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Blog
Monday, July 29th, 2024
Hi, it’s me again, Darah Lace. In my last post on the Collections website, I mentioned that I’m an avid TV watcher. Anything and everything will do, but lately, I’ve been all about crime drama/mysteries. I’ve never dreamt of a life of crime, but as an author, I have to delve deep into my characters’ minds. Sometimes, that means thinking like a villain, which can be a little dark and a whole lot of crazy.
If I were going to be a villain, though, I’d throw my hat in with the crazies. Loki is my favorite. He doesn’t want to be good, and most of the time, he’s not, but he is devilishly fun when he’s bad. And I just heard that Robert Downey, Jr. is going to play Dr. Doom in the upcoming Marvel movies, so you know he’ll be fun to watch, but I digress, and neither really fit the crime drama/mystery topic.
My question for you is, if you were going to be a villain, who would you want as your partner in crime?
And if you were going to get caught, who would you want to bring you in? I’d pick Jason Momoa in full Khal Drogo gear. I know, he’s not one for seeking justice, nor is he virtuous, but OMG, he wouldn’t even have to hunt me down. I’d be the one chasing after him, begging him to cuff me…and don’t forget the body search!
But if I couldn’t have Khal Drogo, I’d want Asher Sloane. He’s the hot bounty hunter from Most Wanted, releasing tomorrow, July 30 in Secret Identities: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology. Pre-order your copy today!
Pre-Order eBook
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Most Wanted—A bounty on the line, a hunter who bedded then betrayed her, and a strip club—she’ll bare it all to get her man
About Darah Lace
Multipublished author of spicy contemporary and paranormal romance, Darah Lace lives in Texas where she enjoys a simple life with her husband and two dogs. She loves sports, music, watching a good romance, and penning scenes that sizzle. When she isn’t writing, she’s scouring bookstores for her next adventure.
Connect with Darah
darah@darahlace.com
https://www.darahlace.com/
https://linktr.ee/darahlace
https://www.amazon.com/author/darahlace
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Sign Up for Darah’s Newsletter: https://www.darahlace.com/newsletter/
Posted in General | Someone Said | Link
Last 5 people who had something to say: Darah -
Monday, July 29th, 2024
UPDATE: A new listing for the book is on Amazon now. Pre-order your copy here: Secret Identities
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Pre-Order eBook
Kindle | Nook | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play
Well, for those of you who pre-ordered the anthology through Amazon, I have some bad news. Amazon decided at the very last damn minute (yesterday!) to pull our book. Their reason was because they wanted to see proof we had rights to the cover image. This is something simple to prove, and I took screen shots from the photo site of the picture among my many downloads and my receipt, but it may take days for them to straighten this out. I feel awful about this, although it’s not our fault. Like, Amazon, couldn’t you have asked for this months ago? Not two days before it releases?!! The other platforms where we have the book are still live, so folks can purchase the book when it releases tomorrow, but if you had it on pre-order through Amazon, you may have to re-order your copy. Or better yet—purchase from one of the sites where they aren’t pulling this kind of BS. Sorry, I’m angry. It’s sooooo unprofessional of Amazon to leave this to the last damn second.
Remember, this 73,000-word anthology is selling for a steal of a price across all platforms—just $0.99—because we want you to read our fabulous authors! Okay, back to regular programming…
Posted in About books... | 2 People Said | Link
Last 5 people who had something to say: Anna Taylor Sweringen - flchen -
Sunday, July 28th, 2024
So, it’s been really boring here on the farm. The SIL and I are quiet people, so we touch base but keep to ourselves. We’re enjoying the peace and quiet. Or at least, I’m telling myself I am. I miss my chaos-makers. They return on Wednesday, so I better appreciate the quiet while I can.
Report Card
Last week…
- I celebrated and promoted the release of Cyrus, the first book in the new MBH: West Yellowstone series!
- I completed all edits and assembled the Secret Identities anthology! I sent it to my sis, Elle James, for her to format the book and prepare it for release this coming Tuesday!
- I worked on edits for two authors.
- I swam every day for the first part of the week, but the weather turned cool with lots of storms, so that prevented me from getting into the water. 🙁
- I’m still complying with Weight Watchers. So far, I’ve lost 6 pounds. It’s going slowly because I’ve done a little cheating…
- I restarted my daily art practice. It’s not going well. I need to remind myself when I get lazy that it’s hard to get back into the swing, and I forget things!
This next week…
- I’ll be celebrating and promoting the release of the Secret Identities anthology on Tuesday!
- I will continue editing two other authors’ manuscripts.
- I’ll begin work on my next novel, Built Like Mack, the next We Are Dead Horse story.
- I’ll continue swimming and counting those points on Weight Watchers! Plus, while the kids are on vacay, I’ll continue some long overdue housekeeping tasks (exercise)!
- I’ll continue working on some small art projects while I declutter my art room.
Contests
On the Delilah’s Collections website!
- GETTING TO KNOW N.J. WALTERS (CONTEST) — This one ends tomorrow! Win an Amazon gift card!
- GETTING TO KNOW M. JAYNE (CONTEST) — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
- GETTING TO KNOW GABBI GREY (CONTEST) — This one ends soon! Win a FREE book!
Here, on this site!
- Caviar and Frogs…whuuutt? (Contest) — This one ends tomorrow! Win an Amazon gift card!
- Gabbi Grey: Something a Little Different (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
- Saturday Puzzle-Contest: A Grizzly Beginning (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
- What do these images all have in common? Plus, a release reminder! (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
- Word Search: Bounty Hunter Names (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
- Anna Taylor Sweringen/Michal Scott: It Might Have Been — Julia C. Collins, Pioneering Essayist, Teacher and Author (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
- Saturday Puzzle-Contest: While the cat’s away… — Win an Amazon gift card!
Posted in General | Comments Off on Report Card & Open Contests! | Link
Saturday, July 27th, 2024
UPDATE: The winner is…Margaret!
*~*~*
My daughter and the three girls are on vacation. So, my SIL and I are the ones taking care of the animals and existing in the silence. The girls add a level of chaos that charges the air, so right now, it’s restful but also…boring.
I spent yesterday ticking off things on my To Do list. It was a productive day, but then I finished my planned work and had to find something to occupy the rest of my day. The weather was too cool for a swim—just 80 degrees, so that was out. So I turned to this list of movie titles I’ve collected and rarely get a chance to watch to remove one. Well, yesterday, I watched a rom-com with Russell Crowe—yes, I said a rom-com. Because the idea of it was intriguing, I had it on my list, so I ticked off A Good Year. It was decent. I’d recommend it. It’s not glowingly the best thing ever, but it’s a nice escape. I might try The Holdovers if I get through today’s list. The fam wouldn’t be interested, so it’s a good time, while they’re gone, to check off my list.
So, yeah. Another slow day in front of me. Right now, the temperature outside is a cool 76, with a projected high of only 81, so while I’ll go out and clean the pool, I’m going to wait for the weather to improve before I gird my loins and jump in. I hate it when the weather cools. 🙁
Enough rambling. I know you’re bored. I’m boring myself. Being bored inspires boring posts. I’ll shut up now.
For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle then tell me what you’d watch while the cat’s away…
Tagged: game, jigsaw, puzzle
Posted in Contests! | 16 People Said | Link
Last 5 people who had something to say: Pansy Petal - Courtney Kinder - Mary McCoy - Beckie - Delilah -
Friday, July 26th, 2024
UPDATE: The winner is…Paula J McGhee!
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Sources aren’t sure when Julia Collins was born, but a number of them place her birth in 1842, Williamsport, Pennsylvania. All sources believe her to have been freeborn and possibly the stepdaughter of Enoch Gilchrist a noted abolitionist, Underground railroad conductor, active member of the local African Methodist Episcopal Church, and ardent fighter for African Americans’ legal rights.
She married Stephen Collins, a barber, Civil War veteran and commander of a veterans’ organization for African American civil war soldiers in Williamsport. They had a daughter, Annie, and raised her with Stephen’s child from his first marriage, Sarah. Both are believed to have been under ten years of age when Julia died.
She was appointed a teacher for the African children in Williamsport and began teaching on April 11,1864.
The Christian Recorder, a newspaper of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, published six essays by Julia from 1864 to 1865. The essays titled “Mental Improvement”, “School Teaching”, “Intelligent Women”, “A Letter from Oswego: Originality of Ideas”, “Life is Earnest”, and “Memory and Imagination” dealt with racial uplift and empowerment. Because Julia references the works of writers like Shakespeare, Longfellow and Tennyson in her essays many assume she belonged to a highly educated middle or upper middle-class family.
In 1865, The Christian Recorder serialized Julia’s novel, The Curse of Caste, or The Slave Bride, every week for eight months. The story focused on the trials and tribulations suffered by a mother and daughter due to the issues of racial identity and interracial marriage. Julia died of tuberculosis in November 1865, leaving incomplete one of the first novels ever written by an African American woman. Doing research on a different topic, two scholars, William Andrews and Mitch Kachun, learned of Julia and her works. They had her novel published with the Oxford University Press in 2007.
A Pennsylvania State Historical Marker honoring her in Williamsport celebrates her for three firsts: the first marker in Lycoming County to honor a woman, an African American and someone in the arts. The marker was dedicated on June 19, 2010 and unveiled on Williamsport’s River Walk near where Collins’ home and school are believed to have been located. Julia’s descendants were present for the unveiling. One of them as well as a picture of the full marker can be seen here: https://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/literary-cultural-heritage-map-pa/feature-articles/discovering-julia-collins. The marker’s citation begins, “Essayist, teacher, and author, her work, The Curse of Caste, is considered to be among the first published novels by an African American woman.”
As I learned about Julia, I couldn’t help but think of these words penned by John Greenleaf Whittier in his poem Maud Muller:
“For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: ‘It might have been!'”
If tuberculosis hadn’t cut short her life, who knows what other works Julia may have produced. For a chance at a $10 Amazon gift card, share your thoughts about Julia or any “it might have beens!” that you’re aware of.
“Her Heavenly Phantom” by Michal Scott
from Secret Identities: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology #8
Forced into a marriage of convenience neither wants, a mild-mannered banker with an intriguing secret discovers his reluctant bride has a secret, too
Excerpt from “Her Heavenly Phantom”…
Prim, proper, and modest.
Not at all the adjectives Harold Broadman would have used to describe his dream bride. But then the woman standing to his right here in his mother’s parlor, saying “I do” was not his dream bride.
Relaxed, seductive, and flashy.
Those adjectives described his dream bride. His lady of the balcony. What circumstances could have made that dream woman his intended?
The minister harrumphed. Harold shook himself out of his thoughts and answered, “I do.”
His father and father-in-law exchanged hearty congratulations.
“Welcome to the Hampton family, William,” Emily’s father said. “I see great things in our future.”
Unwed and pregnant, Emily Hampton needed a husband. Newly freed and hungry for a foothold among the ranks of the Black elite in 1880s Brooklyn, William Broadman had the answer.
His son Harold.
The warmth shared between the two men stood in stark contrast to the cold chaste kiss Harold and his bride shared. Their coolness continued as they walked up the aisle. Guests, oblivious to their shared contempt, showered them with hugs and handshakes. Harold shivered even more as his father and father-in-law back-patted themselves and toasted the couple’s future happiness at the wedding reception. No doubt the arctic chill between the couple would extend to their first lay as man and wife, too.
Preorder buylink: rb.gy/vv3268
Tagged: African-American, anthology, Guest Blogger, historical, historical romance, short story
Posted in Contests!, General | 12 People Said | Link
Last 5 people who had something to say: Mary Preston - BN - Paula J McGhee - flchen - Delilah -
Thursday, July 25th, 2024
UPDATE: The winner is…Roxie A Jones!
*~*~*
 I just began my third Montana Bounty Hunter series, this time set in West Yellowstone, Montana. When I started I had no idea how much fun they would be to write. But I’ve already filled up two offices in Bear Lodge and Dead Horse, so, I either needed to move out of state or find another Montana town I wanted to “visit.”
Thank you, by the way, to everyone who picked up their copy of Cyrus!
I have a process I go through before I start a book. First, I need a name. Then, I need a picture to go with that name. The name and the picture inform me about who the person I’m about to write is. The name, Cyrus Walsh, seemed a little old-fashioned like he could’ve been a gunslinger in the Wild, Wild West, and the photo I found with his narrow-eyed squint told me that was how he looked out at the world, with a hint of suspicion and need to figure out who he was facing. If you’ve read the story, you know how much Milly, the woman who captures him, loves that narrow-eyed glare.
Now, the problem is finding more hunters to people the office in West Yellowstone. Take a look at the previous two series cast of characters…
Bear Lodge, MT
Dead Horse, MT
Contest
For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, suggest some names for bounty hunters so I can begin my process of figuring out will fill my cast of characters in West Yellowstone!
Word Seach Puzzle
And I added a puzzle because we need one of those right about now, right? Enjoy!
Tagged: action-adventure, bounty hunter, contemporary romance, Montana Bounty Hunters, romantic suspense
Posted in About books..., Contests! | 13 People Said | Link
Last 5 people who had something to say: Anna Taylor Sweringen - Colleen C. - Jennifer Beyer - Roxie A Jones - Delilah -
Wednesday, July 24th, 2024
Summer is here! It’s time to get out there and enjoy every second of it. Here’s my foolproof plan for enjoying a summer’s day at home.
Step #1
Get an adult beverage. Wine is always an excellent choice but here’s one that’s been a family favorite for years. Mix it up, put it in the freezer, and it’s a cool, refreshing drink whenever you want one.
Summer Slush
Ingredients:
1 – 12 oz can of frozen orange juice
1 – 12 oz can of frozen lemonade
¾ cup of sugar
5 cups of water
2 cups of vodka
In large freezer proof container, mix in order given and freeze.
Serve ½ glass of slush with 7 up or ginger ale.
Step #2
Snacks. There should always be snacks. Unlike winter, when I admit to going heavy on the sweets, this time of year I crave the fresh fruits of summer—apricots, cherries, watermelon, grapes. These are not always easy to get where I live. Some cheese and crackers, maybe some hummus. For dessert—because there should always be dessert—some excellent dark chocolate. These backyard picnic-style snack foods are also a great way to avoid having to cook.
Step #3
A good book. Reading is the way I relax and let go of all my worries. I live in an apartment, so I love to take my book out on my balcony, relax in my lawn chair, and enjoy a refreshing beverage—iced tea or something with a little more zip. (See Step #1)
And if you’re looking for something to read, you might want to check out the Secret Identities: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology. The great thing about an anthology is the stories are shorter and you can sample a variety of authors—perfect for a relaxing afternoon in the sun
Inside Secret Identities: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology, you’ll find stories by some of the hottest romance writers out there for readers who crave mysterious, enigmatic men and women who may not be who they claim to be. Perhaps they’re the new next-door neighbor with a secret mission, an alien from a far-away galaxy looking for his fated mate, or a spy trying to catch a foreign agent. Whatever their secrets, intrigue and passion follow…
My contribution is “Perfect Stranger” – An undercover DEA agent must keep his identity secret from the woman he’s falling for, a woman he’s also investigating.
Coming July 30th. Preorder your copy today.
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D5SQ4P2P/
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/secret-identities-delilah-devlin/1145674531
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/secret-identities-8
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 her 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
Tagged: anthology, erotic romance, Guest Blogger, recipe, romantic suspense, short story
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Last 5 people who had something to say: Mary Dellenbusch -
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