Every once in a while, as a writer, you run across a group of people that you just know are special. I know quite a few such women and am fortunate enough to collaborate with many of them in things like critique groups, writing events and the occasional anthology. Now every group has their specific things like a critique group may have a deadline to get your story submitted whereas a submission for an anthology will be different.

It occurred to me during my last such effort with the Sin City Romance Writers, that each of those groups, especially those doing anthology projects have a few things in common. Here are six important factors needed for a successful anthology collaboration.

1. Describe the Project ~ When being part of an anthology, you want to know just what you’re getting into before you join. Here are some good questions to ask:
   1. What is required?
   2. How are the writers assigned their portions? Do they just submit a story or are they given a specific task?
   3. What are the critique criteria?
   4. How is the editor chosen?
   5. Who does the formatting?

2. Set realistic deadlines ~ This is very important when one is trying to put together an anthology as opposed to a boxed set. Boxed sets are where the stories are already done while anthology stories are normally something new the author has written. Thus more time is normally needed to do a regular anthology. Here’s a list of some of the deadlines normally needed during an anthology project:
   1. Submission date ~ when the authors need to submit their story.
   2. Editing date ~ when the stories be edited.
   3. Formatting date ~ when the stories be formatted for ebook and print book versions.
   4. Pre-order Date ~ when the anthology will be available for pre-order on all the big venues.
   5. Release date ~ when the book is set for release.

3. Specify Ownership ~ Early on in the process, all the participants need to decide just who owns the work. Chances are the stories will be still be owned by their authors but the publishing house, and in most cases the group itself, will ‘own’ or rather ‘lease’ the rights for a certain period of time. Even if you are a group of friends, it is always a great idea to have a contract in place to make sure everyone follows the same set of rules. Also, contracts vary from publishing houses, so make sure you understand just what you are signing.

4. Money ~ It all comes down to money and frankly, it doesn’t matter if you make a little or a lot. You still need to decide just how you’re going to allocate the income and deal with the expenses. If this is publishing house, you will know from your contract just what the royalty rate will be. Most expenditures on your part will be for marketing.

In a group situation, you may have decided to put this in the contract as well. Normally, the income is divided equally. In our case, we had a marketing clause that outlined just how much money each of us would put into the marketing pool.

5. Marketing ~ This is one of the hardest parts when doing an anthology. Sometimes, by the time people get to this phase, the thrill is gone and they aren’t pushing as much as they should be. Still, for our group, we put our minds together and came up with a marketing plan that worked for us all. It did require that we put money into the plan and then do whatever we could on our own as extra. The very fact that we sat down and planned it all out is what makes it work. There was tones of discussion on just what had worked for people and what hadn’t.

6. Reward yourselves ~ Once it’s all over and things are done, reward yourselves with a group dinner where you can plan your next anthology.

Hopefully, I’ve simplified the whole collaboration thing a little for those of you thinking about doing an anthology with a group of writer friends. One thing to remember, writing is a business and even if you are friends, you need to approach it that way.

Now you tell me if we did okay on our project, Decades of Love!

Decades of Love

Love hits the jackpot in these six seductive tales, each set in a different decade in the hottest, wildest, most sinful of cities – Las Vegas.  In Elizabeth Spaur’s Miss Atomic Bomb, a beauty pageant brings a cowboy and city girl together.  A desperate singer finds new hope with a not-so-jaded casino owner in B.A. McIntosh’s Home at Last.  In Lynn Crain’s, Hooked on a Feeling,  two Vietnam vets get a second chance at love while facing enemies at home.  A rodeo star falls hard for a showgirl in Diane Deeds’s Total Eclipse of the Heart.  In Kay Phoenix’s An Unexpected Knight, a hero on a mighty steed captures the heroine’s heart. A good girl learns that being bad can be very, very good in Tami Cowden’s It Happened One Vegas Night.   Mobsters and G-men, cowboys and showgirls, singers and dancers, and even a knight in shining armor  all find that Sin City is not just a place to have fun – but  also a great place to fall in love.

It Happened One Vegas Night by Tami Cowden

Jorja Knox has been a good girl all her life, but all she has to show for it is a cheating fiancé. Now she wants to try being bad. But when you work for the FBI, being bad just isn’t done.  So her brother’s Las Vegas wedding seems the perfect time to take a walk on the wild side. After all, like the commercials say, what happens in Vegas ….

Las Vegas lawyer Tony Santori has always walked a very straight line, steering clear of his uncle’s mob connections. But being a good boy in Sin City loses its appeal when a drop-dead gorgeous blond “tourist” from Denver decides he is her Vegas fantasy. The last time the FBI tried to get to his family through him, he was left heart-broken. This time, he’s spotted the bluff. This time, he’ll be the one who wins.

Hooked On A Feeling by Lynn Crain

Now that she’s returned home from the Vietnam war, all Reggie Genarro wants to do is forget she’s part of the infamous Vegas Genarro mob family. True, her father had broken the mold by becoming one of Las Vegas’ premier prosecutors, but it doesn’t negate the fact that her name has caused her more problems than it’s worth.

When she finds Michael Vanzetti, an ex-lover from her time in Vietnam, dumped in the trash by her great-uncle Sonny’s goons, she knows it’s time to confront her family ties to the mob instead of ignoring them. This may prove an impossible task as her feelings for Michael may overwhelm her before she can meet with her uncle.

Michael Vanzetti, on undercover assignment from Army Intelligence, is stunned when Reggie Genarro comes to his rescue. She’s all he ever wanted in a woman but he could never prove it to her while they were stationed in Vietnam. She never made it any secret that her family was mob connected. So, he volunteered for the assignment to find out how involved her family was with the Asian drug and weapons trade in hopes of seeing her again.

Total Eclipse of the Heart by Diane Deeds

Cody Hunter, a talented young bull rider, is in Las Vegas in 1986 for his first National Finals Rodeo. Cocky and overconfident from a good year, he is, however, haunted by the death of his best friend by a rank bull. Cody now considers all bulls as demons to be conquered.

Las Vegas showgirl, Sandy Keyes, can dance any position in the Celebrations revue. However, her current move to topless performer isn’t sitting well. She would never consider it, except she needs the extra money to repay her brother’s gambling debts.

Sandy knows nothing about the rodeo, but when she meets Cody, she encounters an exciting world wholly removed from her city life. She especially likes how he treats her like a lady. But she doesn’t need the responsibility for another man who never grew up.

Cody must face his demons, including riding the devil bull, Total Eclipse, in order to win Sandy’s heart. However, this cowboy has a difficult road ahead to convince the city mouse to join him in his country life.

Home At Last by B.A. McIntosh

After four years on her own in foster care and another three searching, Ella Montgomery has finally narrowed the hunt to her little sister’s last known location – Las Vegas. It’s been seven years since she’d last seen Emma, and Ella would do anything it takes to bring her family back together, including moving to Vegas with nothing but a few bucks, a talent for singing and her dreams.

Casino owner Luke McBride’s businesses are wildly successful, yet his personal accomplishments always leave him feeling unsatisfied and empty. Restlessness haunts him until one fateful night a beautiful and mysterious new lounge singer catches his eye.

Luke is determined to get to know the lovely Ella better despite her reticence. His persistence catapults them on a journey that demands they learn to trust each other, or risk heartache.

An Unexpected Knight by Kay Phoenix

Sarah never expected to see Kyle again, let alone to have to work with him.

Kyle became a Knight, not guessing “the one that got away” would be the one he’d rely on each evening.

But, magic can still happen in King Arthur’s arena.

Miss Atomic Bomb 1953 by Elizabeth Spaur

All Lily Genarro wants is a family of her own. If only she wasn’t a pawn in a war between two Chicago Families. Her uncle thinks he’s got a way to save her –make her the next Miss Atomic Bomb. Nobody asked Lily what she wants, so she comes up with a crazy plan to sabotage everybody else’s ideas and do things her way.

Back home from Korea, all Jack McFadden wants is to get back to work on his family’s ranch. He’s too solitary for his mother’s taste. She insists he get off the ranch and back into the world and has just the job to make that happen – escort his little sister when she competes in the Miss Atomic Bomb Pageant.

The last thing Lily and Jack expect to find at this crazy pageant is love. The pageant might be a bomb, but their love is explosive.

Welcome to Sin City!

We’re the Sin City Romance Writers and we welcome you to the wonderful Las Vegas landscape. We hope you love our take on the decades that made Vegas what it is today. We’re a diverse group of authors with many different careers from CPA to lawyer, geologist to graphic artist and even intelligence screening. We have done it all. Each of us have a passion for writing, our families and Las Vegas even though many of us are transplants from other places. We call Vegas home and as everyone knows, home is where the heart is.

While this is our first anthology, it will not be our last. Please connect with us at one of the venues listed below. Learn about us as a group and about us individually. And we promise, what happens in Vegas may just stay here. Or not. Read us and see.

Social Media Links:
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Website
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PURCHASE Links:
Amazon
Amazon Universal Link
Books2Read Universal Link
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I had all these plans. You know what plans are, right? They’re the dreams you want to turn into reality, and before you get started all the drama you never expected comes avalanching on top of you. It’s how my 2017 started, but we actually have to go a bit further back.

I had a nice Christmas, spent with family out of town. It was bittersweet considering it was the first one without my late mother-in-law, but we did our best to stay upbeat. I spent the day afterward relaxing and making my kick-ass 2017 goal list in my journal.

Then I got a call from my boss. Business experienced a downturn, and she decided to close. I got laid off on the day after Christmas. 2016 killed all the cool celebrities and a job I loved.

I spent all of January in a fog, laser-focused on finding work. I took what freelance I could to help us stay afloat in case unemployment didn’t kick in. I basically lost an entire month, and still have little memory beyond tweaking my resume and attending interviews.

During this time, too, I had a book accepted by Decadent Publishing, and now that I have gainful employment I can be happy about it.

A bit rushed, too. It’s time to promo, so here I am to present you with the stunning cover for IF YOU WANT IT. This is my first sports-hero romance, and my second with a BBW heroine. I was inspired by many visits to Central Virginia for the setting, and by small-town romances I’ve enjoyed from Kristan Higgins, Susan Mallery, and Debbie Macomber. I enjoyed being in this world as I wrote, and if you’re looking for a sweet-ish romance with a field goal-worthy kick I hope you’ll give it a try. IF YOU WANT IT comes out later this month, but you can visit my Amazon page at https://www.amazon.com/Kathryn-Lively/e/B004FW06U8/ and receive notification when it’s live.

IF YOU WANT IT

The days when people called Winnie Segal “Sea Cow” are long over. She’s still a big gal, and everybody around her’s gone all PC and “Yay, body acceptance,” but once in a while something dredges up a bad memory. This time, the trigger is Cory Levane, former high school star quarterback and current NFL legend, former high school crush. After a triumphant career he’s come home to show off, so Winnie thinks. She’d rather design and sell her artwork than give a damn, yet the garden in which she grows her damns thrives.

After one month of early retirement, Cory is climbing the walls. He thought coming home would provide cheer and inspire him to plan his future, but people treat him like a celebrity instead of an actual person. He’s happy about one thing, though: Winnie Segal hasn’t changed—she’s still gorgeous and funny as ever, and talented. If he weren’t so damn tongue-tied around her he’d let her know.

The opportunity to work together on a project has Cory anxious to get closer, and leaves Winnie suspicious of his motives. Winnie doesn’t let comments about her weight get to her as much these days, and while Cory never made fun of her in school, he never attempted to start a friendship, either.

Winnie keeps a tight hold on her heart, and Cory knows it will take more than his football skills to get her to pass it to him.

About Kathryn Lively

Things you need to know about me:

I am the author of several novels and stories. Currently I self-publish and have works through Totally Bound and Decadent Publishing.

I have seen every episode of M*A*S*H at least four times. I’ll binge watch it again, make no mistake.

I minored in German in college and continue to learn the language. I aim for fluency but will be happy with a strong reading knowledge.

I knit Doctor Who scarves. I am currently working on a fourth one.

I enjoy reading historical fiction and biographies.

I have seen Rush in concert ten times. Voluntarily.

I am working on my next book. Always.

I enjoy making lists.

You can connect with me on Twitter at @MsKathrynLively and sign up for my newsletter at https://eepurl.com/bq-RML.

A couple of years ago, I was looking forward to the most wonderful summer. At the start of it, my first novel was due out; two months later, my second; and two months after that, my third. A whole trilogy in one year! I was over the moon. One small thing—I also faced an operation. Nothing major but still scary, and guess what? My first ever launch date was the very same day as my op.

Stuff happens.

But the coincidence preyed on my mind. Weird or what? I have to admit it skewed things. Everybody close to me knew about the op, but I kept my launch date quiet, a secret treat for a tricky day.

Luckily all went well, but it set me thinking. Suppose I’d faced something really bad? And it came at around the same time as a life-changing upheaval of some kind, like a break-up or a death in the family?

And supposing I’d once been famous—a musician, maybe, or a sportswoman, and for some reason I faced another, more personal loss at the same time, that I was too ashamed to admit to anybody because of seeming vain—the loss of all that was left of my skills or my talent?

How big a treat would I need then?

If I had a little cash put by, maybe I’d splash out on some serious pampering—a luxury spa with extras. And if a gorgeous hunk on the staff happened to flirt with me, then hang it, for once I’d flirt right back. I’d take everything on offer, no holds barred. I’d be paying, right?

And my hero? Would he be the usual dark, brooding romantic type, twitching with issues and playing hard to catch? Let’s say he’s blond for a change, a calm professional, paid to please, deft and discreet as a skilled waiter or footman. I’m not dumb. I know he’s paid to be nice to me. But hey, I’m doing the paying, so he better be pretty damn good at it. When I splash my cash I make every penny count.  So what he’s a sex object? We all know the score, and for once I’ll let rip and enjoy myself, even if deep down I know that the way I’m treating him makes me and my situation all the more pathetic…

So here comes “The Masseur”, a gentleman and a professional, good at what he does and worth every cent, and my heroine’s extra special treat before she faces something hard in her life. In my story, precisely what she faces is left unsaid—we don’t need to know the detail. We only need to see its effect on her to taste the full sweetness of her final discovery.

I do hope you enjoy it!

 

From “THE MASSEUR” by Flora Dain appearing in Sex Objects…

Gunder Olsen was tall and blond—well built, well honed and good-looking. When he was around the sun seemed to shine, the ship seemed to steady. He had fair Viking hair that gleamed gold in the sun and blue Viking eyes that darkened to charcoal when he got excited—which wasn’t too often, being on the cool side of Nordic. But when he touched you…

He drew the women like flies. Lily suspected he brought Landales a lot of customers. As a newcomer here she was more than willing to take everything on offer, including all the hidden extras. And if massage came in the form of Viking divinity, so much the better.

“You can turn over now.”

She lingered on his arm as he half lifted, half shifted her onto her back and stood looking down at her, solemn and perfect.

“You’re still very tense. You have a beautiful body.”

Whoa. Did masseurs say that? Her eyes widened. He was smiling as he watched for her response.

“It’s true. You work out?”

“Never.” She wanted to giggle.

“I could put you on a program. Just to tone the muscles here and here.”

She moaned as he touched her lower abdomen, running his fingers over her soft skin, making her tingle. He was watching her intently now, Thor brewing the storm.

His voice deepened. “You permit?”

She nodded and held her breath as his hand moved lower, scooping away her modest towel and searching deep into her groin.

“This arouses you?”

“You think?”

He knew it did. They’d performed this ritual every day since she’d got here. First her arms and hands, then her legs, back and breasts, and now her pussy. It was like he knew how much she wanted it, how much she needed his magic touch to grant her release.

To start with she’d been embarrassed. He’d leaned over her and explained in his rich dark voice and his light foreign accent that she needed to relax and he could smell her, he knew she was aroused. It was nothing to be ashamed of and in his professional opinion she needed relief badly.

She still blushed at the memory.

Now he paused, his fingers already inside her, his eyes dark as graphite. She felt a trickle of juice down the inside of one thigh.

“Is this okay?”

Should she let him do this? Was it allowed? Did it cost extra? She held his gaze, his eyes dark as night now. Was he aroused too?

“It’s wonderful. But—” She broke off, a little pink. She’d thought about this.

His lips flexed like she’d said something funny. “But—what?”

“Only if you want to.”

He grinned. “Know what? That’s the best offer I’ve had all day. Lie still, Lily. Part your legs for me.”

She closed her eyes. She was close already and getting closer, her climax building under his expert touch. She was about to burst into bloom like a cactus in the desert…. With a sob she arched under his hand and gave herself up to his fingers and their glorious gift of release…. “Yes.” She shrieked out loud at the intensity of it and lay entranced, buffeted by its aftershocks, letting rapture lap over her in waves of heat that ebbed away leaving her glowing and content.

She opened her eyes and felt a tear trickle into her hair. “Forgive me, I’m so sorry. It’s just—it’s been so long….”

“Hey. Don’t apologize.” In seconds he’d hoisted her upright and put his arm round her. He folded his other hand around her breast and squeezed gently. It was startling, hot and yet somehow comforting. He laid his cheek against hers and she caught a whiff of his cologne, citrus mingled with something darker, feral.

“I know. I can tell. Don’t cry. If it feels good we do it, okay? If it makes you relax we do it. Whatever it takes. That’s why you’re here.”

She nestled against him, relishing his embrace. Their hour was almost over. Soon another woman would be lying here, moaning for more under his magic touch…. Lily suppressed the thought. Who was she to argue when a Viking god ordered her to come? Why spit in the wind?

* * * * *

Curious for more? Then do read the rest of my story in Sex Objects: Erotic Romance for Women, Delilah’s brilliant new story collection for Cleis Press.

If you enjoyed this, you might like to try some of my other books.

The Wolfe Trilogy is an intriguing mix of thriller, ménage and light BDSM. A  teacher-cum-poet forms an intense but tricky relationship with a wealthy, handcuff-fixated CEO whose business is being challenged by her ex.

Suiting Saffina is a trilogy set in Regency times. A willful heiress meets her match when her rakish guardian returns from abroad to take her in hand and find her a suitor. His tastes and his methods are strict and unusual, but her choice of lovers defies all his plans.

Kinky Week, my latest novel, is a light BDSM ménage comedy. A ditzy young sub, eager to please her strict older partner, risks harming his distinguished legal career.

* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Flora-Dain-720798664632939
* Good Reads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6950358.Flora_Dain
* Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Flora-Dain/e/B01N9AB0HY
* Twitter: @Flora Dain
Email: floradain@aol.com

As a newly divorced woman, I wanted to do something just for me. So that winter, I rented cross country skis and drove the thirty minutes to Bogus Basin, a small ski resort near my home town. I felt reckless. I worried about my car breaking down on the snowy two lane road. I worried about falling and hurting myself. Who would take care of my son? How would I pay my bills without the income I brought in from my second job waitressing? Why was I even spending my only free Saturday morning doing this stupid thing?

Then I pulled the car over in the cross-country parking lot and stepped out into another world. The air felt cold and clear on my face. I bought my day pass, strapped on my skis, and headed down the trail. All of a sudden, my worries disappeared and all I could think of was the routine of my workout. Left, right, left, right. The pace was slow, but steady and as I wound my way around the mountain, I realized that my new life could be like this exercise. One step at a time. Sometimes, I got to slide down a small hill taking advantage of the ease, then I had to climb another one to repeat the process.

I realized my skiing was a metaphor for life. Sometimes it’s easy, maybe goes a little too fast, and sometimes you have to work for what you get. I loved those mornings when I was able to get away from the day to day of my busy life and experience some joy.

So when I was writing the second book in the Cat Latimer series, I wanted a way for Cat’s retreat guests to learn more about each other as well as find the zen I had found that morning on the ski hill. Of course, fiction never quite turns out the same as the reality it mirrors, so the guests found more comfort and relaxation in the ski lodge bar instead of on the slopes. And that’s a whole ‘nother story.

Have you ever tried something new, just for you?

Fatality by Firelight

 

Cat Latimer’s Colorado bed-and-breakfast plays host to writers from all over. But murder is distinctly unwelcome . . .

To kick off a winter writing retreat, Cat and her handyman boyfriend, Seth, escort the aspiring authors to a nearby ski resort, hoping some fresh cold air will wake up their creative muses. But instead of hitting the slopes, they hit the bar—and before long, a tipsy romance novelist named Christina is keeping herself warm with a local ski bum who might have neglected to tell her about his upcoming wedding.

Next thing Cat knows, her uncle, the town sheriff, informs her that the young man’s been found dead in a hot tub—and Christina shows up crying and covered in blood. Now, between a murder mystery, the theft of a rare Hemingway edition, and the arrival of a black-clad stranger in snowy Aspen Hills, Cat’s afraid everything’s going downhill . . .

Purchase Links

• Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/Fatality-Firelight-Cat-Latimer-Mystery-ebook/dp/B01GBAG6VO
• Nook – https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/fatality-by-firelight
• Kobo – https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/fatality-by-firelight/id1128181842?mt=11
• iBooks – https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fatality-by-firelight-lynn-cahoon/1123861208?ean=9781496704375

Excerpt

The world outside still clung to the previous night, the shadows not quite releasing their hold to the breaking light over the mountain ridge outside Aspen Hills, Colorado. With the first rays of morning, the fresh snow glistened and covered the lawn all around 700 Warm Springs.

Cat Latimer, owner of the Warm Springs Writer’s Retreat, housed in the old Victorian, sat at the kitchen table drinking a mix of hot chocolate and coffee. With a dab of freshly whipped cream, Cat thought Shauna’s winter concoction was just about the most perfect drink ever invented. Her friend, Shauna Mary Clodah, had taken over the role of cook, planner, and manager for the writing retreats. Shauna was a petite, pretty, Irish redhead that cooked like an angel. The small group sitting around the table was drinking the “virgin” version of her mixture. Later, the retreat guests would have the option of adding a shot of Bailey’s Irish Cream or Kahlúa to their cups, an invitation to the muse.

Right now, her guests were tucked in their beds, sleeping. Which was where she wanted to be instead of sitting here in the kitchen. But then she took in the smell of coffee and chocolate mixed together and she sighed in delight.

“I can’t believe you’re taking the group up the mountain. I thought this was supposed to be about writing. They aren’t going to get many words written by spending the day skiing.” Uncle Pete had become a regular at the breakfast table, both when the retreat was in session and when it was just Cat and Shauna milling around the empty house. Her uncle was Aspen Hills’ police chief and Cat’s closest relative.

“It’s part of the Colorado experience.” Cat explained, thinking about her own manuscript sitting on her computer waiting for her to make time to write. The phrase making time to write was a joke. She either wrote or didn’t, and today her word-count chart would show a big fat zero, unless she had the mental energy when they returned from skiing. During the first retreat, she’d managed to get a few pages written—before one of her guests wound up dead in his room. This retreat she’d promised herself that she’d focus on her own work, even when they had guests. Shauna was in charge of the day-to-day activities when the retreat was in session. Cat’s job was to be the resident writer and set a good example as a professional writer. A job that sometimes was harder than other days, especially if she got drawn into a Facebook rotating loop of cute kittens or the occasional photos of hot guys—or worse, one simple question that grew into a research project on the entire history of the Salem Witch trials.

Today was about building relationships and having experiences. Writers needed both.

About the Author

Lynn Cahoon is the author of the NYT and USA Today best-selling Tourist Trap cozy mystery series. Guidebook to Murder, book 1 of the series won the Reader’s Crown for Mystery Fiction in 2015. She’s also pens the recently released, Cat Latimer series. A STORY TO KILL, book 1, came out in mass market paperback September 2016.She lives in a small town like the ones she loves to write about with her husband and two fur babies. Sign up for her newsletter at www.lynncahoon.com

Social Media links:

• Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5857424.Lynn_Cahoon
• Twitter – https://twitter.com/LynnCahoon
• Facebook -https://www.facebook.com/LynnCahoonAuthor
• website – https://lynncahoon.com/
• Amazon author page – https://www.amazon.com/Lynn-Cahoon/e/B0082PWOAO/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

Can she SURVIVE in a hostile environment…

I had fallen in love with Dara McKinley because she was thrown into a violent, life-and-death environment and had no clue as to how to survive it.  Except that the man she was falling in love with, Sergeant Matt Culver, would become her guide, teacher and protector.

Sometimes courage comes in moments of shock, trauma and extreme conditions.  Dara is a pediatrician, finishing up her residency, and getting ready to put a clinic for the poor near Alexandria, Virginia, near Washington, D.C.  But all her dreams explode when her vehicle is attacked, leaving her in the harsh winter of Afghanistan, chased by Taliban.

Matt Culver is a survivor and is saddled with a woman who has never been under such duress.  He’s fallen in love with her.  The challenges are enormous, not only brutal winter conditions in the mountains, trying to keep her safe and knowing odds of living through this, are next to nothing.   Somehow, they survive.

Dara needs some down time to recouperate from her trauma. Matt wants to make her dreams come true, and takes her to visit Hawaii.  NEVER ENOUGH picks up at this point in their relationship.

But even in Paradise?  Things can go terribly wrong.  Will their love stand the test of this next challenge or not?

NEVER ENOUGH

Sequel to Forged in Fire, Book 2

Can a vacation in paradise heal her trauma and allow love to shine through…

Pediatrician Dara McKinley loves helping others almost as much as she loves her golden-eyed fiancé, Matt Culver. They met and fell in love during a dangerous situation in Afghanistan, and both are ready to enjoy some quiet time together in Hawaii.

As Dara and Matt learn more about each other, their love and commitment to each other deepens. But the pair is also committed to helping others and soon find themselves lending a hand at a local Delos safe house for mothers and children. As Dara tends to the sick, Matt does what he does best—finds a way to keep all of them safe.

EXCERPT:

The aquamarine ocean water was warm and delicious feeling over Dara’s bare feet. Her sandals hung from the fingers of Matt’s left hand. The sea breeze infused her with a peaceful feeling, as did the cries of seagulls sailing overhead. Walking on a golden, sandy beach, ankle-deep in the ocean water, made her feel so alive. Matt had taken off his sandals as well. The noontime warmth of the sun fell over her; the temperature was perfect, in the high seventies. The early January weather in Hawaii was very different from the climate she’d left back home in Virginia!

Every once in awhile, Dara would spot a small shell in the clear ocean water and she would stop, lean over, and retrieve her new treasure. Matt knew that locals here would get up at dawn, come down, and scour the beach for shells that had washed up during the night hours. By noon, the beaches were cleaned of any beautiful, whole shells that had been deposited. But Dara delighted in the pieces of colorful shells that she found, holding them like treasures in her hand. His heart swelled with love for her; she was one of those people who delighted in whatever she was doing.

He stopped her and said, “Why don’t you put your shells in the pocket of your dress?”

Laughing, she opened her palm, showing him the shards. “They’re so beautiful I just want to hold them for a while. Even though they’re fractured and in pieces, I want to collect a bunch of them while we’re here. I’ve decided to put them in a small glass goblet with the sand I’m walking on. Next time we come down here, I’ll bring some plastic bags. I want to bring some of Hawaii home with us where I can see it every day.”

“So,” he said, moving his finger through her many shell pieces, “you’re going to put that glass somewhere you can see it to remember this time?” He melted beneath the joy he saw shining in her eyes, those lips so lush, so kissable, and he ached to do just that.

Dara smiled and nodded. “I’m putting this on the desk in my office at the hospital. On tough days, I can sit there and look at it and remember this time with you.”

Leaning over, he caressed her smiling mouth with his. Matt could taste the salt air on her lips, taste the mocha latte she’d had earlier before they walked down to the beach. Easing away, he rasped, “I’m taking a heart photo of you right now . . .” He brought her gently to a stop, easing her into his body, feeling her breasts pressing into his chest, that low, husky sound of pleasure vibrating in her throat as he kissed her long and well. She was such a sensual, sexual creature, although most would never see it. He sure had when she belly danced at Bagram. And he’d been privileged to go with her to the gym where she worked out and belly danced to stay in top shape. They always ended up in bed after that, each of them turned on by the other.

Dara closed her eyes, drowning in Matt’s cherishing mouth, his arm around her, bringing her into the fold of his tall, lean, hard body. Everything was perfect. Just perfect.

* * * * *

Available: March 1, 2017
ebook/paperback/audio

LINKS:
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N00IAQB/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480684856&sr=8-1&keywords=never+enough+by+lindsay+mckenna

BN.Com
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/never-enough-lindsay-mckenna/1125267528?ean=2940156794225

Kobo.com
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/never-enough-24

iBooks/Apple
https://linkmaker.itunes.apple.com/en-us/details/1182197449?country=us&mediaType=books&term=Never+Enough+by+Lindsay+McKenna

Audio:
https://tantor.com/author/lindsay-mckenna.html

So, I came back from San Antonio with a bug. I knew it was likely flu because one of my good friends was laid low with it the very first day of conference. Still, I hoped it was just allergies. I wasn’t feeling too bad. Until yesterday. And then the 12-year-old complained of familiar symptoms: headache, muscle aches, persistent cough, sneezing, chills… Today, she went to the doctor. I’m willing to ignore my health, but we don’t ignore the kids’. And sure enough, she has the flu.

She gets the Tamiflu. I’m too far into it for that to do me any good now. So, the question is, what do you recommend for someone who hates to be sick? What works for you?

I picked up some Ibuprofen, Theraflu and some celebrity magazines. I figure if I’m sick, I may as well wallow a bit. 🙂