UPDATE: The winner is…Janelle Beaver!
*~*~*

©Diana Cosby 2022

Summer is a wonderful time to enjoy nature’s beauty.  Recently, I was fortunate to see this beautiful doe.

The long days of sunlight nurture numerous flowers that draw bees, butterflies, skippers, and more.

Early in the morning chipmunks move through the grass, around rocks, or through the woods foraging for food.

Ravens are beautiful, plus really smart, and I often see them during the summer months.

I love turtles and I look forward to seeing them in the woods, at the pond, or along the shore before the cooler weather of fall arrives and they hibernate.

The warm days of summer give way to numerous varieties of butterflies who slowly flutter their way across fields, streams, in search of the next flower.  Take care, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the summer!

Contest

***ONE winner will be drawn from everyone who posts on my guest blog post about, ‘Nature’s Beauty – Summer Along the Shore!’ on Delilah’s blog between 7 August 2022 – 14 August 2022, and will win a signed copy of His Woman.”

About Diana Cosby

A retired Navy Chief, Diana Cosby is an international bestselling author of Scottish medieval romantic suspense. Books in her award-winning MacGruder Brothers series have been translated into five languages. Diana has spoken at the Library of Congress, Lady Jane’s Salon in NYC, and appeared in Woman’s Day, on USA Today’s romance blog, “Happy Ever After,” MSN.com, Atlantic County Women Magazine, and Texoma Living Magazine.

After her career in the Navy, Diana dove into her passion – writing romance novels. With 34 moves behind her, she was anxious to create characters who reflected the amazing cultures and people she’s met throughout the world. After the release of the bestselling MacGruder Brothers series and The Oath Trilogy, she released the bestselling The Forbidden Series.

Diana looks forward to the years of writing ahead and meeting the amazing people who will share this journey.

God bless,

Diana Cosby, International Best-Selling Author
www.dianacosby.com
The Oath Trilogy
MacGruder Brother Series
The Forbidden Series

Social Media
Website:  https://www.dianacosby.com/
Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/978803.Diana_Cosby
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Diana-Cosby/e/B003YJ1MR4/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1417447922&sr=8-1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Diana-Cosby-Romance-Author-150109024636/?ref=ts

UPDATE: The winner is…Beverly!
*~*~*

I want to thank Delilah for giving me the opportunity to share about my new release, The Adventure of the Purloined Portrait, the fourth case in my Early Case Files of Sherlock Holmes series. It’s available for a special price ($2.99) for a limited time.

This series offers an origin story for Sherlock Holmes. The original tales had little about his past other than his father was named Siger, he had a brother named Mycroft, and his ancestors were country squires. He also tells Watson his grandmother was the sister of the French artist Vernet, which gave him “art in the blood.” As Sherlock matures through this series, he develops his skills as he solves mysteries at the family estate, London, and now France.

In The Adventure of the Purloined Portrait, the Holmes family travels to Paris to visit their French relatives along with some purpose known only to Sherlock’s mother. The true reason for the trip becomes apparent almost immediately when they witness a murder on their first night in the city. A carriage runs down the artist of a compromising sketch of Sherlock’s mother. The hunt to bring the killer to justice sends Sherlock into parts of the city off the beaten path and into danger.

In addition to a visit to the Louvre (after all, their ancestors had paintings hanging there), the evidence sends them to such sites as the Mont-de-Piété (now the Crédit Municipal de Paris), the state-run pawn shops; the Hôtel Drouot, an auction house; the headquarters of the Surete (the French equivalent of Scotland Yard); and Montmartre, a sleepy village on the outskirts of the city in 1868. As I completed my research for the book, I found myself longing to return to the city to actually visit the places I’d only read about in books or online. Even Montmartre, a place I’d visited before, now holds new meaning to me.

I’m giving away a $5 Apple or Amazon gift card (winner’s choice) to one randomly selected person leaving a comment. Let me know of your interest in Paris. Do you want to visit the City of Lights? What would be on your list of sites there? If you have visited the city, what did you enjoy the most?

The Adventure of the Purloined Portrait

A long-buried secret. A stolen portrait. The artist’s murder. Can Sherlock discover the connection between the three before he’s stopped permanently?

Sherlock can’t shake his apprehension about a family trip to Paris. His mother’s unflappable confidence vanished months ago, and her anxiety has set the whole family on edge. His greatest fears are realized when they witness the death of one of Mrs. Holmes’ former suitors.

As Sherlock seeks to unravel the reason behind the artist’s murder, he unearths a long-buried secret about his mother and survives several attempts to keep him from getting to the truth.

Can he bring a killer to justice before he’s buried with these hidden secrets forever?

Excerpt from The Adventure of the Purloined Portrait:

I stared over the ship’s railing and spoke to my brother Mycroft without glancing at him. “I feel this trip may be a mistake.”

I saw him turn toward me from the corner of my eye. “The crossing’s almost over. You’ll feel better when you get on dry land.”

“That’s not what I meant.” I glared at him. “Mother hasn’t been herself since Easter. Out of the blue, she announces we’re going to Paris while you’re still recovering from a gunshot wound. And she’d been distracted even before that.”

Mother had always been the family rock. I’d rarely seen her rattled, but even granite can break under pressure.

During our Easter holiday in London, she appeared preoccupied by matters she never explained to me or my brother. At the time, I’d put it down to concern over my father’s efforts to invest in a business venture with an old school chum as well as Mycroft’s wounding at the hands of our kidnappers. Both, however, were now behind us. The investment had produced a modest return, and I saw no lingering problems related to Mycroft’s injury. All the same, we’d barely arrived home from school before she’d packed our trunks and shuffled us all off to Newhaven for the steamship ride to Dieppe.

“I do believe bringing the entire family is a ruse,” he said after his own inspection of the sea.

“Including Uncle Ernest in the trip did surprise me.” Her brother rarely left the estate or his workshop. “Perhaps she thinks it will do him some good. They report being happy growing up there.”

He glanced at the smoke trailing the ship. “If she was so happy there, why doesn’t she show it?”

I ran through all the scenarios—from something as benign as a sudden bout of nostalgia to a fatal illness calling her back to see her French relatives one last time—and shook my head. “Without more information, I would only be speculating. You yourself have said that can be counterproductive. Whatever the reason, something has truly unnerved her.” I turned back to the ocean, seeking any indication of the coastline. “And whatever it is lies in Paris.”

Buy Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09RN27KPT
BN: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-adventure-of-the-purloined-portrait-liese-sherwood-fabre/1140803032
iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-adventure-of-the-purloined-portrait/id1604426329
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-adventure-of-the-purloined-portrait
Other: books2read.com/u/mZZjzD

About the Author

Liese Sherwood-Fabre knew she was destined to write when she got an A+ in the second grade for her story about Dick, Jane, and Sally’s ruined picnic. After obtaining her PhD, she joined the federal government and worked and lived internationally for more than fifteen years. Returning to the states, she seriously pursued her writing career, garnering such awards as a finalist in RWA’s Golden Heart contest and a Pushcart Prize nomination. A recognized Sherlockian scholar, her essays have appeared in scion newsletters, the Baker Street Journal, and Canadian Holmes. She has recently turned this passion into an origin story series on Sherlock Holmes. The first book, The Adventure of the Murdered Midwife, was the CIBA Mystery and Mayhem 2020 winner.

Visit her at:
Website: https://www.liesesherwoodfabre.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lsfabre
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/liese.sherwoodfabre
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/liesesf
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5758587.Liese_Sherwood_Fabre
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/liese-sherwood-fabre
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Liese-Sherwood-Fabre/e/B00810INE6

You can keep up with all upcoming events and books by signing up for her newsletter. When you do, you’ll get a FREE short story.
https://www.liesesherwoodfabre.com/contact.html#newsletter

UPDATE: The winner is…Beckie!
*~*~*

©Diana Cosby 2022

Each season at the marsh is unique.  During winter, the birds search for food, or shield themselves from the cold.

At times deer will venture out onto the cold, frozen marshlands in search of food.

Red Tailed Hawks glide through the skies on currents of air or perch on branches as they scour the marshland.

I love the song of the Red-winged Blackbird, which to me is heralding the approach of spring.

Mallard Ducks, as many waterfowl who live at the marsh, huddle in crevices against the cold but love to come out and bask in the warm rays when the sun’s out.

Seagulls live at the marsh year-round.  I find their calls as I walk along the grassy lands peaceful.  Take care, and I wish you the best.

Contest

***ONE winner will be drawn from everyone who posts on my guest blog post about, ‘Winter At The Marsh!’ on Delilah’s blog between 13^th March 2022 – 20^th of March 2022, and will win a tote.”

About Diana Cosby

A retired Navy Chief, Diana Cosby is an international bestselling author of Scottish medieval romantic suspense. Books in her award-winning MacGruder Brothers series have been translated into five languages. Diana has spoken at the Library of Congress, Lady Jane’s Salon in NYC, and appeared in Woman’s Day, on USA Today’s romance blog, “Happy Ever After,” MSN.com, Atlantic County Women Magazine, and Texoma Living Magazine.

After her career in the Navy, Diana dove into her passion – writing romance novels. With 34 moves behind her, she was anxious to create characters who reflected the amazing cultures and people she’s met throughout the world. After the release of the bestselling MacGruder Brothers series and The Oath Trilogy, she released the bestselling The Forbidden Series.

Diana looks forward to the years of writing ahead and meeting the amazing people who will share this journey.

Diana Cosby, International Best-Selling Author
www.dianacosby.com
The Oath Trilogy
MacGruder Brother Series
The Forbidden Series

Social Media
Website:  https://www.dianacosby.com/
Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/978803.Diana_Cosby
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Diana-Cosby/e/B003YJ1MR4/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1417447922&sr=8-1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Diana-Cosby-Romance-Author-150109024636/?ref=ts

UPDATE: The winner is…Colleen C!
*~*~*

Everyone knows who Rosa Parks is and why we know about her, but very few know about Elizabeth Jennings Graham.

Born free in 1827, Elizabeth grew up in New York, a child of the African-American bourgeoisie known as the “Talented Tenth.” Hers was a family of activists committed to uplifting the race. Her mother wrote an address for ten-year-old Elizabeth to deliver at the meeting of the Ladies Literary Society of New York. The society was founded by New York’s elite African-American women to promote self-improvement through community activities, reading, and discussion. Elizabeth’s speech focused on how the neglect of cultivating the mind would keep African-Americans inferior to whites. Her father helped found the Wilberforce Philanthropic Society, an African-American self-help organization named after the British abolitionist.

Elizabeth worked as a schoolteacher in the African Free School then in public schools and as a church organist at the First Colored American Congregational Church. On Sunday, July 16, 1854 on her way to church, she and a friend boarded a horse-drawn streetcar in Lower Manhattan. By custom, this was allowable if no White passengers objected. None did but the conductor still ordered them off. Despite being attacked by the conductor and the driver, Elizabeth refused to be moved. She was finally forced off with the help of a policeman.

This incident, much like Rosa Parks’ arrest, led to an organized movement to desegregate streetcars. The movement’s leaders were Jennings’ father, Rev. Henry Highland Garnet and Rev. James W.C. Pennington. Her father filed a lawsuit on her behalf against the driver, the conductor, and the Third Avenue Railroad Company. Her case was handled by 24-year-old Chester A. Arthur, who became the 21st president of the U.S. In 1855, the Brooklyn Circuit Court ruled in her favor and awarded her damages and her legal fees. Even though the Third Avenue Railroad Company desegregated their line the day after the ruling, it took another ten years before public transportation in New York was fully desegregated.

Elizabeth married Charles Graham in 1860, survived the New York Draft Riots of 1863, moved with her family to New Jersey, then after her husband’s death in 1867, returned to New York. She went on to found and operate the first kindergarten for African-American children in her home. She died at age 74 in 1901.

One hundred years later, Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat to a White man sparked the historic Montgomery Alabama Bus Boycott of 1955 and led to an Elizabeth-Jennings-style desegregation victory in 1956. Maybe, someday, a young person will write a blog post of their own entitled, Rosa Parks: the Elizabeth Jennings of the 1950s.

For a chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card leave a comment about an undersung historic event or person you’ve learned about.

Better To Marry Than To Burn

Wife Wanted: Marital relations as necessary. Love not required nor sought…

A bridal lottery seems the height of foolishness to ex-slave Caesar King, but his refusal to participate in the town council’s scheme places him in a bind. He has to get married to avoid paying a high residence fine or leave the Texas territory. After losing his wife in childbirth, Caesar isn’t ready for romance. A woman looking for a fresh start without any emotional strings is what he needs.
Queen Esther Payne, a freeborn black from Philadelphia, has been threatened by her family for her forward-thinking, independent ways. Her family insists she marry. Her escape comes in the form of an ad. If she must marry, it will be on her terms. But her first meeting with the sinfully hot farmer proves an exciting tussle of wills that stirs her physically, intellectually, and emotionally.
In the battle of sexual one-upmanship that ensues, both Caesar and Queen discover surrender can be as fulfilling as triumph.

Excerpt from Better to Mary Than to Burn…

“I do many things, Miss Payne.” He pushed up the brim of his hat and grinned, fired up by the hazel flame sparking in her eyes. “Pretending to be a gentleman doesn’t number among them.”

She firmed her full lips into a thin, angry line. “But you do aspire to establish a legacy—like a gentleman would.”

“If marrying you to leave a legacy makes me a gentleman, then I must agree. Although, your letter made it clear you weren’t looking for a gentleman. In fact, if you had your way, you wouldn’t be looking for a man at all…gentlemanly or otherwise.”

She responded with a slight rise in her eyebrows.

He thumbed over his shoulder. “Our marriage carriage awaits.”

He sauntered toward his wagon, not surprised to find when he looked back, her highness hadn’t moved. But uncertainty colored her imperiousness and rippled in her frown.

“The stagecoach back East isn’t due until midday tomorrow,” he shouted.

“Hmmpf.” She turned her back on him, presenting a bustle-less skirt that outlined a behind, round and ripe for his inspection.

He huffed out a breath, cupped his hands and shouted again.

“We’ve a minister waiting…if you’re staying.”

Of course, she was staying. She’d never have agreed to marry him if she’d had another choice. Philadelphia’s Lombard Street, a bastion of black privilege it may be, had only one place for a daughter of Lesbos who wouldn’t marry: the insane asylum. Marriage to him here in the West was her last—and probably only—refuge.

Buylink: https://amzn.to/2KTaGPH

Not long after I published the Soul of the Witch trilogy, I received several emails asking about Jason and Amy, the married couple from Boston who went West to help his uncle manage the Harris Highland’s Ranch.

How did such diverse personalities meet? Their passion for each other was evident, but what was their story?

Then, while crafting Jason and Amy’s story in Pyromancer, two more characters made it abundantly clear they had a past to air as well.

Hence, two prequel novels for the Soul of the Witch trilogy (Prodigy and Pyromancer) and a third novel (Patriarch) to wrap up the six-book series is coming soon. But numbering two prequels became an issue. 0.25 and 0.5 were not an option, so I gave these tales an entirely new series name. Coven Moon.

Prodigy, Coven Moon, Book 1

Ayden saw Margaret’s face in his very first fire-vision. They came to believe their love to be inevitable, their destiny and passion as enduring as his visions, able to overcome any obstacle.

Or so they thought.

Excerpt from “Prodigy”

The sky darkened. The heavy, threatening clouds that had lined the western horizon on their way to the farm rolled across the sky, bringing with them the scent of rain. Dry cornrows rustled in the brisk breeze and made it impossible to hear piglets running in the field.

Or Ayden. I’d best turn back or chance a soaking.

Ahead of Margaret, two figures crossed her path. The first, a black sow, followed immediately by a pale woman in a flowing white gown. The woman paused, her gaze directed beyond Margaret, and slowly raised her hand to point down the row.

Margaret spun on her heel, chilled to the bone by the apparition, and bounced off the chest of a strange man. She struck him with such force she stumbled back, fell to the ground, and rubbed her nose.

The stranger laughed. His gaping mouth displayed missing and rotted teeth. The breeze lifted white hair and tossed it about his head like a crazed ghoul. “Look what I found.”

Not a ghoul.

Margaret scrambled backward, rolled to rise to her feet, but was knocked back down by a boot to her backside.

“And they said there weren’t no women here.”

She twisted to watch him and kicked his hand when he reached for the hem of her skirt. “Don’t touch me.”

“Mighty prissy.” He leaned forward and grabbed her boot when she kicked. “That ain’t nice. You must like it rough. I know I sure do.”

His chuckle turned into a surprised grunt as he was knocked back by a man who burst from the adjacent row.

“Ayden?” Margaret scrambled to her feet, eyeing the two men who wrestled on the ground.

“Go,” Ayden yelled at her. “Run.” The ghoulish man’s fist knocked Ayden’s head back.

She ran past where they fought, then stopped in the row to watch.

There must be something I can do.

Ayden fell back across the row.

Her assailant thrashed to his feet and picked up the long rifle Ayden had knocked from his hands. “This won’t be pretty, but I’m sure gonna like it.” He lifted the rifle butt to his shoulder and squinted down the barrel at Ayden.

Ayden gained his feet and lifted his hand toward the rifle barrel. “Don’t shoot,” he warned.

With a grin, the white-haired man squeezed the trigger. As the firing pin struck the cap, the gunpowder exploded backward, sending the breech plug and blast of the weapon into the attacker’s face. Smoke and fire followed the dead man to the ground.

Ayden closed his fingers into a fist, and the fire ceased. His gaze turned from the man on the ground to Margaret, and his eyes widened with astonished recognition.

“Run back to the farm.” He closed the distance between them. “There are two more of these men in the field.”

“What? How do you know?”

“They came to the farm after the moon gathering.” He gripped her upper arm and pushed her ahead of him. “Run, Margaret.”

She lifted her skirt and dashed through the corn. Freezing rain, driven by the wind, pelted her head. The row curved, limiting her vision, her heart thundered in her ears, then she was out of the corn. She stumbled to a stop and gazed around the empty yard.

The members at the Samhain celebration had retreated inside to escape the storm. No one would have heard her cry for help.

“Let’s get inside.” Ayden took her hand and led her toward the house. “Leader Brown needs to be told what’s happened.”

*~*~*

Buy Link: Amazon – https://amzn.to/3IJaQVC
($0.99 through the end of the year–Free in KU!)

Pyromancer, Coven Moon, Book 2

Indentured for twenty years, a hostage of magic in a foreign land, Ayden MacKenna returns home seeking more than vengeance and searches the flames for an inkling of what he may have lost.

Excerpt from “Pyromancer”

The flames in his stove burned brightly, and the chill in the room lessened. The tingling sensation of foretelling tightened his scalp. “Show me Margaret’s child.”

The shadows between the flames whirled and dipped as they flickered across the coals in time with a silent rhythm.

Then she stood before him in the fire, on a grand staircase.

Ayden groaned, and his soul chipped a tiny bit more. She looked like the memory of Margaret he had carried in his mind—in his heart—for so long.

The young woman’s fingers played nervously with the string ties of a beaded mask.

A blond-haired man stepped into the vision. He took her hand and bent to whisper in her hair.

Ayden slammed the door to the stove shut and covered his face as his shoulders shook.

Loss filled his heart, and he battled with hatred and resentment. They’d taken so damned much from him. For so long he had begged to see visions of home, tidings of the ones he’d been forced to leave behind, and now that he had—now that a face had formed in the fire, showing him the child that could have been his had he been allowed to stay, he could hardly bear it.

He pushed the tears from his lashes and shook his head.

The fire had given him two faces tonight. One he recognized—the blond lad that came in regularly to bed Molly. He rolled his eyes and lay back on his bed.

What had been the boy’s name?

Ah yes, Jason Harris.

*~*~*

Buy Link: Amazon – https://amzn.to/3EMnr81
(Free in KU!)

C. Marie Bowen Amazon Author Page – https://amzn.to/3rY52Su
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | LinkedIn | Newsletter

UPDATE: The winner is…Donna Barker!
*~*~*

When I was a kid I used to watch an old game show called To Tell The Truth. The curtain came up on three contestants who would claim, “My name is …” The host Bud Collyer would read a mini-bio on the person then a panel of celebrities asked a series of questions to discern which of the contestants was telling the truth. At the end of the round, the panelists stated who their guess was. Collyer then turned to the contestants and asked, “Will the real…  please stand up?” This old game show question came to me as I crafted today’s post about Stagecoach Mary Fields.

Mary Fields was a former slave who became the first African American woman to work for the postal service. She was awarded two Star Route mail contracts. These were contracts given to a private carrier to deliver mail for the post office in rural and sparsely populated areas. Despite her nickname, Mary carried the mail with a horse and wagon from 1885 to 1903. She is believed to have been born in 1832 which means she would have been fifty-three when her first contract was granted.

I first learned of Mary in William Loren Katz’s Black People Who Made the Old West. Born in slavery in Tennessee, she made her way West to Montana with her former master’s daughter who’d become an Ursuline nun. Mary worked in the school the Ursulines founded for Native American women. She was six feet tall, dressed, drank, cussed, and handled a gun like a man.

In a 1959 Ebony magazine article, actor Gary Cooper wrote this about her, “Born a slave somewhere in Tennessee, Mary lived to become one of the freest souls ever to draw a breath, or a .38.”

Episode five of the Weird Wonderful Women Youtube channel is dedicated to her. You can view it here: https://youtu.be/6-xFSexopwo. Another realistic depiction is shared in this stage presentation: https://youtu.be/khhIwpxrtFk.

Imagine my shock when I saw a picture of Zazie Beetz, the actress who portrayed Mary in the Netflix film The Harder They Fall. Check out this side-by-side comparison created for this op-ed in the Curvy Fashionista, https://thecurvyfashionista.com/stagecoach-mary-op-ed/, and you’ll understand why that old To Tell The Truth question, “Will the real Stagecoach Mary please stand up?,” came to be the title of my post.

But why should Hollywood’s depiction of Mary be any more realistic than those of other Western women? Does anyone believe Doris Day was chosen to play Calamity Jane because she resembled the real Martha Jane Cannary? Or Betty Hutton because she looked anything like Annie Oakley? Zazie Beetz and Stagecoach Mary are in good company. I’m just grateful Mary is being featured at all. Maybe it will send viewers to learn more about her so the real Stagecoach Mary can not only stand up but stand out.

So for a chance at a $10 Amazon gift card, share in the comments about a woman whose story you wish Hollywood would tell.

“The Patience of Unanswered Prayer” by Michal Scott,
inside Cowboys

A feisty businesswoman about to become the next victim of Post-Civil War revenge receives rescue from an unexpected source…

Excerpt from “The Patience of Unanswered Prayer”…

The cock of a gun hammer turned them both in the same direction. Radcliffe aimed at her and fired. The shot burned its way into her shoulder, knocking her to the ground onto her back.

A second shot shattered the night silence. Through pain-drenched tears she saw Flyte whirl, stumble backwards and collapse with a splash into the creek.

Eleanor lay spent, her shoulder warmed by her blood, her chest no longer tight with fear. Above, the moon shone through a black canopy of leaves. The smell of creek water, crisp and clean, filled her lungs. She’d never imagined where she would die, but a place of beauty like this was as good as any.

Radcliffe’s grin loomed over her.

She stared into the barrel of his gun then closed her eyes as surrender seeped through her.

Father into thy hands I commit my spirit.

 A peace descended upon her mind, the peace that passeth all understanding spoken of in the Bible. Although feeling peaceful at this moment made no sense.

 Neither did the screaming, cursing and snarling that rent the air.

Buy link: Amazon – https://amzn.to/3iwUhkN
Michal Scott Amazon Author Page – https://amzn.to/2TSHzRn
Website – www.michalscott.webs.com

UPDATE: The winner is…Buttonsmom2003!
*~*~*

©Diana Cosby 2021

Each season brings something special in nature to inspire the muse, with my favorite season, fall.  The beautiful golds, reds, oranges, and browns of the falling leaves swirl to the ground, exposing on some trees, berries, which birds, like these cedar waxwings, love.

Fall colors make a gorgeous backdrop to wildlife and birds such as this Cooper’s Hawk.

Deer are foraging for food as they prepare for the winter, with their coats growing thick to stand up against the cold.

With the cooler weather, smaller birds, like this chipping sparrow, flip over leaves and jump through the bushes looking for berries or seeds.

Once the limbs are barren, it’s easier to see smaller birds like this brown creeper.

At the marsh, the birds, like this cormorant, are migrating though.  The crisp air will soon give way to cooler temperatures and the arrival of winter.  Take care, and wishing you a wonderful holiday season.

Contest

ONE winner will be drawn from everyone who posts on my guest blog post about, ‘Nature’s Beauty – Inspiration For The Muse!’ on Delilah’s blog between 19 November 2021– 28 November 2021, and will win a tote bag.

About Diana Cosby

A retired Navy Chief, Diana Cosby is an international bestselling author of Scottish medieval romantic suspense. Books in her award-winning MacGruder Brothers series have been translated into five languages. Diana has spoken at the Library of Congress, Lady Jane’s Salon in NYC, and appeared in Woman’s Day, on USA Today’s romance blog, “Happy Ever After,” MSN.com, Atlantic County Women Magazine, and Texoma Living Magazine.

After her career in the Navy, Diana dove into her passion – writing romance novels. With 34 moves behind her, she was anxious to create characters who reflected the amazing cultures and people she’s met throughout the world. After the release of the bestselling MacGruder Brothers series and The Oath Trilogy, she released the bestselling The Forbidden Series.

Diana looks forward to the years of writing ahead and meeting the amazing people who will share this journey.

Diana Cosby, International Best-Selling Author
www.dianacosby.com
The Oath Trilogy
MacGruder Brother Series
The Forbidden Series

Social Media
Website:  https://www.dianacosby.com/
Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/978803.Diana_Cosby
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Diana-Cosby/e/B003YJ1MR4/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1417447922&sr=8-1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Diana-Cosby-Romance-Author-150109024636/?ref=ts