We all have dreams. Some are easier to achieve than others. Finding a new apartment. Getting a different job. Owning your own home. Moving to a warmer climate. Getting your degree. Becoming an author. Becoming a movie star. Becoming a millionaire.

Many of these things are completely within our control. Many are not. Life circumstances affect the resources available to us when we go for our dream.

I was raised by a father in a time when most dads were not the primary caregiver and the sole financial provider. This gave me a different perspective than that of friends who had two parents to share the responsibilities. We moved often which gave me the experiences of seeing the differences and similarities of regional towns and communities. We lived in the North, South, East and West. One of my most important and defining lessons learned is that not all families are blood-related.

As a writer, I am drawn to the characters whose life arc maybe wasn’t traditional (in truth, the white picket fence is not as common or as perfect as we think). Life is messy and hard, and fraught with challenges. It is also full of hope, joy, and passions.

I write romantic suspense. Not world-saving drama like James Bond or Mission Impossible, but certainly world-altering for my characters. Characters who have been challenged by day-to-day existence and find a partner willing to share the journey when perhaps they’d given up hope. Characters who are not defined by where they came from but by the principles they hold as true. Everything isn’t always easy and there is often a price to be paid and dangers to be overcome.

I believe that you should never give up! It is never too late to go for your dream. I spent many years learning and practicing my craft while working, raising a family, and caring for others. Dreams can come true when we’re willing to work for them and keep believing. Don’t give up.

A Better Man, my upcoming release due out early April is the story of JackDaniels Vaughn a man who started his life on the wrong side of the tracks and Breezy Richards who was disowned by her family for not living up to their standards. When a stalker threatens Breezy’s life she’s forced to trust someone else. Falling in love may be the complication that costs them both their lives.

This will be my fifth book in the Aspen Gold Series. Although all books in the series are standalone you might also enjoy my others as friends tend to stop in for a visit.

A Better Man

About the Author

Romantic Suspense Writer, Never Give Up-er, First Wives Club-er, Lifelong Dream Achiever & Mom

Bernadette Jones writes romantic suspense and mystery novels. Her books are filled with strong heroes and heroines who are looking for an equal partner in their search for answers, justice and love. The love is everlasting, the romance steamy and the suspense will keep you on the edge of your seat. With a personal belief in the power of the chosen family her characters are bound to their circle of friends regardless of the cost or danger and most often a book of their own!

After a career in corporate writing and living all over the country, she’s decided to settle down and put pen to paper doing what she loves. Living the dream in her NYC apartment with her canine companion, she’s bringing her stories and characters to life.

If you’re interested in learning more and being the first to hear about new releases, visit her website at BernadetteJones.com.

Getting the word out to new readers is difficult in the indie market. One of the best places for you and other readers to keep up with new releases is to follow me on BookBub, a reader’s site for new books. I would greatly appreciate it if you would follow me and if you enjoy my books leave a review (it doesn’t have to be long). https://www.bookbub.com/profile/bernadette-jones

Please sign up for my newsletter to keep up with contests, ARC requests and much more! https://www.bernadettejones.com/newsletters

Many, many thanks to Delilah Devlin for all she does to help other authors!

UPDATE: The winner is…Jennifer Beyer!
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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.

Now, I’d like you to tell me a story based on what you see on the cubes. Do any of these symbols tell you anything? You can pick some or use all of them.

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

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

Some of y’all might have seen this yesterday on Facebook, Instagram, and in my newsletter!

Happy Valentine’s Day! As a small token of my appreciation to you, my readers, I’m giving away copies of my short story, “Hunk of Burning Love” for a very short time, so get your copy now!

A woman accidentally sets her kitchen on fire while trying to catch the eye of a Texas firefighter…

“Hunk of Burning Love” is a short story in my Cowboys on the Edge series!
Please share this giveaway with your friends!

Get your FREE copy here!

Happy Reading! ~DD

UPDATE: The winner is…Mary McCoy!
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©Diana Cosby 2022

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, I thought it’d be fun to share that birds and animals love Liam MacGruder.  When I first placed Liam outside, I was surprised at how the birds and animals enjoyed visiting him.

When birds fly in, they enjoy sitting with Liam, and I often hear them chirping to him.

The woodpeckers love visiting Liam, and during the spring as their chicks learn to fly, they introduce them to Liam.

I was surprised at how often Ravens stop by to see Liam.  Grackles and Starlings enjoy spending time with Liam as well.

The hawks seem curious about Liam and will sit and watch him for a while before flying away.

Another surprise was when a butterfly flew in and stayed with Liam a for quite a while.  In addition to Bluebirds and Carolina Wrens, at night I’ve seen raccoons and a possum visit Liam.  Plus, a myriad of different birds spend time with Liam throughout the year.  Though I love Liam MacGruder, it seems birds and animals love him as well.  Take care and wishing you the best!

Contest

***ONE winner will be drawn from everyone who posts on my guest blog post about, ‘Valentine’s Day – Birds & Animal’s Love Liam MacGruder!’ on Delilah’s blog between 13^th February 2022 – 23^rd of February 2022 and will win a mug.”

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.

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…Rita!
*~*~*

It’s Saturday! I’m late posting because, well, I goofed off this morning. I’m allowed to do that once in a while, right? 🙂

Here’s the challenge!

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle then tell me what she’s walking toward! Have fun!

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🏍‿➹⁀☠️‿➹⁀🏍🏍‿➹⁀☠️‿➹⁀🏍

Arrow (Tattered Souls MC: Book 2)
By Kennedi Darling
Now Available on Amazon & FREE on Kindle Unlimited
mybook.to/ArrowTSMC

🏍‿➹⁀☠️‿➹⁀🏍🏍‿➹⁀☠️‿➹⁀🏍

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On the outside looking in, Arrow seems like your typical MC President. He’s a broody asshole with a short temper, always has a permanent scowl, growls orders at everyone under his command, and doesn’t take shit from anyone. As a former marine that was groomed to take over the presidency from his father, he was born for this life. With the tattoos that cover his skin and his ever-present don’t give a fuck attitude, people respect him and do what he says the first time. Every time.

That was all true until a feisty raven-haired vixen walks into his bar, sits on his designated stool, and turns his world upside down.

Excerpt: Arrow (Tattered Souls MC: Book 2)  © 2022 Kennedi Darling

“Figured you’d run off by now,” I smirked as I walked back out to the bar, the raven-haired beauty not so subtly, tracked my every move, licking her lips. I didn’t miss the way a flush grew on her chest and her hand stopped with her glass halfway to her mouth. I winked when she knew I’d caught her gawking.

“And miss the rest of the show?” she said with a laugh, gesturing to the now empty bar. “Besides, I hadn’t finished my drink. After the day I had, I wasn’t letting it go to waste.”

“Pfft,” I snorted. Gesturing to her drink I asked, “What’s your poison?”

“Tequila. Ca—”

Wrapping my fingers around hers, I tipped her glass toward me and finished the last of her drink. Bold? Hell yes, but she didn’t hide the way she eyed my lips or the way she was breathing harder.

“Casa Noble, you’ve got good taste.” She and Bash favored the same brand. That was a good sign.

Refilling her glass, and pouring a whiskey for myself, I moved around the bar, set the glasses down, and pressed myself into her personal space, caging in her back, but giving her enough time to tell me to back off if I were out of line. When she sucked in a breath, I smirked and leaned in to nip the edge of her ear. A shock of something passed through me when I touched her, like the live end of a wire, spreading heat throughout my entire body.

“You’re in my seat, beautiful,” I rumbled, nuzzling the side of her neck.

“T-thought this was a free country,” she huffed, a shudder working its way down her body when my breath ghosted over her.

“End-of-the-bar seats are reserved for dirty old men, not sexy as fuck women.”

“Is that what you are? A dirty old man? You don’t look old,” her sultry voice made my balls tingle. My cock twitched within the confines of my jeans, and I silently groaned. This woman could be trouble with a capital T.

Arrow

Calista:

Living fast-paced days of endless work and finding pleasure in one-night stands was how I enjoyed my life. At twenty-eight, my career as a psychiatrist was fulfilling, and I had too much to accomplish to allow myself to be distracted by foolish things like relationships and love. But the night I walked into his bar threatened to break my resolve.

He was everything I shouldn’t want and everything I secretly craved. The most potent addiction I couldn’t get enough of, no matter how hard I tried.

Arrow:

As President of the Tattered Souls MC, life had a way of speeding by.

Forty had crept up on my door, and between the military and my club, I’d never expended the energy it took to find my queen. Until the night she came into my bar. Gorgeous, feisty, and smart as a whip, she didn’t let me get away with anything. Despite her determination to keep me at arm’s length, I was a man used to getting what I wanted.

So, when fate intervened, it was my chance to make her mine. Now, I had to find a way to keep her safe from the dangers that haunted us both long enough to claim her as my own.

**Arrow is the second book in the Tattered Souls MC. It features an Age Gap, a heroine with a disdain for bikers, and a hero who will do everything it takes to change her mind.

This story includes a HEA, no cliffhangers, and no cheating. It is recommended that the series be read in order as there are continuing elements that follow the club from book to book, however, each couples’ story is completed within the pages of its own book.

Adult Content Warning: This book contains explicit language, sexual scenes, and violence.

In December, this Southern girl packed a 26-foot rental truck with all my worldly possessions, hooked up a car trailer, and left Alabama, my grown children, friends, job (and oh yes, my ex-husband) and pointed the car/truck contraption to a destination 1,300 miles west. To a new life and a new adventure—the physical journey known! The life journey and ultimate outcome, not so much. As I was climbing out of my car through the window, fielding questions from my midnight, dog-walking neighbor inquiring if I was moving, I looked down at my “Follow your Dreams” T-shirt and for one last time questioned my decision to move west. That’s another story. Let’s just say reading is a valuable skill and the importance of reading instructions, even on your T-shirt, is underappreciated. 

My dog and I left the sultry south for the wild west. We successfully managed to drive and admire the American landscape for that 1,300 miles in the largest, longest vehicle I have ever driven. No one was maimed, no gas pumps blown up, and I didn’t get lost. We even managed to navigate the Dallas traffic without incident. I felt on top of the world. I could do anything. I was invincible. 

My string of good fortune continued. The universe had more than just smiled on me. I had the best friends that sheltered me as I settled in and played find-a-house in a hotter than hot market. They fed me local favorites, served me champagne from the local winery, and showed me around town. I fell in love with my new home state of New Mexico. As a curly-haired Southern girl, frizzy hair has been the bane of my existence. No one ever told me about the miracles of the moisture-less air out here. “Come to New Mexico for amazing hair” should be the state motto. The hiking, the Hatch green chilis, the many bounties of this state are extra. 

Until the snow. 

It all started last week. The weather forecasters were in a fever pitch. The Super Bowl of weather was coming. They got major airtime. It was going to be cold. The conditions were perfect for accumulation. I lived in the city. I was a veteran of hurricanes. I had boots, gloves, and a long down jacket. I was invincible, have I mentioned that? Winter watches were posted for days. I was excited for snow. It was supposed to start after midnight. I waited up. At midnight, I threw open the doors, the artic blast created instant goosebumps, and the dog and I plunged into the darkness. We gazed up. Nothing. Not even the spectacular universe of stars was present. No precipitation from the sky. Deflated and shivering, I headed to bed. 

My alarm roused me from dreams of a winter wonderland. I bounded out of bed, tossing the comforter and three blankets to the floor and threw open the drapes. Nothing. I trudged to the kitchen, started the coffee, and let the dog out. Wait. There was something falling from the sky. It wasn’t perfectly formed works of art. It was more like ugly little ice shards. The weather people lied. Where was my first snow? The fluffy, pristine white miracles of Mother Nature that made you want to curl up by the fire with a hot drink and hotter book? Ice. Hmm. That possibility never entered my mind. How do you drive in that? Luckily, there was nothing on the streets. My commute to my new job—oh, another story—was without incident. The feeling of being robbed of a milestone event lingered as did the sleet. 

Throughout the morning I wandered past the windows, assessing the weather situation. People started leaving around noon. As the parking lot emptied, I noticed there was ice. I heard a passing comment of “Got to get the ice scraper out”. That got me thinking and wondering, “What’s an ice scraper?” and “Why isn’t there a winter storm prepared checklist?” Just then my email dinged with a note from the Safety department. I was supposed to wear my boots to the office then change into regular shoes. Note to self as I looked down at my winter boots. I did not dare venture out for lunch. What was I thinking? Did I not follow that thought through – like I wouldn’t have to drive home? I hunkered down in my jacket and boots working at my desk, apprehension growing. 

My trips past the windows grew in frequency. It was bleak outside. The wind was blowing great gusts of ice, and dare I call it snow, around the lot and building. Where was the picturesque, magical snow? Where were my co-workers’ cars? How do you drive in ice? Visions of news stories from the great Birmingham ice storm flooded my mind. By three, my excitement for snow was completely extinguished and fear of the commute home made work impossible just as the Director of Safety walked past. She noticed me. “What are you still doing here? Haven’t you seen the roads?” I explained that I was new and this was my first winter storm in town. She stopped and gave me a quick overview of winter driving: go slow especially around corners, leave lots of room between cars, and don’t brake when you slide. And I thought driving cross country in a pseudo tractor trailer was daunting! 

I made it the 1.7 uphill miles to my house, again without incident. The invincibility feeling was not coursing through my blood like previously. I was cold, hunkered down in my house looking out wistfully, grateful to be home safe. The pantry was not stocked with hearty foods. Spring mix lettuce ruled the fridge along with a nice bottle of Gruner Veltliner. Apparently, I was still a shopping southern girl. Night fell on the confused Southern girl with the meteorologists still predicting snow. 

The alarm roused me the next morning well before sunrise. I headed to the kitchen for coffee. I didn’t need to turn on the light to see. The moonlight was reflecting off the most exquisite pale powder in my back yard. I ran for my boots and bathrobe. The dog danced at the door. Warm coffee in hand, I opened the door. I didn’t notice the steam coming off my drink or the frigid air blasting. The stars sparkled. It was blissfully still and quiet. Mother Nature had pulled out all the stops. It was all I had imagined. The dog raced through the accumulation like a puppy, barking. Flurries were still falling. It was breathtaking (not just from the temperature). I tossed my head back, twirled, stuck my tongue out to catch snowflakes, and laughed. I threw a snowball at my dog, missed! And, OMG, just missed an attractive, bathrobe clad man, who was peering over the wall at us. I pulled my bathrobe back tight and looked again. No neighbor. My dog didn’t bark. Was there a man or not? The bathrobe had been identical to mine, also loosely tied. I tiptoed over and peeked over the divider. There were definitely tracks, but no handsome man?!? No way I could have imagined that? Could I?

Work had been postponed by several hours. I had a free morning. I turned on the gas fireplace, snuggled into my favorite chair with a steamy novel, and mused about my experience as I finished my second cup of coffee. Yes, there had been a neighbor. No, not possible. But the tracks. Yes. He had been there. I think. 

For the first time, the girl felt like a Western girl, the journey wonderfully unpredictable with endless possibilities. 

I hope the winter storms that have been ravaging the country find you safe, warm, and reading your favorite authors. I had the most fortunate opportunity to contribute to Passionate Ink’s Falling Hard charity anthology. It’s a collection of seven erotic short stories that benefit Proliteracy.  

Check it out if you are looking to discover new authors and stories ranging from historical to paranormal to contemporary. It’s available at Amazon and Kindle Unlimited. Also take a moment to learn about the wonderful work of www.Proliteracy.org. 

What are you reading and how are you coping with the winter weather? I would love to hear from you.  

Thank you to Delilah Devlin for letting me post on her site and reach her fantastic readers. 

XoXo
Candy 

About the Author

Candice LaBria is a writer of erotic romance short stories and a member of Passionate Ink. She is on Facebook facebook.com/CandiceLaBria, and Instagram and Twitter @Bria_Writes. Her website is www.CandiceLabria.com.

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Girl in Snow photo credit
Photo by Brooke Lewis from Pexels