Thank you, Delilah, for having me on your blog today.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and look forward to a prosperous New Year.

Hi everyone, I’m Janice Seagraves, and I am a published author of nine books, three of which are series, and five short stories published in anthologies. I write in various romance genres; contemporary, paranormal, science fiction, and fantasy.

Let me walk you through my process as I wrote a series.

First off, let’s talk about story ideas. I get ideas all the time. Watching the news can spark ideas or a trip to the mall. A walk through my neighborhood helped me develop a scene in Year of the Cat (my paranormal romance).

Do I get ideas from my dreams? Sometimes. If the dream is interesting enough to remember. Sometimes they’re not or they’re disjointed.

When I wrote Matrix Crystal Hunters it came from a dream. A woman was on another planet, there was these funny rocks she was examining, and she discovered they gave of energy. There was also a man who crept into her tent, and she nailed him with a frying pan. I had to figure out how these two things fit together and wrote the story.

And then I decided on the genre and setting, it was going to be a science fiction romance set on another planet. A desert planet.
I also had to figure out the what ifs.

What if… a team from Earth had fought a wormhole and landed on a planet and they were sick from radiation poisoning and their fuel exhausted?

What if… their team’s geologist, (I decided to call her Maya), heard of a crystal that would multiply energy.

What if… harnessing the energy of these crystals was the only way to go back to Earth?

What if… a native of the planet fell madly in love with our heroine (I named him Vach) and decided to creep into her tent late one night…

And she brained him with a frying pan.

Okay, I know that sounds bad, but you’ll have to read the book to see why it works.

When I wrote Matrix Crystal Hunters it was exciting. The story came together fast. I’d go to bed late and get up the next morning to turn the computer and write some more. I love those times. It feels like magic as I ride the wave of creativity and the story seems to flow straight from my fingertips and onto the computer page.

After I finished, I kept revising the story.

That’s what writers do, they can’t leave their stories alone and have to keep fiddling with it.

I read a meme somewhere that stated that “You can teach a someone to write, and then they’ll have a lifetime of paralyzing self-doubt.”

I don’t know about the self-doubt, but I do go over and over my finished manuscript until I feel it is as sanded and polished within an inch of its life.

After the first story was published, the characters kept talking.

I don’t know if you know this, but writers hear voices. If you see a writer or published author staring off into space, they are listening to their character’s voices. We’re not crazy… or maybe that is the definition of schizophrenia? *scratches head*

So, I kept writing. Book two came out, Matrix Crystal Christmas. It’s made up of two short stories. It wasn’t originally supposed to be about Christmas, but the Christmas season was coming up and I thought I’d add some Christmas elements to the last chapter of each story.

In “Crystal Flower Christmas”: Vach and Maya are on a mission to undam the Laonooco River for the drought stricken region. As heartache fractures their marriage, will the gift of a crystal flower mend their relationship or break it beyond repair?

In “Crystal Clear Christmas”: Plague has struck the village of Zama and the citizens blame the only human left on Zenevieva, Maya. Will Vach make the ultimate sacrifice to save his wife?

I actually thought I was done with Maya and Vach, but then their son wanted his own book and I wrote Matrix Crystal River.

It was the first time I wrote a shy character. Most of the women I write about don’t have a shy bone in their bodies. The stories theme is also a bit different.

What if… the humans came back, and their greedy Earth government wanted the matrix crystals to exploit?

What if… their geologist though talented in finding and shaping crystals was painfully shy?

What if… River Namaste wanted her and wouldn’t let anything, or anyone get in his way?

River’s story was published last year.

Aha, I thought I am done.

And then, Vach and Maya’s daughter is poking me in the shoulder and told me it was her turn.

Okay, fine. I wrote the next book, Matrix Crystal Rebels, and it was just published 12-19-2017. So just a few days ago.

Again, the ‘what ifs’ are a bit different.

What if…Earth geologist Steen’s mission is to look and act like a Zeeman, so he can locate matrix crystals.

What if… Steen’s deception fails, and the only one willing to help him is Rain Namaste? (Maya and Vach’s daughter?)

What if… Steen doesn’t realize he’s fallen in love with the lovely redhead until someone tries to claim her on Hymeneal Night?
What will he do then?

I’m proud of Matrix Crystal Rebels, I think it is my best work so far. I felt the same way I did while writing Matrix Crystal Hunters. I went to bed late and got up early to write some more. As I wrote the story, it flowed effortlessly.

This is why I love writing so much. *grin*

Matrix Crystal Rebels

Excerpt:

“Who are these for?” asked the shop owner.

“My brother,” She said without a beat.

“Which one?”

“Ah, now that would be telling.” She touched the side of her nose and added more clothes to the stack. “How much?”

He went through the stack, muttering under his breath. “Fifty ducats.”

“That’s a little steep. These are used. I’ll give you thirty.”

The proprietor rested a hand on top of the stack. “You’ve got a big pile of clothes here. Forty.”

“It’s okay I’ve got it.” Steen dug into his pocket. This was for him after all.

“Steven, you don’t need to,” Rain said. If she was play acting, it was flawless.

“Excellent.” The shop owner bowed and took the coins which he dropped into a carved box. He then bagged the clothing into several totes. “If any of these don’t fit, please feel free to bring them back.”

Rain frowned. “At a significant deduction on the exchange?”

“Of course, how else am I to make a profit?” He smiled, handing over both totes. “It was nice doing business with you.”

“Thank you. Steven, can you get the totes?”

Steen took the bags, surprised at how much they weighed. “Oof, heavy.”

“You’re a big guy, suck it up. We have more shops to visit.” Rain strolled out the door ahead of him.

“A little advice from a fellow male, she won’t be easy to woo,” the store owner told him. “Rain is a lovely young female, but she’s as difficult as her mother. Just ask Vach. Rain is like Maya, but more energetic. It’s like someone put way too much sweetener into her daily tea.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.” Steen followed Rain out the door.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Matrix Crystal Hunters: https://www.amazon.com/Matrix-Crystal-Hunters-Book-Crystals-ebook/dp/B00FJ10W26/
Matrix Crystal Christmas: https://www.amazon.com/Matrix-Crystal-Christmas-Crystals-Book-ebook/dp/B00GJCNBAY/
Matrix Crystal River: https://www.amazon.com/Matrix-Crystal-River-Crystals-Three-ebook/dp/B01MDOHI70/
Matrix Crystal Rebels: https://www.amazon.com/Matrix-Crystal-Rebels-Book-Four-ebook/dp/B078HL6113/
And since I mentioned it, here’s Year of the Cat: https://www.amazon.com/Year-Cat-Janice-Seagraves-ebook/dp/B0748CP9JH
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Find Janice Seagraves’s on:
Her website: https://janice-seagraves.org/
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Janice-Seagraves-Author-117551164948239/
And on Twitter: https://twitter.com/janiceseagraves
Janice’s Amazon page, where you can see all her books: https://www.amazon.com/Janice-Seagraves/e/B0056D223Y/
Janice’s Smashwords page: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/Ladyjanice
And here is Janice on Barns and Nobles: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/janice%20seagraves/_/N-0

Happy New Year!

Here’s to a shiny, hopeful 2018! And I can’t believe I’m even typing those digits. Sheeeee-ett. I remember when I was partying like it was 1999! For real!

A new year, and it’s that time again. I know many of you never make a list of resolutions because you feel as though you’re setting yourselves up for failure, but I believe we can all set some “soft promises” to ourselves.

I’m a list girl. Always have been, and the older I get, I lean on them even harder. If it’s not on my list, it’s not on my radar sort of thing. But my lists are usually compiled of very finite goals and are almost always aimed at writing projects. So—work-related! Not at all a “soft promise”. So far as those go…

I don’t usually set weight goals because, like many of you, I always let myself down. I have no desire to be reed-thin, but I do want to feel better, so that’s my soft goal: Feel better in 2018! And I do have a box of some diet stuff waiting for me to get serious for a week or two to get the process going. Yuck, but I can do anything in the short-term. My hope is to eat less, move more, even if the moving is just cleaning house or walking rather than driving across the highway to my dd’s for coffee.

Then there’s the art thing. Writing is my creative passion, but for the past few years, it’s felt more like a job. I show up every day at the keyboard and pound out words or edit others’ words. I’ve been feeling a little empty, like the creative spark needed a new outlet. I’ve been making jewelry, but it doesn’t always feed my need for color and freedom because wrapping, linking, beading doesn’t feel explosively creative. This year, I’m going to try to get the creative zest back in my life. First, I’m going to write a series that lights my fire: Montana Bounty Hunters. Humor mixed with action and sexy times feels right. I had so much fun writing the first book, REAPER, that I’m eager to see what happens next in that world. And, I’m rejoining the local art guild this month. It’s time to take a few classes, learn some new techniques, and get out the paint!

Lastly, I want to learn to be a saver. I’m luckier than most in that I won’t have to depend on Social Security when I’m in my dotage. I have a couple of retirements that will kick in when I hit 60, but I’d love to feel more in control—and to take some trips. So, with Hawaii and Iceland in mind, I’m taking the 52-week savings challenge. It’s small beans, but I hope it will help me learn a little discipline. No, I don’t need another paint brush or the latest tablet. Not that I am any good at denying myself little treasures, but one thing I’ve learned about myself is that I get EXTREME pleasure from treasure hunting at flea markets and yard sales. Those pretty buttons, odd beads, and small machinery finds help feed my art habit. So, maybe I don’t need a new Michael Kors bag, but I can get my shopping on looking for just the right piece of bric-a-brac for the next mixed media piece I work on.

So, that’s my soft list of resolutions. Not a big list, and I won’t attack it with any “all or nothing” ambition, just a quiet plodding resolution.

So, how about it? Do you have a “soft” resolution?
Something you’d love to do for yourself this coming year?

If you comment, you’ll be entered to win a small Amazon.com gift card.  ~DD

Where did 2017 go? Dang, for me, it was a really short year! Must have been busy.

I hope you all stay safe tonight! I’ll likely be snoozing by the time the big apple or peach drops since I’ve been up since 3:30 AM—darn insomnia!

And just because I love to celebrate my accomplishments (who else will?!), I’ve posted last month’s releases, in case you missed them, and I’m giving you the great big list of all my 2017 stories. Prepare to be amazed. LOL!

Now, go stock up on champagne and noise-makers!! See you in 2018!

A Quick Recap of December!

Soldier Boy
Texas Cowboys, Book 3

Just home from war, Mac McDonough is in a world of hurt only a woman can cure. Her jealous stalker doesn’t stand a chance…

Fresh from war, “Mac” McDonough wants just two things: whiskey to drown the pain in his damaged leg and a woman. But one look into Suki Reese’s haunted eyes, and he knows she needs the kind of muscle only an ex-soldier can provide.

Mac’s brooding gaze and hard body leave Suki Reece breathless and disturbed. The rugged ex-soldier won’t listen to a word she says until Suki distracts him with a sexy striptease. That gets his attention. Suki may have gotten the upper hand, but Mac is going to be on top.

Get your copy here!

Wolf Moon Rising

Beaux Rêve Coven, Book 3

In Jefferson Parish, deep in the bayou, is a place called Bonne Nuit. Off the beaten path, isolated by swamp and connected to the sea, there the Beaux Rêve Coven thrives.

Five witches…Too many demons to count…

Aoife is the flightiest of the sister witches, and she has a secret, one her mother warned her to keep close to her heart. Her father was a fairy—which explains her quirkiness and her affinity for flowers. She lives in a cabin on stilts that juts into the bayou, and one of her demon guardians is a werewolf. She’s attracted, but how would he feel if he married her, fathered a child, and that child disappeared into the land of the fae?

Desperate to find a solution to her dilemma, she flees her guardian’s protection. Her last hope is to enlist her father’s help. Plead her case. Her happiness, and that of her one true love, Sigurd, depends on whether she can escape this fairy curse.

Get your copy here!

Arctic Dragon
Standalone

Escaping her destiny for a day in the human world, a snow maiden, is rescued after her horse bolts, and then is brought to an isolated cabin by a recluse—a handsome, gifted artist, living alone in an arctic wilderness…

Headstrong, and seeking a little respite from a suitor’s relentless wooing, Queen Larikke rides the arctic wind far beyond the bounds of Northland, only to have her horse bolt at a shot from a hunter’s gun. Her rescuer is a handsome, mysterious man who lives alone in the wilderness, his cabin filled with erotic images of women. Rather than fearing her fate, Larikke sets out to seduce him, hoping for one last fling before she settles down to do her duty and wed.

Thinking he was saving a life, Drake dragged a very strange woman home, stripped her, and warmed her by his fire. Now, he finds his long, self-imposed isolation may have made her allure impossible to resist, and Drake fears he’ll harm her if he shares his special kiss.

Get your copy here!

45 for 2017! Uh, actually more!

This is the list for 2017! I’ve highlighted my personal favorite stories in red. And note that numbers 29 and 30 are multiples, so my actual total sits at 51, I think. So, I don’t blame you if you haven’t caught up! 🙂

1. 01/10/17 – STEPBROTHERS STEPPING OUT: ULTIMATE COLLECTION, Box Set
2. 01/24/17 – RIDE A TEXAS COWBOY, reissue
3. 01/31/17 – SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT, Texas Billionaires series
4. 02/14/17 – HARD SEAL TO LOVE, Uncharted SEALs series
5. 02/19/17 – FUN WITH DICK AND JAYNE, reissue
6. 03/11/17 – BEGGING FOR IT, reissue
7. 03/24/17 – SWEETER THAN HONEY, reissue (Indie)
8. 03/28/17 – STEPBROTHER’S STEPPING OUT: WITH HIS SEAL TEAM-4, short story
9. 03/31/17 – SADDLED, reissue
10. 04/08/17 – RAW SILK, reissue
11. 04/11/17 – WHO’S YOUR DADDY, Texas Billionaire Club series
12. 04/18/17 – BAD TO THE BONE, Night Fall series (Indie)
13. 05/06/17 – UNBRIDLED, Lone Star Lovers series, reissue
14. 05/10/17 – STEPBROTHERS STEPPING OUT: WITH HIS SEAL TEAM-4, short story
15. 05/16/17 – UNFORGIVEN, Lone Star Lovers series, reissue
16. 05/20/17 – NERD’S BLIND DATE, short story
17. 05/27/17 – JANE’S WILD WEEKEND, reissue
18. 06/02/17 – FOUR SWORN, Lone Star Lovers, reissue
19. 06/08/17 – BIG SKY SEAL, Uncharted SEALs series
20. 06/13/17 – BLUE COLLAR, Boys Behaving Badly series
21. 06/16/17 – BREAKING LEATHER, Lone Star Lovers series
22. 07/07/17 – HEAD OVER SEAL, Uncharted SEALs series
23. 07/14/17 – FOUR-GONE CONCLUSION, Lone Star Lovers series
24. 07/18/17 – ON FIRE, Anthology with Cleis Press
25. 07/26/17 – LOVE & WAR, Texas Billionaire series
26. 07/28/17 – TWO WILD FOR TEACHER, Lone Star Lovers series, reissue
27. 08/10/17 – REINED IN, Lone Star Lovers, reissue
28. 08/15/17 – LONG HOWL GOOD NIGHT, Night Fall series, reissue
29. 08/21/17 – * DELTA BLUE series x 5, reissue
30. 08/21/17 – * DELTA HEAT series x 3, reissue
31. 08/24/17 – HANDY MEN, reissue
32. 08/31/17 – FAMILY VALUES, Lone Star Lovers series, reissue
33. 09/08/17 – FIRST KNIGHT, Night Fall series, reissue
34. 09/14/17 – ONCE IN A BLUE MOON, Beaux Reve Coven series, reissue
35. 09/21/17 – SEAL ESCORT, Uncharted SEALs series
36. 09/27/17 – THE BOUNTY, short story
37. 10/12/17 – WEARING HIS BRAND, Texas Cowboy series, reissue
38. 10/19/17 – UNDER A BLOOD MOON, Beaux Reve Coven series, reissue
39. 11/02/17 – THE COWBOY AND THE WIDOW, Texas Cowboys series, reissue
40. 11/09/17 – BIG BAD WOLF, Night Fall series
41. 11/14/17 – REAPER, Montana Bounty Hunters series
42. 11/21/17 – WITH HIS SEAL TEAM-PART 5, Stepbrothers Stepping Out series
43. 12/05/17 – SOLDIER BOY, Texas Cowboys series, reissue
44. 12/12/17 – WOLF MOON RISING, Beaux Reve Coven series
45. 12/20/17 – ARCTIC DRAGON, reissue

Just one more day until we party like it’s 2018! Woohoo! Do you have big plans? A party? We’re still on grandma duty, so likely, we’ll raise our glasses early before my dd heads to grandma’s, and I bed down on the sofa at her place to watch the kids, while my SIL’s watching over restless prisoners at the county jail. Well, they do say you should start the year the way you intend it to go. We’re thankful for jobs, thankful to still have grandma with us, and I do love spending time with the kids, so there you are!

I’m busy still looking at this last chaotic year and making plans for 2018. Plans that include new stories for you! And, hopefully, a few of trips. I’ll be in Nashville in March for a readers’ conference, Hawaii in April for a writers’ retreat (!!!), July in central Arkansas for another writers’ retreat, and lastly, I plan to be in Florida in October for a big writers’ conference. Four trips! I feel guilty about the expense and the time away—don’t most mamas feel that way, too?

Anyway, below are three stories dropping into Kindles very soon! Bound & Determined is coming January 9th! The other two are February releases. Drool away!

  

Click on the covers to reserve your copy!

Contest

For a chance to win a free download of one of my recent releases—your choice—tell me what your New Year’s Eve plans are!

Excerpt from Bound & Determined

When the DJ’s speaker set crashed to the floor as the first women to arrive rushed the tables nearest the stage, Tara Toomey scrambled for a replacement and chalked the mishap up to high spirits.

When one of the volunteers carrying a tray of Jell-O shots tripped, and cherry and lime gelatin slid in glistening trails down his face and naked chest, she laughed as eager women offered to lick him clean.

However, it wasn’t until one of her staff whispered in her ear that she knew she was in for a long night. The main attraction had yet to arrive.

She crushed her dog-eared copy of the “Hook-up” program in her fist and headed toward the old-fashioned, double swinging doors, ready to stomp all the way to Redbone Ranch to drag his butt to town.

As she passed excited, tittering women her smile felt strained, and her nerves stretched taut. The “Annual Honky-tonk Hook-up” had always been a good time, but this year she wished she hadn’t been so quick to volunteer her bar again. Sure, it was good for business and many of the “blow-ins” from Houston, San Antonio, and San Angelo returned throughout the year because they enjoyed the event and Paraiso’s authentic western ambience.

But Tara wished she could return home, crawl into bed, and pull the covers over her head. The last thing she felt ready to do was watch one particular cowboy strut his stuff across the stage and land in some other woman’s clutches—even if it was just one night, completely innocent, right, and for a really good cause. The fact he might blow off the auction pissed her off almost as much as the thought of the spectacle he’d cause if he did finally make an entrance.

If anyone thought splintered speaker casings or a little spilled Jell-O were trouble, they hadn’t seen a room full of women erupt in the wake of one seriously sexy cowboy. Read the rest of this entry »

Want 2018 to be fantastic? Yasmine’s Room wants to help you invite more Love, Pleasure & WellBeing into your life!

Thank you, Delilah for the opportunity to write and share with your audience!

The new year is upon us once again. With the beginning of every new year, we immediately create a list of goals, or resolutions on how to change and better our life. How many resolutions did you fulfill last year? How many have you listed for this coming year? Do any of your listed resolutions allow you to love yourself more, find more pleasure daily, increase your wellbeing?

We want to suggest scrapping the whole resolution thing, and make yourself only one promise that will change your life. It doesn’t cost a thing, and really works.

Here’s how you begin: look at yourself in the mirror, make eye contact and say the following promise to yourself outloud:

“I pledge to invite and allow more love, pleasure and wellbeing into my life, every day, starting today.”

Write this down, post it in places you will see it every day, say it outloud to yourself every morning.

Why?

“Because you yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” Buddha

Here’s how to put the above promise into action!

LOVE

Love yourself. Many women go through life looking for love, looking to receive love and to share love. However you can’t experience love fully until you love yourself completely. Here’s a technique to start the process and receive the love that is waiting for you.

Again, look in the mirror. Look deeply into your eyes and say to yourself, out loud with feeling:

I love you. I am worthy, strong, beautiful, capable and deserving of all that is good and waiting for me.

This may be hard for some of you, but make this a daily morning practice (combine with the promise above for quicker results!) As you begin to get comfortable with declaring love for yourself, your daily life will begin to change. You will be more open to receiving love, and your decision making will be based on your needs and which choice will contribute to your wellbeing. You will begin to subconsciously make yourself a priority.

For more tips on self care and allowing more love into your life, download our free Self Care Guide here.

PLEASURE

We deny ourselves pleasure all the time, but pleasure is essential to living a happy, joyful life. Pleasure is not about having that second muffin, or that extra drink. Pleasure is about feeling happy, satisfied, and joyful. The feel of soft sheets on a cool bed is pleasurable. The feel of your lovers hand on your arm is pleasurable. Laughing with friends is pleasurable. When we feel pleasure, we release oxytocin, our feel-good hormone. During sex and orgasm, we release endorphins, hormones that contribute to feelings of euphoria. Make a list of what brings you pleasure, and incorporate one or more into your everyday routine.

Click here to read our blog on 10 Things that can give you Pleasure right now!

We’ve got a lovely shop of luxury adult toys, lubricants, massage oils and more. For being a valued member of Delilah’s audience, use coupon code LUVDELILAH for 20% off! Click here.

WELLBEING

Our focus at Yasmine’s Room is on the wellbeing of the whole woman, inside and out, head to toes. Holistic health is impossible without exercise, sexual wellbeing and a positive outlook. So how to accomplish such a tall order?

Start with mindfulness. Bring yourself to be here, now. What is it about this moment that you enjoy? For me it is the sound of my pen on the clean sheet of paper, writing these words you read now, in other words, creating.

Another way to increase your wellbeing is to have a good night’s sleep. If you are having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or feeling refreshed when you awaken, then it’s time to create a sleep hygiene routine. The better you sleep, the better you will feel, the healthier you’ll become. All this will add up to you feeling happier.

Read our blog to help you create your own sleep hygiene routine, “Want to feel better? Get a good night’s rest.”

*~*~*~*

If you’ve enjoyed this guest blog, you’re invited to join us at Yasmine’s Room here. You will receive monthly information on health, sex, and overall wellbeing, plus alerts on specials, and access to free romance stories, chapters and erotica in your inbox.

Are you a Romance or Erotica author?

Are you a romance or erotica author that would like some extra exposure for your novels or short stories? Contact us! You may get featured on our Bookshelf, and gain new readers! View our Submission guidelines here.

I have a pathological fear of writer’s block! The very idea of joining the ranks of pantsers—those that write by the seat of their pants—gives me waking nightmares. I’m an ardent planner. I like to detail every scene, then move on to the research, and end by checking that my character development and arcs are complete. This works because when I start the actual writing of my novels, I can focus on the creative process without panicking about what is going to happen next.

To say that things didn’t go as planned when I finally sat down to write Gray’s Promise, is like Nora Roberts saying she likes to write a bit of Romance—an understatement of note! I hadn’t even reached the end of Chapter One, when I realized Gray and Zoey’s journey to their happily ever after was going to be so painful and intense, and so darn beautiful, that a complicated suspense plot was only going to distract from their explosive relationship. Without hesitation (but after two shots of Tequila), I threw out my intricate suspense plot that had taken me months to plan and research, and replaced it with an evil much closer to home. But this still wasn’t enough. I decided to also rework the physical relationship between Gray and Zoey because their sexual chemistry might have been as combustible as dynamite, but it was also intricately linked to their long and unbreakable bond to each other. Complicated emotional factors (clear in the story when you read it) determined I delay the actual consummation between them. This presented a huge challenge because I had to find a way to make their sexual encounters smoking hot without them actually doing the deed until the final chapter of their story.

Yowza! The love scenes between Gray and Zoey ended up being the hottest scenes I’ve ever written, most likely because the emotion between these two complicated characters is intensely raw, but also because Gray is just that darn hot!

I hope you enjoy the blurb and the short excerpt I’ve selected that gives you just a hint of the heat between Gray and Zoey.

Wishing you all an awesome festive season…and hours of happy reading.

Anni x

Gray’s Promise

A jealousy that destroys everything in its path…a love that refuses to die.

Zoey Morgan seems to have it all as a successful surgeon in Boston. However, perfection lies only on the surface. Plagued by nightmares and amnesia from a tragedy that ripped her family from her fourteen years ago, she finds the courage to reach out to the only man who can make her feel safe. She’s buried the memory of their love, but her heart—and her body—responds to the ex-marine in ways that are all too familiar.

Grayson “Gray” Walker’s heart shattered when Zoey chose another man over him. Since then, he’s built an impenetrable wall around his emotions. But from the moment she implodes back into his life, her vulnerability breaches his defenses. His skills as an elite member of the King Security team cannot shield him from the devastation of learning he might have left Zoey high and dry when she needed him most. Now, Gray must navigate the tripwire of helping her heal while protecting himself from being hurt again.

As the embers of their potent love reignite, an old threat awakens, leading to greater danger than ever before.

EXCERPT

The porch door was open, letting a soft breeze move through the cottage. I breathed in the dewy dampness, and a faint pain echoed near my heart. If I closed my eyes, I could almost hear Mama chattering to my dad in the kitchen. She always got up early to make breakfast. The memories were buried but when they surfaced, they were mine to treasure. I drank my coffee and washed down the last of my cinnamon roll. And with it, gently nudged the memory away.

The breeze gusted and I brushed away a curl of hair fluttering in my face. Gray was cracking eggs now and a wave of lust crept over me. His easy—and mostly naked—confidence in the kitchen was weirdly heady. An image of his face when he came last night slipped into my mind. The dampness in the air transferred to my skin and I shivered, goose bumps prickling up my arms. Jeez. He was so sexy. Even more than I could have ever imagined. Rubbing at my goosies, I peeked at him through my lashes. A vague heaviness fluttered in my tummy. He was confident and seductive as hell, but he was also holding back. He might have had reason last night, but I wasn’t going to let him get away with it for long. Gray’s running days were coming to an end. Soon.

“Butterfly.” His sexy growl demanded my attention. He was sipping coffee, his electric gaze focused on me. “You wearing panties?”

BUY LINKS

Amazon.com – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077KRRX15
Amazon.uk – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B077KRRX15/
Nook – https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/grays-promise-anni-fife/1127486541?ean=2940158745911
Kobo – https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/gray-s-promise
iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/grays-promise/id1315176273?ls=1&mt=11
Bookstrand – https://www.bookstrand.com/grays-promise
The Wild Rose Press – https://wildcatalog.thewildrosepress.com/all-erotic/5486-gray-s-promise.html

OTHER BOOKS IN THE KING SECURITY SERIES
Luke’s Redemption (King Security Book 1)
A RONE Award Finalist for Steamy Contemporary
Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/Lukes-Redemption-King-Security-Novel-ebook/dp/B01M4ITMS7

RAFFLECOPTER – GRAY’S PROMISE RELEASE GIVEAWAY

Start Date – 8 December 2017
End Date – 8 February 2018

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3 x eBook copies of Gray’s Promise

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ABOUT ANNI FIFE

Anni Fife is an exciting contemporary romance author who has already made her mark in the popular genre of Steamy Romantic Suspense. Her debut novel, Luke’s Redemption, has been acclaimed by critics and readers and was a Finalist in the 2017 RONE Awards. Anni says she credits Kristen Ashley as her guiding inspiration, and strives to make her characters equally as heart-wrenching and unforgettable. She is currently working on Eva’s Peace (King Security Book 3).

Last year, Anni closed the door on a successful career in television production to fulfill her lifelong passion, writing. In the space of a month, she shut her business, packed up her city life, and moved to a small seaside village. When she’s not writing, she can be found on the beach searching for pansy shells, or drinking red wine and gabbing with her gal posse.

If you want to know when Anni’s next book is releasing and be first to get regular updates and BONUS TREATS, visit her website and sign up to join her POSSE.

Anni is published by The Wild Rose Press, and is a member of Romance Writers of America (RWA).

ANNI’S SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

You can read all about Anni on her website, and join Anni’s Posse to get regular updates and Bonus Treats—www.annifife.com
Or LIKE Anni on Facebook—https://www.facebook.com/AnniFifeAuthor/
Or follow Anni on Twitter—https://twitter.com/AnniFifeAuthor
Amazon— https://www.amazon.com/author/annifife
Goodreads— https://www.goodreads.com/AnniFife
BookBub— https://www.bookbub.com/authors/anni-fife

When I was six years old, 1950, we lived on an island in the middle of the mighty Snake River near Ontario, Oregon. At six, I was going to the first grade. But there was a huge hurdle I had to walk every day to go meet the school bus. There was a huge train 3-span bridge stretching across the Snake River. And I had to walk it.

I don’t know if you can imagine this but my Scorpio mother taught me how to walk across it BY MYSELF after she showed me how to do it. There was a big problem: I was dizzied by the brownish/green water far below me if I looked down. And I’d lose my balance. The chances of me falling off the bridge were very real. Consequently, I learned to walk those trestles above the water WITHOUT LOOKING DOWN, which increased exponentially, my miscalculating and stumbling and thereby, pitching off the bridge, falling into the water and drowning. Even at five, I understand all of that! In 1950, there were no safeguards on bridges for anyone, much less a 5-year-old little girl.

My mother worked, so she too had to walk across that bridge twice a day, too. She would park our car on the bank, near the bridge, and walk across to our home on that island. She taught me that if a train came? I was to lay down in the middle of the tracks, flatten out and keep my arms and legs within the rails while the train passed above me. That way, I’d survive. Otherwise, I wouldn’t.

Now, it’s 2017. Can you imagine ANY mother doing that nowadays with a 5-year-old, much less a child of any age under 18? I’m sure you wouldn’t. She did NOT accompany me across the bridge after that—I was on my own. She was already at work and couldn’t do it even though she wanted too. My stepfather was too injured from the war to do much walking, so that was out, too. BUT….we had Blackie, an older Border Collie, who we found on the island when we moved into the house. He adopted us.

And he would accompany me to the bridge, stand watch, but not go across it because he was frightened of it, too. So was I. My greatest fear was not hearing a train coming behind me and then having to do my safety thing to survive it. That scared me more than walking across the three-span bridge. Blackie would then meet me in the afternoon when the school bus dropped me off and I had to walk the bridge to get back home.

I loved that dog with my life. He sensed how frightened I was of that bridge, sensing that if I looked down, I’d get dizzy, lose my balance and fall in and drown in the Snake River. He was my guardian.

I wanted to write a book about a Border Collie based upon my childhood experiences with Blackie. I wanted to honor him and his breed. So, there’s lots of wonderful emotions I was able to write into BOXCAR CHRISTMAS and I know my readers will feel it as they read Freya’s story of survival. And how she helped her 2 humans immensely and in important ways after they rescued her.

I went through a LOT of stock photos to find Blackie. I wasn’t sure I would, but as luck would have it, I did. And now the Border Collie on the book’s cover looks EXACTLY like my beloved Blackie. Every time I see that cover, I smile and my heart expands with love for my guardian angel dog who met me every day for a year when I had to walk that train bridge over the Snake River ;-).

BOXCAR CHRISTMAS

One train car. Two lost souls. Five adorable puppies.

Travis Ramsey is back in Hamilton, Montana, after 10 years serving as a Delta Force operator in Afghanistan. Now responsible for his dad’s fishing guide business, Travis has to deal with his increasingly distant and difficult father, and guilt over his brother’s death. His life takes a turn for the better when he meets Army vet Jesse Myers. Jesse is taken with his grandparent’s quirky boxcar cabin and wants to rent it. Taken by her beauty, and the familiar haunted look in her eyes, he makes her a deal. He will rent the boxcar to her for free in return for her help in making renovations.

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