J.L. Salter's books
Stuck on Cloud EightSince Keri Winter’s tomboy childhood dream had been to one day possess her own tree house, it does not bother her one bit to be known as the monkey lady, after she actually built her home in a tree.
But most of the young men in town – some of whom Keri remembers from their school years – hold no interest for her at all. In fact, she seems pretty unapproachable – literally and figuratively – with her head up in the clouds. It would take a mighty tall man to reach Keri’s level and attract her romantic interest. And even if the right man could reach her, could Keri trust him? Rusty Battle figures he’s got the right stuff, but in order to prove it, he has to get Keri’s attention and focus. They’re about to learn proximity can sometimes make the heart grow fonder… or it just might drive Keri crazy. Hid Wounded Reb
Cold secrets are finally warming up… and Kelly can feel the heat.
Kelly is haunted by the mysterious involvement of her landlord’s ancestor with a wounded soldier in 1863, while her boyfriend researches the unsolved murder of an unidentified horseman in that same Kentucky community a few years after the Civil War. As Kelly and Mitch assist each other’s research, tantalizing discoveries seem to connect their subjects. Kelly’s initial assignment is to research the cemetery which started 144 years ago with the death of a battle-wounded Rebel hidden briefly in the Butler family cabin. But the actual facts are clouded with hazy family legends, including possible involvement of a second soldier — the dead man’s cavalry buddy. Mitch’s belated study of the stranger murdered at the church yard has also hit baffling snags. When surprising old documents surface and rekindle fading memories, the uncovered secrets could help solve both cold cases. But those investigations are hampered when Kelly harbors a terrified girl (with her own complicated secrets) who brings danger close behind. The exciting prequel to Called to Arms Again Scratching the Seven-Month Itch
screwball romantic comedy
Amanda can’t believe Jason, her new
lover, is already cheating — they’ve only been a couple for seven months. But
her domineering older friend, Christine, has “proof” and insists Amanda should
take it seriously. Knowing Jason spoke with a woman in the mall food court and
another in the grocery store, however, isn’t exactly an iron-clad case.
But when she hears rumors about a different woman stalking Jason at his workplace, Amanda reluctantly finds the evidence sufficient to allow her boyfriend to be tailed… provided Christine and her posse of amateur detectives can be discreet. Unfortunately, Christine’s idea of discretion is akin to blowing up a billboard. The more Amanda learns about Jason’s unusual behavior, the more their recently shaky communication crumbles. Unable to resist the momentum of the mounting case, Amanda finally joins the investigation and stakeout. Does Jason have the seven-month itch? If he does, which tramp might be scratching it? And is it remotely possible for their relationship to grow even closer despite the clumsiest surveillance efforts bossy Christine can devise?
Curing the Uncommon Man-Cold
screwball romantic comedy
A stubborn boyfriend with the sniffles is the last thing Amanda needs in her apartment during THIS work crisis, but how can she get clueless Jason to leave without just ending their relationship?
Fortunately, her divorced girlfriend hurriedly develops the devious scare-cure. Amanda throws everything at Jason that Christine can dream up and that apartment becomes the least hospitable place a man could possibly imagine. Extensive potpourri and a glued-down toilet seat are just the beginning. But how serious are the privacy risks as Christine blogs about her scare-cure? Can this crazy scheme really get Jason out of Amanda’s hair at home before she loses her mind at work? Will Amanda’s relationship even survive the kooky cure of Jason’s man-cold? Amanda Moore or LessA two-volume boxed set, containing Scratching the Seven-Month Itch and Curing the Uncommon Man-Cold.
Available from All Romance eBooks Amazon Apple Barnes & Noble Kobo Smashwords Pleased to Meet MeIn a blinding thunderstorm, a woman comes to after a mishap and staggers to the nearest cabin in an isolated, mountainous part of eastern Tennessee. She has no recollection of what happened or why all her valuables and identification are missing.
The male cabin dweller is a modified survivalist, who only gets to town about once each month, and loves his simple off-the-grid life. Handsome Cody Wilder offers shelter, attempts slightly awkward comfort, and tries to help her evaluate her past and her future. Don’t Bet On It
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Called to
Arms Again
comedic adventure
Grit doesn’t fade away… it just becomes crusty. With harrowing elements right out of today’s headlines, this story reaches back into the sturdy heartbeat of people raised during the Depression and tested during World War II. Though the old uniforms haven’t fit in many decades, their resilient spirits still have that same intensity which helped save democracy.
Needing only a fresh angle to write her Veteran’s Day special, Kelly discovers first-hand that the Greatest Generation still has enough grit to fight back. While all the authorities are occupied during a massive Homeland Security drill, an urban gang of thieves targets an isolated retirement subdivision… figuring the crippled geriatrics would offer no resistance.
Though Kelly’s widowed boyfriend came along only for a post-funeral luncheon, Mitch soon finds himself leading a mismatched flanking team. Kelly’s good friend Wade has his own assignment, with a homemade mortar and lots of illegal gunpowder.
Maybe it’s difficult to remember everyday things like taking pills, but these octogenarians have never forgotten it was up to them to defend family, home, and community. The outcome of their courageous stand depends on the resolve and resourcefulness of an unlikely ensemble of eccentric elderly neighbors, several American Legion members, and others spanning four generations.
Can they save the day… again?
Needing only a fresh angle to write her Veteran’s Day special, Kelly discovers first-hand that the Greatest Generation still has enough grit to fight back. While all the authorities are occupied during a massive Homeland Security drill, an urban gang of thieves targets an isolated retirement subdivision… figuring the crippled geriatrics would offer no resistance.
Though Kelly’s widowed boyfriend came along only for a post-funeral luncheon, Mitch soon finds himself leading a mismatched flanking team. Kelly’s good friend Wade has his own assignment, with a homemade mortar and lots of illegal gunpowder.
Maybe it’s difficult to remember everyday things like taking pills, but these octogenarians have never forgotten it was up to them to defend family, home, and community. The outcome of their courageous stand depends on the resolve and resourcefulness of an unlikely ensemble of eccentric elderly neighbors, several American Legion members, and others spanning four generations.
Can they save the day… again?
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Echo Taps
Most of the Greatest Generation didn’t discuss their own war heroism. Her beloved elderly uncle died before he could explain why.
Kelly has just begun interviews for her special newspaper section in honor of upcoming Veterans Day, but she struggles to understand some of the larger issues of the war experience. Her boyfriend Mitch has a few insights, but he was never in combat.
Out of the blue, Kelly begins having flashbacks to heart-warming experiences with her beloved Uncle Edgar, a World War II veteran of the Pearl Harbor attack… but he’s been dead almost twenty years. Kelly also believes she’s hearing messages from her deceased Aunt Mildred, who took her in after Kelly’s parents died.
Kelly is aware that siblings Mildred and Edgar (very close in age) were rumored to have had a nearly telepathic connection with each other, and she knows her mother (born considerably later than Kelly’s aunt and uncle) had some extrasensory perception. But did Kelly inherit any of those special senses?
Are Uncle Edgar and Aunt Mildred truly reaching back from beyond to help Kelly understand these complex issues? Or is Kelly just now remembering things long forgotten?
Why did Uncle Edgar tell the young family members such a different version of his actual experiences on December 7, 1941? Will Kelly’s key interview with the American Legion Post commander just confuse her more… or help pull all these threads together?
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Kelly has just begun interviews for her special newspaper section in honor of upcoming Veterans Day, but she struggles to understand some of the larger issues of the war experience. Her boyfriend Mitch has a few insights, but he was never in combat.
Out of the blue, Kelly begins having flashbacks to heart-warming experiences with her beloved Uncle Edgar, a World War II veteran of the Pearl Harbor attack… but he’s been dead almost twenty years. Kelly also believes she’s hearing messages from her deceased Aunt Mildred, who took her in after Kelly’s parents died.
Kelly is aware that siblings Mildred and Edgar (very close in age) were rumored to have had a nearly telepathic connection with each other, and she knows her mother (born considerably later than Kelly’s aunt and uncle) had some extrasensory perception. But did Kelly inherit any of those special senses?
Are Uncle Edgar and Aunt Mildred truly reaching back from beyond to help Kelly understand these complex issues? Or is Kelly just now remembering things long forgotten?
Why did Uncle Edgar tell the young family members such a different version of his actual experiences on December 7, 1941? Will Kelly’s key interview with the American Legion Post commander just confuse her more… or help pull all these threads together?
Barnes and Noble
Apple
Amazon
Smashwords
BookStrand
Kobo
Goodreads
Rescued By That New Guy in Town
comedic romance
When Kris awakens in a costume, behind wooden bars inside a pitch-black community center, her only available rescuer is the hung-over new guy in town (who’s dressed as a pirate). Problem is: she’s sworn-off men, especially buccaneers.
Badly burned four years ago by a player who ruined her financially, Kris Prima’s heart is locked down as tightly as her lifestyle is confined by those massive debts. When first assisted by recent newcomer Ryan Hazzard, Kris is resentful, slightly afraid, and determined never again to trust men. But when court-ordered community service brings them together once more, she be-gins to appreciate Ryan’s charm, good looks, and capable manner.
With all the rumors and assumptions which followed Ryan from a large metropolitan area, how can small-town Kris even begin to trust him? And why won’t he explain any of those situations? Through her efforts to learn Ryan’s mysterious past, they share further experiences: many comedic, one quite dangerous, and others very tender. Despite several misunderstandings, Kris’s bottled-up feelings slowly re-awaken and she finally learns enough about Ryan to know she wants him in her life somehow. Kris regains her ability to trust a man and her heart is freed from its jail.
Badly burned four years ago by a player who ruined her financially, Kris Prima’s heart is locked down as tightly as her lifestyle is confined by those massive debts. When first assisted by recent newcomer Ryan Hazzard, Kris is resentful, slightly afraid, and determined never again to trust men. But when court-ordered community service brings them together once more, she be-gins to appreciate Ryan’s charm, good looks, and capable manner.
With all the rumors and assumptions which followed Ryan from a large metropolitan area, how can small-town Kris even begin to trust him? And why won’t he explain any of those situations? Through her efforts to learn Ryan’s mysterious past, they share further experiences: many comedic, one quite dangerous, and others very tender. Despite several misunderstandings, Kris’s bottled-up feelings slowly re-awaken and she finally learns enough about Ryan to know she wants him in her life somehow. Kris regains her ability to trust a man and her heart is freed from its jail.
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The Overnighter’s Secrets
romantic suspense
When Beth left suddenly, it broke two hearts ... but she’d had no choice. Shane, a rugged, ex-Airborne biker, handled it badly ... but so had she. Three years later and 2000 miles away, she desperately needs her ex-lover’s protection from a violent menace with bad history who’ll do anything to reclaim a mysterious suitcase Beth possesses.
Long before Shane acquired that overnighter, a silent movie actress kept secrets there ... and now several lives are in jeopardy. An ambitious female state senate candidate hires a ruthless investigator to eliminate potential campaign problems like her dark family secret — a bizarre 1889 murder.
Is Beth’s terrifying ordeal simply because she unwittingly possesses the overnighter’s secrets? Or is it due to the meth-fueled dumpster-diver’s unfinished business?
Shane will likely return to California after he resolves this Tennessee situation ... so Beth struggles to resist her reawakened feelings. But before she can sort out their renewed relationship ... Beth is kidnapped! To rescue her Shane enters an obvious trap in a dilapidated hotel. Only with Beth’s help can both survive the violent struggle against her kidnappers.
Long before Shane acquired that overnighter, a silent movie actress kept secrets there ... and now several lives are in jeopardy. An ambitious female state senate candidate hires a ruthless investigator to eliminate potential campaign problems like her dark family secret — a bizarre 1889 murder.
Is Beth’s terrifying ordeal simply because she unwittingly possesses the overnighter’s secrets? Or is it due to the meth-fueled dumpster-diver’s unfinished business?
Shane will likely return to California after he resolves this Tennessee situation ... so Beth struggles to resist her reawakened feelings. But before she can sort out their renewed relationship ... Beth is kidnapped! To rescue her Shane enters an obvious trap in a dilapidated hotel. Only with Beth’s help can both survive the violent struggle against her kidnappers.
Vivian Roycroft's books
Whispers on the Hampstead Road
When the Honorable Deborah Kringle receives an unsigned love letter, she can’t wait to share the news with her best friend, George Anson. George might not be the most educated of her set — no one would ever ask him to parse Greek or debate politics — but she no longer believes he’s the good-natured buffoon everyone else says he is. Deborah knows he’s the perfect person to help her uncover the mystery of who wrote her delicious letter… if she can just figure out why he’s so reluctant to help.
George Anson fell in love with Deborah at last year’s Christmas Eve ball, when she wore a scandalous red gown and let him open the dancing with her as his partner. Now they’re friends and he can’t bear to risk that by trying to court her. Unfortunately, he already knows who wrote that stupid love letter, and if she finds out, with or without his help, everything will change between them… and she might turn her back and walk away.
Nothing is as it seems when the Scoundrel of Mayfair, the Duke of Cumberland (and some say a foreign prince) tries a clever matchmaking scheme between the two friends. How can he change their friendship into something more tender… without entangling himself in the process?
George Anson fell in love with Deborah at last year’s Christmas Eve ball, when she wore a scandalous red gown and let him open the dancing with her as his partner. Now they’re friends and he can’t bear to risk that by trying to court her. Unfortunately, he already knows who wrote that stupid love letter, and if she finds out, with or without his help, everything will change between them… and she might turn her back and walk away.
Nothing is as it seems when the Scoundrel of Mayfair, the Duke of Cumberland (and some say a foreign prince) tries a clever matchmaking scheme between the two friends. How can he change their friendship into something more tender… without entangling himself in the process?
Love, Unmasked
Whenever
Fidelity Scott hears a certain
gentleman’s name, she turns into a mindless, quivering puddle of drool.
Well, in all honesty, every young lady does. Sylvestre Brightenburg is that
bewitching. He leaves no room for any other man in Fidelity’s thoughts, not
even close family friend John Greysteil, whose excellent manners and handsome
face perhaps don’t get the attention they deserve.
But when Fidelity realizes everyone in Mayfair knows of her name-induced drooling, she’s mortified to her bones. Her reputation’s only hope is for her to escape to the country, even though that will leave her two young cousins without a chaperone next season. But before she leaves, Grey convinces Fidelity to attend one more masked ball. Armed with a new and sensuous gown, a full-face mask, and complete anonymity, she’s determined to make some scandalous memories to sustain her for the rest of her Brightenburg-less life.
But Grey has other plans for her last evening in town, plans that don’t include the blistering rake all the ladies are sighing over. How can he convince Fidelity she’s making a terrible mistake? How can he win her heart in the crush of a winter masked ball?
But when Fidelity realizes everyone in Mayfair knows of her name-induced drooling, she’s mortified to her bones. Her reputation’s only hope is for her to escape to the country, even though that will leave her two young cousins without a chaperone next season. But before she leaves, Grey convinces Fidelity to attend one more masked ball. Armed with a new and sensuous gown, a full-face mask, and complete anonymity, she’s determined to make some scandalous memories to sustain her for the rest of her Brightenburg-less life.
But Grey has other plans for her last evening in town, plans that don’t include the blistering rake all the ladies are sighing over. How can he convince Fidelity she’s making a terrible mistake? How can he win her heart in the crush of a winter masked ball?
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Scandal on
Half Moon Street
All the Honorable Anne Kirkhoven wants is to be wrapped in the arms of the man she loves, Frederick Shaw, Esquire, barrister, solicitor, writer of the best Gothic romance novels in England, and surely a future Member of Parliament. But despite Frederick’s many perfections, Anne’s mama has forbidden her to speak with him, much less marry him, and until Anne attains her majority, all they can do is wait.
But now the most notorious duke in the ton, Ernst Anton Oldenburg, the First Duke of Cumberland (and some say a foreign prince), is making a public point of assessing her… attributes, sending shivers to portions of her anatomy she’d rather not name. Who’s the right man? And will her reputation survive the Duke’s assault long enough for her to find out?
But now the most notorious duke in the ton, Ernst Anton Oldenburg, the First Duke of Cumberland (and some say a foreign prince), is making a public point of assessing her… attributes, sending shivers to portions of her anatomy she’d rather not name. Who’s the right man? And will her reputation survive the Duke’s assault long enough for her to find out?
Mischief on Albemarle
Miss Beryl Wentworth is silently, desperately in love with her childhood friend, Finian Fitzwilliam, who unfortunately still treats her as if willing to shove her into the nearest mud puddle. It's infuriating now that she at least has grown up, leading to uproarious and horribly public arguments between them, and it seems he'll never treat her as a woman grown, never look at her that way... until a quite charming rake asks her for the first two dances at the Hanover Square assembly room. Dare she hope that His Grace, Ernst Anton Oldenburg, the Duke of Cumberland (and some say a foreign prince) is serious, even if Fitz is not?
Fitz can't believe it. The man's a rake, he ruined Anne Kirkhoven only weeks ago, and now Beryl agrees to dance with the villain? Strong-willed she might be, but there must be something Fitz can do to extricate her from that ducal clutch. Even if it means interrupting them behind the shrubbery in Hyde Park.
How can the Scoundrel of Mayfair bring two feuding hearts together without setting off the final argument that tears them apart forever?
Fitz can't believe it. The man's a rake, he ruined Anne Kirkhoven only weeks ago, and now Beryl agrees to dance with the villain? Strong-willed she might be, but there must be something Fitz can do to extricate her from that ducal clutch. Even if it means interrupting them behind the shrubbery in Hyde Park.
How can the Scoundrel of Mayfair bring two feuding hearts together without setting off the final argument that tears them apart forever?
Shenanigans in Berkeley Square
The right man doesn’t know she’s alive. The wrong man’s out to change that.
Coralie Busche can only admire Kenneth Rainier from afar. He’s a most handsome philosopher of the Romantic movement and for months she’s eavesdropped on his conversations at the coffee house. If only she had the courage to join his debates… and perhaps more. Her feminine education of singing and sewing could be of no interest to such a man — but then that vexing rake, the Duke of Cumberland, brings her to Rainier’s attention and she can’t hide any longer.
Rainier has lived with his mercenary sisters for too long to suffer any illusions about women. They value money, position, and precedence, not life’s important things such as poetry or painting, and only very lucky men find true love. But when he notices Cumberland staring at a dark-eyed beauty hiding in the coffee house’s corner, Rainier is smitten. Perhaps there’s a chance he could be one of those lucky men.
Cinderella meets Romeo and Juliet with a gorgeous gown, an unusual ducal matchmaker with motives of his own, and two cynical, jealous sisters. With All Hallow’s Eve approaching, tempers flaring, and a duelist’s challenge thrown down, how can His Grace, the Scoundrel of Mayfair, teach some loving sense to two soaring sensibilities?
Coralie Busche can only admire Kenneth Rainier from afar. He’s a most handsome philosopher of the Romantic movement and for months she’s eavesdropped on his conversations at the coffee house. If only she had the courage to join his debates… and perhaps more. Her feminine education of singing and sewing could be of no interest to such a man — but then that vexing rake, the Duke of Cumberland, brings her to Rainier’s attention and she can’t hide any longer.
Rainier has lived with his mercenary sisters for too long to suffer any illusions about women. They value money, position, and precedence, not life’s important things such as poetry or painting, and only very lucky men find true love. But when he notices Cumberland staring at a dark-eyed beauty hiding in the coffee house’s corner, Rainier is smitten. Perhaps there’s a chance he could be one of those lucky men.
Cinderella meets Romeo and Juliet with a gorgeous gown, an unusual ducal matchmaker with motives of his own, and two cynical, jealous sisters. With All Hallow’s Eve approaching, tempers flaring, and a duelist’s challenge thrown down, how can His Grace, the Scoundrel of Mayfair, teach some loving sense to two soaring sensibilities?
A Different
Sort of Perfect
Lady Clara Huckabee stows away by accident. But she’s not sorry to sail aboard HMS Topaze, leaving England behind. It’s a chance to search for her charming French suitor from the Amiens peace, the man she’s determined to marry despite the war and her dominating uncle’s disapproval. All she has to do is convince the Topaze’s handsome captain to see things her way, and everything will be perfect.
A French frigate has evaded the Royal Navy blockade of Brest. Captain Alexander Fleming sails the smaller, elderly frigate Topaze in pursuit, but what he’s supposed to do with a silly stowaway debutante for seven thousand miles wasn’t covered in his orders. In the doldrums, during a South Atlantic storm, and with French t’gallants spiking the horizon, his first responsibility is always to his ship, his crew, his assignment… not his growing attachment for the woman doubling as his captain’s clerk. Perfect; just perfect.
Before disaster strikes, before the cannons open fire, will Lady Clara and Fleming learn that the perfection they longed for isn’t the one they really want?
A French frigate has evaded the Royal Navy blockade of Brest. Captain Alexander Fleming sails the smaller, elderly frigate Topaze in pursuit, but what he’s supposed to do with a silly stowaway debutante for seven thousand miles wasn’t covered in his orders. In the doldrums, during a South Atlantic storm, and with French t’gallants spiking the horizon, his first responsibility is always to his ship, his crew, his assignment… not his growing attachment for the woman doubling as his captain’s clerk. Perfect; just perfect.
Before disaster strikes, before the cannons open fire, will Lady Clara and Fleming learn that the perfection they longed for isn’t the one they really want?
The Chronicle Years
For a decade, between the late 1970s and the equally late
1980s, I was honored to publish several brief articles in the excellent
equestrian magazine, The Chronicle of the Horse. Their superb editors also
accepted, albeit with what reluctance they were too generous to admit, a number
of my scribbled poems, more properly described as doggerel. This ebook is a
compilation of those works.
In addition to thirteen poems and three short articles — "The Importance of Engagement," "Warm Up, Cool Down," and "Showing a Horse on the Triangle" — this ebook also includes two samples of my fiction, one from a Regency romance and the other from a World War II mystery~adventure, both showcasing these magnificent animals we love. Hopefully you’ll enjoy this offering, and if you don’t, blame me, not the Chronicle. As I said, they're generous people.
In addition to thirteen poems and three short articles — "The Importance of Engagement," "Warm Up, Cool Down," and "Showing a Horse on the Triangle" — this ebook also includes two samples of my fiction, one from a Regency romance and the other from a World War II mystery~adventure, both showcasing these magnificent animals we love. Hopefully you’ll enjoy this offering, and if you don’t, blame me, not the Chronicle. As I said, they're generous people.
Flying Finish
Dixie Toliver’s living her dream. She’s an apprentice jockey
and riding winners for the stable where her father is an assistant trainer. When
head trainer Jake gives her the Futurity ride on Bow Wave, a super two-year-old
Thoroughbred colt, she should be over the moon.
But Shane, the jockey whose kisses make her knees tremble, is also riding in the Futurity. He and his father need to win, or they’ll sink further into bankruptcy. How can Dixie balance her boyfriend’s desperation against her own competitive drive?
But Shane, the jockey whose kisses make her knees tremble, is also riding in the Futurity. He and his father need to win, or they’ll sink further into bankruptcy. How can Dixie balance her boyfriend’s desperation against her own competitive drive?
Second Place Winner
teen-YA adventure-romance
coming soon
coming soon
Love And Diamonds is a collection of romantic love stories for Valentine's Day by fifteen Astraea Press Authors. So sit back, relax and fall in love all over again.
Here is a listing of our contributing authors in alphabetical order: Kathy Bosman, Liz Botts, Kristine Cheney, Sherry Gloag, Jennifer Gravely, Heather Gray, Patricia Kiyono, Zanna Mackenzie, Kelly Martin, Brenda Maxfield, Amy Mullen, Vivian Roycraft, J. L. Salter, E. A. West and Nicole Zoltack. |
Amazon exclusive
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