Are you wondering what I’m doing?

Well, I’ve been wondering how to leverage a program like Kindle Unlimited, where readers can gobble up as many books as they want for a single price every month. I haven’t used it before, because frankly, I don’t want to limit my stories to KU, and if an author puts their stories in KU, that’s the only place it can be published.

But I have these short stories I’ve written, which might appeal to readers looking for a quick nibble… 🙂

So my talented sister, Elle James, volunteered to create covers for those short stories. Aren’t they pretty? I love how she “branded” my name, but managed to make every short story cover true to its sub-genre.

Most of the short stories I’m working on publishing are around 5,000 words. Wet Down is longer at 15,000.

Is there any particular cover or title you love? A story you can’t wait to read? Do you think this is a good idea? I hope so, because I have more shorts to dust off and get ready to upload…

Any reader would probably wonder why I set my book AN UNUSUAL CHRISTMAS in a little known country such as Belarus.

During the mid-nineties, I often travelled to Russia and Belarus for business. I was quite impressed by the Russian culture and hospitality and decided to set my new book in Minsk, the capital of Belarus. With my heroine, Dr. Jillian Burton, you will discover a different civilization, visit interesting places, marvel at the Russian architecture, taste the exotic food, toast with vodka, wear the warm chapka, experience many of the local customs, and fall in love with a gallant Belarusian doctor.

Traveling to Minsk was a long and tiring twenty-four hour flight. Starting from Cincinnati, OH, I flew on Delta to New York with a couple of colleagues, spent three hours before boarding the big jet to Germany, and arrived in Frankfurt or Munich the next morning around seven. We hardly had two hours to change terminal. Carrying a couple of carryon luggage, we rushed from one terminal to another to catch the Lufthansa flight connection to Minsk that flew only three times a week. When we missed it, we were stuck for two days or rerouted to Moscow.

In Belarus, the government stops the heating between May 1^st and October 31^st. I went to Minsk for the first time in October 1994 and was greeted by a freezing rain and a brisk cold that seeped through my clothes. Do I have to mention that I was shivering outdoors and indoors? And I never drank as many cups of hot tea—shaye.

Our first official meeting attended by officers, chemists and doctors, took place in a government building called the Hall of Officers. After a series of speech, our Belarusian hosts invited us to celebrate the new contract with toasts of vodka that we were supposed to drink bottoms up while saying Na Dzhrovia.  No orange juice or ice was added to dilute the 40% alcohol drink. My throat burned and my stomach caught fire. It took several trips for me to get used to the vodka and find it a practical way to stay warm. When I got sick, my Belarusian friends insisted on treating me with vodka, their universal remedy against cold, cough, stomach pain, and headaches!

The Belarusians are very hospitable people. We were invited for dinner in many homes. After the inevitable toasts of vodka, we ate the delicious stuffed cabbage, potato pancakes, black bread and sausage. The children impressed me with their impeccable manners and their fluent English. They often acted as interpreters for their parents.

In Minsk, I used a car with an excellent heating system and a chauffeur who spoke English. My rental car became a haven during the freezing months of winter and the only place where I felt warm and comfortable. Out of curiosity I took the underground train once. It was old and not very clean, a far cry from the magnificent trains of Moscow.

To go to Moscow, railroads were the most comfortable means of transportation. I traveled with, the overnight Red Train that left Minsk at midnight and arrived in Moscow the next morning. In the sleeping compartment with couchettes, we were provided with sheets, covers, wool blankets. Dinner was included in the fare and came with a bottle of vodka, of course.

Running away from Christmas celebrations and the demons of her past, Dr. Jillian has dedicated her life to saving third-world children. In Belarus, a baby girl, four little boys, and a handsome doctor may teach her the true meaning of Christmas.

USA Today Bestselling Author, Mona Risk, received an Outstanding Achiever Award from Affaire de Coeur Magazine. Her name has often been posted on the Amazon.com 100 Most Popular Authors in Romance list. She’s a two time winner of Best Contemporary Romance of the Year from Readers Favorite; a winner of Best Romance Novel of the Year from Preditors & Editors Readers Poll; and an EPIC Award finalist. A tireless traveler, Mona lives in Florida and writes contemporary romance, medical romance, and romantic suspense, simmering with emotion and sprinkled with a good dose of humor. Her novels are set in the fascinating places she visited–or in Florida, her paradise on Earth.

Other Books by Mona Risk:

BABIES in the BARGAIN: “ER” and “Grey’s Anatomy” in the NICU. RIGHT NAME, WRONG MAN: What’s a girl to do when she whispers another man’s name in her fiancé’s arms? NO MORE LIES: A lie that brings a smile or a truth drawing tears? HER RUSSIAN HERO: Clash of cultures and intrigues between an American scientist and the Major General of Belarus. HER GREEK ROMANCE: A sexy and humorous Romeo and Juliette Greek style, set in Mykonos Island.

NEIGHBORS AND MORE: Too close for comfort for condo owners in a Florida High Rise after a man drowns in a hot spa.

HER CHRISTMAS CRUISE: The perfect fiancé is a cheater and the fabulous Christmas wedding is off. But the would-be honeymoon cruise may fulfill the dreams of Julia and her unexpected companion. CHRISTMAS BABIES: It takes a health crisis and two adorable orphaned babies to bring Dr. Madelyn Ramsay to her senses and force her to look life and love in the face.

VALENTINE BABIES: Can he love a woman expecting another man’s baby?

MOTHER’S DAY BABIES: Can a woman from Kentucky teach an ‘old dog’ new tricks, even if he’s a CEO?

The other day I was listening to a conversation and was taken by the speech used. It got me thinking how dialect is not only inherent to where a person is from but to each person . How each person was raised, who they interacted with, what their parents and other people they were around showed them. When a person speaks they don’t think if what they are saying matches anyone else thinks or thought patterns. It is instinctually and that is what makes each and every one of us unique.

Words are powerful tools and using them makes each person who they are. People also use words based on what type of environment they are in. If you are speaking to someone in a professional capacity you wouldn’t use the same speech as you would in personal discussions. You adapt  based on who you are speaking too but the underlying speech of who you are stays the same. Your cadence, word usage and what makes your speech unique to you is all part of what you do when speaking.  I love having discussions with others and listening to how they speak.

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Taige Crenshaw is a multi-published author with books available at Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Liquid Silver Books, Loose Id, and Totally Bound. Taige has been enthralled with the written word from time she picked up her first book. It wasn’t long before she started to make up her own tales of romance. With novels set in today, in alternate dimensions, or in the future she writes with adventure, fun sassy heroine’s, and sexy hero’s. Always hard at work creating new and exciting places Taige can be found curled up with a hot novel with exciting characters when she is not creating her own. Join her in the fun, frolic, interesting people and far reaches of the world in her novels. You can find out more about Taige at her website: http://www.taigecrenshaw.com or blog: http://www.taigecrenshaw.com/blog or on twitter: https://twitter.com/TaigeCrenshaw.

Firestorm Encounters – –  What do you do when you find a man who sets your senses aflame but being with him could cause repercussions?

Buy here (https://www.totallybound.com/author/taige-crenshaw#books) at Totally Bound.

A quick note. Yesterday’s contest is still open for submissions. Plus, if you post here today, you can earn a second chance to win. Promise, I’ll name a winner tomorrow!

I don’t spend a lot of time in front of the TV. I save programs on my DVR to watch when it’s convenient for me. I have old faves like Big Bang Theory, Once Upon a Time, Grimm, Sleepy Hollow, NCIS, Rizzoli and Isles, Longmire, and the Walking Dead. I use TV to wind down last thing at night before I sleep. A couple of hours at most. So I’m choosy about what I watch.

I love seeing the new shows. Sometimes, I watch only the first episode and know it’s not for me. These are the three from the new crop I’m enjoying—and boy will I be pissed if they don’t get picked up for another season. 🙂

Do you have new shows you’ve tried out that hooked you?

Here in the U.S. it’s winter time. Time to cuddle under blankets. Time to drink hot chocolates and lattes. Time to wear fluffy sweaters and my Ugg boots. I love all this. I do. But truth be told, on most days, I’d like to kick Ms. Winter where the sun don’t shine. 😉 So today I thought I’d go summer in Janaury and talk about my favorite place: the beach!

“The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net forever.” ~Jacques Cousteau

This is so true for me! Being a Southern California girl—I know what you’re thinking. She doesn’t like winter? She has NO IDEA what winter is like. And you’re right. But being born and raised here, well, um, I get cold very easily. Soooo, being a Southern Caliofornia girl, I’ve been lucky to spend a lot of time at the beach. Growing up, I wanted to be a marine biologist. I couldn’t get enough of the ocean and its sea life. I collected seashells like crazy! And the idea of studying all the things that made the ocean so fascinating filled my head with wonderful dreams… Until I got to college and discovered how much math and science I’d need to take to follow through with my childhood ambition. So I minored in biology (the fun part!) and since I was in San Diego, visited Sea World often.

Nowadays, if I could have the sand between my toes every day, I would. Plop me down on the beach with the waves at my feet, and I’m a happy camper. I love to breathe in the salty air, feel the sunshine on my back, catch sight of a dolphin, and people watch. I especially enjoy watching the surfers. 😉 So don’t tell my other heroes, but when I decided to write a book with a pro surfer hero, I maybe, sort of, had the best time ever writing him.

I feel like the beach is the kind of place where you can do absolutely nothing and be totally content. Or you can get busy – surf, swim, boogie board, snorkel, scuba dive, paddleboard, kayak – the list goes on for creating memorable adventures. Not many places can boast something magical from two different extremes like that.

“At the beach, life is different. Time doesn’t move hour to hour but mood to moment. We live by the currents, plan by the tides and follow the sun.” ~ Unknown

How about you? Where’s your favorite place? Leave me a comment for a chance to win a digital copy of any book from my backlist.

Hope wherever you are, you’re warm and cozy! And if you want to keep in touch, I’d love that! You can sign up for my newsletter and find all of my social media links here: http://robinbielman.com

About Keeping Mr. Right Now…

A temporary agreement neither could keep…

Brainy, organized Sophie Birch is no beach bunny. In fact, she’s totally out of her element among the sun-bronzed crowd at a film festival in beautiful White Strand Cove. When a surf lesson introduces her to Zane Hollander, suddenly she’s up close and personal with the world’s sexiest surf star. But what can a great-looking, experienced athlete possibly see in a klutzy out-of-towner who’s never set foot in the ocean?

Zane Hollander’s playboy reputation has never been a problem…until recently. Now his management team wants him on his best behavior to entice a meaningful new sponsor. Sophie Birch is the perfect girl to help reform his image. She’s genuine and respected—and their relationship is purely fictional. But the more Sophie blooms under the beachy sun, the more Zane knows he’ll just break her heart. Because nothing’s more important to Zane than following the tide. 

Buy Links:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1qiqU09
B&N: http://bit.ly/1rhqFJ8
iTunes: http://bit.ly/YmKmST

January may be the start of the new year, but for me it’s always had the feel of an in-between month. Winter still has its grip on us, and the uplift of the holiday season is behind us. There’s something almost shamanic about January, as we dig down into the dark, struggling with any new year’s resolutions and looking for what’s next.

In shamanism, to move forward, first you have to go inward, and inward means down. Down’s not a bad place. The answers are there. But you sometimes have to go through some dark stuff to get to them. That journey can be painful, but it’s worth it.

To become a shaman, the shaman must go through some sort of spiritual dismemberment. Shamans have to break down their ego, freeing themselves to be their core self.

What does this have to do with my book, Spirit on Fire? The heroine, Samantha, went through a physical trauma before she became a shaman. But what I admire about her is that instead of letting it beat her down, she learned forgiveness and lifted herself up. It’s that heart full of forgiveness that makes her an equal match for her lover, Marek, who struggles with the desire for revenge. Because she’s gone deep into that black pool herself and come out of it, she understands the darkness in him.

Katlyn Conrad

Find her on Goodreads

Spirit on Fire

Samantha wants a normal life, but the were world won’t leave the sexy new shaman alone. An outcast, she has the potential to control were spirits of all kinds—if only she can figure out how. When she encounters a red-hot demon were, everything she never wanted to know about the supernatural gets turned on its head.

The fire demon Marek claims he’s been ordered to kill Samantha, but he’s disobeying the command. He’s come to save her instead, so they can work together against his sadistic vampire master. Demons are notorious liars, so Samantha has her doubts but no choice. A common cause—survival—draws them together and cool suspicion turns to sexual heat.

A Romantica® paranormal erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

Spirit on Fire is available at: Amazon, Ellora’s Cave, and Kobo

I don’t know what I dreamed last night. My cat kept waking me, and if I don’t think about the dream the moment I open my eyes, it’s gone. The cat doing her paddy-cake thing with her claws tends to get my attention. Anyway, I woke up startled, grumbled at the cat, and then knocked over a bag of runes I had on my bedside table. While picking up the pieces, I wondered…

I have occult things all over my place…a collection of fortune-tellers tea cups, a palmistry hand, a crystal ball, two sets of Norse runes, and three sets of tarot cards. Oh, and tons of books! I have more “stuff” but I don’t want to catalog it all.

What I’m wanting to know is whether you do too—
Do you have tarot cards? Do you have a crystal ball sitting
on a shelf gathering dust? Do you have a Ouija board?