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Archive for the 'About books…' Category
Wednesday, July 9th, 2025
Before I wrote bounty hunters, I wrote about vampires…
Knight in Transition
A member of an elite police unit sworn to hunt vampires, Joe Garcia’s life is turned upside down when he’s transformed into one. On a quest for a cure, Joe’s search brings him to New Orleans in a last-ditch effort to recover his humanity.
Professor Lily Carlson, a renowned expert in vampire lore, has a condition of her own. Her sexual libido has been in hyper-drive for months. Her only defense is to hide behind her glasses and tweed suits and stay as far away from men as possible. However, she’s thrilled to discover vampires really do exist when Joe shows up on her balcony.
Although Joe deflects her attempts to make him a case study and confirm a few vampire statistics, he is drawn by her powerful allure. When werewolves join the chase and track her through New Orleans, Joe’s cop instincts tell him there’s a mystery to solve. Intent on protecting her, he must seek help from the last vampire on Earth he wants to ask.
While his hopes for deliverance from his fate dwindle, Lily’s life is forever altered by an unexpected inheritance.
Get your copies here!
Night Fall Series
How it begins…
The small sign in the café window read: Welcome Vampires and Sanguinarians! (No blood products provided—none permitted on premises! The Management).
Joe Garcia snorted. Every human in the place was a walking, breathing blood product — a portable soda fountain for the Fanged Ones.
He pushed through the glass door and tried to dampen the hope that rose in his chest, causing his heart to beat faster and his hands to sweat. Thusfar, he’d met only disappointment in his long search. This might be just another dead end-the last one he could afford before his cash ran out and his credit card was maxed.
Professor Carlson was his last hope.
Inside the cafe, enticing aromas assailed him. The smell of roasted coffee beans, which had been his life’s blood in another existence, was overlaid with the tangy scent of the real thing-the warm, viscous red stuff. The latter reminded him he hadn’t fed this evening, and hunger gnawed at his belly, making him edgy and irritable.
And something else enticed him. Something dark and sensual perfumed by a female musk with a tincture so unique it immediately sent a curl of heat to his groin.
He walked past the coffee bar without acknowledging the barrista’s greeting and wound his way through the tables, ignoring the human appetizers. His gaze was fixed on a menu board at the entrance of a roped-off area in the back, that read, “Vampire Survey Here”. An arrow pointed down to a table laden with a stack of pamphlets.
He brushed past the table, searching the back of the restaurant for his quarry.
“Sir, are you here ’bout da survey Professor Carlson is conductin’?”
Joe turned toward the voice flavored with a deep Louisianan accent. A pleasant-faced girl with black corkscrew curls all around her head sat at a table near the cordoned entrance.
He bit back the rude retort that immediately came to mind and answered, “Yes. I need to speak with her.”
“Well, you’ll have to complete a screenin’ survey first,” she said pleasantly but firmly, holding up a stapled document.
Joe sighed and accepted the papers. What the hell? Five more minutes wouldn’t kill him.
“Do you have a pencil?” she asked. When he shook his head, she gave him a superior smile and extended a short, sharpened pencil.
Joe didn’t like her attitude one bit, so he reached for her hand, running his fingers over her palm before taking it.
Her smile slipped and Joe could well imagine her thoughts. Another vampire wannabe was hitting on her. He smiled and let her see his teeth.
Her eyes narrowed and a single brow rose. She wasn’t impressed.
That actually gave Joe hope he was in the right place after all. His sharp fangs hadn’t fazed her.
“You can take a seat with the other guy,” she said, indicating the first booth along the back wall.
Joe walked over and slid across the vinyl seat opposite a young man dressed in black leather and sporting no less than five facial piercings. The piercings glittered like tinsel in the dim light and Joe wondered how the kid could stand leather in May-New Orleans was already sweltering, even at night.
Turning over the top page of his survey, Joe quickly scanned the questions. He hoped like hell they were only meant to screen out the weirdoes and pretenders. Otherwise, he was screwed.
He wet the tip of his pencil on his tongue and read the first question.
“Do you consider yourself a Vampire or a Sanguinarian?”
Since he had no clue what a Sanguinarian was, he checked, “Vampire.”
“If you checked ‘Vampire’, skip to question 6.”
Maybe this wouldn’t take so long after all.
In the middle of the page, he found 6. “How often do you have the urge to drink blood?”
He checked the block beside, “More than three times a day.” Three times a night would be more accurate.
“How often do you drink blood?”
“Once a day.”
“Do you drink your own blood?”
“What would be the point?” he muttered, and checked “No.”
When he reached the question, “Do you drink blood during sexual encounters?”, he’d had enough.
He tossed the survey to the table and started to rise.
“She won’t see you unless you finish the survey,” Metal Boy said, without looking up from his form.
“She’ll see me.”
The young man’s mouth twisted into a sneer. “You’ll have to wait your turn. I was here first.”
Joe lifted his lips and showed him his fangs.
Metal Boy smirked and then lifted his lips, displaying a whole row of sharpened teeth.
Joe took a quick glance around the café to make sure no one was near, and then leaned over the table and shook his head. He let the change come over him, reveling for once in the wildness that surged in his veins as the bones in his forehead and brow shifted, and his skin stretched tightly.
The boy’s eyes widened until the whites symmetrically framed his irises. “I-I’ve just thought of somewhere else I need to be,” he said, and quickly scooted off the seat and ran for the exit.
Satisfied that vamping was good for at least scaring the shit out of punks, Joe took a deep breath and relaxed, feeling his face reform to his human mask. Then he headed back to the girl with the wild hair.
“I’ll see her now,” Joe said, not even trying to conceal his impatience.
“Have you finished dat survey?” she asked, her nose buried in her Cosmo magazine.
When he didn’t respond, she raised her eyes.
Something in his expression made her hesitate. “I’ll see if she’s free.”
Joe smiled grimly. “You do that.”
She was back in a moment. “Professor Carlson’ll see you now. You left your survey on the table, but I gave it to her.”
He followed her to the farthest corner of the café, toward another booth. A green lamp suspended over the table lent the corner a warm glow. When he drew alongside the green vinyl seat, the girl indicated he should sit and promptly left. Joe turned his gaze to the figure seated on the opposite bench.
His research had told him the professor was considered an expert in vampire lore. She’d written papers, magazine articles, and books, and even been consulted by more than one movie producer. When he’d typed “vampire expert” in the Internet search engine, her name had popped up everywhere.
All his research told him she might hold the answer, but it hadn’t said anything about how young or drinkable she was. Her hair was neither blonde nor brown, but the warm color of whiskey. Her eyes, hidden behind a pair of wire-framed glasses, glinted cognac. Her lips were a pale rosé.
The hunter within him woke.
Realizing he’d been staring, he cleared his throat. “You’re Professor Lily Carlson? The author of ‘Vampires: Myth and Reality’?”
Her gaze swept over him. An action so swift, he thought he might have imagined it. “And you are?” she asked, leaning over the table to extend her hand.
Joe froze. That indefinable scent was all over her. He had the urge to rub on her like a kitten in catnip. He eyed her small hand, afraid to touch it and feel the blood humming below the surface of her creamy, white skin. He was that close to jumping her. “I thought the survey was anonymous.”
“Oh, it is,” she replied quickly, withdrawing her hand. “You’re responding to the ad, then?” At his nod, she looked vaguely disappointed. “Well, I suppose I should review your answers. Please have a seat,” she said, waving him toward the bench seat opposite hers. “Thank you for taking the time to help me with my research.”
Bemused, Joe slid onto the seat. He knew he should get straight to the point, but he stalled. For just a few minutes, he wanted to be with a woman while she looked at him as if he was just like any other man. Well, perhaps like he was a man with a serious mental disorder. But at least, she wasn’t recoiling in horror or inspecting him like the Bearded Lady at a freak show.
Not that she was a great beauty, nor even as strong and fierce as his ex-partner Darcy. Dressed in a boring-beige suit, her whiskey-colored hair piled in a loose knot on top of her head, and her glasses sliding down her shiny nose, she looked like the schoolmarm she was. But while all the beige and brown should have made her look muddy, she glowed golden in the lamplight. And her scent—richly textured with something wild and animalistic—was extraordinary.
The woman opened his survey and glanced at his answers, then flipped the page. Her lips pursed for a moment, drawing his gaze to her full lower lip. “There are a few more questions I need answered. Do you mind if I learn a little more about you?” she asked, glancing up at him from beneath her gold-tipped lashes.
The surge of heat that centered in his groin was way out of proportion to her innocent question. Afraid he’d stutter over a tongue that suddenly felt too large for his mouth, he merely nodded.
“You understand the questions I’m about to ask you are part of a sociological study I’m conducting about our vampire subculture?”
Again, he nodded.
“All information you provide,” she recited as if from rote, “will be completely confidential. I hope you will answer me honestly,” she gave him a doubtful stare, “or to the best of your ability.”
She looked expectantly at him, so he nodded again.
Her gaze returned to his survey, and she cleared her throat. “You…are a vampire?”
“Yes.” This was the first time he’d admitted that fact out loud, and he knew how ridiculous it sounded.
“So, are you a Psy or a Sang?”
“There’s more than one kind?” Joe asked.
“A Psychic vampire feeds on a human’s energy; a Sanguinarian is a blood-drinker.”
“I guess I’m a Sang.”
“You drink blood once a day?” she asked, her head still bent over the paper.
He shrugged, hoping she’d glance up at him again so he could see whether her eyes really were a warm, golden-brown. “More or less.”
She scribbled something in the margin of his survey. “Well, which is it?”
“Sometimes more.”
“Do you drink human blood?”
Joe wished she’d end this line of questioning, or he’d be drooling shortly. Her scent had every appetite revving into high gear. “Yes.”
She glanced up from the survey. “How long have you had the urge to drink blood?”
“Since I woke up, tonight.”
She blinked. “No, I meant…since ever.”
ALL THE NIGHT FALL BOOKS!
Click image to get your copy!
             
Contest
Answer this for a chance to win your choice from among my many Night Fall titles!
What was the last paranormal story you read?
Tagged: erotic romance, paranormal romance, vampire, werewolf
Posted in About books..., Contests! | 4 People Said | Link
Last 5 people who had something to say: Dana Zamora - Colleen C. - BN - cindy -
Tuesday, June 24th, 2025
UPDATE: The winner is…Ani!
*~*~*
Maybe you only know me through my bounty hunter books or the Brotherhood Protector stories I sometimes write. I’ve been a full-time author for more years than I care to admit, so there’s more on my backlist if you’re interested in checking out my older titles. Plus, if you love a sexier story than I tend to write now, you’ll really dig these. Hot cowboys? Lava-hot sex? What’s not to love? Read the excerpt below and comment for a chance to win a free download of any one of my six Texas Cowboys stories. They’re available in eBook and gathered together in two print volumes, or individually, if you go to my series page, and scroll down to Texas Cowboys.
 
Texas Cowboys: Bound & Determined
When Tara Toomey hosts the annual cowboy auction in her bar, she’s in the mood to serve bad boy Cody Westhofen more than a drink when she raises her bidding paddle. She’s done with his freewheeling ways. It’s time for the sexy cowboy to man up or get the hell out of her life. What better way to capture his attention and show him she’s serious than to kidnap him for a wanton weekend?
Tied to Tara’s bed, Cody is more than willing to cooperate. Until he found himself cuffed to her bed, he didn’t know how desperate she was to show him how much she cares.
It’s going to be a long, hot weekend…
Read an Excerpt
When the DJ’s speaker set crashed to the floor as the first women to arrive rushed the tables nearest the stage, Tara Toomey scrambled for a replacement and chalked the mishap up to high spirits.
When one of the volunteers carrying a tray of Jell-O shots tripped, and cherry and lime gelatin slid in glistening trails down his face and naked chest, she laughed as eager women offered to lick him clean.
However, it wasn’t until one of her staff whispered in her ear that she knew she was in for a long night. The main attraction had yet to arrive.
She crushed her dog-eared copy of the “Hook-up” program in her fist and headed toward the old-fashioned, double swinging doors, ready to stomp all the way to Redbone Ranch to drag his butt to town.
As she passed excited, tittering women her smile felt strained, and her nerves stretched taut. The “Annual Honky-tonk Hook-up” had always been a good time, but this year she wished she hadn’t been so quick to volunteer her bar again. Sure, it was good for business and many of the “blow-ins” from Houston, San Antonio, and San Angelo returned throughout the year because they enjoyed the event and Paraiso’s authentic western ambience.
But Tara wished she could return home, crawl into bed, and pull the covers over her head. The last thing she felt ready to do was watch one particular cowboy strut his stuff across the stage and land in some other woman’s clutches—even if it was just one night, completely innocent, right, and for a really good cause. The fact he might blow off the auction pissed her off almost as much as the thought of the spectacle he’d cause if he did finally make an entrance.
If anyone thought splintered speaker casings or a little spilled Jell-O were trouble, they hadn’t seen a room full of women erupt in the wake of one seriously sexy cowboy.
The thought soured her stomach. Still, she had a part to play in tonight’s festivities. Everyone seemed to think it was her job to make sure that cowboy showed up, because she was one of the few true friends he had. And after all, his picture in the auction advertisement had been the big pull.
Too many gussied-up women crowded the entrance to the bar, and the line wrapped twice around the narrow foyer. Not that anyone complained about the wait as bare-chested men wearing tight jeans, cowboy hats, and wicked smiles carried more trays laden with drinks down the long line.
Rather than wade through the cloud of perfume when all her “polite” was gone, Tara swept past the sign-in tables where volunteers busily took the women’s cash and handed out programs, shiny Mardi Gras beads, and wooden bidding paddles.
The combined scent of expensive perfumes made Tara’s nose twitch, so she pivoted on her heel and stomped toward the side entrance, reminded again about the cause of her agitation.
Perfume was like doe piss to this horned buck—irresistible bait. So, where the hell was he?
“He’s late!” a high-pitched voice squeaked behind her.
Tara didn’t even bother trying to pretend she didn’t know who “He” was, or that she didn’t know he hadn’t shown. Any woman with an ounce of estrogen in her veins would feel the tingle the moment the cowboy sauntered into the room.
“Tell me something I don’t already know,” Tara muttered, pausing at the door to shoot a glance over her shoulder.
Meaghan Garrity, the event’s “man-wrangler”, trotted toward her, her anxious gaze rising over the top of the clipboard she clutched to her chest. Spots of hectic color glazed each pale cheek. Her long red hair escaped the untidy knot at the top of her head in long curling tendrils. “Didn’t you tell him he was second on the program? We can’t start until he gets here.”
“He’ll be here,” Tara bit out, and then forced a smile. No use getting Meaghan more nervous than she already was. He wouldn’t stand them all up, would he?
Even as she said it, her stomach churned. There was only one thing that would keep the cowboy from his adoring fans. An easier fish to land—one he didn’t even have to bother moving his adorable tail to find.
Tara wondered what her name was, and the image of a beauty with her head snatched bald flashed through her mind. But she pasted on a smile to reassure her friend, while inside her anger began a slow, hot boil.
Leave it to Cody Westhofen to keep three hundred intoxicated women waitin’ on his sweet ass. Does the man think his sex appeal will forgive all sins?
Tara carefully ignored the little voice inside her that screamed an emphatic, Yes! Instead, she murmured, “Think that man would miss a chance at addin’ a hundred more numbers to his little black book?” Although she began the statement as a joke, anger scraped a sharper edge to her voice toward the end.
Tara caught herself before she began a rant, afraid Meaghan, whom she’d known since kindergarten, would wonder why one slow-as-molasses cowboy could get under her skin. After all, Tara was known for her ready smile, even temper but, especially, for her cowboy-proof armor.
She shoved her crumpled program into Meaghan’s hand. “Um…I’ll check outside and see what’s keepin’ him.”
“Or who! Better check back seats!” Meaghan whispered loudly. “That man can’t take a step without trippin’ over a droolin’ woman.”
With a wry twist of her lips, Tara pushed open the glass door to step out into the parking lot.
Outside, stars twinkled above the spotlight that illuminated the gravel lot overflowing with cars, SUVs, and pickup trucks. More vehicles lined the road leading to the bar for as far as she could see. Luckily, the southerly wind that had whipped up the stink from the stockyards earlier had changed course. Although a little humid, the air was sweet and cool.
Muffled music and laughter sounded from the building behind her, but for a moment, a peaceful calm surrounded her. Tara closed her eyes and dragged in a deep breath, sure this would be the last time she’d get a chance to relax tonight.
Gravel crunched behind her, and her eyes shot open. Thick, corded arms encircled her waist, a cowboy hat held in one hand. The crisp scent of spicy cologne tickled her nose. “Hey darlin’, afraid I wouldn’t show?”
Even if he hadn’t spoken first, she’d have known it was him. That telltale tingle raised goose bumps all over her body.
Tara stiffened and her eyes slid open, but she didn’t push the arms away. The snug pressure provided a moment’s reassurance however empty the promise.
She slid her hands over the tops of his and squeezed. “Cuttin’ it a little close, aren’t ya, cowboy?” she said, hoping she didn’t sound as breathless as she felt. “The natives are gettin’ restless.”
“Been waitin’ on you, sweetheart. Thought I’d let you get mad enough to wrestle me inside. You know how much I love to get you riled.” Cody’s arms withdrew, but before she had a chance to light into him good for being late, his hands gripped her hips and twirled her around.
And although she knew peeking up into his face would spell the end of her self-possession, her gaze rose to lock with his for a long, charged moment.
Even in the shadows, shards of pale electric blue pierced the night. Whoever didn’t think there was a God had never looked into Cody’s bluer-than-blue eyes. Their gazes had never lingered over the width of his shoulders, the masculine curve of his jaw, the strong jut of his square chin and straight nose. With a body made for loving and hair so pale and silky it captured light like a halo around his head, a woman could be fooled into thinking he just might be an angel incarnate.
Until they saw the wicked curve of his lips—a smile so seductive, so sensually ripe, it triggered a primal response an octogenarian nun couldn’t deny.
Trapped against his naked chest, Tara dug deep for any frayed fragments of pride she still possessed and scowled. “What do you think you’re doin’? Anyone could look outside and see us.”
“What do you care?”
“I’m not your girlfriend,” Tara growled. “And I don’t want to be mistaken for one of your goodtime squeezes. I’d just as soon keep it on the down low that I’ve succumbed a time or two to your charms.”
Cody’s brows drew together, deepening the shadows engulfing his eyes, making his appearance seem a tad sinister. “Ashamed of me?” he asked softly. “Or are you ashamed you want me?”
Tara shivered, whether from the cooling tension in his voice or her own tightly wound anger, she couldn’t have said.
Her last speck of self-respect kept her frowning, denying his overpowering attraction. “No, I’m not ashamed of you, and I’m woman enough not to be ashamed all my parts seem to function just fine when you’re around, but I do have a reputation to uphold. If anyone found out I’ve been sleeping with the biggest womanizer in Texas, it would be ripped to shreds.”
“Sure sounds like shame to me.”
The easy, sexy slide of his voice told her she’d amused him. Cody always said he knew when she was lying because she talked too much without saying anything at all.
She took another deep breath to calm her racing heart. “I just don’t want everyone knowin’ my business. And since there isn’t really anything for them to know—I mean, it’s not like we’re a couple, right?—I’d just as soon not ask for trouble.”
“What kinda trouble you expectin’?”
Tara rolled her eyes. “You’re kidding, right? Trouble follows you everywhere you go! That wasn’t you Brandon Tynan took a couple of swings at for gettin’ fresh with Lyssa? Sarah Michelson didn’t almost get arrested for indecent exposure when she cornered you in the bathroom?”
“No man’s gonna punch me out for messin’ with you. They’d probably pin a medal on my chest for havin’ the guts. And I didn’t ask Sarah to follow me inside the bathroom.”
“No, you didn’t, but she did. And she wasn’t the first to throw herself at you. Do you think I’d have a business left if half my customers, the female half, decided to boycott me?”
Cody snorted. Then his lips stretched again into a smile. “You’re not makin’ any sense at all. Tonight got you rattled, sugar?” His hands slid up and down her back in an attempt to soothe her.
Her irritation spiked like oil breaching a well-head. “Cody, we don’t have time for you to play with me. Besides, would you want any of those women you’re trolling for tonight to think you’re already taken? They don’t know you like the rest of Paraiso does. They might think you actually do have a loyal bone in your body.”
Cody’s lips tightened for a second then relaxed, slowly sliding into his trademark smirk. “Gimme a kiss for good luck?”
She let out an exasperated huff. “Do you promise you’ll get your butt inside if I do?”
“Lady, don’t you know all you have to do is ask? Your pleasure’s all mine.”
She stifled the sigh sifting between her lips. If only that were true. “Well, I’m askin’.”
“For a kiss?”
She wrinkled her nose and forced a light-hearted laugh. “You’re impossible.”
His grin stretched. “And you’re beautiful.”
His head bent towards hers, and Tara forced herself to turn her head to the side. “This isn’t part of our agreement,” she whispered.
“It’s just a goddamn kiss,” he growled.
“Anytime you want to change the rules…”
His hands tightened on her waist. “Maybe those rules should be up for renegotiation. All I want’s a kiss. Not anything I’m not gonna give a dozen women tonight.”
“You’re wastin’ time.”
“You wanna explain what kept me in the parking lot?”
Tara tightened her lips and turned her head toward him. “Be quick.”
“Stubborn woman,” he said softly as he bent toward her.
A smile tugged at her lips as he bent over her again. No way was he gonna let a woman have the last word.
All her arguments bled away as he closed in. She pushed aside her concern that anyone might see. She’d waited all night for this kiss. Not that she’d let him know it. And lordy, he didn’t disappoint. Never did.
Never mind his mouth would be kissing dozens of lips before the night ended. For this moment, he was all hers.
His firm mouth captured hers and began a sexy, circling glide that sent an electric jolt of awareness straight through her. Her pulse began a delicious throb, her nipples beaded, and moist little tugs of arousal stirred between her legs.
She gasped against his mouth, and his tongue swept inside to ravish. A low, throaty growl rumbled from his chest into her mouth, and he jerked back his head. “Damn. Do we really have to go inside now?”
“It’s that or risk having three hundred women descending upon us mid-stroke in the parking lot.”
He settled his forehead against hers. “I love when you talk dirty. You should do it more often.”
“It’s a sad fact it doesn’t take more than ‘hello’ for you to get horny. Better get inside. Meaghan’s gonna have a coronary. And you forgot your shirt.”
“No, I didn’t. Just didn’t want it disappearing like the rest of my clothes did last year.”
“Women takin’ souvenirs?” Her lips curved.
His grin stretched wide. “Will you fight them off if they manage to get my pants this year?”
Her glance fell to the blue jeans lovingly curved over the bulge at the front of his pants and the leather chaps that encased both of his thick, muscled thighs. “Why on earth would you think I’d care?”
His eyes narrowed, falling to her mouth.
She fought to keep her lips from thinning, or Cody would know she was lying. Another little “tell” she’d never known she gave away—until he’d mentioned it.
His chest expanded around a deep sigh. “You sure know how to sink a dent in a man’s ego.”
“Someone has to give it a prick every now and then, or you’d be a complete jerk.”
He arched a brow. “Why do you put up with me if I’m such a pain?”
Tara felt her face and chest warm. “I live in hope of seeing you hog-tied to one woman some day and lovin’ it.”
His snort jerked back his head. “Better plan on livin’ a long, long time, sweetheart.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “You had your kiss…”
His hands dropped from her hips. “Guess Meaghan’s havin’ kittens right about now.”
“Kittens? I’m havin’ goddamn orange tabbies and alley cats!” Meaghan shouted from the side door. “Get your butt inside before they start a riot!”
Tagged: contemporary romance, cowboys, excerpt, Flashback, Texas, Western
Posted in About books..., Contests! | 10 People Said | Link
Last 5 people who had something to say: Ani - Mary McCoy - flchen - Theresa Privette - Delilah -
Monday, June 16th, 2025
SALE. SALE. SALE.
Gunn’s Mission: Team Eagle Book #3, by Delilah Devlin in the Brotherhood Protectors World, is on sale for just $1.99 for the week of June 15-21! If you haven’t read this story yet, here’s your chance to get it for a great price! This story has a very unique setting and plot—one I’m sure you haven’t read before! Polar bears, a floating island in the Arctic, a murder mystery, and a sexy, hot SEAL… Yeah, if you haven’t already read this, here’s your chance to get it for a great price!
After surviving a catastrophic helicopter accident that left him scarred and unable to continue serving on the Teams, former Navy SEAL Gunnar “Gunn” Nielson is settling into life as a Brotherhood Protector in the Yellowstone, Montana, office.
When a request from the U.S. government arrives for a protection detail for someone with extensive cold-weather experience, Gunn, born and raised in Minnesota, is tapped for the job. He soon discovers that he will be the lone protector for a group of scientists working at a research facility on a floating island in the Arctic Ocean.
After discovering that one of her team members was murdered, Facility Chief Maddie Russo is grateful for Gunn’s expertise. Thinking the murder might have been committed by someone trying to interfere with a military-sponsored study, she and Gunn have to keep her team safe as the work continues.
Maddie and Gunn grow closer as the weather turns colder and the threats to the facility and its inhabitants continue.
Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon CA | Amazon AU | Amazon IT
Tagged: contemporary romance, romantic suspense, SEAL
Posted in About books..., On Sale | Comments Off on GUNN’S MISSION — On Sale This Week! | Link
Sunday, June 1st, 2025
UPDATE: The winner is…Jackie Wisherd!
*~*~*
May
  Work-related:
- I completed 4 editing projects for other authors in May!
- I found new artwork for a previously published anthology of erotic short stories, Ultra Strokes, Vol. 1. I recovered it and reuploaded it.
- I compiled my second volume of erotic short stories, Ultra Strokes, Vol. 2, and published it! It’s my first release of the year! Progress, finally!
Health-related:
- I finally went to the optometrist since I’m far enough away from chemotherapy that I don’t think my eyesight is going to further degrade any time soon. I have new glasses, and the screen is no longer blurry!
- I fought a second UTI and have completed another round of antibiotics. I feel great!
Happiness-related:
- I continued my participation in #the100dayproject. Here are a few small pieces I completed:
June
 
For work-related, I plan:
- To finish writing Ignition! No excuses! This will complete the Delta Fire series, my erotic firefighter stories. The pre-order will be set up this week, and the book will be out by the end of the month!
- To begin work on Built Like Mack, the next story in my We are Dead Horse series.
- To await the arrival of two editing projects around mid-month. Not having any at the moment is fine with me. Again, I have nothing to get in the way of my writing mojo, other than me.
For health-related, I plan:
- To continue to focus on recovery! Rest when I need to, and some light exercise—housework and swimming.
- To endure another immunotherapy session this month (I tolerate it so much better than chemo!) and a wellness checkup with my general practitioner.
For happiness-related, I plan:
- To spend time with the family during this summer break. We have plans for fun meals, movies, flea market shopping, and lots and lots of swimming.
- To complete #the100dayproject and create more art.
Contest
Comment on anything you’ve read in this post. Tell me what you’re doing to make yourself happier and healthier, or tell me what you plan to read in June…
Like I said, comment on anything for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!
Tagged: contemporary romance, erotic romance, Motivation, planning, We Are Dead Horse
Posted in About books..., Contests!, Real Life | 9 People Said | Link
Last 5 people who had something to say: Debby - cindy - flchen - Mary McCoy - Dana Zamora -
Tuesday, May 27th, 2025
I’m getting back into the writing/publishing groove. It’s been a while, I know. Ignition, the last of the Delta Heat stories, is in the near future (I’m shooting for release in late June!). Then I’ll be working on the next We are Dead Horse stories, Built Like Mack. I’m hoping I can have it ready for late July, but it might be August. It just depends on…well, how I feel, how the story comes together, and how long it takes for me to reawaken my muse. 🙂
In the meantime, I’ve published a compilation of some of my sexier short stories in Ultra Strokes, Vol. 2. For the short term, it’s FREE in Kindle Unlimited. So, if you’re wanting a copy, do it now! Ultra Strokes, Vol. 1, is also in KU, for now, if you haven’t read that anthology yet. Links for both are below. In August, both will go wide to all the usual publishers. Even at $4.99, that’s a nearly $7 savings, if you were to purchase all individually. Both volumes will be available in print in June!
So, if you were looking for something sexy to read, something with a variety of genres, this should do the trick! Happy reading! Wish me luck as I get back on the writing merry-go-round!
Ultra Strokes, Vol. 2
From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Delilah Devlin, comes another sinfully hot collection for your reading pleasure…
From the author… This compilation includes twelve stories in a variety of settings and genres. Something for all tastes—so long as you like your romance sexy. Most are contemporary stories, but there are historical, paranormal, and a for-grown-ups-only fairy tale included in the mix. The collection is intended for bedtime reading. Read the stories while you’re alone or with your partner. Read them to your partner. I hope you enjoy the stories as much as I enjoyed writing them.
This compilation includes:
The Bounty
Runaway Bride
Invite Me In
Drive Me Crazy
In the Wild
How to Train Your Skaldmaer
Hunk of Burning Love
Ripples
Dreaming By the Sea
Quincy Down Under
One Track Cowboy
The Obedient Wife
Get your copy!
FREE in Kindle Unlimited!
Ultra Strokes, Vol. 1
Get your copy here!
Also, FREE in Kindle Unlimited!
Tagged: anthology, bounty hunter, contemporary romance, firefighter, gods and goddesses, historical, short story, vampire, vikings
Posted in About books..., Cover Reveal | 3 People Said | Link
Last 5 people who had something to say: Laura Bowles - Terra Oenning - Delilah -
Friday, May 23rd, 2025
It’s the Victoria Day Weekend in Canada. It’s a statutory Federal holiday and the unofficial kickoff to the summer season. The holiday has been observed in Canada since at least 1845, originally falling on Victoria’s actual birthday (24 May 1819). Now it’s celebrated on the last Monday preceding May 25.
We call it the May Two-Four weekend to refer both to Queen Victoria’s birthday, but a two-four is also how we refer to a twenty-four pack of beer, always a popular drink on the holiday weekend.
So how do we celebrate:
- A lot of folks go camping or head to their cabins. I’ve seen snow on the holiday weekend, and I’ve also gone swimming. The weather is unpredictable around here.
- Drinking. A lot of people will kick back and enjoy a few cold alcoholic beverages.
- Grilling. Steaks or burgers or hotdogs…something, but food is essential.
- Campfire. It’s always a nice weekend to have a campfire on the beach. I haven’t done this in years but did a lot of it during my teenage years.
- Relax. It is a holiday after all, a three-day weekend to relax with family and friends, maybe curl up and read a good book.
Whether you’re enjoying the holiday or it’s simply another Monday for you, I hope you enjoy it.
And if you’re looking for something to read, why not check out SAMAEL, the first book in the Blackwell Brothers’ Redemption trilogy.
Samael
Blackwell Brothers’ Redemption, Book 1
Love her. Protect her. Reap her soul.
Samael Blackwell is the son of Death—and he’s officially out of chances. After centuries of reaping souls with zero regard for the rules, his father sends him to the dead-end town of Redemption. With only a few hundred bucks and the clothes on his back, Sam has one last shot to prove he can do the job right: reap with compassion or lose everything.
It should’ve been easy. Find the soul. Finish the job. Walk away.
Then he meets Adrianne Sharp.
She’s strong, guarded, and hiding from a past that refuses to stay buried. The connection between them is instant—and impossible. Because Adrianne isn’t just anyone. She’s his assignment.
And her soul’s on the clock.
To win back his old life, all Sam has to do is watch her die. But what if the cost of redemption…is her?
He was sent to end her story. But she just might rewrite his.
Want to read more? You can find SAMAEL here:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F2SDQMVF/
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/samael-n-j-walters/1147212495
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/samael-13
iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/samael/id6743937757
About the Author
N.J. Walters is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who has always been a voracious reader, and now she spends her days writing novels of her own. Vampires, werewolves, dragons, assassins, time-travelers, seductive handymen, and next-door neighbors with smoldering good looks—all vie for her attention. It’s a tough life, but someone’s got to live it.
Visit her at:
Website: http://www.njwalters.com
Blog: http://www.njwalters.blogspot.com
Newsletter Sign Up: http://eepurl.com/gdblg5
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/N.J.WaltersAuthor
Twitter: https://x.com/njwaltersauthor
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/NJWalters
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/author/njwalters
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/n-j-walters
Tagged: Guest Blogger, paranormal romance
Posted in About books..., General | Someone Said | Link
Last 5 people who had something to say: Mary Dellenbusch -
Tuesday, May 13th, 2025
UPDATE: The winners are…Karen LeBeau and Elaine Swinney!
*~*~*
Before there were bounty hunters, there were SEALs. And I loved writing my Uncharted SEALs series. All those rugged, alpha heroes and strong heroines. Humor. Action. Spicy sex. All the ingredients that make stories fun for me to write, and hopefully, fun for you to read.
With Uncharted SEALs, I experimented a bit. For the first time, I did sequels with the same characters—for the simple reason I couldn’t say goodbye to them. I wanted to see inside their Happy-Ever-Afters. Through Her Eyes and Between a SEAL and a Hard Place share the same main characters, as do Dream of Me and Heart of a SEAL.
Big Sky SEAL gave birth to my Montana Bounty Hunters, introducing Jamie and Reaper, who, as a result of their work in Big Sky, earned their own satellite office of MBH. A fun theme I used in two of the stories was a cruise ship. Both Before We Kiss and Hard SEAL to Love are set on the same ship and have the same supporting characters. Plus, Hard SEAL to Love features a disabled female vet!
This time, I’d like you to read the very fun introduction of Big Sky SEAL.
Enjoy!
    *~*    *~*   
Click on the covers to learn more!
Contest
Win your choice of one of my Uncharted SEALs stories! There will be 2 winners! All you have to do to enter is answer me this…
Do you still like alpha hero stories, featuring ex-military men? What’s one you’ve read recently you really enjoyed?
Big Sky SEAL
Romance sparks between a bounty hunter and a SEAL on the hunt for an escaped terrorist…
A former military police dog handler, Jamie Burke, along with her former bomb dog Tessa, are still trying to adjust to civilian life. With a jaded, testy personality, Jamie has few friends. Now, a bounty hunter, she’s tasked to help federal and local law enforcement search for an escaped terrorist in the Crazy Mountains of Montana.
Former SEAL, Sky Reynolds can’t believe Jamie Burke is part of the task force. The last time he saw her was in Afghanistan. Back then, he thought he’d never stand a chance with the pretty, ballsy blonde, sure she had someone waiting for her back home. But here she is, still single, still prickly as hell. Assigned to stick close to her and her dog Tessa during the hunt, he’ll use the situation to get close. This time, he’s not letting her slip away.
When Jamie’s captured by the terrorist, it’s up to Sky, his fellow SEALs, and her motley crew of bounty hunters to save her…
Excerpt from Big Sky SEAL…
According to the satellite image, Mosby’s cousin’s crude hunting shack stood in an isolated clearing deep in a woodsy area at the foothills of the Salish Mountains. Jamie Burke and her partner for this takedown, Reaper Stenberg, parked their SUV a quarter mile down the gravel road leading to the Montana cabin.
Lock and load time. Jamie drew deep slow breaths to slow her heart, while getting her head “in the zone”. They were going after a badass. A mistake could turn deadly.
Reaper opened the back hatch of the SUV and reached into their bag of weapons and gear.
First, they donned Kevlar jackets. Jamie clipped her badge onto her web belt and slid her Glock into the holster strapped to her leg. Then Reaper held out a shotgun with an orange stock.
She glared. “Seriously? You expect me to take down Mosby with a bean bag round?”
“I don’t expect you to take down a damn thing, other than notes.” He smirked. “I’ll handle Mosby. If he gets past me, you nail him in the gut with this.” His glacier-blue eyes narrowed. “Your Glock is your last resort. You’ll be coming through the back of the cabin. Think I’d trust you with real bullets when I’ll be in the line of fire?”
“I’m a better shot than you,” she muttered, thinking of her last weapons qualification test and the ten tightly grouped shots in the circle around the heart on her target.
“On the range. This is the real world, sweet cheeks.”
She crimped her mouth and loaded a bean bag round into the chamber of her weapon, then stuffed two more shells into the pockets of her jeans. The rounds, intended to disable rather than kill, were filled with fabric “pillows” containing birdshot. Although his caution made sense, she couldn’t let him know she was relieved to carry non-lethal rounds—she’d seen enough death and never wanted to kill again. The fact he didn’t trust her aim—or, perhaps, her nerves—rankled. Still, they’d be inside close quarters, and the “non-lethal” round was far more dangerous than when used, as recommended, to hit targets twenty to sixty feet away.
Didn’t matter to Reaper that she was ex-military and knew her way around firearms. Since being discharged, she’d caught a desk at Montana Bounty Hunters, learning the ropes of the paperwork end of the job, and training with the agency’s owner, “Fetch” Winter, until he’d felt comfortable letting her ride shotgun with his most experienced hunter.
From the moment Fetch told Reaper she was his responsibility, he’d been on her ass. No doubt Reaper hoped she’d quit inside a week, but she was entering her second week and rather enjoying the fact her stubborn acceptance of his constant snarky disses annoyed the crap out of him. She’d weathered similar, un-PC comments during her time in the military. They rolled off her back like rain off a duck’s ass.
Lastly, he handed her an earpiece and inserted his own. “Testing,” he whispered. When she took her time responding, he raised an eyebrow. “You got it turned on?”
She raised her hand and shot him the bird. “I heard you loud and clear.”
He hefted a battering ram with one huge hand and rested it on his shoulder then passed over a lock pick kit. “Don’t keep me waiting. As soon as you’re in place, I’ll knock down the door.”
“Shouldn’t we make sure he’s inside first?”
He scowled. “Think I’m a rookie, rookie? Peek in a window on your way. And don’t get your head shot off.”
“Geez, I’d almost think you cared,” she said, giving him a sly grin and a wink.
His expression remained stony.
The time was mid-afternoon, still plenty of light, but she knew he was too impatient to get this catch-and-release finished. They’d already logged ten days on the road, interviewing Mosby’s high school buddies, family members, and former cellmates. A girlfriend who was pissed Mosby was willing to let her car be taken, part of the collateral of his bail bond, mentioned the hunting cabin. After a quick trip to a local Bureau of Land Management office that morning, they had what they hoped was their first break in this case.
They jogged down the quarter mile track to the edge of the clearing. She stayed close to his heels while his long blond ponytail flapped down his back. Not for the first time, she noted his broad shoulders and powerful build. If only he wasn’t such a dick to work with… When they halted, she noted the rusty white pickup parked next to the porch. Someone was home.
Reaper gave her a curt nod then broke left following the tree line, while she kept to the brush to the right, until she was midway down the long side of the shotgun shack. With her heart rate kicking higher, she edged carefully toward a window and shot upward to glance inside.
A man sat in the shadows of a living room in a ratty easy chair, watching TV.
She edged upward again, quickly studied his profile, then crouched to pull the bench warrant from her back pocket to check out their target’s picture. Same bald head and heavy brows, same black tribal tattoo climbing up his shoulder from under his grubby white wife beater to wrap around his neck. “It’s him,” she whispered. “In the living room. Front door’s ten feet from his chair.”
“Is he armed?”
“Didn’t see a weapon. I’m heading to the back door.” She kept close to the side of the house, came around the back, and then halted when she noted the modified back door. “Big damn dog door,” she whispered. “I didn’t see a dog.”
“Good. Door saves us both some time. Get your ass inside, Burke.”
Jamie knelt, lifted the rubber flap, and peeked inside. Still no dog in sight. Tightening her mouth, she pushed her weapon through first, angled her hips, and crawled into the opening, her hands sliding on greasy tile. “I’m inside,” she whispered as she lay sprawled on a floor that smelled like onions and beer. Did the guy use the floor to fry his hamburgers?
“On three,” came Reaper’s raspy whisper. “One…two…three…”
As she shoved to her feet, she heard a distant crash as the wooden front door splintered, and then the clatter of nails on linoleum from a room just beyond the kitchen. She rushed through the doorway into a bedroom just as a short, very muscular brindle pit bull jumped onto the mattress, heading in the most direct path toward her. She darted into a bathroom, climbed onto the toilet seat, then the small counter. When the dog stood on his hind legs, snapping at her boots, she leapt toward the doorway and slammed the door closed, trapping him inside.
The dog thudded heavily against the wood and then barked like a hellhound.
The sound of furniture thudding came from the next room. Something glass hit the floor and shattered. Muffled grunts and curses sounded.
“Bastard, stay down!” Reaper shouted.
Speeding toward the living room, Jamie halted when she saw Daniel Mosby with Reaper hanging on their target’s back, his arm around his neck in a chokehold.
The two large men hit one side of the doorframe then the other. Mosby’s face was red, his teeth bared. Three inches taller and burlier than Reaper, Mosby kept moving.
Pulse racing, she backed up toward the kitchen doorway.
“Shoot him, Burke!” Reaper growled. “Shoot the fucker!”
Sucking in a breath, she raised her shotgun, aimed for Mosby’s large belly, and pulled the trigger.
Mosby grunted, his black eyes widened, and he screamed, despite the arm cinching his thick neck. And despite the direct hit, he kept coming.
She backed up into the kitchen, sure Mosby would drop any second, but he lunged toward a wall, slamming Reaper against it. Reaper’s hold loosened.
Mosby shook him off and aimed an elbow behind him, catching Reaper in the chin as he went down. Mosby’s dark gaze locked with hers, and he rushed forward.
With no time to load another round in the shotgun, she considered her Glock, but that was her last resort.
Brains over brawn—a cliché that had served her well in tighter situations. The bastard was big and lumbered toward her like a bear. Likely his size intimidated most men, but she wasn’t a man. And she wasn’t scared. Although she was good at pretending fear. She widened her eyes and sank into a crouch, raising a hand as though to cover her head.
Behind Mosby, Reaper groaned. “Goddammit, Burke. Use your fucking weapon!”
But she had a better idea. Killing was easy. And Mosby had sworn he’d never be caught, never spend another day in prison. She wanted the sorry asshole to spend years thinking about the fact he’d been bested by a woman.
As he rushed her, she kept her feet flat on the greasy floor and ducked to the side. Just as he came within reach, she swept out a foot and tripped him. On his way toward the dirty tile, she spun and clocked him in the back of the head with the butt of her shotgun.
He hit the floor hard, arms sprawled from his sides, and didn’t move.
Before he could stir again, she stuck a knee in his lower back, pulled back one meaty arm, and latched a cuff around his thick wrist, then repeated the action with the other. When he was secured, she shot to her feet and stood over him, at last withdrawing her Glock from its holster to point toward his ass in case he roused. She shot a quick glance over her shoulder at Reaper. “You through napping?”
“Bitch,” he wheezed from the floor.
“He wasn’t armed. What’s your excuse?”
Reaper sat and leaned against the kitchen wall, working his jaw side to side. He winced. “I was just softening him up for you, babe. Nice takedown, by the way.”
And then he smiled—a real smile, not his usual one-sided smirk. She grinned, relieved that at last he saw her worth. “I’m still too scrawny to get his ass to our vehicle. You rested?”
He chuckled and pushed upward, not hiding a groan as he straightened. “Wait until I tell Fetch. He said you were a firecracker, and that I shouldn’t count you out in a fight.”
Tagged: action-adventure, contemporary romance, excerpt, Flashback, Montana Bounty Hunters, romantic suspense, Uncharted SEALs
Posted in About books..., Contests! | 11 People Said | Link
Last 5 people who had something to say: BN - Peggy Fowler - Jennifer Beyer - Colleen C. - Karen LeBeau -
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