I’m so very excited to announce the launch of my very own Kindle World BROTHERHOOD PROTECTORS! What is a Kindle World? It’s like fanfiction. Other authors are welcome to write in my world of the Brotherhood Protectors. Their characters interact with mine and you get to visit both their worlds and mine. What’s cool is the authors who offer to write in my world. My sister, Delilah Devlin, has a novella in my world and I can’t wait for you to read it. If you like military dudes, Montana and cowboys, you’re going to love this Kindle World. They books are inexpensive at only 1.99 each, which makes it easy to afford all 13 of them! Load up your reader for a happy weekend of reading. Thanks for giving these authors a chance and reading their stories. They’re awesome!
And if you haven’t tried my books in the Brotherhood Protector series, visit my series page on Amazon here BROTHERHOOD PROTECTORS.
Summer’s here and things get busy and sometimes with vacation and spending time with family… things can get away from us. So I’m on vacation in beautiful Mt. Tremblant with my husband, sons, and a couple of friends, and I realize that the blog post I was to do for Delilah’s blog is this week, NOT next week. Oops!
Well, you’re probably as busy as I am, so I figure you’ll be happy with short, right? So here’s an excerpt from Heat, which came out yesterday. Enjoy!
HEAT
With passion so blazing hot, you don’t want to put this fire out…
When Rikki’s first love dies in the line of duty she vows to keep her heart guarded and never give it away again.
After moving to a new town for a fresh start, she is given the opportunity to show off her photography skills and shoot a sexy fireman calendar. Although taking the job might bring up painful memories, she knows this is her best chance at fulfilling her dreams of becoming a professional photographer.
While out with her new roommates, Rikki meets Simon and Carter and feels an instant spark of attraction… to both equally gorgeous and tempting men. This is the same intense feeling she had the first time she fell in love. But how can she feel that way about two men?
When she arrives at the firehouse to shoot the calendar, she is surprised to find that Simon and Carter are firefighters so she immediately pulls back on their growing flirtation. But Simon and Carter are men who know what they want, and they want Riki. As the chemistry between them ignites Rikki finds it hard to resist falling prey to her steamiest fantasies.
Now she has to choose between keeping her heart safe… or taking a chance on love… and possibly losing everything.
“From the two gentlemen at the bar. They said to say welcome to Muldone.”
Rikki’s gaze shot to the bar, and the man she’d been gazing at before smiled and nodded. Then she glanced at the man next to him and—
It was like a punch to the gut. That same intense feeling as she’d had when she’d seen the first man. That this was the man she was meant to be with.
This guy had the same type of physique as the first. Tall, muscular. Very strong. His hair was a soft brown, and wavy. She imagined it would feel soft to the touch. And his eyes seemed very warm.
His gaze shifted from his friend’s to hers for the first time and—Wham! Instant electricity.
Oh, God, how could she have the same feeling—this very special and intense intuitive feeling—for two men?
Of course, she couldn’t. She was just reading things wrong.
The two men stood up and started to walk her way. Her heart fluttered, then started pounding faster as they approached the table.
“Hello. My name is Simon,” the first man said. “And this is my friend, Carter.”
“Hi,” Carter said.
Simon held out his hand and she shook it. At the first touch, sparks flared through her body, playing havoc with her senses. Then she shook Carter’s hand, and had the same wild reaction.
“Hi, uh . . . I’m Rikki.”
“May we join you?” Carter asked.
Ordinarily, she would make some excuse to send them away, but she was too befuddled and found herself nodding.
“I . . . uh . . . thanks for the drink.”
Simon smiled. “Our pleasure.”
“How did you know I just moved to town?”
Carter laughed. “Rhonda on the bar knows her clientele. She told us.”
Rikki nodded and took a sip of the icy drink, and the sweet flavor of peaches exploded on her tongue.
“It’s delicious.”
“So did your party break up,” Simon asked, “or will the others be coming back?”
“I’m not really sure. I’m not used to coming to places like this, but I think they might have moved on.” She could see Tina sitting at another table, and Mel leaning in close to the woman he was talking to at her table.
“So the guy just ditched you?” Simon asked.
She shrugged. “He’s not my boyfriend or anything. In fact, I barely know him. We just live together.”
At Simon’s arched eyebrow, she added, “He’s my new roommate. All three of them are. But I just met them when I moved in a few days ago.”
“Well, since they’ve moved on, do you want to go somewhere quieter where we can talk?” Carter asked.
Anxiety quivered through her. These guys were definitely moving faster than she liked.
“Don’t look so panicky,” Carter said. “I just mean we could move to a booth on the back wall. With the overhang, it’s quieter and we won’t have to fight with the music to hear each other.”
“Oh.” She glanced to the wall and saw a few booths were open. “That would be okay.”
She stood up and grabbed her purse and her gift from Anna. Simon picked up her drink and he and Carter followed her to one of the booths. As soon as she sat down, she noticed the difference in noise level.
“You’re right, this is better,” she said.
The two men sat across from her in the rectangular booth.
“I’ll just let my friends know where I am.” She grabbed her phone and texted Tina.
Way to go, Tina texted back with a winky face.
“So where did you move here from?” Carter asked.
“I was in Ashton. That’s the small town in Ohio where I grew up. But I got laid off from work and so I decided to start again someplace new.”
“And you came here because of the great scenery?” Simon asked.
“It is a beautiful spot. I hadn’t realized how pretty it was here or how much of a tourist destination it is. I came here because a close friend from college lives here and I thought it would be fun if we lived in the same place again.”
“Friends are important.” Carter’s smile caused his eyes to twinkle.
“You two are good friends I take it,” she observed.
“That’s the truth,” Simon said.
“Yeah. We share everything.”
The glitter in Carter’s eyes sent a shiver of excitement through her. As if he’d just told her that he and Simon both wanted to be with her. To kiss her . . . undress her . . . make love to her. Together.
Oh, God, the thought of being with one of these big, muscular men was enough to steal her breath away. But the thought of being with both of them . . .
Of course, she was just being silly. Because of the weirdness of her intuitive feeling that she was meant to be with Simon. And with Carter. She was misinterpreting things. They probably shared an apartment and maybe a car and . . . whatever else guys shared on a regular basis.
Not women.
Not her.
Remember the mention of free books?
You can get free stories by signing up for my mailing list. This gives you a chance to sample my writing to see if you enjoy it. If it’s not your style, you can unsubscribe anytime. No worries! 🙂
As a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of erotic contemporary romance, Opal Carew writes about passion, love, and taking risks. Her heroines follow their hearts and push past the fear that stops them from realizing their dreams… to the excitement and love of happily-ever-after. Her books have won several awards, including The National Readers’ Choice Award, The Golden Leaf Award (twice), The Golden Quill (3 times), CRA Award of Excellence, and Silken Sands.
Today, I’m busy putting the last polish on a collection due to come out next Tuesday, Blue Collar: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology. It’s going to be a meaty short story collection, stuffed with 16 super-hot stories about those attainable, sexy everyday boys next door. Pre-order your copy now for just $0.99—that price will not last!
And while you’re placing your order, enjoy this song by Rag’n’Bone Man. The low, gritty beat and growling vocals are keeping me in my chair—yeah, I’m doing a little chair-dancing, while I edit. Love this track!
Hi! Thank you, Delilah Devlin, for having me here today. This anthology, A COWBOY TO KEEP, Contemporary Western Romance Collection, has been a fun project. It is a privilege to work with this group of talented authors and I’ve enjoyed getting to know them and their work. I think readers will love this collection of contemporary western romances.
I always fall in love with my characters, even the bad guys, but my heroine, Dinah Marie Horne, has been a fun one for me. She entered the stage in the first book I wrote, CODE OF HONOR, Texas Code Series, as a supporting character for Maggie Benning. They had gone to college together and quickly became friends.
She was fun, brash, and quirky, sweet, funny, and loyal, and always threw herself into a situation one hundred percent. I went down the western historical trail for a while leaving Dinah to wait in the wings, non-too patiently I might add, for her own story.
Dinah’s story is finally here. We find her facing the consequences of her most recent attempts to walk her own path and questioning, as we all do from time to time, did she make the right decision? Did she already find her ‘happy ever after’ in Ben Hammond and lose it? Will she be able to get it back?
THE LEGEND OF BAD MOON RISING
Dinah Horne left for Dallas, Texas, to make her mark. When her money runs out, she returns to her hometown and the man she can’t forget. Sheriff Ben Hammond is finally over the woman who shattered his heart, and he plans to rebuild his life with the Hard Luck Ranch. Under a rising moon, will Ben and Dinah surrender to the passion still burning hot between them?
EXCERPT:
Dinah Horne sat in a booth, in the darkened corner of the Bigger Jigger, her butt, literally and figuratively, frozen to the worn, red vinyl, seat. In the last few days, she and Maggie had discussed the situation with Ben Hammond, ad nauseam. Should she move back to McTiernan? Would he accept her living here again? Could they even reside in the same county?
She’d known her leaving last year had hurt him badly. But she’d needed to follow her dream of owning and running her own business. Hadn’t she? Well, she’d done it, all right. She’d even gone the extra yardage by telling him she couldn’t spend her life simply being Mrs. Sheriff Hammond. She was destined for greater things.
And, how’s that working out for you, Sister Sue? Her mother’s voice reverberated inside her head. Less than a year and she was back in McTiernan, tail between her legs, imposing on the kindness of friends. Pathetic.
She watched Maggie hug Ben, give her an almost imperceptible nod, and leave.
How much longer would he wait for the new realtor to show up? Not long, she surmised, if he was still in the habit of having one beer before heading home for the day. Slowly, she exited the booth and made her way toward the bar. She approached Ben just as Harry set a Styrofoam box on the counter. Ben paid his bill, picked up the white carton, and fished his keys out of his pocket.
Without fanfare, Dinah slid her card onto the lid of his dinner box.
He picked up the Packard Realty card, read the generic front, and said, “Hey, I was about to leave. I thought you weren’t going to make our appointment.” He half-swiveled on the stool, stretching out his hand. “I’m Ben, and you are, Ms?”
The look in his eyes told her most of what she needed to know. “Hi, Ben.”
He stared at her, and looked again at the card. He flipped it over to see her name scrawled across the back. Handing it to her he said, “We’re not doing this. I’ll call Tristi tomorrow.”
“Ben, you can’t just run away from me.”
“Oh, I don’t know, I’ve heard it works for others. I think I’ll give it a try.”
“That’s not fair, Ben.”
He set the container down with enough force that his thumb pushed through the lid. He grabbed her by the upper arm and marched her back to the booth she’d vacated mere minutes before.
“Fair? You want to talk fair?” He pushed her into the booth and slid in next to her, effectively blocking her escape. “You up and leave with only a note taped to my gun safe. You were afraid of losing yourself? What the hell does that mean?”
“Ben, I should go.” While she knew in her heart, he wouldn’t hurt her, she did her best not push him too far. The floodgates were threatening to overflow, and she absolutely would not cry in front of him. “This was a mistake.”
“You have no idea how huge.” With that, he got up and walked straight out the front door without so much as a glance over his shoulder.
***
Ben walked into the sheriff’s office, sat in his chair, and realized, as his stomach growled, he’d left his double cheeseburger with grilled onions and fries at the Bigger Jigger. Damn. He’d been really looking forward to that most perfect combination of meat, bun, and cheese with a liberal dose of jalapeños. His mouth watered at the thought, but there was no way he was going back to pick it up. He’d starve first.
His gaze drifted over to his only other option. Unhappily, he got up and slid a dollar bill into the vending machine slot, and retrieved a bag of chips. He ate one, grimaced at the remainder of the contents, and tossed them into the trash can beside his desk.
He dropped into his chair and scrubbed his hands over his face. What was the matter with him tonight? His reaction and resulting actions toward Dinah had been, while marginally understandable, completely unacceptable. He’d convinced himself, over the past few months, he was over her, and never again would she affect him. Tonight, however, had proved how wrong he’d been. Seeing her out of the blue like that had flummoxed him almost as much as seeing her that first time in Maggie’s living room last summer. Their break-up had hit him hard, and he’d promised never again to let a woman get that close. Evidently, he hadn’t moved as far along as he’d thought.
In an effort to, finally, put his relationship with Dinah Horne to bed — an unfortunate turn of phrase indeed — he started the computer and began composing an email to Tristi Packard, owner of Packard Realty. He’d call her in the morning with his concerns, but for now . . . this was a way for him to organize his thoughts.
The front door opened and closed, breaking his concentration, and when he looked up, Dinah stood inside, with her back against the glass closure.
“Hi, Ben.” She crossed the room and set a slightly worse-for-wear white box, with a hole in the lid, onto the desk in front of him. “You forgot your dinner.”
“You didn’t have to go out of your way.”
“I was driving by anyway, and promised Harry I’d drop it off. Sorry it’s gone cold.”
“Don’t worry about it.” He managed a measure of control to avoid a repeat of his actions at the bar. He cleared his throat. “You can go now.”
She pulled up a chair and sat down. “We need to talk, Ben.”
“No, we don’t. You chose to leave, you don’t get to come back.”
“Seriously? Childish much?”
Ben stared at the blank computer screen, wishing she’d leave, yet hoping she’d stay. Quite the impossible conundrum. He waited a few beats longer until the screen went dark, and then forged ahead.
“You bleached your hair. Why?”
“There’s so much competition in Dallas real estate, that when I got my license, I thought I needed something to help me stand out in the crowd. So, I got a makeover.” She smoothed her shoulder-length hair and pressed her gloss-covered lips together into an exaggerated pout. “What do you think?”
“Doesn’t matter what I think.”
“Of course, it does, Ben. Always did.”
About the Author
Carra Copelin is an award winning and Amazon Best Selling Author in contemporary and historical romances but, unlike so many other authors, didn’t write from childhood or read long into the night beneath the covers with a flashlight. She found romance novels as an adult. After reading about a million, she discovered numerous people residing in her head, all looking for a way onto the printed page.
She’s a member of Romance Writers of America and she regularly contributes to romance blog, Smart Girls Read Romance. She is a member of The Daughters of the American Revolution and The Daughters of the Republic of Texas.
Carra and her hero live in North Central Texas, in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex where they enjoy family and their three beautiful grandchildren.
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 enjoy weaving in my character’s journey, where they face challenges and in the end fall in love, around these mysteries. As well, I include 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.
Book ideas come to me in numerous ways. With Forbidden Knight, the 2nd in The Forbidden Series, it occurred during a visit to Louisiana. I was listening to stories of World War II and how back then, women used to write letters of encouragement and support to deployed soldiers. If the recipient had a pen pal or girlfriend, he’d pass the letter on to a person without someone to correspond to. I was fascinated by this detail, which ignited the thought of, “What if the hero isn’t the recipient of the letter, but he pretends to be that person?” This translated into the premise for Forbidden Knight.
With an alpha hero, I knew my heroine needed to be strong, and Alesone Elyne MacNiven, a resilient and independent woman, was born. I upped the tension to the story by placing her and Thomas on the run in a setting with Scotland at war.
I hope you enjoy Thomas and Alesone’s journey. Take care, and I wish you the best.
Sincerely,
Diana Cosby
AGC(AW) USN, Ret.
www.dianacosby.com
Forbidden Knight
“Diana Cosby is superbly talented.” —Cathy Maxwell, New York Times bestselling author
Deep within Scotland, a healer and a warrior join forces to protect Scotland’s future . . .
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.
Outraged Sir Thomas dismissed her claim, Mistress Alesone MacNiven awaits the shock on the arrogant knight’s face when he learns that she has told the truth. But it is she who is shocked, and then horrified, as it is revealed that her father, the king’s mortal enemy, has betrothed her to a powerful noble, a deal that could jeopardize the king’s efforts to unite Scotland. Robert Bruce orders Sir Thomas to escort Alesone to safety. As they embark on a harrowing journey through the Highlands, Alesone tries to ignore her attraction to the intimidating warrior, but as she burns beneath Thomas’s kiss she realizes this fearless knight could steal her heart.
I will give away one of my tote bags to one luck winner. The contest will end June 10th, and ONE lucky winner will be drawn from all who post a comment here!
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 books #1 & 2 of The Forbidden Series, she’s now working on book #3, Forbidden Vow which will be released in May 2018.
Diana looks forward to the years of writing ahead and meeting the amazing people who will share this journey.
Another scandal is brewing in Two Mule, Texas, and Shauna Davies is right at the center! This lucky girl is about to receive the sexiest gift ever from the boy she’s loved all her life.
If you love sexy, slow-talking cowboys, with even sexier friends who are willing to go the extra mile to help a guy “seal the deal” with his girl, well, I have the story you’ve been waiting for!
Four Sworn is out now! It’s the third story in the Lone Star Lovers series. Get caught up because Breaking Leather is coming June 16th!
Happy reading!
Four sexy cowboys sworn to give her pleasure!
Sometimes it takes a cowboy, or maybe four, to unleash a woman’s wild child…
Being the pretty daughter of the town whore was reason enough to ensure Shauna Davies lived a circumspect life, stepping out of line only occasionally with her favorite cowboy, boyfriend Bo Crenshaw. But her untamed spirit is forcing her to make a new start in another place where no one knows her past—but not before she fulfills one last wicked fantasy…
Cowboy Bo Crenshaw has loved Shauna since they shared their first sexual adventures as teenagers, but he hasn’t found the way to show her he accepts the wild child she keeps hidden inside—at least, not until she confesses a long-held fantasy. Now Bo is determined to give her a send-off that will make her think twice about blowing out of town.
Hoping he’s found the key to unlocking her heart, he turns to the Kinzie brothers, his three closest friends, to provide her a single night of unrestrained passion.
NOTE for DD: Sorry I’m posting this so late! My Outlook crashed, and I couldn’t access Valerie’s email. Took me nearly half a day to repair it. Enjoy the excerpt!
From the moment he entered the dark taproom, Caleb Hunt found himself drawn to the handsome man who sat alone at the end of the bar, away from the crowd. His interest in the dark-haired, muscled adonis took him by surprise, not remembering when he’d felt such hunger from a simple glimpse. Unable to stay away, he quickly found an open seat next to him and slid into it. When Ronan turned his ice-blue eyes to Caleb and introduced himself, his warm hand sent shivers of desire through his body and he was enthralled.
Ronan Scott’s boring Friday night had taken a turn for the better when Caleb took the seat next to him. Over the next few hours, he found Caleb easy to talk to and at the same time, he found that he couldn’t tear his gaze away from the beautiful man. Caleb captured his attention in a way that no other had for as long as he could remember. Taking a chance, he leaned forward and captured Caleb’s lips with his. And with the simple kiss, Ronan understood that Caleb would become an essential part of his life.
As Ronan and Caleb explore their new relationship and integrate their lives together, they realize that not everything will be so seamless…
EXCERPT
That’s when he spotted him and everything stopped.
His breathing hitched in his chest and his heart thudded once, hard, and even the music seemed to fade as his gaze landed on a dark-haired man who sat by himself at the bar. As Caleb’s eyes slid down the man’s body of their own accord, he noted the fitted black tee that emphasized the muscles of his arms, back, and shoulders, before his gaze dropped lower to his legs encased in denim.
When he lifted a beer to his mouth and swallowed, Caleb felt his own throat tighten. A shiver of desire passed over him. Never had he felt this way about a man or woman in his life.
Before he could analyze his actions or talk himself out of his stupid plan, he walked toward the man. Part of him wanted to see if the man was as stunning as he believed from across the bar or if he’d been alone for so long that his mind had conjured the perfect man.
Before Caleb could reach the stool next to him, a beautiful blonde glided up to him, running her hand down his chest. Her smile flirty and sensual. Although Caleb had never been propositioned in any way close to resembling what he witnessed, he knew that she offered the man a brazen invitation to get to know her better.
Disappointment flooded Caleb’s chest.
In the next moment, however, she frowned and backed away from him as quickly as she arrived, leaving an empty chair.
Not questioning his good luck, Caleb hurried over and shed his coat, dropping it over the back. He flagged down the bartender and indicated the beer he wanted.
He sensed the man’s eyes on him, but for the moment, he wasn’t brave enough to turn and catch his gaze. Not when his breath had stuck in his throat, and he didn’t know if he could speak without sounding choked.
As soon as the bartender handed him his mug, the man turned his body toward him and leaned over to speak, close to his ear.
“Are you here alone?”
Caleb had to bite the inside of his lip in order not to moan out loud at the sexy, deep voice. Remembering the question, he shook his head and pointed toward Dylan and Garrett across the room. Dylan, of course, had a woman on his lap and was tracing a finger down her neck, before he leaned toward her and his mouth followed the same trail.
Garrett was looking down at his phone. The shy woman he’d been talking to had disappeared, much to Caleb’s disappointment, and another was trying, unsuccessfully, to get his attention. She looked drunk and very loud by the way he flinched every time she spoke.
“Dylan, the one on the right with a woman on his lap, is the biggest flirt in the world. He’s never serious about any woman he takes home. Garrett is his best friend, the complete opposite of Dylan, but he’s loyal.”
The man laughed and Caleb couldn’t help the lift of his lips at the sound. It was deep, rich, and addictive. But when the man turned his ice-blue eyes on him, something unidentifiable swelled in his chest. He could sense that he should speak, to keep this gorgeous man talking for as long as possible. “Are you here alone?”
Smart, Caleb. Just parrot the same question back.
The man smiled before he nodded over to his group of friends. Some were flirting, but others were enjoying the company of their friends on a Friday night.
“The ginger is Hawk; he’s a divorce lawyer who is handling Ryan’s divorce. That’s why they’re hunched over their beers. Ryan’s wife apparently hadn’t been faithful during their entire four-year marriage, and he found out when he came home early from a business trip. Jack is the one who is flirting with the group of women; he’s like Dylan in that way, never serious. He’s a CEO of a tech company and he could have any woman with his looks and the power he exudes, but he’s never been in a serious relationship. Sam is my second-in-command, the one who looks faintly sick, because Adam is a forensic scientist who loves talking about his work.”
Caleb found himself smiling at the group of friends. When he glanced at the man, who had turned back to Caleb after pointing out his friends, he snagged Caleb’s gaze. “So, do you have a girlfriend at home?”
“No. I can’t remember the last time I had a date, much less a successful one. You?”
Caleb breathed a sigh of relief when he shook his head.
“I’m Ronan Scott.” He held his hand out.
Shit, even the man’s name is sexy.
He had to clear his throat before he reached out and grasped Ronan’s large, warm hand in his. “Caleb Hunt.”
Something inside Caleb warmed in increments until fireworks exploded behind his skin, all from a simple touch.
About the Author
Valerie writes paranormal and contemporary romances with strong alpha males and brilliant, beautiful heroines. She lives in Denver, Colorado with her wonderfully supportive husband and their funny and wise black lab. She’s addicted to coffee, crime shows, and reading and writing character driven romances.
