I consider myself blessed to live in a place in which the pounding of horse hooves and the song of the blackbird are its heartbeat. At night the sky is filled with the brilliance of a million stars, the Milky Way, and on some occasions the Aurora Borealis. I live in a place where grizzly bears, mountain goats, and elk are not strangers, but instead the stewards of the craggy, timbered mountains and the endless wheat-filled plains. I live in the Last Best Place, under the Big Sky, and in the unforgettable state we call Montana.Right now my ‘backyard’ has finally seen the last bit of the winter snows melt and the soil has begun to churn with the new lives of the delicate yellow kisses of the Glacier Lilies and the native purple and sage green Lupines. Soon the beautiful, but deadly, soft-leaved Arnicas will begin to dot the ground, filling the land with untouchable beauty. As beautiful as the spring and summer are in Montana everything is appreciated with a bated breath—nothing in this land of enchantment lasts long—nothing is permanent except the stars in the sky and the passing of time.
The constantly changing beauty serves as the backdrop for my new novel Montana Mustangs (out today!), the second book in the Nymph Series. In fact, Montana Mustangs takes place in Somers, Montana which lies just south of the (small and humble) city of Kalispell—the city that many fly into in order to visit Glacier Park, one of the best and most picturesque parks in the contingent United States.Somers, Montana lies at the edge of one of the largest (and coldest) freshwater lakes in the U.S., Flathead Lake. At the beginning of Montana Mustangs we first get the chance to meet our characters as they are standing at the edge of this picturesque lake, where they have made a macabre discovery—one in which sets the book into motion.My love of life, horses, and Montana are represented in every aspect of this book, but please know that just like our beautiful spring flowers, to everything there is possible impermanence—especially for the main character, Aura, a nymph cursed to never keep true love. Like the others of her kind, she has been struck with a curse by Zeus that if she falls in love, the man is fated to die a tragic death.When her sister is kidnapped, she must team up with a local Sheriff’s deputy, Dane, and work together to solve a case steeped in mythology, lies, and deeply hidden secrets. If you have a love of Montana, horses, the unexplained, and paranormal romance (which is centered in the not-so-supernatural world) then this book is a must read. Montana Mustangs is my own spring flower, a story filled with such beauty it will never be forgotten even long after you have turned the last page.Image Courtesy of http://www.gloriousphu.com/places/national-parks/united-states-canada/united-states/47-glacier-national-park
Montana Mustangs--Now Available for Pre-Order! (Let's Party!)
Montana Mustangs
I'm so pleased to announce that Montana Mustangs (the second book in the Nymph Series after The Nymph's Labyrinth) is now available for pre-order. I would love for you to check it out. Early reviews are starting to come in and as of today all are 5 star reviews!! (This is almost unheard of!) I can't wait for you to get your hands on this book. You will love it!
Book Description:
A Nymph. A woman with the ability to seduce at will, shift to protect, but cursed with the fate to have the man she falls in love with die a tragic death. As one of the ill-fated nymphs, Aura Montgarten has spent her lifetime drifting from one place to another hiding from love. Until she meets Dane.
When a body washes up on the shore of a rural Montana lake, police officer Dane Burke is faced with the task of finding the killer—even if it means he will be forced to put his life and heart at risk by working with a drifter. As the truth of Aura’s Mustang-shifting Nymph ways are revealed, Dane learns exactly the amount of danger he and Aura are in, but can’t force himself to leave a case unsolved when the truth is right outside of his grasp.
When the killer decides he needs to take another victim—Dane—Aura must choose between their forbidden love and her immortal life… Can there be life without love, or is death her only choice? Book Excerpt:
Chapter One
The waves of the lake crashed next to Dane Burke like greedy reporters descending onto a crime scene. Dane picked up the severed hand, careful to touch it only with the tips of his gloved fingers, all in an attempt to save what little evidence remained.
The fingers were wrinkled and pale, the color of rotting fish. The skin of the palm flapped back, exposing the white lines of the tendons and the bloated pink muscles of the victim’s hand. He pushed back the skin, covering the hand’s viscera. The flesh was rubbed raw in several places, but whether it was from the time in the water or something else Dane couldn’t be sure. Behind him, the secondary officer, Grant, talked with the woman who’d phoned in the find. The woman was blonde, thin, and uncomfortably beautiful. “So, Aura, are you in Montana for business or pleasure?” Officer Grant asked, with just a little too much glee in his voice. Dane tried to ignore the amateurish come-ons the officer threw at the blonde with the large blue eyes and plump lips that pulsed with the pink hues of life. He turned the gruesome hand over in his. The fingernails of the victim were painted a vivid red, now brighter than the blood that had settled in the person’s flesh. He snickered quietly as he thought about the stark difference between the woman behind him who was the embodiment of life and the macabre sloughing object of death he stared upon. Maybe the kid wasn’t so wrong for focusing on the woman. If he’d been just a few years younger, maybe he would have been acting that way too—focusing on the beauty of the woman instead of the gore of the job. But he’d long since given up on the things in life that only brought bitterness—death was easier to handle...
About Danica Winters
Danica Winters is a bestselling author who is known for writing award-winning books that grip readers with their ability to drive emotion through suspense and often a touch of magic. When she’s not working she can be found in the wilds of Montana working on her patience while she tries to understand the allure of various crafts (quilting, pottery and painting are not her thing). She always believe the cup is neither half full nor half empty, but it better be filled with wine.
Writing Rules: Five Minutes Can Change Your Life
Five minutes can change a life. In five minutes, you can have a cup of coffee, open an email, or post on social media sites. I like to think of my life in five minute segments. I almost see it as a challenge. What can I do in five minutes that can change my life? For me, my life revolves around two things: my family and my writing. Most recently it has been the book Montana Mustangs, the second book in the Nymph Series. This entire book was written in what always started as five minutes stretches. Once I started looking for five free minutes in my day I started finding them: while I waited for my kids to get out of school I made use of those few free minutes, while I waited for a meeting, or while I waited for dinner to cook. Sometimes I would start with those five minutes and they would stretch into hours. Sometimes all it was were those precious minutes. Yet, in just a few short months I had Montana Mustangs completed. When I was writing Montana Mustangs those minutes were reserved exclusively for writing—not daydreaming or thinking about the next plot point. Suddenly, when I was driving to pick up my children I had great book ideas (How I wish I had a marker I could write on windows with!). As a result, my characters were like my friends, visiting me during the day and telling me how the story should move ahead. It was amazing how I conditioned myself to plan ahead during moments of downtime so when I reached for my computer I was ready.In addition to writing Montana Mustangs (and then the next book in the series), I have had the fabulous opportunity of teaching courses on writing to published and yet-to-be-published authors. The most common excuse I hear as to why a person couldn’t finish a book was/is: “I don’t have the time.” I immediately think of my five minute challenge. Everyone has five minutes at some point in their day that isn’t occupied by crying kids, phone calls, cooking, or working at a nine-to-five job. The hard part is utilizing them. If you have a passion and you really want to change your life I recommend you start with my rule. It doesn’t have to be writing. Maybe you want to lose weight? Start knitting? Find those spare moments in your day and before long you will have attained a goal in which you had never thought possible. When you achieve your goal you will become empowered.