Good morning! I have a cup of coffee, and the morning’s quiet—so far. So, here I am talking to you! I had to check my calendar to know what day of the week it is! With everyone home, every day, it’s hard to keep track here in the loony bin!
While mom and dad are coping, the littlest kids are having an absolute blast! The temperature rose to the low 70’s a couple of days ago, and they secretly put their swimsuits on underneath their clothes, went outside, stripped, and turned on the hose to have a big water fight. We knew when we heard the screeching. Outside was warm, but the water coming out of the hose was not. They had a blast then came running inside, dripping everywhere, and said, “Guess what we did?!” (Like we didn’t know? 🙂 )
The older ones are going stir crazy and spending way too much time making TikTok videos and FaceTiming friends. The 15-year-old girl keeps singing, “It’s the end of the world as we know it…” Don’t remember that one? Play it while you play here!
The creatures I feel sorriest for inside this house are our five cats. They’re solitary creatures by nature, and now, they never get a break! The little ones want to play with them and carry them around. The little Jack Russells also run and hide when they’re outside because they’re always in a wagon being dragged around the yard. Ah well. LOL
Do you know who’s happiest though? Me. All this enforced isolation works for me with my writing, and I get to spend extra time with the fam. So, there are silver linings, folks. Look for them!
Enjoy the puzzle! Leave a comment below telling me about your “silver lining”, and you’ll be entered to win a $5 Amazon gift card!
It’s been such a busy week! Planning and shopping for the apocalypse (my dd and I did the planning—she did the shopping since I’m under house arrest, er, “self-quarantine”), writing five chapters, editing a book and some short stories… Today, I have to clean my office, or at least the corridor of space between the boxes I have yet to unpack!!!!
This next week, you’ll see a little less of me here because we’ll have some fab authors guesting! Be looking for posts from Genevive Chamblee, Dee S. Knight, Lyncee Shillard, and Michal Scott!
Be sure to check out the contests below that are still open, including a FREE read for all! Love you. Stay safe! ~DD
Happy Almost Spring from North Texas! I’m Liberty Ireland – Book Wrangler, Aspiring Author, and Super Mom and Wife. I’m so grateful Delilah gave me the reins for the day and I’m glad to meet y’all!
I find that whether we are a reader, reviewer or author, one thing binds us all together – our great love of reading books. I can remember my parents reading to me at bedtime, my Mom always taking us to the library for their Summer Reading fun and choosing a family book to read on road trips. As a teen, I’d leave my door open while doing homework so I could hear my Mom read Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing to my brother. I excelled in English throughout my schooling because of my reading and fell madly in love with Rhett Butler, Shakespeare, Atticus Finch and the like. Right about then I discovered Romances and Fabio but somewhere along the way of becoming an adult, reading became less and less of an escape and priority for me.
Eventually, along came Stephanie Meyer and Edward and Becca Fitzpatrick and Patch to whom I will be forever grateful for reinstilling in me that passion for reading. Now I read almost exclusively Romance with many favorite subgenres ranging from Historical to Western to Romantic Suspense to Dark and Twisty. I have hundreds of favorite authors and have learned that I have several favorite tropes as well. I have even rediscovered my desire to be an author.
What about you, Dear Reader? How did you become a reader and/or what are some of your favorites?
Leave an answer below, and on March 21st I’ll choose a random winner of a $10 Amazon or B&N gift card (US only)
From the unedited Prologue of my WIP:
…Jake took a deep breath and knew he had to follow through on what he’d planned. Coming over here today was for the last time. He knew how hurt she’d be when she discovered his deceit and that he wasn’t coming back but it was for the best. Her heart would heal in time and she would find someone who could give her all the things she deserved – a stable home life, a man that worshipped the ground she walked on and a bunch of kids just as beautiful as her.
She stirred as he leaned over and kissed her. He tenderly watched her as she relaxed again into a deeper slumber then he eased up off the quilt she’d
put down for them. As he put his shirt and boots back on, he knew he was doing the right thing. It just sucked that he had to hurt her in order to do it.
He trudged through the rain to his truck and started it up. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and hit redial.
“Mr. Sanders? Jake Peterson. I wanted to let you know that if your offer is still open, I’d love to join the PBR tour. Yes sir, I can leave right after I grab my trailer and put my horse in it. Yes, I know where that is. Okay, I’ll see you there.”
Jake hung up and put the truck in gear. He looked up to where his Panda was sleeping. “Go on and live your life Sugar, the way it is meant to be lived.”
He kissed his fingers and blew it in her direction then he slowly pulled out.
UPDATE: The winners are…Delaine McLafferty and Mary McCoy!
*~*~*
I’m pleased to see that the number of subscribers to my blog is growing! You’re discovering that there’s always something happening here! Whether it’s seeing what other authors are giving you in the way of new stories or playing puzzles or entering to win prizes—there is always something new. Thanks for stopping by and being a part of this romance writer’s community! If you haven’t already subscribed, check out the left-hand column of this page and do it now! ~DD
Flashback: Slow Rider (Contest–2 Winners!)
When Joe Chavez and fellow sheriff’s deputy, Logan Ross, pull over a speeding motorcycle in the middle of the night, neither is particularly shocked to find Paraiso’s wild child, Sarah Michelson, riding bare-assed naked, nor are they surprised when she invites them to join her in a sexy threesome.
Talking her way out of an embarrassing date with the county judge, who just happens to be her daddy, Sarah promises the officers the ride of their lives. Having the men turn the tables on her and introduce her to some scary D/s play, she learns some things about herself she never suspected. Too bad Joe will never see her as anything but a sexy hell cat in need of taming…
Comment on this post to win your choice of one of the books in the Texas Cowboys series! This series is a very sexy set of stories set in a small town in Texas, where cowboys and lawmen are “bound & determined” to win their ladies any way they can!
Here are all the stories in the Texas Cowboy series!
I have a challenge for you! And I can’t wait to see what you will do with it!
See the picture below? Well, you tell me a story based on that photo. I’m not saying it has to be a good story or even longer than a sentence. I’m not judging your writing. Just have fun with this photo prompt. Everyone, play! Comment for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!
With each book I write, I’m continually inspired by nature. Recently, I had a pair of Baltimore Orioles visit. They’re stunning birds, and I’ll miss them once they continue their journey north.
As hints of spring fill the air, with flowers beginning to nudge through the earth, and migration starting, I’m keeping watch for birds as they travel through, including the Blue Grosbeaks.
Walking through the woods, fragrant with the scent of pine, I spot birds that I see year-round, like the chickadee.
On a recent visit to the marsh, with the scent of salt and the sea filling the air, I saw these gorgeous does at the edge of the woods.
I enjoy watching the sunrise. There’s something magical about when the first rays stream through the sky, slowly illuminating the land. With the beauty that unfolds, as I never know what I’m going to see, each morning’s sunrise is like a gift. With each day, regardless of where I go, nature’s beauty surrounds me, and the sights, scents, and sounds are continual inspiration for my muse.
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 in 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, The Oath Trilogy, and the first four books of The Forbidden Series, she’s now preparing for the release of book #5, Forbidden Realm, on 14 April, 2020.
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 – Continual Inspiration For My Muse,’ on Delilah’s blog between 8 March 2020 – 15 March 2020. The winner will receive a signed copy of His Woman.
I’m scribbling down ideas for the new bounty hunter office in Dead Horse, MT. Now, I need to cast my characters. New hunters to add, for sure. New townsfolk to populate the place. I want to “build out” the town more than I did in the original Bear Lodge town. Dead Horse is located close to Yellowstone, so I have to keep that in mind. In addition to hunters, I’m thinking local sheriff, deputies, ranchers, cowboys, diner waitress and cook, football coach, etc. People you expect to “see” in a small town, and some of the seedier folks, too, who can be part of the scene my hunters operate inside.
So, for fun, and for a prize, how about you make some suggestions.I might not use your idea, but it might spark an idea for me. And if you do see your character in the pages of one of my stories, you can have bragging rights! 🙂 So, for the chance to win a free download of any of my Montana Bounty Hunter stories, suggest away…
And remember, I already have the main character of the first book named…
