I’m a great lover of goal setting and compiling to-do lists. Every day I make a list of the things I want to accomplish, and these lists feed into my weekly, monthly and annual goals. All very well and good you might think, but it came to me recently that I spend a huge amount of time planning for the future. Again, not a problem. Everyone should plan for the future, otherwise life becomes a fulfillment of the saying “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.”

But what happens when life steps in and our goals aren’t met? When items don’t get ticked off the lists? It’s too easy to fall into the trap of becoming despondent, or believing that we’ve let ourselves down and failed big time. And a sense of failure can be a pernicious thing, dripping so readily into many other areas of our lives and making us doubt our abilities.

I have a writing accountability partner and each week we share our goals for the next seven days. We’re supportive and congratulatory, but we never berate each other if either one of us falls behind on our goals, especially when this is due to unexpected circumstances. Life happens. What proved a revelation for me was when a mutual friend suggested not simply focusing on what we had planned, but failed, to accomplish during the week, but instead celebrated what we did accomplish. Those unplanned things that crop up unexpectedly, like helping out a friend who needed our support, but in doing so meant we missed out on several hours writing time and didn’t meet our word count that day. Or maybe one of our children wanted our attendance at an impromptu play, or school gathering. Then there’s playing ball in the garden with a new puppy (that would be me this week). Or it could simply be that we needed to take time out for ourselves to refresh and rejuvenate. Are those things any less important, or fulfilling, than achieving daily word counts, hitting sales targets or the other myriad tasks we set ourselves?

I’m not suggesting we throw away our lists or stop setting goals. Heavens no. Personally, I’d feel dangerously adrift in stormy waters with no life jacket in sight. I’m just advocating we all take the time to smell those precious roses now and again, and not to beat ourselves over the head when we do. If we fail to meet our self-imposed targets and goals for the day/week/month, it’s very likely the world won’t come to an end. As someone once quipped “nobody ever said on their death-bed that they wished they’d spent more time in the office”

Have a great day!

www.fayeavalon.com

Indecent Exposure

She’s gotten herself into hot water, and the heat just keeps on rising.

Gina McKenzie didn’t make the same mistakes her mother made with men. She just made different ones. Like letting a good one get away—and trusting a bad one to keep her kinky tastes private.

With an ex-lover holding a naked bondage video over her head, she’s forced to reunite with an old college crush to get the dirty on him. Back then, she resorted to humiliating Mitchell Coleman to keep her heart safe. Now she has no choice but to compromise him in the worst possible way.

When Gina walks back into Mitchell’s life and starts seducing him, desire wars with suspicion. Last time this happened, she tossed him to the wolves. If she’s going to serve herself up on a plate, he intends to make her see exactly what she missed by rejecting him all those years ago.

But Mitch soon realizes that Gina has an agenda other than heating up the sheets—and this time he’s not going to let her play him for a fool.

Buy at: Samhain | Amazon | Nook | All Romance 

Hi – I’m Lizzie Ashworth. Thanks, Delilah, for inviting me to your blog for the day!

It’s another hot July day, and yours is about to get hotter. Now just 99 cents (free on Kindle Unlimited), Hers to Choose is a full-length erotic romance novel. The language is salty and the story heavily spiced with BDSM.

Here’s just one of many 5 star reviews: “Loved this book. It is very well written. I love how Bryn craves the kink. I think we all would love a little kink every now and then. Highly recommend this book to anyone who loves the BDSM side of things!”

The story plunges straight to the heart of America in both setting (St. Louis and rural Ozarks) and in character.  Hunting rights on her inherited Ozark farm is Bryn McClure’s emergency plan to stop foreclosure. A little BDSM on the side—she can handle that, too. But when the day arrives and she stands on her porch watching two gorgeous men walk toward her, she suddenly wonders what kind of mess she’s gotten herself into.

As cousins raised like brothers, Alex and Dan Cannon work hard to continue the successful construction/contracting business established by their fathers. Maybe not so successful are their affairs of the heart, especially when they find themselves up front and personal with the kinky side of things.

Are they naturally suited to the world of domination and submission? Or do they have to work at it to please a woman they love? Is it even possible for someone not naturally ‘kinky’ to learn to enjoy it?

Here’s an excerpt from Chapter 2:

Hair neatly braided and wearing her insulated vest, Bryn loaded the four-wheeler in the early light. Ka-boom sounded in the creek bottom soon followed by a second shot. No surprise they’d have a shot first day out, she mused as she jostled down to the cabin. After this, though, deer would be harder to find. They knew what gunshots meant.

It was exactly one hour after sunrise. Overnight temperatures had dropped below freezing and white frost coated the pastures. A spiral of smoke rose from the cabin’s old chimney, and the aromatic scent laced the cold air.

With the breakfast warming on the wood stove, she quickly cleared the table and crammed all the dirty stuff into the box. She set the lunch basket on the shelf and had just finished wiping off the table when the door opened and Dan stepped inside. Oh, he was devastating. A big hunting knife strapped to his belt and a 30-06 rifle gleamed in his gloved hands. His straw-blonde hair bristled around his orange hunting cap, and his pale stare pinned her down with an icy look.

“Good morning,” she said, offering a careful smile. Did he expect her eyes to stay lowered in a formally submissive manner? “How’re you today?”

“Damn hungry. I hope you brought enough food.” He placed the gun on the top bunk and peeled off the orange vest. “Not quite enough dinner last night, in case you’re still taking notes.”

She decided she didn’t actually like him. Anger and hostility exuded from every pore. Her body shivered at the idea of him in control over her. But then, she didn’t have to like him. She would serve him and hope that his discipline didn’t cause her to need him in some perverse way.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” She carried his hot plate to the table, burning her hands. Shit. She rubbed her fingers on the sides of her jeans. “I’ll make extra from now on.”

“Great.” He threw his insulated camo jacket on the bed, revealing the white Thinsulate shirt stretched tight across his wide shoulders and chest. “Alex is still in the woods. He thinks he’s going to get another chance at that buck.” He chuckled and pulled out a chair.

She bit her lip and tried to stop gaping at his physique. What the hell was wrong with her? Was she really this starved for a man? Or were these guys extra special hot? Uh, both, damn it. She nervously smoothed her flannel shirt.

“This discipline thing…I assume you know what I’m talking about?” He shoveled a big bite of egg and biscuit into his mouth and washed it down with a gulp of coffee. He glanced at her. “Right?”

“Yes, sir.” She licked her lips nervously. “I’m at your service.”

He paused. “Your friend Wade showed me around his place. But I have no idea what you expect. Alex says spanking with your wrists tied. Is that the deal?”

“Yes, sir,” she said in a low voice, lowering her eyes. “And other discipline, if it pleases you.”

His eyes glittered at her briefly, causing her stomach to clench. She considered asking what he would like, but she suddenly didn’t have the strength. If he’d been with Wade, surely he had his own ideas. Wade knew her secrets. Her legs felt unexpectedly weak.

“We’ll get started, then.” He continued wolfing down his breakfast. “Soon as I finish eating.”

Her pulse skidded in her throat. What had she been thinking? With Ethan and their friends in St. Louis, BDSM had been a casual evening activity with alcohol, music, and lots of teasing. But she didn’t know this man. Maybe her first impressions would turn out to be wrong, but it seemed to her he could easily harbor a cruel streak. Her worry returned that this could turn into something she didn’t like at all. She grabbed the broom and swept up around the wood stove, trying not to think about it.

Dan pushed back his chair and went to his things on the upper bunk. She felt herself retreat from his intense stare.

“Miss McClure, come over here.”

Her heart thudded as she presented herself in front of him. A brief glance up at his unsmiling face caused her breath to catch. She lowered her eyes, afraid to move.

“I give you my word that I will only go as far as you want with this,” he said quietly. “Wade said you need to feel you can trust me.”

“Yes,” she replied. “I do need that. Thank you, sir.”

“Sir.” He exhaled and shook his head. After a moment’s hesitation, he grabbed one of her wrists and stretched her arm to the top of the bunk bed corner post, then pulled up the other wrist to tie them tightly together. Her face and chest jammed against the wooden post, her feet barely touching the floor.

His eyes narrowed as he tapped a slender wooden paddle against his palm then gripped it so tightly his knuckles turned white. “I guess Wade knows what you like?”

She nodded. He was obviously nervous. Her fear softened slightly.

He slammed the paddle onto the table, making her gasp, then leaned toward her so that she could see the flinty depths of his steel blue eyes. “Do you accept my authority, Miss McClure?”

“Y-yes,” she stammered. “Yes sir.” She tried to remember some of the appropriate language for a submissive. “I only want to please you, sir.”

“What’s your safe word?”

“River,’ sir.”

“‘River.’ Anything else I need to know?”

She shook her head, unable to speak as his hands slid around her waist to the fastener of her jeans. He was lowering her pants! She hadn’t anticipated this. She wore old white cotton panties. No doubt he would factor that into his opinion of her and use it to justify greater humiliation.

Heat coiled deep in her belly as he shoved the jeans and panties down to her thighs. She struggled slightly with the ties. He had taken total control over her body. This man she hardly knew was looking at her ass, and no matter how crazy it was, that made her wet. Suddenly she craved whatever pain he would give her.

“Until I figure out more about this discipline thing,” he growled near her ear, “I’m starting with ten stripes.”

Whack! She flinched as the board burned her skin. His big hand rubbed over the mark. The physical contact caught her by surprise. Her whole body tensed. The paddle stung more than she had expected.

Whack! Whack!

He wasn’t holding back. Her ass started to glow, and her clit was swelling up and throbbing between her clenched thighs. Heat spread from her buttocks over her entire body. Oh my god, this was better than she remembered.

Whack! Whack!

“Oh!” She bit her lip harder. Sweat filmed her neck as his hand caressed the painful marks. Her buttocks quivered. She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. Yes, it hurt, but it also turned her on like nothing else.

Whack! Whack! Whack!

Her breasts crushed against the corner post as the force of his paddling strengthened. Or maybe it was her aroused state that made it seem more forceful.

Whack! Whack!

Stronger than the rest, the last two scorched her ass and sent a bigger throb of need to her sex.  Her breath came in short gasps.

She could hear his rapid breathing behind her, knew he wanted to keep paddling her. She argued with herself, tempted to ask for more. More spanking, more humiliation, more of anything. The extremity of her sudden desire shocked her. This man had a way about him. She wanted to grovel at his feet.

“Alright,” he said after a few moments. He pulled the knots loose at her wrists. “Another session tomorrow, Miss McClure.”

“Yes, sir,” she whispered.

~*~*~

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More great Lizzie Ashworth books!

Conquests: An Anthology of Smoldering Viking Romance, an anthology of thirteen hot tales of conquest! Edited by NY Times Bestseller Delilah Devlin.

Check out Hot Highlanders and Wild Warriors, an anthology containing fourteen very sexy short stories by talented authors! Edited by NY Times Bestseller Delilah Devlin.

Don’t Miss Jarrod Bancroft: The Novel

A collection of five novellas by Lizzie Ashworth

It started innocently enough. A rich young man in search of adventure in sadistic humiliation. An older woman intent on her profession as dominatrix. Their crossed paths should have been six weeks of a purely business relationship.

But things never go as planned.

The story of Jarrod Bancroft becomes much more than scenes of extreme sexual kink. Hope rejected, regret and anguish, terror in captivity, and an awful truth about Jarrod’s family emerge in this richly-presented series. Jarrod Bancroft’s adventure reveals old lies, ugly threats, and the raw human need for love.

More classic Lizzie Ashworth erotic romance:  Nice and Naughty Cannon Cousins series.

His to Lose, Cannon Cousins Book II:

(Spoiler Alert: If you haven’t read Book I Hers to Choose, you might want to skip this preview)

Dan Cannon confronts the worst experience of his life when he discovers money, and lots of it, is missing from company accounts. He’s a little heartbroken over the loss of Bryn in the intimate threesome he and his cousin Alex shared with her, even though he’s happy the couple is ready to start a family. He blames himself for being distracted so much that Cannon Company has suffered. When he hires CPA Riley Montgomery to track down the money, the last thing he expects is to find himself completely distracted by the woman.

Riley can’t afford to venture off into unethical dalliance with a client, even if the client is the devastatingly handsome Dan Cannon. She tries to stay focused on the pact she’s made with her old friend and current lover Lucy Duncan, after failed marriages caused both women to swear off men. But Lucy decides Dan is too good to pass up, especially after he makes good on his threat to spank her.

Things go from bad to worse when Riley uncovers a money trail pointing to Cannon Company’s long-time employee and Lucy realizes that the sparks flying between Dan and Riley scream for friendly intervention.

F/F, F/F/M, F/M, BDSM

Check out Lizzie’s sweet, sexy romance, Faint Heart

Cara Carson only wants one thing, and it isn’t a man. Since the tragic death of her husband, she has focused on creating a business she could give herself to, a ‘marriage’ that will never leave her stunned in grief. Her recipes are perfected and the old house remodel is underway. But on this raw March morning, the contractor isn’t returning her calls, there’s a bulldozer mired in mud on the side lot, and the man operating it has managed to destroy the old willow tree she wanted saved. Furious, she charges across the mire to demand answers.

Unexpectedly and even more infuriating, she finds her feet stuck in the mud. Her arms flailing, she steams in silence as the bulldozer operator has to come carry her out.

Morgan Woods never believed in love. Until now, it’s been easy to take and leave women. This woman shouldn’t be any different, except something about her pouty pink lips and her blazing hazel eyes sails past all his defenses. His business-partner dad is sick and his businesses are struggling, but he never wants to let this bewitching woman out of his arms.

Can two broken people find a way to trust again? Or will their mistakes only add more layers to the scars already shrouding their hearts?

New Series!

Lizzie Ashworth delves into the future! What is the reality of romance and sex in 2060? The House of Rae series plunges deep into a world of terrorists, legalized prostitution, and a menu of men too delicious to ignore! The story of a young man’s challenge in an unexpected world.

Salvation, House of Rae Book I

Summer 2059.

Fires burn out of control contaminating crops and water supplies with poison particulate. Carbon film infection runs rampant, spreading its devastating brown death across the globe. Only the mysterious effects of pleasure energy clear the infection. Transmitted by psionic adepts from dance centers, meditation rooms, and sex houses to the healing grids, pleasure energy ignites controversy and dissent.

Or the disease is a lie fabricated by the liberty culture. According to the Brotherhood, these are nothing less than the end times, hastened by the world’s slide into moral decay. Young Josh Carter, fourth generation Brotherhood, has trained for years to combat this lie, to right the wrongs. Now the time has arrived.

Josh Carter’s mission—get inside the House of Rae sex house and take it down.

Denial, House of Rae Book II

Three years after his brush with death, all Josh Carter wants is a normal life. With his days as a terrorist firmly behind him, he and Anne journey to the West Coast for her graduate scholarship in biomedical engineering at the University of California at Santa Cruz. They look forward to snuggling up in a cottage near the beach. There will be long walks on the sand, leisurely hikes in the redwoods—life will be good in the Golden State.

As they near the Santa Cruz Mountains, the road and surroundings fade. Josh grips the steering wheel as dark layers of rock shatter and groan. Grinding, crumbling, the ground deep below appears in three dimensional, holographic imagery. The vision ends as suddenly as it began, but he knows what he’s seen—a real-time, real-life view of the faulted crust beneath them clear down to the very thrust of the Pacific plate pushing underneath the Continental plate and all the molten tearing of rock that goes on down there.

Why that? Why him?

Over the coming weeks, more visions and other extrasensory phenomena plague Josh. He buries himself in his lousy job and his love for Anne. A simple life is all he wants, to watch the waves roll onshore and make love in the afternoon. Is that really too much to ask?

In a world where pleasure energy is the only cure for the horrors of brown death, what is the fate of a powerful psion who refuses the call?

Click here to buy!

I’m late posting this today. I’m relaxing a bit. So far, I ate breakfast, went for a swim, took a shower… I’ve been looking through emails trying to catch up. I hope to write new words later today…

Conquests was a labor intensive effort to get produced. Now, it’s out there, and I can’t wait to see what people think. I’ve done collections before (see my Collections website), selecting the stories and doing the first round edits, but then I had the luxury of throwing it over the fence to the publisher to handle “the rest.” This time, I had to arrange the intensive editing, the promotion, the corralling of authors to help with getting the word out. They also helped with the art work, the blurb, etc. It was a true group effort! I hope all goes well, because I’d love to do more of them—be it for other publishers or on my own.

Next up will be the tentatively titled Rogue Hearts…

Conquests begs the question, is there a market still for erotic anthologies of short stories? I’d love to hear your opinions. From my perspective as a reader, I gravitate toward shorter fiction because 1) I have very limited reading time, and 2) I appreciate the skill it takes to condense a complete story into a shorter format. Of course, I’ve been doing the latter for several years now, so I know I’m biased! 🙂

I’d love to do more historical anthologies—medieval knights and Ancient warriors—and of course, more iconic contemporary heroes—more cowboys, Spec Ops dudes, etc. Is there anything you’re eager to see? I’d like to do one or two collections every year (it’s all I have time for given my writing schedule).

Let me know what you think!

This anthology was a pure labor of love. I adore Vikings. Read the introduction I wrote for the book below, and you’ll know why.

Congratulations to all the contributing authors! Thanks for trusting me with your stories!

Readers, I hope you enjoy it. There’s variety in settings and characters—despite the fact every story has a Viking hero! I think you’ll be surprised! And if you have time after reading it, we’d really appreciate your taking the time to review it and tell a friend about it—anything to help us get the word out. I can’t wait to hear what you think!

For now, you will only see it on Amazon. You lucky Kindle Unlimited subscribers can purchase it for free; and for the rest of you, for a very limited time (get your copy now!), the price is $0.99! A print version of this book is coming very soon!

Buy at Amazon

Vikings. Fierce warriors who terrified all in their path as they raided and marauded, enslaved and murdered during Europe’s Dark Ages.

But these rough men from a rugged land were also sailors, explorers, craftsmen, and highly sought after mercenaries.

Conquests: An Anthology of Smoldering Viking Romance will transport you to the realm of fantasy where such fearsome and loyal men are relentless potent lovers. Whether the lady of the keep demands a few stolen hours of pleasure with a captured Viking warrior or the handsome Northman is the one seducing his captive, you will find plenty of lusty adventures in settings as far-flung as Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Byzantium, Moorish Spain and the New World.

Let your fantasies run wild to a time when men wearing bearskin shirts and shining iron helms could capture a fierce maiden’s heart!

The Captive by Lizzie Ashworth – A captive turns captor when the lady of an English keep commands a few stolen hours of pleasure with a captured Viking warrior

Ásgeirr and the Tree of Life by Mina Murray – Danger and desire collide when a wounded Viking warrior washes ashore on a remote Irish island

A Varangian Guest by Melissa Fuchs – When her brother returns to Constantinople in the company of a warrior from the far north, a widow finds herself drawn to him with irresistible desire

How to Train Your Skjaldmaer by Delilah Devlin – A Viking jarl tricked into marrying a shieldmaiden sets out to tame his fiery bride

The Viking’s Prize by Emma Jay – Treachery and desire greet a Viking warrior who travels to the coast of Newfoundland to broker peace with the indigenous tribes

There for the Taking by Nym Nix – A captive is seduced by her Viking captor as he couples with an amorous shieldmaiden whilst she is left to watch

Sweet Silk by Megan Mitcham – A Viking returns to Persia years after saving a merchant from certain death to retrieve the child-bride awarded him–yet never claimed

Little Warrior by Evey Brett – A woman braves a pair of daunting shieldmaidens and her father’s wrath in order to take her sister’s place as bride to a Viking warrior

Protecting Her by Regina Kammer – A Byzantine noblewoman seeking refuge in a monastery loses her heart to an invader when Constantinople is sacked by the Rus

Enslaved by Elle James – A conquering Viking vows to tame his sassy Celtic slave–if she doesn’t kill him first

The Oak and the Ale by Beatrix Ellroy – A businesswoman trying to secure trade routes for her family instead finds love with a crippled warrior

New Words by Teresa Noelle Roberts – An Andalusian Arab poet learns that her new Northman husband is more than just a handsome barbarian

The Needle and the Strap by Bibi Rizer – A young man hasn’t lived up to the Viking standards of his brave and ruthless kinsmen–until he rescues a wild and wicked shieldmaiden from a burning ship

From my introduction…

My step-grandfather’s name was Olaf. Now, before you start picturing a cuddly snowman with a carrot nose, picture instead a man of medium height, light brown hair, and pale eyes–pale blind eyes. Grandpa began going blind in his early twenties. By the time I came along, he lived completely in the dark.

Not that blindness ever stopped him. He rarely walked with a cane. He climbed tall ladders to re-shingle the roof, clean the gutters, or prune trees. But the thing I remember most about him was his keen mind and wicked-sharp sense of humor. His parents migrated from Norway, and he spoke the language and visited cousins back home. He built a workshop in the garage and set up a micro-brewery where he and his friends would gather, and laughter was everywhere.

When I was a child, I attributed my blonde hair and blue eyes to him, but sadly realized very early on that was impossible. Because of him, I never accepted the stereotypical view of Vikings as base, marauding warriors. They were artists, poets, farmers, traders, adventurers, and yes, fearsome warriors.

In this volume, I’ve collected stories written by some amazing writers who’ve captured the breadth of the Viking experience–settlers in a brave new world, raiders and traders who travelled from northern Europe to Africa and Byzantium in wooden boats, soldiers whose superior might made them feared and sought after. More, they gave me stories about the men who remained in their cold, rugged land and the strong women who matched their courage and will.

And I can well imagine my grandfather aboard one of those Viking ships, his face turned to the wind as it caught the sail and carried him to the edge of the known world. Despite the racy content, I think he’d be tickled about this book. So Grandpa, this one’s for you.

It’s almost here! Conquests: A Smoldering Anthology of Viking Romance releases tomorrow! Let me know whether you’re a Viking fan, too!

If you’d like to chat with the authors who contributed to this book, go like our Facebook page at: Conquests: Viking Romance. We’re busy planning events to tempt you to play. And again, there will be prizes involved, so I know you don’t want to miss that either.

And in the meantime, you can pre-order our book. Right now, it’s just $0.99—but that price won’t last! Here’s the link: Conquests

And if you’d like to read excerpts from the stories inside Conquests, head to our blog: Conquests Blog

You probably already know what inspired the title of my story, “How to Train Your Skjaldmaer.” 

Yeah, I’m a big fan of the movie. I think I’ve watched it a dozen times with the kids. I never mind when they beg to see it one more time.

So, when I was trying to come up with a title for my story in Conquests, the phrase “how to train…” kept banging around. Add that to my love of stories about Viking shieldmaidens, who were female warriors who fought alongside the men, and there you have it.

I loved my story from the first scene when my hero, who has come to retrieve his bride,  first sees his wife. Enjoy!

*~*~*~*~*

How to Train Your Skjaldmaer 

A Viking jarl tricked into marrying a shieldmaiden
sets out to tame his fiery bride

Norway, 924 AD

“That creature is a Jarl’s daughter?” Left unsaid in Lothar’s wide gaze was the fact she would also be Torvald’s wife.

Given the sight that beheld their eyes, Torvald might have felt it unfair to chastise his companion, but he couldn’t overlook the disrespect. So he jerked his elbow backward and up, neatly breaking Lothar’s nose. While the man groaned and bent at the waist to keep the blood streaming toward the rushes covering the rough dirt floor, Torvald stepped deeper into the taproom.

The brawl was well underway. His bride seemed to have things well in hand. Something that might have amused him in his younger days, but he had a position to uphold and ambitions beyond his own jarldom. Bringing back such a wife to his holdings could prove a hindrance to his plans.

Not that she wasn’t a handsome woman. Beneath the dirt on her cheeks and the blood smeared on her chin, her face was nicely formed and her eyes a direct and chilling blue. Her hair was such a pale shade as to be nearly white, and so thick it escaped her braids to fly about her back and buttocks like a wild mare’s mane. And she had surprising strength and stamina in her tall robust frame, which admittedly intrigued him.

As he watched, she turned sideways, gripped the edge of a table, and flipped over it, planting her feet in the center of a large, brutish man’s belly to topple him. The man went down with a roar then kicked out his feet, pulling himself to stand in a single, astonishingly graceful motion.

His bride glanced up the big man’s frame then planted both fists on her hips in a fearless stance. “I tipped a bull once. He thrashed a bit, but didn’t get back to his feet nearly as quickly as you.”

Her words were brusque but admiring, and her expression gave away her cheeky lack of contrition.

The red-headed brute glanced down at her, nostrils flaring, his cheeks so flushed Torvald feared he’d pop a vein—and then suddenly, he tossed back his head and laughed.

The sound was large and loud inside the small, ale-saturated room. He clamped his arm around the woman’s shoulders and turned her toward the bar. “Mead for the lady,” he roared.

The brawl ended in an instant. Laughter and loud claps to shoulders filled the room.

Lothar sidled up beside Torvald, a cloth pressed to his nose as he stared through bruised and swelling eyes. “Will you break something else if I say she’s not exactly the woman Hagar promised?”

Torvald blew out a breath and nodded. “It can’t be the same woman. A sister, perhaps.”

Hagar, the chieftain of the neighboring jarldom, had promised a girl so fair roses blushed in dismay. A woman as slender as a reed, as graceful as a soaring falcon, with hair as dark as midnight, skin as pale as snow.

This harridan’s tall angular frame and blonde hair were the exact opposite of what he’d been promised, and her ruddy complexion was berry brown from exposure to the sun and weather.

“Is it a trick to save his treasure for a higher bidder for the beauty’s hand? This one’s more skjaldmær—shieldmaiden—than bride.”

“I don’t know, but this…” Torvald said, pointing toward the sturdy figure dressed in a man’s breeches and kyrtill wasn’t an acceptable trade. “This will never do.” No matter that she appeared strong and would likely birth warriors full-grown. She’d never stand up to the scrutiny a future queen would face.

Taking a deep breath, he indicated to Lothar to watch the door and strode toward the woman who’d raised a full horn of mead and drank it like water. He tapped her shoulder.

Her gaze swung toward him, a scowl digging a crease between her cold blue eyes.

“Are you Solveig, Hagar’s daughter?”

She set down her empty horn with a thump. “And who is asking?”

“Torvald Haroldson. I have come for you.”

Character Bio on Lia Cassidy…

I’m Lia Cassidy and I was born and raised in Ontario, Oregon, the heart sugar beet country.  My Dad is a farmer and I feel lucky I grew up with my feet in the dirt, wriggling my toes in that warm, sandy soil.  I didn’t really have much computer time because I loved being outdoors.  I came from a large family and often dreamed of having one myself.  When I rode my palomino horse, Goldy, bareback, I would throw my arms out at my sides, riding that rocking chair rhythm aboard my best friend.  I never gave a thought that my life would turn out so horribly different and difficult.  I look back on my wonderful growing up years, a loving set of parents, happy being in Nature, and shake my head.  That’s all gone, now.

Maybe it started because I loved adventure.  I joined the Army after graduating from high school.  I was really great at mechanics and the Army didn’t waste my talents.  I ended up being a mechanic in a motor pool at Bagram, Afghanistan.  I was one of the very few women and worked mostly with men in that building.  But I loved fixing things and I was very good at it.  Two years into my enlistment, I was attacked by two men who worked with me.  I had the duty that night and was alone in the huge building.

My father had taught me an Israeli fighting technique known as Krav maga.  When they pushed me into a corner, wielding knives, threatening to kill me if I didn’t let them rape me, my terror turned to rage.  I wasn’t going to lay down and let it happen,so I fought back.  They weren’t expecting it.  I still remember that terror-filled night like it was yesterday. Once they realized I wouldn’t capitulate?  They tried to kill me because they knew if I escaped, I’d turn them in.  Worse?  To this day, my body bears the scars of their knives.  My world was turned inside out.  I try to hide the scars from others by the kind of clothes I wear, but I can’t conceal all of them.  Men look at me, see the scars and turn away.  I never knew what loneliness was until this life-changing incident happened.

I survived the assault, but barely.  I left the Army and went to work for Delos, a global charity.  I wanted to hide and try to heal.  I was assigned to La Fortuna, Costa Rica, and became the manager for a Home School Foundation charity.  The jungle beauty of this country, the kindness of the people, the loving children who didn’t care about my scars, were exactly what I needed to continue to heal.

But even here, where I hid and was happy, evil stalked me again.  Dante Medina, the local drug lord who lived outside the village, attacked our small school and murdered the two teachers.  His soldiers came after me, to kill me, but I escaped, running for the jungle.  Tears ran down my face over the trauma of losing my two teacher friends.  If I survived Medina’s soldiers tracking me down, what was left of my twenty-five year old life?  Once, as a child I had dreamed of the man I would marry and how happy we would be.  Children would be just another form of love between us.  And since the attack?  I no longer dream those dreams.  And now, this demented monster who is going to hunt me down.  Was there nowhere to hide?

GIVE AWAY:  How do you think you would handle being badly scarred by violence?  Leave a comment below to be entered to win an e-book of NOWHERE TO HIDE.  International entries also accepted!  One winner will be chosen and notified.  Good luck!

NOWHERE TO HIDE

Welcome to my new series, DELOS!  Book 1, NOWHERE TO HIDE, introduces this romantic suspense series.  It features Lia Cassidy and ex-SEAL, Cav Jordan.  There is a FREE prologue, LAST CHANCE by Lindsay McKenna, so be sure to grab an ebook copy of it now!

This free novella is available on the five major ebook platforms (Amazon, KOBO, BN.com, and iTunes/iBooks/Apple on 7.13.15).

Don’t own an ereader but would like the ebook novella?  Come directly to my website, www.lindsaymckenna.com, and receive a free copy of it via the Selz software we have installed.  At the the end of the steps, you’ll receive a FREE copy of LAST CHANCE on your desktop of any device you want it on.

Paperback lovers, sorry, there is no paperback available on this free novella prologue.  But you can still download a copy from my website without any problem.  Try it!  It’s easy and quick!

Visit my website for all things Delos.  Family history, information on present and coming characters, their books, publishing dates, and so much more.  Just go to the Delos tab in the toolbar.  Download quote books on the Family and Delos charity.  Peek into the lives of the children you will read about!   This is a global, multi-national family who has a vision to help those who have less than they do.

Meet each of the siblings of General Robert Culver, USAF, and his Turkish/Greek wife, Dilara Badem-Culver.  Talia is first born.  Dilara then has twins:  Matt and Alexa.  Even though their family is worth billions because the Turkish-American-Greek family owns the largest fleet of container ships in the world, these three siblings learn early on that service to one’s country and being patriotic, is expected of them.

Follow their stories after the two above introductory ones.  Tangled Pursuit is Tal and Wyatt’s book, 11.11.2015.  Forged in Fire is Matt and Dara’s book, 12.3.2015.  Broken Dreams is Alexa and Gage’s book, 1.2.2016.  Paperback/ebook.  Sign up for my quarterly newsletter that brings you ongoing information about Delos and other series I’m writing.  Exclusive info.  A give-away. And more!  www.lindsaymckenna.com.

Thank you for having me, Delilah.

I am so thrilled to be in another boxed set with you.  Yay!!! The SEALS of SUMMER 2 is now available for purchase. Eleven BRAND-NEW NAVY SEAL ROMANCES by NY Times and USA Today bestselling authors!

My book, THE GUARDIAN, was a loooong time in the making. I’d actually written this book in 2009 about how a man and woman who are fighting personal struggles find love in Haiti. Bam. It was done and I sent to my editor.

While I waited for her to read it, catastrophe struck. On January 12, 2010, the 7.0 earthquake rocked Haiti to its knees. It was horrific. Scary. I live in California and know about quakes, 5.0 will freak you out of your skin, but a 7.0 quake? No, that’s beyond comprehension. It had to feel like the end of the earth for those poor people. Hundreds of thousands of people died.

I don’t know about you, but I held my breath watching the search and rescue teams on television. I cried as victim after victim was pulled out of the rubble. What I remember to this day was the human strength, the absolute determination to survive, and the kindness, generosity and love of everyone who jumped in there to help. Goodness, it was breathtaking.

But my book couldn’t be published the way it was. Obviously, I hadn’t known the earthquake was coming but now that it had arrived, I needed to change the book. All of it. The place I’d written about didn’t exist anymore.

I dove deep into the time period around the earthquake gathering all the data, pictures, articles, videos, and news reports I could find. I wanted to set my story inside the Montana, the beautiful five-story hotel that pancaked in the quake. It wasn’t easy to find the information I needed. Oh, there was plenty of information after the quake, but not much prior to. I needed to know what the inside of the hotel looked like on January 11, 2010. But how? I’d never been there.

Enter YouTube. The Montana was a beautiful five-star hotel in Haiti and people had been proud and delighted to stay there. And, bless them, they’d posted their family videos on YouTube. I couldn’t understand the language, but I could watch. Learn. Understand. I worked really hard to get the facts and little details right because the people who were there would want it that way.

It is my hope that I did the place and people justice. I am so grateful to the Search and Rescue teams and relief organizations who work so hard in these situations.

Thank you all for reading.

Kimberley Troutte
Website   NEWSLETTER  @KTroutte

Kimberley Troutte is a 2015 RITA® award nominated, NY Times, USA Today and Amazon Top 100 bestselling author as well as being in the Top 10 on Amazon for Romantic Suspense. She lives in Southern California with her husband, two sons, a wild cat, an old snake and all the other creatures hubby and boys rescue.

To learn more about her adult novels and nonfiction books, please visit her at www.kimberleytroutte.com or sign up for the newsletter at http://ymlp.com/xgbqwswygmgj.