Kristy McCaffrey's Blog: Author Kristy McCaffrey - Posts Tagged "adventure-romance"
Pre-Order DEEP BLUE by Kristy McCaffrey
I'm excited to share that DEEP BLUE is now available for pre-order at all e-book vendors!! Buy now and it will automatically load onto your e-reader on February 26.
Don’t miss this first book in a sexy and suspenseful new series!!
In the deep blue ocean lives an ancient predator…
Dr. Grace Mann knows great white sharks. As the daughter of an obsessed shark researcher based at the Farallon Islands, Grace spent her childhood in the company of these elegant and massive creatures. When a photo of her freediving with a great white goes viral, the institute where she works seeks to capitalize on her new-found fame by producing a documentary about her work.
Underwater filmmaker Alec Galloway admires Dr. Mann and jumps at the opportunity to create a film showcasing the pretty biologist. As he heads to Guadalupe Island in Baja California Sur for a three-week expedition, it’s clear that his fan-boy crush on Grace is turning into something more serious. But even more pressing—Grace’s passionate focus on the sharks just might get her killed.
Contains strong language and sexual content.
Read Chapter One at my website.
Additional Excerpt
“Have you ever been filmed before?” Alec asked.
“For a full-blown feature?” Grace lifted her glass to her mouth again and downed a big gulp. Either she was very thirsty or nervous. If it was the latter—and he hoped it was—then maybe she wasn’t immune to him after all.
All the bullshit about workplace romances circled inside his head for a brief, annoying moment. If she gave him a chance, would it be worth the risk of screwing up their professional relationship? Would he have the strength to say no to a woman like her?
“No.” She answered her own question.
Shaking off his randy thoughts, he said, “I’ll want to film just about everything you do, and we’ll likely need to set up shots as well. And I’ll do direct interviews as we go.”
“Just like The Bachelorette.”
“I do want you to speak openly about your feelings for every shark,” he teased.
“I don’t know. It’s usually better not to show all your cards at once.”
Alec loosened his tie. “But then you might lose that one special fish.” He unbuttoned his left cuff link and rolled the sleeve to his forearm.
“There’re plenty more where he came from.”
He repeated the action on his right arm. “The best ones are always endangered.”
He enjoyed the sparkle in her eye as she gave a slight smirk and a blush crept up her face.
She definitely wasn’t immune to him. He couldn’t keep the shit-eating grin from his face.
“Don’t get too happy, Galloway.” She leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms. “Stewart said he hasn’t told you everything about the expedition.”
“And?”
She paused, pressing her lips together. “I’m planning to do something I’ve never done before at Guadalupe. I’m going to freedive with the whites. I know you have a lot of experience filming sharks, but this will be different. You’ll likely have to leave the cage. I need to know that you’re up for it.”
Alec watched her. The dark burgundy lipstick was long gone, and she hadn’t bothered to replace it. He preferred women without a lot of fluff, but when Grace cleaned up, she was nothing short of stunning. But what really grabbed him, especially now, was the gleam in her eyes as she spoke about her work.
“My partners and I can use rebreathers.” The lack of bubbles and noise from a rebreather was exactly why Alec used one for long dives, but they were riskier than normal scuba equipment, so he didn’t operate one unless needed. “And I’ve been outside the cage before. How many times have you freedived with whites?”
Grace cleared her throat and licked her lips. “Including my famous photo? Once.”
Copyright © 2018 K. McCaffrey LLC
Purchase Links
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Amazon CA
Amazon AU
Amazon IN
iBooks
Nook
Kobo
Google Play
Print Coming Soon
Don’t miss this first book in a sexy and suspenseful new series!!
In the deep blue ocean lives an ancient predator…
Dr. Grace Mann knows great white sharks. As the daughter of an obsessed shark researcher based at the Farallon Islands, Grace spent her childhood in the company of these elegant and massive creatures. When a photo of her freediving with a great white goes viral, the institute where she works seeks to capitalize on her new-found fame by producing a documentary about her work.
Underwater filmmaker Alec Galloway admires Dr. Mann and jumps at the opportunity to create a film showcasing the pretty biologist. As he heads to Guadalupe Island in Baja California Sur for a three-week expedition, it’s clear that his fan-boy crush on Grace is turning into something more serious. But even more pressing—Grace’s passionate focus on the sharks just might get her killed.
Contains strong language and sexual content.
Read Chapter One at my website.
Additional Excerpt
“Have you ever been filmed before?” Alec asked.
“For a full-blown feature?” Grace lifted her glass to her mouth again and downed a big gulp. Either she was very thirsty or nervous. If it was the latter—and he hoped it was—then maybe she wasn’t immune to him after all.
All the bullshit about workplace romances circled inside his head for a brief, annoying moment. If she gave him a chance, would it be worth the risk of screwing up their professional relationship? Would he have the strength to say no to a woman like her?
“No.” She answered her own question.
Shaking off his randy thoughts, he said, “I’ll want to film just about everything you do, and we’ll likely need to set up shots as well. And I’ll do direct interviews as we go.”
“Just like The Bachelorette.”
“I do want you to speak openly about your feelings for every shark,” he teased.
“I don’t know. It’s usually better not to show all your cards at once.”
Alec loosened his tie. “But then you might lose that one special fish.” He unbuttoned his left cuff link and rolled the sleeve to his forearm.
“There’re plenty more where he came from.”
He repeated the action on his right arm. “The best ones are always endangered.”
He enjoyed the sparkle in her eye as she gave a slight smirk and a blush crept up her face.
She definitely wasn’t immune to him. He couldn’t keep the shit-eating grin from his face.
“Don’t get too happy, Galloway.” She leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms. “Stewart said he hasn’t told you everything about the expedition.”
“And?”
She paused, pressing her lips together. “I’m planning to do something I’ve never done before at Guadalupe. I’m going to freedive with the whites. I know you have a lot of experience filming sharks, but this will be different. You’ll likely have to leave the cage. I need to know that you’re up for it.”
Alec watched her. The dark burgundy lipstick was long gone, and she hadn’t bothered to replace it. He preferred women without a lot of fluff, but when Grace cleaned up, she was nothing short of stunning. But what really grabbed him, especially now, was the gleam in her eyes as she spoke about her work.
“My partners and I can use rebreathers.” The lack of bubbles and noise from a rebreather was exactly why Alec used one for long dives, but they were riskier than normal scuba equipment, so he didn’t operate one unless needed. “And I’ve been outside the cage before. How many times have you freedived with whites?”
Grace cleared her throat and licked her lips. “Including my famous photo? Once.”
Copyright © 2018 K. McCaffrey LLC
Purchase Links
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Amazon CA
Amazon AU
Amazon IN
iBooks
Nook
Kobo
Google Play
Print Coming Soon
DEEP BLUE releases today!! @McCaffreyKristy #romance #oceanadventure
It's here!! I hope you'll join me on an ocean adventure with a determined shark researcher, a hunky underwater filmmaker, and a bevy of great white sharks.
In the deep blue ocean lives an ancient predator…
Dr. Grace Mann knows great white sharks. As the daughter of an obsessed shark researcher based at the Farallon Islands, Grace spent her childhood in the company of these elegant and massive creatures. When a photo of her freediving with a great white goes viral, the institute where she works seeks to capitalize on her new-found fame by producing a documentary about her work.
Underwater filmmaker Alec Galloway admires Dr. Mann and jumps at the opportunity to create a film showcasing the pretty biologist. As he heads to Guadalupe Island in Baja California Sur for a three-week expedition, it’s clear that his fan-boy crush on Grace is turning into something more serious. But even more pressing—Grace’s passionate focus on the sharks just might get her killed.
How about another excerpt?
“I’ve only had one ex who drew blood,” Alec said. “How’d you get the bite?”
The waitress reappeared with two more tall beakers of beer. She also set a basket of wings on the table. “It’s from John.”
“Thank you,” Grace said, a hungry glint in her gaze as she looked at the food.
The waitress grabbed the previous glasses, now empty, then left them alone once again. Grace unrolled her napkin and removed the silverware tucked inside, then pushed the edge of the white cloth into the neckline of her dress. She grabbed a wing, dipped it into the accompanying cup of ranch dressing, and ate like a ravenous teenage boy.
“Why didn’t you say something?” Alec said.
“What do you mean?” Barbecue sauce smeared her upper lip.
“I’ll buy you dinner if you’re hungry.”
“This isn’t a date, Galloway.”
No, it wasn’t. “Got it,” he said, annoyed by the sting of her comment.
Apparently with Dr. Mann it was two steps forward and one step back. He snatched a wing since she was already on her second one. At the rate she was going, he’d be lucky to get another.
“So?” he prompted, biting into the spicy meat. “The scar?”
“Right. It was a great white.”
“But you said you only freedived that one time in the presence of a white.”
She dropped a carcass of bones back into the basket and licked her fingers. “It happened when I was a kid. My dad spent several months each year stationed at the Farallon Islands researching the whites.” She removed the napkin at her neck, wiped her mouth, then her hands. “Once Chloe and I were old enough, he’d bring us along for a week or two at a time.” She laughed. “My mom hated it. She didn’t think it was safe. My dad and I agreed never to tell her how bad it was when I got bit, but Chloe eventually spilled it. After that, Mom threatened to never let us go again, but Dad eventually wore her down.”
Alec stared at her, slack-jawed. The Farallones—a collection of granite peaks jutting from the Pacific Ocean and known as the Devil’s Teeth—were just a hop, skip, and a jump from San Francisco Bay. The water was undeniably cold year-round, not to mention murky, and the weather was hell most of the time. “You got in the water around the Farallones?” he uttered in stunned disbelief. “When you were a kid?”
She’d finally wiped most of the wing sauce from her appendages, although a faint smear still rested on her cheek. When she looked at him again, she paused, noticing his shock. “It wasn’t on purpose. I was out with Dad on the small outboard he used to visit shark attacks on the seals when the love of his life bumped us. I was perched on the gunwale. It was entirely bad luck.”
“No shit,” he choked out.
“I fell in, and a big beautiful sister sideswiped me, ripping off my lifejacket like it was a piece of tissue. Her teeth grazed my neck enough to slice it open, but thankfully it wasn’t a deep wound.”
“A sister?”
“It’s what the researchers call the large females, the twenty-footers. There’s only ever been a handful of them documented over the years. They generally travel alone and always dominate the feeding grounds.” Her eyes went glassy. “There’s nothing like them anywhere on earth. They’re a sight to behold.”
“How old were you?”
“Twelve. Dad yanked me out before Bonnie came around for another pass.”
Where had he heard that name before?
Recognition surfaced. “I think I know your shark.”
“Really?” Excitement animated her face.
Overcome with an urge to touch her, Alec grabbed his napkin and wiped the sauce from her face. She immediately brushed her fingers across both cheeks, attempting to find anything else left behind.
“You’re good,” he muttered, reluctantly withdrawing his hand.
“Well?” she prompted, her complexion flush in a rosy glow.
But he knew it wasn’t for him. If he’d learned anything about Grace Mann in the last day and a half, it was that it wasn’t just her father who’d had a love affair with great whites—his daughter was head over heels as well.
“I dived the Farallones once, and only once, two years ago. Even now, it still makes my heart skip a beat and my palms sweat.”
Copyright © 2018 K. McCaffrey LLC
Purchase Links for Digital Copies
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Amazon CA
Amazon AU
Amazon IN
iBooks
Nook
Kobo
Google Play
Also available in print.
And I've got a special treat for my newsletter subscribers - an exclusive novella not available anywhere else.
When shark researcher Grace Mann accompanies her boyfriend, underwater filmmaker Alec Galloway, to Western Australia for a commercial shoot with great whites, she envisions relaxing days in the sun and smoldering nights between the sheets. But as Alec’s mood becomes increasingly distant, Grace worries that maybe the chemistry they shared—so effortless in the beginning—was starting to fizzle. Is his reticence related to her, or something else? And can she find a way to help him get the footage he needs before his behavior places his life in danger?
Current newsletter subscribers will receive the download code this week. Keep an eye on your inbox. If you're not a subscriber, sign-up here.
In the deep blue ocean lives an ancient predator…
Dr. Grace Mann knows great white sharks. As the daughter of an obsessed shark researcher based at the Farallon Islands, Grace spent her childhood in the company of these elegant and massive creatures. When a photo of her freediving with a great white goes viral, the institute where she works seeks to capitalize on her new-found fame by producing a documentary about her work.
Underwater filmmaker Alec Galloway admires Dr. Mann and jumps at the opportunity to create a film showcasing the pretty biologist. As he heads to Guadalupe Island in Baja California Sur for a three-week expedition, it’s clear that his fan-boy crush on Grace is turning into something more serious. But even more pressing—Grace’s passionate focus on the sharks just might get her killed.
How about another excerpt?
“I’ve only had one ex who drew blood,” Alec said. “How’d you get the bite?”
The waitress reappeared with two more tall beakers of beer. She also set a basket of wings on the table. “It’s from John.”
“Thank you,” Grace said, a hungry glint in her gaze as she looked at the food.
The waitress grabbed the previous glasses, now empty, then left them alone once again. Grace unrolled her napkin and removed the silverware tucked inside, then pushed the edge of the white cloth into the neckline of her dress. She grabbed a wing, dipped it into the accompanying cup of ranch dressing, and ate like a ravenous teenage boy.
“Why didn’t you say something?” Alec said.
“What do you mean?” Barbecue sauce smeared her upper lip.
“I’ll buy you dinner if you’re hungry.”
“This isn’t a date, Galloway.”
No, it wasn’t. “Got it,” he said, annoyed by the sting of her comment.
Apparently with Dr. Mann it was two steps forward and one step back. He snatched a wing since she was already on her second one. At the rate she was going, he’d be lucky to get another.
“So?” he prompted, biting into the spicy meat. “The scar?”
“Right. It was a great white.”
“But you said you only freedived that one time in the presence of a white.”
She dropped a carcass of bones back into the basket and licked her fingers. “It happened when I was a kid. My dad spent several months each year stationed at the Farallon Islands researching the whites.” She removed the napkin at her neck, wiped her mouth, then her hands. “Once Chloe and I were old enough, he’d bring us along for a week or two at a time.” She laughed. “My mom hated it. She didn’t think it was safe. My dad and I agreed never to tell her how bad it was when I got bit, but Chloe eventually spilled it. After that, Mom threatened to never let us go again, but Dad eventually wore her down.”
Alec stared at her, slack-jawed. The Farallones—a collection of granite peaks jutting from the Pacific Ocean and known as the Devil’s Teeth—were just a hop, skip, and a jump from San Francisco Bay. The water was undeniably cold year-round, not to mention murky, and the weather was hell most of the time. “You got in the water around the Farallones?” he uttered in stunned disbelief. “When you were a kid?”
She’d finally wiped most of the wing sauce from her appendages, although a faint smear still rested on her cheek. When she looked at him again, she paused, noticing his shock. “It wasn’t on purpose. I was out with Dad on the small outboard he used to visit shark attacks on the seals when the love of his life bumped us. I was perched on the gunwale. It was entirely bad luck.”
“No shit,” he choked out.
“I fell in, and a big beautiful sister sideswiped me, ripping off my lifejacket like it was a piece of tissue. Her teeth grazed my neck enough to slice it open, but thankfully it wasn’t a deep wound.”
“A sister?”
“It’s what the researchers call the large females, the twenty-footers. There’s only ever been a handful of them documented over the years. They generally travel alone and always dominate the feeding grounds.” Her eyes went glassy. “There’s nothing like them anywhere on earth. They’re a sight to behold.”
“How old were you?”
“Twelve. Dad yanked me out before Bonnie came around for another pass.”
Where had he heard that name before?
Recognition surfaced. “I think I know your shark.”
“Really?” Excitement animated her face.
Overcome with an urge to touch her, Alec grabbed his napkin and wiped the sauce from her face. She immediately brushed her fingers across both cheeks, attempting to find anything else left behind.
“You’re good,” he muttered, reluctantly withdrawing his hand.
“Well?” she prompted, her complexion flush in a rosy glow.
But he knew it wasn’t for him. If he’d learned anything about Grace Mann in the last day and a half, it was that it wasn’t just her father who’d had a love affair with great whites—his daughter was head over heels as well.
“I dived the Farallones once, and only once, two years ago. Even now, it still makes my heart skip a beat and my palms sweat.”
Copyright © 2018 K. McCaffrey LLC
Purchase Links for Digital Copies
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Amazon CA
Amazon AU
Amazon IN
iBooks
Nook
Kobo
Google Play
Also available in print.
And I've got a special treat for my newsletter subscribers - an exclusive novella not available anywhere else.
When shark researcher Grace Mann accompanies her boyfriend, underwater filmmaker Alec Galloway, to Western Australia for a commercial shoot with great whites, she envisions relaxing days in the sun and smoldering nights between the sheets. But as Alec’s mood becomes increasingly distant, Grace worries that maybe the chemistry they shared—so effortless in the beginning—was starting to fizzle. Is his reticence related to her, or something else? And can she find a way to help him get the footage he needs before his behavior places his life in danger?
Current newsletter subscribers will receive the download code this week. Keep an eye on your inbox. If you're not a subscriber, sign-up here.
New Release - COLD HORIZON
By Kristy McCaffrey
I've got a double-release today!!
COLD HORIZON
The Pathway Series Book 2
Ambition and courage at the top of the world …
Lindsey Coulson likes to scale mountains. With her sister, Alison, she has made a name for herself climbing the tallest and most treacherous peaks in the world. But when Alison dies on a K2 expedition—the second highest mountain on earth—Lindsey stops climbing. Unable to shed her grief, it becomes clear she must return to the wilderness and only one place will do—K2, the Savage Mountain.
Tyler Galloway has finally secured a permit from the Pakistani government to bring an American team to K2. When Lindsey Coulson inquires about joining the expedition, he gladly brings the famed mountaineer on board. Her strong climbing resume precedes her, and she’ll be a welcome addition to the small crew he has assembled. But K2 is a force unto itself, as is Lindsey. Both will test his limits. And both will test his heart.
Each Pathway novel can be savored as a standalone story, but for maximum enjoyment the recommended reading order is:
Deep Blue
Deep Blue: Australia (A Pathway Novella available exclusively to Kristy’s newsletter subscribers)
Cold Horizon
Cold Horizon: Telluride (A Pathway Novella)
Now Available in Digital (print is coming)
Kindle
Nook
Apple
Kobo
Google Play
Read an excerpt
The wind blasted Lindsey, threatening to rip her off the mountain and throw her into the abyss far below.
It was blisteringly obvious that K2 wasn’t going to give up her summit without a fight. Descending the Bottleneck in this shitstorm of low visibility was bad enough but having to guide an impaired Elena down was enough to give Lindsey sharp pangs of panic.
Had Alison been in this same spot, gripped with the same bone-deep fear?
Her sister had died on this mountain two years ago, likely not far from where Lindsey currently stood.
This won’t be my fate.
Two climbers materialized behind them in the darkness. For a moment, Lindsey thought it was Tyler, but that elation was dashed when the first one spoke with a German accent. Frieder.
They came to Ditch first, but to her surprise didn’t stop and instead climbed around him and Elena.
When they tried to do the same to Lindsey, she blocked them.
“Can you help us get Elena through the Bottleneck?” she asked.
Frieder stopped and said nothing, then finally shook his head and uttered one word, “Nein.”
To Lindsey’s shock, he said nothing more and climbed past her, hooking himself to the fixed rope.
What the hell?
When the second German, Volker, moved to do the same, she planted her axe in front of his face. “We need help with Elena.”
Volker shook his head. “We are spent.”
“So are we. If we leave her here, she’ll die.”
“Then she should not be here. Not our responsibility.”
“Bullshit,” Lindsey said. “It’ll go faster with four of us.”
Volker ignored her and climbed up a few feet to get past her. Then he went to the fixed rope, clipped on, and the swirling snow swallowed him up.
Stunned, Lindsey remained where she was, trying to quell her anger.
A loud snap filled the air, and then a rumble.
Shit!
“Hold on!” she yelled, facing the mountain and tucking her head, praying her helmet would fend off any blocks of ice.
She closed her eyes and held her breath, waiting as the roar grew. A cloud of snow and ice slammed into her, and she held tight to her ice axes to keep from being blown off the mountain.
But the avalanche hadn’t hit them.
Trembling, she didn’t move.
“Lindsey,” Ditch said. “Where are the Germans?”
Her headlamp revealed the fixed rope to be still intact. Maybe the two shithead Germans were okay. She almost didn’t care.
She swung her light back toward Ditch and Elena, trying to answer, but the words wouldn’t come. Ditch had retrieved his radio. “David, come in.”
In addition to Ty, Lindsey, and Ditch, their team had consisted of David Shaw and Billy Packer. Since Shaw had summited the day before with the Poles, a move that had irritated Lindsey, he had nonetheless stepped up to care for Packer at Camp Four until the rest of them could return to help.
“I’m here,” Shaw replied.
“We think part of the serac broke off. Frieder and Volker might have gotten hit. Over.”
“Copy that. I’ll go out and look for them, but it’s a white-out. Be careful. Over.”
Ditch stowed the radio. “Is the fixed rope still there?” he asked Lindsey.
“It looks like it,” she answered, her teeth chattering.
“You stay here with Elena,” he said. “I’ll go check.”
Unable to move, all Lindsey could do was watch as he moved above her and soon disappeared into the snowstorm, just as the Germans had.
Ditch had hooked Elena to an ice screw before he had left them, so she was secure for the moment, allowing Lindsey to remain where she was and regroup.
She was shakier than she wanted to be.
The snow conditions were becoming untenable. It was too dark. A piece of the serac had just broken off, possibly killing Frieder and Volker. And if the two German men weren’t dead, how would anyone find them? Was there anyone left at Camp Four besides David and Packer?
And now, as the she waited for Ditch to return, she faced the fact that she might have to bivouac with Elena right here. Spending the night hanging off the side of K2 was a terrible idea, and one she wanted to avoid. Climbers joked that bivouac was French for “mistake.” And Elena had certainly made a mistake as she’d tried to reach the summit earlier today, instead of turning around. Now, Lindsey was paying the price for the woman’s piss-poor decision-making.
Knowing she needed to stop complaining, Lindsey switched to problem-solving mode, trying to corral her errant thoughts into something useful. Hours—no, it had been days—of oxygen deprivation was fast destroying her cognitive skills.
She had a bivy sac, but it was only meant for one person. There was no way she could secure it on this near vertical face, so they would need to ascend. But what if they got lost?
What about Ty? Was he still behind her? And wasn’t the other American team also downclimbing from the summit? If she waited long enough, surely they would meet up with her and could help get Elena down. But it was already so late. They could be hunkered down, bivouacking despite the lunacy of sitting still and waiting out the storm. Waiting for sunrise.
Or they could be lost themselves.
Copyright © 2019 K. McCaffrey LLC
COLD HORIZON: Telluride
The Pathway Series Book 2.1
Lindsey Coulson has lost her edge. After surviving a harrowing descent of K2, the second highest mountain in the world, life back home has left her with serious doubts about continuing the dangerous life of a high-altitude mountain climber. When she accompanies her boyfriend, Ty Galloway, to a trade show in Telluride, Colorado, a chance encounter with a climber who knew her deceased dad—famed mountaineer Robbie Coulson—sets her on a different course.
Ty Galloway has settled into a nine-to-five routine with his new job as editor-in-chief of Mountaineer Magazine, but the monotony is already beginning to chafe. A weekend away with Lindsey at his parents’ place seems like the perfect antidote, but when his mom and dad unexpectedly arrive, their presence puts a damper on his romantic plans. And they’ve got a few surprises in store for Ty.
This short novella follows the full-length novel, COLD HORIZON, and includes appearances from Italian climber Elena Rossi and the irreverent mountaineer Dan Beck.
Learn more and read Chapter One at Kristy's website.
I've got a double-release today!!
COLD HORIZON
The Pathway Series Book 2
Ambition and courage at the top of the world …
Lindsey Coulson likes to scale mountains. With her sister, Alison, she has made a name for herself climbing the tallest and most treacherous peaks in the world. But when Alison dies on a K2 expedition—the second highest mountain on earth—Lindsey stops climbing. Unable to shed her grief, it becomes clear she must return to the wilderness and only one place will do—K2, the Savage Mountain.
Tyler Galloway has finally secured a permit from the Pakistani government to bring an American team to K2. When Lindsey Coulson inquires about joining the expedition, he gladly brings the famed mountaineer on board. Her strong climbing resume precedes her, and she’ll be a welcome addition to the small crew he has assembled. But K2 is a force unto itself, as is Lindsey. Both will test his limits. And both will test his heart.
Each Pathway novel can be savored as a standalone story, but for maximum enjoyment the recommended reading order is:
Deep Blue
Deep Blue: Australia (A Pathway Novella available exclusively to Kristy’s newsletter subscribers)
Cold Horizon
Cold Horizon: Telluride (A Pathway Novella)
Now Available in Digital (print is coming)
Kindle
Nook
Apple
Kobo
Google Play
Read an excerpt
The wind blasted Lindsey, threatening to rip her off the mountain and throw her into the abyss far below.
It was blisteringly obvious that K2 wasn’t going to give up her summit without a fight. Descending the Bottleneck in this shitstorm of low visibility was bad enough but having to guide an impaired Elena down was enough to give Lindsey sharp pangs of panic.
Had Alison been in this same spot, gripped with the same bone-deep fear?
Her sister had died on this mountain two years ago, likely not far from where Lindsey currently stood.
This won’t be my fate.
Two climbers materialized behind them in the darkness. For a moment, Lindsey thought it was Tyler, but that elation was dashed when the first one spoke with a German accent. Frieder.
They came to Ditch first, but to her surprise didn’t stop and instead climbed around him and Elena.
When they tried to do the same to Lindsey, she blocked them.
“Can you help us get Elena through the Bottleneck?” she asked.
Frieder stopped and said nothing, then finally shook his head and uttered one word, “Nein.”
To Lindsey’s shock, he said nothing more and climbed past her, hooking himself to the fixed rope.
What the hell?
When the second German, Volker, moved to do the same, she planted her axe in front of his face. “We need help with Elena.”
Volker shook his head. “We are spent.”
“So are we. If we leave her here, she’ll die.”
“Then she should not be here. Not our responsibility.”
“Bullshit,” Lindsey said. “It’ll go faster with four of us.”
Volker ignored her and climbed up a few feet to get past her. Then he went to the fixed rope, clipped on, and the swirling snow swallowed him up.
Stunned, Lindsey remained where she was, trying to quell her anger.
A loud snap filled the air, and then a rumble.
Shit!
“Hold on!” she yelled, facing the mountain and tucking her head, praying her helmet would fend off any blocks of ice.
She closed her eyes and held her breath, waiting as the roar grew. A cloud of snow and ice slammed into her, and she held tight to her ice axes to keep from being blown off the mountain.
But the avalanche hadn’t hit them.
Trembling, she didn’t move.
“Lindsey,” Ditch said. “Where are the Germans?”
Her headlamp revealed the fixed rope to be still intact. Maybe the two shithead Germans were okay. She almost didn’t care.
She swung her light back toward Ditch and Elena, trying to answer, but the words wouldn’t come. Ditch had retrieved his radio. “David, come in.”
In addition to Ty, Lindsey, and Ditch, their team had consisted of David Shaw and Billy Packer. Since Shaw had summited the day before with the Poles, a move that had irritated Lindsey, he had nonetheless stepped up to care for Packer at Camp Four until the rest of them could return to help.
“I’m here,” Shaw replied.
“We think part of the serac broke off. Frieder and Volker might have gotten hit. Over.”
“Copy that. I’ll go out and look for them, but it’s a white-out. Be careful. Over.”
Ditch stowed the radio. “Is the fixed rope still there?” he asked Lindsey.
“It looks like it,” she answered, her teeth chattering.
“You stay here with Elena,” he said. “I’ll go check.”
Unable to move, all Lindsey could do was watch as he moved above her and soon disappeared into the snowstorm, just as the Germans had.
Ditch had hooked Elena to an ice screw before he had left them, so she was secure for the moment, allowing Lindsey to remain where she was and regroup.
She was shakier than she wanted to be.
The snow conditions were becoming untenable. It was too dark. A piece of the serac had just broken off, possibly killing Frieder and Volker. And if the two German men weren’t dead, how would anyone find them? Was there anyone left at Camp Four besides David and Packer?
And now, as the she waited for Ditch to return, she faced the fact that she might have to bivouac with Elena right here. Spending the night hanging off the side of K2 was a terrible idea, and one she wanted to avoid. Climbers joked that bivouac was French for “mistake.” And Elena had certainly made a mistake as she’d tried to reach the summit earlier today, instead of turning around. Now, Lindsey was paying the price for the woman’s piss-poor decision-making.
Knowing she needed to stop complaining, Lindsey switched to problem-solving mode, trying to corral her errant thoughts into something useful. Hours—no, it had been days—of oxygen deprivation was fast destroying her cognitive skills.
She had a bivy sac, but it was only meant for one person. There was no way she could secure it on this near vertical face, so they would need to ascend. But what if they got lost?
What about Ty? Was he still behind her? And wasn’t the other American team also downclimbing from the summit? If she waited long enough, surely they would meet up with her and could help get Elena down. But it was already so late. They could be hunkered down, bivouacking despite the lunacy of sitting still and waiting out the storm. Waiting for sunrise.
Or they could be lost themselves.
Copyright © 2019 K. McCaffrey LLC
COLD HORIZON: Telluride
The Pathway Series Book 2.1
Lindsey Coulson has lost her edge. After surviving a harrowing descent of K2, the second highest mountain in the world, life back home has left her with serious doubts about continuing the dangerous life of a high-altitude mountain climber. When she accompanies her boyfriend, Ty Galloway, to a trade show in Telluride, Colorado, a chance encounter with a climber who knew her deceased dad—famed mountaineer Robbie Coulson—sets her on a different course.
Ty Galloway has settled into a nine-to-five routine with his new job as editor-in-chief of Mountaineer Magazine, but the monotony is already beginning to chafe. A weekend away with Lindsey at his parents’ place seems like the perfect antidote, but when his mom and dad unexpectedly arrive, their presence puts a damper on his romantic plans. And they’ve got a few surprises in store for Ty.
This short novella follows the full-length novel, COLD HORIZON, and includes appearances from Italian climber Elena Rossi and the irreverent mountaineer Dan Beck.
Learn more and read Chapter One at Kristy's website.
The Most Favorite Books I've Written
By Kristy McCaffrey
THE WREN and DEEP BLUE
Both of these books were “firsts.”
THE WREN was the first book I ever wrote, along with being the first book I published. The story was inspired by a vision I'd had at the age of fifteen of a girl and two young men.
This was in high school, when my creative impulses were pushing me to write but I didn’t have a clear direction for what that meant. I didn’t come back to this idea until I was thirty-three years old and a young mother feeling very frazzled raising four young children.
Writing THE WREN became an escape from the long but very rewarding days of taking care of my babies. The vision turned into Molly, Matt, and his brother Logan. While I’d always been a big reader, I’d never studied the craft of writing, so THE WREN was a true seat-of-my-pants endeavor, and I wrote a story that I wanted to read.
DEEP BLUE was the first book in a new series that I wrote six years ago. Until then, I’d been writing western romances, but I’ve always loved marine science along with high adventure and wanted to try my hand at this kind of story.
I also loved contemporary romances where the heroine was quite capable but found her match in an equally capable hero. Inspiration for this project ran the gamut of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” to “Jaws 3-D” (I really liked the love story between Bess Armstrong and Dennis Quaid).
Both books are favorites because they represent my attempts at doing something I’d never done before, which was not only to write a book but tackle subject matter I wasn’t entirely familiar with.
(For THE WREN it was the Comanche abduction storyline, and in DEEP BLUE it was understanding great white sharks beyond their reputations as man-eaters.)
Thanks so much for reading!! Kristy xx
THE WREN and DEEP BLUE
Both of these books were “firsts.”
THE WREN was the first book I ever wrote, along with being the first book I published. The story was inspired by a vision I'd had at the age of fifteen of a girl and two young men.
This was in high school, when my creative impulses were pushing me to write but I didn’t have a clear direction for what that meant. I didn’t come back to this idea until I was thirty-three years old and a young mother feeling very frazzled raising four young children.
Writing THE WREN became an escape from the long but very rewarding days of taking care of my babies. The vision turned into Molly, Matt, and his brother Logan. While I’d always been a big reader, I’d never studied the craft of writing, so THE WREN was a true seat-of-my-pants endeavor, and I wrote a story that I wanted to read.
DEEP BLUE was the first book in a new series that I wrote six years ago. Until then, I’d been writing western romances, but I’ve always loved marine science along with high adventure and wanted to try my hand at this kind of story.
I also loved contemporary romances where the heroine was quite capable but found her match in an equally capable hero. Inspiration for this project ran the gamut of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” to “Jaws 3-D” (I really liked the love story between Bess Armstrong and Dennis Quaid).
Both books are favorites because they represent my attempts at doing something I’d never done before, which was not only to write a book but tackle subject matter I wasn’t entirely familiar with.
(For THE WREN it was the Comanche abduction storyline, and in DEEP BLUE it was understanding great white sharks beyond their reputations as man-eaters.)
Thanks so much for reading!! Kristy xx
Books That Were The Most Fun To Write
By Kristy McCaffrey
There are three books that have been the most fun for me to write.
Into the Land of Shadows
At the beginning of my writing career, I wrote THE WREN followed by THE DOVE. I knew I had a series on my hands, but instead of continuing I went and wrote SHADOWS because it was a story that jumped in my head and wouldn’t let me go. It was initially titled HER TOUCH, and I infused a lot of humor in the book, something I hadn’t before attempted.
I modeled the heroine, Kate, after my own daughter Kate, giving her the same sass, curiosity, and maddening habits (e.g. sleeping late). I set the story in Northern Arizona, a favorite location in my home state, and I gave the hero a pet wolf (based on my parent’s wolf hybrid from my childhood). I also didn’t hold back in terms of plot, and I pushed a paranormal angle (an exorcism) that has likely affected sales, but this book is still a favorite of mine, combining humor, a brooding hero, a sassy heroine, Bart the wolf, Navajo lore, and spiritual possession. It’s also one of my steamier novels.
Ancient Winds
I’ve long been fascinated by ancient alien theories. I wanted to play with those ideas in a book, and ANCIENT WINDS was the result. It’s a contemporary adventure romance set in the wilds of Bolivia, because I’d always wanted to do a jungle romance. My heroine, Brynn, is a Sumerian cuneiform scholar, and it took some doing plot-wise to get a cuneiform tablet into the jungle, but I was determined. The hero, Dr. Tristan Magee, is a rogue physicist because I’m a huge science geek. I even managed to add time travel. My brain cells were really firing for this one. What a fun playground this was for me to write each day.
The Canary
This more recent book is centered around paleontology in 1899. That alone made this story great fun to research. I thought I knew dinosaurs, but I was regularly wowed by what I unearthed each day. I also loved giving the heroine, Sarah, a lot of agency (the scene where she has to convince the hero’s father that she’s got the grit to be on his dig site was written in one sitting—that doesn’t happen too often).
I was really pleased by this quote from InD’tale Magazine – “Strong female characters dominated this book although most of the characters are male.” That’s a score in my book!
There are three books that have been the most fun for me to write.
Into the Land of Shadows
At the beginning of my writing career, I wrote THE WREN followed by THE DOVE. I knew I had a series on my hands, but instead of continuing I went and wrote SHADOWS because it was a story that jumped in my head and wouldn’t let me go. It was initially titled HER TOUCH, and I infused a lot of humor in the book, something I hadn’t before attempted.
I modeled the heroine, Kate, after my own daughter Kate, giving her the same sass, curiosity, and maddening habits (e.g. sleeping late). I set the story in Northern Arizona, a favorite location in my home state, and I gave the hero a pet wolf (based on my parent’s wolf hybrid from my childhood). I also didn’t hold back in terms of plot, and I pushed a paranormal angle (an exorcism) that has likely affected sales, but this book is still a favorite of mine, combining humor, a brooding hero, a sassy heroine, Bart the wolf, Navajo lore, and spiritual possession. It’s also one of my steamier novels.
Ancient Winds
I’ve long been fascinated by ancient alien theories. I wanted to play with those ideas in a book, and ANCIENT WINDS was the result. It’s a contemporary adventure romance set in the wilds of Bolivia, because I’d always wanted to do a jungle romance. My heroine, Brynn, is a Sumerian cuneiform scholar, and it took some doing plot-wise to get a cuneiform tablet into the jungle, but I was determined. The hero, Dr. Tristan Magee, is a rogue physicist because I’m a huge science geek. I even managed to add time travel. My brain cells were really firing for this one. What a fun playground this was for me to write each day.
The Canary
This more recent book is centered around paleontology in 1899. That alone made this story great fun to research. I thought I knew dinosaurs, but I was regularly wowed by what I unearthed each day. I also loved giving the heroine, Sarah, a lot of agency (the scene where she has to convince the hero’s father that she’s got the grit to be on his dig site was written in one sitting—that doesn’t happen too often).
I was really pleased by this quote from InD’tale Magazine – “Strong female characters dominated this book although most of the characters are male.” That’s a score in my book!
Author Kristy McCaffrey
Kristy McCaffrey writes western historical and contemporary romances. She and her husband live in Arizona with their two dogs. Visit her online at kristymccaffrey.com.
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