UPDATE: The winners are Annie Kavanagh and Amy Dudley!
*~*~*

Depending on how long you’ve been reading me, you might not be aware of my naughty, nine-book, cowboy ménage series, Lone Star Lovers. All my sexiest fantasies are rolled up in those stories. Two cowboys, three cowboys, four… All that attention on one lucky girl… Heck, it’s not really fair, and there must be something in the water in Two Mule, Texas because there’s a whole lotta sharin’ goin’ on. 🙂

Comment for a chance to win your choice of
one of my Lone Star Lovers books! 

Family Values

Three brothers competing for one woman’s heart learn the values of patience and sharing….

Angelina Flores lived a perfect ranch-kid childhood, complete with three princes on horseback who treated their housekeeper’s daughter like a princess. At age eighteen, the fairytale came crashing down when she realized she had to choose between Brand, Nate, and Eli McAffee. And when she did choose one—she lost all three.

She’s older now. Wiser, thanks to her college education and a few years’ distance. A distance she’d planned to maintain…until her mother begs her to fill in at the ranch while she takes care of a sick relative.

The minute her boots hit the front porch, the memories come flooding back, right along with the hunger. It’s tough to put the past behind her when temptation is so close. Especially since the brothers seem bound and determined to woo her. Separately. Together. Whatever it takes to keep her right where she belongs—in their arms.

An Excerpt from Family Values…

For Angelina Flores, stepping across the threshold of the MacAfee ranch house was a moment filled with both nostalgia and pain. The dull thud her boots made on the natural, planed-oak flooring was a familiar sound—and not one she’d heard anywhere else. The faint smells of beeswax and Pine-Sol mixed with the scent of the freshly cut roses in the Mexican crockery atop the rugged fireplace mantel. If she closed her eyes, she could imagine herself at ten years old, running with her muddy boots through the family room to tell her mother about her day, about the animals and the cowboys—her new friends, who’d let her ride behind them on their tall horses.

Her childhood had felt enchanted. And she’d had three handsome princes fawning over her, showering her with pretty clothes and dolls. Even then, she’d dreamed of growing up and having a fairytale wedding, and when they’d teased her and asked her which one she’d choose for her husband, she’d asked why she couldn’t choose them all.

How prophetic that now seemed. As, when she’d approached graduation from high school, two of the McAfee men had suddenly let her know of their individual interest.

Oh, she’d been flattered. And thrilled. Until the moment she’d realized she really would have to choose. Then she’d been filled with dread, because she didn’t want to hurt any of them, and she didn’t know how she could favor one over the other, especially when she was also interested in the third.

Angelina shook her head to rid herself of the painful memories and entered with trepidation, wondering what her welcome would be like once the brothers returned home. The last time she’d been here, in this room, she’d been led through it by a hard hand clamped around her upper arm. She’d been escorted crying and half-dressed back to her room off the kitchen, and then her door closed in her face.

The next morning, she’d been taken by the same hard-faced man through the back door to his Expedition parked beside the porch. The chill in the morning air not nearly as cold as his final goodbye at the Dallas airport.

She’d been eighteen, and the only place she’d ever called home was her home no more.

Angelina took a deep breath and stepped farther into the room. She set her suitcase on the floor beside her and tilted her head to listen for any sounds of movement in the house. Her mother had said the MacAfee boys were at an auction in San Angelo, and that she’d have the place to herself for the weekend, to acclimate and to shore up her nerves.

“Mama, you know why I can’t be there,” she’d said in the early morning hours, holding back her hair and squinting at the digital alarm beside her bed.

“I have no one else I can trust, mija. It’s been years. Things have changed. You have changed. No one will say a word about the past. Have I ever asked anything of you, Angel?”

Angelina’s shoulders had slumped. “I don’t know if I can go there,” she’d whispered.

“I know it will be hard, Angel. I know. But you must take my place and look after the boys while I am away. Do this for me, please?”

She’d taken a deep breath and gripped her cellphone harder. “How long? How long must I stay?”

“Your Aunt Cecilia is having a hysterectomy. I might be weeks.”

Angelina shook her head. Her stomach twisted in a knot, and sudden nausea made her skin clammy. “I’ll have to call my boss. Damn, he’ll probably let me go. I just started there.”

“Gracias, mija. You will see. You worry for nothing. The past is the past.”

But the past wasn’t so distant that she didn’t feel the same longing as she gazed around the room for dreams she’d shattered when she’d followed her heart to make the biggest mistake of her life. And she would never forget the shame.

After picking up her bag, she trudged toward the kitchen and beyond it, to the small bedroom that had been her own when she was a child and the world had seemed such a bright place, full of romantic possibilities.

But princes didn’t exist, at least not in her realm. And she wasn’t a starry-eyed chatterbox anymore, eager to sit on certain cowboys’ knees. She was a college graduate. Had her own job—maybe. Her own place. She’d made a life for herself. The fact she still felt pangs of loneliness late at night when she went to bed alone was something she’d eventually outgrow. Someday. And somewhere far from the MacAfee ranch.

UPDATE: The winner is…Debbie Caswell!
*~*~*

I’m a collector of odd objects. My daughter says I’m a hoarder, but I’m slowly sharing my obsessive nature with her. She’s now collecting vintage Pyrex mixing bowls and refrigerator dishes and hunts them down on eBay and at flea markets with zeal. 🙂

I have many collections. A few of them include fortune-telling teacups, Russian lacquer boxes, McDonald’s kids toys (I have all the How to Train Your Dragon figures!), superhero Funko Pop figures (I have an RGB one—she was a superhero to me!), Strangling ornaments, weird and funny pens, to name a few…. And I also collect antique depression glass vanity powder jars from the 40s and 50s. I have five of them now. They aren’t expensive at all, but they are “collectible”. Most are glass with an animal on top. The puzzle is a picture of my latest acquisition. You can even rest a lipstick between its wings!

Puzzle-Contest

Solve the puzzle then share something about collecting, whether it’s something you collect or your mother/sister/dad/whoever collected. Comment for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is…Eileen McCall!
*~*~*

If you’ve been following me for very long, you know I have an obsession. Not my writing. That’s not obsessive at all. Nope. That’s just part of my DNA. I’m a crafter, and I know there are a lot of us out there. I love sitting down at my table and playing with beads and wire and pulling out my paints, crayons, pastels, and pens to create art.

2020 kept me at home, and I dabbled like mad in my craft room to keep away the dark shadows and boredom. Now, I have so many completed projects that I thought now was the time to reopen my Etsy store, The Emerald Casket. So, here it is. I don’t have a lot on the “shelf” right now, but I’m posting new items every day. If you’re interested, go take a look, but here are a few things I am or will be offering soon….

These are handpainted earrings. My dd loves them. They’re light and fun. I used copper wire and ear wires, plus pretty Czech glass seed beads.

Here, I have handpainted postcards, sold in bundles. Don’t you want something special to send to family and friends?

And of course, bracelets, since I love making and wearing them. This one’s made with a silver bead, hematite, and matte onyx beads.

I’m excited and working on posting new items every day. I opened yesterday and am stoked because I had my first sale! Woot. I hope you’ll visit the store often, and if there’s something you see that’s not quite what you want, send me a note. I have custom-made items in the past, and my prices are very reasonable.

So, that’s the sales pitch. What I don’t sell there, I’ll pack up and take to local craft shows—once it’s safe. In the meantime, I’ll be puttering, experimenting, and obsessing over my beads and paint…

Do you have an obsession? Share for a chance to win a download of your choice from my backlist of books!

Open Contests

Enter while you still can!

1. New Year’s Eve Puzzle-Contest! — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. What I’m looking forward to in 2021 (Puzzle-Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Diana Cosby: Inspiration From Nature – Wildlife (Contest) — Win a signed book!
4. Join me at Delilah’s Corner! (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is…Terra Oenning!
*~*~*

It’s a new year, and it’s time to try new things! Facebook has its issues, but most authors and readers “meet” there. Yes, I have a fan page—which I hate because it’s not somewhere I can interact easily. I have a “friends” page, but that cap of 5000 members becomes problematic when more people want to join me there. So, I bit the bullet and created a group, Delilah’s Corner, where I hope to have some fun and hope readers will enjoy being there, too!

My dd and I talked through this idea, and she did the graphic for the group. I wanted something “me”. Not a book cover. Although, I do want to talk books, occasionally. I’m a huge coffee drinker, and I love coffee shops, although my little podunk town doesn’t have a single one, so here I am inventing one to hang out in. Or at least, that was the idea—Delilah’s little corner cafe. I’m not big on pomp. Just pour your coffee and pull up a chair.

So, now that I have the group, what do I do with it? Right now, I have around 100 members who answered my call on Facebook to join. I’d like to grow the group. To do that, I need more readers, and authors, to join. Some of the things I want to do are launch parties for my and my friends’ books, group parties, and giveaways. Yada, yada. Everyone does that.

But I’d like some fresh ideas for things I can do on a daily, a weekly, or a monthly basis. For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, help me out with some ideas! And be sure to join the group. I promise we’ll be doing some fun things. Bring your mocha chai or cappuccino, or plain black cup (me, most of the time), and settle in. Ask a question. Start a conversation. See you there.

UDPATE: The winner is…Linda Richter!
*~*~*

©Diana Cosby 2021

Happy New Year!  I hope you had a wonderful holiday season.  I love writing, and continually find inspiration from nature.

I’m amazed at the huge variety of wildlife where I live, and I look forward to seeing what nature photos I can take on my walks.

Every so often, I’m able to get close-up photos of hawks, birds, and other animals.  Being only a few feet away from wildlife is an amazing feeling.

Seeing and photographing wildlife is a relaxing pastime, one that refills my muse.

With the celebration of the new year, I look forward to what wildlife I’ll come across next.  What wildlife do you like to see?

Contest

***ONE winner will be drawn from everyone who posts on my guest blog post about, ‘Inspiration From Nature – Wildlife,’ on Delilah’s blog between 3 January 2021– 10 January 2021.  The winner will receive a signed copy of His Destiny, book #4 in the bestselling The MacGruder Brothers Series.

About the Author

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

UPDATE: The winner is…Laura Tavares!
*~*~*

It’s simple. And I’ll start the preparations at the end of February because it takes weeks! Hopefully by the end of March, all will be ready because there have been years when I could start enjoying “it” by mid-April. That’s the plan, anyway!

Solve the puzzle so you know what I’m looking forward to. Then, share what you’re looking forward to for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is…Damaris Schuler!
*~*~*

I won’t be raising a glass tonight. I’m not much of a drinker. However, I will be burning sage and a handwritten note wishing only good things for the New Year. 2020 has been such a powerful mix of horror and happiness that I’m ambivalent about its ending. Let me explain.

The year started with the death of my mother in January. That was bad enough and required a lot of adjustment. My dd and her family moved into our family home, and we’ve been unpacking and decorating, and making this place into OUR home.

The pandemic has, of course, dominated the year. Like many, many people, our family hunkered down, starting in March, unsure of what the future held. When the initial lockdown ended, we enrolled all four kids in online instruction. We’ve masked, done no traveling, and ordered our groceries for curbside pickups. We’ve watched the news for every bit of new guidance regarding safety and shared what we learned. We’ve done our part and kept our loved ones safe. We’re crossing our fingers that we’ll be able to do the same in the new year.

All those things could have hung like a dark cloud over us. Instead, we’ve managed to find ways to make this time very special as a family. We make everything an event. We’ve learned to FaceTime with those we love. For example, a couple of nights ago, we “met” with my son and he participated while we went through destashing bags of old jewelry that I’ve collected from flea markets and eBay. We spent three hours online, laughing and trying things on.

My dd has thrown herself into new hobbies—like sign-making with her Cricut and creating book graphics for me for use on Instagram and Facebook. I threw myself into painting. We’re looking forward to re-opening my Etsy store in January with all-new offerings of art and jewelry. She’s experimented with new recipes for the fabulous meals she’s cooks.

We have movie nights, family game nights. In the summer, we spent many, many hours in the pool. We’ve all grown closer. Even the teenagers aren’t dark and gloomy about the prospect of another year of restrictions because we’ve put in the work to make this work.

So, we’re now a glass-half-full family. I hope that you’ve found your silver linings, too!

New Year’s Eve Puzzle Contest

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me how, or if, you’ll be celebrating tonight! Enjoy the puzzle!