Here’s THE DEPUTY’S K-9 MATCHMAKER cover. I had some epic fails before this one finally came together. I hope you like it!

The Deputy's K-9 Matchmaker
a contemporary western romance set in historic Coyote Springs, California
(Gold Country, Book 5)

Meeting her was love at first sight…
for his matchmaking police dog.

Giving up sucks…unless it’s for the right reasons.

Deputy Ben Jacobs stepped off the LAPD career ladder because he couldn’t take Czar, his canine partner of nine years, with him. Aged-out? B.S. Fortunately, the new sheriff in Coyote Springs needed a canine unit but lacked critical funds to buy young dogs and train them. A PR stunt introduces the team to another newcomer—a beautiful, ambitious reporter with a nose for trouble. To Ben’s chagrin, Czar falls for her on the spot. And worse, Ben can’t get her out of his head, either.

Starting a new job is thrilling…unless you’re standing on the bottom rung.

The ink is barely dry on Jill Martin’s J-school diploma when she lands an investigative reporter job in Coyote Springs. Working in the small town her parents call home is bad enough, but working with a by-the-book deputy with questionable people skills is worse. If not for Czar, the coolest K-9 on the planet, she might have given up. But something freaky happens and she sees a side of Ben Jacobs she can’t unsee, even if she wanted to. Some things—like love—call for a leap of faith.

Coming August 1, 2022

Pre-order THE DEPUTY'S K-9 MATCHMAKER today!

Amazon | B&N | Apple Books

THE GREAT BASIN REALLY IS…GREAT!

As I mentioned in my last newsletter, Great Basin National Park is one of the least-visited national parks. We didn’t mind that a bit. When we left the Lehman Caves, the parking lot was still only half-full. We drove to Mather Overlook, the furthest point on the Scenic Drive that we could reach by vehicles that day (there was still snow higher up).

The views were extraordinary. This is looking east.

The overlook provided a picnic spot with a view that was just plain awesome—and it included a 3-D brass relief of the Basin.

Here’s a shot of the four of us. Happy campers all!!

After lunch, we took the “long way” back to Ely, and visited an extraordinary historical stop called: The Ward Charcoal Ovens. Hard to believe these were built for the sole purpose of turning the local scrubby cedar trees into charcoal to smelt ore.

The next day we left Ely headed west across Nevada on Highway 50—which they call “the Loneliest Road in America.”

One of the first towns we passed through was Eureka. The mountains around it were Nevada’s second-richest mineral producers.

Our next stop was Austin, where we’d hoped to have lunch at the International Café. Umm…yeah, that didn’t happen. And we didn’t make it up to the Austin Castle, either, but we had lunch beside a beautiful cemetery where we could see the castle in the distance. I love quirky little towns like this.

We wound up at an RV park in the town of Fernley, which is close to I-80 and Reno—just a day trip from home. It was great trip. One for the books.😉

Loner Llama Press’s “llama mama”—who knew?!

Some of you may have heard the story behind my publishing company’s name. But just in case you missed it…when my son was eleven, we started building our new home in the foothills. Every day, we’d travel the same thirty miles back and forth. In the spring and early summer, we’d pass by a field stocked with a large flock of sheep…and one llama. (At the time I didn’t know that llamas are kick-butt protectors when it comes to coyotes.)

One day, my observant son remarked, “There’s the loner llama, Mom. You know, we’re kinda like him. We’re different, too.”

This was before he’d had a chance to make any friends, but my writer brain immediately glommed onto the idea. Every creative I’ve ever met has at some point or another felt like he or she was the odd-person out. A loner llama doing his or her thing surrounded by beings who probably wonder, “What is this llama doing here?” 😉

Fast forward to the annual Kids First fundraiser two weeks ago. By chance, I was introduced to a woman who, to my profound surprise, owns the field where the loner llama and sheep live. When I told her my story, she laughed and said, “I’ll have to start reading your books.” And I told her, “You know this makes you the Loner Llama Mama.” 😉

And speaking of schools, our eldest granddaughter graduated with honors recently. I’m so proud of this girl, who spent the last two years of high school dealing with Covid, masks, distance learning, and everything that went with that. As I told her, “This just proves you can do anything, my sweet Malte.”

Stay cool and read with abandon!

Deb

Coming Soon: Exciting book news and a slight revamping of my newsletter. Given the price of gas, we have to save our travel pennies for an RV trip to the Midwest in late summer/early fall. Less travel equals more books to talk about.