New Deep Blue Novella Releases

By Kristy McCaffrey

When shark researcher Grace Mann accompanies her boyfriend, underwater filmmaker Alec Galloway, to Western Australia for a commercial shoot with great whites, she envisions relaxing days in the sun and smoldering nights between the sheets. But as Alec’s mood becomes increasingly distant, Grace worries the chemistry they shared—so effortless in the beginning—was starting to fizzle. Is his reticence related to her, or something else? And can she find a way to help him get the footage he needs before his behavior places his life in danger?

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(Please note: This novella was previously accessible only to Kristy's newsletter subscribers, but is now available for purchase. If you would like a free download, sign-up here for the newsletter.)

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“Bull shark,” Grace confirmed. “And a big one by the look of it.”

Dr. Grace Mann has joined her boyfriend, underwater filmmaker Alec Galloway, on a trip to the French island of Réunion. Alec and his team—Dan “Double D” Donovan and Stephie Kim—have come to document the capture and relocation of mature bull sharks from the western coastline.

For over ten years, shark attacks have terrorized the people of Réunion, essentially ruining the diving and surfing industry. Angry exchanges between locals who want the sharks culled and a government trying to preserve the ecology of the ocean environment have failed to resolve the issue.

The relocation program is a last-ditch effort to bring a peaceful coexistence between humans and sharks, but Grace’s resolve will be tested as she enters the water with these tenacious predators. Bull sharks didn’t earn their name because they were polite.

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Excerpt from Deep Blue: Réunion Island

Movement caught her eye, and she barely had a chance to shine the light of her camera toward it when a blunt nose slammed into her, shoving her violently through the water. The beady eye, a black slit against white, watched her, then its gills slid past in a flurry as the fish flicked and turned away, the dislodged camera sinking to the sea floor. Stunned, Grace struggled to keep her regulator in her mouth as the dark abyss swallowed up the equipment in the last bit of light.

She should swim down and retrieve it, but every fiber in her screamed to get out of the water. The shark had every advantage in the dark. Kicking her fins, she headed to the boat. When her head broke the surface, she spit the regulator out.

“Stephie! Get out of the water!”

The men were struggling with the captured shark and their shouts drowned out her voice. Stephie swam closer, struggling to keep her head out of the water, her heavy air tank weighing her down. A fin crested the surface behind her.

Grace ducked under, her mask still on, and pushed Stephie aside, extending her arm and shoving hard when the shark came close. The bull turned and her hand scraped on its rough skin as it bolted away.

Whipping her head above water, Grace sucked in a breath.

“You go,” Grace gasped to Stephie, who was still behind her. “I’ll watch your back.”

Stephie moved quickly to the ladder hanging off the boat, and Grace followed, her gaze continuously scanning the surroundings. A pressure wave pushed into her. She put her face in the water just in time to see a large shadow pass below.

The goddamned shark was beneath her.

Without looking up, she kept moving to where she thought the ladder was. The shadow turned, moving upward, revealing the unmistakable outline of a shark. The aggressive beast was coming straight for her. She readied herself to redirect with her hand, but it would meet her feet first. Did she have enough strength to kick it? Grace really didn’t want it to snag one of her flippers.

Pumping her arms, Grace prayed the boat was behind her.

With the shark almost upon her, she was suddenly yanked from the water. She flew onto the back deck of the boat as the shark slapped the surface with its caudal fin, turned sharply, and splashed her as it spun away.

“What the hell was that?” Alec said in her ear.

With relief, she leaned back into him. “Mother Nature’s perfect creation.”

Copyright © 2019 K. McCaffrey LLC

Pathway Series Reading Order:

Deep Blue

Deep Blue: Australia (A Pathway Novella)

Deep Blue: Réunion Island (A Pathway Novella)

Cold Horizon

Cold Horizon: Telluride (A Pathway Novella)

Book Review: Recursion by Blake Crouch

Review by Kristy McCaffrey

Recursion

by

Blake Crouch

Neuroscientist Helena Smith is trying to create a device that will map memories in the hope of preserving parts of her mother before the woman slides completely into dementia. But Helena’s team accidentally stumbles onto something far more amazing, and terrifying, during her research. Soon pockets of people are experiencing false memories of lives they’ve never lived but are so vivid that it leads many to suicide. This is labeled a ‘syndrome’ and doctors struggle to identify the cause.

Helena’s story parallels that of Barry Sutton, a New York City detective investigating accounts of False Memory Syndrome. He’s also living with the heartbreak of losing his daughter in a car accident eleven years prior. Eventually, Barry and Helena join forces in a wildly inventive plot that will keep you guessing until the end. I don’t want to say too much more because it would spoil the story, but Crouch expertly weaves together the power of human consciousness and the science behind time-travel and multiverses, while challenging the very fabric of reality. The past, present, and future will never look the same again.

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Polish Climber Wanda Rutkiewicz and a Giveaway

By Kristy McCaffrey

Polish climber Wanda Rutkiewicz was the first woman to climb K2—the second highest mountain in the world—in 1986, which she accomplished without the use of supplemental oxygen. Unfortunately, that same summer, thirteen climbers died on K2.

Wanda was born in 1943 in Lithuania, but her family moved to Poland after World War II. As a young woman, she earned an electrical engineering degree from the Wroclaw University of Technology.

Wanda Rutkiewicz

Her first major expedition was to the Pamir Mountains in Central Asia, which she found to be an unpleasant experience due to difficult relationships with the other male climbers. After that, she led her own trips, which included a number of all-female expeditions. She was known for her blunt leadership style.

In 1978, she became the third woman and first Polish climber and first European woman to climb Mount Everest.

Her goal was to become the first woman to summit all fourteen 8000-meter peaks. She reached nine, and possibly ten, although she disappeared in 1992 on Kangchenjunga (the third highest mountain), so her summit was in question. During that climb, her partner, Carlos Carsolio, and Wanda started for the summit at 3:30 a.m. on May 12, 1992, from Camp Four at 7950 meters. After climbing for 12 hours in deep snow, Carlos reached the top. As he was descending, he met Wanda. She decided to remain and bivouac (camp in the open—never recommended at such a high altitude and harsh environment) and she would start for the top the following day. She had no food, no utensils for cooking, and no equipment to bivouac. No one ever saw her again, and her body has never been found.

Wanda Rutkiewicz

Rutkiewicz once said, “I never seek death, but I don’t mind the idea of dying in the mountains. It would be an easy death for me. After all that I’ve experienced, I’m familiar with it. And most of my friends are there in the mountains, waiting for me.”

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(U.S. addresses only. If winner is international, then an ebook will be substituted.)

“Packed with action, adventure, and suspense at every turn!” ~ Ann Charles, USA Today Bestselling Author

“The characters are believable, realistic and unpredictable … a thrilling read!” ~ Vicki, reader

Ambition and courage at the top of the world. Ty Galloway has assembled a small team to conquer K2 and welcomes esteemed climber Lindsey Coulson. But K2 is a force unto itself, as is Lindsey. Both will test his limits. Both will test his heart.

Excerpt from COLD HORIZON

That night, Ty bunked in a tent with Ditch at Camp One, while Lindsey was alone next door. Time to change that.

Ty pulled the hood of his jacket onto his head. “I’m going to ask Lindsey to join us.”

“It would be the neighborly thing to do,” Ditch said as he sorted through packets of freeze-dried food.

“Try to clean up the place, would you?” Ty scooted to the front of the tent and unzipped the doorway, then crawled out into the blustery cold and braced himself against the wind. As night descended, an eerie isolation had encompassed them.

“Lindsey,” Ty yelled. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah, help yourself,” came her muffled response.

He unzipped the opening of her tent and got himself inside as quickly as he could, securing the entrance behind him. He remained in the vestibule, so he wouldn’t get snow from his boots all over her tent. He was also careful not to bump into the burner hanging from the tent ceiling that she was using to melt snow. It was easy to have a mishap in a very flammable tent.

“How are you doing?” he asked.

Sitting atop her sleeping bag, she rubbed her wool-clad feet. “I’m a little tired and sore, but otherwise I feel good.”

“You sound surprised.”

She jammed her fingers into her ponytail and scratched her head. “I guess I was a little worried. You never really know how you’ll do until you’re on the mountain doing it.” She hugged her knees toward her chest.

“Wanna share a candy bar for dinner?” He pulled off his gloves and retrieved the treat from his coat pocket.

“Maybe we should split it three ways. Ditch might be hungry.”

“He’s already eaten. He had half a Pop-Tart.”

Ty unwrapped the candy bar, twisted it in half—exposing peanuts resting in a hardened nougat center—and handed a piece to her.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome to hang out in our spacious accommodations,” Ty said. “Ditch likes to play Hearts, and it’s no fun with two.”

She shut off the stove and donned her mitten to carefully remove the pan filled with hot water. “Well, as you can see, I am quite busy.” Holding her water bottle between her feet, she carefully poured the liquid into it.

“If you join us then at least we’ll have an excuse to say no to Elena.”

Lindsey’s head snapped up. “Did she try to get in your tent?”

Regretting his words, Ty said, “No, sorry. I was just kidding.” But he thought he detected a tinge of jealousy in her voice, and he liked it. He couldn’t tell if the flush on her cheeks was from the cold or from her sudden outburst, but either way she looked too damned enticing.

“All right, I’m heading back,” he said, conceding defeat in his efforts to be neighborly.

“Wait. I’ll go with you. It’s kind of lonely in here by myself.”

“You could invite Elena over for a slumber party.”

“Bite your tongue.”

Once she secured the lid on her water bottle, she reached past him for her boots, bumping into him. A charged atmosphere settled around them as it became impossible for Ty not to touch her in such a confined space.

Ditch had encouraged Ty to dial it back where Lindsey was concerned, and yet at the same time he had cautioned Ty against ending up old and alone.

Ty released a laugh, easing the tension sparking between him and the woman who was affecting him far more than he’d ever anticipated.

“What’s so funny?” Lindsey asked, zipping her jacket.

“I was thinking about a passage from Alice in Wonderland. ‘It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.’”

Lindsey smiled. “‘We’re all mad here,’” she said, quoting another line from Alice with a gleam in her eye.

Ty leaned close. “‘You must be, or you wouldn’t have come....’”

Copyright © 2019 K. McCaffrey LLC

Cold Horizon is now available at:

Kindle | Nook | Apple | Kobo | Google Play

Christmas in July: A Christmas Cowboy To Keep

Is the heat getting to you? How about escaping to the mountains with a Christmas cowboy?

This collection of long novellas is the perfect summertime escape. Each story is filled with romance, family, and Christmas cheer.

Download it today for only 99 cents!! This collection is also available in Kindle Unlimited.

The weather is cold, the atmosphere is festive, and the cowboys are hot. How do you keep a cowboy at Christmas?

Don’t miss this holiday collection of modern-day cowboys and the women they love, featuring the same USA Today, Amazon Bestselling, and Award-Winning authors from “A Cowboy to Keep.”

CHRISTMAS, LIBERTY, AND THE THREE MINUTE MAN by Carra Copelin

Nashville event planner, Liberty Ann Hart, tries not to fall for a local carpenter, but his charisma is difficult to ignore, especially at Christmas and in the rustic setting of a Texas town called Mistletoe. Daniel Dylan Layman is determined to show the headstrong city woman a country life. Will a Christmas fundraiser spark a lifetime of love?

A CHRISTMAS CAROLE by Andrea Downing

Carrie Matheson is happy to start a new life at the Wyoming ranch she has inherited, but her six-year-old son wants to return to New York. As Christmas approaches and his pleas to Santa receive replies, it’s alarm bells not sleigh bells that start ringing. Tate Schrugge is amused by his new neighbor when she jogs over with some mis-delivered mail, but after she calls him Scrooge, she’s definitely not on his Christmas list. If these two can get together, it might be the Dickens of a romance.

THE PEPPERMINT TREE by Kristy McCaffrey

When an unexpected inheritance draws lawyer Skye Mallory home for the Christmas holidays, she’s surprised by a longing to set down roots in her Colorado hometown. Only one thing stands in her way—a cowboy who broke her heart in high school. Joe Carrigan has returned to the community he left years ago, ready to face his one regret in life—Skye Mallory. But this time, he won’t be so chivalrous.

THE DEVIL’S CHRISTMAS KISS by Devon McKay

Some things never change. Kristen Kelly’s hometown is still Christmas crazy. Her sister, Laney, will always need to be rescued. And Cole Lawson will never stop pestering her. The handsome cowboy has picked right up where they left off, teasing her without mercy. And though her head tells her to run from Cole as fast as she can, her heart has a mind of its own.

SLAY BELLS by Hildie McQueen

Carmen and Jared can’t avoid the sparks that fly between them at first sight. But when a dead body surfaces at the Christmas festival, she becomes a witness and he becomes a suspect. Not exactly the recipe for a perfect match. Can they find love amidst the mayhem and sleigh bells?

THE BEST CHRISTMAS by Hebby Roman

Sofia Rossi and Gar McCulloch meet under challenging circumstances—her estranged son has been admitted to Gar’s ranch rehab-center. Sofia is a successful New York model who had an ill-advised liaison with a wealthy, married member of New York society and lost her son to her ex’s manipulation. Gar is divorced and lost his daughter to a drug overdose. When they bond together to reclaim Sofia’s son, the last thing they expect is to find redemption in each other’s arms, making this their best Christmas… ever.

COUNTING DOWN TO CHRISTMAS by Patti Sherry-Crews

Melody Evans, a professional wedding planner, views happily-ever-after endings with a skeptical eye, but she's never lost her childlike enthusiasm for her favorite holiday—Christmas. To veterinarian rancher Leland Jennings IV, Christmas is just for kids. If he could, he'd skip the whole month of December. But he does believe there’s one woman out there for him, and he's holding out for her. Melody revives Leland's Christmas spirit, and he rekindles her heart.