UPDATE: The winners are…Colleen C and ButtonsMom2003!
*~*~*

Happy Halloween!

Today I come with news of a Halloween book sale!

Have you been on the hunt this month for fantasy, PNR or Halloween themed books? Look no further.

12 authors have come together to bring you a selection of books for just .99 cents each!

You can see the full list at my website. It includes 10 stories, an anthology, and a box set. Authors involved in this sale include: Dena Garson, Pepper McGraw, Kali Willows, Angela M Hudson, Aisling Elizabeth, A.R. McDermott, Dani M. Ward, Tanja Longoria, Amanda V Shane, and Cameron Allie.

Check out the ebook sale here!

Contest

For now, I’ll leave you with an excerpt from my own addition to the sale, as well as a contest. For a chance to win an eBook copy of both The Siren and the Water Witch, and The Siren and the Hellhound, comment on this post and tell us about your favorite Halloween costume. (Note: The Siren and the Hellhound won’t be gifted to the winner until it releases in mid-November).

Love Spells, Full Moons, and Silver Bullets

Excerpt…

Ian raced off as fast as he could, but she was faster. Of course, she was faster; she was a fucking vampire.

When she blocked off his retreat, he turned and started in another direction. Her laughter followed him. Like a cat with a mouse, she toyed with him. Mocking him, taunting him, and foiling each escape. He was under no false assumptions. She was playing with him.

“Little human, come with me,” she whispered. “I’d love to take you home for dinner.”

This time, when she spoke, no haze encircled him, just fear and dread. Her laugh was cut short when a wolf howled in the distance. Seeming on alert, her posture changed, and she lunged for him, all her teasing gone. He braced himself for her attack, sheltering his face as best he could, but her weight never hit him.

Mid-jump, something tackled her to the ground.

A beast, something definitely from a horror flick, rose up over her. It stood at least seven feet tall on its hind legs. Brown fur covered most of its body. It had a wide chest and wolf-like features but walked on two feet. Saliva fell from its mouth, dangling from its teeth like some rabid dog. Its attention turned to him but flickered back to the woman when she attacked it, kicking at its legs before launching nails-first toward the creature’s throat.

Movement behind him caused Ian to turn. More wolf-like creatures were barreling toward them, snapping tree limbs and leaving claw marks in the earth.

Abandoning the skirmish, Ian ran once more.

At one point, he’d been in fine shape, his body toned, his cardio excellent, but in the last year, he’d let physical exercise lapse, and now he felt the repercussions. His lungs burned, his legs ached. He wouldn’t be able to keep up this pace for long. He needed to find help or shelter. Somewhere to hide.

He didn’t bother to look back when he heard something, or more correctly, somethings, from the sound of it, in pursuit of him. He simply pushed on. Nightmare or not, it was his only chance. Praying he’d wake up, he tried running in a zig-zag pattern, but something threw him to the ground, and a second later, pain sliced across his back. Harsh, unforgiving, and deep, claws sunk into his skin.

He screamed in anguish, tears rushing to his eyes. Not a dream. So not a dream.

He was done for. This was the end.

Unexpectedly, the weight above him was removed. Ian pushed up a bit and watched as the vampire woman from before fought against the brown wolf creature.

Pushing to his knees, Ian felt blood dripping down his back. His shirt hung off his body, shredded by the wolf-man’s claws.

He staggered a bit, trying to get to his feet. That’s when he felt hot breath against his cheek. Twisting his head, he came face to face with another wolf-man. This one seemed bigger, its eyes black as night, as it stared at him, spittle hanging from its jowls.

Ian swallowed.

The creature opened its mouth and released a horrific roar.

Spit hit Ian’s face. The power behind that fierce sound moved Ian’s entire body, pushing him backward, like a fat pig blown from its straw house by the big bad wolf.

The creature stalked toward him, and once more, Ian’s legs propelled him forward. A few hundred yards, and he dove behind a pile of brush. He cowered there, knowing it was only a matter of time before they nabbed him.

With one hand, he reached back to assess the damage. The wound was deep. Three, maybe even four slashes across his skin. He’d need stitches or staples, and if he didn’t get help soon, likely a blood transfusion.

A low growl drew his attention. He peeked around the pile of twigs and leaves and spotted the two wolves pacing along what seemed to be an invisible line on the ground. Standing against a tree trunk further back was a woman.

“Why aren’t they attacking?” He wondered out loud as he used his sleeve to wipe sweat from his brow.

“Because they aren’t allowed to hunt on my territory.”

Ian’s gaze swung to the newest voice. This new being was just as shocking as the rest, with a purple and black dress that draped from her body, cut high in the front, revealing shapely thighs covered in torn stockings. Brown hair hung in ringlets around her shoulders, tumbling out from beneath a wide-brimmed pointed black hat. One hand was propped on her hip, and the other was wrapped around a corn broom handle. A heavy metal talisman hung around her neck. The green hue of her skin made her look as though she’d walked off the pages of a comic book and left absolutely zero question as to what she was.

A witch. Now there’s was a witch.

The vampire had been breathtaking, in a drugging sort of way, but this woman was stunning. Her beauty was raw and real. Or maybe that was just his loopy brain trying to make sense of this crazy world he’d stumbled into.

“Your territory?”

“Yes.” Her gaze dropped to him, and her mouth turned upward in a kind smile. “This is my land, and you are safe here.”

“You can’t keep him there forever, Quinn,” a deep voice spoke from behind the pile of forest rubble.

Ian took another look around the brush. Two men, both naked, one with raven hair and the other with sandy brown, paced that invisible line. “He won’t be leaving tonight, Draven. Go home.”

A snarl came from the brown-haired man. “I’ve tasted his blood, his flesh. Give him to me.”

The vampire, presently fixing her wild hair, sighed. “I’m going to find a new quarry. Enjoy your mortal, Quinn. You know where to find me if you want rid of him.”

Ian watched the exchange with interest. In fact, he was quite invested, as it seemed his life was being negotiated.

Faster than he could see, the vampire disappeared between the trees, but the men remained.

“I want him, Quinn. Give him back.”

“You’re wasting your breath, Draven. Leave now, or I will turn away all business that comes from your pack.”

Draven, the man who had taken a pound of flesh from Ian’s back, growled. “This isn’t over.” Then as Ian watched, he transformed back into a wolf creature and fled, leaving the raven-haired man behind.

He exhaled rather loudly. “I hope you aren’t making a mistake, Quinn.”

Ian glanced to the witch, whose eyes narrowed. “Think carefully about what side you’re on, Alec, and about what your conscience can live with.”

“The pack comes first. Always.”

“And you don’t ever let me forget it,” the witch—Quinn—said.

The raven-haired man looked as though he wanted to say more, but he merely shook his head, turned, and shifted into wolf form before following in the direction Draven had taken.

Blinking, Ian tried to make sense of any part of what had happened. One minute he was fighting with Priscilla, and now he was face-to-face with a witch.

He glanced up at her, wondering if he should start running again, but when he tried to move, his body gave up, collapsing in pain.

The broom dropped to the ground as Quinn came closer, tsking softly. “And just what sort of mess have you gotten yourself into?”

Get your copy today for just .99 cents!

UPDATE: The winner is…Beth!
*~*~*

Yes, it’s not Saturday, but I wanted to work in Candice LaBria’s post yesterday, so pretend it’s Saturday. 🙂

And I’ll keep this short. Straight to the fun!

Puzzle-Contest

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle then describe what fall is like where you live (and you can add your fave fall activities, if you like!)

A QUICK POST FOR AUTHORS!
(And then I’ll post a puzzle-contest for readers!)

NOTE: Email me directly at delilah@delilahdevlin.com with your response!
*~*~*~*~*

Hey there, Authors! I like to host a guest blogger two to three times a week on my blog. Right now, I need to line up bloggers for dates from November through December 2022. And if you don’t have a current or soon-to-be-released title to talk about, think about your backlist!

I will need bloggers for the following dates:
November 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 17, 18, 20, 21, 25, 27, 28
December 2, 5, 8, 9, 14, 18, 19, 26, 28 ,29, 30

If you are interested in being a guest, please look at the available dates and let me know if you would like me to pencil you in. I advertise the daily blogs widely. I have 2,976 blog subscribers, who get posts sent straight to their email inboxes every day. My blog also feeds to my Facebook page, which has 4,964 friends, and my Fan Page, which has 4,321 follows. I also post the blog to my Pinterest—total followers 21.2k. If a date isn’t listed but is particularly significant for you, ask me about it anyway! I do try to work people in.

I prefer posts that talk about something more than just new or older releases, but you have room at the bottom of the post for covers, blurbs, links, and short excerpts. You can talk about hobbies, what’s important to you, what inspired this particular book—the field’s wide open, but remember, we wish to appeal to readers rather than other writers. Please keep the number of pictures you want posted to no more than 2, although that’s not a hard and fast rule. And readers love contests and love questions only they can answer that allow them to interact with you!

If you’re interested, contact me! Give me your preferred date(s). First come, first served.

Delilah Devlin
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author & Freelance Editor

Everywhere I look I’m bombarded with reminders of the impending holidays: Pumpkins, Thanksgiving turkeys, Christmas trees, glittery dresses. Don’t get me wrong, I love a pumpkin spice latte once on the first cool morning in October—not August and not every day for the next four months. That leftover turkey sandwich when the house is quiet, the dishes are all done, and I’ve got a moment of peace to reflect on what I am grateful for—heaven. I love the holidays, but I’m overwhelmed by all the effort that goes into hosting the relatives, buying the presents, decorating, cooking, and attending every obligatory event. If you’re anything like me, you’re already precariously balancing a life packed to the seams. But fear not, there is hope. After many years of trial and error, I have stumbled upon the key to not only surviving but thriving through the holidays: found family, self-care, and cocktails.

Family. We all have one.  Even the best of them can be hard to take November through January. There’s something better—found family. I had not heard of the term until recently. Mine calls itself Framily, a combination of friends and family, but I discovered there is a real term and trend of found family. These are the non-biologically related people you chose as your support system. I would not have been able to manage life, much less the holiday seasons, without mine. My framily is a group of people I have known for almost a decade. We can discuss politics, not agree with each other, but listen and learn. We’re there for each other through health issues, life issues, and job issues. No matter what we face we know a text to framily will bring an immediate response of love, truth, help, and compassion without the baggage of biological family. When one of us acts bitchy, we’re called out with honesty and sympathy. If one of us suffers a slight, we fearsomely defend. Having a found family means never being alone to face the good or bad. Having a group that will make dinner when you are caught late at the office and entertaining that evening. So, when I’ve lost my sanity and am a raving lunatic, rushing to buy the perfect gift for Aunt Gertrude while simultaneously finishing a work project and planning a holiday meal, they step in and talk me off the ledge, usually over a cocktail. There is a suggestion for the hard-to-please relative, shortcuts to pull off the meal, and a book suggestion with a not-so-subtle hint to take some self-care time. I can laugh at myself, reset, and stop driving everyone crazy. So, find your tribe, those people that unconditionally love and support you, yet keep you grounded and real.

Self-care is another component for surviving the holidays, though you should make it a regular part of your life. If you don’t value and care for yourself, how can others? You can’t be your best for your friends and family if you aren’t at your best. What it looks like is different for everyone. Massage, tea with a friend, bubble bath, whatever makes you feel good. For me, it’s taking time to sit, read, and recharge. Books are an affordable mini vacation. I am transported to different locations, lost in the story, and who doesn’t need that amid holiday parties, school events, relatives’ visits, and end-of-year work projects? There is a book to suit every mood. I, of course, highly recommend Holiday Shorts that just came out this week. As a contributing author, it has something for everyone— holiday-themed stories. There’s love, romance, exploration, fantasy, and lots of toe-curling sex. Whatever book or other self-care regimens you chose, just do it. Make it a priority. You will thank me.

To complete the survival strategy is a cocktail. Much like my main character, Devon, in “The Sugar Rim”, when I am in a stressful situation, my go-to drink is a lemon drop martini. Devon also has a found family, a group of co-workers from the zoo: Peggy, Joe and Felicia. She is a recent addition to a new area with a job she loves, and she wants to share her life with someone. She has a made an artform out of bad romantic decisions, and she no longer trusts her judgment. Her found family helps her craft her dating profile, and they are there to help with the predate jitters and all the ups and downs that come with new love interests. That, and a little help from a sugar-rimmed drink, gets Devon the love she desires.

That brings me to my favorite recipe for a lemon drop martini.

• 1 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice—I prefer a meyer lemon
• 2 ounces of vodka—Kettle One from the freezer for me
• ¾ ounce Cointreau—don’t substitute with triple sec
• ¾ ounce simple syrup—yes, I use store bought no matter how easy they say it is to make it

Pour the ingredients into a shaker with ice. Turn on the soundtrack to the movie Cocktail and shake it like Tom Cruise. Take your martini glass, use a little of the left-over lemon juice to rim it with sugar. I love the sanding sugars for their colors and size.

• Pour the contents from the shaker into the beautifully sugar rimmed glass
• Sit in your favorite chair or spot
• Put your feet up
• Close your eyes,
• Inhale the citrus scents wafting from your beverage
• Take a sip
• Enjoy the cool, tart, slightly sweet beverage

You are now ready to face whatever holiday challenge comes your way.

I would love to hear about how you cope with holiday stress, your found family, or your favorite drink recipe. Drop a comment for a chance to win a free copy of “Holiday Shorts.” Winner will be chosen within 48 hours.

Thank you, Delilah for the opportunity to share my survival guide with your lovely readers. Here’s to a fun, fantastic 2022 Holiday season.

XOXO,
Candy

To connect with me – email: Candy@CandiceLaBria.com Facebook www.facebook.com/CandiceLaBria, Twitter or Instagram @CandiceLaBria

UPDATE: The winner of the Amazon gift card is…Amy Fendley!
*~*~*

So, first—that’s a horribly unflattering picture. 🙂

Had to get that out of the way. We dressed for messy fun, and it was cold outside, so…layers!

What is this? A big painty mess! The local art guild that I’m a part of held an acrylic paint pour. Most of us had never tried it. Mine turned out an awful mess, but I had a blast and learned something new.

When I first started writing and publishing, I tried all kinds of genres. Over time, I’ve found my groove, but I had to experiment a lot. Now, that I’m there, I’m just a little bored with the entire process.

Thank goodness for art! I’m obsessed learning new media, playing with color, making messes… All of it is a learning journey. Is paint pouring for me? Probably not, but it did teach me how fluid acrylic paint can act, and I have some ideas for “mini-pours” that might be something I could work into collaging or pendants… See? My mind won’t stop. And that’s a good thing.

Anything that keeps us excited and engaged is good—especially as we grow older. It really does keep us young.

So, my question to you is, do you have anything new you’re trying or want to try? Have you taken steps to DO IT?
Comment below for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

*waves to everyone*

I must admit it’s been a while since I’ve written a blog post. I left the publishing industry for quite a few years, but I’m back and excited to be here once again. So, big thanks to Delilah for hosting me today.

While I was on my…sabbatical, a lot of things happened to me. Like I became a grandma to three lovely little grandsons—a set of twins who just turned three, and their one-year-old brother. With the birth of the twins, we quickly learned why we have our children while we’re younger because those tykes can wear us out in a hurry. Even in the first few months when the twins were just babies, my husband and I would come home after a visit and crash, thinking “But we didn’t really do anything but hold them and feed them. Why are we so tired?”

(One of these days that thought will probably make it in a book by one of my character’s friends or parents.) I’d love to share photos of them but my son and DIL have asked us not to put the boys’ photos anywhere on social media. However, I can share a photo of the Gramps sweaters I knitted for them to match their Daddy’s favorite cardigan.

Yes, I’ve also learned to knit in the past few years, so the boys will never be short of hats and scarves and sweaters, although the challenge of having twins is you have to knit two of everything.

One of my favorite projects to knit are socks. There is nothing like wearing a pair of real hand-knit socks, especially as the days grow chillier. I live in Canada, so yes, chillier days are definitely ahead.

The main female character in my latest release All I Need for Christmas would wear hand-knit socks if she had them, especially while she patrolled in Nunavut, but her love interest also lives in a snowy area—near where I grew up, a lovely area called Haliburton in central Ontario. Being a Christmas story, there’s snow involved. So yes, they’ll want warm socks, and lots of other knitted garments for when they venture outside. But inside they have other activities that really heat them up. 😉

All I Need for Christmas

In the past three years, Megan has only been sexually satiated a few times. A few glorious, hot, submissive times, with an emphasis on submitting.

Oh, it’s not because she’s single. It’s because her sexy, dominant sculptor boyfriend, Ryan Porter, lives half a country away. She spends her time patrolling the Arctic as a Mountie, while Ryan spends his time creating art in central Ontario. Ryan bends metal and wood to his will to reveal their hidden beauty, the same way he does with her…in the bedroom.

But Megan wants—needs—more from their long-distance relationship than phone sex and longing, and Ryan, too, has realized he craves more from Megan than her occasional submission. With their annual holiday sex-fest upon them, can they stoke the flames that burn between them into the best Christmas gift of all?

Buy your copy at:
Amazon and Apple:  https://mybook.to/AINFC
Books2Read (Barnes & Noble, Google Play, Kobo, and other retailers) https://books2read.com/All-I-Need-for-Christmas

All I Need for Christmas is available both as an ebook and in paperback.

About the Author

Leah Braemel is the only woman in a houseful of males that includes her college-sweetheart husband, a Shih Tzu named Seamus who behaves like a cat and Turtle the cat who thinks he’s a dog, and visits with her two sons, and three grandsons. She loves escaping the ever-multiplying dust bunnies by opening up her laptop to write about sexy heroes and the women who challenge them.

Find Leah on:
Amazon Author Link https://www.amazon.com/Leah-Braemel/e/B002BOHQ50
BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/leah-braemel
Books2Read https://books2read.com/ap/n0GB1R/Leah-Braemel
Facebook Author https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLeahBraemel
Google Books: https://play.google.com/store/books/author?id=Leah+Braemel
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/leahbraemel/
Twitter https://twitter.com/LeahBraemel/
Website https://leahbraemel.com

Or sign up for her newsletter https://tinyurl.com/9uypp4v9

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

Two quick notes!

First, thank you to everyone who got their copy of Guarding Hannah! And an extra thanks to those who took the time to post reviews! Thank you, thank you! Readers trust other readers to let them know a book is good!

Second, there are still release party contests ongoing on Elle James’s Brotherhood Protectors Facebook group. I have three separate ones; the other TEAM WOLF authors have several more. Go play! 🙂

The Contest!

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me what you would find most spectacular about Yellowstone! And have you ever been there?