Thanks so much to Delilah for hosting me today! I truly appreciate this opportunity to speak directly to you, the readers.
The Pen Dames are currently running our annual contest, and I thought you might enjoy it. Here are the details…
We invite you to become a character in an upcoming story we’re crafting. It’s simple to enter—just leave your first name in the comments section of this blog post or on one of our Facebook posts about the contest, and we’ll name a character after the winner.
I can’t give away too many details, but the tale will have an Irish theme in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day and will feature elements of mystery, magic, and a dash of romance. Please note the story will only be published on the Pen Dames blog, and no financial compensation will be provided. All rights are reserved. The contest closes on March 17th.
Now, this is just for fun, but how often do you have the chance to read about a character named after you?
A little about us, the Pen Dames. We’re a group of five author friends who share a love for each other’s work and are bound by our motto of Heart, Humor, and Happily Ever After. We’re passionate about books, reading, and, most importantly, our readers. If you’d like to learn more about us, please visit our website.
As an additional thank-you for Delilah’s kindness in hosting this post on short notice, I’m offering a special drawing for anyone who comments here. You’ll also have the chance to win either a $5.00 Amazon gift card or (for U.S. residents only) a signed combined print edition of two of my books edited by none other than Delilah!Along with the books, I’ll include a swag bag filled with goodies, such as a crystal pen, stickers, bookmarks, charms, and surprises.
The two books included in the additional prize are “The Sea Witch and the Mage” and Siren Descending. If you’re curious, “The Sea Witch and the Mage” is a short story set in a contemporary romantic fantasy world of mermaids, mermen, and mages and is the prequel to Siren Descending which reimagines the Greek myth of Orpheus with a Siren as the heroine.
About the Author
I’m Katherine Eddinger Smits, and my fascination with all things paranormal stems from being a direct descendant of one of the women executed for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. My stories often feature mages, mermaids, and gifted humans grappling with real-life issues like self-acceptance and phobias, all while weaving in mystery, suspense, and a hint of romance.
If you’re interested in exploring more of my work, you can visit my website and subscribe to my newsletter for a free short story.
Thank you for taking the time to read about our contest and for considering participating. Whether you decide to join us or simply follow along, we appreciate your support.
The Devlin household has numerous pets. Too many. Currently, we have seven dogs (did I count right?), four cats, and a bunny. The picture I’m sharing is of MY cat. She hangs out with me, loves her cat bed under my desk, and is a generally noisy nuisance. Tessa has the most god-awful meow of any cat I’ve ever had. It’s a scratchy, yowling sort of meow that grates on a person’s nerves, but she’s MY cat. Usually, when she’s looking at me, her gold eyes are perfectly round, which makes her look really stupid. Here, I woke her from a nap, so she’s irritated with me. If she were a tiger, she’d eat me.
Yes, the topic for the word search today is lame, but I didn’t want to break my brain trying to come up with something clever, so for the sake of a good brain-matter workout, here’s today’s challenge:
For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me about a favorite pet of yours, past or present, and have you had any exotic ones? I’ve had everything on the list below except for a lizard and a snake (feeding them mice or crickets was a big NO).
In honor of National Barbie Day, I’m sharing my Barbie experience, and I’d love to hear about yours!
My parents didn’t have much, but we kids never knew it. I had a couple of Barbies, and my mom made me a Barbie case full of Barbie clothes to play with. Not that Barbie was huge for me for very long. I preferred the library and learning about plate tectonics, dinosaurs, quasars, and ancient civilizations. Yes, I was a science book nerd. I even kept my own personal set of encyclopedias—notebooks with handwritten book reports about the topics I loved. I mean, what kid doesn’t write an article about volcanoes and tar pits and the like? But there were still Barbies. My mom even used to make Barbie Birthday Cakes with a Barbie stuck in the middle with a skirt of frosting!
Now, I’m lucky I still have a child in the house. A girl-child, at that. She’s ten now, and caught between loving biographical and historical books (she loves WWII stories) and her love of Squishmallows and Barbies. In fact, the one gift she wanted from Santa this past year was a Barbie Dream House. Thankfully, he brought her one. 🙂
She has a huge collection of dolls–some gifted new, and some “treasures” she’s found at flea markets, a trunk full of Barbie clothes, and a rolling plastic cart that holds accessories. She’s not spoiled at all.
So, you know, this past summer, the Barbie movie was high on our list of movies to see in the theater. We did the whole “Barbenheimer thing” (I even have the T-shirt!)—the adults seeing Oppenheimer on a Thursday afternoon, and then all the girls, my daughter, the 19-year-old, the 15-year-old, the 10-year-old, and I saw Barbie on Saturday. We loved it! And to a person, our favorite scene in the movie was the “I’m Just Ken” musical number. If you haven’t seen it, take a look here. Ryan Gosling was truly born for the role.
I hope you all have a wonderful Saturday! Do something that gives you joy!
For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me about your “Barbie” experience.
For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, let me know who your weekend book boyfriend will be!
If you haven’t already chosen your boyfriend, here’s a suggestion.
(This book is available for only $0.99 for a limited time only! That’s a $3-dollar savings!)
MONTANA BOUNTY HUNTERS: DEAD HORSE, MT Authentic Men… Real Adventures…
The happily single owner of the only liquor store in Dead Horse, MT needs the biggest, baddest man around, and a certain former Green Beret seems made to order…
When Chase Kudrow leaves the Green Berets, he is ready to throw off rules and regs and be his own damn boss. Bounty hunting doesn’t tie him down and occasionally gives him the adrenaline rush he craves.
Then he discovers he has a niece, an eight-year-old, who is the only family he has left. Suddenly, his life gets serious. He needs a steadier paycheck and a place to set down roots so he can do right by his dead sister’s little girl. Being recruited by the Montana Bounty Hunters: Dead Horse, MT, office perfectly fits the bill.
His “get serious” agenda soon finds him in the company of one of the town’s “good” women, Rhonda McAvoy, who owns the local liquor store. Sure, she’s pretty and seems interested, but what does he know about wooing a good woman who will certainly expect more than he knows how to give?
When her store is robbed, Chase swoops in to provide some much-needed security expertise and protection and soon discovers an addiction he never wants to kick. Sweet Rhonda is full of her own sexy surprises…
Rhonda McAvoy couldn’t help looking toward the entrance of the restaurant every few seconds. Laura had slyly told her that the newest hunter would be joining them for dinner. Sure, she’d seen him a time or two at the package store, but lately, her timing had been all off, and her sister Emily had been sure to rub it in that she’d served him at the counter. Not that he’d ever given any sign he might be interested in her, but Rhonda liked to look, and Chase Kudrow was the sexiest thing she’d seen around Dead Horse in a long, long time.
Yes, the bounty hunters were all blessed with good genes. Tall, well-muscled—with all their teeth—something she didn’t take for granted around this pokey little backwater town.
Plus, Chase had that extra…something. The bulge of his biceps gleamed in the sunlight. The MBH round target logo on the T-shirts he wore stretched into an oval over his broad chest.
He kept his dark hair shaved close to his scalp, and his face clean-shaven. The better to admire his luscious mouth. But it was his eyes that drew her in. His irises were like dark coffee, and his lids were heavy, which made him look as though he was perpetually aroused.
Or maybe that was just her own wishful thinking. It had been ages since Rhonda had taken a man to bed, and of late, Chase Kudrow had featured in many of her late-night fantasies.
“I’m so glad you could make it,” her best friend, Laura Pinchot, said. “It feels like ages—”
The moment he strode through the entrance, all sounds faded away. Her heart pounded hard in her chest, and there was a slight buzzing in her ears. Weird, really. But that was “The Chase Effect.”
His gaze roamed the room until locking on their table—and did his gaze hover a second on her before he tightened his mouth and walked their way?
Hello Delilah! Thank you for hosting me again. Glad to be back to talk about my new release, Love Furever. I’ve written three books in the Single Dads of Gaynor Beach series, and one day the authors were chatting about the lack of an animal shelter in Gaynor Beach. The chat exploded, and the next thing I knew, with the help of the architect of the original series, we’d created a spin-off series: Friends of Gaynor Beach Animal Rescue. Naturally, I signed up to write the first book. (And, naturally, I’ve got more to come…) Anyway, we all started searching the stock photo sites for pictures of cute guys and animals. I have to say that we had a lot of fun. In the end, I selected my photo. I knew I had my James. But I didn’t know his story.
One day, though, I had someone in my condo building bring me a box Amazon had left in the wrong place – I never would have found it. I was so surprised that I barely got to thank him. A good friend suggested leaving a note on the bulletin board – which I did. A week later I took it down, having no clue if my savior had read it or not.
But…that got me thinking. What if a guy posted on a board about needing help with his dog? That wasn’t precisely what happens with Colin and Chambord, but darn close. I don’t want to give away too much, but the name Chambord had to go, and…well, Colin and James had to fall in love.
This isn’t a fluffy read. But I put a lot of heart into telling the story, and I’m really hoping readers love it.
In honor of the new release, I’m happy to give away a $5 Amazon gift card. Just comment on what elements draw you into a story – blurb? Cover? The author? The series? What makes you take a chance on someone new? Drop your answer in the comments and if random selects you, I’ll give you the gift card. Thanks again, Delilah, for hosting me!
Love Furever
Colin
Being rejected by family hurt like hell, but I kept my head high, left my toxic relatives behind, and moved across the country to Gaynor Beach, CA. Luckily, I have great furry company. My French bulldog puppy, Widget, was dumped on me for not meeting my parents’ ridiculously high standards either, so we’re comforting each other. With a nice rental house and a new job, Widget and I were ready for a fresh start—until I got a devastating diagnosis. I can’t take care of Widget properly while trying to save my own life, and I expect a long, hard road. I’ll have to break both our hearts and put her up for adoption, for her sake. Right?
James
I’ve wanted a pet forever, but my family circumstances didn’t allow it. Now I’m away from my masses of relatives and on my own, and I’m ready to take on a furry companion. My friend, a guy who never says no to an animal in need, introduces me to Colin and his beautiful puppy Widget. I’m horrified Colin feels he needs to give her up just because he’s sick, but I’m happy to take Widget as a temporary foster. I’m also happy to offer support to the new guy in town who is so very alone during a time of crisis. Helping someone in need comes naturally to me. But what if that temporary help turns into me wanting a forever relationship?
This is a gay romance slow-burn novel about new beginnings, found family, unconditional love, and a puppy named Widget. This middle-angst story has a guaranteed happily ever after.
USA Today Bestselling author Gabbi Grey lives in beautiful British Columbia where her fur baby chin-poo keeps her safe from the nasty neighborhood squirrels. Working for the government by day, she spends her early mornings writing contemporary, gay, sweet, and dark erotic BDSM romances. While she firmly believes in happy endings, she also believes in making her characters suffer before finding their true love. She also writes m/f romances as Gabbi Black and Gabbi Powell.
As an additional thank-you for Delilah’s kindness in hosting this post on short notice, I’m offering a special drawing for anyone who comments here. You’ll also have the chance to win either a $5.00 Amazon gift card or (for U.S. residents only) a signed combined print edition of two of my books edited by none other than Delilah! Along with the books, I’ll include a swag bag filled with goodies, such as a crystal pen, stickers, bookmarks, charms, and surprises.
