UPDATE: The winner is…Elaine Howell!
*~*~*

I did a “10 Things That Make Me Smile” in May and enjoyed hunting for the right emojis so much that I had to do it again.

So, here’s a little list of 10 things that make me sigh with happiness (not frustration!), listed in no particular order.

• 🥞 Breakfast on the table.
• 🏊🏽‍♀️ Stepping into the pool for a swim.
• 💏 A goodnight kiss from the 8-year-old.
• 📚 The Happy-Ever-After for the story I’m reading.
• 🌼 Smelling flowers.
• 🌃 Finding constellations in the sky.
• 🐈 My cat purring in my lap.
• 🧹 The smell of a freshly mopped floor.
• 🍫 A small square of dark chocolate melting on my tongue.
• 📖 Reaching The End of my book!

You know what’s coming next! 😈

For a chance to win your choice of a download of any of my backlist of books, tell me five things that make you sigh!

UPDATE: The winner is…Mary McCoy!
*~*~*

©Diana Cosby 2022

The shore is an amazing place.  Wildlife is abundant and you never know what you’ll see as you walk through the marsh, or along the beach.

In addition to shorebirds running along the ocean-smoothed stones, early in the summer, birds are still migrating through, with some choosing to stay instead of continuing to fly north.

Early in the summer is also a time to see the newborn birds and wildlife.  In a few months, they’ll be off on their own.

One of my favorite birds at the shore is the tern.  They’re amazing to watch as they soar with the wind currents, hover above, then dive into the water.

An interesting bird to watch at the shore is the Laughing Gull.  It’s appropriately named as when you hear the gull call out, it sounds as if it’s laughing.

You never know where you’ll see wildlife.  At times they’re walking along open fields or along the shore, other times they’re hidden in the trees and brush.  Take care, and I hope you have a wonderful summer!

Contest

***ONE winner will be drawn from everyone who posts on my guest blog post about, ‘Nature at the Shore!’ on Delilah’s blog between 10 July 2022 – 17 July 2022 and will win a tote.

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/
Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/978803.Diana_Cosby
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Diana-Cosby/e/B003YJ1MR4/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1417447922&sr=8-1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Diana-Cosby-Romance-Author-150109024636/?ref=ts

UPDATE: The winner is…Courtney Kinder!
*~*~*

It’s Saturday, so of course, I have a puzzle for you! The picture you’ll reveal after solving the puzzle is my summertime ideal—where I’d love to be, what I’d love to be doing.

Solve the puzzle and share whether this is something you’d love as well or share what your ideal summer activity would be for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card! Have fun!

UPDATE: The winners are…Colleen, bn100, Debra Guyette, and ButtonsMom2003!
*~*~*

Check out the series here!

I’m working on finishing the next Montana Bounty Hunters: Dead Horse, MT, book now, so I thought I’d post a little reminder of the stories that precede Gabriel’s in case you haven’t read them yet!

Readers enjoy the interplay between my ex-military hunters, love the strong heroines, the action, the sexiness, the action-packed scenes. Oh, and the humor! If you haven’t given my bounty hunters a try, now’s the time!

For a chance to win your choice of one of the books in this series, tell me what you love to see in an action-packed story!

And don’t forget, Gabriel is coming July 26th! Preorder your copy here: Gabriel

I had a very busy day—none of it writing-related. I do have a bit of a life outside of writing. I’m a member of a local artists’ organization, and I’m getting more involved with the running of the organization. So, today, I attended a board meeting (I just joined it!). I have a list of To Do items from that meeting. Plus, tonight, I attended another art-related event, a planning meeting for the Arkadelphia Arts Festival which will be happening in September, and for which I will be participating again as an artist selling paintings! Woot!

So, no time for a fun post. Instead, I’ll leave you with a reminder of what contests are still open. Enter while you can!

1. Michal Scott: Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley — An Extraordinary Life In Her Own Words (Contest) — This ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. June into July (“Wish I was this cool” Puzzle-Contest — and More!) — Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Teabags, a metaphor for…? (Contest–2 Winners!) — Win a FREE book!
4. Happy International Kissing Day! (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is…bn100!
*~*~*

Don’t you just love these holidays you’ve never heard of? For me, they’re a chance to make darn near every day special!

So, today’s International Kissing Day! And yes, it’s really a thing! And it should be celebrated. I love all kinds of kisses. A quick buss on the cheek. A French kiss! Kissing a baby’s toes. Butterfly kisses! The 8-year-old’s favorite goodnight kiss was a butterfly kiss that made her giggle because it tickled. She’s outgrown them now, and I miss them.

Kissing can be an intimate sign of love or even an act of submission—think about kissing Don Corleone’s ring in the movie The Godfather. Or a sign of respect and reverence for Catholics kissing the pope’s papal ring—the Fisherman’s ring.

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me something about a kiss. Maybe describe the first time your loved one kissed you. Or tell me who you’ll kiss today to celebrate the holiday. Or, tell me your favorite movie kiss! 

UPDATE: The winners are…miki and Debra Guyette!
*~*~*

I’m supposed to be writing my next book, but all I can think about are teabags. Yes, teabags… (and not the nasty, sexy kind—mind out of the gutter, please!)…

I’m thinking of switching from coffee to tea for a couple of weeks to build up a stash of used teabags. Why? you might ask. Well, you can dry them, take them apart, discard the used tea leaves, then flatten the empty bags and use them to paint on. Why do that? I don’t know. I have tons of paper and canvases, but when I go to Pinterest, I fall down the teabag-rabbit-hole. Check this link out and see what I mean: teabag art.

Aren’t they just gorgeous?!

I’m sure this sudden obsession has nothing to do with teabags. Although I am going to start collecting them and will likely be painting on them soon. It’s really about the fact I should be writing. I have a book due very, very soon. With pre-orders! I can’t fail.

So, while I close out my Pinterest page that I’m quickly filling with examples of lovely, grungy teabag art, why don’t you think of ways to help me keep my mind focused on the work!

Give me some constructive or funny ideas for how I can keep my focus on the task at hand (the book)! Comment here and you’ll be entered to win a copy of a downloadable book of your choice from my backlist! I’ll pick two winners!