UPDATE: The winner is…Pat!
*~*~*

“You don’t yell at a sleepwalker. He may fall and break his neck” is probably one of my favorite lines from Billy Wilder’s classic film, Sunset Boulevard. The main character Joe Gillis makes this observation of Norma Desmond, a faded silent screen star who has built a false reality about her circumstances. She believes she’s still famous and desired when the truth is she has been forgotten. I like this line because it poses me with a challenge: what do you do when you come up against a worldview that ignores reality? Joe lets Norma keep sleepwalking/living her lie. He doesn’t yell to wake her up until the end of the movie, but by then it’s too late.

I’m reviewing a historical fiction that depicts life in Atlanta, Georgia in the 1880s. The author brings in characters and storylines you don’t normally see in mainstream historical fiction: Jews as major characters, the mixed-race heritage reality of Southern society (look how long it took historians to own up to Thomas Jefferson fathering children by Sally Hemmings), and a historic African-American event. I applauded the story until I got to the last scene. The ending, while deservedly triumphal, rang hollow to me. Why? Because historically for every step forward in the African American struggle for equality there are always two steps back. Ending as it does the story gives the sleepwalker/feel-good impression that right always triumphs. To the author’s credit, she shares the actual facts of the strike at the back of the book. My review will encourage readers to read that timeline first. Another fictional account dealing with the same historical event shared how the larger society made sure that win was never a gain, but still ended hopefully by embracing the truth expressed by the late John Lewis: “Our struggle is not the struggle of a day or a week, a month or a year. It is the struggle of a lifetime.”

Are there times when you have to risk the sleepwalker breaking their neck? Yes. When sleepwalking reinforces stereotypes. In 1943’s Casablanca Ilsa Lund asks, “Who is the boy playing the piano?” She’s asking about Sam, a Black adult. How does someone supposedly from Eastern Europe know to call a Black man a boy? I’ve yet to find one review or commentary of Casablanca that notes this sleepwalker slight, i.e., it’s right and normal to call Black men boys. The Big Band hit, “Chattanooga Choo-Choo” written in 1941, displays the same attitude. Black men working as railroad porters were called boy. Many of these men were highly educated. None of them were boys.

As a historical romance writer, I’m grateful for folk who have yelled me awake when I’ve written something, albeit historically accurate, that reinforces disparaging or belittling sleepwalker attitudes. As a member of the human race, I’m thankful for groups like the NAACP and the ACLU that have been yelling people awake for years.

For a chance at a $10 Amazon gift card, answer this question: at the risk of a broken neck, if you’re sleepwalking would you want someone to yell and wake you up?

“Who Can Find A Virtuous Woman” featured in Falling Hard: A Passionate Ink erotic romance anthology

Losing her virginity is free-born Eve Richardson’s only hope of escape from marriage to an insufferable fundamentalist preacher. In need of a knight in shining armor, she finds a potential candidate in straightlaced Madison Dugger, the first of his family born outside of slavery. Madison does find Eve desirable and has wanted her for as long as he’s known her. But classism and internalized racism are barriers to love he finds unscalable so he balks at Eve’s request. Can she overcome his objections in time to enlist his aid in her deflowering, saving her from a life as a virtuous woman?

Excerpt from “Who Can Find A Virtuous Woman”

Reflecting on Mr. Richardson’s prejudices had put Madison in mind of a prejudice of his own. He never thought light-skinned girls were informed or intelligent enough to be attractive. Eve forced a reevaluation of his low opinion. She impressed him as she rattled off names, dates, and facts at the Bible study. She neither bragged about what she knew nor backed away if challenged. Her tone was self-possessed and forward-looking, as if her own name would make some fact and date famous. Or infamous.

He had liked that. Her directness challenged his society-approval-seeking ways. In her, he recognized an adventurous spirit akin to the one he kept hidden. He imagined himself as a couple with her. With her as his mate, he would be a bolder advocate for people of color. But given what had happened to Eve’s brother, Mr. Richardson might not want a firebrand for his daughter.

The early evening air had contained the warmth of the season. The nature of ice cream being what it was—well, accidents were bound to happen. Eve had seemed particularly accident-prone last night. A bit of caramel pumpkin ice cream had dribbled at the corner of her mouth. To capture it, her pretty pink tongue had lavished long, slow licks across her ripe curvy lips. Those long, slow licks had telegraphed a message to the pulsing bulge between his legs.

She’d unbuttoned the top three buttons of her blouse and fanned herself languidly. “My but it’s hot for Indian summer.” As her chest swelled upward, unrestrained thanks to the open buttons, Madison had swallowed hard at the glimpse of tempting golden-brown skin.

More ice cream had dripped onto an exposed spot of breast. She’d scraped up the spill with her middle finger then sucked on her fingertip like a baby nursing at its mother’s tit—all for his benefit. Of that, he was sure.

Madison had sighed. When he’d looked up, she was staring directly at him. He’d hoped his enjoyment of her cleavage hadn’t been detected. The smirk twisting her lips had dashed his hopes. He’d shuddered and glanced away. Being caught like Peeping Tom by this alluring, knowing vixen had stiffened his cock.

Buylink: https://books2read.com/u/mdDP7O

UPDATE: The winner is Colleen C!
*~*~*

©Diana Cosby 2021

I love writing stories, and taking photos of nature is how I refill my muse.  Nature’s beauty is inspiring.

I enjoy the gorgeous flowers of summer, which are a beautiful backdrop for photos of butterflies.

Each day when I head out on my morning walks, I never know what animals or birds I’m going to see.

With dragonflies gliding through the gentle wind currents or resting on dried sticks, they seem to be soaking up the summer sun.

At the pond, the newborn chicks have hatched and are flying about, with a myriad of flowers swaying in the breeze along the shore.

It’s always a treat to see the red-eared slider turtles.  I usually find them basking on logs in the sun, enjoying the summer day.  Take care, and enjoy the rest of your summer.

Contest

ONE winner will be drawn from everyone who posts on my guest blog post about, ‘Nature ‒ Muse Inspiration!’ on Delilah’s blog between 15 August 2021– 22 August 2021, and will win a signed copy of His Woman.

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

UPDATE: The winner is…Delaine McLafferty!
*~*~*

Wait, what? One good wreath deserves another? Isn’t that supposed to be one good turn deserves another? True, that’s how the old saying goes. A good act leads to another, and thus goodness is spread. Well, this year for me this came true this past Christmas. Let me explain.

I go all out decorating my house inside and out for Christmas. With the uproar and upset caused by waiting for the 2020 election results I decided to started my Christmas decorating in November. I wasn’t alone. My neighbors were doing the same.

The good feeling then extended through the neighborhood to the beginning of the new year. I didn’t want the feeling to end so for the first time I created a wreath for New Year then decided to leave it up for the whole month of January. As February approached, I wanted to keep the positive vibes going through Black History month as well. Needless to say, Women’s History month and St. Patrick’s Day couldn’t be left behind.

Nor could I slight Easter in April. I then created a wreath with the May flowers brought by April showers and the rainbow created by the showers of love in Pride Month.

I was on a roll, so I made a July 4^th wreath for my house and for my sister too, as well as a special wreath in honor of my 32^nd wedding anniversary.

I’m up to August, celebrating summer and designing a birthday wreath for reaching the 65^th year milestone.

You see what I mean? I’m such a regular at the Dollar Store, Michael’s, and Hobby Lobby I ought to look into buying stock. I’m looking forward to keeping the good feeling going to the end of the year as ideas for wreaths for the remaining months are on the drawing board. The additional benefit is all I need to do is rinse and repeat these wreaths in 2022. So for a chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card, share in the comments how you honor or celebrate special days or seasons.

The Patience of Unanswered Prayer from Cowboys
featured in Cowboys

A feisty businesswoman about to become the next victim of Post-Civil War revenge receives rescue from an unexpected source

Excerpt from “The Patience of Unanswered Prayer” 

Eleanor Taylor lay on her side, kinks knotting her back, cramps burning her thighs. Her muscles strained with each attempt to ease her discomfort. Instead of relief, the movement tightened the rope pinning her arms to her body. The blanket beneath which Sheriff Radcliffe concealed her smelled of horse sweat. Its scratchy wool surface set her cheeks afire.

Dirt coated the cloth he’d stuffed into her mouth. She moaned, unable to avoid swallowing the grit now smeared across her teeth and tongue. Afraid she’d wretch, she raised her head, an action that forced the grimy gag further down her throat.

“Keep still, you uppity mulatto bitch.”

She shuddered at the menace in Radcliffe’s tone. The same menace glinted in his icy blue eyes when he’d entered her cell and tried to violate her. He’d covered her mouth, but she’d sunk her teeth into his hand, eliciting a satisfying pain-drenched yowl from the bastard. A well-placed kick to the balls had laid him low. His groan flooded her huntress spirit with joy.

If his deputy hadn’t rushed in, she’d have gotten away.

The coppery tang from Radcliffe’s blood renewed her desire to be the hunter, not the hunted. Tapping carefully into that desire had enabled her to thwart the hostilities all independent Black business owners faced in this post-Reconstruction era. Acting on that desire now, however, could lead to her death. She had to find another avenue of escape before that desire resurfaced and revealed what no one should know about her.

“Seems your fears about the jail being overrun by her foes was misplaced, Sheriff.”

Radcliffe snorted. “Better safe than sorry, Jim. Something could’ve happened before we got her on the stage in the morning.”

The sounds of horse hooves clopping, drunken laughter, and saloon music had faded long ago. Only chirruping crickets, croaking bullfrogs, and Sheriff Radcliffe’s lies penetrated Eleanor’s covering. Where were they taking her?

The wagon wheels creaked with every rut they hit. Eleanor wheezed, desperate for fresh air. Nausea roiled at the base of her throat. Would she die choking on her own vomit? Fear squeezed her chest as yes flit through her mind like a lightning bug.

The wagon lurched to the right. Her nausea intensified.

“Mind how you go there, boy. We don’t want to be accused of mistreating the prisoner.”

Being arrested on false charges didn’t count as mistreatment? How about being abducted by ones sworn to uphold the law? Eleanor’s agony mirrored that of Christ’s on the cross.

My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?

She moaned, her spirit smothered by despair. The pressure at the small of her back eased only to be followed by a sharp jab to her spine.

“Shut up, damn you,” Radcliffe snapped. “Your days of troubling me will soon be over.”

“What was that you said, Sheriff?”

“Thank God this trouble’ll soon be over. We’ll have delivered her safe and sound to the county seat tomorrow.”

“Safe and sound,” Deputy Jim Flyte said. “Thank the good Lord.”

His tone, full of innocence and ignorance, penetrated Eleanor’s cloth prison and killed all hope that he’d be of any help. She stifled a groan lest her tormentor kicked her again. Flyte was too young to know that safe and sound to Sheriff Hobart Radcliffe meant only one thing: Eleanor’s death.

Pre-order COWBOYS at Amazon: https://amzn.to/3iwUhkN

UPDATE: The winner is…Cheryl!
*~*~*

It takes a snake? I can already imagine your eyebrows and frowns in disbelief as you respond, “To do what?” Like it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a snake to create community. What kind of community you talkin’ ’bout, Willis? The enmity placed between humanity and snakes in Genesis 3:15 is still real. What kind of community could be created by something so villainous as a snake? When I saw one crawling along the wall this week in my backyard I cringed. Yuk and yikes! I breathed a sigh of relief when it slithered away to the front yard. I raked the grounds to make sure there weren’t any others hiding there.

Two days later as I went to get the mail, I noticed a neighbor standing stock-still in front of his garage holding a rake and staring very pointedly at something I couldn’t see on the far side of his car. Sure enough, it was a snake. He didn’t want to kill it because he wasn’t sure what kind it was. “Bull snakes are good snakes,” he said, but if it were a rattler he’d have to kill it. We couldn’t see a rattle on the tail, but then we wondered if it might be a baby without a rattle yet. I stood in solidarity with my neighbor and stared at the slimy intruder. What to do, what to do?

At that moment my husband—traveling to visit family—called to say goodnight. I told him what was happening, and he said, “Call Spence. He knows all about snakes.” Spence is a good friend and fellow church member. I took a picture and messaged it to him. He called right back and said it was a baby king snake. Definitely non-venomous. Spence said you can tell venomous snakes from non-venomous ones by the shape of their pupils. Venomous snakes have slit pupils like cat’s eyes. Non-venomous ones have round pupils like dogs. I don’t think my cat Scully would appreciate the comparison. My neighbor and I peered at the photo and agreed the eyes looked round. Spence said he’d be over in fifteen minutes to take the snake back to the desert.

By now my neighbor’s wife had joined us. She helped trap the snake beneath a bucket. We introduced ourselves—me, Anna, he and she, John and Jeanette. We shared how long we’d lived on the block, where we were from, our experiences, and lack thereof, with snakes and our mutual hatred of the creatures.

Spence arrived, picked the little guy up and told us how it could grow to six or eight feet long. Shudder. He put it in a pillowcase and assured us it would be happier in the desert. John, Jeanette, and I wholeheartedly agreed. Spence drove off, John and Jeanette went back into their snake-free house, and I continued on to pick up the mail. It took a snake to create community between us.

So for a chance at a $10 Amazon gift card, share in the comments about an encounter where you got to know a neighbor better.

One Breath Away

Sentenced to hang for a crime she didn’t commit, former slave Mary Hamilton was exonerated at literally the last gasp. She returns to Safe Haven, broken and resigned to live alone. She’s never been courted, cuddled or spooned, and now no man could want her, not when sexual satisfaction comes only with the thought of asphyxiation. But then the handsome stranger who saved her shows up, stealing her breath from across the room and promising so much more.

Wealthy, freeborn-Black, Eban Thurman followed Mary to Safe Haven, believing the mysteriously exotic woman was foretold by the stars. He must marry her to reclaim his family farm. But first he must help her heal, and to do that means revealing his own predilection for edgier sex.

Excerpt from One Breath Away…

On the rise overlooking Harvest Home, Banker Judah Little sat, his mouth stretched in horror.

“My God, what’s wrong with her?” He stared transfixed at the cabin, his hands clasped and shaking.

“No doubt reliving the torment of death.” A grudging smile graced Judge Aaron “Hangman” Denton’s face. “No one who cheats the hangman enjoys any kind of peace

After hundreds of pronouncements and hundreds of executions, he’d seen it all. He preferred these civil hangings to the military executions by firing squad he’d ordered during the War of Northern Aggression. Bullets brought death so quickly, he always felt cheated. But a hanging…His smile broadened. There was so much more to enjoy when there was a hanging.

The snap of the neck.

The sway of the body.

The discharge of the bowels.

He tongued the snuff in his cheek and spat the brown liquid into the dirt. The scents of sage and tobacco laced each breath he took.

Mary Hamilton had been his only failure. Crime deserved punishment. What difference did being a woman make? He’d condemned her to hang. Damn interfering crowd. And where in hell had that horseman come from? She’d be dead now but for him and those bleeding-heart busybodies.

Buy link: Amazon – https://amzn.to/2VT5u0F

Michal Scott Amazon Author Page – https://amzn.to/2TSHzRn

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

For your reading pleasure… Just click on the cover to get your FREE copy!

UPDATE: The winner is…Mary McCoy!
*~*~*

©Diana Cosby 2021

As a writer, I refill my muse by taking photographs of nature.  One of my favorite animals to photograph is kits.

I had a tough time deciding what photos to share as baby foxes are so cute.

When the kits first come out of their dens, they are so small.

It’s fun watching the kits play with their den mates.  They jump, roll around, tackle each other, and more.

As the weeks pass, the kits begin exploring the woods around them.

The time to watch the young foxes is limited, as soon they’ll head out on their own to begin their own den.

Contest

ONE winner will be drawn from everyone who posts on my guest blog post about, ‘Nature’s Inspiration – Kits!!!,’ on Delilah’s blog between 16 May 2021– 23 May 2021.  The winner will receive a signed copy of His Destiny, book #4 in the bestselling The MacGruder Brothers Series.

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