This week, I am a very tired author who is trying very hard to fit a lot of final information into a short book while experiencing some serious empty nest syndrome over leaving the Ridge.

It's only temporary! I have a lot of books planned for Moonshine Ridge still, but when I started the series, I had a plan to visit those ranches down in Slow River Valley-- and that is what we're going to do next! (Cowboy alert.)

Beginnings on the Mountain is Hayle Hart's book

and it will be the last of the four legacy families series for our initial introduction to Moonshine Ridge.

It's due for release on July 17 and it's currently available for pre-order for only 99 cents. It'll be in KU when it releases, so if that's your jam, I got you covered!

Here's a little peak at the story so far (this is rough and unedited:)

From here, he's little more than the shadow of a broad back and long legs bent at the knee with the heels of his boots resting on the bottom of the tall chair.

His shoulders slump forward slightly, leaning forward on elbows that are holding his weight, his left hand is working an empty shot glass like a fidget spinner while he stares straight ahead behind the bar.

Curiosity has me heading that way. I didn't think there were any guests at the lodge, and if he's a traveler that got stuck on the mountain, I can't imagine why he'd come all the way up here instead of staying at the tavern hotel in town.

He doesn't even flinch as I come around the end of the counter, moving behind the bar for a better look at his face.

Even in the very dim light, I wince when I get a look at the black eye and the cut lip. His hair is dark in the low light and his beard is thick but not grown out the way the men tend to wear them on the mountain.

His eyes are trained on the back-bar, and I can't tell if he's eyeing the bottles there, or the man staring back at him from the mirror behind them.

"You look like you're working really hard to find a reason to pour a drink," I whisper, wary of interrupting his thoughts. "In my experience, if you have to think that hard to find a reason, you don't need a drink."

Reaching under the bar, I pull out one of the pint glasses and fill it with cola from the wand.

I don't know what has him sitting in a closed-down bar all alone, but I've seen that look before. Whatever his story is, I know he doesn't want a drink. He wants to go back to a time when a drink would have been all it took to chase the demons away.

Judging from the bruise blackening his left eye, I'd say those demons caught up with him today.

*****

If you're not up-to-date on what we already know of Hayle Hart-- you can meet him in Cedar McAllister and Chamomile's book Surrender to the Mountain Man.

~Rocklyn

IN OTHER MOONSHINE RIDGE NEWS!

The Diaz family is all bundled up in one nice, neat, package now. So, if you're a bundle/box set kinda reader-- you can binge the whole family in one go now.

Of course, there are other authors out there with great books on sale, and new releases and you should totally go check these out while you wait for me to figure out how Hayle and January's story is going to work out!

Cassi Hart's Big Burly Foreman is FREE right now, y'all! Do not miss out on that!

And Kitty Paris has a NEW RELEASE in her Mountain Man to the Rescue series (which I have totally been enjoying when my brain needs to get out of my own mountains at the end of the day.)