UPDATE: The winner is…Debra Guyette!
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UPDATE: The winner is…Charlene Lowe!
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Hey, word-puzzle enthusiasts, are you ready for another word search?

This week’s theme is favorite romance subgenres. I think I’ve written something in every subgenre listed here, except sports. I love to read in every one of them though. And no, I don’t have everything listed. I can see a glaring omission—science fiction (one of my favorites to write!). But I did have to keep it to ten answers, so…

Solve the puzzle then tell me your favorite subgenres for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is…flchen1!
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Yes, it’s a thing! (I’m always saying that when I find these weird holidays! 🙂 ) It is indeed International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

So, naturally, I’m running a contest. To enter, all you have to do is give me a sentence of “pirate talk” and you’ll be entered to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

Have fun!

And if you feel like really getting into the piratey mood, I have a book (of course, I have a book!)…

Check it out here!

UPDATE: The winners are…Jen Todd and Katherine Anderson!
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In a realm where deadly creatures lurk, there’s a town that functions as a haven for all species. Magic enchantments cast by the witch’s council protect its borders, and hellhounds police the streets.

Mortals can co-exist and even breed with vampires, demons, werewolves and witches. You can stop by The Gilded Scroll and chat with the elvish bookshop owner, or visit Tina’s Treats for the realm’s tastiest desserts, or even pick up a love potion at The Broomstick.

But be wary of the magical fountain in the center of town.

Severn the siren lives there with her many daughters. Legend has it she seduced a witch while out at sea and convinced him to build her a home in the heart of Clayridge. Fed up with the dangers in the wild, she tricked him into creating a fountain in the safest place in the realm.

Large gates warn you not to enter. Pity, since its beauty shouldn’t be missed.

Cobblestones surround it, and a gorgeous carved stone balustrade encircles it. Inside, its waters are deep. Aside from the sirens, no aquatic creature exists there. Their home consists of glass, gold, and rock. Above the water, it looks a bit like a mountain, with some sandy surfaces and rock faces for the sirens to sunbathe on. But like an iceberg, the bulk of it sits, suspended below the surface.

Hive-like, their rooms face outward, providing them with lovely views of clear blue water, and deep within the fountain are the common rooms. Places where they gather when the weather is poor, or to eat or shop.

Vendors from across Clayridge travel to the fountain to exploit the sirens’ controversial wealth. Market days are very busy in the fountain, as sirens like expensive material items and fancy new electronic devices. They’re driven by base pleasures, and if they have the coin, why shouldn’t they indulge?

You can spend a night with one of these seductresses if you have enough money or attend one of their parties. Or attend a party held in their home, though beware, you’re likely to bump into a vampire or demon. Riffraff are commonplace in the fountain, and gossip is nearly currency.

If you’re willing to take a risk and have little to lose, a trip to the fountain is a perfect stress reliever, as Ezra is about to discover. Too bad he has more to lose than he realizes…

*~*~*

Dear reader,

I have two new releases this fall. The Siren and the Water Witch releases today (YAY!), and Drew releases on October 1. The former is a fantasy short story that is part of the Clayridge Chronicles ongoing series, and the latter is a paranormal romance wolf shifter novella.

Below are the blurbs for each story. Comment and tell me which of the two stories you are more interested in reading, and I’ll select two winners and provide them with an ebook copy of their preferred story.

 The Siren and the Water Witch

Ezra is about to discover just how much one night of pleasure is really worth.

Star athlete and academic wizkid, Ezra Graves, is acing his classes at the Barrett Academy, all except botany. After scoring a passing grade on the midterm, Ezra considers ways to celebrate, and nothing sounds more appealing than a trip to the Clayridge fountain to indulge in the forbidden with a siren.

Ezra doesn’t need to vie hard for female attention as the Academy’s golden pupil, but he’s dying to shed his good boy image and taste the forbidden. Visiting the fountain could damage his reputation and academic career—even get him kicked out of the Academy. More could be at stake, as he receives a gentle reminder that half-blood witches have been disappearing lately. Being away from the protection of the school grounds—particularly at night—could prove deadly.

Armed with enough gold coins to pay for a night with one of the fishy seductresses, Ezra ignores his better judgment and heads for the fountain. But little does he know something dangerous is lurking in the shadows, with Ezra’s name and the promise of a significant paycheck if the witch can be caught and delivered to the notorious vampire, Nixon Castor.

Order your copy today!
Read the excerpt here: https://www.cameronallie.com/siren-water-witch/

Drew

Her scent changed everything.

Alyssa Mayer’s scent is intriguing. It’s sweet, sensual and ignites Drew’s blood like nothing before. His body burns for her, his mind is occupied with thoughts of her, meaning only one thing. She’s his fated mate.

The problem? He doesn’t recognize her from a local pack, nor any pack he’s ever smelled before. Is she human? She is his fated mate, but if she’s human will he dare to break the species barrier? It wouldn’t be the first time a wolf shifter mated with a human, but such a bonding brings its own mess of troubles, and that’s before considering a neighbouring alpha wants Drew to agree to an arranged mating.

After spending her youth drifting from one foster home to the next and spending her adolescent and adult life homeless and alone, Alyssa wonders how long she’ll be able to stay in the small town. She can’t risk anyone discovering her secret. All she wants to do is paint and find a forever home, but as an oddity, a freak of nature, she knows that can never be, no matter how much she’d like to stay.

When she meets Drew, her instinct tells her to run, but for the first time she might just have a reason to stay, despite pack pressures and hidden foes are threaten to keep them apart.

Read the excerpt here: https://www.cameronallie.com/pack-trouble-series/

UPDATE: The winner is…ButtonsMom!
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Leave a comment for a chance to win a code for an App download.

The latest thing to hit the reading world is Apps, where you can buy and read books in bite-size pieces. Twelve hundred to fifteen hundred words at a bite. And why is this good? Because if you are waiting in line for food, or riding in an Uber, or even on a bus, sometimes a whole chapter is too much, and you have to shut down before you finish. Bummer!

There are Apps for all purposes: entertainment, research, and education, all in bite-size chunks that make it quick and easy to absorb.

Also, you can quickly adjust the fonts and size of the book’s text which makes reading easier and more convenient. And when people can comfortably adjust these things, they end up reading more often and therefore read more books.

For those of us that have always associated reading with school and textbooks, reading books on tablets and our phones can actually be pretty fun nowadays. Perhaps it is still rather difficult to believe but that’s the truth—your perception is playing tricks on you. While one of the greatest advantages of reading on a mobile device is the convenience of having a huge portable library, there are many more features that the reading app and their counterparts bring to the table that can make your reading experience fun.

Probably the number one reason people love their reading apps is convenience. They are able to carry their entire library on one lightweight smartphone or tablet. This is especially appreciated by those who live in small spaces or who just don’t have room for one more bookcase and have a sky-high pile of books. How about travelers? A reading app saves on valuable suitcase space and is lightweight and easy to tote around. It also solves the problem that many readers run into. Have you ever chosen a selection of books to take with you on vacation only to find when you get there you’ve lost interest in all of them? With a reading app you can simply choose another. Some will even let you download books from other sources.

Another reason is accessibility. If you have vision or hearing difficulties, the ability to change and increase font size or have your book read to you can make reading a pleasure again. Book reading apps are accessible on almost any device, making them invaluable to those with other health problems that make reading hardcover books painful to impossible. While almost all book reading apps allow you to adjust the font, not all offer the text to speech function and on those who do, not all books are text to speech enabled. Depending on the publisher, you will find that they may have chosen to refuse to allow their books to be enabled. Still, there are still a wide variety of book reading apps available to suit your personal needs.

And finally, book readings apps are inexpensive if not already free for your device with access to many e-books that are cheaper than their paper equivalents. In addition, there are a plethora of free books available. One of the real joys of using a book reading app is discovering new authors through these free book offerings. Using book reading apps is also a green practice, saving paper and as a result, trees.

I have jumped into it with both feet. Several of my books can be found on apps like Kiss, Webnovel, Magatoon, AnyStories, iReader, Kindle Vella, NovelCat and others. This is a good and inexpensive way to try my books. Just click on the link below from my web page, go forth and search. Remember, just pennies can bring you hours of enjoyment.

https://desireeholt.com/reading-apps/

About the Author

USA Today best-selling and award-winning author Desiree Holt writes everything from romantic suspense and paranormal to erotic. and has been referred to by USA Today as the Nora Roberts of erotic romance, and is a winner of the EPIC E-Book Award, the Holt Medallion and a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice nominee. She has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning and in The Village Voice, The Daily Beast, USA Today, The (London) Daily Mail, The New Delhi Times and numerous other national and international publications.

UPDATE: The winner is…bn100!
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I bought this little brainstorming tool years ago at some writers’ conference. “Story Cubes” is a brainstorming game. You roll the dice and whatever pictures appear, face-up, are the ones you use to riff off a story.

To make this fun, I’ll offer a prize—a $5 Amazon gift card—good for purchasing one or two stories…

Have fun with this! Don’t overthink! Here’s the roll… 

UPDATE: The winner is…Anna!
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©Diana Cosby 2022

One thing I discovered since I began taking wildlife photos is that birds have a variety of expressions.  My favorite expression to catch a photo of is their ‘Angry’ look, so I thought I’d share a few of my favorite ‘Mad Bird’ photos.

I always thought Bluebirds were so sweet, but after watching them, I’ve learned they’re very territorial.

Red-Tailed Hawks are intelligent hunters, so I wasn’t surprised to see their intimidating stare.

It’s always wonderful to see eagles, they’re such majestic birds, and they have a fierce look.

I was impressed by the ferocious expressions of the starlings, made more so when they’re trying to keep other birds away from their food.

After taking many bird photos, I think the best ‘Mad Bird’ expressions are from grackles as their fierce look is so intense.  Take care, and I wish you the best.

Contest

***ONE winner will be drawn from everyone who posts on my guest blog post about, ‘Who Knew Birds Had Expressions – Mad Birds!’ on Delilah’s blog between 11 September 2022 – 18 September 2022, and will win a signed copy of His Woman.”

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 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.

God bless,

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

Social Media
Website:  https://www.dianacosby.com/
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