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.”

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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:
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You can also find her here:

Website:  www.donnamichaelsauthor.com
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Follow my Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Donna-Michaels/e/B008J24XR2/
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I am a very visual person. Often, I’ll begin a story based on picture. That picture will usually inspire a title, first. From there, the rest is magic. My brain takes off from that initial picture, whether it’s art I found on a stock photo website or an image I dreamed.

So, let’s play a game today. Consider the picture above, your “writer’s prompt”. Your stepping-off point into a story. I don’t expect you to write paragraphs. A single line will do. For instance, when I saw this picture, my first imagining was: “I dropped the bag of groceries on the counter then turned toward the open door, ready to go back for another bag, when a bright light shone—a moment before the house shuddered and the floor shifted beneath my feet.”

That’s all I have. You can have that “Close Encounters” moment. A flashlight beam. Whatever. And you don’t have to make it pretty! Play today for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card! Have fun!

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