“I have three phobias which, could I mute them, would make my life as slick as a sonnet but as dull as ditchwater: I hate to go to bed, I hate to get up, and I hate to be alone…” ~Tallulah Bankhead

Last night, my daughter and I heard a very loud whomp while we were sitting outside in the dark gossiping about our day. Spooked, my dd told me to go upstairs and tell her big, brave hubby to take his high-powered flashlight and see what it was. I did. I found him already asleep, so I turned on my phone battery and wandered out into the front yard, checking the gate, fences. No bear (we have neighbors with pics of bears going through the trash). No intruders (we’re on hyper-alert due to warnings to LEO families of random attacks). So no, I’m not afraid of things that go bump in the night like she is.

Three things I am afraid of…?

I’m afraid of being normal. (I know it sounds silly, but it’s been my thing my entire life. I never wanted “ordinary”.)
I’m afraid of losing a child or grandchild.
I’m afraid of heights.

Now, how about you? What three things are you afraid of?

Enter while you can!

1. Ava Cuvay: The Tentacle Dilemma (Contest — 4 Winners!) — This ends soon! Win an anthology or a cool T-shirt!
2. Megan Ryder: Claiming Lyla (Contest–4 Winners!) — Win books or a gift card!
3. Okay, I’m officially tired of… (Plus, a Puzzle-Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
4. January George: Blackout (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is…Tracie!
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Blogging!

Not that I plan to cut down. I can’t. However, I didn’t really think my schedule through.

A couple of art challenges started up after I began self-quarantining (I’m still doing it!), so I thought it was a great time to accept the challenges. Part of the challenge for me was being public about what I was doing, in order to keep me honest about producing something every single day. Today is Day 69 of #100dayproject challenge! I post anything I do art or craft related on another website I own (that gets zero traffic), but you can check out what I’ve been doing there if you’re interested:  The Emerald Casket

The second art challenge overlaps another art challenge I wanted to participate in, the #icad2020 (index card a day) challenge. Adding a second piece of art to my daily To Do has really eaten my lunch, but I persevere. Today was number 13 of 61 days. You can also check out those little pieces of art on The Emerald Casket.

Of course, I have this blog, which I post to every single day. In the past 7-ish years, I’ve only missed posting a handful of times. It’s truly a daily habit, my “morning pages” to limber up the fingers and the brain, except when I host guests here.

Then, there’s the Collections blog. It’s one I turn to whenever I’m getting ready to publish another anthology. The authors who are featured in the book get to play there, too! Right now, we’re posting a countdown set of blogs, including snippets from our stories and prizes to entice readers to check the stories out! If you haven’t seen the website, head here: Delilah’s Collections.

So, too many blogs. Right now, anyway. And posting is time-consuming. I still have my “real” work to do—editing gigs to wrap up, writing my own stories. As well I insist on family time, too. I really wish I had more stamina, but I love lazing in the pools in the afternoon this time of year.

But a busy me is a me that isn’t getting into trouble…

Do you have something you think is far too time-consuming? Are you considering throwing in the towel? Or are you committed? 

If you want to do a little procrastinating, here’s a pretty puzzle. 🙂

The Puzzle-Contest

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, and then tell me what title would fit if this image was used for a book cover!

UPDATE: The winners are…gift cards: Colleen C and Mary Preston; and anthology: Debra Guyette and Becky Parsons!
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Hi! My name is Megan Ryder, and thank you for having me back on the blog for another chance to talk about my books. Today, I’m thrilled to talk a little bit about making the transition between contemporary and paranormal romance.

I’ve been writing for a long time (longer than I care to admit) and I’ve been writing contemporary romance for most of that time. I’m published with a few books including sexy baseball heroes, a matchmaking bride and her bridesmaids, and lately, cowboys. While I love all of those, my first love has always been paranormal romances, especially shifters, but I was always hesitant to make the shift (pun intended) to a new genre. When I heard about this anthology, my short story popped into my head completely formed as a prequel to my series and the perfect way to test my skills.

My story centers around a female shifter who is trapped into running from a group of alpha males who want to forcibly claim her as a mate, only to run into another alpha who offers to save her. The only problem is – he really IS her mate and she doesn’t want a mate at all.

In paranormal romance, I wanted to deal with the concept of consent, because “fated mates” being a trope in the genre often blurs the lines for consent. In this story, I wanted her to be a strong alpha female and her mate to be willing to see her that way and accept her and look for her consent, even as their natures want them to mate.

It was fun playing with the paranormal world, setting up the shifter structure and society, and dealing with the biology, too. And I slipped in something I thought was relevant to our current times.

Check out the snippet below and let me know what you think.

Contest

For my giveaway, let me know if you like the “fated mates” trope, where characters have one and only one mate for them (and often they know it and can’t fight it for long). I’m giving away 2 electronic copies of the anthology – First Response (given on release day) – and 2 $10 gift cards to Amazon.

Excerpt from “Claiming Lyla”

A she-wolf being hunted by pack males during a claiming rite is rescued by a rogue alpha determined to make her his own, despite her desire to be independent…

Lyla folded her arms in front of her, a defensive gesture, closing herself off from him, while plumping up her full breasts so they strained against the lace. “What do you want?”

He cocked his head at the howls growing closer. “You don’t have much time, or much of a choice, sweetheart. You either deal with me or them. And trust me, I’m the lesser of your evils.”

A laugh broke from her throat, a raw, harsh sound that held no humor. “I’d prefer none of you. Why can’t you leave me alone, you bastards? You want me to just roll over and spread my legs like a good little bitch. Well, fuck that.”

He winced at her harsh tone and steeled himself. A breeze picked up her scent and tickled his senses with it, and his cock hardened further, painfully. His wrists burned hotter under the skin, prickling like a thousand fine needles that made him want to scratch an itch. Nothing would appease the sensation, he feared. He cursed under his breath. Fuck. Not the best time to find his mate. Not here. Not in this goddamn situation. This night had just gone to shit, and now the bonds were pulling him in even tighter.

Psst! There are still several ongoing contests! See yesterday’s post to enter!

Public service announcement out of the way… So what do you want to talk about today? Something not news-related, because we’re all watching it and shaking our heads, and it’s nice to have something trivial to discuss… So, how about “Spring Cleaning” since many of us are spending so much time inside…? Not sexy enough? How about we decide what that would look like in Utopia? What chores would you consign to your Significant Other, or does he/she already do his/her fair share? (And I know I put a pic of a guy in this post, but he looks goofy!)

I know, in our house, my dd, her oldest girl, and myself are the only ones motivated to improve our spaces. It takes nagging and very pointed orders for the males to move their butts. Sure, they’ll take out the trash—mostly without being asked. Um…I’m really thinking hard here for things they do voluntarily. Usually, Kelly has her daily Honey Do list, so maybe the fact she always has one is the issue…?

In Utopia, what chores would you push off to your SO? And have fun with it. What would be his “housework uniform”? Huh? Not fun enough? What would you be willing to exchange if he decided he’d rather not do the dishes? Hmmm?

Enter while you can!

1. Flea Market Finds and a Puzzle & a Contest! — This offer ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. Bragging a little about what I’ve been learning… (Contest) — Win your choice of my recent releases!
3. Delilah Devlin: What’s Coming? Contests! Excerpts! (Contest–3 Winners!) — Win a Bad Boy Anthology!
4. Michal Scott: The $5.00 Kiss of Life (Excerpt & Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
5. Ava Cuvay: The Tentacle Dilemma (Contest — 4 Winners!) — Win an anthology or a cool T-shirt!

A Puzzle

I’m currently posting three different blogs a day. It’s TIME-CONSUMING. Plus, I have numerous editing gigs, all stacked in a row (I’ll finish one today). Then I have my own writing to do. I’ll finish a shorty this week, finish collating an anthology by the end of the weekend (cross my fingers, hope to die), and I’ve started my next Bounty Hunter story!!

Think that’s enough to keep my busy for a while? Sheesh.

So, if I’m a little “light” on content here today, no worries. YOU HAVE TO CHECK OUT AVA CUVAY’S VERY FUN POST ABOUT TENTACLE SEX! Yes, I said it. Tentacle sex. Ava has a story inside my anthology that will blow your mind. She actually makes it incredibly sexy… Want to see what she has to say about her story? Head over here: Ava Cuvay: The Tentacle Dilemma (Contest — 4 Winners!)

And here’s your puzzle!

Ready for the next great Hot SEAL story? Well, Cat Johnson’s Hot SEAL, Runaway Bride is here! Get your copy today, and then settle in for the ride. All book links are below!

Hot SEAL, Runaway Bride

Friends? No. Enemies? Maybe. Lovers? Never!

Ten years ago the hot but cocky Navy SEAL went from ignoring her, to kissing her, to rejecting her.
Now the last thing she wants is his help, even if he is willing and uniquely qualified to give it.
And she really doesn’t want to want him . . .

She was the girl next door. Too young. Too tempting. Too off limits.
Ten years later, she’s all grown up and all woman.
He steered clear of her then. But now?
Now is a different story entirely . . .

Hot SEAL, Runaway Bride is a standalone boy-next-door, enemies-to-lovers, second-chance, laugh out loud romantic comedy featuring a sexy Navy SEAL, the stubborn neighbor girl, a really bad reality TV show, and a romance a decade in the making.

More Hot SEALS on the way! Pre-order now!

Hot SEAL, Bachelor Party by Elle James
Available Now!
Amazon: https://bit.ly/BPHSBPAMZ
iBooks: https://bit.ly/BPHSBPAPPLE
Nook: https://bit.ly/BPHSBPNOOK
Kobo: https://bit.ly/BPHSBPKOBO

Hot SEAL, Decoy Bride by Delilah Devlin
Available Now!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/36Ks291
APPLE: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1497210586
Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hot-seal-decoy-bride-delilah-devlin/1136286286
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/hot-seal-decoy-bride

Hot SEAL, Runaway Bride by Cat Johnson
Available Now!
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Hot-SEAL-Runaway-Bride-Romantic-ebook/dp/B07XB3J3QJ/
Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/hot-seal-runaway-bride/id1462469622
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hot-seal-runaway-bride-cat-johnson/1132250756?ean=2940161402375
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/hot-seal-runaway-bride

Hot SEAL, Cold Feet by Becca Jameson
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084D76SXM/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i31
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/hot-seal-cold-feet
Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hot-seal-cold-feet-becca-jameson/1136295939?ean=2940163059751
iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/hot-seal-cold-feet/id1497397358

Hot SEAL, Best Man by Parker Kincade
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2uTjL5m
Apple: https://smarturl.it/HSBMAPPLE
Nook: https://smarturl.it/HSBMBN
Kobo: https://smarturl.it/HSBMKOBO

Hot SEAL, Confirmed Bachelor by Cynthia D’Alba
Amazon: https://amzn.to/37L3U7B
KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/hot-seal-confirmed-bachelor
books2read.com: https://books2read.com/u/bpOKgk (THIS ONE LINKS TO ALL OF THEM)
Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w?ean=2940163031887
Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/hot-seal-confirmed-bachelor/id1497356729

Hot SEAL, Taking the Plunge by Teresa Reasor
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3b0zv7i
Apple: https://apple.co/2UiSZxV
Kobo: https://bit.ly/2UgX0TR
Nook: https://bit.ly/2RPwteo

Hot SEAL, Undercover Groom by MaryAnn Jordan
Amazon: https://smarturl.it/MaJGroomSSAmazon
Apple: https://smarturl.it/MaJGroomSSApple
Kobo: https://smarturl.it/MaJGroomSSKobo
Nook: https://smarturl.it/MaJGroomSSNook

Today, I’m launching a countdown of posts and prizes on my Collections website! Don’t know what that is? Well, it’s a long story, but it’s a site that’s not all about me!!! It’s about the anthologies and the authors who have written for them. First Response releases at the end of this month, and the authors and I want to tell you about who we are and what our stories are about. Today, there’s a contest with THREE WINNERS, so be sure to drop by and comment!

Where to go? Delilah Devlin: What’s Coming? Contests! Excerpts! (Contest–3 Winners!)