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Desiree Holt: Summer Selfie Giveaway!
Saturday, July 18th, 2020

Contest

Take a Selfie, Win a Prize
From now through July 31, Books 2-6 in The Phoenix Agency are ON SALE for just 99 cents.
ALL LINKS FOUND HERE (https://desireeholt.com/phoenix-agency/)
Buy a book,  take a selfie (print or cover on tablet)
Hop on over to Desiree’s Darlings to enter for a $25 GC

The Books

#2 EXTRASENSORY

Mia Fleming’s precognitive her visions about Carpenter Techtronics are so vivid, she resorts to sending anonymous emails to the company. She’s also having visions of a gorgeous man who arouses her to the point she’s satisfying herself just to get some relief. She’s shocked when the man shows up in her office, demanding to know what she knows about Carpenter. Dan Romeo is just helping his friend track down the person threatening his company when he meets Mia. One look at her and he has a hard time thinking about anything but indulging in off-the-charts sex with the intriguing woman—until bodies begin falling. As Mia’s visions escalate, so does the explosive sex between her and Dan, as well as an unexpected emotional connection. When Mia is almost killed, Dan and his team must race to find the culprits before they can strike again—or put Mia down for good.

#3 SCENT OF DANGER

Kelly Monroe was shocked when her dog, Xena, a Caucasian Ovcharka seemed to bond at once with Rick Latrobe, a partner in the high profile Phoenix Agency. Ovcharkas are known for linking with only their owners. But Xena is picking up Rick’s wave length, very much aware when an attempt is made on Rick’s life and sensing all kinds of danger signals related to Rick’s current project: ferrying a shipment of arms to a private security cadre in Iraq. Rick is nearly killed when the shipment is stolen by terrorists who are hot on his trail. Only Kelly and Xena—coached by members of The Lotus Circle to expand the psychic link between the three of them—can keep him safe. As Rick scrambles to learn who’s behind the whole mess, the relationship he and Kelly have deepens. But Xena is the real star, not only signaling when danger is at hand but “sniffing” out the killers.

#4 FREEZE FRAME

Katherine “Kat” Culhane was a highly sought after remote viewer, but her gift was beginning to splinter, and just at a time when she needed it the most. Her sister Mari, along with Mari’s employer and his family, have been kidnapped. But Mike D’Antoni, a partner in the shadowy Phoenix Agency, is suddenly back in her life and could be the only person to help find the hostages. The chemistry between them is just as hot as it ever was, but they parted on very bad terms. Can they put the past behind them as they race to find and rescue the hostages? And what will happen when it’s time to say goodbye again?

#5 FEEL THE HEAT

Summer Cahill lives as quietly as she can, protecting her ability as a psychic healer. But danger brings former SEAL and Phoenix partner Troy Arsenault into her life—along with scorching nights and intense emotions. Resisting him isn’t even a question, in or out of the bedroom. He protects her from the evil stalking her even as he takes her beyond the physical boundaries of anything she’s ever experienced. When Summer is kidnapped, Troy’s world is turned upside down and he employs all the resources of The Phoenix Agency to rescue her. He won’t rest until she’s back safely in his life—and in his bed— for the rest of their lives.

#6 FORMULA FOR DANGER

Running back to Texas after an emotional disaster in San Francisco, J. L. Mitchell, microbiologist, is throwing herself into the development of a new, drought-resistant grain. Little did she expect to reconnect with Cole Martin, who rings al her bells, or to discover that her formula was at risk of being highjacked. As her work progresses, so does her relationship with Cole. When she is kidnapped, he brings all the recourse of The Phoenix Agency, where he has just become a partner, into play, hoping they will be in time.

Ava Cuvay: What’s in a World? (Contest & Excerpt)
Monday, July 13th, 2020

UPDATE: The winners are Pansy Petal, Debra Guyette, and Bn100!
*~*~*

I’m a workshop presenter at this year’s Chicago-North RWA Spring Fling conference, being held online due to COVID-19, and I’ll be talking about one of my favorite subjects: World-Building.

Imagine reading a story about vampires, but the author never tells you if these are creepy Nosferatu types, 80s-style heavy metal teen rebels, sword-wielding daywalkers, or sparkly high schoolers from the Pacific Northwest. What would you picture? What characteristics would you assign to them? How would you expect them to interact with other characters?

What if the story didn’t do any of what you imagined? That would be pretty disappointing—frustrating even—right? *This* is why World-Building is crucial… so a reader can immerse themselves into our stories and walk beside our characters without tripping up, taking a wrong turn, or thinking with a fair amount of annoyance, “We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto.”

I say all of this because, in spite of knowing better, I initially tried to cut World-Building corners with my newest book, Tin Man. I admit, I was a little tired of having to build a world completely from scratch, like a 90k ingredient cake recipe. I wanted something more familiar—a pre-made world that I didn’t have to invent. Like a cake from a box mix.

So, I decided to write a story located here on earth, in my current hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana. Human beings in an earth city where I could say “tree” and not have to describe the color of the leaves… What could possibly go wrong??

Wellll, there’s the fact that my story is set about 150 years in the future, so the city will have changed, but how? And the fact that technology will definitely have changed, such as what phones look like. And the fact my story is about cybernetic individuals, so what do they look and act like? And how might society perceive toasters versus a fellow human with machine parts? And the basic fact that not everyone is as familiar with the city of Indianapolis as I am.

Sigh. I had forgotten the main reason why World-Building is so critical to a good story: Not every reader’s individual life experience and perception is the same as another’s.

A story set in Indianapolis might feel like home for one reader, but a trip to uncharted lands for another. Saying a character is a cyborg might incite positive emotions from one reader, but negative from another. Based on our individual experiences, even something as seemingly universal as McDonald’s or Amazon will bring forth a wide variety of responses. Authors must build our worlds to gently direct our reader’s responses and perceptions. Are cyborgs misunderstood humans living in fear of their own safety, or are they dangerous timebombs ready to murder innocent people at a snap?

I smacked my forehead for ignoring the main tenet of my own World-Building presentation: No matter if we authors build a world from scratch or with the help of a box mix, we HAVE to craft a believable world so readers can experience the story as we intend them to. And to experience it in such a manner they feel they have lived the story alongside our characters.

And that they know what color the leaves on the trees are. 😉

My cyborg story, Tin Man, is book one in my Silver Cyborg Series trilogy, and is currently on pre-order to go live on July 17th. Despite my initial stumble where the World-Building is concerned, I’m thrilled with how it turned out, and I can’t wait to share it with you! Below is the beginning of Chapter One to pique your interest.

Contest

What book “worlds” have been fascinating/engaging/immersive for you as a reader? Post in the comments, and on July 16th, I’ll select three winners for a Kindle version of “Tin Man.”

Excerpt from Tin Man

A slow start to the night promises a crazy ending… said no one ever. But, based on his years as a bouncer at the historic Vogue Bar and Music Venue, Adam Lehmann knew the saying was truth. This Saturday night shift was downright dull so far, and the tingle in his lower back—the part which didn’t have cybernetic sensors running through it—assured him tonight was doomed.

He didn’t yet know what or why, but something would swerve into shit creek territory, and the cops would be called.

Cops who had once been his friends and coworkers. Guys who’d had his back. Up until part of that back, his heart, his left arm, and an eye had been replaced with cybernetics. On the outside, Adam didn’t look any different than he had. But simply knowing he wasn’t entirely organic beneath the epidermis layer was enough to make him an object of fear and loathing.

The awkward shift from pal to persona non grata hadn’t been listed as a possible side effect when he’d allowed doctors to replace his shot-to-hell body parts with experimental cyborg systems. If it had, he might have let himself die on the operating table. Scratch that, he would have assumed his friendships were tight enough to withstand a few synthetic enhancements.

The joke was on him. And it wasn’t funny.

“You seem on edge, Lemon.” The automaton bartender handed him a bottle of water. Adam forced a neutral expression at the slight mispronunciation, which turned his last name into a proclamation of his derelict physical state. Adam’s glitching cyborg parts and mid-forties human body did not mesh well. A mid-life crisis of epic proportions with no hope of coming out on the other side any way but dead. Not that he would admit that to anyone.

“I seem? A bit of a subjective statement, don’t you think, Arthur?”

Arthur’s robotic Swiss army knife body rotated beneath its head, its multiple attachments a symphony of cleaning, stacking, filling, pouring, serving. Only its face held any humanoid features, and those looked like the poor schmuck who passed out first at a fraternity party. Someone had taken a black marker to the mechanized bartender, decorating it with a scraggly goatee, handlebar mustache, scars, anime eyelashes, a black eye, and the word dildo in bold caps across his forehead. Instead of paying to have the synthetic covering cleaned or replaced, The Vogue’s owner had shrugged at the vandalism and invested in costume hats to add to Arthur’s look. Tonight, it sported a red bandana skull cap and pirate’s eye-patch. Adam refused to laugh at the ridiculousness of it.

To be honest, he didn’t laugh, period. Looming demise did that to a person.

*~*~*

Spring Fling Online Conference Registration: https://chicagospringfling.com

Tin Man Buy Links:

iBooks – https://books.apple.com/us/book/tin-man/id1519102092
Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/Tin-Man-Silver-Cyborg-Book-ebook/dp/B08B4YXYQQ/
Barnes & Noble – https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w?ean=2940162637080
Kobo – https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/tin-man-13

What would you like to see in the next Boys Behaving Badly Anthology? (Contest)
Sunday, July 12th, 2020

UPDATE: The winner is…Kimberley Bailey!
*~*~*

First Response: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology

Yes, I know, First Response was just released (and is still going strong—thank you!), but I have to think ahead to the next one because it’s a long process to get one of these ready and out into the world!

I’d love your help to come up with the theme for the next Boys Behaving Badly Anthology!

I have a few ideas of my own, but I’m not married to them. I’d like to gather yours as well, and then run a poll to see what readers want the most. My ideas include:

Captive — which will have to be delicately handled, because I don’t want rape scenarios! But think about alien abductions, your ex “rescuing” you from marrying the wrong man, a woman rescued in the snow and kept “captive” in a cabin by a solitary man until the snow melts, etc.

Real Men — lumberjacks, backwoodsmen, mechanics, construction workers, farmers—not a billionaire in sight! Someone good with his hands and strong from physical labor…

And that’s all I’ve got. So, put on your thinking caps. Offer an idea for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card! Have fun with it. Your idea doesn’t have to be great, but it could spark an idea in my tired brain!

These contests are still open!

  1. Rochelle Bradley: Summer Goals (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
  2. Diana Cosby: Nature’s Beauty – In The Forest (Contest) — Win a signed book!
Don’t miss out on these prizes! Enter today!!
Saturday, July 11th, 2020

First Response: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology

Over on my anthology website (Delilah’s Collections), the authors of my latest collection, FIRST RESPONSE, have been posting wonderful pictures to describe their stories in a single image. They’ve also been running contests! All of them are still open, but many will close tomorrow, so enter today!!! $ and books are up for grabs!

    1. REINA TORRES: TEAMWORK (CONTEST)Last day to enter!! 2 Winners! Win a FREE book!
    2. IN ONE PICTURE: REINA TORRES’S “FAR FROM OVER” (CONTEST)Last day to enter! Win an Amazon gift card!
    3. IN ONE PICTURE: JAAP BOEKESTEIN’S “SAVE ME TWICE” (CONTEST)Last day to enter! Win a Bad Boys anthology!
    4. IN ONE PICTURE: MICHAL SCOTT’S “THE $5 KISS OF LIFE” (CONTEST) — Last day to enter! Win a Bad Boys anthology!
    5. IN ONE PICTURE: JANUARY GEORGE’S “BLACKOUT” (CONTEST) — Last day to enter! Win an Amazon gift card!
    6. IN ONE PICTURE: AVA CUVAY’S “THE SIREN’S SONG” (CONTEST) — Last day to enter! Win a Bad Boys anthology!
    7. IN ONE PICTURE: M. JAYNE’S “DRIVE” (CONTEST) — Win an Amazon gift card!
    8. IN ONE PICTURE: KIMBERLY DEAN’S “SAVING TIME” (CONTEST) — Win an Amazon gift card!
    9. IN ONE PICTURE: MEGAN RYDER’S “CLAIMING LYLA” (CONTEST) — Win a Bad Boys anthology!
    10. IN ONE PICTURE: N.J. WALTERS’ “OVER THE EDGE” (CONTEST) — Win an Amazon gift card!
    11. IN ONE PICTURE: PAYTON HARLIE’S “FIRE IN THE STORM” (CONTEST) — Win a Bad Boys anthology!
Diana Cosby: Nature’s Beauty – In The Forest (Contest)
Friday, July 10th, 2020

UPDATE: The winner is…Anna Taylor Sweringen!
*~*~*

©Diana Cosby 2020

Along with writing, I enjoy photography, and I’m continually amazed at the wide range of nature that I see.  During the spring, I’m always looking to see the newborn animals.  This year, I was fortunate enough to see this fox with her kit.

 

As well, I was thrilled to come upon this gorgeous young buck with his antlers just beginning to show.

 

A few weeks ago, while out in the forest, I came across a wild turkey.  Thankfully the sun was out when I took this photo so you can see the gorgeous colors of the turkey’s feathers.

 

I often see bunnies during my walks, but this spring I was fortunate to see my first ever grey bunny.

 

With temperatures warming, the dragonflies are out.  So far this year, I’ve seen brown, blue, red, and green dragonflies.  What is your favorite animal or bird that lives in the forest?

 

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.

Contest

***ONE winner will be drawn from everyone who posts on my guest blog post about, ‘Nature’s Beauty – In The Forest,’ on Delilah’s blog between 10 July 2020 – 19 July 2020.  The winner will receive a signed copy of His Woman.

Diana Cosby, International Best-Selling Author
www.dianacosby.com
The Oath Trilogy
MacGruder Brother Series
The Forbidden Series

A Puzzle & a Contest!
Wednesday, July 8th, 2020

UPDATE: The winner is…Lisa Carter!
*~*~*

I have three blogs to keep up with, so it’s not hard to imagine me forgetting to get around to this one today, right? So, I’m a little late—that doesn’t mean we can’t still have some fun.

Solve the puzzle, and then tell me what’s hiding inside it for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card! Go wild!

Sharing a Picture and Open Contests!
Sunday, July 5th, 2020

In between the rains, we did our own little fireworks thing last night. The little ones love the sparklers and poppers. Here’s the 6-year-old showing off her “technique”. See the streamers? Barely, I know.

We had a few of the bigger fireworks, but after the horses and dogs spooked and this kid declared she was scared by the loud noises, we decided we’d donate our leftovers to someone else. Next year, we’ll stick to the small stuff. We had to bring every dog we own into the house to hide in closets or under the beds. And the poor horses? They hid out in the barn. Not doing that to them, again. It was bad enough the neighbors up and down the road went at it until the wee hours of the morning. Life in the country!

These contests are still open! Enter while you can!

  1. Come Play the Puzzle-Contest! — Win an Amazon gift card!
  2. Rochelle Bradley: Summer Goals (Contest) — Too many prizes to list!