Ahoy there, matey! Have you already pre-ordered your copy? No?
This is a collection you won’t want to miss! Filled with those sexy Jack Sparrows and some modern-day raiders, even a couple of space pirates, you won’t want to miss this! There are even a couple of mm treats for those who loved Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World! Didn’t you secretly wish they were into each other? 🙂
The ebook releases February 27th, and includes 19 stories from some fabulous authors. The print version will follow soon after. For now, drool over the cover and take advantage of that next-to-nothing $0.99 price!
Pirates: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology
Sail on the high seas or into uncharted galaxies! When it comes to love…pirates risk all!
Delilah’s next delectable anthology is filled with roguish pirates! Readers who crave adventures set on the high seas–or in deep space–will find plenty of sexy bad boys, naughty alpha males unafraid to risk life and limb for treasure–or a lucky lover’s heart!
Just a few of the titillating stories inside…
In “The Treasure of Devil’s Crag” by Lisa Fox, two rival pirate captains seeking the same treasure, discover the competition isn’t the only thing that heats up between them. A modern-day pirate boards a yacht seeking revenge and captures a runaway bride who tempts him in ways he’s never experienced in January George’s “Captive Desire.” In T.D. Rudolph’s “Lust in Space”, a space criminal teams up with a fearless vamp to steal a cache of titanium–from the dark side of the moon. In “Full Fathom Five” by Rhidian Brenig Jones, a pirate captain, forced to give a disgraced young surgeon a berth, discovers a rich treasure in the other man’s arms. And this is just a hint at the sexy stories inside this satisfying volume.
These pirates will pillage and plunder their way into your hearts!
February’s going to be about pirates. Just warning you.
I can’t get them off my mind. Maybe it’s because I’m putting final touches on stories that will appear in Pirates: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology, which releases February 27.
In the meantime, I’d love to hear what sort of pirate fantasy you would write about if you had the time and inclination. Use the picture above for inspiration! Have fun with the assignment.
Everyone who posts will be entered to win a $5 Amazon gift card!
Timing is everything. Several years ago, a famous actress passed away. As I pondered her career and beauty, I got inspired to write a story about a mermaid, a human heroine, and the quest for revenge against a man who’d hurt her. Unfortunately, I wrote only a few chapters before shelving it. It wasn’t the right time, I guess.
Fast forward a few years and Decadent Publishing’s Wiccan Haus series caught my interest. Having already written three shared-world stories for them, I couldn’t resist adding to the series. Someone I met and some rough life experiences gave me the fuel I needed to write a different version of the story. One I had no trouble finishing. It’s finally time to release it!
Turning the Tide: A Siren’s Revenge
Book #25 Wiccan Haus Series Release Date: 19 January 2018
After a year of unemployment, Daphne Wells comes to Wiccan Haus to learn hydrotherapy for a new career as a healer. When her assigned patient turns out to be the sexy ex-boss who laid her off, resentment gets in the way of healing.
Giovanni Denaro arrives at Wiccan Haus, desperate to find a cure for the debilitating tension that threatens his high-level financial career. But after some intimate healing sessions, everything loses value except his need for Daphne’s forgiveness.
When a mermaid, filled with her own bitterness, offers Daphne a chance to get revenge on the man who ruined her life, will she dare to turn the tide?
“I had Myron give me a reading about the stock market. Apparently, it fell a lot today.”
“Hello? It’s been doing that for years.” She raised an eyebrow. “It always rallies, doesn’t it? Are you sure nothing else is bothering you?”
Nothing but the truth. The ugly reality that would turn her gentle eyes into hard pools of hatred. He couldn’t help crying out as the biggest cramp yet squeezed his body. She crouched over him on the stone bench, one leg on either side of him.
After crying out, too, she collapsed on top of him and laid her damp cheek against his. “Tell me what to do for you,” she said in a strangled whisper. “Or I’m calling the guys.”
Having her weight on him made breathing even harder, but feeling her soft skin was worth it.
“Kiss me,” he whispered back.
Her mouth covered his so fast it stole what little breath he’d managed to draw. Her lips were salty with tears. Nothing had ever tasted so good. He drank from her—her love, her healing, her very essence.
She shifted her pelvis, sliding it over his hardening cock. When the indentation in her blue terry cloth shorts contacted the head, he pushed, needing to enter her more than breath.
“I need—” he gasped.
“What?” When she dragged her torso across his chest, he felt her erect nipples through both their shirts. “Anything, Giovanni. I’ll do anything for you.”
Instead of replying with words, he forced his hand down the back of her shorts and gripped the sweet curve of her buttocks. The scent of her arousal mingled with the misty air, impossible to ignore.
“Yes,” she cried, swinging a knee to one side of him and tugging down her shorts.
His groin clenched at the sight of her wet panties. Knowing he’d aroused her so much gave him ten times more power than running a high-level board meeting. With one hand, he pulled up her white tank top so it rested above her breasts. With the other, he helped her out of her shorts and panties.
He’d never grow tired of gazing at the thatch of neatly shaved hair between her legs. It looked as businesslike as the suits she used to wear to work. How often had he fantasized about undressing her when he was her boss? Now he knew how those tantalizing dark hairs felt and tasted slipping across his tongue.
One by one, his muscles eased their tension from pain to anticipation. His cock was so wet with pre-cum when she grasped it, her palm slid to his balls in a single stroke. Although his neck still hurt, he lifted his head to gaze at her rosy nipples and the puckered skin around them. Droplets of mist from the hot water spring jet on their side of the pool dotted her smooth skin, making her resemble a goddess.
“Protection,” he muttered, letting his head drop back to the hard bench with a smack. “We don’t have any.”
“Yes, we do.” With a hand still on his cock, she rummaged in the nearby towel cabinet with the other. “They’re hidden in here.”
She wouldn’t have known exactly where they were unless she’d considered using them with him. More pre-cum pooled on the head of his erection. Finally having her, after years of lusting for her, was more than a fair exchange for missing critical time from work.
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!
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 »
I really appreciate Delilah letting me appropriate her blog for today, so let’s see if I can entertain y’all.
As you can see by the y’all, I’m from Texas. Born in Houston, raised all over. And by all over, I do mean all over. Norway, Egypt, Dubai, Honduras… Daddy was an engineer who designed offshore o’l rigs. Yes, o’l. It’s cute how some people actually pronounce that silent i in the middle. *gg*
I married the Air Force just to stay on the move, and I must say, it’s worked out pretty well. 23 years later, we’re still married, and we’re pretending to have settled down in the Midwest. Just for a little while.
Along the way, I’ve picked up a lot of odd ideas and ways of looking at the world. One of those ideas is actually something I remember from living in Norway. I’ve never enjoyed the cold, but Scandinavians seem to pull it off with style. They embrace not just the wintry weather outside, but the full coziness of life when they come in from the snow and ice.
In Denmark, there’s a specific word for it: “hygge.” Not higguh, not hoogah, but heugeh (sort of like a yew sound). However you say it, the concept of hygge is basically…coziness.
Turn off the glaring LED Christmas lights. Instead, light a fire and some candles. Wear your favorite cozy sweater, or pull a soft blanket over your lap. Close up the Kindle and read a paper book in your favorite chair, with a cup of real hot chocolate by your side.
That’s hyggelig.
It’s also hyggelig to go out and meet with friends at a cafe where the phones stay in everyone’s purses and pockets. To go out for a hike in the snowy woods, then come back for a little mulled cider and a board game.
Hygge is those moments of peace and contentment found both in your own company, and in the convivial company of friends and family.
It’s a Currier and Ives post card. It’s a Dickens happy ending. And it takes a little work to set up, but when you can finally sink into that comfort, it’s worth it.
Have a happy and hyggelig holiday!
And in the spirit of holiday reading, I should also mention that I was very happy to be able to participate in an anthology that just came out called MERRY & BRIGHT. Nine new stories that are set in the Nocturne Falls Universe, you’ll be charmed by these sweet, fun shorts that are just right for reading while you wait for your cocoa to cool.
My entry, Magic’s Frost…
Lonely werewolf Dima Samarin looks forward to watching his favorite winter elf every morning at the Hallowed Bean. He rescues her unfinished novel from the perils of spilled cocoa, and becomes her hero.
Elin Bergstrom’s day job is at Santa’s Workshop, but she secretly writes sci-fi novels on the side. She accepts Dima’s invitation to the Christmas Ball, but when their date gets derailed by a drug deal gone bad, this elf isn’t about to stay on her shelf.
Sometimes a werewolf can use a little helpful frost magic to win the day, and save their date.
A collection of stories about the magic of romance at Christmas time.
TWELVE DAYS TO LOVE
When Archer Steele shows up at Calanthe Durand’s failing plantation with an alligator over his shoulder, Cali thinks she’s never seen a more handsome man. During the war she had to defend herself and her servants from both union and confederate soldiers. Independent and self-sufficient, she vows to never marry. But Archer Steele has different ideas. The first time Archer sees Cali in town, he feels an instant attraction. He decides he will do everything and anything to convince the beautiful Miss Durand he is worthy of her love. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, he gives her twelve gifts in hopes she will fall in love with him.
BOOTS AND BLADES
An ancient evil from the old country has arrived in the high desert of Oregon. Gnome children are vanishing then re-appearing, showing various stages of traumatization. Tiamoon, warrior gnome, will put her skills to use alongside Killian, a handsome warrior, also in need of a cause.
CHRISTMAS PAWSIBILITIES
With their world destroyed and their space ship malfunctioning, the dogizens of Planet Canid have little choice but to crash land on Earth. They face tortuous experiments at the hands of the Geeks in Green…or they can trust an eccentric inventor and his zany family to deliver the Canine Queen’s puppies and help them celebrate new lives.
Enjoy Excerpts from each story!
Twelve Days to Love
Christine Young
Near New Orleans October 2,1867
“Sam! Close the shutters on the back landing. I’ll get the front. Hurry. There’s a storm coming.” Calanthe Durand felt the small hairs on the back of her neck rise and shivers run down her spine. A big storm was on its way, probably a hurricane. Energy and fear poured through her like the pounding rain and flooding that accompanied high winds. Closing the house to the storm was imperative.
Cali took a moment to smile. She’d heard Sam grunt. He didn’t talk much, but she wouldn’t have survived the war or these last two years without Sam and his daughter Daisy. Both sides, the North and the South, had occupied their home. Daisy and Sam were family, the only family she had. She’d do whatever was necessary to protect them. Even with emancipation, life wasn’t easy for blacks in the south.
“I’ve got them, Miss Cali.” Daisy rushed past her and out the door. Wind whipped her hair and tugged at her dress. Branches torn from trees landed on the porch.
Cali followed, the storm swirling around her, her hair beating against her face. Her breath was ragged, and fast as her heart thundered. She pushed and tugged at her skirt, trying to detangle the fabric from her legs. “Get inside!” The tempest raging around them swallowed her voice.
“Not until we’re finished here.” Daisy fastened a shutter before moving on to the next one.
They worked together to protect the windows from the storm on the raised porch which stood five feet off the ground as wind howled around the eaves. A steady rain poured from the black sky, and lightning slashed the darkness.
Cali pushed dripping strands of hair that had slipped from her chignon away from her face. “I’ll light the candles. It could get dark here pretty fast.”
“Horses and livestock are safe for now.” Sam stepped beside her. “Hope it’s not a big one.”
“Hello up there. Hello, bonjour, anyone home?”
Hearing the voice from below, Cali left the protection of the house to lean over the porch railing. Below her a man stood, with cupped hands to his mouth and a dead gator slung over one shoulder a quiver filled with arrows on the other. “Hello. Can I get shelter from the hurricane?”
“Don’t know if it’s a hurricane.” Terrified of unknown men, Cali didn’t want to do the charitable thing. She pursed her lips, thinking, but all that came to surface was memories of troops commandeering her home. Good lord but she’d had to hollow out a bedpost to hide her jewelry. The soldiers had taken everything they could see. Sometimes she felt as if the war had ripped her soul from her body.
“Maybe not a hurricane. Could be just a bad storm, but I don’t want to be on the swamp right now. The water’s rising.” A loud roar and a thunderclap followed his pause. Behind him an old Cyprus tree crashed to the ground, uprooted by the wind. Read the rest of this entry »
I love the run-up to the holidays! Everyone’s so busy! For the first time ever, I have all my gifts purchased in advance. I have a few left to make (I dabble in jewelry!), but that’s part of the fun, too—trying to figure out what will please the women and girls in this family. But then I wondered what I might do for my online friends and readers! Here’s what I came up with! (Lots of exclamation marks here, I know, but I’m excited!!!!)
Anyway, here’s the deal. Throughout the month on the Delilah’s Collections website, I and some of the wonderful authors who’ve appeared in my collections will be giving away our stories! My suggestion, if you’re interested in collecting them, is to subscribe to the Collections blog. Look for the sign-up in the right column. It says “Subscribe To Blog Via Email”—easy-peasy, right? That way you won’t miss a single offering. And beware! These free stories will only be available for a short time, so jump on them!
So, here’ the first…
All you have to do is click on the cover above, and you’ll head to Instafreebie,
where you can download your copy.
Don’t know what a Skjaldmaer is? It’s a Shieldmaiden!
This story first appeared in the Conquests anthology, which features 13 stories by some very talented authors. The entire collection is just $.99! So, if you’re in the mood to meet a slew of sexy, very alpha Viking warriors, check it out: Conquests!
And let me know in the comments below whether you’re subscribing to the Collections blog and intend to follow the authors as we provide you samples of our story-telling abilities! One lucky commenter will receive her choice of one of my recent releases!
This story first appeared in the Conquests anthology, which features 13 stories by some very talented authors. The entire collection is just $.99! So, if you’re in the mood to meet a slew of sexy, very alpha Viking warriors, check it out: 
