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A new release with Celia Yeary Sarah McNeal Meg Mims Agnes Alexander and Karen Mihaljevich

FLY AWAY HEART (a Wilding series book) is now included in this 5 book boxed set of western romance stories, LOVE'S FIRST TOUCH. What a bargain for only 99 cents. All of the stories are sweet romances.
Available now at Amazon.com

Posted by Sarah J. McNeal at 7:42 AM 1 comment: Labels: boxed set, western romance, Wilding


You're Invited to a Facebook Party With Prizes Today Today Victory Tales Press is having an Author's Bash on Facebook. We're giving away prizes from each of the authors and a grand prize of $60. All you have to do is come by and leave a comment to enter. The more comments you make, the more entries you have for prizes.
I'll be kicking off the event at 11:00 AM (EST) or 8:00 AM (PST) and I'll be giving away a digital copy of the new fall anthology, MYTHS, LEGENDS, & MIDNIGHT KISSES in which my story, PENNYTOOK is included. I will also be giving away my 3 novel trilogy LEGENDS OF WINATUKE to another commenter.
So, come on over and join in the fun and enter to win something. A Childhood Adventure by Sarah McNeal
Luthersburg, is the last and only town I remember from the time when we lived in Pennsylvania. Even though my parents were born and raised in Pennsylvania and my sisters and I were all born there, most of my recollection of Pennsylvania is from visits to grandparents except for the village of Luthersburg. We lived in that quaint farming village for less than a year before the weather station, more like a wilderness outpost, closed and Pop moved us to North Carolina. Luthersburg was a quiet little place where nothing exciting happened, but there were plenty of adventures to be had for my sister and I. We were “free range” children in the terms of today’s social speak. I was four and my sister was five. In a time before computers, mobile phones, I Pads, or GPS, and in our family like most of our neighbors, no television, it was a necessary part of growing up to explore the outdoors for adventures. Imagine what a drag it would have been to be fenced in with only a backyard and the house to hold our attention.
Halloween brings to mind one of my sister’s and my adventures into the unknown. Near our property was an old abandoned, two story house. It had long held our interest, but when we discovered no one lived there, we felt free to enter that domain and give it a good look-see. Naturally, the door was unlocked. I’m not certain anyone really bothered locking their doors in that town. Our fascination grew when we discovered that all the furniture and household items had been abandoned along with the house. Dirty windows still allowed a clouded view of our house across the field. The furniture had fallen into disrepair from the time it was left there. I noticed the paint had peeled away from the wooden furniture as we made our way through the rooms to the kitchen in the back of the house. The old, rusting silverware still slept quietly in its dark drawer. I think I stole a butter knife from the drawer just before the sound of footsteps upstairs echoed through the house. Someone was up there!
My sister and I looked at one another with wide-eyed horror. It had to be a monster. What else could possible lurk in an old abandoned house. We made for the door like a couple of rockets. I don’t even remember looking back to see if IT was coming after us. We made a bee-line straight to our house, up the stairs to our room and under our beds. For my part, I don’t recall that we ever told our parents about our adventure or that someone or something must be living in that place. There are some adventures any kid knows not to talk about to their parents—and this was one of those.
Now that I’m an adult, I have enough experience and knowledge to know a little about the darker side of life. When I think about all the horrible things that could have happened to us in that old abandoned house, I shudder. There are all kinds of real monsters in the world, and some of them resemble human beings. Still, in the freedom and innocence of childhood, that old abandoned house was quite an adventure—one we never revisited.

Posted by Sarah J. McNeal at 8:30 AM 1 comment: Labels: abandoned house, adventures, childhood, Halloween


Between the Stories

Now that I've finished my novel and submitted it, and submitted both my short stories, I'm in between work. I don't like this in between feeling, like a trapeze performer who has left the bar of one trapeze, but hasn't grabbed the next bar--just hanging there in midair. . .and no net. Oh, okay, maybe a little net because I have story ideas waiting in the wings, but no outline or roughed out idea yet.
I saw this quote once that is a little scary, but somewhat true: "A non-writing writer is a monster courting insanity." (Franz Kafka) I feel at odds with myself and adrift without a compass when I'm between stories. I'd rather be in my procrastinating mode than to be like this. Well, the only solution is to get a story on the drafting board, because nobody wants to see an insane monster on the loose. Of course, it is Halloween, so maybe I'll fit into the scenery.
So, if you see a glimpse of something lurking in the shadows, don't be afraid; it's just me attempting to grab that next bar.

My new releases: A Terrorized Town…A Killer Beast…And Deliverance

When Claire Beau asks Joey to help her injured wolf, and begs his discretion, he begins to suspect he has found the Beast of Hazard—and its beautiful mistress. But as he walks through the woods after dark, something more ominous than any wolf stalks him from the shadows.
Buy Links: AMAZON  Smashwords

My novel, HOME FOR THE HEART, has been submitted to Prairie Rose Publications. It must be contracted, edited and then a cover will be created for it. I look forward to all of those processes.

Lucille Thoroughgood is a social worker for orphan children. She is known to the town’s folk as dependable, logical, determined, and…well, stubborn. But Lucille has a secret affection for the determined bachelor, Hank Wilding.
Hank Wilding loved hard and lost. He has sworn to never marry. After Lucille makes a bargain with him, he agrees to allow troubled and physically challenged children to ride his horses as equine therapy. One of the orphans is a half Lakota boy, Chayton, who reminds Hank of his own father’s painful childhood.
But danger follows in the shadows of the rejected, embittered teenager that may take the life of someone Hank and the town of Hazard holds dear.
Posted by Sarah J. McNeal at 7:18 AM No comments: Labels: Myths. Legends, paranormal, western


Here Comes Autumn It’s chilly and raining here in North Carolina. Autumn is beginning to get a foothold now. There is a tinge of colored leaves on the oaks and maples on my street. The dogwoods seem to be in a hurry to get their autumn foliage out. On the news this morning, I heard the leaves have changed colors in the Smoky Mountains. It you’ve never seen that, it’s a beautiful sight.
I am flooded with memories of road trips to the North Carolina Mountains each autumn with the purpose of buying a pumpkin to carve for Halloween at one of the pumpkin farms. Oh sure, I could have bought a pumpkin at the local Farmer’s Market or even at the grocery store, but then I wouldn’t have had that memorable road trip.
One cannot travel through the mountains without stopping to buy apple cider and honey at one of roadside stands. Naturally, I had to visit every antique store along the way to look for a new whirligig or hand crafted Christmas ornament. Sometimes I had sensory overload looking at all the handcrafted items and quilts.

The trip wouldn’t have been complete without having a hot meal at a family owned restaurant. I loved those trips. Those were the days, my friend. I didn’t know at the time that I would be storing up all those wonderful memories to relive now.
Posted by Sarah J. McNeal at 7:31 AM No comments: Labels: autumn, memories, North Carolina, Smoky Mountains