MEET DEPUTY DAWSON BROWNING

Dawson Browning is a deputy sheriff assigned to Halo, Oregon and the surrounding rural countryside. The wide open Eastern Oregon rangeland fits him as comfortably as his well-worn cowboy boots. He's not an adrenaline junkie like some of his law enforcement peers looking for nonstop action, but finds great pleasure in assuring the citizens of Halo they are safe. 

Genie Gabriel: Dawson, why did you go into law enforcement?

Dawson: So I didn't become a criminal.

G: You're known for your integrity and determination to see justice done. Please explain that statement a bit more.

Dawson: When I was a teenager, I was very angry. Mostly at the woman who gave birth to me but couldn't be a mom. But also at the system that labeled me a loser without even knowing me. When adolescent hormones and attitude kicked in, I was determined to prove I was a loser. Not many choices of friends in a small town, but I fell in with Reid Weston, who is now the sheriff. We made some stupid choices and had some scrapes with the law. I don't know why, but Bill and Audrey Chambers saw some good in me and gave me a place to stay. Bill also provided a boot up my butt when I needed it. Didn't take me long to find a straight path with that motivation.

G: And you continue to live at Bill and Audrey's ranch?

Dawson: Yes. Their son, Cayle, and I got the bunkhouse when we were teenagers. Cayle is a wanderer--not home much--so I stayed on to help Bill and Audrey. They took care of me, now I help with chores around the ranch and make sure they're safe.

G: You take great pride in protecting the citizens of Halo.

Dawson: Yes, I do.

G: But lately, there's been a lot of trouble.

Dawson: More than I've ever seen. Used to take Bigsy Dalton to jail once in awhile for silly stuff like stealing a gorilla costume from an old store. It was a way to make sure he and his brother, Charlie, were doing OK. I'd order supper for them and they'd let themselves out of the cell when they were done. And occasionally, bored teenagers would cause a ruckus. I lived that. I can deal with it, and it provided news for the grapevine. But lately, things have turned serious. A black market for prescription drugs operating in the county. Then people getting hurt when Marly O'Shea started digging for the birth mother of a stolen baby. 

G: You didn't like Marly much at first.

Dawson: <grins> My body liked her too well. But she was a caseworker. Had more than enough of those when I was a kid.

G: But she wasn't like those caseworkers.

Dawson: Turned out not to be. She took her job seriously. But stirred up a bigger pot of trouble than any of us could have suspected. 

G: And you ended up working together.

Dawson: Personally and professionally. Never thought a blunt-spoken redhead would turn me inside-out and love me like Marly does.

G: So you think Marly loves you?

Dawson: I know she does. She just doesn't want to admit it. But she married me and moved into my bunkhouse. That should count for something. <laughs>

MEET MARLENA CATHERINE ALEXANDRIA O'SHEA

Marlena Catherine Alexandria O'Shea moved to Portland, Oregon to escape the overprotectiveness of her seven adopted brothers. However, life threw a U-turn into her big-city plans. When her child welfare boss decided a baby suspected of being stolen should be taken from his wealthy adoptive parents, Marly was assigned to the case. Determined to find the best home for this baby, Marly leads the search for the biological parents, and ends up back in her hometown of Halo, Oregon.

I interviewed Marly to offer readers a better sense of who she is.

Genie Gabriel: Marly, why did you become a caseworker?

Marly: I wanted to help people make positive changes in their lives, like my dad, Bernie, did. But he was a cop and I don't like guns.

G: But you carry a taser.

Marly: A gift from The Buttinsky Brothers when I moved to the city. I have seven of them, you know--brothers, not tasers.

G: LOL! How did it feel to grow up the only girl among a team of brothers? 

Marly: The stereotypical fish in a bowl. Someone was always watching. Very inconvenient when I wanted to make out with a guy. But kinda sweet that they wanted to protect me. I'd never tell them that, though. 

G: You seem to have a special relationship with each of your brothers. 

Marly: Yeah. Collin is bossy and kinda hard-nosed, but I'm always sorta in his face. He deals with it quite well and I know he means well. Even when he let slip I was adopted, it was a slip of the tongue. Not an intentional way to hurt me, though finding out that way hurt a lot. But it also strengthened my relationship with all my brothers and made us more equal. I mean, I wasn't just a girl any more, but one of them. Adopted. 

G: That's one of the questions you struggled with, isn't it? Why your parents made no secret that your brothers were adopted but kept the circumstances of your birth a secret.

Marly: Yeah. Tallie and I had a discussion about that. It still baffles me a bit. But being hurt like I was made me turn to Dawson for a refuge. <grins> And that was a definite benefit. We got to know each other better and I decided I'd keep him as a husband.

G: In spite of your "accidental" marriage.

Marly: I wouldn't have seriously considered marriage to Dawson otherwise. He's a cowboy and a cop. Reminds me so much of my brothers--and I'd already moved across the state to get away from them. But Dawson is different too. He doesn't just steamroll over my opinions and emotions. He really listens. And when we make love… <big sigh>. I would have missed out on pretty much the best thing in my life if I hadn't connected with Dawson.

G: So you're going to marry him again--but intentionally this time?

Marly: Eventually. But I don't want to let him know that too soon. <Her smile absolutely twinkles in her eyes.>

COME TO SUNDAY DINNER AT TALLIE O'SHEA'S

Since Marly and her siblings have been adults, returning to their adoptive mom's house for Sunday dinner has been a treasured tradition. 

Tallie's is home. Safe. A place for sharing love and truth and major decisions. For reinforcing the bonds forged in childhood. For informal basketball or volleyball games that inevitably descend into laughter and chaos.

If Marly or one of her brothers don't make it home for Sunday dinner, the family feels incomplete. They move forward, as they did when Bernie was killed, but sometimes with a hesitation in their step or a skipped beat of their heart. 

When the O'Shea siblings are home, laughter fills this old farmhouse, celebrating ties forged in love. 

SMALL TOWN SATURDAY

HALO'S OWN GHOST STORY

As always, Dawson slowed when he turned the last corner of the road before Halo came into view. A slight dip between the mountains opened up to the valley cradling the small town. The blunted rocks of the mountain eased into a meadow ringed with skyscraper-tall fir trees laden with the weight of the latest snowfall. The creek that had accompanied the road up the mountain meandered off to the east of town, looping around a three-story Queen Anne style house with a rumored ghost who watched the arrival and departure of the town’s people and visitors from the top story of the turrets.  [from PICTURE PERFECT LEGACY, copyright Genie Gabriel]

Miss Stella still waits for her husband to return...

The Waring House was built by the town’s founder for his adored wife, Constellation. Miss Stella shared her father’s passion for astronomy, but gave up her studies to come west with her husband to seek his fortune in the gold mines of Oregon’s Wallowa Mountains. 

The young husband indeed found his fortune, as the story goes, and invested a good share of it in an ornate house for his wife, which included four turrets at each point of the compass from which she could engage in her passion of watching the stars.

One day the young husband kissed his wife good-bye, set out on a business trip, and never returned. Heartbroken, the young woman sat in the turret overlooking the road into town and waited for her husband to return. Even after death, her ghost still watched each arrival into town, hoping for her husband to return. 

AND THE WINNER IS...

Congratulations to: Catherine Lee!

She is the first winner from my Virtual Blog Tour.

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to comment. Your names will also go in a drawing for a $25.00 gift certificate on April 15.

Happy release day to my LEGACY series characters!

The O'Shea family and I have spent several years together preparing for this day. I have lived with my characters through explosions and fires, emotional traumas and the discovery of wrenching secrets--as well as marriages, celebrated pregnancies, and the everyday joys of being with family who loves you.

The day has finally arrived to share these experiences and emotions with readers, with the release of the first book, PICTURE PERFECT LEGACY, which can be purchased as an e-book from Rogue Phoenix Press.

The O'Sheas are not strangers to adversity. The eight siblings were adopted by a police officer and his wife who wanted to make up for mistakes they had made in their earlier lives. A boy and a girl were infants when they came to live with Bernie and Tallie. However, the rest of the boys were older, with nightmare memories no child should have to experience. 

Life with Bernie and Tallie came with high expectations, responsibilities, and love--lots of love. As the siblings grew up, their highest aspiration was to be like Bernie and, when he was shot on duty, they became even more determined to continue his legacy of compassionate justice. 

Their search for the truth behind their father's death uncovers old secrets hidden by well-meaning people, where sometimes friend and foe wear the same faces. The path of integrity is shrouded with challenges, doubts, and choices that risk their lives and endanger their loved ones. 

However, simple pleasures and life-time loves also bring joy to their lives. 

So grab your e-reader, settle in to your easy chair, and join the adventure. 

The O'Sheas are people I'd be proud to call my friends, grateful to have as neighbors, and lucky to watch my back when trouble came prowling.

Welcome to Halo!

LAUNCH DAY APPEARANCES AND THANKS

Celebrations! 
Today, I'm celebrating the launch of my LEGACY series in several ways.

I'm blogging at MWVRWA, the fun-loving and witty ladies at Mid-Willamette Valley Romance Writers of America. Of course I'm talking about my LEGACY characters. I hope you stop by and chat.

Today is also the kick-off of my Virtual Blog Tour promoting PICTURE PERFECT LEGACY, the first book of the series. I'm at Every Day is an Adventure <http://everydayadventure11.blogspot.com> talking about some favorites and why I have such a hard time choosing just one!

I've also added some pages to my Web site <http://www.geniegabriel.com> that will give you more details about the characters of my LEGACY series. I'll be adding more as other books in the series are released.

I'll also be in the company of other writers tonight and, if I don't forget, plan to take chocolate to our meeting to celebrate.

And, did somebody say contests?
At each of my four blog tour stops (on March 1, 8, 15, and 22) I'll be giving away a $10.00 gift certificate to Powell's Books (can be used online or at one of their stores in Portland) to one lucky commenter. Commenters will also be entered to win a $25.00 Amazon.com gift certificate at the end of my tour.

The start of my thank you list

Today, I'm grateful to so many people. Knowing I won't get everyone the first time through, I'm going to say right up front this is the start of my thank you list and I will add to it in future blogs. :)

--I so much appreciate Chris and Arlo of Rogue Phoenix Press, who have given me much latitude in writing this series and the fun of designing my own covers.

--Thanks also to my critique partners Chris, Chris and Rosemary, who catch overused words, times I forgot to put what was in my head into the story so it made sense, and questioned actions that had them shrugging their shoulders. 

--I appreciate my sons who discovered romances aren't just for women and were my beta readers for these books.

--Thanks go to fellow authors who have heard me talk about this series for months and months--and still showed up for my launch party. Please see some of their covers in the right-hand column of this blog. 

--Thanks also go to the blog hosts who have made me feel welcome as I venture further out of my comfort zone in the world of blogging.

--I adore my herd of doggies, who bring me firmly back to reality by expecting their meals, outside breaks and snacks on time, as well as keeping their backyard reasonably clear of "output." :)

--And, of course, to readers who follow my blog tour, visit this blog and my Web site, and who share the adventure of my books!

Thank you all so much! 

(List to be continued…)