I’ve had tons of fun writing stories within Elle James’s Brotherhood Protectors world. The last two books, Gunn’s Mission and Tyson’s Mission, were especially fun because the task was to write about a mission in a foreign country. In Gunn’s Mission, I sent poor Gunnar into the Arctic Circle on an ice floe. Tyson went to the Yucatan jungle to guard a woman working on an archeological dig. Both stories required quite a bit of research, which was challenging and added interesting complications to the characters’ journeys. I hope you read both, but if not, maybe you’ll win one of these or another of the BP books I’ve written. Keep reading…

Tyson’s Mission

A former Navy SEAL is tapped to provide security for a team of archeologists working to uncover a Mayan temple deep in a Mexican jungle that a local drug cartel is targeting.

After surviving a catastrophic helicopter accident, former Navy SEAL Tyson Quigley is taking well to his new life with the Brotherhood Protectors in the Yellowstone, Montana, office. Life’s looking up. He’s working with old teammates and loves volunteering in the national park.

Then he gets a call from his university professor brother, who is worried about a colleague working on an archeological dig in southern Mexico. The team has had problems with thefts of equipment and supplies and has received veiled threats from a drug cartel because their dig is in their territory. Now, one of the dig team members has been kidnapped and held for ransom, but they quickly figure out the finger they were sent in the package demanding payment is from an already dead person. Now, they have no idea whether their team member is alive or dead, and they think the labor they’ve hired to work on the site is on the cartel payroll, too.

After a quick conference with his Brotherhood Protector teammates, Ty heads down to Mexico to pose as his brother’s friend’s boyfriend to provide her protection for the remainder of the dig.

Cara Woodward doesn’t need a babysitter. Sure, things have gotten scary since her friend’s abduction, and she doesn’t like the fact the university wants to leave her recovery to the local police. However, Tyson’s everywhere she is, and it’s getting on her nerves. His looming presence is distracting, to say the least. He’s too handsome, too intense. Thankfully, after arriving on site, the lead archeologist on the dig quickly puts Ty in charge of overseeing site security which splits his attention.

As the dig team continues documenting their work before they pack up and leave, they suffer another theft and an attack—this time, too close to Cara for Ty’s comfort. He’s locking her down, with no daylight between them for the duration.

Read an Excerpt Here

All the Brotherhood Protectors stories I’ve written so far…

Click on the covers to learn more about them!

  

  

Contest

For a chance to win one of the stories shown above, tell me whether you’ve read any of these, and what settings you prefer!

We have several trees around our house. It seems we “grow” more trees, large and mostly small, every year. Many of the ornaments are ones we’ve inherited or collected over the years. Some are handmade by the children. All hold memories.

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, and then tell me about one ornament you have that you cherish!

Open Contests

1. Memory Puzzle: Dead Horse Bounty Hunters (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win a FREE book!
2. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Turkey Day is Coming! — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Anna Taylor Sweringen/Michal Scott: Alice Ruth Moore Dunbar Nelson — More Than a Famous Poet’s Wife (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Gabbi Grey: Audio Love (Contest) — Win a FREE audio book!
5. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Advent begins tomorrow! — Win an Amazon gift card!
6. November into December (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!

November

1. I released one story this month—a paranormal novella entitled The Demon Lord’s Cloak. I hope you enjoyed it! The cover is lovely, don’t you think?
2. I wrote one measly chapter of Ignition!
3. I completed 3 editing projects for other authors in November.
4. Very little productivity. However, I’m not going to feel bad about it.

Health-related:

1. I underwent only one round of chemo before the problems with my chemo port flared up. Due to swelling around the port, I underwent numerous scans and an ultrasound. No blood clots, thankfully, but at the start of the last week of November, the skin around the port turned an ugly red—a sure sign of infection. After calling the oncology clinic, they had me admitted to the hospital in Hot Springs, where I underwent surgery to remove the port. They kept me there for over three days, putting different antibiotics through IVs into my veins to clear up any infection while they waited for cultures to see if it had entered my bloodstream. I’m still awaiting those results.
2. I’m continuing to lose muscle tone. I know I need to add some sort of exercise to my schedule on days when I can get around, but I’ve just been so tired I tend to sleep a lot. Plus there’s the nausea and dizziness. It will pass. Maybe I can get more active in January when the chemo stops.

Happiness-related: 

1. The family continues to rally around me. Now that I’m home, my daughter and the 15-year-old are caring for the open hole in my chest, unpacking and repacking the wound to keep it clean and dry while it heals.
2. I enjoyed watching my daughter decorate for Christmas. So many trees and a clutter-mess wonder of decorations for every bare surface. I love it!
3. I came home the afternoon before Thanksgiving, so was able to enjoy the holiday and the meal with my family.
4. I painted only one thing this month. I’ve had no creative drive at all. Painting is like writing—anything that requires imagination takes too much energy. Here’s my one new piece:

December

For work-related, I plan:

1. To post a daily Advent giveaway on Facebook. It begins today. So as soon as I post this blog, I’ll head over there to announce the first day’s giveaway! I’ll continue with daily gifts until the 24th!
2. To plot stories for the new year for my current series, Montana Bounty Hunters: Yellowstone, MT and We are Dead Horse.
3. To complete 2 editing projects in December.
4. To look at books I already have out that I might bundle together or publish in print.
5. To take it easy in December and concentrate on healing and getting through more chemo rather than writing.

For health-related, I plan:

1. To go through two more rounds of chemo, which when I look at my calendar seems overwhelming, but I’ll get through it.
2. To continue to watch what I eat and hope I can manage to drop a few more pounds.
3. To add some tiny physical activities to my daily routine so that I don’t lose any more muscle. Maybe I’ll give myself stairstep goals or puttering-around-cleaning goals on days when I’m not sick as a dog.

For happiness-related, I plan: 

1. To better organize my office so I can start off with a clean slate so to speak in the New Year!
2. To clean up my art room, which has become a disaster! I’ve been tossing supplies on table tops and need to actually store them properly, so I have more workspace.
3. To spend time with the family—movies, meals, and flea market adventures! I’m not overly ambitious.
4. Enjoy all the leadup to and the day of Christmas with my family!

Contest

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

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