release, I’m having a giveaway — one of my coffee mugs, a Starbucks gift card, some author bling and couple of previous books. To enter, you just have to make a comment. That’s all.

For anyone interested joining my newsletter, you can email me at: cathymcdavid@yahoo.com It’s not necessary for entering this giveaway. Just if you’d like to keep up on the latest news about me.

Thank you for letting me share my good news with you and tell you about my newest book.

Hugs,

Cathy McDavid

A New Release to Share

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Please tell me it’s not too early to celebrate Christmas ? I sure hope not because I had a new book coming out this month on the 26th — A Secret Christmas Wish. Of course, all my books hold a special place in my heart, but this one has become a favorite. I’ve included a lot of familiar hooks: handsome cowboy hero, single mother heroine, baby, ranch setting, weddings, and, yes, Christmas.

But my publisher took a chance and let me write a hero you don’t typically find in romance books. Brent Hayes is suffering from acute depression. Not a trait you expect in a strong, tough cowboy hero. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to bring awareness to the struggles individuals with mental illness face in a format that might reach readers needing to know they aren’t alone.

Rest assured, there’s also the usual fun, touching, romantic, and western stuff I love to write about — plus a really cute little boy guaranteed to steal your heart. And plenty of Christmas happenings to put readers in the spirit.

Here’s a short excerpt:

Brent did as Ansel suggested, ladling a portion of the steaming cider into a mug. He’d skipped lunch, not wanting to spoil his appetite for today, and considered filling a plate with stuffed mushrooms and deviled eggs. Before he could, he felt a heavy weight knock into him and almost spilled his cider.

Looking down, he saw TJ on his knees and clutching Brent’s boot with his chubby arms.

“Hey, buddy. What’s going on?” He set down his cider on the table.

TJ tugged harder on the boot, the same one he’d pushed around the bunkhouse floor the previous evening. “Want.”

Brent understood that word well enough. “Maybe later. Not sure your grandma fancies me walking around her house in my socks.”

TJ plunked down onto his behind, wrapped his legs around Brent and pulled with all his might, his small face turning nearly the same shade of red as his sweatshirt. “Want!”

Brent chuckled. “We’re going to have to reach a compromise.”

“TJ!” Maia hurried over. “I’m so sorry.” She bent and retrieved her son. “He’s been a little stinker since we got here. It’s all the people and commotion.

TJ squirmed and grunted in an attempt to break free of Maia’s grasp. When she held fast, he started to cry. She put him down but kept hold of his hand.

“What am I going to do with you?” she complained with mock sternness, her expression filled with tenderness.

She wore a red sweatshirt identical to her son’s. It was then Brent saw MacKenzie Family Thanksgiving printed on the front over a cartoon turkey. He glanced at Ansel and Darla. They wore the same sweatshirt, as did Lois and two of TJ’s cousins.

Corny. Also kind of nice. Brent’s family hadn’t done those kinds of things, and until today he’d have cringed at the idea. Funny how one’s perspective could change.

“Here.” Brent slipped out of his denim jacket and extended it to TJ, who grabbed the jacket with the same joyous abandon he had Brent’s boot.

Struggling, TJ managed to insert an arm into the sleeve. Before Maia could stop him, he scooted off, dragging half the jacket on the floor behind him.

“Come back.” She started after him.

Brent waylaid her with a hand on her wrist. “It’s all right.”

“What if he—”

“He won’t.”

“He could.”

“Then he does.”

She shook her head and grumbled, “You’re as bad as he is.”

Only then did Brent notice his hand remained on Maia’s wrist. Reluctantly, he let go. He’d been here less than ten minutes and already experienced human contact twice after an incredibly long dry spell.

Lois’s hug had been nice, but touching Maia was far nicer. He wouldn’t lie.

Buy A Secret Christmas Wish

Thank you for letting me share my new release with you. And for joining me in an early Christmas celebration. Is it time to get the decorations out yet? I think yes!