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 – https://www.amazon.com/Story-Kill-Cat-Latimer-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0190HGVK6/
Goodreads –https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5857424.Lynn_Cahoon
Twitter – https://twitter.com/LynnCahoon
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/LynnCahoonAuthor
website – https://lynncahoon.com/
Amazon author page – https://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:
https://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: https://www.amazon.com/Donna-Michaels/e/B008J24XR2/
Follow me on Twitter: @Donna_Michaels  https://twitter.com/Donna_Michaels
Follow me on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/Donna_Michaels
Pinterest: https://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.

Sharon Hamilton’s bestselling Navy SEAL series continues with NASHVILLE SEAL: JAMESON. On sale now!

Here’s a short excerpt:

But there was no denying he was mad. It was like how he felt if he gave a bad performance. He’d wind up back at the motel room, alone and feeling sorry for himself, in a rotten mood until that knock on the door. Some angel would come and be his temporary lifeline, breathe the life back into him with her body, with her kisses, with all the magic and allure those groupie kittens could provide him. He needed that tonight.

Except tonight he was with his lovely new bride. His blushing bride. On the first night of their marriage. When he should be the prince charming and end her Cinderella day with the bedding of a lifetime. With a night she’d remember her whole life. That’s what Lizzie deserved. Could he pretend enough to give that to her? What did that make him then? Did he deserve her?

Can’t wait to read more? Find JAMESON on the following retailers:

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/29mUpCG
Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/29zqvIe
Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/29mVF8X
Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/29rmjv5
Amazon FR: https://amzn.to/29zrPdY
Amazon DE: https://amzn.to/29iOWad
Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/29mNqd3
iBooks: https://apple.co/29ivSIQ

On Monday, I drove to Little Rock, AR to witness my youngest daughter’s swearing in ceremony.

She’s joining the Arkansas Army National Guard. She starts basic training Oct 31^st, then will go to Officer Candidate School staring in Jan 2017 and then on to AMEDD training (medical) for her Basic Officer Leadership Course. Then she will submit her request to join the Physician’s Assistant Program.

If she gets in, in three years, she will be a licensed Physician’s Assistant and an officer in the Army National Guard. I am so very happy for her and can’t wait to see her in uniform. Please send her positive thoughts to help her through Basic and Officer Candidate School. They are supposed to be tough!

So what’s new with me this month? I had two releases! That’s right, two!

Warrior’s Conquest

WARRIOR’S CONQUEST, an historical time travel set in the medieval times. This story is one my sister, the fabulous Delilah Devlin, and I co-authored a while back and are re-releasing. It’s exciting and has a hot, sexy hero and a totally kickass heroine. The characters are a lot of fun and you’re likely to fall in love with Rufus! Get your copy now!

A twenty-first century woman transported to medieval times is forced to accept the protection of aa beast of a warlord as they struggle to survive in the middle of a war-torn land.

Free on Kindle Unlimited

Amazon | Amazon UK

And SEAL’s DECEPTION is releasing on its own. This is book number 8 in my TAKE NO PRISONERS series. If you like dangerous missions to a prince’s palace in Saudi Arabia, give this one a shot!

Navy SEAL poses as a bodyguard to a sexy CIA operative undercover as the arranged bride of a Saudi prince in search of the biological weapons sale traced to the Prince’s palace

Amazon | Amazon UK | Kobo | Nook | iBooks | GooglePlay

Sign up for my newsletter to learn more about my upcoming releases and for a chance to win great prizes! Hurry! Elle James’s Newsletter

I recently celebrated a significant birthday. However, people seem to think I should now behave like a grown up and be serious, right?

Some have gone so far as to ask: “Why don’t you write a real book for a change?” “Why don’t you write something that matters?”

Translation: Why do you still write romance?

Well, hello!

I believe romance readers want love stories because they are believers in the power of love to reshape their lives in miraculous ways.

In today’s world with so many ethnic groups taught to hate and with so many public figures encouraging hate along with an us-versus-them mentality, the need to express love for others and to be kind is more important than ever. I try to take every opportunity to celebrate my favorite forms of love: weddings and babies. There is always such hope and love with those events, and they only get better when there’s a cowboy involved!

Since I’m from Texas, it may be only natural that the two series I’m currently publishing are about cowboys! And, of course about the women they love and their babies, and weddings too! These novels celebrate all love from the tender caresses of a baby, to romantic wedding celebrations that include extended family and community, to the steamy, passionate nights under the wild Texas moon.

My latest series is called Lone Star Dynasty, and it focuses on the wealthy and powerful Starks, with their legendary ranch, and their loves and triumphs over challenges in South Texas.

To introduce the series, Book 1, Love With An Imperfect Cowboy is on sale for $1.99 (regular price $3.99) from August 24 until September 1.

LOVE WITH AN IMPERFECT COWBOY

She’s a runaway bride looking for love in all the wrong places

Desperate to escape her cheating bridegroom, Hannah Lewis heads to the one place nobody will ever think to look for her–Texas, where she’d planned to go on her honeymoon.

An Impossible Attraction

Grieving widower, rancher Liam Stark knows better than to get involved with the big-eyed, naïve-looking dazzler who walks into his bar lost and alone casting haunted glances his way, practically begging him to kiss her. When she puts herself in harm’s way, he saves her. He doesn’t do love, but maybe he can give her what she wants… if for one night only.

Get your copy and follow Liam and Hannah’s story as they explore the possibility of finding love where they least expect it:

iBook | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Texas: Children of Destiny

The second series I’m currently publishing is my Texas: Children of Destiny series, which was written a while back, but revised and republished in ebook format. This series is set in Texas and across the globe as members of the powerful Jackson family loved and lost but are given a second chance. Will they take advantage of their opportunity to win love back or will their pride force them to risk it all?

Best of all, as a gift to my fans and an incentive to new readers, Passion’s Child (Book 1) is free.

Passion’s Child is the story of an estranged, married couple, who meet again when their beloved son’s life is threatened. When Nick tries to claim his wife and child, they discover that their passion for each other still burns as hotly as ever, despite Amy’s terrible secret.

Is it too late for them? Will his sins and her secrets destroy their second chance at love? Or can love triumph over all?

Order your copies of Ann Major’s Texas: Children of Destiny series and discover the terrible secrets kept and the risk they must take to rediscover the power of love.

About the Author

ANN MAJOR lives in Texas with her husband of many years.  She has three grown children and several grandchildren. She has a master’s degree from Texas A&M at Kingsville, Texas and is a former English teacher. A founding board member of the Romance Writers of America, she is a frequent speaker at writers’ groups.

Besides her writing, Ann loves to hike in the mountains, sail, kayak, travel, and play the piano. Most of all she enjoys her friends and family, and lastly, but not least, her cat.