Book Releases

Holding On (Colorado High Country #6) —
The Colorado High Country series returns with Conrad and Kenzie's story.

A hero barely holding on…

Harrison Conrad returned to Scarlet Springs from Nepal, the sole survivor of a freak accident on Mt. Everest. Shattered and grieving for his friends, he vows never to climb again and retreats into a bottle of whiskey—until Kenzie Morgan shows up at his door with a tiny puppy asking for his help. He’s the last person in the world she should ask to foster this little furball. He’s barely capable of managing his own life right now, let alone caring for a helpless, adorable, fluffy puppy. But Conrad has always had a thing for Kenzie with her bright smile and sweet curves. One look into her pleading blue eyes, and he can’t say no.

The woman who won’t let him fall…

Kenzie Morgan’s life went to the dogs years ago. A successful search dog trainer and kennel owner, she gets her fill of adventure volunteering for the Rocky Mountain Search & Rescue Team. The only thing missing from her busy life is love. It’s not easy finding Mr. Right in a small mountain town, especially when she’s unwilling to date climbers. She long ago swore never again to fall for a guy who might one day leave her for a rock. When Conrad returns from a climbing trip haunted by the catastrophe that killed his best friend, Kenzie can see he’s hurting and wants to help. She just might have the perfect way to bring him back to the world of the living. But friendship quickly turns into something more—and now she’s risking her heart to heal his.

In ebook and soon in print!


About Me

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I grew up in Colorado at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, then lived in Denmark and traveled throughout Europe before coming back to Colorado. I have two adult sons, whom I cherish. I started my writing career as a columnist and investigative reporter and eventually became the first woman editor of two different papers. Along the way, my team and I won numerous state and several national awards, including the National Journalism Award for Public Service. In 2011, I was awarded the Keeper of the Flame Lifetime Achievement Award for Journalism. Now I write historical romance and contemporary romantic suspense.

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Seductive Musings

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Introducing Julieanne Reeves and RAZING KAYNE



I’m turning my blog over to Julieanne Reeves, a talented new writer whose debut novel, RAZING KAYNE, is about to be released. I’ve gotten to know Julieanne through the Facebook I-Team group, and I was impressed by some of the stories she shared about her life. A person who has lived through a lot generally has a lot of material to draw on for fiction. 

Without further ado, I give you Julieanne.

* * *

It’s almost here; launch day for RAZING KAYNE. I’m about to join the ranks of published authors. I’m excited and quite frankly scared. Publishing my book, sending it out into the world feels a lot like the first day I had to put my children in daycare. I bawled having to leave them that day. They, however, barely spared a wave goodbye; they were too excited to meet and play with their new friends.

The road to publication:
I took a creative writing class in high school in lieu of a traditional English course, and discovered that while I struggled with the mechanics of writing — grammar and punctuation — I flat out loved getting all the thoughts and emotions that swirled inside my head onto paper. So I wrote. For year and years after that class I continued to put stories on paper — well computer — that no one would ever see.

Not even my family or closest friends knew I wrote.

Then a few years ago I ended up spending weeks in the hospital with a systemic staph infection from a spider bite that went south on me. (Sorry Pamela, I know I used the S word, but that is what bit me) I of course had waited until my temp was nearly 105* F before I went to the hospital, which made recovering that much worse.

Laying there, miserable and sick, missing my kids like crazy, I started making a list of all the things I was going to do when I got out of the hospital. Most of that list involved my children and making special memories. But the one that was wholly just for me was a goal to be published before I turned 40. As of Tuesday I will have met that goal with months to spare. I’m still working on those goals with my children. They’re going to take a lifetime to complete.

It was also during that time in the hospital that RAZING KAYNE. That high school creative writing teacher drilled into us that you should “write what you know and do it from the heart.” Up to that point my writing has been fantasy and paranormal and I’d never dared share it with anyone. Honestly it was crap.

Searching for inspiration:
I took a long look at myself. I was a 30-something year old adult, I’d worked for years in law enforcement as a police/fire/911 dispatcher who’d been trained and certified in hostage negotiation and suicide intervention. Working in a small agency allowed me the opportunity to work closely with the Special Response Team, Narcotics Task Force officers and Property and Person’s detectives.
Heck, I’d even applied and been accepted to test for the police academy. I passed the testing though never went through the academy. Experiences I never would have had working in a big agency.

As far as my personal life, I’d adopted two children from foster care as a single mother. Up until going into the hospital I had been a full time stay at home foster mom. This meant that I usually had four kids in the house at any given time. Between special education issues, counseling and doctor’s appointments, and life in general I stayed busy. But, oh, how rewarding — and heartbreaking — it was.

Looking at all my experience — personal and professional — and thinking through the cases I’d been involved with, and remembering the ones I’d heard about, I realized I had a treasure trove of inspiration. So, I did what that creative writing teacher taught me; I wrote what I knew and did it from the heart. I spent three weeks in the hospital and several more at home on IV antibiotics, and by the time I was done, so was my rough draft of RAZING KAYNE.

Publication:
It would take two more years and lots of encouragement from my online friends before I finally got up the nerve to publish it.

Now that moment is here, and I’m on a roller coaster of emotions. I think the only thing that makes this easier is that I know I haven’t seen the last of Kayne and Jessica and their wonderful children. In Razing Kayne we met some awesome supporting Heroes: Officer Nick Astenbeck, Detectives Trace St.Moritz and Rafe Chatham, Dr. Mark Oberly, and Fire-medic Joe Sutton. They will be getting their own stories over the next couple years. Payson, Arizona is a small town in real life and in fiction so I know we’ll be seeing the whole gang around from time to time.

I hope you enjoy RAZING KAYNE as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Blurb:
For two years, State Trooper Kayne Dobrescu has wanted only one thing: to understand why his wife inexplicably killed their children and then herself. Memories haunt his days and lay siege to his nights, leaving him questioning his reasons for living.

Jessica Hallstatt became a window and single mother the night her firefighter husband died in a fiery explosion at an accident scene. While her husband may have died a hero, he left Jessica with deep emotional scars that haven’t begun to heal.


When Kayne accepted a transfer to the mountain town of Payson, Arizona, he never expected to meet anyone like Jessica. From the moment he pulled her over for speeding, he was drawn in by her whiskey-colored eyes and sassy dimple. He knows she and her children are a forever type package, and he’s vowed never to give anyone the power to destroy him again. Yet fate has other ideas, throwing Kayne and Jessica together in a fight against an unknown enemy to save the life of a child — and hopefully one another.


Release date: 
Nov. 20. (Paperback through Amazon.com, E-book available through all major distributors. Pre-order NOT available.)

Leave a comment below and be entered to win an e-copy of RAZING KAYNE. One lucky winner – worldwide – will be randomly drawn on or about Friday, Nov. 23, 2012. Winner will be announced in the comments so please be sure to check back. 

Excerpt:
Want to read an excerpt? Go to http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/3252957-razing-kayne-uncorrected-excerpt for the Prologue and first two chapters.

Pamela thanks for hosting me, and to all her wonderful readers, thanks for taking the time to stop by. I hope you enjoy the upcoming holiday weekend. 

Julieanne Reeves

16 comments:

Pat F said...

Wow, no wonder you hate spiders!!! After reading and reviewing your book, I so wanted to get to know you, and lucky for me, I did! It's been such fun ( at least for your loyal fans) to watch you go thought the process of getting this book released.
I'm glad I'll be around to watch your success too!
Thanks Julianne.... Can't wait for the rest of the stories from Payson!

Unknown said...

Congratulations, Julieanne! You love this story and it shows. Every rewrite, every criticism, every editor, beta read and sleepless night has been worth it. Enjoy this. You've earned it.

Steph99 said...

You know, I was gonna say the same thing as Pat about the spiders! Wow, what a nightmare! Although it was awful, it lead you to make positive changes in your life, and to achieve your dream of publishing. So at least some good came of it. Your book is awesome, and I can't wait to see what else you have for us. :)

And thanks for hosting Pamela!

Fedora said...

Thanks for the intro to yourself and your debut, Julieanne! Best wishes for much future success, and I look forward to adding Razing Kayne to my TBR!

Talk about putting a postitive spin on a sucky situation! Nice job, Julieanne! Cant wait to read your story!! Congratulations to you!!

Tonya said...

Congratulations, Julieanne! May Razing Kayne be the first on your Author's shelf. Can't wait to read it.

Congratulations Julieanne! I'm so excited for you. And since I was lucky and have already read RAZING KAYNE I can tell the rest of yall to make sure you don't pass this one up. It's a great story & Julieanne has an amazing voice. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

Anonymous said...

What a treat to watch a new author unfold! I put your release date on my calendar so I'm sure to grab Razing Kayne when it's available- even if I'm lucky enough to win a copy! Sue

2shay said...

Great background! Thanks for sharing all those details of your life. I have read Razing Kayne and want everyone to know what a great story you have written. This book is a must read and I am impatiently waiting for the next adventure from the wonderful characters in Payson.

Thank you, Pamela.

No wonder you shot that spider!
Kayne is going to help keep my sanity this week.
By the first chapter I can tell this is going to be a winner!

Anne said...

I know you will be HUGE success because your release date is very lucky day. My birthday- seriously. All kidding aside the story sounds like just what I like to read. Good luck and congratulations!

Congratulations on your first release, Julieanne, wishing you many sales and more books in your future.

I hate spiders too. Had a bite once, and my leg swelled up and turned white, luckily, I didn't go through what you went through.

I look forward to reading this book. I read the prologue and first chapter on Goodreads and your voice captivated me.

Thank you for the wonderful posts! I'm so excited to share this story with the world. I figure I have about 48 hours to bask in the glow of accomplishment before I have to dig in and get NICK OF TIME finished.

krisgils33 said...

really, really, really looking forward to this!!!

I want to thank everyone for stopping by and posting.Pamela has an exciting holiday blog about to post, so, we're going to do the prize giveaway early. So... drum roll please.

I've entered random numbers into my hand-dandy random number picker, and our winner is: krisgils33

IF you'll email me at authorjulieannereeves@gmail.com Ill get you set up with that prize.

Unknown said...

EEK! I missed out!!! Well, I wanted to say Congrats to you anyway and that I am excited for you on your new adventure!!! Enjoy this wonderful time in your life! I look forward to checking your book out, it sounds great! Good luck to you!
lennifer@telus.net

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"I am an artist. I am here to live out loud."
—Emile Zola

"I am tomorrow, or some future day, what I establish today. I am today what I established yesterday or some previous day."
—James Joyce

"Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery."
—Jane Austen

"Writers are those for whom writing is more difficult that it is for others."
—Ernest Hemingway

"When I write, I feel like an armless, legless man with a crayon in his mouth."
—Kurt Vonnegut

"The ability of writers to imagine what is not the self, to familiarize the strange and mystify the familiar is the test of their power."
—Toni Morrison

"No tears in the author, no tears in the reader."
—Robert Frost.

"I'm a writer. I give the truth scope."
—the character of Chaucer in
A Knight's Tale