Thanks for letting me visit with you, Delilah!  I write both dark, twisty mysteries and lighter, amateur sleuth stories. A shorter story with some heat sounded like a fun addition to the lineup. Alex Montoya is a secondary character in So About the Money, the first in the Holly Price/So About…series. Alex may have been a bit volatile in So About the Money. He simply needed the right woman to help him become the adult he’s capable of being. A bit of nagging from his character led me to write his story—MALBEC MAYHEM.

With all the fabulous wineries located in eastern Washington, choosing a rising star vintner to challenge him seemed a natural fit. Alex and Sofia understand the importance of family—including the joys and challenges associated with running a family business. They simply have to figure out a way to make their hot-blooded nature work for them.

Mix a Spanish chef with an Italian winemaker and create some mayhem—MALBEC MAYHEM.

Successful restaurateur Alex Montoya’s charmed life has hit a snag. His trusted business partner turned out to be not exactly trustworthy, and Alex could be facing jail time over some of his partner’s shady financial deals. As if that weren’t bad enough, creditors are calling in loans he didn’t know he had and he’s desperate to prove his innocence before all his businesses are repossessed.

After a career-building stint in Napa Valley, Sofia Pincelli has returned home to eastern Washington to take over the family’s winery. Running the family business, however, means dealing with her ailing father’s constant micro-management—and his disapproval of Alex. Her father’s condemnation of Alex’s rumored involvement in his business partner’s schemes runs so deep, it threatens Alex and Sofia’s blossoming romance…along with the Pincelli family’s signature red wine. Sofia needs Alex’s crop of Malbec grapes to show her father she has what it takes to make award-winning wine—and save the reputation and finances of the Pincelli winery.

When the Malbec grapes go missing, Alex and Sofia must join forces to find the fruit before it spoils—or risk destroying both of their businesses and their hearts.

Get your copy here!

EXCERPT

In this scene, the bank has threatened to call Alex’s restaurant loan. He’s reeling from that news when Sofia demands to know, Where are the Malbec grapes?

The argument ends with a twist:

Alex stalked to a file cabinet, jerked open the top drawer and grabbed a scrap of black lace. He threw the panties at her. “You might want these ‘delivered’ too. You left them here the other night.”

“Oh for God’s sake, be serious.” Sofia rolled her eyes and thrust her fingers into her hair.

“Why?” He tried to ignore the way her upraised arms pushed her chest forward. “You’re the one who wanted a ‘fun’ relationship.”

“I’m talking about business. Business is serious.”

“What? You like the sex, but not me?” The file cabinet drawer slammed with a satisfying whack. “What is it with you women?”

“It isn’t ‘us women’. It seems to me, it’s you. You have a problem with intelligent women.”

“Bullshit. I prefer intelligent women.”

For a long moment, she studied him. Then she plucked the panties off the floor and stepped toward him. A smile hovered around the corners of her mouth.

“What?” He narrowed his eyes, glaring, more to keep her on-guard than to warn her off. Usually he liked not knowing what she’d pull next, but she loved a challenge—and to win—as much as he did.

She also liked make-up sex as much as he did.

“Nice shirt.” She trailed a finger inside his collar and paused at the first button. “You should wear this color more often. It sets off those gorgeous brown eyes of yours.”

She worked open the button. “Your olive skin…”

Desire rippled down his spine. “Thanks.” He eyed the open door behind them. Not that he cared who walked in.

She leaned closer. Her full breasts brushed his chest. Warm breath tickled his ear and sent a message straight to his groin. A cool scrap of fabric slid into his palm and her fingers closed his around the silk. “You might want to keep these.”

“Oh?” He managed to keep his tone merely interested while heat flamed through his body. If she kept this up, he could sweep all the papers off his desk. Or there were the chairs. The floor. Up against the wall…

“You keep up that crappy attitude though.”

His brain recalibrated. Problem, problem…

Soft lips brushed a series of kisses against his jaw. “And it’ll be a while before you see a new pair.”

That zinger delivered, she pivoted on her heel, and strolled out.

About the Author

Cathy Perkins started writing when recurring characters and dialogue populated her day job commuting daydreams. Fortunately, that first novel lives under the bed, but she was hooked on the joy of creating stories. When not writing, she can be found doing battle with the beavers over the pond height or setting off on another travel adventure. Born and raised in South Carolina, she now lives in Washington with her husband, children, several dogs and the resident deer herd.

You can also visit her online at the following places

Amazon – Malbec Mayhem at Amazon
Goodreads –  https://www.goodreads.com/Cathy_Perkins
Twitter – https://twitter.com/cperkinswrites
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCathyPerkins
website – http://cperkinswrites.com
Amazon author page – http://www.amazon.com/Cathy-Perkins

Not long ago I was discussing one of the sub-plots in my latest release When a Marquis Chooses a Bride with someone, and they were surprised to hear that human trafficking had been going on for over two hundred years. They thought it was a modern problem. In fact, it’s been going on for over a millennium, but I will focus on the Regency era.

As readers and writers we tend to idealize certain periods in history, and the Regency is one of them. We focus on Mayfair and think that all parts of England were safe, when even Mayfair, the most exclusive area of London was not truly safe. Not only were there slums that even soldiers thought twice about entering, but predators roamed the town.

Well-bred ladies were admonished not to walk or ride alone for good reason. It was not uncommon for young women just up from the country to disappear and wind up in a brothel. After that, most of them could not return to their families. Why? Because the women were blamed for their situations and their families would not take them back.

Children as young as four and five were kidnapped and made to work for thieves because if caught, they would be transported and not hung.

There were private charities that helped both women and children, but they were few and far between. Many people in government believed that the poor, even children were responsible for the way their lives turned out.

In When a Marquis Chooses a Bride, the heroine, Dotty, is one of those ladies who worked at improving the lives of people caught in bad situations.

A furious female voice Dom knew well rose above the rabble. “He is only a small, hungry child. You will not arrest him.”

Thea. He should have known. Quickening his stride, he swiftly arrived at the gathering of street cleaners, vendors, and the merely curious. The small crowd of onlookers parted for him. At the middle of the scene was Thea squaring off with a sturdy-looking farmer. An underfed, filthy child of perhaps six or seven years clutched an apple in one grubby hand and her skirt in the other, clearly recognizing her as his savior.

“How much for the apple?” she demanded of the farmer.

“That ain’t the point, miss,” the man said belligerently, spittle flying from his mouth. “He’s a thief and deserves to be punished.” The child ducked behind Thea as the farmer leaned to one side. “Hanged or transported.”

Thea’s chin rose as she stood her ground. “I am not saying he was right, but you might steal too if you were starving. The law in this case is too harsh.”

Dom’s cravat threatened to choke him. The law she referred to was one he had supported.

When a Marquis Chooses a Bride Blurb

Thanks to their large extended family and unconventional courtship, The Worthingtons have seen their share of scandal and excitement. But nothing has prepared them for this…

The Dowager Lady Worthington isn’t quite sure what to make of country-girl Dorothea Stern. As the granddaughter of the Duke of Bristol, Dotty is schooled in the ways and means of the nobility. But her sharp wit and outspoken nature has everyone in a tizzy. Especially their cousin, Dominic, the Marquis of Merton.

Prematurely stuffy, Dom was raised by his cheerless uncle to be wary of a host of things, including innovation, waltzing, and most perilous of all: true love. Still, there’s something about Dotty, beyond her beauty, that Dom cannot resist. But the odds are against him if he intends to win her as his bride. Will he choose loyalty to his family—or risk everything for the one woman he believes is his perfect match…

When a Marquis Chooses a Bride Buy Links:
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1OPiCIK
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1oP58HL
Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/1ILP9mR
B&N: http://bit.ly/1QTj93N
Books a Million: http://bit.ly/1QrfpkA
Kobo: http://bit.ly/21HhiAL

About the Author

Bestselling author Ella Quinn’s studies and other jobs have always been on the serious side. Reading historical romances, especially Regencies, were her escape. Eventually her love of historical novels led her to start writing them. She has just finished her first series, The Marriage Game, and her new series, The Worthingtons, began in April 2016.

She is married to her wonderful husband of over thirty years. They have a son and two beautiful granddaughters, and a dog. After living in the South Pacific, Central America, North Africa, England and Europe, she and her husband decided to make their dreams come true and are now living on a sailboat cruising the Caribbean and North America. Europe is next!

Website: www.ellaquinnauthor.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/EllaQuinnAuthor
Twitter www.twitter.com/ellaquinnauthor
Blog http://ellaquinnauthor.wordpresscom

Delilah, thanks for having me over today.

So last year at RWA in NYC, my publisher made a statement that they are looking for sexier cozies. If you know cozy mysteries, they’re mostly low on sex, low on gore, and high on fun.

Then they pushed the envelope. They said my new release was going to be the first in this new experiment. Which made me nervous. How hot were they looking for? Would I disappoint them? And could I write a hotter cozy? I’m kind of a slow steam girl. Even the romances I’ve written are considered mild in this world of 50 Shades.

I sat my editor down and asked her straight out. What are you expecting?

Her answer comforted me. Whatever the story needs and whatever you’re comfortable with.

That’s why I love writing for my publisher. They get me.

After that Spotlight, several mystery authors reached out to me. Apparently a lot of people have been writing sexy cozies, but haven’t been able to find a home for the stories at a traditional publisher. The world of publishing is changing and this is just one example. The writers are out there for all kinds of different books, and the readers are waiting for new experiences.

And so A Story to Kill has a strong reunion romance trope. I even added in a Benjamin Braddock moment for the couple. But it’s not all about the relationship. It’s about the writer’s retreat Cat is starting up in her hometown now that she inherited the Victorian from her ex-husband. It’s about the college and the characters who work and study there. And it’s about the library which plays a big part in the town and the book.

If you haven’t tried a cozy mystery before, I hope you take a chance on the story.

Lynn

A Story to Kill

Former English professor Cat Latimer is back in Colorado, hosting writers’ retreats in the big blue Victorian she’s inherited, much to her surprise, from none other than her carousing ex-husband! Now it’s an authors’ getaway—but Cat won’t let anyone get away with murder…

The bed-and-breakfast is open for business, and bestselling author Tom Cook is among its first guests. Cat doesn’t know why he came all the way from New York, but she’s glad to have him among the quirkier—and far less famous—attendees.

Cat’s high school sweetheart Seth, who’s fixing up the weathered home, brings on mixed emotions for Cat…some of them a little overpowering. But it’s her uncle, the local police chief, whom she’ll call for help when there’s a surprise ending for Tom Cook in his cozy guest room. Will a killer have the last word on the new life Cat has barely begun?

About the Author

New York Times and USA Today best-selling author, Lynn Cahoon is an Idaho expat. She grew up living the small town life much like the settings she now writes. Currently, she’s living with her husband and two fur babies in a small historic town on the banks of the Mississippi river where her imagination tends to wander. Guidebook to Murder, Book 1 of the Tourist Trap series won the 2015 Reader’s Crown Award for Mystery Fiction. Find out more at: www.lynncahoon.com

Links:
Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Story-Kill-Cat-Latimer-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0190HGVK6/
Goodreads –http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5857424.Lynn_Cahoon
Twitter – https://twitter.com/LynnCahoon
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/LynnCahoonAuthor
website – http://lynncahoon.com/
Amazon author page – http://www.amazon.com/Lynn-Cahoon/e/B0082PWOAO/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

Huge thanks to Delilah for bringing me back to her blog again! I’m currently writing my sixth Love & Murder book. My seventh if you count the short story I wrote exclusively for my newsletter subscribers. I started the series out of love. I was writing contemporary romances when my good friend was in the hospital, dying of cancer. I just couldn’t write the same books. Instead I wrote a story about love and murder and pets and life, with a strong woman character that I based on my friend who’d been a cancer warrior for about fifteen years—and now the damn cancer was winning. When I told her that I was basing the heroine of Truth About Love & Murder on her, she smiled widely.

It’s been almost two years now, and I will always think of Liz when I read the book. My heroines in the other Love & Murder books are still strong, though they’re no longer based on my friend. I just like hanging around with strong women in real life and in fiction—my books and books by other authors.

Here’s the blurb and an excerpt from my free short story, Unforgettable Love & Murder:

When Allie Dalmon was eleven, she killed a man. No one knew except the boy who went away … and now he’s back.

Twenty years after his mother’s boyfriend tried to kill him, former Navy SEAL Zach Winters returns to Trouble Bay. He’s never forgotten the moment he’d looked up from his would-be killer’s dead body into the wide eyes of the girl leaning over the rock fence on the cliff above him. The girl who’d saved his life.

Allie remembers the boy, too. She’s a therapist for the school system now, along with her therapy dog. She’s recently had an an awkward break-up, but her life is still good, and Zach doesn’t owe her anything.

Then he sees someone watching her house, and he’s not leaving. He’s found a woman to serve, protect, and defend … and, maybe, something more…

♦  ♦  ♦

As he turned and opened the storm door and headed outside, she knew that he’d wanted to kiss her and he’d held back.

She liked a man who could hold back.

Sometimes she liked a man who couldn’t.

Instead of striding down the sidewalk, he headed across the lawn, toward the house next door. The sky was darkening, but it was still light enough to see outside. She even spotted headlights on the road halfway between her home and his rental, though the lights didn’t seem to be moving. Then her gaze drifted back to him.

With a shake of her head, she closed the door, feeling lighter. As if a heavy burden had been lifted off of her shoulders.

Dora barked, and Allie laughed and bent down. ‟You’re agreeing with me. You’re agreeing with Mama.”

Allie lifted Dora and held her against her chest, then spun around, laughing.

The doorbell rang, and she finished her twirl before she stopped, feeling dizzy for a few seconds. She set Dora on the floor, then stepped forward, smiling. He was back already.

She opened the door, and her smile dropped. Zach stood outside, but this was a different man. He was frowning. Hard. The civilian was gone, and she was looking at the SEAL.

‟Someone’s in a car on the road,” he said, ‟watching your house.”

Sign up for my newsletter to get the free story.

About the Author

A USA Today bestselling author, Edie is funnier on the page than in real life. A multiple award-winning writer, she writes stories with heart and attitude. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband and one important cat. She’s happy to be able to do what she loves nearly every day.

You can visit Edie at www.edieramer.com, where she also blogs. She loves hearing from readers.

Hi, it’s me again, Donna Michaels, and this whole summer has been cowboys for me. Yep, I’ve been in my writing cave all summer with these handsome fellas! I do love my job!!

This past June, I released HER INDULGENT COWBOY, Book 7 in my hot, humorous, heartwarming Harland County series. For over a decade, Lacey has had the hots for her brother’s buddy, Jesse, but the cowboy’s preconceived ideas about her always kept him at bay. Worn down by a desire too strong to ignore, the two eventually give in to their heated attraction, but will they give up control long enough to discover the truth behind their attitudes? Lacey was a hoot to write. Even I had to rein her in when her mouth got in the way.

As you may have read earlier this month, I was asked by the wonderful Sable Hunter to help launch her Hell Yeah Kindle Worlds! It was an honor and I’m thrilled HER HELL YEAH COWBOY, my Harland County/Hell Yeah KW crossover novella has been in the top 3 bestselling Kindle Worlds Western this month. Thank you so much for help making that happen!  My heroine, Chloe is a lot like me in the fact we sometimes channel Lucy and/or Ethel. Poor girl. The one cowboy she did not one to meet when she returned to Texas is the man I made her literally walk into with her hands laden with an order of Buffalo wings. 🙂

Chloe Davis is a danger to herself and those around her, so entertaining thoughts for the sexy cowboy wearing her hot sauce should be a no-no…not a hell yeah—especially considering he’s the guardsman linked to a horrible instance in her past.

And finally, I’m so excited to have a release date and to finally share the blurb to my very first release with Entangled Publications!! IN THE RANGER’S ARMS is the first book in my cowboy series The Men of At Ease Ranch, releasing November. 28^th!

No amount of training could’ve prepared him for her.

Former Army Ranger Stone Mitchum doesn’t have time for sex. Since starting a company with his brother and two buddies, he’s had more important things on his mind. Like transitioning veterans back into society. But when his curvy new tenant falls into his arms—literally—his libido snaps to attention.

Jovy Larson has four weeks to prove she’s worthy of taking over the family business. Her challenge? Sell gluten-free, vegan food—in the middle of cattle country, Texas. It’s a tough task, but not half as tough as fighting her attraction to her sexy, surly landlord.

Before she knows it, Jovy’s tangling sheets with the hot cowboy, stalked by a jealous cow, and strategizing ways to help Stone’s ranch. But by the time her lease runs out and the test is over, she’s faced with a new challenge…competing against Stone’s sense of duty to win his heart.

You can find all of these cowboys at my website: www.donnamichaelsauthor.com

Speaking of these cowboys, all of them are also military, so I have a question for you.

Do you like reading about military cowboys? Or do you prefer your heroes to be one or the other—cowboy, or military?

A big thank you to Delilah for hosting me!

Thanks for reading,

~Donna

ABOUT DONNA MICHAELS

Donna Michaels is an award winning, New York Times & USA Today bestselling author of Romaginative fiction. Her hot, humorous, and heartwarming stories include cowboys, men in uniform, and some sexy, primal alphas. With a husband in the military fulltime, and a household of nine, she never runs out of material to write, and has rightfully earned the nickname Lucy…and sometimes Ethel. From short to epic, her books entertain readers across a variety of sub-genres, and one has even being hand drawn into a Japanese translation. Now, if only she could read it.

If you’re interested in keeping up with Donna’s news, and exclusive contests, please sign up for her newsletter here:
http://tinyurl.com/zaxbqe6

You can also find her here:

Website:  www.donnamichaelsauthor.com
Like my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/DonnaMichaelsAuthor
Follow my Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Donna-Michaels/e/B008J24XR2/
Follow me on Twitter: @Donna_Michaels  https://twitter.com/Donna_Michaels
Follow me on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/Donna_Michaels
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/donnamichaels/

Teresa sent me photos, no blog. She was in a hurry to get out the door for a weekend trip. 🙂 That’s okay, I trolled for her book on Amazon–doesn’t the cover look awesome? The story descriptions have me itching to dive in. How about you? ~DD

Guilty pleasure. Perfect Sin.

New Orleans gets in your blood. Like sweet chocolate or a decadent bite. Ancient mysteries hide behind hidden doorways, and messy love happens in the dim bar lights of the French Quarter. Follow us through nine tales of love found through need, pain, desire, and inhuman temptations. Contemporary, paranormal, menage, or gender bending, we’ve got it all, in one perfect package. Just like the city itself.

9 Erotic Romance Tales in the Big Easy

Get your copy here!

551 Pages of awesome NOLA glory! The stories include: 

Bayou Shadows by Erzabet Bishop
Voodoo dreams and buried lies bring Delia to New Orleans. A sexy shifter with secrets of his own might just get her to stay…

Sultry by Amanda Byrnes
Ash is really fuckin’ tired of being a virgin. Rory’s suddenly got an urge to seduce him. But can their friendship survive?

Sinfully Hot by Tina Donahue
A hotter-than-sin reaper. A badass demon. Hell doesn’t get steamier than this.

Playing with Fire by Margaret Madigan
When Vlad Golakov is sent to New Orleans to find a missing woman, he plans to get the job done quickly, then enjoy the Big Easy. He doesn’t expect to fall in love with the woman-turned-werewolf or teach the pack’s alpha that when you play with fire, you’re bound to get burned.

Creole Corsair by Wren Michaels
Sabine Chauvet needs closure on her family’s past. But when she runs into Jasper Carrington, her old high school crush, the one thing in her past she wasn’t searching for finds her instead.

Phenomenal by LeTeisha Newton
We all lose, and it snatches our souls right out our chests. When I lost her, I wanted to destroy the world with the same bloody hands I used to pound my enemies. When I win her back, she won’t get away again. I’ll risk my life for it.

Change of Heart by Liv Rancourt
Preacher always said New Orleans was a den of sin, so of course Clarabelle had to see for herself…

An Evening at Crossroads by Kate Richards
They broke every taboo, an ancient vampire, an exotic shifter on the run sharing gay romance under the roof of the newest and most daring club in New Orleans

Lion of Frenchman Street by Teresa Noelle Roberts
When saxophonist Peter Lyons invites New Orleans newcomer Kelsey into his world of jazz and kinky sex, his dominance ignites her body and his music speaks to her soul. But Peter’s hiding old pain and when Kelsey’s offered a job out of town, everything goes out of tune.