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Flashback: Knight in Transition (Contest — 2 Winners!)
Wednesday, July 9th, 2025

Before I wrote bounty hunters, I wrote about vampires…

Knight in Transition

A member of an elite police unit sworn to hunt vampires, Joe Garcia’s life is turned upside down when he’s transformed into one. On a quest for a cure, Joe’s search brings him to New Orleans in a last-ditch effort to recover his humanity.

Professor Lily Carlson, a renowned expert in vampire lore, has a condition of her own. Her sexual libido has been in hyper-drive for months. Her only defense is to hide behind her glasses and tweed suits and stay as far away from men as possible. However, she’s thrilled to discover vampires really do exist when Joe shows up on her balcony.

Although Joe deflects her attempts to make him a case study and confirm a few vampire statistics, he is drawn by her powerful allure. When werewolves join the chase and track her through New Orleans, Joe’s cop instincts tell him there’s a mystery to solve. Intent on protecting her, he must seek help from the last vampire on Earth he wants to ask.

While his hopes for deliverance from his fate dwindle, Lily’s life is forever altered by an unexpected inheritance.

Get your copies here!
Night Fall Series

How it begins…

The small sign in the cafĆ© window read: Welcome Vampires and Sanguinarians! (No blood products provided—none permitted on premises! The Management).

Joe Garcia snorted. Every human in the place was a walking, breathing blood product — a portable soda fountain for the Fanged Ones.

He pushed through the glass door and tried to dampen the hope that rose in his chest, causing his heart to beat faster and his hands to sweat. Thusfar, he’d met only disappointment in his long search. This might be just another dead end-the last one he could afford before his cash ran out and his credit card was maxed.

Professor Carlson was his last hope.

Inside the cafe, enticing aromas assailed him. The smell of roasted coffee beans, which had been his life’s blood in another existence, was overlaid with the tangy scent of the real thing-the warm, viscous red stuff. The latter reminded him he hadn’t fed this evening, and hunger gnawed at his belly, making him edgy and irritable.

And something else enticed him. Something dark and sensual perfumed by a female musk with a tincture so unique it immediately sent a curl of heat to his groin.

He walked past the coffee bar without acknowledging the barrista’s greeting and wound his way through the tables, ignoring the human appetizers. His gaze was fixed on a menu board at the entrance of a roped-off area in the back, that read, ā€œVampire Survey Hereā€. An arrow pointed down to a table laden with a stack of pamphlets.

He brushed past the table, searching the back of the restaurant for his quarry.
ā€œSir, are you here ’bout da survey Professor Carlson is conductin’?ā€

Joe turned toward the voice flavored with a deep Louisianan accent. A pleasant-faced girl with black corkscrew curls all around her head sat at a table near the cordoned entrance.

He bit back the rude retort that immediately came to mind and answered, ā€œYes. I need to speak with her.ā€

ā€œWell, you’ll have to complete a screenin’ survey first,ā€ she said pleasantly but firmly, holding up a stapled document.

Joe sighed and accepted the papers. What the hell? Five more minutes wouldn’t kill him.

ā€œDo you have a pencil?ā€ she asked. When he shook his head, she gave him a superior smile and extended a short, sharpened pencil.

Joe didn’t like her attitude one bit, so he reached for her hand, running his fingers over her palm before taking it.

Her smile slipped and Joe could well imagine her thoughts. Another vampire wannabe was hitting on her. He smiled and let her see his teeth.

Her eyes narrowed and a single brow rose. She wasn’t impressed.

That actually gave Joe hope he was in the right place after all. His sharp fangs hadn’t fazed her.

ā€œYou can take a seat with the other guy,ā€ she said, indicating the first booth along the back wall.

Joe walked over and slid across the vinyl seat opposite a young man dressed in black leather and sporting no less than five facial piercings. The piercings glittered like tinsel in the dim light and Joe wondered how the kid could stand leather in May-New Orleans was already sweltering, even at night.

Turning over the top page of his survey, Joe quickly scanned the questions. He hoped like hell they were only meant to screen out the weirdoes and pretenders. Otherwise, he was screwed.

He wet the tip of his pencil on his tongue and read the first question.

ā€œDo you consider yourself a Vampire or a Sanguinarian?ā€

Since he had no clue what a Sanguinarian was, he checked, ā€œVampire.ā€

ā€œIf you checked ā€˜Vampire’, skip to question 6.ā€

Maybe this wouldn’t take so long after all.

In the middle of the page, he found 6. ā€œHow often do you have the urge to drink blood?ā€

He checked the block beside, ā€œMore than three times a day.ā€ Three times a night would be more accurate.

ā€œHow often do you drink blood?ā€

ā€œOnce a day.ā€

ā€œDo you drink your own blood?ā€

ā€œWhat would be the point?ā€ he muttered, and checked ā€œNo.ā€

When he reached the question, ā€œDo you drink blood during sexual encounters?ā€, he’d had enough.

He tossed the survey to the table and started to rise.

ā€œShe won’t see you unless you finish the survey,ā€ Metal Boy said, without looking up from his form.

ā€œShe’ll see me.ā€

The young man’s mouth twisted into a sneer. ā€œYou’ll have to wait your turn. I was here first.ā€

Joe lifted his lips and showed him his fangs.

Metal Boy smirked and then lifted his lips, displaying a whole row of sharpened teeth.

Joe took a quick glance around the cafƩ to make sure no one was near, and then leaned over the table and shook his head. He let the change come over him, reveling for once in the wildness that surged in his veins as the bones in his forehead and brow shifted, and his skin stretched tightly.

The boy’s eyes widened until the whites symmetrically framed his irises. ā€œI-I’ve just thought of somewhere else I need to be,ā€ he said, and quickly scooted off the seat and ran for the exit.

Satisfied that vamping was good for at least scaring the shit out of punks, Joe took a deep breath and relaxed, feeling his face reform to his human mask. Then he headed back to the girl with the wild hair.

ā€œI’ll see her now,ā€ Joe said, not even trying to conceal his impatience.

ā€œHave you finished dat survey?ā€ she asked, her nose buried in her Cosmo magazine.

When he didn’t respond, she raised her eyes.

Something in his expression made her hesitate. ā€œI’ll see if she’s free.ā€

Joe smiled grimly. ā€œYou do that.ā€

She was back in a moment. ā€œProfessor Carlson’ll see you now. You left your survey on the table, but I gave it to her.ā€

He followed her to the farthest corner of the cafƩ, toward another booth. A green lamp suspended over the table lent the corner a warm glow. When he drew alongside the green vinyl seat, the girl indicated he should sit and promptly left. Joe turned his gaze to the figure seated on the opposite bench.

His research had told him the professor was considered an expert in vampire lore. She’d written papers, magazine articles, and books, and even been consulted by more than one movie producer. When he’d typed ā€œvampire expertā€ in the Internet search engine, her name had popped up everywhere.

All his research told him she might hold the answer, but it hadn’t said anything about how young or drinkable she was. Her hair was neither blonde nor brown, but the warm color of whiskey. Her eyes, hidden behind a pair of wire-framed glasses, glinted cognac. Her lips were a pale rosĆ©.

The hunter within him woke.

Realizing he’d been staring, he cleared his throat. ā€œYou’re Professor Lily Carlson? The author of ā€˜Vampires: Myth and Reality’?ā€

Her gaze swept over him. An action so swift, he thought he might have imagined it. ā€œAnd you are?ā€ she asked, leaning over the table to extend her hand.

Joe froze. That indefinable scent was all over her. He had the urge to rub on her like a kitten in catnip. He eyed her small hand, afraid to touch it and feel the blood humming below the surface of her creamy, white skin. He was that close to jumping her. ā€œI thought the survey was anonymous.ā€

ā€œOh, it is,ā€ she replied quickly, withdrawing her hand. ā€œYou’re responding to the ad, then?ā€ At his nod, she looked vaguely disappointed. ā€œWell, I suppose I should review your answers. Please have a seat,ā€ she said, waving him toward the bench seat opposite hers. ā€œThank you for taking the time to help me with my research.ā€

Bemused, Joe slid onto the seat. He knew he should get straight to the point, but he stalled. For just a few minutes, he wanted to be with a woman while she looked at him as if he was just like any other man. Well, perhaps like he was a man with a serious mental disorder. But at least, she wasn’t recoiling in horror or inspecting him like the Bearded Lady at a freak show.

Not that she was a great beauty, nor even as strong and fierce as his ex-partner Darcy. Dressed in a boring-beige suit, her whiskey-colored hair piled in a loose knot on top of her head, and her glasses sliding down her shiny nose, she looked like the schoolmarm she was. But while all the beige and brown should have made her look muddy, she glowed golden in the lamplight. And her scent—richly textured with something wild and animalistic—was extraordinary.

The woman opened his survey and glanced at his answers, then flipped the page. Her lips pursed for a moment, drawing his gaze to her full lower lip. ā€œThere are a few more questions I need answered. Do you mind if I learn a little more about you?ā€ she asked, glancing up at him from beneath her gold-tipped lashes.

The surge of heat that centered in his groin was way out of proportion to her innocent question. Afraid he’d stutter over a tongue that suddenly felt too large for his mouth, he merely nodded.

ā€œYou understand the questions I’m about to ask you are part of a sociological study I’m conducting about our vampire subculture?ā€

Again, he nodded.

ā€œAll information you provide,ā€ she recited as if from rote, ā€œwill be completely confidential. I hope you will answer me honestly,ā€ she gave him a doubtful stare, ā€œor to the best of your ability.ā€

She looked expectantly at him, so he nodded again.

Her gaze returned to his survey, and she cleared her throat. ā€œYou…are a vampire?ā€

ā€œYes.ā€ This was the first time he’d admitted that fact out loud, and he knew how ridiculous it sounded.

ā€œSo, are you a Psy or a Sang?ā€

ā€œThere’s more than one kind?ā€ Joe asked.

ā€œA Psychic vampire feeds on a human’s energy; a Sanguinarian is a blood-drinker.ā€

ā€œI guess I’m a Sang.ā€

ā€œYou drink blood once a day?ā€ she asked, her head still bent over the paper.

He shrugged, hoping she’d glance up at him again so he could see whether her eyes really were a warm, golden-brown. ā€œMore or less.ā€

She scribbled something in the margin of his survey. ā€œWell, which is it?ā€

ā€œSometimes more.ā€

ā€œDo you drink human blood?ā€

Joe wished she’d end this line of questioning, or he’d be drooling shortly. Her scent had every appetite revving into high gear. ā€œYes.ā€

She glanced up from the survey. ā€œHow long have you had the urge to drink blood?ā€

ā€œSince I woke up, tonight.ā€

She blinked. ā€œNo, I meant…since ever.ā€

ALL THE NIGHT FALL BOOKS!

Click image to get your copy!

Silent is the Knight Sm(b)itten Truly, Madly ... Deadly
Knight in Transition Wolf in Plain Sight Knight Edition
Night Fall On Dark Mountain Frannie and the Private Dick Sweet Succubus
Truly, Madly...Werely (Night Fall Book 9) Bad to the Bone Long Howl Good Night
Big Bad Wolf

Contest

Answer this for a chance to win your choice from among my many Night Fall titles!

What was the last paranormal story you read?

 

Bookmark Giveaway!
Tuesday, July 8th, 2025

I’ve created quite a stack of bookmarks over the past few months while participating in the #the100DayProject challenge. It’s time to give one away! I’m actually being lazy because I have a ton of things to work on today, and I don’t have time to put together a puzzle or wax on about some topic that’s popped into my head. I HAVE to post every day. It’s called a habit. If you don’t do something regularly, you make excuses not to do it! So… Anyone want a bookmark?

To win, leave a comment. Give me some topics you’d like me to cover someday on this blog. You don’t have to be serious! Have fun with it!

Ā 

A. Catherine Noon: Love Me in Vegas Kickstarter!
Monday, July 7th, 2025

Thank you so much for having me back as a guest, Delilah! I am absolutely over the moon that Rachel Wilder and I have our first new release since before the pandemic!

🚨 It’s here! The Love Me in Vegas Kickstarter is LIVE!

30 indie romance authors.

Dozens of brand-new love stories.

One stunning collector’s edition.

This exclusive anthology is only available this month so don’t miss your chance to grab it!

Our story is called ā€œBird in the Hand.ā€

Silas Brooks has a secret. All summer, he couldn’t get Knox Kramer out of his mind. Now, as they return after summer break, does he risk making a move? Knox is Mr. Popular and Silas is a member of the nerd squad. Not to mention, he’s a crow shifter and Knox is a raven. The biggest problem? He doesn’t know if Knox even likes him that way.

We’re exploring crow and raven shifters and the world of Volare Academy, a private college for avian shifters. We’ve got a new series we’re writing and wanted to give readers a sneak peek into the world we’ve been inhabiting for the last eighteen months.

What’s so exciting about this is that we’ve finally gotten our writing mojo back. It’s been a relief and pleasure to come back to storytelling and to have such fun stories to be able to play with. If you follow our Pinterest, Rachel’s been creating an extensive curated collection for the series and you can follow along. She compiles character inspiration, location shots, and even foods and animals. If you’re not already following, here’s the link: https://www.pinterest.com/noonandwilder/_created/.

And if you find yourself in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Friday, November 7, 2025, stop by our table at Reader Nation! Admission is FREE! https://www.readernation.live/

In the meantime, hop on over to Kickstarter and check out the incredible anthology. Isn’t that cover terrific?!

šŸ’‹ Back it today and help us bring this dream to life: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/authorventuresllc/love-me-in-vegas-a-collection-of-romance

#KickstarterLaunch #RomanceBooks #ReaderNation25 #RomanceAuthors #RomanceReaders

Report Card & Open Contests
Sunday, July 6th, 2025

I’m back to posting my weekly report card because I have actual work accomplishments to share! Woot!

Report Card

Last week…

  1. I worked on edits for another author!
  2. No swimming due to the pool pump quitting on us! No other exercise other than stairs.
  3. Healthwise, I had an immunotherapy treatment on Monday, and after consulting with my oncologist, I resumed Lenvima on Tuesday, but every other day rather than daily. The doctor hopes my body will adjust so I can go back to daily doses, but it’s kicking my butt again. Not as badly. I’m mostly fatigued and little fuzzy-headed the day I take it.
  4. I’m painting again! Limping toward the end of #the100dayproject. The one below was fun to paint because I used a supply I hadn’t tried yet in my hoard of supplies—watercolor sticks on top of watercolor.

This next week…

  1. I’ll complete edits for one author and begin edits on another author’s story!
  2. I’ll, hopefully, complete work on Ignition—writing new words until I get to The End.
  3. I’ll continue painting to complete #the100dayproject. I want to finish by the end of the week. Just six more pieces to go!
  4. We’re scheduled to have our pump replaced this week, then it’ll take time to turn the neon green water blue again!
  5. I’ll hopefully have time to take pictures to reopen my Etsy shop to sell some of the bookmarks and small paintings I’ve been making!

Open Contests

Be sure to check out these posts and enter to win the prizes that are still up for grabs:

  1. Gabbi Grey: When a trope comes calling (Contest) — Last day to enter! Win a FREE book!
  2. Word Search: Things associated with June! (Contest) — Last day to enter! Win an Amazon gift card!
  3. Gabbi Black: A Home for Every Story (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win a FREE book!
  4. June Into July (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
  5. My New Guilty Pleasure (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
  6. Memory Game: More Guilty Pleasures (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
  7. Ava Cuvay: The Down & Dirty on the Short Story (Contest) — Win a FREE book!
  8. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Poised at the ā€œStar Gateā€ — Win an Amazon gift card!
Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Poised at the “Star Gate”
Saturday, July 5th, 2025

I adore Sci-Fi movies and TV shows, hence my lifelong dedication to all things Star Trek and my recent binges of shows like Lost in Space and Time Tunnel. I really want to binge the Stargate world, but it’s so big that it’ll take significant commitment. Maybe after I finish up Grimm and Psych, I’ll start the SG series, taking “breaks” with Lost in Space (it’s very cheesy, so small doses!).

Anyway, I came across an image that made me think about the Stargate series. I won’t tell you what it’s about because I want you to solve the puzzle then tell me what you think is going to happen next. Do so for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card! Have fun with it!

Happy Fourth of July!
Friday, July 4th, 2025

We’re going for a low-key celebration today! Grilled smashburgers, our own homegrown deviled eggs, lots of sides. No fireworks—because we love our goats, geese, chickens, and the wildlife that gets freaked out by the explosions. They’ll have a haven on our property. Plus, the 11-year-old has never been a fan of the explosions. I remember having to pull her into the house and turn on the TV when we lit explosives on the Fourth at her old house. I didn’t mind missing them with her as we snuggled and watched TV. Sweet memories!

I hope all of you Americans enjoy the day with the family and friends.

Ava Cuvay: The Down & Dirty on the Short Story (Contest)
Thursday, July 3rd, 2025

I blame Delilah.

Don’t get me wrong… she hasn’t committed any crimes (that I know of šŸ˜‰ or done anything bad. It’s simply the fact that I’ve grown to reeeeeaaaally love the reading and writing of short stories. And it’s all her fault.

For those who may not know, Delilah graciously organizes an annual short story anthology, the Boys Behaving Badly series, each year with a theme. Each anthology boasts stories written by a diverse array of authors, covering the theme with an imaginative range of story ideas that are all panty-meltingly hawt.

A satisfying relationship, happy-ending, and a money-shot all in the time it takes me to eat lunch? Yes, please!

So, one year, I decided to submit a story. As a Sci-fi Romance author, I was accustomed to writing books of over 95,000 words. Imagine having to shoe-horn world-building, species-building, character-building, and a creative love story (with sex!) into only 5,000 words. That’s like moving all of Buckingham Palace into a one-bedroom apartment.

That’s what we writers consider one helluva writing exercise.

It certainly worked writing muscles I didn’t know I had. And the post-workout soreness is as much a reality for writing as it is for physical exercise. But I kept going. Honing, editing, questioning every single word choice for maximum impact and efficiency, streamlining character development to its most essential… and my story was accepted!

The experience was such a challenge, with what I felt were lasting benefits to my own full-book skills, that I continued to submit to Delilah’s anthologies. Four anthologies later, and I’m addicted. While I still love writing full-length stories, I also love writing short stories. Please don’t ask me which I prefer to write, because that’s like having to choose between my own children. I love them equally, although I might like one better than the other at times.

I now love writing short stories so much, I just published my own bundle of short stories. Fathoms Below is my trilogy of mermaid-y short stories filled with Disney easter eggs and drenched with romance. Each story is a self-contained love story, and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to my characters’ HEA within 18,000 words rather than waiting for 35,000 words, or more!

And I ā€œblameā€ Delilah for that. šŸ™‚

Contest

I’ll gift a Kindle version of Fathoms Below to a randomly-chosen winner from everyone who comments on this post. Feel free to weigh in on your preference: full book or short story?

FATHOMS BELOW


Under the sea, Atlantia’s mer-creatures are
Ā devoting full time to floating… and falling in love.

ā€œBetter Where it’s Wetterā€ — Ariel LaRue assumes the sexy merman pictured on the lake house is ā€œjust art.ā€ Then a violent storm topples her into his arms, and she discovers the ocean isn’t the only thing that gets her wet.

ā€œKiss the Girlā€ — Mako, a young Sharkanian General, knows there’s more to life under the sea than hunting for food and waging war with the Atlantians. But he struggles against his own predatory nature until a gentle mermaid calms the savage hunger of his heart and tames his sharp bite.

ā€œPoor Unfortunate Soulsā€ — Ursule has an uncanny knack for problem-solving which has earned him the grim moniker Sea Witch. Unfortunately, it doesn’t prevent pesky merpeople from approaching him with their problems. Until two captivating eel-maids invade his lair, wishing for nothing more than his company. And his talented tentacles.Ā 

ā€œPart of his Worldā€ — Eric’s Epilogue. Prince Eric wasn’t always royalty. For that matter, he wasn’t always a merman.

Get your copy now! FREE in KU!

Ā About Ava

Ava Cuvay is an award-winning bestselling author of out of this world Sci-fi and Paranormal Romance featuring sassy heroines, gutsy heroes, passion, adventure… and the word ā€œmoistā€.Ā She resides in central Indiana with her own scruffy-looking nerfherder and teen kiddos who think her ā€œRizzā€ is ā€œcringeā€ but she ā€œpasses the vibe checkā€ and her books ā€œhit different.ā€ No cap.Ā She believes life is too short to bother with negative people, everything is better with Champagne, and Han Solo shot first. Star Wars references are her love language.

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