UPDATE: The winner is…Carol Cox!
*~*~*

April

April was extremely busy for me, but I didn’t make as much forward progress as I wanted on…well…everything!

Here’s what I managed to accomplish…

Work-related:

1. I revised and re-published the sequel to Dark Legacy, which is book #2 in the Dark Realm series, Dark Seduction. It’s a full-length novel, so it took some time!
2. I completed 5 editing projects for other authors in April! Two of them were last-minute, thrown over the fence at me, but I got them done!
3. I’m six chapters into my next book!

Health-related:

1. I’m continuing with Weight Watchers and can proudly say that I’ve lost 28 pounds as of today! I’m not pushing to lose fast because I like how I feel (which is a good thing because I only lost 5 pounds this month!). I’ll continue my daily mantra: Slow is good!
2. I didn’t do so well increasing my activity.

Happiness-related: 

1. I’m continuing to work on the #100DayProject art challenge! It’s still HARD fitting in playtime, but here are a few samples of what I finished…

 

  

May

Here’s me putting this out in the world…

For work-related, I plan:

1. To revise and compile the Danger Zone trilogy into a single bundle and publish it!
2. To complete my next romantic suspense story.
3. To begin work on my next Hot SEAL story!
4. To complete 4 editing projects in May!

For health-related, I plan:

1. To continue with Weight Watchers and hope to lose at least 5 pounds, remembering: Slow is good!
2. To get the pool ready and begin swimming!
3. To begin some low-impact aerobics, which will include a video workout, plus, add some outdoor activities, like pool maintenance and blowing the patio—counting the things I should already be doing to get ready for pool season. Maybe I’ll do more housework, too.

For happiness-related, I plan: 

1. To continue working on getting my art room better organized, because I plan…
2. To produce something art-related every day this month for the #100DayProject art challenge!

Contest

Comment on anything you’ve read in this post. Tell me what you’re doing to make yourself happier and healthier. Tell me what you plan to read…

Like I said, comment on anything for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

Open Contests

1. Saturday’s Puzzle Contest! Plus, More Open Contests! — This contest ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. My Affirmation for the Day! (Contest) — This contest ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Michal Scott: The Hope and the Dream of the Slave – Anna Julia Haywood Cooper (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Gabbi Grey/Gabbi Black: My Heart is Breaking (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
5. Saturday’s Puzzle Contest! — Win an Amazon gift card!

 

Quick links for your reading and listening pleasure.

Desiree’s Book List
Desiree’s Audio Book List
Desiree’s Books on Reading Apps
Desiree’s Darlings Reader Group
Books by Desiree Online Bookshop

 

 

www.desireeholt.com

UPDATE: The winners are…Athena and Miki!
*~*~*

Before there were bounty hunters, there were SEALs. And I loved writing my Uncharted SEALs series. All those rugged, alpha heroes and strong heroines. Humor. Action. Spicy sex. All the ingredients that make stories fun for me to write, and hopefully, fun for you to read.

With Uncharted SEALs, I experimented a bit. For the first time, I did sequels with the same characters—for the simple reason I couldn’t say goodbye to them. I wanted to see inside their Happy-Ever-Afters. Through Her Eyes and Between a SEAL and a Hard Place share the same main characters, as do Dream of Me and Heart of a SEAL. Big Sky SEAL gave birth to my Montana Bounty Hunters, introducing Jamie and Reaper, who as a result of their work in Big Sky earned their own satellite office of MBH. A fun theme I used in two of the stories was a cruise ship. Both Before We Kiss and Hard SEAL to Love are set on the same ship and have the same supporting characters. Plus, Hard SEAL to Love features a disabled female vet!

This time, I’d like you to read the EXPLOSIVE opening scene of Heart of a SEAL. This story is shorter than most of the Uncharted stories, but I figured it was more of a revisiting with the characters, so readers might enjoy a slice of what happens in the happy-ever-after for Sam and Ash.

Enjoy!

   *~*   *~*  

Click on the covers to learn more!

Contest

Win your choice of one of my Uncharted SEALs stories! There will be 2 winners! All you have to do to enter is answer me this…

Do you like the idea of romances featuring married couples?

Heart of a SEAL

Aislinn Blalock is the lone survivor of the extraction team sent to rescue hostages in Cambodia from the vicious criminal gang holding them for ransom. After her helicopter crashes, she has to stay one step ahead of them to stay alive long enough for a rescue team to get to her.

Ash’s husband Sam watches the mission go sideways on a computer monitor, sidelined by management because one of the team happens to be his wife—but now, there’s no way in hell he’s sitting this one out. He’s getting to Ash before the armed gang can cause her any harm. He’ll risk everything to save the woman who holds his heart.

Excerpt from Heart of a SEAL…

What a difference six months made. Aislin Blalock lay in tall grass beside a withered rice paddy, staring up at a clear, starlit sky. A billion pinpricks of light scattered across a dark canvas. No moon, thank God. Beautiful, really. But the distant stars only deepened her sense of unreality. In the distance, she heard metallic creaks and groans, as well as the crackle of fire. She had yet to move, afraid adrenaline was giving her brain the wrong signals, masking the fact she’d been hurt. She had, after all, just fallen from the sky.

Six months ago, she would never have imagined she’d be here in Cambodia in December, participating in a mission to rescue wealthy tourists who’d been kidnapped for the fat ransom their families would pay. She’d been a cop, still suffering the loss of her boyfriend and partner during a robbery. Just met the man who would drag her out of hell and show her love was still possible. That guilt didn’t have to consume her. That she had the right—and the duty—to survive and find happiness. No longer did she drink herself into oblivion for the chance to dream of Marc and pretend he wasn’t gone. Now, she had Sam.

Sam…

Ash drew a deeper, sharper breath.  He hadn’t been happy about her being pulled from her training with Charter to be part of this team, but the company had wanted a woman along, and she was one of the first female operatives they’d hired. He’d been supportive of her decision to apply for a position with his company as a field operative. Naively, she’d believed that being part of Charter, rather than remaining with the New Orleans Police Department, would mean they’d see each other more often. And she’d needed a change. A new job. New home. Without constant reminders of what she’d lost or the time she’d nearly lost herself grieving after Marc’s death. When Charter had tapped her for this mission, she hadn’t hesitated.

Two of the hostages were nuns—not wealthy tourists like the rest. And Charter had decided she’d make the women more comfortable during the rescue and transit. But her team never made it to the drop zone, a click from the kidnapper’s jungle encampment. Although they’d flown well below radar, someone had alerted the well-organized, well-funded group holding the hostages.

Her helicopter had been in the lead. She’d already shuffled toward the open door, ready to drop down a rope when they’d been hit. She’d had a split second to react. Thought she’d heard a voice in her ear, telling her to jump. Marc’s voice, but that had to have been a dream. Her subconscious prodding her to take that leap of faith.

Her landing had been cushioned by deep, soft vegetation. She’d landed on her feet. Sort of. Her bottom making contact a split-second later. Even if she’d suffered a break or a spinal cord injury she couldn’t yet feel, she was far better off than the men who’d been aboard her helicopter. She’d had time to jump from the left door when the right side of the helo sustained a direct hit from an RPG. The rest of her team, whom she’d met only two weeks before, hadn’t been so lucky.

She drew deep, ragged breaths. Lungs expanded. No hitch, so her ribs were likely fine. Inside her combat boots, she wiggled her toes and felt them scrape hard leather. Time to move. But she was still afraid. After a few wasted moments, at last, she rolled to her right and came up on her knees. Everything appeared to be working, but maybe she’d sustained internal injuries. Gingerly, she dropped her pack and unlatched the cover, feeling inside for her headset. Her hands closed around thin bands. She donned her headset then the night vision goggles, set her mike beside her mouth, and tapped ON, using the team’s call sign to identify herself. All actions were performed by rote, because if she’d had to think, she would have frozen. “Do you read me?”

“Jesus, fuck!”

She almost smiled at hearing Sam’s break with protocol. But his curses, so harsh in her ear, relaxed her. For the moment, she felt his reassuring presence.

“We see one heat signature a distance from the helo. That you, babe?”

“Yes. I don’t think anyone else made it out.”

“The second helo just crossed back into Viet Nam.”

Which meant she was alone. If anything had gone awry with the mission, the pilots had been ordered to return to Charter’s base camp. She swallowed hard to still the panic rising in her throat.

“Are you hurt?”

She heard the soft note of hesitation in his voice. Knew he was bracing for the worst. Not sure, yet. “No,” she said, more firmly than she felt.

“Fuck. More heat signatures. Nine of them. Coming from the West.”

Her stomach clamped. Men from the kidnapper’s encampment. “Roger,” she said, her voice clipped. She knew what she had to do. Run.

“Head northeast. You’ll be in deep jungle. It’ll give you cover.”

She checked the illuminated dial of her wrist compass, took her direction, and pushed up into a crouch. As quickly and as quietly as she could, she streaked toward the tree line.

UPDATE: The winner is…ButtonsMom2003!
*~*~*

For those of you who don’t know it, I have a very sexy vampire-demon series. Originally, it was published by Avon, but I have the rights back to the first stories, so I’m revising, repurposing, and republishing them!

The first story, Dark Legacy, is already out. My favorite book in the series, Dark Seduction, will arrive April 19th! It features my second favorite hero of any I have written, Nicolas, and the heroine, Chessa, is full of sass and imperfections—and is perfect for Nic. This book is a full-length novel and has vampires, mages, demons, and some pretty scary scenes, along with some of the sexiest I’ve written.

Dark Seduction

For eight hundred years Nicolas Montfaucon has dedicated his life to preventing the rebirth of an immortal evil. But now a terrible storm has assaulted unsuspecting New Orleans—and the beast walks the earth once more. “The Devourer” has been awakened, and there is only one in the besieged city who can help Nicolas defeat the foul creature—a mysterious and beautiful enigma who haunts the handsome Revenant’s erotic waking dreams and enflames his passionate obsessions.

Chessa Tomas is not an ordinary policewoman. A vampire, she works only at night, patrolling a seamy and unseen underworld of roiling chaos. Though Nicolas is sensuality incarnate, Chessa wants no part of him or his kind—but she cannot close her eyes to the unholy malevolence that would consume their world. And Nicolas has uncovered the secret lust that rules her—a steaming, uncontrollable desire he intends to unleash, bending Chessa to his will by making her most forbidden fantasies real.

Pre-Order your copy here!
Read Chapter 1 here!

Contest

I’m a huge fan of paranormal and sci-fi movies and television series. Recently, I’ve binged through Star Trek: Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and I’m working on Farscape at the moment. This summer, I’m hoping to binge through all of Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the third time.

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift certificate, answer this: Do you have any recommendations for me? Is there anything you’ve loved?

UPDATE: The winner is Jen B!
*~*~*

February

After a very successful January, I had big goals for February. My actual results are a little mixed. I have great excuses. Always do. But here’s what I did accomplish on my goal list…

Work-related:

1. I published my short story from the Cowboys anthology as a single short story release, “Hunk of Burning Love.” It’s currently FREE in Kindle Unlimited, but I also offered it as a FREE direct download as my Valentine’s Day gift to you.
2. I completed 4 editing projects in February, including two long novels!
3. I did NOT write a book—only a few pages, actually—which was my only disappointing progress this month.

Health-related:

1. I continued with Weight Watchers and can proudly say that I’ve lost 18.6 pounds as of today! I’m not pushing to lose fast because I like how I feel. Slow is good!
2. I’ve been paying attention to my step count. It’s not stellar, but the fact that I’m looking at it means something to my brain.

Happiness-related: 

1. I began working on the #100DayProject art challenge! It’s my third year participating, and yes, it’s HARD fitting in play time at my art table but sooooo fulfilling. Here are some samples of what I’ve done so far…

March

Here’s me putting this out in the world…

 

  

For work-related, I plan:

1. To write and publish the next Texas Vampires novella, No Tender Mercy. (Have you pre-ordered your copy?!) No dilly-dallying. This will be done!
2. To get close to “Done” with my next romantic suspense story.
3. To prepare a new box set of the three Danger Zone books and publish it!
4. To complete 4 editing projects in March!

For health-related, I plan:

1. To continue with Weight Watchers and hope to lose at least 5 pounds. Slow is good!
2. To begin some low-impact aerobics, which will include a video workout for old people (I’m not old, and my joints aren’t effed, but I like the low-impact part!), plus, I’ll add some outdoor activities, like pool maintenance and blowing the patio—counting the things I should already be doing to get ready for pool season. All of them burn calories and build muscle. Guess I should count housework, too. Blech.

For happiness-related, I plan: 

1. To continue working on getting my art room better organized, because I plan…
2. To produce something art-related every day for the #100DayProject art challenge!

Contest

Comment on anything you’ve read in this post. Tell me what you’re doing to make yourself happier and healthier. Tell me what you plan to read… Like I said, comment on anything for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

Open Contests

Be sure to enter these contests while you still can!

1. January George: The Way Back Home (Contest & Excerpt) — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. What’s coming soon! 5 Open Contests! New Contest–2 Winners! — Win a FREE book! Two winners!
3. Flashback: Cain’s Law (Contest) — Win a FREE book!
4. Michal Scott: Elizabeth Jennings Graham — The Rosa Parks of the 1850s (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is…Beth!
*~*~*

Make Cain this Weekend’s Book Boyfriend!

For a chance to win your choice of one of these Cowboys
on the Edge stories, answer me this!

Yellowstone or Longmire?

(Click on a cover if you’d like to learn more!)

Don’t know what you’re missing in this cowboy series? Read an excerpt…

Snippet from Cain’s Law…

Cain Whitfield wasn’t the sort of man who put much stock in premonitions or any “sixth sense.” But the moment he’d first spotted the shy brunette through the window of the Prickly Pear Motel, he’d known trouble had arrived in Caldera.

His gaze had snagged on her ill-fitting clothing and her wildly curling hair. Not unusual, his noticing a stranger arriving in his little town, but the minute his dick twitched, he should’ve heeded the warning.

Yeah, he sure could pick ’em. Just like his ex, only Susan hadn’t burned down a cabin. She’d left his place cleaner than she’d managed to keep it the entire six months they’d been together. Hell, the woman hadn’t even left him a can of beans in the pantry when she’d walked out on their marriage. On a Monday. After he’d left for work. Via a note taped to the kitchen counter because she couldn’t put that into a U-Haul trailer.

Staring at the fire that lit the Texas night sky, he shook his head. The strobing lights of police and fire vehicles were no competition for the furious blaze. No simple kitchen fire or leaf pile run amok.

It was going to be a long night.

UPDATE: The winners are…Colleen, Miki, bn100, Jennifer Beyer, Debra Guyette, and Stacey Kinzebach!
*~*~*

It’s Monday, a holiday (so kids are home), and it’s the beginning of a week of bad weather. The 8-year-old slept over with me last night and told me to turn off my alarms because she wanted to sleep in. Wish I could sleep in!!!!

Thought I’d take a moment to remind you about the pre-orders I have up. No, I don’t have big old blurbs to tell you about the last two because I haven’t written them yet, and I never know what the story is about until I’m midway through. I know that sounds crazy, but that’s what works for me.

Both of the first two books are EROTIC romance, so be warned! No Tender Mercy comes out on March 22nd! It’s the sequel to Her Sanctuary. If you love Texas and vampires, you’re in for a sexy ride! Dark Seduction, which releases on April 19th, is the sequel to Dark Legacy and is a story I’m republishing. It’s a full-length novel, very sexy, smutty, involves a police investigation, and is full of twists and turns involving vampires and demons. I love the story. It’s my third favorite thing I ever wrote.

These next two are part of a series you should be very familiar with by now! Hot SEAL, Wild Thing releases May 24th! The authors in this series are using song titles as our theme this time around. Of course, I jumped on one of my old favorites. All I know about my hero is that he’s living his life as wild and freely as he can. If you have any ideas why that is, I’d love to hear them! 🙂

If you read my latest bounty hunter story, Eli, then you’ve met Gabriel. And I gave you a huge hint about his possible love interest, so be sure to pre-order so you read their adventure! It releases on June 28th—my birthday!

Contest

For a chance to win your choice of a download from my ginormous backlist, let me know if you plan to read any of these stories! Also, if you want to gripe at me to write a story you’ve been waiting for, let me know! I’ll choose two commenters!

Open Contests

1. Diana Cosby: Valentine’s Day – Birds & Animal’s Love Liam MacGruder! (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win a pretty mug!
2. Story Cubes: Tell me a story… (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Cheryl St. John: My Character’s Clothing Choices (and what it says about her!) FREE in KU! — Get your FREE small-town romance!
4. A Reminder! A Puzzle! And a Contest! Oh, my! — Win an Amazon gift card!
5. January George: The Way Back Home (Contest & Excerpt) — Win an Amazon gift card!