I was lazy yesterday and didn’t post my Saturday puzzle. So, today’s post includes the puzzle-contest at the end of this message! Be sure to scroll down if you want to play!
Report Card
Last week…
I worked on edits for one author.
I published the Delta Heat books in online stores other than Amazon (went wide!).
I slept—a lot, again. I’m still on the mend from the latest chemo round. (I have a scan coming in early November to see whether my cancer is diminishing.)
This next week…
I’ll be working on edits for possibly three authors this week and will finish it by the weekend. I’ll be busy, busy, busy!
I’ll try working/editing the pages I’ve already written for Ignition and, hopefully, finishing a new chapter.
I’ll be working on revisions of The Demon Lord’s Cloak, which releases November 12th. Have you pre-ordered your copy?Â
I’ll be deciding whether I’ll participate in NaNoWriMo this year. It’s a “write 50,000 words in November” challenge. It is probably/definitely more than I can commit to, but I so want to get back to writing…
Open Contests
Be sure to check out these posts and enter to win the prizes that are still up for grabs!
I am beyond excited for this series to begin! I just finished watching the trailer and thought I’d share it with you!
For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle then let me know if this show excites your interest! Or let me know what new upcoming series you’re dying to see!
‘Tis the season and all. No, not that season. However, Halloween is drawing closer, and I know there are romantic tales to tell.
For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, study the picture above then tell me a story about this couple. The story doesn’t have to be long or even any good. Just have fun with it!
Tagged: halloween, holiday Posted in Contests!|7 People Said|Link
Last 5 people who had something to say: Kimberley - BN - Mary Preston - Kerry Pruett - Jennifer Beyer -
Hello Delilah! Thank you for inviting me today to discuss the release of my new novel! Sleigh Bells and Second Chances is a book close to my heart. It’s the third big book in my Love in Mission City series. The first two, Ginger Snapping All the Way and Stanley’s Christmas Redemption, were published in 2021 and 2022, respectively. I’ve written a series of novellas and short stories in the interim (and book 2.5, The Beauty of the Beast). I’ve been waiting for the right story to come along and knock me out of my complacency about the series (although I’ve published more than half a dozen full-length novels in other series in the interim—I’ve been busy!).
One night, as I was drifting off to sleep, I had an image of a man coming back from Ukraine. He was Canadian. Although he’d been fighting as a combatant, he wasn’t recognized by the Canadian government. NATO has chosen to stay out of the war in Ukraine. Instead, we’ve provided material support and troop training to Ukraine, but we haven’t stepped into the fray of the war caused by Russia’s illegal invasion into a sovereign nation. No one wants World War Three. On the other hand, many Canadians sit and watch the war and are horrified by what is happening to our close democracy-loving friends. Canada has one of the largest ex-pat groups of Ukrainians in the world. Growing up, my best friend came from a family of Ukrainian immigrants. Most Canadians are empathetic.
Okay, so that’s the background. Ryan went to fight in a war where he had no business being. Plus, he’d been an overweight gamer who lived in his rich father’s basement. Aside from a degree in computer science weighted heavily in coding, he had no real-world experience. Something about a democracy being invaded by another country hit him hard, though. Knocked him right out of his complacency. So, he went to Ukraine.
He fought hard for two years with cyber security work and, eventually, as a drone operator. He was wounded, lost a bunch of his friends, came back to Canada, and has been recovering ever since. I envisioned him at the therapy ranch I’ve created, which has featured prominently in many of my stories—including all three previous big books in this series.
I woke up in the morning with my wonky note in my Messenger feed with a friend. Great! Ryan was nearly fully formed. But…no clue who would be the man he’d fall in love with.
Enter Plot Whisperer. We’d plotted a large number of short stories and novellas, and she was thrilled to be presented with the opportunity to work on a plot for a novel. This time, I took the dogs for a walk and she…did her magic. By the time my dogs were cared for and I was in my pajamas, she had a story for me. And man, was it a good one.
Still, I sat on the story for a long time, working things out in my mind. Writing other books. Popping out short stories for anthologies. Then…I was ready. I polished up a blurb, put the book up for pre-order, and then wrote a bunch of other stuff including an LGBTQ YA that I’ll be back in the New Year to share with you. Eventually, I wrote Sleigh Bells. Only I cut the timing super close. My editor wasn’t thrilled with me, but she pulled a rabbit out of her hat. My beta reader pushed hard. My narrator waited patiently. Now the book is published and the audio is on pre-order. I’m hoping readers love ex-soldier Ryan and shy, stuttering handyman Simeon as much as I do. This is my longest book at nearly 100k words. It’s, I think, one of my most emotional books. At times, proofing the audio, I might’ve teared up. It’s a love story, though, so guaranteed happy ending.
Okay, so that’s my story with this book. As a thank you for having read that narrative. I’d like to offer up a prize. I’ll happily give, to one lucky commenter, a copy of all three of my books so far in the series (Ginger Snapping All the Way, Stanley’s Christmas Redemption, and The Beauty of the Beast). Just let me know your favorite Christmas romance – be it book, movie, or television episode. One winner will be chosen by random. Good luck and thanks Delilah!
Sleigh Bells and Second Chances
Feeling worthy of love is sometimes the hardest battle.
Ryan
The moment I landed in that war zone, I knew I’d made a big mistake. I wasn’t a soldier, and my good intentions almost got me killed. Being wounded and shipped back home to Canada was both a blessing and a curse. I’m safe now, but I can’t stop thinking of the men I left behind. My therapist claims Healing Horses Ranch will help heal my wounds—physical and mental—but I’m not sure how much tranquility and wholesome fresh air I can take. But then I meet a beautiful, shy man who makes moving forward seem almost possible. Can I let go of the past and reach for a future with Simeon?
Simeon
I’ve made peace with being different from the folks around me. I love my home in Mission City, and if anyone needs something fixed, I’m the guy they call. When the owner of the therapy ranch hires me for a big project, I’m excited to get started. I always work alone, but one of the patients keeps hanging around, and I can’t bear to send him on his way. I can see how much he’s hurting. If helping me helps him, that’s a win for us both. As we share the work, something about that wounded man draws me deeper and deeper in. I’m no therapist, and I have my own issues, so am I a fool to be thinking about a future with a guy who’s likely to leave once he’s healed?
Note: Sleigh Bells and Second Chances is a slow-burn, age-gap, hurt/comfort, mid-angst, gay romance novel with a shy handyman, a reckless former gamer, a precocious borrowed kid, and a therapy dog named Tiffany.
About the Author
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.
Ready for a puzzle? Let’s exercise that gray matter! I thought it might be fun to remind you there’s a series out there (if you haven’t already read it) for you to binge—the original Montana Bounty Hunters! I wrote a character in a book for Elle James’s Brotherhood Protectors series with a heroine who was a bounty hunter, and I loved writing it so much, and loved her bounty hunting partner Reaper so much, I wrote an entire series. It happens that way sometimes. 🙂
Solve the puzzle, then for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me whether you’ve read any of the original stories, and if you have, which was your favorite? Â
I had my chemo on Monday with all the usual symptoms that followed—nausea, body aches, fatigue, and insomnia. As of today, I’m getting back to normal.
I worked on edits for one author.
I slept—a lot.
This next week…
Tomorrow, I’ll get a white cell booster shot and have a blood draw. At some point soon, my oncologist is going to order up some more scans to see how the treatment is working.
I’m still working on edits for one author and will finish it by the weekend. Then I’ll start the next set.
I’ll try working/editing on of the pages I’ve already written for Ignition, just to keep the story in my head so at some point I can commit to writing new pages.
I have the last Delta Heat stories to take wide, meaning, to upload to sites other than KU.
Yes, my plan is very unambitious, but that’s okay.
Open Contests
Be sure to check out these posts and enter to win the prizes that are still up for grabs!
Halloween is always a fun time of year for our family. It’s the kickoff to the holiday season—Halloween, Thanksgiving, St. Nicklaus Day, Christmas, New Year’s Eve… We celebrate them all because we love excuses for celebrating.
For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, and then offer suggestions in the comments for Halloween movies or activities that would be fun for the family!
Yesterday was Chemo Day—the third round. It’s funny; I almost looked forward to it—or at least I wasn’t filled with dread or fear. I know it’s the beginning of a miserable week, but I don’t even dread that. Not yet. I’ll probably rethink it on Wednesday or Thursday when the deep muscle and joint aches begin—but I have some good drugs to help with that. 🙂
Anyway, I came home from chemo, which ended at 3 PM, and headed straight to bed. Other than getting up for dinner or walks to the bathroom, I slept all the way until 3 AM this morning, and I’ve been up since, on a roll. I puttered picking up things, and even dusted my desktop (a huge chore given all the crap I have on the surface).
Then, I turned my attention to what to do with my blog today—since I def feel up to it.
I love quirky, obscure holidays, and today is an important obscure one. It’s Ada Lovelace Day!
Who is Ada? From the website Time and Date: “Ada Lovelace was an English mathematician who worked with Charles Babbage on his calculating engine, called the Analytical Engine. Her plan to calculate Bernoulli numbers using the engine is now widely considered as the world’s first computer program. In 1980, the United States Department of Defense created a programming language and named it Ada in honor of Ada Lovelace’s contribution to the world of computing.”
I remember when the ADA programming language was a thing back in the day. I remember, too, the state of computers back when I was new to the Army. In fact, during my summer ROTC training before I graduated from college, I was selected to be part of a team that went to an Army base to evaluate an exercise the active duty units there were undergoing. Our job was to shadow and assist the active Army observers. We were the ones entrusted to gather their observations and put them together into a single, extensive report. We were given access to a computer to write up the report—beginning after duty hours so we didn’t disrupt the people who worked there during the day. I was assigned the job of typing up all those reports, editing, then printing out the report (my first editing job, y’all). The computer sent the book to a printer that spit out hundreds of punch cards that looked like the picture above. The others had to take that stack and walk it to another device that read the cards then produced the written report. All those cards had to be kept in order so two people carried it, one holding the cards from the ends and the other supporting it so it didn’t fall to the floor. If you had one card out of order, you had to reprint the entire thing. If they (the active duty folks) decided to make changes to the report you had to repeat the entire process again.
Still, I thought how cool was it that we were able to type up a report, making changes along the way, and we didn’t have to retype the entire thing. It did save labor on that end. LOL
A few years later, I was assigned to work on the general’s staff at Fort Gordon (now, Fort Eisenhower), Georgia and we actually had an internal email system that connected the staff to all the heads of different organizations on the post. So much progress in so few years. Shortly after that, I bought my first computer, a Radio Shack TRS-80, and I was the first on my block to own a personal computer. I had to learn a smattering of code to work it, but that was just part of the adventure!
Today? We all take for granted the innovations. Back then, we felt like we would soon be living in the Jetson’s future.
Anyway, sorry for the long post. Have fun with the puzzle. Solve the puzzle then tell me about any computer innovation that amazed you for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!
