Under Strain, the second standalone romance in my Rebel Cyborgs series, is set on Rohini 9, a dinosaur planet. The main predators on Rohini 9 are theropods, velociraptor-like dinosaurs. They’re intelligent, deadly hunters, and the arriving cyborg warriors have fun dealing with them.

I LOVE dinosaurs. As a kid, I had dinosaur toys and I read every book I could find on them. I’ve been on touristy dinosaur digs. I am glued to the TV whenever any of the Jurassic Park/World movies are shown. Once there’s a dinosaur featured, I’m captured.

My favorite dinosaur, when I was young, was the Brontosaurus. I was fascinated by their size and I always viewed them, even before watching Jurassic Park, as gentle giants. Riding a Brontosaurus was a childhood goal.

If that goal is ever achieved, something has gone terribly wrong in the space-time continuum. And there are no Brontosauruses mentioned in Under Strain but there ARE some awesome dinosaur riding scenes.

The velociraptors in the Jurassic Park world, however, excited me. They are intelligent and they communicate with each other, as many pack predators do. They are also slender enough to navigate between trees. Their prey couldn’t easily escape them.

I knew it was merely a matter of time until I found the perfect story in which to feature them. And I suspected that story would be a SciFi Romance.

It is plausible to me that somewhere in our vast universe, there’s a world inhabited by dinosaurs. They existed here on Earth. They could exist elsewhere.

Under Strain is my set-on-a-dinosaur-planet story.

Kamyelle, the heroine, has been the sole human on her planet for many solar cycles (years).  The theropods view her kind as nice, light snacks. She has skillfully avoided being eaten by living in the trees.

Strain, the cyborg hero, and his brethren have a very different approach to dealing with the theropods. They plan to have some fun with the predators.

What is your favorite dinosaur? Would you like to live on a dinosaur planet?

Under Strain

A damaged cyborg warrior is hunted by a peace-loving human female.

Strain is severely malfunctioning. The D Model cyborg was the sole survivor after a horrific decision was made by his cruel manufacturers. He hates all humans, and when he attacks one who is under his cyborg leader’s protection, he is reprimanded, stripped of his weapons, and told to watch and not actively participate in the next mission.

That mission takes place on a small remote planet. Its lush terrain should only be inhabited by the cyborgs they were sent to rescue, but Strain senses another presence on the surface. She is watching him, tracking him, hunting him.

A fully operational cyborg would end her lifespan.

Strain wants to claim her. Forever.

Kamyelle is the only one left of her kind. Warriors have killed the other nonviolent human inhabitants of her planet. She survived…barely…by hiding in the trees, observing her enemies, and covering herself with lifeform scan-concealing mud.

When a handsome, gray-skinned, brilliant-blue-eyed male arrives, surrounded by weapon-carrying warriors, she has to save him. Warriors harm and they kill. That is what they do.

She won’t allow them to hurt Strain.

Under Strain is a STANDALONE Cyborg SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.

It features a broken warrior, a human female who thinks he’s perfect, and velociraptor-like dinosaurs who view them both as light, tasty snacks.

Pre-order Now:
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08R322L7S
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08R322L7S
Amazon AUS: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B08R322L7S
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/under-strain/id1545957749
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/under-strain-cynthia-sax/1138505613
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/under-strain
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/10602

About Cynthia Sax

USA Today bestselling author Cynthia Sax writes steamy Cyborg, Alien and Contemporary Romances. Her stories have been featured on TV, in Star Magazine, and numerous top ten lists.

Sign up for her dirty-joke-filled monthly newsletter and visit her on the web at www.CynthiaSax.com

Website:  https://cynthiasax.com/
Newsletter:   https://cynthiasax.com/newsletter/
Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/cynthiasax/
Twitter:  @CynthiaSax
Blog:  https://tasteofcyn.com/

UPDATE: The winner is…Mary McCoy!
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That song too old for you to know it? How about some Bruno Mars… “Lookie here, lookie here, now what do I see?”

It’s my blog, I get to tell this story…

See this pretty rose?

It’s the first rose from a bush my daughter transplanted right before that weird, arctic cold snap we had back in February. She moved it from her previous home to replant it here, just to have something from the old homestead since the new owners aren’t into gardening and plucked up every plant in their yard. This one was old, having been planted by a woman who lived in the house before my dd, who has since deceased. Back when the bush lived across the street, it was leggy, had few blooms, and looked very, very sad. When that winter freeze hit, we thought for sure the bush was doomed because it was only newly in the ground and had been severely cut back.

Well, it survived and has so many buds! Here’s one ready to open any day now…

The roses are going to be abundant, and I really think they love their new home in our garden. I’ve been busy buying rosebushes for my dd since she loves them so much, but I need to think about some other flowering lovelies we can plant here in Arkansas that can stand up to the heat. Any suggestion for things that will look pretty in her flower beds? Leave a suggestion, and you’ll be entered to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is…Jodie Bivens!
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That’s how I feel about Mondays! Of course, when I wake kids for online school, singing the Mamas and the Papas “Monday, Monday”, they all groan. I like getting up early, looking at a fresh To Do for the week, and hoping I keep to the plan. So many things to accomplish, and it all feels doable on Mondays. By Wednesday, I’m already playing catchup. And I’m about to blow my Monday plan this morning by sneaking out to head to the flea market. LOL

How about you? Do you love Mondays? Do they feel like a fresh start?

Comment for a chance to win your choice of one of my downloadable backlist books!

Enjoy my favorite Monday song!

Here’s me beaming—as I look through the hundred pics their mama took before they headed out to the prom.  I chose my two fave photos so I don’t bore you too much! Here’s the 17-year-old and the 16-year-old, stepbrother and sister standing in our driveway.

She didn’t want a typical prom dress–you know, with lots of tulle and sparkles. Said she wanted to look fierce. And add a black mask with rhinestones that she wore in the larger group, I bet she did look fierce and mysterious! Wish I could show you with their prom dates, but I figure that would be a privacy issue. Suffice it to say, they were just as gorgeous, just as fierce–and appropriately goofy!

UPDATE: The winner is…Laura Tavares!
*~*~*

You might ask, What is May Day? Well, it’s rooted in old Celtic/pagan celebrations. It marks the halfway point between Spring and Summer, and in the old days, May Day poles were erected, flowers gathered, wreaths made to wear atop heads, and everyone danced around the pole as a way to appease the gods to give them a fertile year—crops and humans.

So, Happy May Day! 

Today’s the high schoolers’ Prom Day, so we’re hoping no fertility rites will be goin’ on at the venue! 🙂

My dd and SIL have been busy getting the homestead cleaned up after a harsh winter. They’ve been putting up fences—hundreds of feet of horse fence and barbed wire. They’re nearly done. They’ve cleared land, planted a garden. I bought rose bushes for my dd because she needed some flowering plants and prefers perennials to annuals. One of the 2-qt bushes I bought had a picture of a gorgeous floribunda rose with deep purple blooms. The first bloom opened and the puzzle contest will show you what we got!

Enjoy the day, dance a little, celebrate! 

Puzzle-Contest

For a chance to win the download of your choice from my vast backlist, tell me what you’ve been doing to celebrate/mark the changing season! And enjoy the puzzle!

Now that the days are warmer it’s time to throw open the windows and let in the fresh air. Each new season offers a chance to renew ourselves and our homes, to take stock of what’s working and what needs to change.

For most of us, spring means spring cleaning—airing out our homes, washing down walls, hunting down dust bunnies, and giving everything a scrub to freshen it up. It’s also an opportunity to go through what we have stored in our closets and dresser drawers.

I don’t know about you, but the only clothing I bought last year was socks. I mean, I wasn’t going anywhere, so I didn’t see the point of new clothes. Some of what I’m wearing is getting a little ragged. I’m not a big clothes shopper. I tend to find something I like and buy it in multiple colors and call it a day. But it’s time to toss what’s faded and worn and make a list of what I need. I’m looking forward to it.

The same goes for the linen closet. My summer sheets, which only get used about three months of the year, must be about fifteen years old. (I spend my money on sets of heavier jersey sheets since they’re the ones I use most often.) The colors are faded and I fear they won’t last for many more washings without disintegrating. That’s something else to go on the list, along with new pillows. The ones I have are starting to get a little too flat for comfort.

Since I live in an apartment, there’s no garage to sift through, but I will be poking around the kitchen cupboards and closets to see what else can go. I’m a big believer in yard sales and donating what no longer suits me. It keeps things in circulation and out of the landfill. And it also makes room for the new.

Happy cleaning!

Salvation Pack

Have you discovered the Salvation Pack? If you love alpha wolves, you’ll love the Salvation Pack.

Wolf at the Door
Wolf in her Bed
Wolf on the Run
Wolf from the Past
Wolf on the Hunt
Wolf on a Mission
Wolf in his Heart
Wolf in her Soul
Wolf of her Own

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0753H2PLQ

About the Author

N.J. Walters is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who has always been a voracious reader, and now she spends her days writing novels of her own. Vampires, werewolves, dragons, assassins, time-travelers, seductive handymen, and next-door neighbors with smoldering good looks—all vie for her attention. It’s a tough life, but someone’s got to live it.

Visit me at:
Website: https://www.njwalters.com
Blog: https://www.njwalters.blogspot.com
Newsletter Sign Up: https://eepurl.com/gdblg5
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/N.J.WaltersAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/njwaltersauthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/NJWalters
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/njwalters
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/n-j-walters

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

Contest

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, watch this video and tell me something you like about it. Maybe I’ll figure out why I like it so much!

P.S. Do you recognize him?

MORE OPEN CONTESTS!

1. Our Favorite Pets! (Contest) — Last day to enter! Win a FREE book!
2. “Blown away, tissues on hand…” Have you ordered your copy? (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Andy Carley: Pure Magic (Contest + Excerpt) — Win a FREE book!

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