Welcome to Teaser Tuesday, where I share snippets from new and past releases and works-in-progress and love to con author buddies into doing the same.

Which I have done this week!

More on that in a moment. First is news from the Hein House.

Edits for Serenity’s Song have left the building and will soon be off to the proofreader. It’s always a relief when edits are done because that’s a big chunk of the work done. Then comes getting ready for release but that’s a lot more fun because… new release!

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I’d created something special for newsletter subscribers. I can now reveal that it’s a short Levenham Love Story and it’s gorgeous – sweet, fun and smile-inducing. But free reading access will only be granted to my newsletter team so if you’re not yet a member then I suggest you join ASAP. If you’re already part of the gang, then make sure you open your June news to score your free read.

I’m still cooking my way through 30+ years of recipes torn out from cooking magazines. Success has been hit and miss. The stir-fries I tried last week were nothing to get excited about, which was disappointing. I had hoped to find at least one keeper but nup.

Weekend cooking fared better with this Gourmet Traveller recipe for stout and chocolate puddings (pictured), although it made waaaaay too much. Serves six? More like twelve. And this Sicilian beef ragout recipe from Secret Meat Business chef Adrian Richardson was delicious. We served it with homemade pappardelle but it made an odd pasta sauce. Next time we’ll cut the meat into bigger chunks and cook it as a casserole.

I also made an apple, nutmeg and sour cream pie (pictured), the recipe of which I just happened to come across while browsing my cookbook shelves as I warmed my bum in front of the heater.

Another discovery was an excellent breakfast twirl, which was basically mustard and cheese flavoured bread dough stuffed with prosciutto, semi-dried tomatoes, basil and cheese (pictured right). That made a delicious Sunday morning breakfast indeed, with plenty of leftovers for the freezer.

This bum-warming business is proving very enlightening!

Probably not a sentiment shared by my freezer or waistline.

Speaking of food, my guest today is a cooking nut too and suffering from the same comfort cooking condition as me – perhaps even worse.

I’m delighted to host western, rural, and small-town romance author Ann B Harrison on the blog today. Ann is celebrating the release of her new title Texas Cowboy, book one in her new Wishbone, Texas series (don’t you love that name?).

Here she is to tell you more about it and share a teaser. Because that’s what Teaser Tuesday is all about!

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Hi Cathryn,

Nice to be back on Teaser Tuesday with you. I see you’ve been busy in isolation baking too. I’ve never spent so much time in the kitchen as I have in the last couple of months. Not complaining mind you but I think my body might when I’m finally allowed back at the gym.

One of the things I like to focus on in my stories is the initial meet for my couple. I like to make it different, not so cute. Give it some spice even. That’s what happened in Texas Cowboy, the first book in my new series, Wishbone, Texas.

Cora Hamilton drove across Texas to take up a job at Duke Wilson’s bbq restaurant, had car problems on the way and is running very late. So late, in fact, that she lost the apartment she’d put her name down for. 

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Duke covered all bases in record time before grabbing his keys. He went to the back door, opened it and armed the alarm before pulling it shut behind him. He skipped down the stairs to the parking lot and pulled up short. A dark SUV was parked near his truck. What the heck? He slowed his pace. His muscles tensed, on edge, alert as he approached, each step a whisper on the ground.

If someone was waiting to rob him, they would be shit out of luck. He made it a policy to never carry the days takings. Everything was locked away in the safe for pick up the following day by armored guards. He slid his keys in his back pocket to leave his hands free and approached the darkened vehicle.

A sudden movement in the driver’s seat made him jump back. A woman’s sleepy face appeared at the window. Her eyes locked onto his. She screamed.

Holy crap!

Duke held up his hands, trying to calm her down before things got out of control. She sucked in a breath, her hand on her chest. He indicated that she should open her window and after giving him a wary glance, she let it down a couple of inches, still keeping a wary look on her face.

“Yes?”

He crouched to try and minimize her fear, mindful of the tremor in her voice. Last thing he wanted to do was frighten her more than she already was. “What’re you doing here? I’m about to close up the parking lot. You should move on.”

Defiance flared in her eyes. “Lock it up? You can’t do that.”

“Look, lady. I can do what I like. I own the place and I lock it up at night. Now if you don’t want your vehicle stuck in here until lunchtime tomorrow when I get back, I suggest you go park it somewhere else.”

“Duke Wilson?”

He stared at her hard trying to place the face or the voice. “And you would be?”

A bundle in the back seat moved and he heard the voice of a young boy through the crack in the window. “Mom. I’m cold.”

His stomach dropped. What next? “You have a child in there? Listen, lady, do you need help?”

She wound the window all the way down, a look of resignation on her tired face.  She patted a hand to her hair and looked down at her lap before she spoke. “I’m Cora Hamilton. Your new restaurant manager.”

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A single mom doing it tough? You bet. This book gave me all the feels and you can find it here:

Amazon.com | Amazon.com.au | Amazon.co.uk

My complete book list is here Ann B Harrison.

Thanks for having me, Cathryn.

A pleasure, Ann. I love the premise of this book. It sounds really cool and I wish you all the best with it.

If you’d like to learn more about Ann and her books, please visit her website. You can also connect via Facebook, Instagram and Twitter using @AnnBHarrison. And make sure to follow her on Bookbub to get notifications of more deals and news.

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