Jericho Hollow

Meet the Jericho Family... a middle class angel family, assigned to earth to protect humans that work to apprehend criminals that prey on women and children. The family has a secret, though. They've been granted the power to shift into any animal they wish in order to accomplish their missions.

In Winter Hearts you meet Quinn, the oldest of the Jericho children and his lady-love, Unity Brooks. Unity is on the run from criminals who intend to capture her for sale in a white slavery ring. But true love triumphs when Quinn rescues her with the help of his family and his partner, Sebastian Spade.

In Surpassing Pleasures, Quinn's sister, Zipporah and Sebastian finally stop running from each other and admit that they're falling in love. But how will Sebastian deal with the family secret? True love will stand the test.

Winter Hearts and Surpassing Pleasures--meet the angels of Jericho Hollow.

anny

Winter Hearts, Twelve Days, the Saga and a Good-bye

Today my first shape-shifter story will be released from Ellora's Cave. Winter Hearts is the story of Quill, a middle-class angel assigned to a back-woods county in Tennessee. As part of the gifts given to his family to make their assignments easier, they are granted the ability to shift into any animal, big or small.

Unity, orphaned when she was a toddler has never had the experience of living as part of a family. When she is abducted after witnessing a crime, she ends up in the woods near Quill's home.

As they fall in love, they discover that there are some secrets that are best kept when shared.

For more info, click here http://www.ellorascave.com/

One of the toughest things I've done in a long time was let my dog go. She had bone cancer and it finally reached the stage where I couldn't keep her with me any more without being incredibly selfish. That didn't make it any easier. She sure tried to help me make the decision. She quit eating. She quit drinking. And she lost interest in going for walks. She slept a lot--most of the day and all night.

And then yesterday morning she stumbled down the stairs. So with a heavy heart I made the call. I'll miss her. There are no more words. Bye, Woobie. I loved you.

Anny

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

Five Faithful Companions.

Do you want to win some fantastic holiday reading? If so come celebrate the Twelve days of Romance with 12 authors from Ellora's Cave, Wild Rose Press, Total-E-Bound and Cerridwen Press. Each day beginning December 8th and running through December 19th one of the twelve authors will tell what their "True love gave to them" on either their blog or website.

Collect all twelve answers and e-mail them to anny@annycook.com with 12 days of Romance in the subject line to win some great books. There will be three lucky winners.
The prizes –1st prize--6 books, 2nd prize--4 books, 3rd prize--2 books. Entries must be in by December 21st at midnight EST. All books and prize winners will be drawn randomly.



Anny Cook Winter Hearts
Sandra Cox Boji Stones
Bronwyn Green Ronan’s Grail
Heather Hiestand Cards Never Lie
Barbara Huffert Deal of a Lifetime
Amarinda Jones Mad About Mirabelle
Kelly Kirch Time for Love
Cindy Spencer Pape Cowboy’s Christmas Bride
Brynn Paulin Fallen
Jacquéline Roth Access Denied
KZ Snow Mrs. Claws
Lacey Thorn Earth Moves

And now, the Saga...
Amarinda left me with Emmeline and the Pirate Jack:

“No Emmeline dear, there is an ancient parchment that is locked within the Gutted Frog statue at the inn.”

“And for some reason you can’t ask Mabel to get it for you.”

“She’s still a tad pissed I did not turn up for our wedding. But she likes you.” You’re both screaming harpies. “Be a dear and speak to Mabel about lifting the key.”

“Bilge breath, I have never been a ‘dear’ but for a seventy-five percent cut of the loot, I’ll tell you what I’ll do.”

Hmmm. What to do, what to do?

“I’ll bring the stranger to you and you can get the key from him, yourself.”

“What?” Jack backed away and regrouped. “I can’t take the key!”

“Why not, Jack? What are you holding back? You know I don’t like it when you try to put one over on me,” she reminded him with a meaningful look at her peeler. “So what’s the deal?”

“Uh-uh,” he stuttered. “Now Emmeline, don’t get all huffy. It’s just a teensy, tiny thing I left out. He’s been asking around for you.”

Her eyes began to glow as he backed further away until he bumped into the deck railing. “Jack? What is the stranger’s name?” she crooned as she stalked closer. “Come on, you wimp. You know you want to tell me.”

“We-llll,” he whimpered, “I did hear someone call him Beaky, I think.”

She hissed like a snake. “Beaky! That lowlife good for nothing slime bucket! Where is he? At the Gutted Frog?” She turned and rushed to the gangway. “He killed Rafe… I’ll make him pay!”

Alarmed, Jack pounded after her. “Emmeline! No! Don’t do it!”

“Don’t you worry, Jack! I’ll get your key! Actually,” she skidded to a halt. “If I’m getting the key, why am I giving it to you? I’ll get the map for myself!” Just as Jack caught up with her, she zipped away. “Ta, Jack!”

“Emmeline! Wait! The Beaky guy has a peeler!”

As always, please stop by Kelly's Place at www.kkirch.blogspot.com to see what she's up to and then pop over to Amarinda's World at www.amarindajones.blogspot.com to catch her take on the world state. Blessings on your day!

Christmas with the Navy

It snowed yesterday (and all night) where I live. That's a picture taken last evening. Our first snow this year.

It seemed particularly appropriate as my Final Line Edits for my "Christmas" book, Winter Hearts, arrived today. Since it's coming 12/12 from Ellora's Cave, I was getting a tad nervous. Snow lightly drifting down outside while I listened to Christmas Carols inside (Josh Groban's Noel album--yummm) and not too many corrections on the book. It made for a nice relaxing day.

Christmas 1992. My second son's graduation from Navy basic training at Great Lakes Naval Base was scheduled for December 23rd. Not the best time, was it? It had been a very rough year. Our youngest daughter’s behavior had finally reached the point where we knew that we could no longer parent her effectively. Heartbroken beyond hurt, we placed her in a boarding school for kids with behavior problems. Our son left for the Navy on October 7th. Our daughter was taken to the Family School on October 29th. In a few short weeks, our family shrunk by half. I bitterly missed both of them.

Christmas was upon us. It was too soon for our daughter to be permitted to come home for Christmas. We had to make the impossible decision. Would we attend our son’s graduation? Or would we spend Christmas at The Family with our daughter? After discussing it with the staff at The Family and with our daughter, we decided to go to our son’s graduation.

I made arrangements for us to stay with my brother and his family in Chicago. They graciously included us in their Christmas plans. J and D our two remaining children at home traveled with us as we drove to Chicago, providing company and distraction. My plan was to spend whatever time we could with our younger son.

The ceremony was solemn and impressive. My son wasn’t my son anymore. It was so strange. He sort of looked like my son, but he didn’t have enough hair. The beard was gone. He sort of sounded like my son, but the “Yes, sirs” and “Yes, ma’ams” were a bit odd. The ramrod straight bearing was amazing.

We were allowed to take him back to Chicago for a few hours, so we went to an Italian restaurant to celebrate his birthday, which passed in early December. His uncle and aunt bought him a balloon bouquet as a surprise. I can still see him stalking down the street afterward in his dress blues, straight backed, head held high, with the colorful balloon bouquet blowing all around him. It’s one of my favorite memories.

At his request we went to Gary for the family Christmas dinner. It was good. I needed the love and support of my extended family. There were many tears, pouring out at the oddest times, because our daughter wasn’t there. Carol singing was impossible for me, but I listened, inexplicably comforted by the old familiar words as I sat with J’s arm around me. The crying made me feel silly, but I couldn’t seem to stop. Then Aunt Mary gently reminded me that all of them understood grief and tears.

Time was too short. The days flew past and soon we had to give our son back to the Navy. We came home, marveling over the changes, touched by his abrupt maturity. It was a Christmas of extreme highs and lows, happiness and sadness, laughter and tears. It reminded me that Christmas isn’t about money and gifts. It isn’t about getting or giving. It’s about togetherness and love… the most precious thing we can have.

A miracle.

Anny

Do you want to win some fantastic holiday reading? If so come celebrate the Twelve days of Romance with 12 authors from Ellora's Cave, Wild Rose Press, Total-E-Bound and Cerridwen Press. Each day beginning December 8th and running through December 19th one of the twelve authors will tell what their "True love gave to them" on either their blog or website.Collect all twelve answers and e-mail them to anny@annycook.com with 12 days of Romance in the subject line to win some great books. Deadline for answers is December 21st at midnight EST.

There will be three lucky winners.
The prizes –1st prize--6 books

2nd prize--4 books

3rd prize--2 books

All books and prize winners will be drawn randomly from correct entries received.
Anny Cook Winter Hearts

Sandra Cox Boji Stones

Bronwyn Green Ronan’s Grail

Heather Hiestand Cards Never Lie
Barbara Huffert Deal of a Lifetime
Amarinda Jones Mad About Mirabelle
Kelly Kirch Time for Love
Cindy Spencer Pape Cowboy’s Christmas Bride
Brynn Paulin Fallen
Jacquéline Roth Access Denied
KZ Snow Mrs. Claws
Lacey Thorn Earth Moves

Don't forget to stop by Amarinda's blog at http://www.amarindajones.blogspot.com/ for her take on Australian life and then hop over to Kelly's blog at http://www.kkirch.blogspot.com/ for more on first kisses and today's episode of the Saga. Blessings on your day.

Serial Anny

Anny Cook’s EVERYTHING LOVERS CAN KNOW is a wonderful story of a young man and a woman who’re very much in love and who can communicate telepathically. The addition of the two families who are determined to keep them apart until the young woman is of age add an edgy element to the story....

That was what I woke up to on Monday morning. Not bad. Always a nice wake-up note when you get a nice review. And the lady was kind enough not to give the story away, while she recommended that readers rush out and buy a copy. Very nice. I want to thank Nickie at Romance Junkies for the lovely review.

Everything Lovers Can Know is the story of Baron Merlyn Llewellyn and Jade Alexander. Dancer's Delight takes up their story twenty five years later and focuses primarily on their daughter Eppie. Traveller's Refuge is the story of their next daughter Wrenna. And Cherished Destinies (coming out in November) is the story of their twin sons, Arano and Arturo. For those who have asked for a happy ending for Silence, I think you'll find it in Cherished Destinies. Currently, I'm working on the next book in the series, Bishop's Treasure. So quit picking on me, Kelly! All of the books together are part of the Mystic Valley series. There are several more in the planning stage. If you like big family style series, then these are the books for you.

Chrysanthemum is the first book in the Flowers of Camelot series. It was released in May. The second book, Honeysuckle, will be released January 30, 2008. The third book, Daffodil, was finished today except for some minor editing. Then it will go off to my editor with a lot of fervent prayers that she likes it and offers me a contract for it.

The Flowers of Camelot are three sisters whose father takes them to Camelot in hopes of marrying them off as soon as possible. Of course this isn't quite the Camelot you might have read as a kid. The series is irreverent, sexy, and humorous. If you want a book that will make you smile, then my friends recommend Chrysanthemum.

Chrysanthemum is a light-hearted yet quite sensual look at an entirely new view of Arthurian legends. Readers who enjoy Light bondage will certainly tremble over this story, as Anny Cook weaves subtle tongue-in-cheek humour with fantasy, B&D, and steamy sensuality into a story that is not-for-young-historians. Anny Cook definitely has a creative way with history and legend, making Chrysanthemum an unexpected pleasure. Readers will never be able to think of Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table in the same way, ever again.--Two Lips Reviews.

In December, just in time for Christmas, Winter Hearts, the first book in the Ardent Angels series will be released. The series tells the stories of a middle-class angel family with a long term assignment on earth. They live in the back country of Tennessee. And they've been granted the ability to shape-shift into any animal, any size. It makes for some interesting situations. In the following snippet two of the brothers witness the abduction of their "assignment", Unity Brooks, and they jump into the van with her. But how to let her know that she isn't alone?

So Tate and Rack were rattling around in a filthy bucket…as chipmunks. The back door opened and Unity climbed in, sitting on the cold metal floor exactly where the man had instructed her to sit. He snapped a pair of handcuffs dangling from a short chain above her head around her wrists and slammed the door shut.

She squeezed her eyes shut to hold back the angry tears. She was freezing and wet but she was not going to let this jerk see her cry. When she was sure the tears were quelled for the moment, she opened her eyes and studied her surroundings, cataloguing every possible item that could be used as a weapon.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a small cat. When she stared directly at it, wondering why the hell her captor would have a cat in his van, the cat morphed into a tiny gray poodle which changed into a squirrel. Abruptly, it changed into something so small it was hidden by the high side of the bucket.

Tate—or Rack. Abruptly, her spirits lifted. If one of them was here, then Quill would know what happened to her. The thought occurred to her that they were using her abduction to lead them to the ringleader but as long as she wasn’t alone, she wasn’t as frightened. Help was on the way.

So there's something for everyone. Especially if you like series.

Anny

Don't forget to stop over at Amarinda's and check to see what she's done with the Blogga Saga. www.amarinda.blogspot.com Then check with Kelly for her take on e-pubs versus print pubs and what writers really want. www.kkirch.blogspot.com/