Read More from Calle J. Brookes

Hillers Book #2 is LIVE.

Calle J. Brookes

December 5, 2024

Well. I actually forgot what day it was. It has been chaos, like always around here. Schedule changes, that kind of thing. And…well…

A rogue white rabbit seems to have taken up residency under our front porch. White rabbits hopping around free in southern Indiana…uh…No. Just doesn’t happen.

So I am trying to catch the white rabbit that we have named Van Illa VonTurd. (The VonTurd was because he’s a feisty rabbit and VonTurd is a nice version of what I really wanted to name him.) He’s living under the porch, but will spend a lot of his day under our RV. Except, a truck went by today and sent him running back under our porch. The porch is right next to where the dogs go outside. So that could be a real problem; we’re not letting Freyja and Jasper outside alone until we catch him.

He waits until I walk away and then will hop around after me. He’s obviously a pet bunny (or possibly a livestock bunny, we do live in farm country). He’s not even afraid of dogs, that we can tell. (Or she…, we aren’t sure yet).

I was able to touch the bunny yesterday, before the little beast hopped away.

We do live in the midst of a forest, and with the predators out here—yes, I am trying to capture the bunny. I can’t let him (or her) fend for himself.

But as for today—

It’s release day for The Hillers of Barratt County Book 2. It is live everywhere—including Apple and Nook. (Book 1 The Risk finally went live last night, after the delay with Nook and Barnes and Noble.) It features the nurse Genny who made a few appearances in the Finley Creek and Small-Town Sheriffs series–and Dr. Chad Fields. Chad is the younger brother of Major Crimes detective Charlie Fields (who got his story in Never Chasing Charlie).

HE COULD JUST GO BACK TO WHERE HE CAME FROM!

She still does. Just in an entirely different way than she ever has before. Now he wants to show her that he’s the kind of man a passionate woman like her deserves. He is a man with a plan, and he’s ready to hunt his prey.

ER Nurse Genny Hiller has always kept Dr. Chad Fields at arm’s length, avoiding the jerk masquarading as her best friend’s older brother. He’s always looking at her like she’s a melodramatic screwup. She’s used to steering clear of his arrogant know-it-all presence, but now, Dr. Chad-wicked Fields seems to be around every corner.

Chad has always been protective of the Hiller sisters living next door to his parents. They were his closest friends’ younger sisters and good friends with his little sister, too, after all. But middle sister Genny has always gotten right under his skin.

But someone else wants Genny. And he will stop at nothing to get what he deserves…

Even going through the people standing in his way…

If you preordered The Hunt, you should have already gotten your copy autodelivered. If you didn’t preorder, you can grab it at the following places:

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-hunt-169

Google: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Calle_J_Brookes_The_Hunt?id=w_IyEQAAQBAJ&hl=en_US

Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-hunt-calle-j-brookes/1146635606

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DNRTRQML

Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-hunt/id6738998992 (Please note, that is NOT my audiobook attached to the ebook. Apple has done that in error and I am working to get that fixed.)

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1658582

For those who missed book 1, it is still $1.99 (for now, that’s a temporary price).

It finally went live everywhere after that very irritating delay, thanks to the distributor.

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-risk-13

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Calle_J_Brookes_The_Risk?id=sWwyEQAAQBAJ&hl=en_US

Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-risk-calle-j-brookes/1146635610

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DNRL3LM7

Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-risk/id6738998646

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1658576

I am hard at work at getting book 3 The Chance up for preorder by early next week. It features obstetrician Guthrie Hiller—hottest catch at Barratt County Gen—and Dr. Aubrey Fisher, a woman with a lot of secrets and hurts. I’ll post release information for it very soon!

(And watch for some Christmas stories on the blog, as well. I just don’t have dates yet!)

Apple/Nook Update for The Risk

Calle J. Brookes

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November 26, 2024

Well, an update on what’s going on with Apple/Nook/Smashwords for the new books. I am definitely not pleased, but I am starting to calm down.

I spent a few hours yesterday trying to figure out what is going on with Apple and Nook and the distributor before I had to take kiddo to her softball lesson. (By that point I needed to throw things myself! Softball comes in surprisingly handy in this business, lol). I ended up having to delist both book 1 and book 2 of the series, and will most likely have to start an entirely new listing for each. I never did get an actual answer. I have never had problems with this distributor before, but after their “customer service” yesterday, I am seriously considering not using them at all going forward and just uploading directly to both Apple and Nook.

I’m so sorry for the issue! Because of the holiday delays, it looks like this won’t be fixed until the middle of next week (or later). I truly appreciate your patience while we work on it.

In the meantime, you can still get the first book on your iPad or Nook by following these steps. (It works for an actual live book, but I don’t know that it would for a pre-order title).

I didn’t actually know how to do this, but I figured it out, lol. (I’m a dedicated iPad girl—that 12.9 inch screen comes in handy when you have to use the big type like I do!)

Downloading from Google Play

Buy the EPUB from Google Play.

On your computer or phone, go to Google Play Books and find The Risk. (Or click here🙂

Download the EPUB file.

On your Google Play Books library, click the three dots next to the book and select “Download EPUB.”

Transfer to Your iPad:

Open the Apple Books app on your iPad.

Drag and drop the EPUB file into your iPad using AirDrop or email it to yourself and open the file in Apple Books.

Transfer to Your Nook:

Connect your Nook to your computer with a USB cable.

Drag the EPUB file into the “Books” folder on your Nook. Safely eject, and you’re ready to read!

Downloading from Kobo

Buy the EPUB from Kobo.

Go to Kobo’s website and find The Risk. (Or click here:)

Download the EPUB file.

In your Kobo library, click Download under the book’s cover.

Transfer to Your iPad:

Same steps as above: drag and drop or email it to open in Apple Books.

Transfer to your Nook:

Use a USB cable to move the EPUB into the “Books” folder on your Nook.

To thank you for your patience, The Risk will stay at $1.99 instead of going up to $2.99 like I originally planned. Probably until 12/5, the release date of Book 2 in the series. I’m also working hard on creating a direct store through Shopify. This means you’ll be able to buy my books directly from me (again)! I expect the store to be live before the release of The Hunt on 12/5.

Once again, I apologize for the inconvenience. I was so frustrated yesterday I just finished dealing with customer service, threw together some cranberry oatmeal cookies (still trying to perfect my egg-free recipe, though) and then took the spawn to her softball lesson. I had to walk away from the computer for my own sanity!

For those of you in the US, I want to wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving, if you celebrate. We’re staying home for this one this year and going to just enjoy being together before the rush of Christmas.

Also, PARANORMAL fans. Watch for the relaunch of Kennera’s book & Jierra’s book in December. And a strongly revised Anna’s book! (Anna’s book was so heavily revised that according to Amazon’s rules, it’ll require a new ISBN. I’ll be putting it up as a free download on the website for the first week, for those who are previous readers—or those who just want a copy, lol.) The other two books will be the same ISBN as previously purchased, just listed as a new edition. Amazon should send the updated file to all who purchased them before. I have a few minor things to do to each book before I can relaunch them.

A Brand New Series!

Calle J. Brookes

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November 22, 2024

For the first time in 2 years I have something entirely new to launch. It is definitely a spin-off (of the PAVADs & Finleys, mostly).

I have finally finished a project I have been working on for several years. I generally work on one or two main books at a time especially PAVADs and Finley Creeks, but I always do “warm up” writing before I get really involved. These “warm ups” are fun stories that aren’t a part of my main series. When I get stuck on the other books (especially the Finleys—those books are incredibly hard for me to write!) I’ll work on these warm-ups until I get unstuck.

(That is where the Masterson County series first originated! Phoebe was an “I’m stuck!” kind of book that just sort of…spiraled out of control, lol. Watch for more Mastersons in 2025, btw!)

Now, I am on to the Hillers of Barratt County. Barratt County first came into existence during PAVAD and the Finley Creek series. Cam Lake, the hero of Hiding, and his heroine Kyra Dillon both came from the Barratt County area (Cam, came from Barrattville, and Kyra from Value). I will admit, while writing that book I absolutely fell in love with Barratt County. I knew that the hero of Finley Creek’s The Price of Silence (Houghton Barratt) also came from the county named after his ancestors. And I knew Houghton had cousins, including the mayor of Finley Creek. And well, Cam’s brother-in-law—George—was the mayor of tiny Value, Texas.

Value was the setting of Bailey’s book Holding the Truth (Small-Town Sheriff’s #1, featuring TSP deputy Bailey Moore and Houghton’s cousin Clay Addy). Then George’s siblings started just randomly popping up in other books. The nurse that helps Nikkie Jean in the opening of Finley Creek Lost in the Wind (who also helps Sydney that day at the Value Elementary School in Hearing Her Cries, Zoey and Murdoch’s book) somehow ended up being George’s younger sister! Even Dylan Talley brushes up against the super-hot identical Hiller brothers Gunn and Grady in her book, Masterson County #12!

And there are a lot more siblings in the Hiller batch—there are eight Hiller siblings in total. Each one of them—including George—gets their stories told in this new Western romantic suspense novella series. This series is different from my others, which are open-ended (I don’t know how many books will be in each series when I start).

The Hillers of Barratt County series will consist of only 8 novellas (and 1 short story featuring a side character that I have just had to write, lol).

Each book is slightly connected to the others, especially the ones that come immediately before and right after. Each book is between 150-200 pages long and is a complete story (no cliffhangers). They all feature characters you’ve already seen before—in PAVAD books, in Finley Creek books, in Masterson County books, and in the Seasons books.

Book One: In The Risk, weaver Chantal Fields comes up against violent enemies of her cop older brother. When her life is on the line, only rancher Gene Hiller can save her. Gene—the one neighbor she tried to avoid at all costs. Now, she has no choice but to put her faith in the one man she has never trusted. (Chantal is the much younger sister of TSP Detective Charlie Fields, from Seasons #4).

Book Two: In The Hunt, ER nurse Genny Hiller has always tried to steer clear of Dr. Chad Fields, her best friend’s annoying older brother—until he decides he wants her and begins an intense, protective pursuit as someone with a dangerous obsession targets her. (Genny is the nurse who first helps Nikkie Jean in Finley Creek #9).

Book Three: In The Chance, Dr. Guthrie Hiller’s view of his colleague Aubrey Fisher is upended when a conspiracy at Barratt County General throws them together, revealing a fierce connection neither expected—and an enemy that threatens them both. (Aubrey is Dr. Caine Alvaro’s assistant in Finley Creek #9).

Book Four: In The Plan, George Hiller anxiously waits for news as his pregnant wife, Ronnie, undergoes emergency surgery with their fifth pregnancy. Flashing back to their fiery beginning nine years earlier, he reflects on the love that changed his entire world—and the future he’s determined to protect. (George adores his wife—the younger sister of Cam Lake—PAVAD Hiding, and Murdoch Lake—Small-Town Sheriffs #2. George makes guest appearances in several other books.)

Book Five: In The Truth, Pastor Gunn Hiller falls hard for Ayla Fisher, his sister’s friend with a painful past, but when a jealous admirer threatens their future, Gunn steps in to protect the woman who has brought him unexpected joy.

Book Six: In The Prey prosecutor Giavonna Hiller finds her world shaken when her determined boss, Hudson Hanan, pushes his way into her life as they face a shared threat that forces Gia to confront her deepest fears. (Hudson is the cousin of Micah Hanan. Micah is the hero of the next PAVAD book, currently in the works.)

Book Seven: In The Fear, rancher Grady Hiller, struggling with past regrets, finds purpose when he steps in to protect Hala Hanan, his sister’s friend, from a dangerous admirer, discovering in the process that love may be his path to redemption. (Hala is also Micah’s cousin! Micah was first introduced in Hiding.)

Book Eight: In The Chase, social worker Greer Hiller never imagined she’d be carrying Kurtland Chase’s revenge baby, but with enemies circling, Kurt is determined to protect her—and prove he wants her for more than just payback against her brother. (Kurt was first introduced in Bailey’s book, Holding the Truth, Small-Town Sheriffs #1).

Book 1, The Risk, is now available for preorder, at a special preorder price of $1.99. It releases on Nov. 22 (***There seems to be a problem with the distributor. The book is not yet available on Apple or Nook. I’m not sure what the hold up is yet, but I have created a support ticket.)

Book 2, The Hunt, is also available for preorder at $3.89. It will release Dec. 5^th. (Currently, it is available at Amazon, Kobo, and Google Play. I am not sure what the hold up is with Nook and Apple. I’ll update when they are live).

Book 3, The Chance, will be available for preorder on Dec. 5^th!

After that, I’m not entirely certain of the release frequency—each novella will release 3-4 weeks after the previous, and be priced at $3.89.

For a sneak peek of The Risk, you can visit this page here:

The Chronicles of Vera (Finley Creek Ghost Stories)

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October 27, 2024

I have finally found a title for the little ghost stories set in room 403!

Story #4 features Quade Davis and “Go-Go Jo-Jo”!

Josie Connors was the victim of a horrific crime—and now she may never walk again. Stuck in Room 403 after a surgery to repair her leg, Jo-Jo knows someone is in there. Watching her.

The Cursed Nurse has a lot to say…but that doesn’t mean Jo-Jo has to listen.

Her only lifeline to the outside is her laptop. And the children’s villain waiting for her to respond…

If you’ve missed the other “Chronicles of Vera” Halloween short stories, they can be found here!

Dr. Layla Kaur https://dl.bookfunnel.com/tah6c8g76c

Dr. Joy Coleson-Greene https://dl.bookfunnel.com/17sc5uykat

Nurse Bonnie Coleson https://dl.bookfunnel.com/5cs150ce3p

Watch for more titles set in Finley Creek and Masterson County in 2025!

Winning His Wager–Masterson County #12 (Dylan/Fletcher!)

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October 27, 2024

Dylan’s book has been uploaded!

So, quick backstory: Dylan wasn’t even supposed to have her book out yet. I had her scheduled for 2026, but she showed up in Meyra’s story and demanded her book like right now. (And of course it is 100 pages longer than I anticipated, totally throwing off my schedule…) And Fletcher? Well, he was right there, waiting to challenge her with a bet she couldn’t resist. Six months as his housekeeper, no quitting allowed. You can guess how that goes…

I seriously love housekeeper/cowboy romances!

The book picks up just two days after Meyra’s story ends, so make sure you read Meyra/Brandt first.

I’ve uploaded everywhere—I am just waiting on Apple and Nook links to go live. (They both take their time on weekends).

– Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DL3S9JN7)

– Kobo: (https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/winning-his-wager)

– Google: (https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=yI0sEQAAQBAJ)

– Smashwords: (https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1640036)

-Apple: (I’ll update when live)

-Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/winning-his-wager-calle-j-brookes/1146473295?ean=2940180886880

I’m heavily into Madison’s book now. It’s just as complicated as all the other Finleys, so I don’t know a release date yet.

I am also working something new. A series of novellas set in Barratt County (right next door to Finley Creek County). The sheriff of Value (Clay Addy, Small-Town Sheriffs book 1) is the sheriff of that county. Sometimes he’ll pop into these novellas. As will several other extremely familiar characters…like Charlie and Rory, Charlotte, Murdoch and Zoey, etc. I work on these novellas when I am “stuck” on other books, so they have taken me a while to write, but I am making great progress.

I’ll share more details about them very soon!

I am also working on a FAQ list for the website. So if you have a question, please feel free to comment so I can addit ot the list. The #1 question I get is whether Sydney Beck gets her own book. And the answer is a resounding YES. She is just…going to be the Final Finley Creek title and I am not quite ready for that yet. (Never fear, though. There will be more books with Finley Creek characters, they will just be in their own separate series’s, so the Finley series pages don’t get too cluttered!).

Thanks for sticking with me through the inevitable chaos around here. Finding focus for my ADHD brain (yes, I do have it very badly!) can be a real challenge. (It’s actually my #1 struggle in my career. It has been since book #1 PAVAD, Watching, by the way. I wrote that thing in 2008!)

Out Now: Masterson #11 Brandt/Meyra!

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September 29, 2024

Well…it’s been insanely busy around here, like it almost always is. Hubs started a new job, working 1-10 five days a week. Kid made a travel softball team ninety minutes from home. She started school again. (Homeschooling high school while working is very, very hard!) I’ve been doing a lot of driving lately!

We tried to go camping as much as we could this month before he started his job, so that we could use the RV and spend some time together. We tried to arrange it around her softball schedule. I’ve been without internet more than I have had it these past two months.

Which…has been great for my productivity. While kid is practicing throwing the ball at sixty miles per hour, I have been typing away. In the last six weeks I have finished two Masterson novels.

Meyra and Brandt’s book was uploaded this morning. I’m waiting on Apple, Barnes and Noble, and Google Play to go live—but Amazon, Kobo, and Smashwords are already available!

I sent Dylan’s book to the editor a few nights ago. I did not anticipate writing Dylan’s book this year. She was on the schedule for 2026, but she popped up in Meyra’s book and demanded I tell her story.

And well…Fletcher was right there and she knew he wasn’t really meant to be her hero, so she bet him she couldn’t work as his housekeeper for six months…

And everyone knows about Tylers and their housekeepers, right?

At this point, Dylan’s book will most likely release on October 27, 2024. (No preorder on this one, either. Timing is too tight getting it back from the editor since it was a surprise!)

Dylan’s book starts only 2 days after Meyra’s ends. (Meyra’s book takes place during Powell’s book in the Finley Creek series The Secret She Keeps, in case you missed that one). Events in Meyra’s book parallel events in Powell’s (Powell and Brandt are twins, after all!). It was challenging and really fun to write three books set so close together that weren’t part of a miniseries.

A lot is going on in this “timeframe” in the Calle-bookverse.

Powell’s book, Meyra’s book, Dylan’s book, and a few others that are upcoming—all take place in a few months’ time.

Now it’s time to move on to Madison’s book (now that Daniel and Gunnar and Heather have had time to recuperate from what I did to them in Powell’s book! I did not know I was going to do what I did to them!)

There may be a few more releases by the time Madison’s book is ready, though. I’m not sure yet—I have some things in the works. It really just depends on the time needed to finish everything the way I want. I never can really predict how long a book will take. Sometimes, like with Dylan’s book, other titles will jump in the line. Or will end up 20,000 words (approximately 100 pages) longer than I expected (once again…Dylan.). That is what makes it so exciting for me. I never know what will happen in a book until I have written it.

I do know that there are a few things PAVAD in the works. 😉 And a few other things that I will be giving more info about next month. (I need time to sit down and actually plan, lol!)

Right now here is what the list of upcoming books looks like: (this is very tentative, and dates haven’t been set, and everything depends on just how quickly each book is written, etc.) PAVADS, Finleys, and Small-Town Sheriffs are very complex, and very draining to write, so they can take a while to get the way I want them. I may also release other things in between, since I am constantly working on multiple projects.

Dylan/Brandt, Masterson County
??? Something secret, I’ll release more info on very soon.
?? Something PAVAD, possibly.
Madison/Dom, Finley Creek
?? Possibly a Seasons, I’m not sure yet…
Charlotte/Daniel, Finley Creek
Auggie/Calloway, Masterson County
Natalie/Micah, PAVAD
?? Something else PAVAD, possibly.
Marin/Rex, Masterson County
Claudia/Ransom, Masterson County
Boone/Cheney, Small-Town Sheriffs…

Anyway…on to the good stuff:

(And by the way…the Masterson series is getting new covers, as soon as I can get them uploaded!)

AMAZON. KOBO SMASHWORDS. GOOGLE PLAY. BARNES & NOBLE.

APPLE & NOOK AREN’T LIVE YET AS OF 2AM, SO I’LL UPDATE WHEN THEY GO LIVE, AS WELL!

Watch for more info about Dylan’s book WINNING HIS WAGER coming in October!

Powell is LIVE! (Bonus Scenes Here!)

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July 16, 2024

It is after midnight here and I’ve been insanely busy. Just got back from another camping trip (kid had softball camp and I’m not constantly staying in a hotel!).

Powell just went live here!

I’m just linking for tonight. Had a busy night with kiddo and I’m getting a migraine.

AMAZON. APPLE. KOBO. NOOK. SMASHWORDS. GOOGLE PLAY.

And for those here looking for the bonus scenes, here you go!

Powell is up on Preorder Now.

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June 26, 2024

Well, things have been busy as usual around here. (It always is during softball season, since I always get pulled in to help coach!). Rec league softball is over now—her last year. Leagues around here only go up to 13U, and she’ll be 14 this December. So, we’re starting the travel ball tryouts. She’s never done travel, but does do private pitching and hitting lessons. We’ll see what happens…In our area, there just aren’t a great deal of teams in her age division, for some reason.

I’ve also been hard at work. Powell’s book, The Secrets She Keeps, is up on preorder. It’ll release July 16^th. It turned out a bit longer than Haldyn’s book, and just a little shorter than Zoey’s. It is a storyline I’ve been working toward resolving since Lacy’s book—earlier, actually. Since I first introduced the beautiful Gunnar Erickson in book 1.

Now on Preorder. Releasing July 16, 2024.

AMAZON. APPLE. KOBO. NOOK. SMASHWORDS. (Google Play is still not live. I’ll update link when I find out why…)

Powell Barratt was used to success in real estate, business, and law… not romance.

Certainly not romance with a man who could give the god Thor a real run for his money. But Detective Gunnar Erickson is right there, in front of her, vowing to keep her safe after she is nearly abducted. He’ll do anything to protect her, and she believes him.

And Powell has a secret he deserves to know…

Gunnar knew what it was like to lose the woman he loved. He’d lived that hell before. Now that he has Powell in his arms, he’s not about to let anything hurt her—even if he is in the midst of the biggest case of his career with the TSP. He’ll keep her safe by keeping her right next to him where she belongs.

But when his enemies realize just how important Powell is, Gunnar has a fight on his hands.

Before people close to them both pay the ultimate price…

The Secrets She Keeps is a complete, 500+ page romantic suspense novel and is the second in the Finley Creek: Enemies Within tetralogy. The Finley Creek series contains multiple scenes of violence, adventure, dark criminal behavior, cursing by heroes, heroines and villains, a few mild-to-moderate love scenes, and references to subject matter that may distress some readers, including pregnancy loss, abductions, assaults, stalkings, mass shootings, child abuse and other dark themes. The Finley Creek series of books contain the same depth of content that can be found on a network crime drama series. Bad things happen to good characters, but GOOD always triumphs over EVIL in the end.

Also…

In other book news, if you missed it, the first collection of Finley Creek Storm Stories are available in ebook form now:

AMAZON. APPLE. KOBO. NOOK. GOOGLE PLAY. SMASHWORDS.

I released a brand new paranormal. It was not a relaunched title. I do hope to have an updated, revised version of Jason and Anna’s story ready soon, too. The new book was Becca and Matthuin’s story:

AMAZON. APPLE. KOBO. NOOK. GOOGLE PLAY. SMASHWORDS.

I am working on Madison’s book now. It’s in the early stages, but I don’t have dates yet. It will be in 2024. I am also working on Meyra and Brandt’s book heavily now. It is a Masterson County book, but takes place almost completely within the timeline of Powell’s book, so it is next on the release list, and probably will be around August or September.

Upcoming Titles:

So, for now, the release plan looks like this:

Powell and Gunnar, “Finley Creek #14”, in The Secrets She Keeps – July 16, 2024.
Meyra and Brandt (still unsure of the title) “Masterson County #11” –TBD
Madison and Dom (title TBD) “Finley Creek #15” –TBD
& Dylan and Fletcher, “Masterson County #12” in “Winning Her Wager” –hopefully by Christmas 2024.
(Dylan jumped in line on the schedule, due to some events in Meyra’s book. Dylan surprised me…)
After Dylan, it’s the conclusion of Finley Creek: Enemies Within, with Charlotte & Daniel in “Finley Creek #16”, titled Secrets of Their Fathers.

After that, I’m thinking there will be something PAVAD. I’m just not sure of the details, yet. I have new stuff in the works, as well.

I suspect I’ll be getting a lot of writing done this month—kid has softball camps and lessons and tryouts like crazy. I usually write while she’s doing that. I am very fortunate to be able to basically write/work anywhere! She has camp at the University of Illinois one day next month. We’ll be taking the RV up there and camping at a nearby state park; we want to get away for a bit.

We did a “test” camp run last week at the state park nearby, since Freyja the Dog has never been (we stopped RVing for a while after Liberty the Dog had her stroke in summer 2020). Our thinking was that I would take the dog home, if needed, and we’d ease her into it. (She has trouble with leashes, other dogs, and she has some significant vision issues in lower light situations and at distances of 50+ feet).

The hubs was insistent his cat was going camping with us, too. It went reasonably well—as well as a first camping trip with a crazy 4-yr-old border collie can. She even walked on a leash without a problem—as long as it was daylight out.

The cat…well, he hid under the bed most of the trip—then got in the bunk over the cab and just stayed there, watching everything. He discovered birds outside the window, and that made him happy.

He will be going with us on other trips, but I think he’ll eventually get used to it. He’s a remarkably easy-going, low anxiety cat. He had his emotional-support-Freyja nearby, too. I think that helped. Here those two are in the over-the-cab bunk. Freyja can climb, that dog.

I do draw the line at walking the cat, or carrying him in a backpack. That is just not happening.

The hubs did buy him a harness and a leash, though… I think that man has plans.

(Did I mention, hubs hates cats???????)

I’ll update with more info on the next releases as soon as I can.

Thanks for reading,

C.J.

Storm Stories, Paranormals, & Powell…

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April 28, 2024

Well, it’s been a while. Again. Time just keeps getting away from me, especially when I am heavily into writing a new book.

Things have been beyond chaos. Total roller coaster.

We were looking for a larger house, with better office space for me, and some room to spread out. We found one we liked well enough, made an offer, were preapproved, went through the entire loan process—only to have the mortgage company come back at the very last minute (after they’d ordered an appraisal and it came back looking great!) and suddenly say we needed to double our down payment and give them our tax refund to ‘buy down the mortgage rate’. Why the sudden issue? Because we are self-employed. Then they started making a bunch of ‘suggestions’ of ways for us to get the money to increase the down payment, that started to sound…ridiculous. My spidey sense started going off big time.

Once we said, “No. We’re walking away.” all problems could somehow ‘be fixed’ within hours. Well, if they could fix it after we said we were finished, why not fix it before? What were they really after? The guy got incredibly pushy, and I got incredibly…determined not to be pushed around.

So, we walked. Backed out completely. Something just did not feel right in what that guy was asking us to do. Still, I am good at saying “no” when I need to. So I said it loud and clear. Talk about disappointing. But…we feel just fine about ‘walking’. I am 100% certain we had a close call there. I don’t want to work with a mortgage company who yanks people around like that. Or partake in such deceptive business practices.

Somewhere in that time, I ended up ‘drafted’ to coach kiddo’s softball team. (That just keeps happening every year). I had originally said no, (that whole getting ready to move thing, after all), but they needed help. Experienced help—the woman coaching had never coached softball before. So I get to stand out there throwing a softball around with 11-13 year old girls. It has been going really, really well. The girls get along great, they are taking responsibility for their team—helping run the dugout, etc.—and they are really learning. Most of all, they are all having fun.

My kiddo is in private pitching lessons with a former D1 college softball coach. She’s getting scary good. We were told her next step, since we homeschool, is probably going to have to be a travel/club softball team. I am on the fence with that. It’s a big time commitment, and I have heard some serious horror stories about travel teams. But she’s decided she wants to coach college softball someday, so…softball it is.

We are thinking of doing another year of private lessons with her, and since she’s only just turned 13 back in December (and in spite of taking high school classes, is age-wise just now 7^th grade), talking to the local schools about playing for the high school team when she is old enough–or the junior high team next year. Although she’ll be a sophomore credit-wise this time next year. In Indiana, homeschoolers can do sports/extra curriculars, if they do one class minimum at the school—even online. We have already been told she can participate in drama club next year, if she wants.

Also during this chaos, I finished a paranormal that I have been wanting to write since…2012. It is one of the books I had to put on the virtual shelf because of time constraints. I finally started it last October. I launched it this week!

Rule 1: Don’t listen to a mysterious voice that orders you out into the night.

Rule 2: Don’t ever get captured by werewolves.

Rule 3: If a werewolf-vampire hyrid tells you he is your destined mate, run like hell.

Becca always followed the rules. But the creature holding her captive now has one rule of his own: never let her go…

(If you click the cover, it’ll take you to my paranormal website.)

Unlike the previous books in the series that are available now, Mated to the Wolf is not a relaunched title. It is brand new. And I am super-stoked that I finished it. Next, I am working on the revised version of Anna/Jason’s book. It just never really felt complete to me before. I’m hoping to have it out by May. I’m at about 75% finished with it.

Anyway, Rebecca and Matthuin’s book Mated to the Wolf is available for $3.99, for the next week. It is a brand-new, full length, title of 55K. So it will go up to $4.99 on May 5!

You can find it at:

Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/mated-to-the-wolf/id6499216662

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mated-Wolf-Dardanos-Book-7-ebook/dp/B0D2H8K32R

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mated-to-the-wolf-c-j-brookes/1145483932?ean=2940179607144

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=kZ8DEQAAQBAJ&pli=1

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/mated-to-the-wolf-4

In Calle book news:

I am almost, almost, almost ready to send Powell and Gunnar to the editor. I have a few missing scenes to write, and well…there are bad guys that must be stopped. It looks like the next Finley will release in June! I do have a cover and title, but not an actual release date yet. I also don’t know if I will do a preorder on this one or not. It just depends on timing with the editor-goddess who puts up with me. Here is what the cover most likely will look like!

And a few more notes:

I am working on some new things, that are Finley Creek ‘adjacent’. I’ll share more on them when I have some scheduling figured out, etc. I am also working on Mastersons, and even have some PAVAD stuff in the works.

Thank you for reading! I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful spring (if it is spring where you are!). Since we aren’t moving any time soon, I am going to go plant shopping today–and well, order a new pair of kid eyeballs…

And one more thing…

I was finally able to get a cover ready and bundle the first three Storm Stories into one volume. It’s calledDay of the Storm, and contains Storm Warning (A.J. Evers/Sean Callum), Storm Damage (Daryn/Mike Evers, and Storm Threat (Brooke/Houston Evers). These are 60-80 page novelettes and were available for direct purchase via my website for a few years. I have pulled the direct store down to migrate to Shopify soon.

Here is the blurb:

July 29th was a day that changed Finley Creek, Texas forever. No one could escape the storm unscathed. Day of the Storm is a collection of three novelettes, set during the events of the Finley Creek: Disaster mini-series.

In Storm Warning,Sean Callum has a secret love for his best friend’s sister, Autumn Evers, a forensic scientist who sees Sean as nothing more than a nuisance. But when an F4 tornado shatters their world, trapping them in the rubble, Sean must find a way to reveal his true feelings, hoping it’s not too late to win Autumn’s heart amidst the chaos.

In Storm Damage,destruction reigns after an F4 tornado devastates the Texas State Police building. Inside, Detective Mike Evers and Assistant M.E. Daryn Mabry are forced to set aside their tumultuous history. With Mike’s sister and others they love trapped beneath the debris, the pair must cooperate to orchestrate a daring rescue, battling not only the elements but their own unresolved tensions.

And in Storm Threat, Radio producer Brooke Jacobs masks her vulnerability with bravado, but when an F4 tornado traps her and the dismissive meteorologist Houston Evers at their station, her façade begins to crumble. Brooke faces not only the fury of the storm but a more personal danger right there in the station. Now, Houston must protect Brooke from the storm outside and the growing threat within, seeing her in a light he never expected.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Day-Storm-Finley-Stories-Collection-ebook/dp/B0D15KR9KB

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=1ecEEQAAQBAJ

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/day-of-the-storm-1

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/day-of-the-storm-calle-j-brookes/1145507935

Apple: **I am still waiting on the link for Apple to go live. They are taking their sweet time this weekend. I’ll check again tonight—after I go to the vision center at Walmart. (They are open 12-5, even on Sunday!) Kiddo snapped her glasses in half last night. Thankfully, we’d bought her a brand new pair of prescription sports glasses two weeks ago before softball season began…She’s just going to have to wear them in the meantime, even though they make her look like a bug.** I’ll post Apple as soon as I can!