K'Anne Meinel's Blog

Senora Mary Carmen Valenzuela Pearson has settled into the Outback Station she inherited from her father’s brother Jude.  Her partners are Fabiola and Harold Polaski, the offspring of Jude’s partner.  Twin Station, run by these three partners, begins to return from the terrible fires that wiped out their southern paddocks.  The thousands of sheep Carmen brought with her from Sydney helped to make up for their losses.  Her incredible and much sought-after black horses thrive in this arid environment.

But Carmen has her own ideas of how things should be run, her family have been ranchers and farmers in the California Valley’s for hundreds of years.  She and her people are building their own homes, their own village, on this large station, quite different from the Australians.

As the two cultures clash, can they learn to mesh their strengths and overcome their weaknesses in this great Outback adventure?

Available here with all the links: Outback Senora

Today on what would have been Nickey’s 50th birthday, I want to celebrate a dog that really was perfect for a child living out in the country with no near friends, who indulged my sense of adventure, and was there for me through many firsts.

Nickey came into my life as a replacement for Corkey.  Corkey was my first dog, a schnauzer poodle mix, so, in the 70’s a mutt or Schnoodle.  Unfortunately, Corkey was run over by my dad because he was chasing the truck at night and he was black and couldn’t be seen.  I was devastated.  My brother Steve found an ad in the Milwaukee Journal for a Schnoodle that the woman HAD to get rid of.  Apparently, her husband mandated it, and she’d bought it for her toddler, not realizing that a puppy and a toddler were too much work.

My mother hated driving on freeways but we had to get to South Milwaukee where the woman lived, it was first come, first serve, fortunately Steve called first and she was holding the pup for us, we managed to get there with four of the five of us kids in the car and my mother relieved to be in familiar areas.  Apparently, there were four other offers for the pup, sight unseen. The woman opened her door, we opened our vehicle and all the kids tumbled out, the puppy came to greet us, and my mother was like, “We’ll take him.”  There was no discussion, no argument, and for $20, we got a huge bag of toys to go with him.  We always said we paid a nickel for Nickey and $19.95 for all those toys.

I was going on nine and going into 4-H (something you will recognize in several of my books) and Nickey was ideal for dog training.  Later there would be a Standard Poodle that my sister got and I helped with and then even later a German Shorthaired Pointer.  We already had what they would now call a King Shepherd, and Rex was HUGE, but perfect for our family and my dad’s dog.  Nickey was this small puppy and my father was certain that the German Shepherd would kill it.  Instead, he played with the puppy, as though he had been waiting for this little moppet all his life.  Watching this huge German Shepherd eagerly chase this tiny pup, his big paw just missing coming down on him, was such a delight.  Rex had so much fun with that puppy and he taught him manners.  I sincerely believe that it extended his rather dull life and rejuvenated him.

I showed Nickey in 4-H in conformation and obedience.  It was in the days before they had agility and all the other things you see on YouTube videos nowadays.  Even though Nickey was a mutt, and technically not allowed, I even took him to fourth in state in show!  The judge was embarrassed when she found out but came over and gave me encouragement and told me to keep it up.  I lost interest after that though as there are some pretty nasty parents as well as the dogs that people show. I learned to groom dogs starting with him and I still, to this day, have my grooming supplies.

Nickey was there for me all through high school, which, to me was purgatory.  Then, I went off to college and my mother had him, but he knew I was his human.  I took him with me when I went to California and I like to think he had a good life as we walked on the beaches, and then later in our townhome complex.  I was ever so thrilled that he lived long enough to meet my sons.  They might not remember it, but it was, for some reason, important to me.

I’m still devastated that the time came to put him down and that I couldn’t be there for him when they did it.  It’s one of the reasons I don’t have pets right now as if you can’t afford to keep them healthy, happy, and on the right meds, you shouldn’t have them (in my opinion).  I would want to give a dog, or even a cat, a good life and be able to afford everything I want them to have.

Nickey was a great start and he explored our ponds, swam in them whether he wanted to or not.  Dunked me on more than one occasion as he swam out to me, road in the canoe, and explored the woods and swamps with me.  He was perfect for a child with an over-active imagination.  He helped me raise my ducks and geese, even going with me when I had to track the geese down.  When I got stuck in quicksand, he was no Lassie and watched me get myself out of the hole I had sunk into, I didn’t even lose my shoes!  It was scary though and I remember thinking Lassie would have gone and gotten help.

That dog was wicked smart and I taught him a ton of tricks, using both hand signals and verbal commands.  It was funny because my husband didn’t realize that the same training I had given the dogs, was used on him and the kids!  He was furious when he found out, lol. 

Nickey was a once-in-a-lifetime dog and it’s sad that we only have dogs for a relatively short time but there will be more dogs, someday, I hope and I’ll raise a salute to a dog who helped create the person I am.

Happy Birthday, Nickey.

Alinta is determined to make sure she never becomes a victim again, but what can she do when Mel’s previous love shows up at the outback station they are building together?  The white woman, with her proper English ways, is like no one she has ever seen before.  How can she compete with someone who once held her own love’s heart?

Mel Lawrence is astonished to see Lady Worthington in her home in the Outback, so far from England.  She had never thought she would see her again.  Abigail is even prettier than she had remembered.  It has been a lot of years, and they have both matured.  Mel, however, is now married to Alinta and they have a child, with another on the way. 

Abigail is a widow with three children of her own, and has fled to Australia, hoping to find Mel, her first love, ready to take her back.  What she finds instead surprises everyone, herself included. 

What will the future hold for these three?

Abigail is hiding from her father and her late husbands solicitors.

She takes her young daughter and escapes to the London property belonging to the late earl.

After learning a few things about her past and the parts certain people played in them, she begins to grow up.

She becomes more confident in her role as the Countess of Worthington, something she hadnt been able to do during her marriage.

Will her father ever cease his efforts to get his hands on her inheritance?

If not, she is prepared to leave England and flee to the last place on Earth he would expect to find her!

Amazon

Audible

iTunes

Jae wrote a fantastic article regarding this so I won’t repeat it here. If you’d like to read her original article, please click here.

I would like to say, I have seen my books on various pirate sites, I always have my lawyers send a cease and desist but if you, my readers, find out my books have been plagiarized by these A.I. scammers, please reach out to me and let me know! I would appreciate it.

~K’Anne

Did you know I have multiple blog sites (for various reasons). Check out my travel blog to find out what I’ve been up to, and, if you are so inclined, subscribe to it so when I post you get an email with the blogs as I post them. Check it out here.

Nothing in Mel Lawrence’s life could have prepared her for living in the Australian Outback.  She finds creating her new life and establishing a sheep station far from the elite society she was expected to live in extremely satisfying.  She has a wife, a child, and a dream she never imagined she wanted, and they are all she needs.  Will she be able to hold on to the happiness she’s found after seeking it for so long?

Available here, on my website so you can choose which merchant to purchase from. I know in these economic times you want to avoid certain merchants, but as an independent author, I try to offer you alternatives to those you might want to avoid.

Kerryn Whitsig is at the end of her rope.  In an act of desperation, she takes the last of her money and gambles it all away. Unskilled at cards, the casino she goes to sees people like her all the time.  The house always wins. 

Tonight, though, Celia Harrison walks onto the casino floor and sees the woman, her desperation, determination, and possibilities.  Kerryn’s luck changes in an instant.

In payment, she feels she must thank this sophisticated and incredible woman for the assistance.  Celia didn’t ask anything for her aid but couldn’t resist the kisses the woman bestowed upon her.  Kerryn finds herself in bed with the woman, having the most amazing sex of her life. 

Celia wants more than a one-night stand, though.  She wants forever, and Kerryn is frightened not only to take the chance but also to gamble on their future.

All the links here!

It is always great when you get the chance to work with a narrator who gets the story, who can do the accents, and make you feel you are part of the story. Listening for edits, I couldn’t wait to hear what was going to happen next, and I wrote it! Yes, she’s that good and fortunately for all of us, she’s doing all the rest of the Outback books we have available.

Alinta Lawrence, helping her wife to establish a station in her native outback, learning white ways, is finding it a challenge for the primitive woman. Having a child to raise with her wife, there is so much to learn, about the white woman’s world. She’s amazed and sometimes overwhelmed by the things these white people seem to need in their lives, will she be able to cope with it all?

Available here in both audiobook, on three platforms, paperback, and e-book!

Moving on after a long-term marriage ends is killer and finding and decorating a new home is not something Alice enjoys.  She’s becoming annoyed with the inconveniences caused by those who are surveilling her and her new life.  She is methodically putting her life back together, but when she finally begins to get her things in order, life throws her a curve ball no one could have seen coming.

All the links are available here.