DESERT ROSE By : J . ARLENE CULINER
The Plot : Secrets are the best protection against love .
Rose Badger is the local flirt , and if the other inhabitants of backwoods Blake ’ s Folly , Nevada , don ’ t approve , she couldn ’ t care less . With a disastrous marriage and a dead-end career far behind her , settling down is the last thing she intends to do . Newcomer Jonah Livingstone is intriguing , but with his complicated life , he ’ s off limits for anything other than friendship . Besides , Rose has a secret world of her own — one she won ’ t give up for any man .
The last person geologist Jonah Livingstone expected to meet in a semi-ghost town is the sparkling and lovely Rose Badger . But Rose , always surrounded by many admirers , doesn ’ t seem inclined to choose a favorite . So why fret ? Jonah keeps his personal life well hidden … and that ' s the best way to avoid disappointment .
An Excerpt
“ He slipped the packet into the pocket of his leather jacket . Looked out at the night . Why was he hesitating ? Because he wanted to stay ? Because he too acknowledged the buzz hovering in the air , and he wanted to explore it , see where it would go ?
He turned back to her , the smile playing around his lips . “ I ’ d better be on my way . The snow isn ’ t letting up .” “ There have been blizzard warnings all day .” His eyes held hers . Intimate eyes that could create havoc with a woman ’ s senses . “ Nice talking to you .” “ Nice talking to you , too .” She meant it . “ Until next time , Rose .” He stepped out into the night .
Then vanished into the falling snow and dusky evening .
Next time , he ’ d said ? What sort of next time ? This was Blake ’ s Folly . People always said they ’ d be back , but they rarely were . Why return to a pile of clapboard shacks and abandoned trailers ? This was nowhere . This was the end of the line , socially speaking . This was a has-been . This was home .
Trailer : https :// youtu . be / tHPrIciT0XU
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Book2read Prices : Print : $ 15.99 E-Book : $ 3.99 Length : 214 Pages Heat Level : PG !#
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Biography :
Writer , photographer , social critical artist , and impenitent teller of tall tales , J . Arlene Culiner , was born in New York and raised in Toronto . She has crossed much of Europe on foot , has lived in a mud house on the Great Hungarian Plain , a Bavarian castle , a Turkish cave dwelling , a haunted house on the English moors , and on a Dutch canal . She now resides in a 400-year-old former inn in a French village of no interest where , much to local dismay , she protects spiders , snakes , and all weeds . She particularly enjoys incorporating into mysteries , non-fiction , and romances , her experiences in out-of-the-way communities , and her conversations with very odd characters .
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