UPDATE: The winner is…Misty Dawn!
*~*~*

Leave a comment for a chance to win a $10 Amazon Gift Certificate

“New company creates hackproof proprietary software…”

“DHS warns companies targeted on dark web”

“Hacker exploits Netgear router to nab US military drone files”

“Chinese group engaging in cyber espionage against US companies, report says”

“FBI warns hackers are targeting internet routers”

 

Software by Design creates new hackproof security software
By Joe Mallory
The Electronic Blog

In a world where suddenly nothing on a computer is safe, Liam Benedict, the wunderkind of proprietary software, is setting the world on fire with his ability to design software that will work only for one program on one system. It’s a boon for both corporations and Benedict, because the software is broken apart and reconfigured each time a client begins a new project.

Benedict says it also can protect financial information at banks, financial management firms, any entity where privacy and secrecy are more important than anything else. He has a team of trained, trustworthy experts who write code and create programs that are virtually impenetrable.

His explosion of success has come to the attention of Arroyo, a multinational conglomerate run by billionaire Taylor Cantrell and her husband, Noah. They were recently here in Tampa to seal the deal to make SBD a part of Arroyo. This reporter tried to arrange an interview with them but was told everything goes through their public relations department on San Antonio, Texas.

We did, however, learn that the company is moving to larger, more secure quarters even as you read this. There is also a rumor that Benedict’s newest client is a defense contractor who may or may not be designing a super secret project for the Department of Defense.

I’ll be doing my best to keep you updated.

 

Out and About Tampa Bay
The blog that tells it all

Is there a romance brewing or is the tech world’s newest wunderkind in some kind of trouble? High profile, much-in-demand criminal defense attorney Sydney Alfiore was spotted having drinks with Liam Benedict, owner of Software By Design. Benedict is much in demand because of his firm’s ability to design software that is project specific. Defense contractors are lining up to hire him. Rumor has it he has a new client who needs the best firewall in the world for a super hush-hush project.

Alfiore, meanwhile, is smack in the middle of a very high profile murder trial, where it’s said her client may be on the verge of convicted. Don’t believe it. Alfiore always pulls a rabbit out of the hat at the last minute. The media has been covering the trial on a daily basis and every television station wants five minutes of her time.

So how did these two people find the time to meet for a drink? And look very cozy doing it?

Stay tuned for further details.

Double Deception

No one could tell who was telling the truth…

For Liam Benedict, the merging of Software by Design into the Arroyo mega-conglomerate is a dream come true—until someone on his staff screws with critical software and puts the company and its future in grave jeopardy. Suddenly life is not so euphoric for Liam. His contract with a defense contractor is in jeopardy, he doesn’t know who to trust on his staff and there is a distinct possibility a foreign power is behind the whole thing.

When forensic data analyst Eric Braun discovers who it is and how they did it, he is killed before he can tell Liam who the mole is. Framed by the killer, Liam is arrested for murder. It will take the combined resources of beautiful criminal defense attorney Sydney Alfiore, the woman he, loves, and the huge Arroyo Corporation to solve the riddle, but can they do it in time?

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo| Totally Bound | iTunes

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UPDATE: The winners are…Colleen, Elysian, and Buttons!
*~*~*

The Night Fall series was one of my first. I still love it, and I try to add to the series every now and then, because I can’t let that world go. I wrote the first story in 2003 or 2004, and I added Big Bad Wolf last year. I’ve had fun writing them. The stories are filled with danger, plenty of sexy encounters, and humor. One of the funniest, I think, is  Frannie and The Private Dick. The title came first, and the adventure spun out from there…

For a chance to win your choice from among the Night Fall stories,
answer me this…

Is there a paranormal show on TV that you adore, past or present?

           Click on the covers to learn more!

Frannie and The Private Dick

Bent on catching her cheating fiancé in the act, Frannie Valentine got sidetracked by a little thing like dying. When she awakens, Frannie learns her pampered life will never be the same, so she turns to the man responsible for her undeadness and demands he take on the responsibility of giving her a little job training—in the PI biz.

Niall Keegan never intended to make himself a mate, but Frannie’s string of minor disasters, which ended with her dying in his arms, took the decision right out of his hands. While the mating part isn’t bad, making the disaster-prone Frannie a PI may just be the death of him.

Excerpt from Frannie and The Private Dick…

Francesca Valentine had died and gone to hell. No other explanation made sense. She swam back to awareness through a molasses-thick void to find herself suddenly spat out from a dark womb into a cold, hollow space. Blind, and so still she knew she didn’t breathe, her mind turned over like a sluggish engine before revving into high gear.

Quickly, she assessed what she knew. She lay on a hard surface, covered with a scratchy square of thin fabric, unable to move a muscle. A low whine, like that of an air-conditioner, came from the opposite side of the space. Harsh light shone from above, warming her face, but hurting her closed eyes. So, she probably wasn’t blind after all. But she was definitely dead. Stone-cold. Her chest wasn’t moving in and out, but she didn’t feel starved for air.

She knew who she was and what had killed her, but hadn’t a clue what new fix she’d landed herself in. From nearby came the scrape of footsteps and a tentative humming, then…

“Bee-ooot-ee-foll Dreeeeamer, wake unto me…”

She was in hell all right. A demented spirit hovered over her, emitting an off-key warbling that set Frannie’s teeth on edge. By the rusty sound of the grating voice, her tormentor must be an ancient female, and the she-devil was trying to remove the skin from her face in slow, abrasive circles with…apricot-scented facial scrub? Frannie’d had a chemical peel the week before. The last thing she needed was a dime store product applied to her professionally maintained skin. Read the rest of this entry »

UPDATE: The winners are…Kris, Colleen, Tamara, Katherine, Misty Dawn, and Buttons!
*~*~*

I have tons of series! I know it’s possible you might have missed one. Texas Cowboys is a sexy one, filled with those alpha-male, Texas men—six stories, so far! All are interconnected, so you get to see the characters you’ve met along the way. And they are available in print editions!

For a chance to win your choice from among the Texas Cowboys stories, answer me this…

Have you read any of the Texas Cowboys or Lone Star Lovers stories?
Which series would you like to see more of?

  
  Click on covers to learn more!

Soldier Boy

Just home from war, Mac McDonough is in a world of hurt only a woman can cure. Suki’s jealous stalker doesn’t stand a chance…

Fresh from war, “Mac” McDonough wants just two things: whiskey to drown the pain in his damaged leg and a woman. But one look into Suki Reese’s haunted eyes, and he knows she needs the kind of muscle only an ex-soldier can provide.

Mac’s brooding gaze and hard body leave Suki Reece breathless and disturbed. The rugged ex-soldier won’t listen to a word she says until Suki distracts him with a sexy striptease. That gets his attention. Suki may have gotten the upper hand, but Mac is going to be on top.

Get your copy here!

Excerpt from Soldier Boy…

Mac McDonough’s body ached with the need to sink into soft, wet woman.

An escape, no matter how brief, from the constant, throbbing in his shattered leg.

Like an answer to his prayer, a familiar SUV crawled up the rough gravel road. His body tightened. Tara Toomey had offered the last time she paid him a visit, for old time’s sake, but he’d turned her down because he’d still had just enough pride and just enough affection for his old friend not to want to use her like that.

Today, she wouldn’t make it past the door. The thought of her blonde flyaway curls wrapped around his dick made his heart thud with anticipation.

As she slowly made her way up the winding, rutted road, Mac McDonough closed his eyes, turned his face into the gusting, humid air, and inhaled the fresh scent of the coming rain—a fierce reminder of just how far he’d come.

Over seven thousand miles and another lifetime.

The cabin nestled high on a ridge overlooking hills covered with live oak and cedar seemed as far removed from his version of reality as the face of Mars.

Sure, the ground was a bed of sand and rock, but the sand was grittier, the grains larger than the wheat flour a Hummer could kick up into the air, leaving a trail that could be tracked for miles across the desert floor.

The air was almost as hot but filled with so much moisture it felt thick as he dragged it deep into his lungs.

Mac curled his fingers around the porch rail and leaned into it, savoring the solitude he’d needed to heal his soul that no amount of therapy or medicine could compare with.

Only thing missing from the picture was another case of whiskey to help him sink into a stupor to ease the pain-filled tension in his body and shut out the memories that haunted his dreams.

And a woman. Not that he was willing to leave the cabin to go on the prowl for one, but the longer he remained in his self-imposed isolation, the more urgent became the need. Any woman would do—so long as she didn’t want to talk or be wooed. He hadn’t the time or the heart left for either. Read the rest of this entry »

UPDATE: The winner is…Jackie Wisherd!
*~*~*

Leave a comment for a chance to win a $10 Amazon Gift Certificate!

A Deadly Business

There is nothing quite so deadly as the business of revenge…

Just ask me. I know, because one of the most terrifying men in the world wants me dead for revenge.

My name is Marissa Hayes. I was recruited by the CIA because I had what they wanted—a degree from Wharton School of Finance and experience in complicated money transactions. Under the name of Lauren Chapman I spent three years playing a role in one of London’s top money managers. My target? One of their clients, a man named Stefan Maes whose  money came from providing illegal arms to terrorists, funding cartels and raping Third World countries of their resources.

I was close to sealing the deal for the CIA, giving them enough information to take Maes down and freeze almost all of his money, when my cover was blown. That’s a damn scary thing, because when people like Maes get hold of you, death is the most pleasant thing that can happen to you. Lucky for me, my handler had an escape method already planned. He whisked me out of London through back alleys and down seedy streets until I was safe on a boat and then a plane.

Safe!

What a joke!

I thought I was safe when the relocated me to a sleepy little Southern town on the west coast of Florida—Arrowhead Bay. Nothing much happens there, although it does get a lot of tourists. I changed my hair, my makeup, my style of clothing…My name is now Marissa Hayes and I run an art gallery. A far cry from being a spy for the Central Intelligence Agency.

I was sure I was safe and secure in Arrowhead Bay. After all, it is the home of the international security agency, Vigilance, whose agents are all former Special Ops of one kind or another. And then there is Justin Kelly, one of their top agents, who has been teaching me defensive boxing while we dance around a sizzling sexual attraction. He’d defend me with his life, although of course, who could find me? Right?

But Maes’ right hand man, who hated the fact that I rebuffed all his sexual advances, blew my cover with his boss. Now Maes, who had lost a huge chunk of his empire, was out for blood. He wanted my head on a stick and my other body parts scattered to the winds.

Of course, nothing is for certain, and when two of Maes’ agents find me in Arrowhead Bay, I know it won’t be long before Maes himself arrives. Time to get the hell out of dodge, at least until the danger has passed. Vigilance has sent me off to a private Caribbean island, with a bonus—Justin as my bodyguard.

As I write this I am sitting in a private villa at Rosewood on Princessa Key, a luxury resort on a private island, where Justin and I finally gave in to our feelings for each other. But right now Justin is on the phone with Vigilance, where he has received frightening news. Maes has disappeared.

I keep telling myself he can’t find me here. Right?

Right?

 

A Deadly Business

Her life in beautiful Arrowhead Bay seems like paradise. But for former CIA operative Marissa Hayes, it’s a deep cover she’s forced to live under after daring to take down a powerful enemy with strong terrorist ties. Out of necessity, she keeps her emotions as guarded as her life, even as she finds herself drawn to Justin Kelly, the most arousing man she’s ever met. But when Marissa must find a new place to hide, the able-bodied Vigilance agent is the first man she turns to . . .
Justin can’t get close to Marissa, if he hopes to keep her alive. Which only makes sharing a villa with her at a remote island resort all the more challenging. The passion rising between them is exquisite—and excruciating. Even more so when terrorists infiltrate the island, putting Marissa in the crosshairs. Now Justin will do anything to protect the woman he cares about more deeply than he dares to admit. . . .

Get your copy here:

https://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Business-Vigilance-Desiree-Holt-ebook/dp/B078LQN6C2/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1525461092&sr=1-1&keywords=A+Deadly+Business+desiree

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-deadly-business-desiree-holt/1127723099?ean=9781516103690

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https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/a-deadly-business/id1329275830?mt=11

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38534912-a-deadly-business?ac=1&from_search=true

 

 

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Hey! Sable Hunter at your service! Man, it’s hot in Texas. I hope you’re as cool as a cucumber. Oh, while we’re here, I’ll share a bit of good news with you. I’m moving! Again! I bought a house in Lago Vista, just across Lake Travis from Austin. After writing 70 plus books, I need all the inspiration I can get! With the view of the rolling hills and beautiful blue water that I’ll have from my deck, I won’t have a dang excuse!

Like many writers, my books are part of me. Even though they are hot as Hades, I want them to be about more than sex. I love to spin tales full of suspense, sometimes with touches of the paranormal, but always with an underlying message of hope. When the reader puts the book down, I want them to feel like the world is a brighter place.

For the last six years, I have co-authored almost a dozen books with a wonderful man named Ryan O’Leary. He wrote novels before we teamed up, tales that could best be described as erotica for men. When I first approached him about writing with me, my idea was that he could bring some things to the table that I couldn’t. Namely, a man’s point of view. Banter. Help me give a little sexy grit to my sometimes too sweet love scenes. And he did all of that and more.

One thing he did, that he probably didn’t intend, was to give me a sense of confidence. I remember after we’d plotted a few books and he’d become familiar with my massive world of characters, scenarios, and intertwining tales – he said that romance novels surprised him. They weren’t what he’d been expecting. When he would think of a romance book, he’d think chick-lit, or a fairly one-dimensional tale which centered solely on boy meets girl/boy loses girl/boy hooks up with girl for good.

And yes, that basic premise is engrained in the books.

But Ryan said what he hadn’t been expecting was that the genre could be almost anything – encompass countless situations – have depth and suspense and twists and turns – teach lessons, keep you on the edge of the seat – satisfy your hunger for adventure and mystery. After we’d written books that contained everything from serial killers to drug cartels to AI robots with more heart than most people – he knew to expect the unexpected.

I especially love to bring current events and real-life situations into the book – for example, I’ve written about the major hurricanes that devastated New Orleans and Houston. I’ve written about immigration and its personal consequences. The challenges facing Native Americans. I’ve even tackled problems like epilepsy, schizophrenia, and cancer. It’s very satisfying to get letters from fans who say – I went through this and you’ve given me hope or courage to forge ahead. The wildest thing I’ve learned as an author is that a book can contain a whole world, one of your creation, one where you can write the outcome just how you want it to be. So, my mantra has been that in my books you will find a world where right prevails, love conquers all, and holding out for a hero is not an impossible dream.

And speaking of heroes…

I have become known for writing about these badass, alpha, dominant men who aren’t perfect but have a heart of gold. They are kind, compassionate, have a sense of humor – and, of course, they’re sexy as hell. Demanding. Lust-worthy. These men are capable of taking the woman of their dreams to the heights of rapture. My heroines are strong women…but usually they don’t have much sexual experience. I’m not sure why I’ve gravitated to that combo. Sometimes it feels like a bit of a double standard.
SO…I DECIDED TO FLIP THAT IDEA ON ITS HEAD!

I have a novel coming out later this month called MY HERO. The book is second in my COWBOY CRAZE series, a spinoff of HELL YEAH, which features the Blackhawk brothers of Kingsland, Texas. Benjen, the hero of my newest book has all the qualities I named above – he’s handsome, sexy, tender-hearted, strong – all of the characteristics you’d expect in a hero but…

Benjen Blackhawk is a virgin.

Can you guess what inspired me to write about a virgin hero?

I’ll give you three guesses, but the answer is Jaime on OUTLANDER. Now, the virgin hero is the only similarity between my book and that outstanding creation, but I dwelt on that situation and decided I wanted to try my hand at a hunk who saved himself for true love. I won’t spoil the story, but Benjen Blackhawk loved someone enough to wait for them. His desire and his libido were just as powerful as any other hero’s, but he chose to hold all of that pent-up passion in check until he found the woman of his dreams.

I’ll tell you one other bit of inspiration I garnered from another source – –

Do any of you remember the love scene in MEET JOE BLACK between Brad Pitt and Claire Forlani? Joe Black, if you recall, was DEATH in the flesh, and he’d never made love with a woman before. I’ll never forget Brad Pitt’s face in that moment when he first felt the ecstasy of joining with the woman he loved. You could see and feel the rapture he was experiencing. My heart and body responded to him, fantasizing the unbelievable pleasure he was receiving. I wanted to recapture that moment in this book. By the time my couple make love, they are head over heels for one another, of course. There are twists and turns, pitfalls, and mountains for them to climb – but he becomes addicted to her in all ways.

Like most of my books, I try to take you on a wild ride. Since Benjen is Native American, I was able to bring in exciting bits like shamanism, ghost lights on the mountain, and how a man who straddles two worlds deals with prejudice and preconceptions. The heroine also has obstacles – she was married to a soldier who went MIA, only to discover from his journal that he was planning on leaving her. She loses confidence in herself, only to have that confidence rebuilt a thousand times over by the handsome cowboy who walks into her life. There are other twists and turns – everything from flash floods to the tragedy at the border of children being separated from their families. So, in summation, MY HERO will be a full blown adventure with enough love to make your heart ache. Here is the cover to my hero – so watch for it’s release this month.

And thank you for listening to me ramble.

I would appreciate if you would join my newsletter and follow me on Amazon.

Here are the links:

Amazon:
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All who comment will be entered into a contest to receive one of my ebooks of their choice, even MY HERO when it comes out if you have all the others. We will choose winners on the 15th of August.

Love you,
Sable Hunter

I can’t believe it’s mid-August! Where did the summer go? Yesterday was the first time the pool felt cool. 🙁 I’ll be lucky to get a full month more of swimming. And, tomorrow the kids go back to school—including the almost-5-year-old. Her mom and I are feeling a little sad about that. The baby’s growing up. Double- 🙁

In the meantime, I have plenty on my plate to keep me too busy to cry, and I’d better get to it. Hope you enjoy the excerpt and the contest!

For a chance to win one of my Uncharted SEALs stories,
winner’s choice, answer me this…
If you were dating a SEAL, where would you prefer to vacation?
Mexico? Destin? Fiji?

Through Her Eyes

Ex-SEAL and expert sniper, Wolf Kinkaid, is taking a little downtime while he considers his options. Being wooed by two elite spec ops groups, he’s enjoying Charter Group’s beach house in Cancun while he considers his options. A loner by nature and occupation, he wonders if he’ll ever really be able to connect to people around him. Afraid his loner nature will sentence him to spending his life alone, he’s not even sure he wants to continue looking down a scope, even if the pay’s good.

Bounty hunter Piper Ames loves the adrenaline rush she gets from her high-stakes hunts, but, now, she has time on her hands as she waits for her collar to pop up his head, so she can take him down. While she’s waiting, it doesn’t hurt that a big, buff, ex-military type is staying right next door. Not the least shy about going after what she wants, she’s surprised when he’s equally as aggressive. Their chemistry is off the charts, and the sex is the hottest she’s ever had.

While Wolf and Piper connect in the only ways their independent natures allow, danger lurks. When, at last, her target arrives, guns blazing, Wolf and Piper have to pull together to make it out alive.

Order Ebook: Kindle | Nook | Kobo | iBooks

Excerpt

Wolf hated the wait. Especially in the white-hot heat. Even at this elevation, the sun was merciless. Hot wind gusting through the pass provided no relief.

Sweat dripped from his hair down the side of his cheek, but he ignored it. His muscles cramped. His eyes grew dry. And still, he kept staring through the scope of his Macmillan Tac-50, watching the long line of insurgents trudge along the goat trail of a road below his position. Waiting for them to get close enough…

“A thousand yards. They’re coming within range,” came the voice of the mission commander through the comm in his ear.

Wolf reached for his box magazine, sitting on a rock beside him. He’d been heating the rounds in the sun to increase their range, but now, the time had come to lock and load.

Below were a couple dozen of the enemy, seemingly unaware of the weapons trained on them from above. All fresh from a battle in Ghazni. Intel said his target, Khalil Alam, would be among the group. So far, he’d searched every face but hadn’t found one that perfectly matched the grainy photo lying beside his mat.

The soldiers were all dark-haired. All wore beards or had the lower halves of their faces covered by cloths. His mark should be a little taller and gaunt. He’d spent months hiding in the mountains, orchestrating attacks from afar—a high-ranking Taliban commander who’d stepped out of the shadows to lead their latest attack, which left half a dozen Marines dead and fifteen more wounded, some maimed for life.

Again, the silence was broken. “Crosswind from the east.”

Wolf didn’t have the luxury of waiting for the wind to die down. He might have only one shot. One kill. If he was lucky.

Beside him, his spotter shifted, crunching the sand. “I see him,” he whispered, although they were nearly a mile away from the rag-tag army ambling through the mountain pass. “He’ll be coming over the hill, facing you. Best time to clip him. Nine hundred twenty yards.”

Quickly, Wolf rechecked the data he’d entered in his scope. He’d maxed out the windage. Maxed out the elevation drum. He’d need a one mil lead—aiming just ahead of the target for the four seconds the .50 Cal round took to travel.

Five seconds later, a tall angular figure climbed the trail. A weapon was slung over his bony shoulders. His robe billowed outward, caught by a sudden breeze.

Wolf kept his sight trained on the enemy’s center of mass—he’d aim for his heart. The distance was too far to even attempt a head shot. But he wasn’t the only sniper on this mission, although his was the most important target.

“Snipers, everyone found their mark?” their commander’s voice sounded. “Chime in when you have your target.”

In quick succession, the snipers called out.

“Sniper One, ready.”

“Sniper Two, ready.”

Wolf squinted down his scope at the tall Afghan he was about to take out. “Sniper Three, ready.”

He kept his breathing even, readying for the command to kill. All shots had to break at the same time, or the group below would scramble for cover and the opportunity would be lost.

“This is Foxtrot One. I have control. Shoot on my command.”

Wolf expelled a quick breath then drew in a long one and held it.

“Three…two…one…execute.”

He pulled the trigger and stared down his scope.

Beside him, his spotter cursed. He’d followed the vapor trail of the round Wolf fired and watched it splash in the dirt. He called out adjustments, which Wolf made in a second.

Still staring down the scope, he watched as everyone around Khalil Alam dove for cover. Not his target. The Afghan insurgent stood still, his head raised, his gaze narrowing as though he could see Wolf where he lay with his rifle, hidden in the shadows of a large rock. And then he did a strange thing.

Khalil Alam raised his arms out to his sides and bared his teeth.

Again, Wolf took aim and fired.

This time, his target dropped.

But so did the much-smaller figure behind him. One with a beardless, bloodied face…

 

Wyatt “Wolf” Kinkaid awoke and threw off the covers tangled around his legs. Sitting on the edge of the mattress, he set his elbows on his knees as he drew in deep, cleansing breaths.

He didn’t know why that particular kill haunted him. He’d killed kids before. Some intentionally. But that one…

Maybe because of the shock frozen in the young boy’s eyes. Khalil Alam’s son, he’d been told later. No blame, no censure came from his team. The boy was a terrorist in the making, following in his father’s footsteps. A “preemptory kill” someone who’d been trying to be helpful said. And yet, the memory still sickened him.

He wiped a hand over his face. Sleep-time was over. Daylight was burning. Not that he was on any kind of schedule. The sound of surf washing against sand in the distance reminded him he was as far from Afghanistan as a man could be. Rising, he strode to the window overlooking the beach. The large sea-side villa hadn’t impressed him nearly as much as the sight of the strip of pristine white sand. By the placement of the sun, he’d guess the time was around nine AM. He’d slept a full nine hours. And he wasn’t dead.

The peaceful view didn’t do a thing to slow his heart rate. To shake off the last sticky spider webs of his nightmare, he turned, rifled through the duffel sitting on the floor beside him, and pulled out his spotting scope. Cupping the compact Hensoldt in his hand, he stared through the lens.

If he’d needed confirmation before, he knew he was losing it when a few adjustments brought the surf closer, and, at last, he stopped hearing his pulse pound against his temples. Maybe he wasn’t meant to be up close and personal with anything. Ever.

The name he’d been given by the Team—Lone Wolf, which had been shortened over time—had never felt truer. Read the rest of this entry »

On August 21st, Lion in the Shadows releases! It’s a very erotic story—so consider yourself warned! 🙂

This opening scene I’m sharing today includes details of rescue procedures I gleaned from reading articles and speaking to a fireman in the Texas Hill County, who specialized in cave rescues. That was one fun conversation!

In Lion, things get hot…and weird…really quick. So, if you love a hot paranormal with hints of ghosts/demon possession/shapeshifting, Lion might be what you need.

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me whether you could see yourself crawling through caves for fun!

Lion in the Shadows

When a teen dies inside an unexplored cave, it’s Lani Kimmel’s job to bring him out. This is not a pleasant job, but one she’s handled many times as a member of the local fire department and an expert in cave rescues. The trek into the cave awakens a creature that will push this no-nonsense woman’s boundaries of belief and test her newly emerging love for one man.

Rafe Chavez, the new sheriff in this small Texas town, has already staked a claim on Lani. He’s a man with a goal in his sights, and he’s not letting anything get in his way—until he dreams about an Indian brave who died in that unexplored cave, savaged by a mountain lion. When his dreams cross into reality, Rafe realizes he may be possessed by the Indian’s spirit—but the spirit isn’t alone, and it wants Lani.

Just when Lani’s resistance to his erotic persuasion crumbles, Rafe must push her away to protect her from another creature that has also cast its gaze upon her…

Pre-order your copy now!

Excerpt

The earth shook, and the air stirred.

Sounds other than the usual chirping of cave crickets and the incessant drip of water intruded on the sleeper’s dreams, echoing down the cavern. Voices, laughter, feet scraping over stone.

The sleeper opened his eyes and found that, for once, the exercise wasn’t futile. A sliver of grayish light penetrated the gloom.

He stretched, willing blood to quicken through his body, to heat and ease muscles that had remained dormant too long.

Then a new scent—musky, warm-blooded, human—entered his tomb. He rolled to his feet.

Then gathering his strength he roared up the cave wall.

* * *

Lani Kimmel drove over the cattle guard onto the gravel road that marked the beginning of rancher McKelvey’s property. She followed the ridgeline of the steep, oak and cedar-covered hill, bouncing in her seat despite her truck’s heavy-duty shocks. The tires churned in caliche, the fine sandstone gravel pinging on the wheel wells.

She tried to keep her mind focused on the task of keeping her pickup on the rough road and away from the reason she climbed to the remote spot. But her stomach already burbled, her palms grew moist, and that little voice in the back of her mind—the one that sounded like her father’s—taunted her, What do you think you’re playin’ at, little girl? You aren’t strong enough.

As she rounded a curve, a long line of parked vehicles forced her to pull onto the shoulder to continue forward. Further along, she passed an EMS unit, two county squad cars, and the trucks and SUVs belonging to other members of the volunteer fire department. Parking in a narrow space between two vehicles, she had her door open before the engine finished chugging to a halt. Heat blasted her, and she grabbed her volunteer’s baseball cap to shield her eyes from the bright afternoon sun. Then she slid her duffel from behind her seat, kicked a booted heel against the door of her truck, and headed toward the mouth of the unnamed cave.

She nodded to the EMS team crouched beside two boys huddled beneath blankets, shivering despite the late afternoon heat. Compassion could have swamped her, but she quickly tamped down the emotion. If she thought too much about it, she wouldn’t be able to get through the next few hours. Their buddy likely lay on the bottom of the cave floor, and it was her job to bring him up.

Lani approached the group standing in front of a narrow black hole. Stones and gravel were already piled to the side as the men worked at widening the opening. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. “Anybody looked inside yet?”

Cale Witte, the captain of the volunteer fire department, turned and gave her a crooked smile that creased his suntanned face. “Glad you could make it, Lani. Did you bring your vertical pack?”

Lani lifted her duffel. “Got it here, boss. So, we have a drop-off? Anyone hear from the kid inside?”

He shook his head, his grave expression telling her he expected the worst. “Those skinny runts shimmied through that hole carrying ropes and Maglites,” he said, sounding disgusted. “Said they didn’t know there was another level until their friend dropped out of sight.”

Lani swore under her breath.

Cale spat a stream of chewing tobacco. “A couple of us crawled in. The entrance is blocked with loose-packed gravel and stone. It’s pretty unstable, but the cave opens wide once you’re through the mouth. About twenty feet inside, it bottoms out. We shined our lights around, but it was too deep to see much. We need to climb down.”

“Well, that’s what I’m here for, huh?” Lani said, willing confidence into her voice.

He nodded. “No one knows caves like you do—that’s a fact. You better have a look for yourself.”

Randy Brandt, another member of the department, leaned on his shovel. “Think we’ve got this hole wide enough for your butt now?” His grin stretched across his handsome face.

Not for the first time, Lani thought Randy’s lean, muscled frame, and sun-tinted brown hair belonged in a firemen’s calendar. “Better put your back into it.” Lani gave him a teasing glance. “Gotta make room for that big head of yours, too.”

The men chuckled.

Lani took no offense. She’d long ago figured out she was one of the team when the men included her in the insults they traded. Besides, the banter helped drown out the voice that ate at her composure. The sooner she was in the cave—her world—the sooner she’d be in control. Read the rest of this entry »