RELEASE DAY!

March 1 is release day for book #7 of my Halo Legacy Series!

Would love for you to check out SHADOW OF THE LEGACY!

A letter from his dead father and a confession of killing a woman throws a shadow of suspicion over the life of an easy-going cop. When he returns to his hometown to find the truth, he discovers secrets that have held the town hostage for decades, danger that threatens his life, and love with a woman determined to be no more than friends.

You can buy directly from Rogue Phoenix Press or most online e-tailers.

NEW RELEASE COMING MARCH 1!

Book #7 of the Halo Legacy Series will be released on March 1! Here's the cover for that book and a sneak peak romantic excerpt...

BOOK #7--SHADOW OF THE LEGACY

As Rochelle adjusted her perception to allow her father into her life, she also continued alternative treatments with Rena that would ensure cancer wouldn't invade her body again. 

Yet she was nervous when the time came for a follow-up appointment and tests with Shiloh. Shiloh's broad smile when she shared the test results told the story. Rochelle couldn't wait to tell Johnny. "Doc Shiloh said my blood work all looks good." 

"We should celebrate." Johnny's grin claimed his entire face. "How about dinner at the Blue Moon on French cafe night?"

Once a week, the Blue Moon Café was transformed into an intimate

MEET JEBEDIAH WINSTON...THE GRANDFATHER WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD

***EXCERPT FROM LEGACY UNDER FIRE***

A scowling old man jerked open the door. 

Was this his grandfather? The years had carved hard times in the old man's face and he couldn't be sure. "Jebediah Winston?" 

"Who wants to know?" 

Sounded like the gruff old man who used to tell him tales of fire fighting in the days before firefighters became "soft." 

A smile settled on Jer's face at the memory. "It's Jeremiah--" 

The old man wouldn't know him as Jeremiah O'Shea. Wouldn't know him at all.

MEET SHILOH BERGAMOT, MD

***EXCERPT FROM LEGACY UNDER FIRE***

Shifts in the emergency room hadn't prepared Shiloh for triage on a site that looked like a battlefield. She simply patched up bloody arms and faces as best she could with limited supplies, then sent people on to a safe place. 

Though shocked and hurting, the pioneer spirit of these citizens was obvious in their stoic expressions and assistance in helping their neighbors and the strangers who were in town for the news conference. In a short time, the bandages and antiseptic Shiloh had crammed into her bag were gone, leaving her searching the bottom of an empty bag for tape to close a gash on someone's forehead. 

"I'm going to get more supplies!" Shiloh shouted to one of the EMTs. 

She sprinted back across Celestial Creek to her clinic, through the side door and upstairs where medical supplies were stored. As she jerked open the door of the storage room, orange tongues of fire roared toward her like the angry bellow of a giant beast intent on swallowing her whole. 

The gasp of surprise was ripped from her throat as the force of the inferno threw her against the wall. Shiloh crumpled to the floor, instinctively curling into a ball. 

Stunned and gasping for breath, she lay unmoving... 

MEET JEREMIAH O'SHEA, FIREFIGHTER/EMT

***EXCERPT FROM LEGACY UNDER FIRE***
copyright Genene Valleau, writing as Genie Gabriel

Jeremiah O'Shea held in a grin as his younger sister, Marly, tried to talk him into attending a news conference. Not just any news conference, but one of the biggest events in this little town since gold had been discovered in the eighteen hundreds. 

About a year ago, a baby had been stolen and sold to a wealthy couple under the guise of a legitimate adoption. After an anonymous tip led child welfare to take custody of the child, a search found the birth mother living on the outskirts of Halo. Marly had been the caseworker who removed the baby and found the mother. 

Today, that mother and her child were being reunited, and nationwide media were gathering in town to cover the event. 

Jer had to admit he was curious, and probably would have attended, even without his sister's wheedling. However, in all his years growing up with seven adopted siblings, Marly rarely resorted to begging favors, so Jer couldn't resist the opportunity to string her along a bit…

So here he was. Standing by the dais with a dozen other uniforms waiting for the little boy to arrive with the police escort. Reporters had set up cameras and microphones near the podium, and the county sheriff preened nearby, practicing his campaign spiel for a higher political office. 

Anticipation rippled through the crowd as cars pulled up

AND THE WINNERS ARE...

CONGRATULATIONS TO: Patti P., the winner of a $10 gift certificate to Amazon.com!

And to Tawania, Eva, "BN," Colleen, Crystal, and Sydney, who received downloads of their choice of one book from my Halo Legacy Series!

Thanks to all of you for joining the TRS Valentine's/CAPA Awards party!

NEW COVER--BOOK #6!

And here's the new cover for book #6, my latest release in the Halo Legacy Series. Plus a romantic excerpt...

BOOK #6--LEGACY UNDER FIRE

"Would you like to dance?" 

Shiloh gazed at her handsome escort. No smudges on his face from smoke and ashes. No sturdy turnouts with its fabric rough under fingers. 

Handsome. Serious. Sexy. 

Though he barely touched her fingers, the heat shimmered between them. 

Shiloh's breath caught in her throat. Tonight was different. He wasn't a hero doing his job. He was a man whose gaze looked into her soul. 

And found what? 

Did he see the holes where her memory had been? Did he sense her fear and wonder at her doubts? 

"I-I can't." 

A frown settled briefly on his brow. 

"I've never learned any dance steps--I just to sway to the music." Shiloh shrugged ruefully. 

"I can teach you." 

Shiloh's mouth went dry. She struggled to swallow as the fantasy of Jer's teaching her more than dance steps raised goosebumps across her skin. 

NEW COVER--BOOK #5!

And here's the new cover for book #5 of my Halo Legacy Series, along with a romantic excerpt.

BOOK #5--CHALLENGING THE LEGACY

When at last Pierce's car pulled up, Tallie wanted to run outside like an eager child and see what they had bought. Pierce and Marly didn't relieve her curiosity by coming inside. She heard their voices and laughter, though, as they lifted a bag of potting soil out of the trunk and began filling a beautiful blue ceramic pot. From Marly's gestures, she was telling Pierce how to plant a rose bush. 

When Pierce carried the pot onto the broad front porch, Tallie thought she was at last going to have her curiosity satisfied. 

However, Pierce returned to the car, lifted another blue pot out of the trunk and began filling it with soil. When he stopped and looked at Marly, she nodded. He carefully placed another rose bush into the pot, tamped soil around it and carried the finished planter onto the porch, setting it a few feet away from the other pot. 

This continued three more times. Then Pierce picked up the empty bags the soil had been in and gathered up the tools, tucked them into the trunk of his car and closed the lid. He paused, looked directly at her, and mouthed the words, "I'm sorry." 

Puzzled, Tallie frowned. Then her mind started putting together the pieces. Beth's pregnancy. Tallie's memories of miscarriages. Five rose bushes. 

One for each miscarriage. 

Tallie couldn't stop the tears that streamed down her cheeks. 

The door opened and closed, and she knew it was Pierce. However, the house was strangely silent. Empty of other people who usually provided a buffer between Pierce and the emotions that assaulted Tallie whenever he was near. 

"You didn't forget," Tallie whispered. 

"How could I when you were such a part of my soul?" Pierce stood so close his breath feathered against her hair, but he didn't touch her. "I felt the loss too, but thought it would help you to try again. To do something positive. I tried to be gentle. I just didn't understand." 

Tallie remembered how gentle his lovemaking was after each miscarriage. The difference between male and female approaches. He wanted to take action; she needed time to deal with the emotions. 

"I couldn't give you what you wanted most. A son. An heir." I didn't feel worthy and your mother made sure I never forgot my past. Made sure I knew we would never marry unless I could produce a Stratford heir. So I took her money and snuck away like a coward. Without talking to you. Without saying good-bye. 

"What I wanted most was you, Tallie. What I still want is you." 

NEW COVER--BOOK #4!

Here's the new cover for book #4 of the Halo Legacy Series, and a romantic excerpt from that book.

BOOK #4--CHASING THE LEGACY

"Mind if I join you?" 

Layla turned at the sound of Grady's voice. "Your house." 

"I haven't lived here in awhile but, yeah, still home." He eased onto the settee beside Layla with a sigh, a different kind of smoky smell lingering on his clothes--that of explosions and destructive fires. 

"You were a hero tonight." 

"Just doing my job, like a lot of others who are still in town." 

"What happened?" 

"The initial theory is a guy who sold a baby to a wealthy couple didn't like his money-making scheme cut off. So he planted dynamite in the buildings in Halo for revenge." 

Layla shivered. "Pretty over-the-top for one baby." 

"I'm sure there's more to it." Grady covered a yawn. 

Silence settled between them, and soon Layla heard Grady's gentle, even breathing. He had fallen asleep. With tousled hair and smudges of soot on his face from the fires, he seemed more like a little boy than a man who sought out explosives for a living. 

Soon Tallie appeared with a quilt over her arm. She tucked it around Grady and kissed his cheek. Always the mom and, again, Layla felt a pang of envy. 

"May I bring you a blanket?" 

Layla shook her head. "I'm going inside in a few minutes." 

But she didn't. When the sun peeked over the eastern horizon, she had cuddled up against Grady and burrowed under his blanket. 

His arm stretched along the back of the settee over her shoulders and he smiled shyly at her. "I won't tell your pop if you don't tell my mom." 

Her belly did a funny little somersault as a grin formed on her face. "It's a deal." 

He kneaded the muscles in his neck. "I need to get back to town." 

Then he stood and tucked the blanket around her, much as Tallie had done for him earlier. "Welcome home, Layla." 

Her breathing quickened as he leaned close to her. Was he going to kiss her? Was she going to let him? 

NEW COVER: BOOK #3

The new cover for book #3 of the Halo Legacy Series shows the contrast between Collin's harsh world as a police sniper and the innocence he treasures in his life with Beth. The collision of these two worlds will test the strength of their marriage and the devotion to their unborn child.

BOOK #3--LIVING THE LEGACY

The path to the chapel was lined with overflowing white petunias planted a few days ago especially for Beth and Collin's wedding. Their delicate scent wafted around Beth as the full skirt of her wedding gown gently brushed against the blossoms. Fluffy clouds drifted behind the tall spire, accenting the coppery roof glistening in the sunshine. 

As the wedding party assembled inside the double arched doors, Beth closed her eyes and struggled to draw a deep breath through a throat nearly choked off with emotion. 

A gallant knight in a dark grey tuxedo waited at the altar for her. A childhood fantasy she wished for with all her heart but never quite believed would come true. 

Her friends smiled at her: Marly and Layla and Claudia and Rochelle and Phoenix. Their whispered words of encouragement carried her down the aisle, clinging to her father's arm. 

But when she stood next to Collin at the front of the white clapboard chapel, her doubts returned. How could this handsome man want her for a wife? Her nose was too big. Her chin receded. One front tooth overlapped the other slightly. 

Her father often said her face had character. She hadn't thought much about that before meeting Collin. People said she was pleasant and had a good head on her shoulders, so Beth focused on those attributes. 

Now she wanted to be pretty. For Collin. 

Was her dress too simple? Tallie had tailored it to fit like a lover's hand and Claudia had beaded swirls and loops on the sleeveless, scoop-necked bodice. However, the skirt was simply a full sweep of white satin. No frills and gathers and bows and lacy inserts. 

And should she have done something more elaborate with her hair than sweep it back from her face into a chignon placed high on her head? 

Marly and her bridesmaids insisted the simple elegance fit Beth perfectly. But what if Collin was disappointed? Maybe she should have defied tradition and shown him the dress to watch the reaction in his eyes. 

Under her lashes, Beth glanced at Collin, who squeezed her hand and smiled. A smile so dazzling it made her dizzy--as if she needed anything else to make her knees weak. She clung to his hand and let herself be drawn into the love shining in his eyes. 

Collin looked squarely at her and spoke his vows clearly. 

When it came Beth's turn, she had to swallow several times to make her voice work at all. Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment, but Collin continued to smile at her; his hands encouraging as they cradled her own. 

Her fingers still trembled as they exchanged rings. 

Then he kissed her with gentle certainty, and her nervousness dissolved under the reassurance of his lips. She relaxed against his firm, strong body, and he traced her jaw with his fingertips as he whispered, "I love you." 

Her eyes misted with wonder. This man had chosen her to spend the rest of their lives together. And she would do everything she could to make him happy. "I love you too." 

With Collin's arm around her shoulders, Beth turned to face those who had assembled to witness their marriage. Most of the women dabbed at their eyes while the men were uncharacteristically silent. 

Beth's feet hardly touched the carpet as they swept past family and friends to the back of the chapel. They paused briefly on the steps before Collin lifted Beth in his arms and carried her to the waiting limousine. 

NEW COVER: BOOK #2

Drum roll, please! Here's the new cover for book #2 of the Halo Legacy Series and, in honor of Valentine's Day coming up soon, a romantic excerpt...

BOOK #2: LEGACY OF ANGELS

A silence settled between them, finally broken by Patrick's question. "So what do you want?" 

Wistfulness stole over Claudia as she gazed out the window. "I had a best friend in second grade." 

The only best friend I've ever had. 

"We sat together in class and played at recess. Sometimes I even went to her house to play." Claudia paused. She hadn't allowed these memories for a very long time. "Her house was quiet--no arguments. And safe. With a daddy who swung her up in big hugs and called her princess…I remembered their house with a white picket fence, and a daddy and mom who laughed and loved each other, and loved their little princess. That's what I want." Vulnerability swept over Claudia. Had she shared too much? 

"I think that's a fine dream." Patrick squeezed her hand. 

Silence settled again as they watched Todd sleep in his new little bedroom, innocence glowing in his face. 

"What's your dream, Patrick?" 

The question startled him. Left him scrambling for an answer that wouldn't seem flippant or corny. Finally he said, "I don't know." 

Claudia was quiet for a moment. "Maybe you could find one." 

A vision burrowed into Patrick's heart, bringing a glow of hope. Slowly, he nodded. "Maybe I could." 

Yet if he was honest with himself, Patrick's dream had already taken shape. He too wanted a family. Children to play inside that white picket fence, and a wife to bring joy to his home. 

A wife like Claudia. 

NEW COVERS!

I'm delighted to share the new covers for my Halo Legacy Series! All of them are shown in the blog banner. However, I'll also be sharing them one by one over the next week with a romantic excerpt about the book. The first book is PICTURE PERFECT LEGACY...

BOOK #1--PICTURE PERFECT LEGACY

With great care, Marly lifted the creamy lace wedding gown over her head. The neckline dipped enough to hint at a modest cleavage, and the waist relied on cut and style to shape a lady's figure, not underwear of torture like a corset. 

However, the seemingly endless line of tiny buttons at the back provided a challenge. Unless she became a contortionist, Marly would never be able to fasten them by herself… 

"I can't get the buttons done up," Marly whispered. "Will you ask Beth or Audrey--" 

"I can do it." Dawson stepped behind Marly. As soon as his fingers touched her back, she froze. Shivers of awareness danced along her spine, rendering her unable to protest. 

The conversations of others in the room muted into the background. The modern lamps in the old building blurred and softened as Dawson's fingers feathered up her back, inch by tortuous inch. 

"Hold your hair up for me." Dawson's low command tingled the delicate flesh under her ear, but she managed to tuck a hand under her hair and sweep it off her neck with a minimum of trembling. 

His fingers hovered at the nape of her neck after fastening the last button…

"Omigod, don't move!" Audrey's exclamation startled both Dawson and Marly into compliance. "That's perfect. Absolutely perfect…We must get a picture of this for the new brochure…" 

AND THE WINNER IS...

CONGRATULATIONS to ANAS!

She is the winner of my January drawing for a $25.00 gift certificate to Amazon.com!

Many thanks to all who commented on my January blog tour to celebrate the release of LEGACY UNDER FIRE!

Watch this blog for more news and contests coming up!