The contest for the pretty journal continues. See yesterday’s post for details! ~DD

Last night was exciting—wind causing the trees to bend and crack, thunder and lightning, tornado warnings… You get the picture. I had the red-headed hellion, the six-year-old and the two-year-old camped out in my basement as we listened to the weather radio. Then the power goes out. Luckily, I have a thing for candles too. They climbed into the bed down here and went to sleep. I stepped outside under the covered deck to watch. Mother Nature gave me quite a show. No funnel clouds, but lots of jagged lights.

So, not much sleep. I’m on my third cup of coffee and starting to feel alive again. 🙂

Today, what I’d like to do is tell you about a story that’s releasing in a little over a week. It’s my first Nocturne Bite for Harlequin. I’d love for it to be a success, because I’d like to do more of them.

The story isn’t one I would have conceived on my own. The concept was already born as part of Nocturne’s Time Raiders series. I was invited to write a Bite to continue the series and given a premise to work with. Or at least a historical/mythological figure to build a story around. I’m flexible like that. You know that about me if you’ve roamed my site before. I have little control over the direction of Bad Moon Rising, which is the story my readers have helped me plot every step of the way. Anyway, the figure I was given was Queen Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons! Fun, right?

If the premise and the excerpt from The Warrior’s Touch intrigue you, click on the cover and head over to Amazon.com right now to pre-order this story! And I don’t have to tell you, you’re gonna love the hero, melt over the sex, and have a spanking good time.

Lieutenant Farideh Kalani expected her time-traveling assignment in ancient Scythia to be difficult, but fitting in with Amazon warriors is easy compared to being partnered with Sergeant First Class Caleb MacAvoy. The Texan soldier is infuriatingly smug and undeniably sexy. Then with one kiss, he awakens all Farideh’s desires. Now she’ll have to keep an eye on her mission and try to resist her attraction to Caleb. Because he’s the one man who might be able to breach the walls she’s built around her heart….

Farideh Kalani gritted her teeth to keep them from chattering as she felt herself being pulled one way and then another while spiraling downward. She arrived with a jolt, her thighs spread over the back of a large black stallion, her body bent over his neck as the two of them thundered across rolling hills, the horse’s hooves cutting into grass and stone. Which would have been a problem before the time jump, because she’d never ridden anything larger than a pony at the county fair. However, now she reached down to catch the trailing reins, and forced herself back, pulling at the stone bit in her mount’s mouth.

The horse gave a shrill whinny and a little buck, but Fari pressed her knees into his sides, and gradually he gentled, easing into a trot.

She grinned, then raised her head and breathed the clean, brisk air of ancient Scythia. Heavy gray storm clouds were rolling in from the south, whipping up a wind that carried the scent of the sea, and salt she could taste.

Glancing down, she noted she sat atop her horse with only a padded saddlecloth between her dark wool trousers and the animal’s warm back. Her boots were stuck in leather stirrups sewn to the saddlecloth. She wore an embroidered jacket trimmed in fur around the cuffs and neck, with a row of gold appliqués embossed with gryphons and lions along the hem. She slipped a gloved hand under her sleeve to check for the silver ESC cuff, her ticket home, and breathed a sigh of relief to feel its warmth against her skin.

Grasping the reins with confidence, she trusted the skill that had been implanted in her mind, along with her new knowledge of the geography around her.

If she didn’t make the fortress city of Tanais by nightfall, she’d be pitching a tent, of sorts, in the rain, tying together two cushioned saddlecloths with those leather stirrups.

Although she had the knowledge to construct the tent, she wasn’t eager to lie on the hard ground within the tiny shelter, huddled for warmth against her current companion.

Sergeant First Class Caleb McAvoy was already too smug and too sexy for her peace of mind.
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