UPDATE: The winner is…rita!
*~*~*

It’s been a hella busy week! I began a new book that’s due this coming Friday. I’m almost halfway there, BUT I had to spend yesterday and today at the Art Festival! Pesky festival had to fall right in the center of my deadline hell! But oh, it’s fun!!

We’re set up in tents all along Main Street. My stall faced the sun all day, and it was hot—until it was stormy. Then my pictures, in their frames with glass, were flapping on the grid walls from the wind. But it was fun. And validating. There are 35 artists showing. I’m a newbie, but people stopped in because the bright colors caught their eyes. A few, even a couple of art teachers, were surprised by the saturation of color I get from watercolors. “Nice work!” And, even better, I sold some!! I’ll be back there today, so again, no writing, but I’ll be having fun.

Puzzle-Contest

Getting ready for the art show put a dent in our Halloween preparations. We have some major catching up to do after this weekend. We have costumes ordered, makeup planned, but we haven’t started our Halloween movie nights!

Solve the puzzle then tell me how you get in the Halloween spirit for a chance to win a download of your choice from my backlist of books!

UPDATE: The winner is…Beckie lowe!
*~*~*

©Diana Cosby 2021

Fall is my favorite season, one that inspires my muse.  I love the crisp air, the beautiful fall foliage, and seeing the birds and animals in the woods.  On occasion, I’m fortunate enough to see a fawn.

At this time of year, the marsh grass takes on a golden hue, which makes a gorgeous backdrop for nature photos.

I love bees, and with the cooler weather, they’re working overtime to find the few remaining blooms.  This bee was fortunate enough to find a few flowers on a Rosemary plant.

Red-eared Slider and Painted turtles at the pond enjoy the last few warm days before the cooler temperatures will have them digging into the mud and hibernating.

Skippers are beautiful and have such interesting attitudes.  It’s neat how their gorgeous colors mimic those of the Black-eyed Susan.

There’s a new visitor in the area, a handsome groundhog.  I often find him munching on clover, but soon he’ll be returning to his den in the woods to hibernate until spring.   Enjoy the beauty of nature around you, and I hope you have a wonderful fall.

Contest

***ONE winner will be drawn from everyone who posts on my guest blog post about, ‘Inspiration From Nature – Fall!’ on Delilah’s blog between 15 October 2021– 24 October 2021, and will win a signed copy of His Destiny.

About Diana Cosby

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

Social Media
Website:  https://www.dianacosby.com/
Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/978803.Diana_Cosby
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Diana-Cosby/e/B003YJ1MR4/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1417447922&sr=8-1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Diana-Cosby-Romance-Author-150109024636/?ref=ts

UPDATE: The winner is…flchen1!
*~*~*

When I was growing up Westerns were a staple on television.  I probably watched every one produced, either in real-time or syndicated reruns. Gunsmoke, Rawhide, The Rifleman, Have Gun Will Travel, Bat Masterson, Death Valley Days, Branded, Bonanza, Wanted Dead or Alive, High Chaparral, The Guns of Will Sonnett, Maverick. There was even a Northwestern, Here Come the Brides, that I enjoyed. I also remember Alias Smith and Jones, a comedic western. I was so steeped in westerns that in junior high school I got a grade of A++ on a pioneer journal assignment. However, while I can name all the shows I watched, one particular episode sticks with me: an episode of High Chaparral that featured Buffalo Soldiers.

To be honest. if a show — no matter what kind — had a black actor or actress on it I watched it. So no surprise I watched High Chaparral regularly on which Frank Silvera, a Jamaican-American, played the Mexican paterfamilias, Don Sebastian Montoya. It’s no wonder then that even after all these years I can still see the half-page ad description in the old TV Guide on their Buffalo Soldiers episode. I must have stared at the drawing of Black cowboys on horseback forever because the picture is still embedded in my memory. I never learned about Buffalo Soldiers in school. I always had the Schomburg Library to go to find information that was verifiable and books on the history of Blacks and the West by authors like Tom Willard and William Lorenz Katz. Today I’m thankful to the Internet that I can learn directly from the websites of Black history museums like the Black American West Museum & Heritage Center in Denver Colorado.

It’s because of an episode of Bonanza I learned the Chinese used thumbprints as means of identification. The episode on Bonanza that dealt with Little Jo’s birth opened my eyes to racism against Native Americans. I wonder if the children in school today are learning about the role the 9^th and 10^th Cavalry played in the history of the West. Do they know the Chinese invented gunpowder, the compass, and pulp papermaking? Are they learning about the Trail of Tears? I would hope so. I would hope they are being taught by enlightened school systems that uplift the contributions of all cultures to the history of this country.

I don’t watch much TV these days, so I hope what little seeds planted by the stories told on it now grow into trees of truth and not misinformation. In my own small way, I hope the romances I write might do a little planting of their own. So how about you? For a chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card, share in the comments any pieces of history you learned from unexpected sources.

Coming Tomorrow! “The Patience of Unanswered Prayer” from 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”…

Something sinister wafted in the still night air from the edge of Franklin Adams’s property. The low growl from the wolf by his side signaled the animal had detected it, too.

“Too quiet, eh, Zeb?”

The wolf tensed as if in agreement.

Franklin sucked in a lungful of warm Oklahoma summer air and scanned the sky. Too quiet like that night a week ago when eight sheet-shrouded night riders thought they’d scare him off his land. No jigaboo had money for a spread like this they’d shouted. None should be allowed to have one outside of the Black townships anyway. Calls to tar and feather and ride his nappy-headed ass out on a rail followed.

Steel from Franklin’s Winchester and the attack of Zeb’s wolf pack had put the fear of God into those shivering cowards. All fled screaming into the night, bruised, bloodied, and bullet-ridden. Surely, they hadn’t come back for a second try? Although many a drunk might grow brave and stupid and forgetful, if they let enough time pass and consumed enough whiskey.

A breeze troubled the leaves of the oak in the front yard. Birdwings fluttered anxious sounds into the air.

Yep. Someone was out there.

Buy link: Amazon – https://amzn.to/3iwUhkN
Michal Scott Amazon Author Page – https://amzn.to/2TSHzRn
Website: www.michalscott.webs.com

UPDATE: The winner is… Daun Ann Korty!
*~*~*

On Tuesday, a brand new “collection” arrives! Have you pre-ordered your copy? It’s 72,000 words of sexy goodness—all centered around COWBOYS—and it’s just $0.99!!! The authors are eager to share their stories, and we have some fun planned for the release. There will be contests; authors will be sharing snippets from their stories; and did I say contests? Where? Over at my Collections website. Go check it out now! While you’re there, be sure to subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss out on any of the fun!

Contest

You can check out the first five of my Boys Behaving Badly collections by clicking on the covers. And yes, they are all just $0.99—not because they’re not worth the full price, but because the authors of these stories want as many people as possible to devour their stories! They’re a great deal and great way to find new-to-you authors!

Comment for a chance to win the download of your choice of
one these anthologies!  There will be three winners!

  

 

UPDATE: The winner is…Charlene Whitehouse!
*~*~*

What? You didn’t know it was a thing? Neither did I, but when you do a search on holidays when you don’t want to think too hard about what you’re going to blog about… Well, Leif Erickson Day seemed like a GREAT IDEA!

Who was Leif? A Viking! An explorer! He’s credited with bringing the first colonists to North America around 1000 A.D. Who celebrates his day? Some folks in the U.S., Canada, and in Nordic communities. Since I’m 8% Norwegian (as verified through my Ancestry.com profile!) I have an excuse for my long fascination with Vikings! Remember this book?

Click on the cover!

Yeah, so how should you celebrate Leif Erickson Day? Why not emulate the man? Be bold today! Be adventurous! Have some mead with your dinner tonight and toast the brave explorer!

Puzzle Contest

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift car, I want you to think for just a moment about what might be different about our lives now if Leif Erickson had been the “Big Discoverer” of America as opposed to Christopher Columbus. FUNNY ANSWERS APPRECIATED!

UPDATE: The winner is Brenda Rumsey!
*~*~*

Buy Link:
https://books2read.com/u/3RnOyY

It’s aliens!

From Ice Barbarians to Spider-men, aliens have invaded romance. Everywhere I look there’s some new alien romance sprouting up, and it’s quickly moving into monster/alien romance as well. There are interesting tales, species that are desperate for mates, human women seeking love, matchmaking agencies, wars… You name it, sci-fi romance writers go for it.

Naturally, I decided to jump into this and kick off a new series as part of the upcoming boxset, Chosen By An Alien.

Twenty stories of alien love. With plenty of action, adventure, and of course, aliens!

My story, “Operation: Pinpoint”, focuses specifically on a futuristic world where humanity has left Earth and travels throughout space on a constant-in-motion mothership. Humanity seeks to further its future existence by making allies with alien species and gaining technology.

Main character Captain Ravenna Joyner is a Space Force Ops Commando on a mission to find her missing lover. She’s roped into an unlikely partnership with an alien called Dravos Trax.

Dravos is Hirudo, a species burdened by severe anemia, and required to feed from the blood of animals to replenish their iron supply. Yes, you read that right— Space Vampires. Dravos is also a prisoner of Space Force and using his tracking abilities to locate a missing vessel is his way of negotiating for his freedom.

The only problem, Ravenna is Dravos fated mate. Between mistrust, betrayals, and a conspiracy that will rock the universe, Ravenna and Dravos are forced to work together even as their connection may threaten everything.

Of course, I’m only one story in a pond drop, there are 19 other adventures as well for just $0.99.

For a chance to win a book from my backlist, tell me this… Are you an alien sci-fi romance fan? What type of aliens do you like?

Have fun with the puzzle! And BE SURE to enter the contests below! Happy Sunday! ~DD

Open Contests

1. Day trip, anyone? (Puzzle-Contest) — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. Cameron Allie: Welcome to Clayridge (Plus a FREE short story and CONTEST) — Win a cute bookmark!
3. Story Cubes — Tell me a story (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Candice LaBria: Falling Hard (Contest & FREE in KU!) — Win a FREE book!
5. How big a deal is Halloween? (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
6. Have you pre-ordered your copy? Defending Evangeline (Contest + Excerpt) — Win an Amazon gift card!