I’m still waiting to DO NOTHING.  I finished Chase, and it’s out.  (If you haven’t read it yet, click on the cover! And thank you to everyone who has already purchased it!)

After the rush to get the book out, I hoped to take some time off from everything writing-related. It’s summer after all. And I’ve been very, very busy with writing, editing, and promoting. I’d like to rest my brain for a bit and recharge. These days, I cram work in to get it done. And while I do spend some evenings with the family—movie nights, swimming—I’d love to have a day (no, dayzzz) where I can wander upstairs and chat with kids and my dd without them raising eyebrows and asking, “Don’t you have some work to do?” How lovely it would be to say, “Nope. I’ve got nothin’ on my calendar. Not a damn thing.” But first, I have to finish the rush editing job I’m working on now. I have two more behind it, but I can take a break before I start them.

What would I do with that time off? I want to “art”. I want to make some potholders. Do some floating aimlessly around the pool. I want to binge on a series or two. I’m in the middle of one I never thought I’d watch nevermind enjoy—Downton Abbey. As a general rule, I don’t like British period pieces. Bridgerton bored the hell out of me. I yawned through the trailer for The Crown. But Downton? I thought I’d give it a shot…watch one show… And now, I’m invested in everyone’s lives. Who knew?!

And I want to watch The Witcher. It looks right up my alley. And dear God, could Henry Cavill be any more beautiful than he already is?!

So, I’m rambling, but you know what my goal is: Finish these damn edits and DO NOTHING.

Open Contests

1. Puzzle for Today… (Contest) — Win a FREE book!
2. Our Silly Collections… (Contest) — Win a SIGNED book from me!
3. Aftermath… (Contest) — Win a FREE book!
4. What I love about summer… (Puzzle Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
5. Yvette Hines: Let’s All Go to the Movies (Contest) — Win a FREE book, a gift card, and a candle!

UPDATE: The winner is…Eileen McCall!
*~*~*

My ex-husband and I used movies as the nanny for our daughter. (No judgment!) I took her to the theaters when she was two months old. She didn’t know what was going on, but it was a loud action movie that she nursed and slept through—all of it. When I walked out, people commented that they didn’t know a baby was in the theater or asked, “the noises didn’t bother her?”. Nope, she literally slept like a baby. This inevitably made our daughter the movie addict that she is today. I will say, there are some movies we went to see, and I made the mistake of not watching the trailer—our choice was based on actors we liked. We had to sneak out at the end because we didn’t want anyone to know we took our seven-year-old to see Bad Teacher with Diaz and Timberlake. After that, we ruled that she could see any action, suspense, rom-com, but when it came to comedies, we must watch the trailer AND check the rating wasn’t NC 17. Now that it is just my daughter and me over the last six years, we have taken our movie watching in the theaters to a whole new level.

We used to go to the movies on Thursday night at midnight because that was when the new films dropped, and she loved going to school on Friday to tell her friends that she’d already seen the latest Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or Twilight. She was the Siskel & Ebert of primary school (never a spoiler). Then people started doing horrible scary and life-changing actions, and now movies drop at a safer time. So, we still go on Thursdays, just early evening.  Most of my friends on the weekends invite me to dinner and a movie by first asking, “What haven’t you seen?”. But, I will easily lie and not tell them I’ve seen a movie they want to watch because I don’t mind seeing a movie twice. Shhh. Actually, I’ve seen movies four times in two weeks, because a different friend has asked me to go. I’m not one of those people who goes and can’t help talking through a movie with comments like “watch this.” I laugh when they laugh and still cry at touching scenes. As an author, I use those touching scenes to harvest the emotion I feel in a moment for a book I am writing.

My daughter is now in college, and we have the same taste in movies. We don’t do horror, spiritual thriller, or stupid comedies.  Now, you may be thinking at the moment, “Yvette, you haven’t said anything out of the ordinary.” You’re right. So, let me confess the level of our addiction.

We are members of our local movie theater, so we get our local fix for pennies on the dollar at each attendance. We take our movie going on the road. So, when we are making plans for a trip out of town or the country…we check how far the nearest theater is from the hotel. It is nothing to find us in the movies in Time Square, San Diego, New Jersey, or Quebec City. We are making plans to go to Washington State and South Korea, and we’ve already started scouting the theaters. By the way, if you are ever in Fort Lee, New Jersey, visit the iPic Theater; it is a marvelous experience.

My name is Yvette Hines, and I am a cinema addict.

Are you a cinema addict? If you are,
let me know the last movie you went to the theater to see. 😊

To Kiss a Flame

Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Book heat level (based on movie ratings): 4 flames

The one thing that Aubrey Carsen always wanted was to be a firefighter with her two friends. She returns home to her small town and new firehouse, with secrets following her, only to prove herself like a proby. But she can take it. Soon she discovers that a man from her past, an old high school crush—a man too sexy to be wrapped up in a suit all day—is too close for comfort. The day she rescues a little boy from a tree, things begin to unfold in a way she never expected. Now, being back in town has a whole new outlook. Is it possible that her time has finally come and everything she’s wanted will fall in line? Even as she is afraid to believe it.

Pierce Emory, the bank loan manager, has been burned by love for the last time. His ex-fiancé walks out on him the week before their wedding, and he can’t see himself getting lost in love again. Then his beautiful, tough neighbor comes knocking at his door in a storm. She’s sexy as hell, but there’s something about her he can’t place. When he discovers the curvy beauty was the good girl from high school, the home before dark, and straight A’s, quiet type, he can’t believe her transformation. Now, she’s back in town, and the old spark between them has ignited into a flame that threatens to scorch them both.

Get your copy here!

CONTEST

Drawing ONE winner from those who comment on my Let’s All Go to the Movies post on Delilah’s blog between June 21 – 28 June 2021. The winner will get an e-Copy of To Kiss a Flame, a Hero candle, and $10 Amazon GC.

Yvette Hines Social Media
Website https://yvettehines.com
Twitter @sasseYvetteH
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The family + the 17-year-old’s girlfriend floated the river today on innertubes. We’re all sunburned, but had a great time! The 7-year-old was so kind today. She said, “Nina, you look like the boy scout in UP!” So kind! Grrr… But she’s right! LMAO

I hope all of you find time to do nothing this weekend. ~DD

Summer. I love everything about summer—the long days, the sunshine, the heat. Yes, the heat. This big girl loves the hot weather. I don’t even care what kind of heat. I lived in Bakersfield, CA, where the heat was regularly over 100 in the summer. Even dry heat is hot above a certain level. I’ve lived in Florida, where taking a shower is pointless once you step outside. I don’t care. I’ll take either one.

I’m back in my home state of Indiana where summers are hot and humid. That’s okay. I’ve rarely been too hot in my life.

What I really love about summer is the freedom I feel to just be me. I can sit in my backyard for hours with a glass of tea watching the bees, butterflies, and birds.  I usually outlast the dogs who go back in the house because their black fur makes being outside a little uncomfortable.

Summer brings up my memories of childhood where I left the house as soon as I woke up in the morning and played outside with my friends until lunchtime. After lunch, we ‘d return to playing baseball, climbing trees, running through the hose, and other things most kids don’t do anymore. After dinner, play resumed until dark. Had to be home by dark or else mom would yell out the window for me to come home. And believe me, my mom’s voice could carry across the couple acres that separated me from my friend’s houses.

We roamed the fields, built forts, rode bicycles, ate tomatoes from each other’s gardens, and created objects from the clouds billowing overhead. In fact, our parents wouldn’t even allow us in the house during the day except for meals or if it were raining, we got a pass to play inside, which always turned out to be boring.

Outside was our life.

For me, it still is. I spend as much time as I can outside all summer long. When I’m writing, I take my laptop onto the deck and spend the day in another world while I’m in my happy place.

Heat is so important to me, the weather sort of became a character in my book Captured Hearts. My heroine despises the cold, and she ends up in Wisconsin. The snow and freezing cold has a real effect on how she deals with life.

Summer is when I feel my real self. I’m happier. I’m nicer. I’m more productive. I want to be around other people. In the winter not so much. That first warm day, I’ll see Facebook memes and posts about falling leaves, hot chocolate, and pumpkins. No. Please just let me have my time. Let me have my outdoor concerts and dining. Let me have my carnivals and corndogs. Let me have the hot sun’s rays on my face.

Let’s embrace our summer.

Anna Hague’s social media links:
E-mail: annahague80@gmail.com
Website: www.annahague.com
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/AnnaHagueAuthor
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010050496430
Amazon Books. https://bit.ly/3hEPjlYAnnaHague
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/AnnaHagueAuthor/
Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/anna-hague

If you love reading, this may be a post for you.

Let me begin with a question, or rather, a series of questions…

Have you ever been let down by a book?
Have you ever wished that a book included a hair bit more than it did?
Have you ever flipped the last page and thought something about the story was missing?

Now, if you’ve answered yes to any of those questions, allow me to ask two more…
Have you ever left a book review on an author’s website or a review site?
Have you ever contacted an author by email, on social media, or in a private message?

Okay, we’re almost done.
If you answered yes to either of the last two questions (or gave serious consideration for doing so), what did you say/write?

I lay these questions out there for consumption after a roundtable gathering with a group of author friends. See, writers want to know what readers think, and many listen to the critics of their works. In fact, the main reason for having beta readers is to have that reader feedback to improve the story. But here is where things fall apart. When A. says a story was awful because the characters were unbelievable, that vagueness doesn’t provide the author much to go on to make corrections. It’s more helpful if there is an explanation. For example, saying a character is unbelievable because his language seems too sophisticated for his age would be helpful. Or saying that the dialogue seems stiff because it is filled with cliches provides specific direction as to the problem.

Writers have tough skins… well, most of them. They pride themselves on growing and improving their craft. Sometimes, a writer has a specific vision for a project. For example, if an author is a horror writer and writes a book with a lot of scary elements, that’s to be expected. An unfair criticism would be calling out the story for having too many creepy elements. However, what would be fair is asking the author to up the ante, for example, making what is meant to be “jump scare” less predictable.

As with anything, there is a polite way and not so polite way to do anything. Readers most definitely can communicate their likes and dislikes for a story in a tasteful way. If an author you are kind of interested in isn’t quite doing it for them, there is no reason a reader shouldn’t inform that author what is expected or wanted from him/her.

1. Book reviews are for readers. While authors may learn from the reviews, the main purpose of reviews is to inform writers about the book. Usually, reviews come from either readers who have purchased or been gifted the book or professional critics. In any case, the review is written to relay the reader’s opinion to other readers. It is to give a type of synopsis of the book and an indication of what other readers may experience. However, all reviews are subjective, and that should be kept in mind.

2. All reviews matter. There is a reason that the bride and groom have the first dance at the wedding, and it isn’t because it’s their wedding and they are footing the bill. It is to get things started and people moving to the dance floor. Think about going to a party or club with great music blaring, tons of people standing around, but no one dancing. Sometimes, there’s a hesitation to be first. However, once that first person begins, more are likely to follow. The same happens with book reviews. Once the first one written, other people are encouraged to do the same—either to agree or disagree.

3. Leaving reviews is a way of becoming part of the reading community. It is a way for readers to connect with other readers. Some readers connect with other readers through review sites as well as the reviews they write.

4. Sparking further conversations. Sometimes, reviews may lead to opening discussions about topics that matter but aren’t being discussed. Many fan theories of popular books have begun in the comment sections reviewing books or passages.

5. Reviews speak for readers who can’t leave reviews. Not everyone is allowed to leave reviews of sites like Amazon. This point could be an entire post of its own. Basically, Amazon has set community guidelines that restrict who can post reviews. The claim is that this is to ensure that the reviews are valid, but let’s be honest. It isn’t true. There are people who purchase books from other places than Amazon who may want to leave a review but who aren’t allowed because they haven’t spent enough money on the Amazon site. Or their review may show up without the “verified purchase” marker beside their name. Or if an author has a link for his/her book that leads to his/her Amazon webpage, Amazon cyber tracking may consider that person to be a “friend” and either disallow or remove reviews. So, one reader who leaves a review may be speaking for many readers.

6. It has been estimated that more than 85% of book purchases from the Amazon Kindle store is based at least partially on book reviews. These reviews are being used as a determining factor as to if someone wants to download an e-book.

7. Book reviews help new authors get discovered and more exposure, not just to readers but to other book review websites, book clubs, and book blogs. They can even help sway the minds of library administrators whether or not to carry a book in the library.

That’s all I got. Do you agree or disagree with these points? Let me know your thoughts and opinions in the comment section. Also, let me know if you would like me to cover more of these types of topics or dive deeper into this one. If you like this post, please click the like button and share it. If you’re not following me on Creole Bayou blog, what are you waiting for? There’s always room at the bayou.

Penalty Kill

If you haven’t heard, my best-selling hockey romance series, Locker Room Love. Book 4, Penalty Kill, releases this August. >>> https://books2read.com/penaltykill

When the scandal of a double homicide threatens to destroy his career, this billionaire hockey player hires an ambitious sports agent to improve his public image. It’s time to let the puckery begin.

Timothée Croneau is that jock—the bad boy superstar with the naughty reputation. He’s handsome, arrogant, and a billionaire. He’s also the number one person-of-interest in a double homicide and recently traded to a losing team who is showing him no love. And wouldn’t it be just his luck that his career splashed in the toilet six months after his long-time agent kicked the bucket? Now, he’s stuck with Ryker Kitsch. An agent is supposed to fix his life, though, not break his heart.

Speaking of breaks, ex-athlete Ryker Kitsch wants his in the sports agency realm. He sees his chance to make a name for himself by helping rebrand his agency’s newly acquired hockey star, Timothée Croneau. The guy needs every lick of positive PR he can get. So, why is the devilishly gorgeous forward fighting him at every step and leaving Ryker to wonder if he’s been hired for a babysitting gig?

The mess Timothée is stirring was never in any contact Ryker was hired to handle. One thing’s for sure. Whether it’s a forecheck or backcheck, collision is inevitable.

Preorder your copy at:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ex0N9p
Other book sellers: https://books2read.com/penaltykill

Missed the three in my hockey romance series? No frets. Out of the Penalty Box (book #1), where it is one minute in the box or a lifetime out, is available at https://amzn.to/2Bhnngw. It also can be ordered on iTunes, Nook, or Kobo. For more links where to purchase or to read the blurb, please visit https://bit.ly/2i9SqpH.

Defending the Net (book #2) can be ordered at https://amzn.to/2N7fj8q or www.books2read.com/defending. Crossing the line could cost the game.

Ice Gladiators (book #3) is the third book in my Locker Room Love series. When the gloves come off, the games begin. Available at https://amzn.to/2TGFsyD or www.books2read.com/icegladiators.

For more of my stories, shenanigans, giveaways, and more, check out my blog, Creole Bayou, www.genevivechambleeconnect.wordpress.com. New posts are made on Wednesdays, and everything is raw and unscathed. Climb on in a pirogue and join me on the bayou.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this post or any others, feel free to comment below or tweet me at @dolynesaidso. You also can follow me on Instagram at genevivechambleeauthor or search me on Goodreads or Amazon Authors or BookBub.

NEWSLETTER! Want to get the latest information and updates about my writing projects, giveaways, contests, and reveals first? Click https://genevivechambleeconnect.wordpress.com/newsletter/ and signup today.

Until next time, happy reading and much romance. Laissez le bon temps rouler.

UPDATE: The winner is…Jen B!
*~*~*

I am a collector—of things valuable or silly. I could have taken pictures of my antique fortune-telling teacups, my ancient Egyptian figurines, my How to Train Your Dragon action figures, or my Avenger’s bobbleheads. Instead, I chose something that’s on my desk, right in front of me every day—my classic typewriter figurines. I’m the easiest person to gift in my family, because all they have to do is walk around my bedroom or office and see what I might not have. I can always use another Strangeling fairy ornament!

So, I’d like to open up my blog to display the collectibles you all love. The rules for entering are below. I’ll do a blog in the near future which will include your name (you can use initials for privacy, if you like), what you collect, and why you love to collect your treasures. Have fun! And there is a prize!

Contest

Win a signed book—a copy of CAGE or an older trilogy book, DOWN IN TEXAS! This is all you have to do to enter:

1. Take a picture of a collection of items you love and email it to me at delilah@delilahdevlin.com. You can include a little note about why it means so much to you! Be sure to say how you want to be named!
2. Comment below to tell me it’s coming!

UPDATE: The winner is…Brenda Rumsey!
*~*~*

©Diana Cosby 2021

I enjoy my time walking in the woods, around the pond, or through the marsh, and seeing nature’s beauty.  Taking photos of the wildlife I see is the perfect inspiration to refill my muse.  On rare occasions, I’ll see a Cooper’s Hawk.

At the marsh, I was thrilled to see a young buck with a thin velvet skin on its antlers.

The kits have grown so big.  I was fortunate to see one before it leaves the den to begin his own life.

I see the Yellow-crowned Night Herons at the marsh and sitting on their nests.  In the next few weeks, I’m looking forward to seeing their young.

A couple of weeks during late spring, the Ruddy Turnstones migrate through.  It’s a fun challenge to see if I can catch photos of them before they’ve flown through.

Locally, an unofficial start to summer is when Laughing Gulls arrive.  The gorgeous birds remain until the beginning of fall when they’ll head south, and their familiar ‘laughing’ cries fade.  Though I’ll miss seeing the Laughing Gulls as other migratory birds, I look forward to the cooler weather and return of the winter birds.

Contest

ONE winner will be drawn from everyone who posts on my guest blog post about, ‘Nature – The Perfect Inspiration To Refill My Muse!,’ on Delilah’s blog between 13 June 2021– 20 June 2021.  I will sign a copy of Born To Bite for the winner.

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 into 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 and The Oath Trilogy, she released the bestselling The Forbidden Series.

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

Diana Cosby, International Best-Selling Author
www.dianacosby.com
The Oath Trilogy
MacGruder Brother Series
The Forbidden Series