Dear Readers,

If you live in the US, you know that Thanksgiving is a big -- and often controversial -- deal. There's a lot of eating and reconnecting with family and friends. It was never my favorite holiday of the season -- that honor goes to Christmas, which has a lot to do with where I was born and raised -- but for the last three years, it has been a painful time for me. Three years ago on this date (November 18) my mother lapsed into a coma from which she never woke up. We lost her on November 20, a week before Thanksgiving.

Still, part of grieving is learning to move on, and I am proud to say that I am getting better grades in that life lesson. This is why to help me feel better, I want to share with you the gift of free books, which you can access in a number of locations.

-- Click this link for An Affair To November free books.

-- Or you may wish to try these steamy romances.

-- Or these, if you need even more steamy reads.

-- A fourth set of freebies are here, if you enjoy insta-love romance.

Just click on the links and they will take you to a number of books that are free for the month of November. (Thank you, Stephanie Morris!)

I'm up to almost 24K words in my latest WIP, The Surrogate, and I'm loving my main characters. Let me share the cover copy with you. It is a draft and is, of course, subject to change before publishing. Please DO NOT SHARE with anyone. Thank you.

Dr. Solomon Steele has spent the last nine months grieving the loss of his beloved wife Caroline, who perished in a fire that took her and their home away from him. Scarred for life and feeling like a ship without a rudder, he’s not sure he’s ready to return to teaching in the college where he has spent his entire working life. 

More importantly, he’s not sure he’s ready to be father to baby Lili, the child of his heart whom a surrogate has carried to term and has been taking care of for the last three months. Sol has to make some tough decisions…soon.

Blair Whittaker understands Sol’s grief. She is the surrogate and Caroline was her twin. Her heart is as heavy as his, though she has an added burden, a secret that no one else knows. She fell for Sol before her sister died, and hid her pain when she couldn’t avoid being in their company. 

She knows she will never have him now, and the confusion of her feelings – sorrow, guilt, fear, anger – leaves her struggling to remember that her first priority is to baby Lili, whose needs must always come first. 

 Inevitably, Blair and Sol grow closer as they raise Lili together, and when they cross the line they’ve worked hard to avoid, how will they handle the guilt and the desire that rages between them?

The Surrogate will be published on January 5, 2023, the 12th day of Christmas. Pre-orders will be up by December 1. I hope you'll bless me with your patronage when the time comes.

And now for a random picture, because I like to share my life with you. Here in our corner of New York, we had our first snowfall a few days ago. It's nothing like the snowmageddon currently burying Buffalo in feet of snow, but it was still a thrill to see. For a Caribbean child, I am a great lover of the white stuff. It's my favorite thing about winter.

This is a partial view of my front yard. Every year I take pictures of the snow-laden limbs of all the trees that surround our house. It's one of my favorite visual subjects. What do you like to take pictures of?

Well, I'm off again. The Muse has rested and is demanding that I get back to work. I'll see you all again in a couple of weeks. Happy Thanksgiving to all those of you who celebrate the holiday!

À bientôt,

K. T.