New Judes! And a few more things.

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve been able to update. Life keeps getting busier and busier! I am doing loads better physically, though I am still in physical therapy.

I’ve been hitting my word count goals left and right, too. It looks like, if everything goes according to plan, that there will be 3 more books releasing in 2021.

I’ve also started some of the titles for 2022—namely Dusty Talley from the Masterson series—she’s the first of a new Masterson mini-series, featuring all the Talleys of Masterson County (well, not all…Miranda is still a PAVAD heroine, and her cousin Charlotte—well, she’s “Chuckie” in Finley Creek! We’ll see her make a few appearances in Shelby’s book soon).

Dusty is currently being tormented by her best friend Nikki’s big brother!

I’m currently working on Shelby and Jake as the main project, but the two of them are not being very cooperative. Sometimes a book takes longer than expected and is more of a struggle to write than planned. I suspect Jake/Shelby are going to be that way. Finleys can be very complicated books and require a lot more research than some of my other series’. And Shelby is a very complex character.

Other times a book just sort of…pops up out of nowhere. That was the case with the next Masterson. I had planned on the next Masterson novel being Nikki Tyler and Hunter Clark, and releasing around early December.

Well, for some reason one of Maggie’s brothers, Michael, started talking to me. He eventually crowded his cousin Nikki out—which is not making her happy, as she’s talking to me, too, wanting her story told ASAP!—and Michael’s book was written.

The next Masterson book was born. And it is not Nikki and Hunter, although Nikki’s book will most likely still be a Nov. or Dec. release.

Nikki and Hunter have officially been titled Meaning in Masterson.

Michael’s book is called Trusting that Tyler. It is the story of a rugged rancher who loves the Wyoming land and the woman who has never had a real family of her own. You’ve met her before—she’s the social worker who helped Perci and Nate in Denying the Devil. I’ve found Jude intriguing since the moment I first introduced her, but I never suspected she was meant for Maggie’s brother!

I’m in the final stages of prepping it for the editor now. It’ll most likely release in mid-to-late October. I’ll post pre-order links after I speak with my editor and coordinate our schedules.

Here’s the (current) description:

★ SHE’S NEVER HAD A FAMILY OF HER OWN. ★

Social worker Jude Hopewell loves it in Masterson County. After a disastrous marriage to an abusive man, she wants nothing more than to build herself a new life in the little town she’s claimed as her own.

Jude feels safe in Masterson, like she never has before. Until one night when her car breaks down in the worst part of town. And one of those wild Tyler boys came to her rescue.

★ RESCUED BY A TYLER. ★

Tylers—men smart women know to avoid.

Tylers have reputations as hell-raisers, troublemakers, and men who like violence just a little too much. Jude has been down that road once. She’s learned her lesson well.

Then Jude’s past resurfaces—and Michael Tyler is forgotten. She has bigger problems. All she wants is to feel safe again. To be safe again. That means she needs a safe place to hide.

★ SHE’S NOT HIS KIND OF WOMAN AT ALL. ★

Rancher Michael Tyler had a few nasty encounters with a social worker before. That man had just made life harder for him, his brothers, and his teenage sister right after they’d lost their parents.

A woman who made her living screwing with other people’s lives has no place in his.

Except… he just can’t forget Jude. Can’t forget the way she had of looking at him that seared into his soul. The way she had just felt right when he’d held her in his arms.

★ SHE NEEDS HIM NOW. ★

The sheriff has asked Michael and his brothers for a favor: Keep her safe. No matter what.

Michael’s brothers brought her home to his ranch—like a wounded kitten needing a home. Like she was exactly where she belonged.

Michael makes her a vow as the nightmare comes closer:

To get to Jude, the madman will have to go through Michael—and his four brothers—first.

It’s been a busy few months, with Clint and Maggie’s book Facing the Fire releasing, me starting and finishing Jude and Michael’s book, working on Shelby’s, Nikki’s, and Dusty’s, and a few other things—including the paranormals—and getting back in the homeschool rhythm again. We added a new kitten to the zoo around here, too. Yama Banana Puddingstone (named by the kid, of course). He…spends most of his day entertaining Freyja the Border Collie. He’s the funniest cat I’ve ever seen, and he’s adorable.

And one more thing, before I forget!

I’ve been able to write several chapters—and almost finish our other Jude (I didn’t intend to give them the same name, it just happened!) and Hughes! I also didn’t realize that it would end up being as long as some of the first Mastersons. She was a lot of fun to write and experiment with—even with the hurdles of falling and being in physical therapy, etc.—and I’m looking forward to finding out how she finally resolves.

I’m going to be posting a chapter every Thursday until she’s finished. In the meantime: