Take home a SEAL for just 99 cents!
Through August 31, WET HEAT will be on sale for ONLY 99 cents in my bookstore.
Just input the code: wsaugust to receive the discount at checkout!
https://booksbydesiree.com/product/wet-heat/
And check out the other deals in Books by Desiree!
Booksbydesiree.net

Wet Heat

It was supposed to be a month in a cottage by the lake in Maine. For Peyton Gerard it was time to recover from not one but three disastrous breakups and try to find her muse again. A successful romance novelist needed to believe in romance to write about it believably, and Peyton had lost her faith in it.

For Dixon “Dix” Amendola it was supposed to be time to rehab his injured thigh from a SEALs mission that fell apart, to mourn the two team members who were killed and to deal with his guilt. Learning the mission had been compromised did nothing to ease the burden of blame he carried.

The problem: the cottage had been rented to both of them by accident.

Put two stubborn people in close quarters—a hot SEAL and an appealing author, add in moonlit nights by the lake, and suddenly they don’t mind sharing. But then reality intrudes, Dix returns to lead a repeat of the mission and all Peyton can do is pray it will be successful and that when he returns, he’ll come back to her.

Excerpt from Wet Heat…

He rounded a curve in the dirt road just as his GPS announced, “Your destination is on the left.” The outside of the place was exactly as he’d seen it in the photo online. The boat Eileen had told him about was already tied up at the little, short dock. The soft breeze drifting in through his open window carried the fresh scents and sounds of the area, instantly soothing him.

What was jarring was the car parked on the so-called grass next to the cottage. What the fuck? He hoped it wasn’t a nosy neighbor just waiting to give him an eager welcome. Socializing wasn’t on his to-do list. He pulled in next to the vehicle and grumpily opened the door and got out. He was just looking around to see where the owner of the car might be when the side door opened and a woman popped out.

Okay, maybe woman was too mild a term. She looked like a miniature lush goddess. If he’d been the least bit interested in female companionship, he’d think maybe his day was looking up. This one couldn’t be more than five foot five, with hair in a rich shade of red framing a heart-shaped face. Her hair bounced around her head in wild curls, in time, he noticed with her breasts that bounced beneath her T-shirt. The strap of a cross-body purse lay in the valley between those breasts, emphasizing their roundness. Shorts accentuated nicely rounded hips, and when she turned to pull the door shut tightly behind her, he got a view of an ass his hands itched to cup.

Whoa there, mister. This is a no-sex time out. Reconditioning, not relaxation. Maybe he should tell that to his cock that suddenly wanted to make its own appearance and deliver a greeting. It was sending him a very painful message which took all his famous discipline to control.

“Are you the housekeeper?” He didn’t even know if Eileen had told him there’d be one, but who else would be here, and with a key?

“Housekeeper?” She stared at him. “Not quite. Who are you?”

He took a moment to note that her face was free of makeup, and he doubted it needed any to enhance it. Emerald-green eyes peered out from beneath lashes thicker than any manufacturer could produce. Her cheeks held a faint rosy tinge and a smattering of freckles. And that mouth—

Yup. Good thing he was on a no-sex diet. He had one goal to accomplish here, and he couldn’t afford to be distracted.

“I’m the tenant. I rented this place for the next month.”

“No. Wrong answer.” She shook her head vehemently. “You must be in the wrong place. I rented this place for the next month.”

A little bubble of anger tried to work its way up through his system. He did not need this. He wanted to get settled in, go for a run, take a swim, and contemplate his future.

“I’m sorry. You must have gotten the address wrong.” He stepped forward, figuring if he crowded her space, she’d retreat. She was nearly a foot shorter than he was.

“Address wrong?” she repeated. Then she held up the ring with two keys on it, jingling it in front of him. “Then exactly how would I have these keys?”

“Don’t know and don’t care. You have to leave.” He glared at her. “Now.”

She stared at him for a long moment then shocked him by breaking into laughter.

“Does that work for you often?” she asked, grinning. “I mean, that whole alpha thing? Get out? Be gone?” She burst into laughter again.

Dix ground his teeth together. What the hell was going on here?

“We have to get this straightened out. Right now.”

“Fine by me.” The woman tugged a cell phone out of her pocket and scrolled through the numbers.

Dix held his own cell up. “I’ll call the rental agent myself,” he told her.

She frowned. “You don’t trust me?”

“There’s obviously some mix-up, and I want to hear the answer for myself. We’ll get the agent to settle it, and then you can just pack up and get out of here.”

“Fine. Then you can just get in your truck and head on out of here.”

Ready for the next great Hot SEAL story? I love writing in this series, and I know that, if you try one, you’ll want to read them all! The latest release is Cynthia D’Alba’s Hot SEAL, Confirmed Bachelor! Get your copy today, and then sit back and enjoy!  All Hot SEAL, Wedding Edition book links are below!

Hot SEAL, Confirmed Bachelor

When a Navy SEAL runs into an obstacle, he climbs over it, under it, around it, or destroys it. So what if it’s a woman?

Master Chief Benjamin Blackwell has it all. Adventure, good looks, skills, and women. His life is perfect and he has no intention of changing a thing. Until her.

Holly Maxwell is a sexy woman unlike anyone he’s met before. A widow for ten years, she’s happy with her life even with the trials of raising a pre-teen daughter, and being the only girl in a nosy, boisterous family of Coronado cops.

But what makes her so inexplicable to this Navy SEAL is her total lack of interest in him.

More Hot SEALS on the way! Order/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
Available Now!
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
Available Now!
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
Available Now!
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

UPDATE: The winner is…Eniko!
*~*~*

©Diana Cosby 2020

In addition to writing, I enjoy photography.  A creative outlet for me is to see what photographs of nature I can take.  This summer, I was thrilled to catch this photo of a kit.

The juvenile red-tailed hawks are out, and I’m fortunate to have a pair that lives near me.  It’s fun watching the hawks learn to fly.

The yellow-crowned night heron chicks have hatched, grown, and flown from their nests, allowing adults to linger in the marsh.

On rare occasions, I see phoebes.  They’re gorgeous birds, and I was thrilled to catch a photo of this bird.

One of my favorite birds is the song sparrow.  They have a beautiful song and tend to be very friendly.  What is your creative outlet?

Contest

ONE winner will be drawn from everyone who posts on my guest blog post about, ‘Nature Through The Lens – A Creative Outlet,’ on Delilah’s blog between 14 August 2020 – 23 August 2020.  The winner will receive a signed copy of His Woman.

About the Author

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

Writing offers countless creative options for authors. One thing that happens for me is the scene, the moment, that springs up in a dream or an afternoon of house chores. They’re never complete stories like a reader would expect to find in a novel. Instead, they’re vignettes.

Some of the stories in this collection have been previously published as standalone shorts. When I decided to work on a collection of shorts, they’ve been expanded and nourished with more detail, more emotion, more of what makes a story resonate with a reader. I called it — Love in the Moment — a collection of contemporary romantic shorts featuring unexpected affection in unforeseen circumstances.

Love in the Moment

One moment she dared. Stepped outside of yesterday and tomorrow. Took what she wanted even if she didn’t want to want it.

These are stories of those moments, when a stranger’s smile and a glint in his eye speak to a previously undiscovered part of her soul, when each second ticks past with the wealth of a thousand years.

In “Encounter at the Elevator,” a moment’s whim may open the door to an unexpected future. Flash Fiction

“Cara’s Rescue” follows a woman’s escape from heartbreak and terror into unimagined safety. Short Story

In “The Lawn Guy,” a widow struggles with survivor’s guilt and the stirrings of desire. Short Story

The struggles of air travel open new opportunities in “The Layover” when a woman steps outside her comfort zone to meet the challenge of a seductive stranger. Novelette

“In Dare to Ask,” a spur of the moment dare forces a woman to blurt out an invitation to a younger man. Instantly regretful, she wants to drive away and never come back. Worse, he accepts. Now what? Novelette

What starts as a woman’s educational pursuit quickly detours into something else entirely when an old house “In Need of Repair” brings a major complication to her life. Novelette

“A Chance to Move On” materializes unexpectedly at a remote cabin smothered in ice and snow when a park ranger comes knocking. Novella

Only $3.99! Perfect for summer reading. Find it at Amazon.com [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08CL3XKZT]

Free for now on Kindle Unlimited.

UPDATE: The winner is…Becky Steinkamp!
*~*~*

Let’s Hunt Some Easter Eggs!

I bet when you read the title, you thought this…

And you would be right in most situations, but not when it comes to reading! Did you know some authors love to hide Easter Eggs for their readers to find…just like the Easter Bunny hid for you growing up!

Easter Eggs are little tidbits that the author may weave into the story for their friends and/or readers to find.

For example, in Texas Two Step © 2012 (my first book) is this statement… “My address is 1974 George Avenue.” Means nothing, right? To my friends, they laughed. We graduated from Hot Springs High School in 1974. My boyfriend’s name was…George!

Another example from Texas Twist (© 2014)…: The Milholens and Rowes from church. The town librarian, Susie Wilson, who was talking animatedly with Frank White, the town butcher.” My friends from church are real. That’s Sandy and Teresa. Susie Wilson is a friend. Just dropped their names for fun!

In my Dallas Debutants Trilogy, the parents of the twins are Robin and Sam… yep. A real couple.

In my latest book Hot SEAL, Confirmed Bachelor, the heroine is named Holly Maxwell. Holly is a reader I met at a convention and I couldn’t get her name out of my head. It was so perfect for the book I was working on. She was kind enough to say…Sure! Use my name. AFTER that, I found out that she is, in fact, the daughter-in-law of historical romance author, Cathy Maxwell. HA! So now her readers can look for her DIL’s name in another author’s book!

Have you ever found an Easter Egg as a reader? I have. In Nancy Martin’s Blackbird Sisters Mysteries (mutual friend’s name) and in Christine Dodd’s book (her dog). I’m pretty sure I’ve snuck Delilah’s real name into a book!!

Did you know about Easter Eggs? Which ones have you found?

Leave comment to be in the running for a custom, personalize SEALs in Paradise tote bag!

Want to read more about my latest release Hot SEAL, Confirmed Bachelor? Everything you need to know is https://cynthiadalba.com/project/hot-seal-confirmed-bachelor/  including an excerpt!

Confirmed Bachelor

BUT here’s a quick and EXCLUSIVE excerpt you won’t find anywhere else….

As he had with the truck door, Ben slammed the house door the second she stood in his foyer. He pushed her against the door and caught her mouth in a long kiss involving lips, tongue, and teeth.

She moaned into his mouth and leaned in to take the kiss deeper.

His hands slid down her arms until his hands rested at her waist. She shivered in response to his touch. Her feet reflexively slid further apart. When she shivered, he moved his hands to her rear and cupped her, pulling her against his rigid cock.

After hours of lusting after this man, she was finally going to get to touch what she’d only been able to admire from afar. She ran her hands under his T-shirt, her fingers gliding over the dips and valleys that formed his hard, muscular chest. Oh man. Everything was so firm, including the bulge in his shorts pressing into her abdomen.

Eager for more, she shoved his shirt up. “Off,” she said, after pulling her mouth from his.

He grinned and jerked the shirt up and off, tossing it to the floor. “We had a deal.”

“In a minute.” She let her gaze roam over his pecs and defined six-pack, followed by her fingers, followed by her tongue, and finally her lips. Kissing his chest was like pressing her lips against warm granite, except she would have sworn his heat penetrated her body and pooled between her thighs.

His thick fingers stabbed into her hair, holding her against him. Beneath her lips, his heart pounded violent and rapid. She was relieved to find him as into this as she was.

After she licked his nipple, he swept her off her feet and carried her down a hall to his bedroom.

“Speak now if you don’t want to be fucked ten ways to Sunday,” he said, his voice rough and strained.

She nuzzled her nose into his neck, then licked a line up to his ear. “Ten ways? Wow. That sounds like fun.”

Where to find me!
https://cynthiadalba.com/newsletter-sign-up/ https://www.bookbub.com/profile/cynthia-d-alba
https://www.amazon.com/Cynthia-DAlba/e/B0067UOSH8
https://www.facebook.com/cynthia.dalba
https://www.instagram.com/cynthiadalba

UPDATE: The winner is…flchen1!
*~*~*

Just a quick note before we play!

Next Tuesday, I have a new release—the first in the Montana Bounty Hunters: Dead Horse, MT series! If you loved my hunters in Bear Lodge, with their intrepid/accident-prone warrior-leader Reaper, I think you’re going to love Cage, too! Be sure to pre-order your copy!

A former SEAL and MMA fighter, and now, newly minted bounty hunter, has to hunt down his first skip…his ex-wife.

Pre-order here!

Puzzle-Contest!

Solve the puzzle then tell me if your favorite hobby is anything like mine for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

I’ve been a writer and avid reader since I first discovered my love of science fiction and all things Star Wars at the age of 11 or 12, a passion that evolved to encompass paranormal and horror in my teens when I found Stephen King and Anne Rice. Eventually, my tastes further grew to incorporate romance and erotica, and now my own writing is a strange hodgepodge of all the above-mentioned genres.

Despite having harbored a love of writing for so long, I’m aware that no one has heard of me. It took me a  long time to stop listening to the voice in my ear telling me to pursue something “practical” and do what I genuinely love. And then, of course, life happened. I joined the Navy shortly out of high school, and during that period, I did a lot of reading—I fell absolutely in love with the Harry Potter novels—but one thing I didn’t do a lot of was writing. After separating from active duty and getting married in 2006, I promptly began having children. I started writing again but didn’t attempt to publish anything. I experienced quite a bit of “success”—as embarrassing as it is to say now—as a Twilight fanfiction author, and that’s when I discovered J.R. Ward and the paranormal romance genre. Around the same time, I entered a writing contest judged by New York Times bestselling novelist Cassandra Clare, who chose my entry as a finalist.

I had just begun an original paranormal romance novel when, once again, life got in the way. I ended up divorced rather suddenly with two small children in tow, and I had to figure out how to start over. Since then, I’ve had other major life hurdles. I’ve gone back to school. Twice. First, I went to one of those vocational schools to obtain my medical assisting certification (I needed something fast). Then I pursued my BA in English from the University of Texas, almost a full twenty years after most people obtain their bachelor’s degrees. In the meantime, I’ve opted to remain single, worked to support my children as a medical assistant, and finally, years after my divorce, managed to complete a publishable novel. You might be wondering what the point of all of this is. I suppose I just wanted to encourage people not to give up on their dreams, despite their circumstances. It’s not too late to go back to school—and believe me, I very much felt like Melissa McCarthy in Life of the Party—and to finally complete a novel, if that’s your desire. At one point, I was getting up at 4 AM, and sometimes even 3 AM, to get in a little bit of writing before I had to get ready for work or class. I may not be making any money off my writing yet, but I have the satisfaction of my perseverance. I have every confidence that it will pay off, eventually.

My debut novel, The Infiltrator, is a romance/dystopian catered to readers of action-y, grittier romances who enjoy an unstable, flawed alpha male teaming with a smart, tough female to overcome obstacles. A virus has rendered humanity mostly extinct. Keira Starr is alone, staying alive by staying on the run, sleeping in empty gas stations and the trunks of cars long abandoned on the highway. The world is overrun by “Ghosts,” the mindless, bloodthirsty dead, but they are the least of her problems. She is being hunted by ragtag groups of ruthless men, independent contractors for a mysterious human trafficking ring. When she is finally captured, she discovers that Derrick Caine, despite his gruff demeanor and appearance, may have a different agenda altogether.

The Infiltrator

The Infiltrator is always free on Kindle Unlimited, but from 8/10 to 8/14, I’m offering a FREE promotional download. I hope you’ll check it out! Reviews are always welcome and appreciated.

Kari

Oh, and hit me up on Twitter! I’d love to hear from you! I need some romance novel recs – preferably with a paranormal edge!
https://twitter.com/KA_Raines
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54433525-the-infiltrator
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100052614996318