Hello, October, I’m so happy you’re here!

A great many of you agreed with me that Autumn is an awesome season, rivaled only by Spring—and I’m sure we’ll all be ready for that when it comes.

But one part of this season that nobody mentioned was football (the NFL kind, not the Ted Lasso kind). My daughter Kelly was invited to watch the L.A. Rams take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Los Angeles. And because she’s “all-in” with everything in life, she transformed into such an exuberant fan, she made the Jumbo-Tron.

I even watched the whole game from the comfort of my couch (with a book open to avoid commercials). 😉

Since we’re entering a new month, I wanted to try something new: Deb’s Monthly Featured Series/Theme.

Because you were so kind—and generous with praise for my new cover—I decided to kick off this experiment with the Black Hills Rendezvous series.

Each book in the series will be 30% off in my Deb Salonen Bookstore the whole month, including the boxed sets (shown below). Plus, I’ll add a 3rd weekly drawing winner from readers who like/share any book post about the series on social media or lets me know they’ve left a review.

Buy: HERE! Enter code: BlackHills30 (Valid for the whole month of October.)

So, why does an author set out to write a series?

For me, it’s either about family or community—or a combination of both. I knew I wanted to write a story set in the Black Hills—my old stomping grounds, but I also knew I could never convey all the magic of that setting in just one story. And, because I’d already written several family series, I wanted to explore the connections between a group of people—in this case women—friends who came together through a “Book Club” and built bonds that hold and support them through all kinds of changes and challenges.

Libby McGannon started the Wine, Women and Words Book Club with her best friend, Jenna Murphy. Libby is the postmaster of Sentinel Pass—a job she took over from her grandmother, who raised Libby and brother Mac. The two inherited the family’s gold mine, which brought TV heartthrob Cooper Lindstrom—and Hollywood—into the picture. A picture that changed everything.

One book led to another led to another…and then there were ten. And you know what that means: 10 new covers to come. 🙂

Here’s the new series description I’ve just added to the series page on Amazon:

Lights. Action. Camera.

Are you ready for your close-up, Sentinel Pass?

Change hits the sleepy, Black Hills town of Sentinel Pass like a tsunami from a blockbuster movie when Hollywood heartthrob Cooper Lindstrom falls for the Pass’s favorite daughter, postmaster Libby McGannon. It’s only a matter of time until other locals, including the members of Libby’s Wine, Women, and Words Book Club, get pulled into the story.

The ten stand-alone contemporary romance titles in this collection come alive in the Black Hills of South Dakota, Malibu, LA, and Louisiana. Intrigue, a gold mine, deeply protected secrets, mystery, murder, and revenge are more than plot points when love is at stake.

Welcome to Sentinel Pass, where happily-ever-after isn't
left to chance—it’s written into the script.

Last week's Q&A was: Do you have a favorite season? Yes or No?

Autumn and Spring pretty much tied as your faves. Mine, too. I grew up with four very distinct seasons and I loved each because, as a kid, the changes in weather meant different sorts of outside play: ice skating vs swimming, picking flowers vs raking giant piles of leaves. But as an adult, I found the long South Dakota winters less and less fun. After forty years in California, I only miss the snow at Christmas. 😉 And my oaks do not rake into big piles of gorgeous leaves to jump in. But Autumn still has my vote—even though so far, we’ve had to deal with a lot of smoke from the fires south of us, so it still looks and feels like summer.

Winning names are:

Animosity Darksky
and
Lisa Parker

THE COVER VOTE: First, thanks SO MUCH for all your great feedback. The voting was so close, I decided to take all your suggestions and combine what you liked about both covers into a new one. Here’s the finished version that is being uploaded to vendors as I type. Hope you like it as much as I do.

Winning name drawn:

Jana Leah B

(Animosity, Lisa and Jana congrats. Please email me your pick of either a $5 Starbucks or a $5 Amazon gift card.)

Q&A

This week’s Q&A: Have you ever attended a professional football, basketball, or baseball game?

(Two winners will be chosen by random drawing to receive either a $5 Starbucks gift card or a $5 Amazon gift card. Please reply the usual ways:
email or on my DebraSalonenAuthor Facebook page.

Happy reading, my friends.

Deb

Upcoming: Inside the Wine, Women, and Words Book Club!

PS: My awesome hubby/patient is doing fantastic in his knee replacement rehab. He’s getting around without even a cane now, and his physical therapist gives him a “gold star” (kidding) after every session. He’s even started a few projects around the house—proving in you can’t keep a South Dakota-born contractor down for long. 🙂