Happy Fourth of July! I hope tonight you’re sitting on a blanket with the man of your dreams overlooking a lake and watching the fireworks fill the sky with your sweetheart holding you tight. In Canada, we celebrate on the First. No matter what country you’re from, this holiday weekend celebrates independence. It didn’t arrive without its struggles. And maybe we still have to fight sometimes to keep dark things at bay, but it’s worth it when we spend the day at the beach, the delicious smell of hamburgers wafting from the hibachi while our children are laughing and playing on the sand.

You might be spending this weekend with family at a cabin, or friends are coming over tonight for cocktails and a quaint dinner on the deck. Maybe you’re taking your folks out for a sunset cruise! (Be careful, I work for the Coast Guard and I don’t mind sitting around doing nothing. It means you’re safe.)

When I look at the peaceful relationship that Canada and the US have being neighbors, I hope that one day countries in the Middle East will mirror our union. Our two countries are the same but different. Independent but joined when disaster or war raises its hand to threaten either of us. While we bask in the sun this weekend and enjoy all our comforts and freedoms, we have to nod our head at the struggles it took to get where we are. Over the years, there were voices that rose above all others to say, “Peace is far better than war.” And we listened. To gain independence in the past, men and women gave their lives, and although we mourn for lost loved ones, we’ve grown from each experience. The Fourth of July may have its roots in the signing of Declaration of Independence, but the words were only a guideline to strive for and live by. Our actions since 1776 are what brought us to 2016 as an abundant nation with opportunity to do better each day.

Each year when July 1^st and 4^th roll around, I hear these words: Apart we are strong, but together we’re stronger.

Happy Independence Day America.

Love, Hope and faith

Natasza Waters
Award winning and bestselling author
Writing stories with a cup of romance and a twist of steam.

If you love an alpha hero, you’ll enjoy my award-winning SEAL series.

You’ll find all my books on Amazon. Click “follow” https://www.amazon.com/Natasza-Waters/e/B006HYRTGQ/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1467247104&sr=8-2-ent

Check out my newest release Twila’s Tempest

Book Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JChk2MFsL4A

Sign up for my quarterly newsletter for giveaways and be the first to know when I’m releasing a new book.

https://nataszawaters.com/subscribe-to-my-newsletter

Hi Delilah, thanks for hosting me. My post today is a little different. Instead of plugging my work, I’m asking your readers to help me spread the word about a charity anthology. There is also a charity-based contest at the bottom of the post.

When my oldest daughter, Turtle (nickname, obviously) was only a week old, she went through the kind of medical hell no child should ever go through. First, she nearly died from a bacterial infection. Two days later we learned she’d also had a stroke. Our lives shrunk to our daughter’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit room as we measured her life in hours. Celebrations like her first Christmas and first birthday seemed like impossible goals.

Not long after Turtle turned a corner and came off the ventilator, our nurse came into the room with a hat and a blanket. She told us that they’d been donated to the hospital’s Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Units by Project Linus for babies and children in crisis. It was a small gift, but in the midst of hell, it was a ray of light.

Since then I’ve made a point of donating to Project Linus annually in Turtle’s name.

We are one of the lucky families. There was a small bit of white matter damage from the stroke, and Turtle needed a foot brace for under a year. One of her kidneys permanently failed, but the other is healthy. As you can see from the photo, she’s like many other seven year old girls—obsessed with ballet. She’d like to be an artist when she grows up.

There is a series of charity anthologies run by a company called Coming Together. I find the idea of giving back by writing erotica inspiring, and I’ve participated in four anthologies as a writer. When there was a call for more editors, I was inspired to volunteer. Coming Together: Under the Mistletoe was born, with all proceeds going to Project Linus.

Submission Call

Deadline is September 1, 2016

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow because we’ll be heating up this sexy December anthology.

I am looking for your best winter stories. Are your characters cuddled up inside while a blizzard rages, or are they snowbirds spending Christmas Day on the beach in the tropics? Who belongs on Santa’s Naughty List? Is your billionaire a Scrooge? Is this the year they come out to their family? Do they have a special someone to kiss when the ball drops?

While the theme is winter, you may also add in your favorite December holiday, but this is not mandatory. I’m looking for compelling stories with compelling characters and a rich plot as well as beautiful poetry.

Guidelines

• Your story should be set between December 1 and December 31 whether explicitly or implicitly.
• All orientations, ethnicities, pairings, and interpretations of “winter” are encouraged.
• All sub-genres and time periods welcome (contemporary, historical, paranormal, sci-fi, steampunk, you name it).
• All heat levels from sweet and romantic to down and dirty—as long as it is plot driven.
• HEA/HFN preferred, but not required.
• Stories up to 7,500 words
• Poetry is welcomed and encouraged
• No underage, no scat, no non-consent, no incest

Coming Together is a charity organization. You retain all rights to your stories, and previously published stories and poetry are welcomed (as long as you hold the rights).

Please use Times New Roman font, size 12, and double spaced with one inch margins. No extra lines between paragraphs. Set indentations to .5 – do not use tabs or spaces to indent. Use .docx, .doc .rtf formats only.

Only submit your final, best version of the story to delilahnight@gmail.com with the subject line “Under the Mistletoe insert your title insert your name”

Do not send multiple versions of the same story. Up to two stories/three poems will be considered from each author. Include your legal name (and pseudonym if applicable and be clear which one is which), mailing address, and up to 250 word bio. Do not paste your story into the body of your message.

You will be notified as to the status of your story by no later than October 1, 2016.

Coming Together is a non-profit organization, and all Coming Together authors and editors have generously donated their talents to various causes. Compensation for inclusion in this work is a PDF contributor copy of the finished product and your name on Santa’s Nice List (or Naughty, if that’s your preference). You retain all rights to your story. All proceeds go to Project Linus, which provides home-made blankets and hats to children in crisis.

Questions? Email me at delilahnight@gmail.com

Contest

The first five (5) readers who share the submission call on their websites will get a ten dollar usd ($10 usd) donation to the charity of their choice. I’ll also send you a pdf copy of your choice of the four Coming Together anthologies to which I’ve contributed—Coming Together: For the Holidays, Coming Together: Among the Stars, Coming Together: Strange Shifters, or Coming Together: Keeping Warm.

My link is posted here at the Erotica Readers and Writers Association, and I have a dedicated page on my website. You can cut and paste the call, or write a short blog entry about why you would encourage people to submit to the anthology (feel free to cut and paste/use any information and photos I’ve used in this post and then add a link to the call).

Email me at delilahnight@gmail.com with a link to your post and the name of your charity (no political or religious organizations). I’ll provide you with a screenshot to prove that I’ve made the donation.

UPDATE: All commenters were winners!
This contest is closed!

* * * * *

Howdy, everyone. I’m so glad to be back on Delilah’s blog today to talk about my latest release, Cowboy Player. It’s the third book in my Cowboy Cocktail novella series, starring the lovelorn MacKinnon brothers and the smart, feisty women who fall for them.

Cowboy Player is a friends-to-lover story starring brother number three, Clark MacKinnon—player, prankster and enormous flirt. Melody Santos, his longtime platonic friend, has zero time for his brand of shenanigans…or does she?

To celebrate the release of Cowboy Player, I’m offering a giveaway of all three Cowboy Cocktail books in your preferred e-book format. See below to play!

Thank you for reading!

This cowboy and cowgirl sell the steak and the sizzle.

Cowboy Cocktail, Book 3

For eight years, Melody Santos played the game of love and lost—big time. Now she’s back in her tiny hometown looking after her younger sister, making ends meet with an assortment of odd jobs. When her childhood best friend hires her to help him sell his family’s grass-fed beef, the last thing she anticipates is falling in lust with the legendary, brown-eyed player.

To put his family’s cattle ranch back in the black, Clark MacKinnon has his sights set on big contracts—gourmet chefs and restaurateurs. If that means long hours traveling from farmer’s market to farmer’s market, Clark doesn’t mind. Particularly since his new assistant is his childhood crush, all grown up and sexy as hell.

One night in bed leaves them breathless and hungry for more. But when his love-’em-and-leave-’em reputation collides with her trust issues, Clark and Melody must face the truth about what they’ve become: not friends, not lovers, but players in a game that’s impossible to win.

Warning: Contains filthy banter, raunchy sex, excessive Johnny Cash references, and hundreds of pounds of raw beef.

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING

“What a sweet and steamy read!…I am intrigued by those Mackinnon brothers and am anxious to read each of their stories.”
—Goodreads review, 5 stars

“Great read. Friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes. I found the characters easy to fall in love with and the pace didn’t lag at all.”
—Goodreads review, 5 stars

“This is a quick, hot read. [Melody and Clark’s] connection to each other is strong, based in friendship, and becomes a stronger love. The end of the story brought tears to my eyes. I highly recommend this story. I plan to read more of Mia Hopkins.”
—Goodreads review, 5 stars

BUY THE BOOK

 Amazon | Kobo | iTunes | B&N | Samhain | AllRomance | Google Play | Books-A-Million

EXCERPT

With a grimace, Melody swallowed down the last of her gin and tonic. One of the bartenders whisked her glass away and asked if she wanted another. Even though she did, Melody shook her head.

Something touched her bare arm. A warm fingertip grazed her skin from elbow to wrist. She looked up.

“Lost in thought again?” Clark leaned close and kissed her cheek, just as he had hundreds of times before. One of the Silver Spur’s waitresses put a beer down in front of him and flashed a sexy grin. He smiled at the woman briefly and turned his attention back to Melody.

She shook her head. “It must be hard to be you.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Women. The endless parade of women fighting for your attention.”

“Oh, it’s not so bad.” Clark took a sip of beer.

“Where are all your brothers? They usually help carry the burden.”

“I’m on my own tonight,” he said. “But let’s talk about you, not me. Why so blue, Mel? Baby sister all grown up?”

They turned to look at the crowd in front of the stage. Harmony had found herself a cowboy admirer. The lucky fellow was holding her close and nuzzling her neck as he led her around the dance floor.

Was Melody sad that Harmony was growing up? No, not exactly. Nostalgic, more like—for a version of herself she wasn’t sure ever existed. Had she ever been that young and optimistic? Had she ever let herself be that free?

“I’m proud of her,” Melody said at last. “It’s been hard. Seeing our mom get sick like that. Lots of kids would’ve dropped out. But she finished school with a 3.8. This is her first night out in a long, long time.”

“A smarty-pants, just like you.”

“Smarter than me,” said Melody. “She learned something useful. Solid paycheck, helping others, all that good stuff.”

“You’re a brilliant teacher, from what I’ve heard.”

“Diagramming sentences isn’t exactly going to save us from the zombie apocalypse, now is it?”

“If there’s a zombie apocalypse, nothing will save us, Mel. The only thing left to do is get drunk and screw.” He held up his beer mug and winked at her. An honest-to-goodness wink.

Melody shook her head. “You can’t help yourself, can you, MacKinnon? You’re a hopeless flirt.”

“Flirting? Thought I was just drinking beer and being myself.” He looked down at the empty coaster in front of her. “What about you? What are you having? Gin and tonic, right?”

He remembered her favorite drink. Melody smiled. “No, I’m good. I’m on sister watch tonight. She really wants to cut loose. Someone’s gotta hold her hair back when the vomit flies. Which it inevitably will.” She waved her hand at him. “You should go have a good time. Get yourself a nice piece. Enjoy your Saturday night.”

Only Clark could make a shrug look so sexy. “But I’m already enjoying my Saturday night.”

Something about the way he said those words made Melody’s skin tingle.

As an experiment, she uncrossed her legs and leaned forward, resting her arms on the bar. For a nanosecond, Clark’s dark eyes darted to her cleavage before resting on his beer. A sudden, electric thrill shimmied down her spine. Her body clenched with pleasure, knowing she could still get the attention of a man as insanely hot as Clark MacKinnon.

But then…guilt.

That’s Clark. Don’t flirt with Clark.

GIVEAWAY

To celebrate the release of Cowboy Player, I’m offering a giveaway of all three Cowboy Cocktail books in your preferred e-book format. To play, answer the following question in a comment below and PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS…

Clark MacKinnon is a prankster. What is the best prank you’ve ever witnessed? You can change names to protect all parties involved.

I’ll select one winner at random. Contest closes Tuesday, July 5, 2016 at midnight PST. Good luck!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mia Hopkins writes lush romances starring fun, sexy characters who love to get down and dirty. She’s a sucker for working class heroes, brainy heroines and wisecracking best friends. Connect with her on Twitter @miahopkinsxoxo or visit her website at miahopkinsauthor.com.