In romance novels, as readers, we quickly decide if we like the hero. More times than not, at first we may not find much to like. After all, the author needs to give him some serious issues to overcome before he can win the heroine and achieve a happily ever after.

Every woman in the world, at one time or another, may have fantasized about making a bad boy good. I know I have. But in reality, few of us want a certified bad boy. One who is self-centered and incapable of love. No, we want one who falls so hard, he’ll do anything to win the heroine’s (our) heart.

I say “our” because, I don’t know about you, but I actually become the female lead in every book I read (or write). I put myself right there in those uncomfortable situations. Those smoldering hot, tension gripping, heart stopping, tongue sticking to the roof of my mouth scenes where everything is humming and strumming like a honky-tonk country band on a Saturday night.

The deal is, maybe the heroine doesn’t know her hero is actually beginning to change because he doesn’t show her….yet. But as the reader, we get to know that before she does.

For example, in my latest book, Chirp, the hero, Rance shows up at the house his grandmother left him and finds a strange girl living there. He’s determined to make her leave but he’s met his match. He’s rude, messy, and gets rid of the four cats living in the house, (which belonged to his grandmother, not the girl). Yeah, and I’m sure when that happened, cat lover readers everywhere wanted to scratch his eyes out.

As time passes, he starts to change. Then, he gets her a puppy but doesn’t take credit for it. Just lets her think it’s a stray and agrees to let her keep it. Holy crap! When that happened, I wanted to rip his clothes off, throw him to the floor, and have my way with him.

For me, nothing makes a man hotter than showing an act of kindness expecting nothing in return.

So what makes you think a hero is hot? Is it a chiseled body? Gorgeous eyes? Money? Tight jeans?

Let me know in a comment. I’ll choose one answer in a random drawing* and send the winner a “Come Fly With me to Bluebird, Texas” tee-shirt. Just like the one Rance gave Blaze.

*Sorry, due to out of country postage rates, the contest is for US residents only. 🙁

However, if I have an out of country winner, I’ll send an audio of my best-selling book, Tell Me a Secret. 🙂

Be sure and go here to enter my Rafflecopter giveaway to celebrate the release of Chirp, April 4. Giveaway runs until April 15. Below is the code for your site.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Chirp

A woman hiding from her future…..

Heiress to the largest steel company in America, twenty-year-old, socially awkward Blaze Bledsoe hides out at Dessie Bishop’s farm. For the last three years, Blaze has eluded one investigator after another, but just when she thinks she’s safe, a PI closes in. Her luck is about to run out in more ways than one.

A man running from his past….

Rance Keller, a tough, hard-living ex-con, fresh out of prison for a crime he didn’t commit, arrives to claim the house his grandmother left him. Finding a strange girl living there, his plans for a solitary life take a turn. Her lack of modesty, no filter, and word of the day fetish baffles him, but those big green eyes and sweet mouth have him losing sleep.

Welcome to Bluebird, Texas

Where two damaged people with secrets, discover trust can lead to passion.

Get your copy here!

About the Author

Award winning and Amazon Best-Selling author, Ann Everett embraces her small town upbringing and thinks Texans are some of the funniest people on earth. When speaking at conferences and to writing groups, businesses, book clubs, and non-profit organizations, she incorporates her special brand of wit, making her programs on marketing, self-publishing, and the benefits of laughter, informative and fun.

Website:  http://www.anneverett.comwww.anneverett.com

Her short stories have appeared in The Green Silk Journal, Snag Today, and Story Teller Magazine.

A top reviewer on thenextbigwriter.com, she lives on a small lake in Northeast Texas where she writes, bakes, and fights her addiction to Diet Dr. Peppers.

She’s been featured on:
Proud of East Texas with Joan Hallmark, KLTV-TV, Tyler, Texas
East Texas Live and Mid-day, KETK-TV, Tyler, Texas
KTSS-TV, Hope, Arkansas
The Authors Show with Don McCauley, Internet radio show
The Chandler & Brownsboro Statesman, Chandler, Texas
The Daily Tribune, Mt. Pleasant, Texas
Tyler Morning Telegraph, Tyler, Texas
InMagazine, East Texas

Ten things you won’t know about Ann by reading her bio:
She’s been married to her high school sweetheart.
She loves shopping at thrift stores.
She doesn’t remember her first kiss.
She hates talking on the telephone.
A really sharp pencil makes her happy.
She secretly wants to get a tattoo.
A charter member of National Honor Society in high school remains one of her proudest moments.
She’s thankful wrinkles aren’t painful.
She sucks at math.

Ann’s Books:

Tizzy/Ridge romantic suspense trilogy

Laid Out and Candle Lit
You’re Busting My Nuptials
Tied With a Bow and No Place to Go

Contemporary romance companion books

Tell Me a Secret
Two Wrongs Make a Right
Say You’ll Never Love Me

Non-fiction

Strong Verbs Strong Voice: A quick reference to improve your writing and impress readers (Amazon best seller)
Body Language: A quick reference for character action and description
Sweet Thangs: Southern Sweets from Two Sassy Sisters

Kralj, the hero of Dark Thoughts, my latest release, EATS his enemies. Dark Thoughts IS a romance. That’s all I write. But it is a dark different romance with a dark different hero, an antihero.

What is an antihero?

Wikipedia ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antihero ) defines an antihero as “a protagonist who lacks conventional heroic qualities such as idealism, courage, or morality. These characters are usually considered ‘conspicuously contrary to an archetypal hero’.”

Romance antiheroes are almost always courageous. They usually have a code of honor also. It simply isn’t the code of honor that the average human in today’s world has.

Kralj is a futuristic hero and he’s not entirely human. That makes his antihero characteristics, to me, more understandable. Kralj is half Beta Taurian Shadow Beast, which is why it is natural for him to eat his prey. Beasts do that.

I find the antihero fascinating to read and to write because the antihero is such an individual. He has his own unique way of looking at the world, his own rules, his own motivations and rationale for being who he is. His backstory is often complex and shocking.

He is delightfully different and, as someone who reads, on average, a romance novel a day, I like that. It is a refreshing change from the noble Dukes, the justice-serving policemen, the hat-tilting cowboys, all of which I vastly enjoy reading about but sometimes appreciate taking a break from.

As a romance writer, I also love the challenge of finding the perfect love interest for the antihero. Anyone could love a nice guy. What type of being would love a flawed male, a male who devours his enemies? That being is tougher to find.

I paired many females with Kralj, my hero, off page. They didn’t work out. The females were too weak for him or they were too grim or they didn’t understand and would never understand why he was the way he was. Kralj isn’t going to change. He isn’t going to magically become a nice, cuddly male. His personality might soften but it wouldn’t shift that dramatically. I needed to find a female who would love him for who he is.

That female is Dita, a pint-sized assassin who is as different as Kralj is. She is a bit of an antiheroine. Kralj calls her a fellow monster. Again, she has her own code of honor and together, they are magical as a couple.

For a chance to win any one eBook from either my backlist or Delilah Devlin’s backlist, let me know in the comments who your favorite fictional antihero is!

Dark Thoughts

Can love redeem a monster?

The Refuge is home to some of the most violent beings in the universe. Kralj, its leader, reigns over the remote outpost with terrifying ease, ruthlessly squashing any rumors of rebellion, killing anyone who breaks his rules. Primitive, deadly, powerful, he’s a monster, scarred both on his face and his soul. He has never met a being he couldn’t control.

Until he meets her.

Dita has one mission—to kill the three targets claiming sanctuary within the Refuge. Or so she claims. For the first time in his long lifespan, Kralj isn’t certain of another being’s intentions. The tiny assassin is immune to his powers, her thoughts unreadable. He can’t predict her movements, can’t control her, can’t stop wanting her.

Dita is rare, as unique as he is, and, to keep the residents of the Refuge safe, Kralj will have to kill her. But first, he’ll touch her, taste her, show her how passionate the beast inside him can be.

Dark Thoughts is a STAND-ALONE SciFi Romance.

The hero might be tall, dark, and scarred but don’t be fooled by his appearance.

He’s truly a monster.

This story is not for readers with delicate sensibilities.

Order Now:
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Thoughts-Refuge-Book-1-ebook/dp/B01MRAABGC/
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Thoughts-Refuge-Book-1-ebook/dp/B01MRAABGC/
Apple/iBooks/iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/dark-thoughts/id1200022597
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dark-thoughts-cynthia-sax/1125580992
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/dark-thoughts-3
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/699393

About Cynthia Sax

USA Today bestselling author Cynthia Sax writes SciFi, contemporary and paranormal erotic romances. Her stories have been featured in Star Magazine, Real Time With Bill Maher, and numerous best of erotic romance top ten lists.

Sign up for her dirty-joke-filled release day newsletter and visit her on the web at www.CynthiaSax.com
Website:  CynthiaSax.com
Newsletter:   http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/05/28/newsletter/
Facebook:  facebook.com/cynthia.sax
Twitter:  @CynthiaSax
Blog:  TasteOfCyn.com

It’s no accident that my very first published book was set in outer space. Desire’s Prisoner was a labor of love. I think you can tell by reading it. I put everything I love in that story—the wonder of outer space, action, sex, humor. I’d love to write another series set in a galaxy far, far, away…

For a chance to win your choice of one of these Planet Desire series stories, answer me this!

Do you love Sci-Fi romance? If so, what flavor of heroes
do you prefer—aliens, cyborgs, magical/fantasy creatures?

(Click on a cover if you’d like to learn more!)

Desire’s Prisoner

Love on the edge of the galaxy…

For Captain Adam Zingh, the mission is simple–acquire one hundred wives for him and his crewmates to help colonize a new planet, far from Dominion rule. Rescuing prisoners from penitentiary in deep space should have been a simple in and out operation. The women would be grateful for a second change at freedom, or so he thought. However, he hadn’t yet encountered the stubborn captain of the prison ship.

When pirates overtake their ship, Evena McClure resists, mindful of her duty to protect the women under her command as well as her impending pardon.

The pirate and the prisoner have only a week to seduce the other side to their will.

A pirate’s parlay has never been so sexy!

Evena seethed, silently condemning her captor to die a tortuously slow death. At her own hands, of course. Her face would be the last thing he saw. He’d cry out for mercy at the end, and she’d laugh. Then she’d stomp on the fingers clinging desperately to the door of the garbage hatch—just before she jettisoned him, and the rest of the refuse, into space.

She clung to that wistful dream when the needling pain began to usher sensation back into her muscles.

She wished the electro-stun had been as effective at numbing the rest of her. How dare he use her own body against herself? Well before her muscles flared back to life, every erogenous zone she possessed had awakened, screaming with awareness.

And he’d known—the bastard! The fingers that had gently twisted the tips of her breast had applied exactly the right amount of pleasure-pain. She’d been unable to hide the telltale signs of her arousal. Heat had flushed in a red-hot wave across her skin, raising goose bumps and constricting her nipples to form nerve-rich points.

When he’d lowered his body over hers to restrain her movement, his weight drew an anguish from her soul she didn’t recognize. She’d felt small and feminine. Helpless. Aroused. Unlike the person she’d made herself into. Her hard-fought independence and confidence in her ability to resist all temptation—gone in an instant of male domination. His immense size had been a blanket of hard, pulsing heat. While overwhelming to her starved senses, his weight had also been strangely comforting. Why in the galaxy did that appeal?

The scent of him had nearly driven her mad. Faint traces of soap mixed with male musk had filled her nostrils with every intake of breath.

The long ridge of his cock had made her feel powerful and weak. Moisture pooled between her thighs. Then he’d ground his cock against her crotch, and the muscles buried inside her belly had contracted, instinctually seeking to draw him deep within.

She hadn’t had a man between her thighs in five years. The first would have to be a ravaging pirate.

Being found subdued by her guard deepened her humiliation, and her cheeks burned hotter. She’d struggled too hard for their respect.

“You can let her go, now.” Mary Grogan wasn’t suggesting. Her tone demanded.

“I don’t think I will. I like this one,” Evena’s pirate replied silkily. “I may keep her for a while.”

An inarticulate gurgle rattled in the back of her throat. Sheer willpower would not return the function of her limbs. She dangled in the pirate’s arms like a boneless rag doll, and she was beginning to feel just as witless.

“What have you done to her?” Mary asked, her voice deepening with anger.

His arm shifted, circling her like a steel band, her breasts resting on his forearm. “This woman’s in no danger. She’s merely stunned. Are you next in command?”

Evena knew by the silence that Mary wore her bulldog expression. The pirate wouldn’t get his answer from her.

“God’s ballocks.” Abruptly, he turned her in his arms, fingers snaking through her hair to bring her face close to his. “Are you all this stubborn?”

Evena could only groan as another wave of pain rolled over her body.

“Darak,” the pirate barked, his gaze never leaving hers.

Footfalls sounded behind her.

“Aye, sir.”

“You’re in charge. I’ve got to get this one to a bed,” he said, a speculative gleam in his eyes.

“Ummmm.” Evena groaned, the only audible evidence of her silent scream of protest.

“Organize the men. The women who aren’t quartered must be brought into a common area. I’ll find you there.”

Evena heard a click of heels then footsteps retreating. In a movement that left her head swimming, she suddenly found herself dangling over his shoulder.

“Ladies,” the pirate addressed her guard, “you are to do precisely what my crew orders. No one will be harmed. I’ve business to conduct.”

UPDATE: The winner of the free download is…Misty Dawn!

* * * * *

And another month bites the dust! Has anyone ever figured out why time sometime speeds by unnoticed? It can’t just be getting old. Yesterday, the nearly 4-year-old wanted to talk to me about her last birthday party. “Nina, you remember yesterday at my birthday party?” This, while she cupped my cheeks with sticky jelly fingers. Okay, so maybe that’s not quite the same.

Anyways, check out yesterday’s hot as hell release and the two previous March releases. There’s also an excerpt from Saddled below for you to enjoy! And if you’d like to win a copy of either Begging for It, Fun With Dick and Jayne or Saddled, let me know: Is life speeding or crawling by for you? And do you have a clue why?

Saddled was the very first ménage story I ever wrote featuring cowboys, and another of the stories I’m “refurbing” to republish! Don’t let the sweet-ish cover fool you! Warning! The sexy bits aren’t for the faint of heart!

Honey Cafferty lives a happy but precarious existence as a traveling saleswoman, searching for a sense of belonging. From her colorful wagon she brews decoctions to cure ennui, sleeplessness, hysteria–and after a visit from a mysterious Mexican curandera—she believes she’s found the way to improve a man’s libido. But how can she package her “Elixir of Love” without being run out on a rail from the nearest town for selling something that produces such carnal effects? Sheriff Joe Tanner is protective of his little town and downright hostile toward anyone who takes advantage of the fine folk in Two-Mule, Texas. When sees the gypsy wagon roll into town, he’s ready to hurry the snake oil salesman on his way, but Honey isn’t what he expected. When the men of the town begin to plead exhaustion and place the blame for their state squarely on the pretty little redhead’s shoulders, he has to investigate. Get your copy here! ~~~~~~~

She needs punishment…before she deserves pleasure. Tragedy scarred TJ Lipton. Now, the only way she can find pleasure is when its delivered with a heavy-handed dose of S&M. But finding a lover who can give her what she needs proves an elusive quest—until she finds the sex club La Forge and a Dom named Cross McNally. Cross understands all too well what drives TJ. He takes command of her body to give her everything she needs—restraint, the stinging kiss of a flogger, the thrill of a three-way—a sexual adventure that pulls her beyond her painful past and has her begging for more of his tender brand of domination. Get your copy here!

Excerpt from Saddled…

Katherine Duvall awoke as sensation flooded her feet and hands—sharp prickling pinches that made her moan.

“Yeah, it’s gonna hurt. But it’s a good sign sweetheart,” a man whispered against her hair. “And there’s no frostbite. I checked.”

He’d checked? One fact penetrated her pain-filled fog. He’d done a lot more than checked. She was naked. And his bare-naked body was pressed up against her back, a penis nudging her bottom.

“Where are my clothes?” she gasped, choking on outrage and fear.

“Had to shuck ’em. They were soaked.”

She remembered the car sliding into the water. But why wasn’t she in a hospital? “Where am I?”

“In my cabin. Couldn’t chance taking you back to Wellesley. Snow’s comin’ down too hard.”

Her fingers stung, and she pulled her hands from under the covers to peer uselessly at them in the dim light from a cracked bathroom door. “How long have I been here?”

“Maybe an hour. Was worried about you two. You both passed out.”

“Both?”

“Bobby went into the creek after you. He’s not in much better shape.”

She edged carefully away from his body, instantly missing the warmth and rolled onto her back to get her first view of her “rescuer”. What she saw didn’t do a whole lot to alleviate her fears.

The man lying beside her was enormous—a broad-shouldered shadow. Her heartbeat thudded against her chest as her alarm grew, and she wondered what else he might have done while she’d been out.

“Let me get the lamp. You sound like you’re about to freak out.” Read the rest of this entry »

UPDATE: The winner of the free download is…Charlotte!

* * * * *

My alarm went off today (yes, I do still use one on occasion to push my ass out of bed!), and I had the horrible thought, Jesus, can I call in sick? For a second there, I thought I had a day job. Next thought was, God, do I have something to wear I don’t have to iron? It was only after I’d sat on the edge of the bed to swipe my cellphone screen that I remembered—Oh, yeah! My job’s waiting for me in the next room! 

For a chance to win your choice of one of these Cowboys on the Edge stories, answer me this!

Do you set alarms? Do you have to set more than one?

(Click on a cover if you’d like to learn more!)

Don’t know what you’re missing in this cowboy series? Read a sexy excerpt…

Cain’s Law

When love is on the line, a cowboy will risk everything…

Texas Lawman, Cain Whitfield, has been burned before by a beautiful brunette with dark doe eyes. He won’t be fooled again. But fate has a rotten sense of humor when he discovers the latest stranger to arrive in his small Texas town is a former mob enforcer’s girlfriend–something he learns when the cabin she rented goes up in flames and her boyfriend tries to run them both off the road. Now, he’s got to keep her alive and under wraps long enough to arrest the bastard. Resisting his attraction to the drop-dead gorgeous brunette proves impossible when they’re forced to share a safe house while the sheriff and the other deputies double patrols to keep her safe.

Even though she knows they’re all wrong for each other, Carina Black can’t help her attraction for the proud lawman. She’s done with the glitz and glamour of her former life, but can she convince Cain to look beyond her past to trust she’s ready for life in a small town? As her former boyfriend closes in, she worries too that her poor judgment could bring harm to a decent man.

The longer they’re together, the hotter their passion burns…

Get your copy here!

She tugged her hand away then straightened her shoulders. “I’ll go. I know it’s the smart thing to do, and you’ve already done so much. But, I have to know…”

Cain felt his belly tighten in rejection, because if she asked, he’d tell her. And God help them both.

Her gaze dropped to her hands, which were curved into fists on her thighs. “Do you… could you ever…see yourself with someone like me?”

“Dammit, Carina,” he said, his voice rasping. “You’re so damn young.”

Her chin shot up, and her eyes flashed. “Too young for you?”

“Fuck, you deserve better than me.” His jaw clenched.

“If you’re looking for excuses for me to go, that’s not the best one to use. I’ve had money. I wore clothes that I would bet cost more than you make in a month. But, I wasn’t happy. And I didn’t like me.” She dipped her chin. “I feel safe with you.”

“I can’t be your bodyguard. Not forever.”

“I’m not talking about that. I feel safe—I know you won’t hurt me. That you won’t hurt anyone who doesn’t deserve it.” She lifted her gaze, locking it with his. “I can’t imagine letting anyone else touch me.” She stopped short and turned away her head.

Cain sat beside her, not breathing. She’d imagined him touching her. She’d flirted. Outrageously, but he hadn’t taken her behavior seriously.

She’d imagined being with him.

Cain straightened. What he should do was tell her she’d find another man. Someone good. Someone who could give her things. But his nobility could only stretch so far. He reached for her hand, but she pulled it back again, so he gripped her by the waist and pulled her over his lap.

Her body shivered against him. Her palms pushed against his chest.

He kept his arms around her, loosely. She could escape if she wanted, but with every second that passed, he watched her grow calmer. Watched rose creep across her cheeks, her tight lips relax.

When she leaned toward him, letting her ripe nipples scrape across his chest, only then did he move. He laid his palm against her cheek and rubbed his thumb across her plump bottom lip. “Stay with me.”

Carina made a noise, something between a sob and laugh, and pressed closer, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, and pushing her breasts against him, because she needed to feel his hardness. She craved so much more. Had since she’d lain alone that first night with the sounds of him walking circles around the house, knowing he would keep her safe. Alone with the smell of his lovely, manly musk on the sheets, she’d let that feeling grow over the past days, wondering whether this was how being in love felt. His care for her was as close as she’d ever experienced to being cherished. But since he hadn’t acted on any of the many invitations she’d offered with her eyes and “accidental” peeks at her ass, she’d begun to wonder if he considered her damaged goods—because of whom she’d lived with and what he’d done.

But there wasn’t any mistaking the look he gave her now with those clear blue eyes. No misunderstanding his raw tone. Stay with me. Before she’d let him reconsider, she reached for the hem of the tee she’d ruined with paint and pulled it over her head.

His gaze fell to her full breasts. “Jesus.”

“They ache, Cain. I ache. For you.” She felt breathless. Her heart skittered wildly.

Slowly, he raised his hands to palm her flesh, and she closed her eyes, loving the heat, loving his gentle caresses.

He bent his head and trailed his mouth across her shoulder, then lower, pushing her back so he could kiss the tops of her breasts. The moment he latched onto a tingling nipple, she cried out, so joyous was the feeling flooding her body with warmth.

Suddenly, he drew back. His hands gripped her bottom, and he rose.

She wound her legs around his waist as he walked to the bed. “I’ll get paint on your sheets,” she whispered.

“We’ll both get dirty, sweetheart. I’m not worried.” He set her down beside the bed then knelt to open her jeans and slide them down her legs.

Nude, she held her breath as he glanced at her sex.

His gaze dropped to her feet, and he held down her pant legs as she stepped out, leaning on his shoulders for balance. Then he stood, and she went to work on the chambray shirt he wore, unsnapping the buttons down the front, and then parting the sides to get her first look at his broad chest. He had far less hair than Joey, and it was brown and silky. She raked her fingertips through it, plucking. When he gave a little groan, her mouth curved. So, she nuzzled his nipple, loving the way he gently cupped the back of her head and rubbed her scalp. Lord have mercy, she loved the taste of his skin, the soft texture of his flat brown nipple. With her teeth, she teased it into a point then fluttered her tongue against the tiny bead.

“Witch,” he muttered.

She glanced upward, her gaze snagging on his hooded eyes. “I want you, Cain. All of you.” She backed away, sitting on the edge of the bed before lying full-length and stretching, her gaze going to his still-clothed body.

He didn’t need another hint. His clothing flew off. And then he was climbing over her, his large, long body inches from her skin, but still warming her, breast to toes.

He held still, braced on his arms as she raked his body with her searching gaze. Everywhere her gaze touched was tanned and hard. His stomach was firm, muscled, his arms and thighs bulged. Sweet heaven, his cock was lovely—reddened and engorged, straight with a plump, round head.

Her pussy clenched. Fluid rushed to wet her channel. She squeezed together her legs to hold it inside.

“I don’t want to scare you, baby.”

“I’m not a baby, Cain. And Joey humiliated me, but he didn’t leave me damaged. I swear, I want this. I want you.” Slowly, caught in his intense gaze, she inched apart her legs and raised her knees. Then she reached downward and wrapped her fingers around his cock. “Come inside me, Cain Whitfield,” she whispered. “Fill me.”

UPDATE: The winner of the prize is…Mary Preston!

* * * * *

I’m fascinated by medieval history and enjoy books and media releases that focus on events of this timeframe.  I loved the movies Braveheart and Rob Roy, and more recently the TV series Vikings.

After a couple of years of research for my latest series, “The Forbidden Series,” focusing on the dissolution of the Knights Templar, you can imagine my happy surprise to learn of the upcoming TV series, “Knightfall,” which surrounds the last days of the Knights Templar. I’m anxiously awaiting the release of this new Templar series.

Regardless if hundreds of years have passed, questions remain of where the Templars fled, what treasure they took, and how so many valiant knights were able to disappear without a trace.  As a major plotter, I’m enjoying weaving in my character’s journey, where they face challenges and in the end fall in love, around these mysteries and more along with my speculation as to where their fleet and many of the Brotherhood could have escaped to prior to the arrests beginning in France on the 13th of October, 1307.

Forbidden Legacy – Book #1 (Stephan & Katherine)

A Knights Templar, Sir Stephan MacQuistan desires no bride, only vengeance for a family lost and a legacy stolen.  A profound twist of fate tears apart the brotherhood he loves, but offers him an opportunity to reclaim his legacy – Avalon Castle.  Except to procure his childhood home along with a place to store Templar treasures, he must wed the unsuspecting daughter of the man who killed his family. To settle old scores, Stephan agrees aware Katherine is but a pawn in a dangerous game, not a woman he will ever love.

Forbidden Knight – Book #2 (Thomas & Alesone)

There is an intruder in the woods near King Robert Bruce’s camp, but when Sir Thomas MacKelloch comes face-to-face with the interloper, he is shocked to discover his assailant is a woman. The fair lady is skilled with a bow and arrow and defiant in her responses. The wary Knight Templar dare not allow her beauty to lower his guard. Irritated by his attraction, he hauls her before his sovereign to expose her nefarious intent.

Giveaway!!!

To be entered in a drawing for a coffee mug and a bag, please post a reply to the following question: 

What is your favorite historical book, movie, or TV series?

*One name will be drawn as the winner.  The contest ends midnight the 28^th of March 2017.

Thank you so much for stopping by, and I wish you the best.

Sincerely,

Diana Cosby
AGC(AW) USN, Ret.
International Best-Selling Author
www.dianacosby.com

About the Author

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

After her career in the Navy, Diana dove into her passion – writing romance novels. With 34 moves behind her, she was anxious to create characters who reflected the amazing cultures and people she’s met throughout the world.  After the release of the bestselling MacGruder Brothers series, The Oath Trilogy, and Forbidden Legacy, book #1 of The Forbidden Series, she is now working on book #2, Forbidden Knight which will be released in June 2017.

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

www.dianacosby.com

UPDATE: The winner of the gift card is…Renee Mulholland!

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Some of you may know, but one of my favorite publishers, Samhain Publishing, closed its doors a month ago. I had 27 titles published with them, and now I have to get every one of those stories refurbed, recovered, and back out in the world. So, I’m starting here. With a story I love about a woman entrepreneur in hot-as-hell West Texas who’s about to fall under the spell of a very special town—Two Mule, Texas. Those of you who love my Lone Star Lovers series recognize that name. Don’t you want to know whether kinkiness is something new the present-day town folk are embracing, or whether it’s been there a while…?

Check out Joe and Honey’s story—but I warn you: Be prepared to laugh and sweat!

Sweeter Than Honey

Honey Cafferty lives a happy but precarious existence as a traveling saleswoman, searching for a sense of belonging. From her colorful wagon she brews decoctions to cure ennui, sleeplessness, hysteria—and after a visit from a mysterious Mexican curandera—she believes she’s found the way to improve a man’s libido. But how can she package her “Elixir of Love” without being run out on a rail from the nearest town for selling something that produces such carnal effects?

Sheriff Joe Tanner is protective of his little town and downright hostile toward anyone who takes advantage of the fine folk in Two-Mule, Texas. When sees the gypsy wagon roll into town, he’s ready to hurry the snake oil salesman on his way, but Honey isn’t what he expected. When the men of the town begin to plead exhaustion and place the blame for their state squarely on the pretty little redhead’s shoulders, he has to investigate.

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Excerpt…

Finally, they reached his office, and Honey breezed inside and set her bag on his desk. He closed the door behind him and turned to find more faces peering through the window. He cursed under his breath and pointed to the inner room where the jailhouse was.

Her back stiffened, but she didn’t demur and stepped inside. When he had her out of sight and hearing of all the interested folk of Two Mule, he lifted a foot and nudged the door closed behind them.

Honey had her back to him and lifted her slim hand to smooth her hair.

He stayed silent, deciding to let her stew for a minute. When someone got nervous, they tended to talk, and Joe wanted to hear everything the little lady had to say.

At last, she cleared her throat and turned, a small, tight smile pasted on her lips. “Am I under arrest, Sheriff?”

“Should you be?”

Her breath gasped, lifting her gently rounded chest against her staid gray shirtwaist jacket. “You’re angry with me.”

He crossed his arms over his chest, leaned his back against the door and tried not to think too hard about the fact they were completely alone. A tantalizing prospect he’d imagined often the past couple of days.

As he watched her standing in the narrow, darkly lit room with the bars of the cell block behind her, his imaginings became disturbingly carnal. He cleared his throat and forced his mind back to business. “I sold you a license to solicit your medicines,” he said, keeping his voice even although the memory of her straddling Paddy Mulligan still burned hot. “Yet I found you rolling on the floor of a saloon, performing surgery.”

She gave a short, strained laugh. “I wasn’t rolling on the floor. Paddy’s a large man, and I couldn’t see into his mouth when he was seated. Besides, I only pulled a tooth. I do have some expertise—”

“I’m getting complaints about possible poisonings—”

“Poison?” Her finely arched brows rose. “I don’t deal in poisons, sir.”

“Then explain why all the married men in town have taken to their beds.”

She opened her mouth but quickly clamped it shut. Her back straightened.

“You don’t deny you’re responsible?”

A blush the color of the pink roses his mama used to grow spread quickly across her cheeks and down her neck to disappear beneath her collar. “It’s not what you think, Sheriff.”

He wondered if the blush extended to her breasts, but didn’t dare let his gaze fall below her rounded chin. “Then tell me exactly what it is.”

She lifted that stubborn chin high. “I can’t. That information is privileged. Meant to remain private between me and the persons I sold the medicine to, like a priest receiving confessions or a doctor—”

“You’re no doctor. Those rules don’t apply.”

“Have you talked to these men? Have any of them made complaints against me?”

“No, but you’re up to something, and I don’t want any trouble.” And she was trouble with a capital T. “I’m thinking you should hitch up your wagon and head on down the road.”

She blinked and, for a moment, her expression faltered. “I had hoped to winter here. Mrs. Sessions—”

“Is an innocent lady. She’s not wise to your ways.”

Her stillness cut him, and he felt heat warm the back of his neck and the tips of his ears. He’d crossed the line between being professional and being cruel.

She jutted her chin higher and fisted her hands on her hips. “You’re implying I’m not…innocent?”

His gaze swept over her, from the tip of her red-haired head to her toes. Another insult. He couldn’t seem to help himself where she was concerned. Something about her had him firing with both barrels blazing. “You travel alone—without a chaperone. What’s a man supposed to think about that?”

She took a step closer, drawing her eyebrows together in a fierce scowl. “Being alone in the world means I’m a whore?” she said, her voice rising.

“A decent woman,” he bit out, “would set roots in a community—seek help and protection from a husband or her neighbor.”

“I don’t need any man to protect me or my virtue, sir.”

“I’ll grant you had me and most of the town fooled. But your charm’s a little too practiced, and you’ve got a slick tongue.”

Her mouth gaped, and her cheeks went from pink to a dark red that clashed with her bright hair. “A slick tongue?”

Her anger goaded him on like a burr under a saddle. “You’re a snake-oil salesman, a charlatan—”

She stepped so close her chest nearly touched his, and she glared up into his face. “Now, you look here, buster,” she said, pointing a finger at his chest and giving him a nudge. “I’m a business woman. I sell cures people need. I haven’t broken any laws, and I sure as hell haven’t poisoned one damn person in this town.” She paused to catch her breath…and that’s when it happened.

Her breasts brushed his chest, and he felt a spark arc between their bodies, igniting a fire as fierce as lightning striking dry prairie grass. It filled his loins with a heavy, pulsating heat and drew his balls tight and close to his groin. He shot out his hands and grasped her shoulders to pull her flush against his body, but he halted, holding her an inch away. What he wanted of her wasn’t very civilized. Best not cross that line.

“Sheriff?” Her plump, pink lips gasped, but she tilted her head back.

Invitation enough. He slammed his mouth down onto hers even while he damned himself for being a fool.

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