UPDATE: The winner on the Collections website is…flchen!
*~*~*

If you didn’t know, we’ve been running nearly daily contests over on my Delilah’s Collections website to celebrate the release of the latest Boys Behaving Badly anthology. I invite you to head over there and enter as many of the contests as you can! Many are still open, some of the older ones, not for much longer—and be sure to read the snippets from the Silver Soldiers stories! You’ll be hooked!

And remember, I also have my newest book—Book #1 of the WE ARE DEAD HORSE, MT series—ready for you to read: COLD HARD CASH!

Star Diplomacy by Kimberly Dean
With the threat of an interplanetary war looming, a hardened military negotiator must find a way to connect with the enemy’s beautiful ambassador.

When I saw Delilah’s call for proposals, I’d just finished a sci-fi space opera romance titled FALLING STARS. It was a new genre for me and so much fun to write. I conceptualized a whole galaxy with alien (yet very human-like) races. One of the planets was Terrene. It had a patriarchal society, and its inhabitants were known for their physical rigor, determination, and adherence to rules and order. Their unique trait was striped skin. Another planet was Maelstrom, the water planet with an egalitarian society. Inhabitants were known for their empathy, foresight, and adaptability. The galaxy was on the verge of war throughout the book as the alien races struggled to coexist.

Delilah’s theme of SILVER SOLDIERS fit right in with that world. I immediately knew what I wanted to write, and it was also my chance to fix a loose thread I hadn’t been able to tie up in the original book!

So, my picture is of Colonel Stone Evren, a former Terrene soldier turned negotiator. (Do you like my mad Photoshop skills with those stripes? 😊) He’s looking up at the planet of Maelstrom, getting ready to “negotiate” with the beautiful enemy ambassador.

A snippet from “Star Diplomacy”…

These talks weren’t going to be easy.

He gave a nod, and the soldier opened the door.

The guard on point entered first, automatically evaluating the room for threats. He did the same, even though the all-clear had been given. Old soldier, old habits. They were meeting in a hotel conference room, and the Maelstromian contingent was already present. He mapped out the personnel in his head and finally focused on his counterpart.

He’d known where she was the moment he’d stepped into the room.

“Colonel Evren,” the facilitator said, announcing his arrival.

The ambassador flinched as if caught by surprise. She turned swiftly, and her colorful skirt flared. Her eyes were wide when they locked with his, and Stone stopped where he stood.

Beautiful. He’d gotten that right.

The material of her dress swung like a pendulum against her legs before settling into place, but the look in her eyes lasted a split-second longer. He frowned. What was that? Resolve? Uncertainty? Fear? Instinctively, he took a step forward, but the emotion quickly cleared.

He dipped his chin in acknowledgment. “Ambassador Nova.”

Of course, she was on edge. They were adversaries.

Order your Ebook here: Kindle | Nook | Kobo | Apple Books | Google Play
Order the print version here: Amazon

About the Author

Kimberly Dean has been published by Avon, Black Lace, Ellora’s Cave, HarperCollins: Mischief, and Samhain Publishing. She’s known for creating strong emotional connections and sizzling chemistry between her characters. She’s the author of over forty published stories including the Storm Chaser Alliance sci-fi alien romance series.

Follow Kimberly at: Website | Newsletter | BookBub | Goodreads | Amazon Author Page

Contest

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, head to DELILAH’S COLLECTIONS to post!

I never planned on writing a book. 

Sure, I wrote in school when asked and there was a collective groan when I got up to read my fifteen-page story in the fifth grade. But, writing wasn’t on the menu as a grown-up. I got a degree, I was a teacher, a wife and mother. 

But then my child had a near-death experience. He needed one-on-one care and I was the only person equipped to care for him. I quit my job and kept him and his twin sister home. They were nine months old at the time. 

Now, if you are a creative person, like me, you can’t help but make stuff. And you understand that when a creative’s brain is shut off from doing what it is hard wired to do, it begins to percolate, to leak ideas, to create sleepless nights while those ideas spin around and around in your brain until they MUST be acted upon so you can finally get some freaking sleep. 

I had to write these ideas down before they consumed me. Eventually, I hot-glued a huge, long, blank sheet of paper to the wall in my hallway and I started taking notes. And as I wrote, I realized that I had a story to tell.

While feeding my twins one day, I imagined a smart, caring druis who would do anything for her family and friends. I named her Avalina.

A handsome, sexy, jerk who was in trouble and needed a savior came to me in the middle of the night while I stood in the hallway, listening to my son breathe while he slept. Who better to help him than Avalina?

But, I also have a love for smart, sexy, dorky guys who are turned on by a good puzzle (enter my husband, ahem…) Inventor Tobias came to my mind while I was doing laundry. He, of course, needed a twin, so I gave him his sister, Dahlia, who is a metallurgist mage.  

And, as every story needs, a good villain. But, I didn’t want just any villain. He had to feel  justified, to have a true purpose for what he was doing. A man willing to sacrifice for what he believed was the greater good. Commodore Theodore Van Alst is exactly that. But, with a twist. 

Each and every character that came to me had an agenda, something they needed to say, to do, and make me believe their story was the true one. I needed to work out their truths and lies, their plans and what they really wanted versus what they truly needed. I weaved their lives together on this big, blank sheet of paper glued to my wall in the spare moments I had throughout the day. 

I did this for three years. Three years of ideas, jumping in and out, organizing themselves on the wall. Every time I walked by, I’d grab the pencil I had stuck next to it and write something new. 

When the twins were old enough to go to school three days a week, I thought to myself, “I have time. I’m going to write that story.” 

So, I wrote. 

I wrote it in three months. Now, it’s taken me another three to learn, edit, rewrite, figure out my voice, rewrite it again, send it to friends, family, editors, beta readers, get feedback, and rewrite it again. 

A year after I began writing, and four years after I quit teaching to take care of my son, I will have a book. A book I wrote. (I still kind of can’t believe it and will probably cry when it’s finally in my hands.) Three Coins From a Dead Man’s Pocket is Book One in my Realms of Souls Saga. 

I now have three huge, long pieces of paper taped to the walls in my hallway. Some are full of scribbles, some have only one or two notes. But, they are filling up all the time. I can’t wait to discover new characters, new worlds, and new romances that NEED to be told or my brain will explode. I’m excited to get their stories out of my head, through my fingers, and into your hearts. 

I don’t have a hard date for release just yet, but I’m aiming for August 2023. 

Blurb sneak peek: A powerful druis with a thousand-year-old secret. An unpredictable love that breaks all the rules. And an ancient soul plotting to destroy the barriers that keep their realms safe.

Want to read the ENTIRE blurb AND be the first to know when my book releases? Join my email list HERE. 

The next stop for Realms of Souls info is my Facebook group. I’ll have announcements for release date, merch, contests, freebies, and other thoughts about characters that I have no idea what to do with. Accept for probably writing them on a blank piece of paper on my wall. 😂 

And, occasionally, I feel the urge to make a video. You can hear my ramblings first hand if you follow me on TikTok. 

Just me, cheering because my book is out!

Get your ebook copy here!
Get your print copy here!
Read an excerpt here!

UPDATE: The winner is…Beverly!
*~*~*

I am in love with Dead Horse, MT. The bounty hunters helped me discover this little gem of a town. Now, you’ll get a chance to meet the folks who were born and raised there. I hope you enjoy the journey! Up first? Cash and Lila. There will be laughter and tears, and you’ll get to meet more townsfolk along the way.

Pre-order your copy here!

The wealthiest man in Dead Horse, MT, decides it’s time to acquire a wife and gives his eminently efficient personal assistant the task of finding the perfect candidate…

The wealthiest man in Dead Horse, MT, Cash Whitaker, decides it’s time to find a wife before he begins his campaign for mayor. He figures having the right wife will increase his likability as a candidate. Becoming the mayor is important because the office will give him the power to protect his town by cleaning out the bounty hunters, who aren’t “Dead Horse” and have put his town on the map for all the wrong reasons.

Being a busy man and knowing his particular skill set doesn’t lend itself to the task, he decides to give the responsibility of finding a wife to his highly efficient personal assistant. He’ll let her put together a list of suitable candidates for him to sort through to find the woman who will help him on the path to his ultimate goal of becoming the governor of Montana.

Lila Hanson is spitting mad that her boss wants her to find him a wife. The single mom has spent two years becoming his ultimate asset, only to have him completely overlook her as the perfect candidate. When she turns to her girl squad to vent, they suggest a plan to open the clueless man’s eyes to what’s right in front of him.

However, a tragic incident throws both their plans into chaos and brings a new intimacy neither can ignore. Now, they have to work together to save an orphaned child.

Cash has called her—on a Saturday, mind you—to ask her to find him a wife…

Lila noted the end of the call and stood with her phone beside her mouth for a few moments as she processed everything Cash had said. What the actual fuck?

He wanted her to find him a wife? She placed her phone on the kitchen counter, then balled up her fists and jumped in place, shadowboxing to let loose her frustrated anger.

When she was breathless, she stopped, dragged in a deep breath, then opened up a message to her group chat. Can you all meet up for lunch?

A few minutes later…

Carleen: I start my shift at the diner at noon. Can take a break when you get here.

Rhonda: Chase is on a hunt. Have Mikayla, but I’m sure she can have a playdate with the neighbor’s kid. The woman owes me one.

Laura: Preacher’s on the same hunt. I can leave Katie in charge at Deadly Delights.

Lila scrunched her nose. Meryl’s in Bozeman, giving some lecture at the University. I could really use her logical brain.

Rhonda: What’s Cash done now?

She blew out a deep breath. Carleen, will that private room be free?

Carleen: Only thing I can think of on the calendar is the garden club meeting from 10:30 to noon.

See you at noon.

She ended the chat without elaborating. At the moment, she was too angry to remain polite. Adrenaline was buzzing inside her.

How dare he ask me to do that? But she knew why he felt comfortable asking. She’d allowed him to define their work relationship, letting him add personal tasks like picking up his dry cleaning and buying gifts for friends and the girls he’d casually dated. In her mind, she’d thought they were building something together, that his successes were hers. Sure, he’d given her bonuses, but she’d thought in her pitiful doormat mind that he’d eventually see her as more than just another useful tool like his iPad or his favorite golf clubs.

No, Cash didn’t see her as anything other than his stalwart, never complaining, never stepping outside her box personal assistant. Damn, she’d wasted two years waiting for him to wake up to the fact that they were perfect for each other.

Well, no more. But what was her next step? Did she throw in the towel? Find a new job? Start dating one of the more emotionally available men in this town?

Her shoulders slumped.  She’d done it again. Let a man take over her life to use up and throw away. At least Danny had left Kyleigh with her when he’d decided that Dead Horse was too…dead. And she hadn’t minded when he’d moved from coaching the Stallions football team to taking over the program at a larger, more prestigious school in Texas. For all intents and purposes, their marriage had ended right after Kyleigh’s birth. He hadn’t liked being constrained by fatherhood—especially when his only child was a girl.

She popped a pod in her coffee machine and made herself a cup. Then she dialed her mother’s number to ask her to babysit while she went to lunch with the girls. Kyleigh loved spending time with her Nina. Mama was always parked in front of a computer screen anyway.

Lila realized at that moment that she’d undervalued herself. Her time, her family, and her heart were worth so much more than Cash’s ambitions.

Things were going to change. Exactly what that change would look like was still to be determined, but her girl squad would come to her rescue. They’d been chiding her for months to get off her ass and quit letting him rule every thought and every hour of her day.

She was taking back the reins.

She shook her head. That analogy had her thinking she ought to give a whinny, but she wasn’t a horse to be ridden.

Again, her thoughts halted on that image. “Riding” and “Cash” should not exist in the same headspace. She’d already spent too much time imagining herself in his life. Hell, she’d decorated his house for them, even including a bedroom that could easily be converted for Kyleigh’s use. With pale citrus and green colors, they’d perfectly matched her daughter’s own preferences. The Queen Anne furniture suite had looked like a newer version of Kyleigh’s scratched and cheaper bed and dresser.

Lord, the amenities she’d included in the design of his bathroom…

Lila shook her shoulders and thrust the thoughts of the large whirlpool tub from her mind. She quickly made a mental list of the things she needed to accomplish before heading to the diner to meet with her friends.

Lists kept her mind focused. Visions of a handsome and ridiculous man with short-cropped brown hair, a well-groomed beard, and piercing brown eyes had a way of leading her down pathways her imagination should never roam. She’d never get a thing done if she constantly mooned over him.

First on the list: a long cold shower. Cold as his heart. Cold as her bed. Cold as…

Inwardly, she groaned. Now, what was second?

Contest

Do you love small-town romance stories? Are you ready for We Are Dead Horse? Let me know for a chance to win a $5 Amazon GC!

Our LaLa graduated yesterday! Our company is on the way to the airport! The house is quiet. As soon as I bid farewell at the door and had the house to myself, I turned on the TV, put my feet up, and watched The Thing. Not the cool one with Kurt Russell, but the newer remake. Horrible actually. Didn’t care. I was mindless.

Now, I’ve stirred. This blog is done. I’ll rejigger my plans for the next week’s hustle. Then I’ll find something else awful and mindless to watch. Maybe I’ll take a nap in the middle of it.

One down, two more to get through high school…

UPDATE: The winner is…Jennifer Beyer!
*~*~*

Today’s graduation day for LaLa, so I’m squeezing in a blog and then going silent for the rest of the day!

As you probably know, I have the first book in my We Are Dead Horse series releasing on Tuesday. I’m so eager for you to meet Cash and Lila, and see what shenanigans the townsfolk get up to. If you’ve read my latest bounty hunter stories, you know the town is full of eccentric characters.

One plug for my book, and then on to the puzzle!

Pre-order your copy of COLD HARD CASH now!

The wealthiest man in Dead Horse, MT, decides it’s time to acquire a wife and gives his eminently efficient personal assistant the task of finding the perfect candidate…

The wealthiest man in Dead Horse, MT, Cash Whitaker, decides it’s time to find a wife before he begins his campaign for mayor. He figures having the right wife will increase his likability as a candidate. Becoming the mayor is important because the office will give him the power to protect his town by cleaning out the bounty hunters, who aren’t “Dead Horse” and have put his town on the map for all the wrong reasons.

Being a busy man and knowing his particular skill set doesn’t lend itself to the task, he decides to give the responsibility of finding a wife to his highly efficient personal assistant. He’ll let her put together a list of suitable candidates for him to sort through to find the woman who will help him on the path to his ultimate goal of becoming the governor of Montana.

Lila Hanson is spitting mad that her boss wants her to find him a wife. The single mom has spent two years becoming his ultimate asset, only to have him completely overlook her as the perfect candidate. When she turns to her girl squad to vent, they suggest a plan to open the clueless man’s eyes to what’s right in front of him.

However, a tragic incident throws both their plans into chaos and brings a new intimacy neither can ignore. Now, they have to work together to save an orphaned child.

Pre-order here!
FREE in KU!!
Read the opening here!

Contest

Solve the puzzle! It’s a gorgeous landscape, like one you might see if you lived in Dead Horse! Then tell me whether you’ve read my bounty hunters and/or are eager to start this new series for a chance to win a $5 Amazon GC!

UPDATE: The winner is…Sara D!
*~*~*

When I learned how Charlotte E. Ray engineered her success, the old Brylcreem hairdressing advertising slogan came to mind, “A Little Dab’ll Do Ya.” Her use of initials rather than her full name allowed Charlotte to attend the male-only bastion of Howard Law School, graduate in 1872, and eventually become not only the first African-American female lawyer in the United States, but the third American woman of any race to earn a law degree.

One of six children born to Charlotte Augusta Burroughs and Rev. Charles Bennett Ray, Charlotte was born in 1850 in New York City. Charlotte’s family enrolled her in one of the few schools at the time that educated girls, the Institution for the Education of Colored Youth in Washington D.C. There Charlotte took teacher training which enabled her to enroll as a teacher trainee at Howard University.

In 1869, she taught at Howard University’s Prep School, the Normal and Preparatory Department. Knowing of their law school’s bias against women, Charlotte applied to the law department as C.E. Ray. Her stratagem worked, and she was accepted. There is some dispute about whether or not this story is true, but from what I’ve read about her, I believe it. While pursuing her law studies, she continued teaching at the prep school. In 1872 she was the first woman to graduate from the law school. She specialized in commercial and corporate law. After passing the bar exams, she became the first woman admitted to the bar to practice in the District of Columbia and the first African-American woman lawyer in the US.

In 1875, Martha Gadley, an African-American woman whose petition for divorce from an abusive husband was denied, decided to appeal the decision and hired Charlotte Ray to represent her. Ray argued the case before the District of Columbia Supreme Court and won. This victory however could not overcome the discrimination against African-Americans and women Charlotte faced, and she had to close her practice by 1879. She moved back to New York and became a teacher in Brooklyn.

Besides her law practice, Charlotte participated in social justice movements of her day. She attended the National Woman Suffrage Association’s (NWSA) annual convention in New York City in 1876, and she joined the National Association of Colored Women (NACW) in 1895.

Records show she married in 1886 and became Charlotte Ray Fraim but had no children. In 1911, she died of bronchitis in Woodside NY.

I never cease to be amazed at how the women of this era refused to be cowed by societal expectations. Charlotte Ray’s victories are now recognized and celebrated. I’m glad her little stratagem enabled her to get what she strove for.

For a chance at a $10 Amazon gift card, leave a comment on Charlotte’s life or on the life of any woman you know who let a little stratagem do her.

“Take Me To The Water” by Michal Scott from Silver Soldiers

SILVER SOLDIERS: A BOYS BEHAVING BADLY ANTHOLOGY will satisfy the reader who craves stories with older alpha male heroes—those salt-and-pepper hotties with crow’s feet earned through rugged training and years of combat. Former soldiers finding their footing after their first careers, or current soldiers nearing the end of their military careers. They’re ready to find the right partner to put down roots, ones who aren’t afraid of scars and rough edges.

Excerpt from “Take Me to the Water”…

That pitiable wreck of a man wasn’t her Ambrose.

Older, grayer, leaner, of course. She was older, grayer, leaner, too.
But the figure hunched in that corner of Douglass Fellowship Hall wasn’t her Ambrose.

Her Ambrose had never hidden, never cowered, never shunned attention even though he’d never sought it.

What had prison done to him? What had all these years of absence done to him? Why had she received no answer to her letters? Why had he stayed away when he had been released?

He’s not your Ambrose anymore. That’s why.

She closed her mind to that lie. In his eyes—despite the pain and sorrow etched on his face—she saw her Ambrose.

In whom she’d always taken her delight.

How many Christmases ago had it been when their bodies had become one, when their souls had soared, when their future had been assured? How many had passed since she’d learned of his release? How many had she stood in this window and waited for him to come back to her?

To come back home.

For hadn’t that been what he and she were to one another? What he and she had claimed to be for one another the night he’d left to fight in the West?

Buylink: https://amzn.to/3GBExbG