Thanks so much to Delilah for having me on her blog today – squee! I’m Lainey Reese and I’m the USA Today Bestselling Author of the New York Series and other works. I’m thrilled to be here with you to share the story of how my brand new BDSM series came about – it’s called The Kimberly Chronicles and follows the story of a sassy, submissive hairstylist who barges her way into an FBI investigation. The first book in the series, Lace & Flames, released just two days ago with two more books to come soon. Here’s a quick summary!

When Kimberly trolls the local BDSM club after her friend goes missing, she finds herself ensnared in something a hell of a lot bigger and more sinister than she had bargained for. She also finds herself face to face with her sexy new therapist.

Dean Ackles is deep undercover with the FBI and from the moment his fiery new client entered the Lion’s Den, he should have known it would only be a matter of time until he gave in to the temptation to make her his own. With Kimberly suddenly in the hot seat smack dab in the middle of his case, it’s going to take both Dean along with his partner and best friend Sam to see her safely through it.

So, that’s the crazy, sexy story in a nutshell. But you could have read as much from the back of the book. It was suggested to me that I share with you how this story came to be, so that is what this blog will be about.

I went to my first ever KallypsoCon last November and it literally saved my life. I was in the grips of a deep depression while I was there and the women I met turned everything around for me. Everyone there from the amazing Kallypso Masters herself on through to each and every reader I encountered was incredible. Kally’s readers really know how to treat an author right!

There is one woman in particular who stood out from the crowd like she had a spotlight on her wherever she went. She was tall, lusciously curved and had the sort of beauty you see on billboards.

I found her irresistible.

At one point during the con, we toured a real life BDSM club and Kimberly floated from room-to-room regal as a queen in a high collared black number that hugged her rich curves. She’d had her gorgeous, honeyed locks piled high on her head with a flutter of lace showcasing her jawline and I knew I had to write her somehow.

It wasn’t until the two of us toured Universal Studios together and bonded over our love of Harry Potter that her story came to me. God bless her, she just uttered one sentence and the entire series fell into my lap.

Here’s how that went: We were in line for our lunch in The Leaky Cauldron and discussing mental health and my need for a therapist (of all things to be discussing in an amusement park!?). I explained to her that I knew I needed to see a therapist and that the problem wasn’t finding one, it was picking one. My insurance had sent me a list to choose from that was multiple pages long. I had been aghast and quite frankly overwhelmed at the plethora of choices, I told her.

“Hmm;” she huffs with her beautiful face scrunched, “I wonder how you could narrow it down. What if you tried looking up their reviews online?”

And that did it. Instantly I burst into laughter so loud the people around us turned to see what was so funny. I knew what she meant but my mind shot immediately to Fictional Kimberly picking out her therapist based on Yelp reviews. And The Kimberly Chronicles was born.

As soon as I got home I started writing. I have never written a book so fast in my life and I love it. I love the energy of the story and the spunk and sass of Kimberly. I love the way she keeps her FBI men on their sexy toes and the villain in this story is one I really love to hate.

Since being home, the depression has become manageable thanks almost entirely to Kimberly, both fictional and real. The woman behind the fantasy has become one of my most cherished friends and I consider myself damn lucky she loves Harry more than Mickey or none of this would be happening.

So, that is the story of how one hell of a real woman birthed one hell of a fictional one.

As for me and my depression? I’m doing great these days and spend most of my time buried in my computer and letting the words flow. I feel like the darkest days are finally behind me and there is more than sadness and grief ahead. For the first time in a very long time, there is hope on the horizon and I owe it all to the KallypsoCon and the amazing women I met there. They saved me that weekend and for that I will always be grateful.

Lace & Flames Blurb & Buy Links

The search for her missing friend will ignite dangerous desires…

Before her best friend went missing, the most stressful things in Kimberly Lace’s life were her demanding hairdressing clients and trying not to flirt with her gorgeous therapist. But with no
answers from the police, Kimberly decides to investigate her friend’s disappearance for herself.

Undercover FBI forensic psychologist Dean Ackles needs to keep his mind on the job. Five women are missing, but his distracting thoughts about his client Kimberly are almost as bad as the
guilt he feels about lying to her. When he and his partner Sam find Kimberly searching for answers at The Lion’s Den, things get heated.

For Kimberly, the flames of desire are ignited for not one, but two men. And while she might be happy to submit to them in the bedroom, there’s no way Kimberly is giving up for the search for
her friend, no matter how much they insist on keeping her safe.

Their powerful attraction will lead Kimberly into the heart of danger and tempt her to risk everything for passion, including her own life.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3HT57vw
Apple Books: https://apple.co/3gNGzbC
Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/3JsMU8F
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3uUItzk

Giveaway

I’d love to give you the chance to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card! Just follow the link below and answer the question. I’ll choose one winner on March 5 and my assistant will send it out.
https://lainey-reese-giveaway.paperform.co

About the Author

Lainey – born in Tacoma, Washington – was raised mostly in Nevada and California. The youngest of five, Lainey dreamed of being an actress and starring in blockbuster movies she wrote herself. As she grew, the dreams of being on the big screen faded but the ones of writing those fantastic stories never did. At 17 Lainey read her first romance novel and knew she’d found her calling. Here were the stories like the ones in her own heart and mind, and like tumblers falling into position on a combination lock, everything just clicked into place and the world was open to her.

It took a long time before she could work up the courage and belief in herself to try but finally, in 2010 Lainey held her breath and took the leap. Her first novel A Table for Three debuted in February and she hasn’t looked back since. Nor has she given up hope that one day, she will be sitting in a theater, and it will be one of her stories on the big screen…

Along with her husband and two dogs, Lainey lives in Marysville, Washington and they have a daughter going to college in Bellingham.

Social Media Links
• Facebook: facebook.com/AuthorLaineyReese
• TikTok: tiktok.com/@authorlaineyreese.com
• Twitter: twitter.com/lainey_reese
• Instagram: instagram.com/lainey.reesd
• Website: laineyreese.com
• Newsletter: https://bit.ly/laineynewsletter
• Goodreads: goodreads.com/author/show/3431863.Lainey_Reese
• Patreon: patreon.com/laineyreese
• Amazon Author Central: amazon.com/Lainey-Reese/e/B00J8B37FM
• Bookbub: bookbub.com/authors/lainey-reese

UPDATE: The winner is Jen B!
*~*~*

February

After a very successful January, I had big goals for February. My actual results are a little mixed. I have great excuses. Always do. But here’s what I did accomplish on my goal list…

Work-related:

1. I published my short story from the Cowboys anthology as a single short story release, “Hunk of Burning Love.” It’s currently FREE in Kindle Unlimited, but I also offered it as a FREE direct download as my Valentine’s Day gift to you.
2. I completed 4 editing projects in February, including two long novels!
3. I did NOT write a book—only a few pages, actually—which was my only disappointing progress this month.

Health-related:

1. I continued with Weight Watchers and can proudly say that I’ve lost 18.6 pounds as of today! I’m not pushing to lose fast because I like how I feel. Slow is good!
2. I’ve been paying attention to my step count. It’s not stellar, but the fact that I’m looking at it means something to my brain.

Happiness-related: 

1. I began working on the #100DayProject art challenge! It’s my third year participating, and yes, it’s HARD fitting in play time at my art table but sooooo fulfilling. Here are some samples of what I’ve done so far…

March

Here’s me putting this out in the world…

 

  

For work-related, I plan:

1. To write and publish the next Texas Vampires novella, No Tender Mercy. (Have you pre-ordered your copy?!) No dilly-dallying. This will be done!
2. To get close to “Done” with my next romantic suspense story.
3. To prepare a new box set of the three Danger Zone books and publish it!
4. To complete 4 editing projects in March!

For health-related, I plan:

1. To continue with Weight Watchers and hope to lose at least 5 pounds. Slow is good!
2. To begin some low-impact aerobics, which will include a video workout for old people (I’m not old, and my joints aren’t effed, but I like the low-impact part!), plus, I’ll add some outdoor activities, like pool maintenance and blowing the patio—counting the things I should already be doing to get ready for pool season. All of them burn calories and build muscle. Guess I should count housework, too. Blech.

For happiness-related, I plan: 

1. To continue working on getting my art room better organized, because I plan…
2. To produce something art-related every day for the #100DayProject art challenge!

Contest

Comment on anything you’ve read in this post. Tell me what you’re doing to make yourself happier and healthier. Tell me what you plan to read… Like I said, comment on anything for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

Open Contests

Be sure to enter these contests while you still can!

1. January George: The Way Back Home (Contest & Excerpt) — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. What’s coming soon! 5 Open Contests! New Contest–2 Winners! — Win a FREE book! Two winners!
3. Flashback: Cain’s Law (Contest) — Win a FREE book!
4. Michal Scott: Elizabeth Jennings Graham — The Rosa Parks of the 1850s (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!

So happy to be back on Delilah’s blog. Today, I wanted to talk a little bit about my writing process. It’s what I have started following ever since writing Matched (book 2 of my Navy SEALs of Little Creek series). Hopefully, you might fight something useful or interesting that you may want to try with your own writing. (Or, for you readers out there, this gives you a view into how this author approaches her craft.) At the very end, there is even a bonus excerpt from Matched.

My writing process usually begins with me developing my premise. I try to figure out what will make it unique, what do I believe about some of the topics that occur in the story, and the biggest part of the chart—the one that is up at the top—is my why. Why is this book important to me, and why do I want to write this particular story?

From there, I move on to developing my characters, specifically focusing on their backstories, goals, motivations, and conflicts. Then comes the fun part…character profiles. I love looking at their quirks and how they dress and what they look like. Enter Pinterest!! I’ll admit some days I feel like going shopping after spending time “researching” the clothes my characters might wear.

Next comes working out my beats followed by creating my chapter-by-chapter outline. And because I am a super plotter, I have ended up with outlines that have been fifteen to twenty pages long. Luckily, this has come in handy once I learned how to fast draft. I find the hardest part of the process just getting that first draft out.

Editing comes next. Believe it or not, I actually love this step. There’s nothing like working on a story and making it better. Some of my favorite parts of editing come from ideas that are created with my critique partners. After a couple of rounds of editing I’ll send my book off to beta readers. This is a great time for me to disconnect from the story. Usually during this time, I try to take some classes and listen to podcasts on craft. I usually wait until I get feedback from all my beta readers before diving in. This way I can decipher issues that everyone had versus comments that might be more subjective. And even if they are subjective, they might spark an idea or a different path or even a new chapter to include.

Truthfully, I don’t think the need to edit ever stops. Even after a book is published, I’ve found areas I want to fix or things I should’ve included. But there comes a time when we must send our book into the world and apply things we wished we could fix to the next manuscript.

Everyone’s writing style and process is different. There is no right or wrong way, no way that makes it any easier. My best piece of advice would be to do what works for you but take time to understand your why. It will keep you going when you hit a point where you are struggling or are even contemplating giving up.

Matched

An excerpt from Matched…

To my credit—for which, I should get big kudos—I don’t point out that history and her birth prove her mother knows her way around a boner. Instead, I walk closer and reach around her for an apple sitting on the counter in a powder-blue fruit bowl that matches the wall color, the coffee maker and a stand mixer I can’t wait to show her I know how to use. Chicks love guys who can cook. It’s helped me score on more than one occasion. But while I’m ready to score with my new wife whenever she says the word, a part of me is just as eager to prove to her I’m good for more than terrible pick-up lines.

She gives a little gasp as my fingers brush against hers, and I shiver. Yeah, no. Getting to know my wife in the biblical sense definitely edges out proving my usefulness on the scale of things I’d like to accomplish today.

I could cover up. Could even take a piss and get rid of the problem, but this is more fun than I’ve had in a couple of days. More like months. And I’m not itching to hurry it away. “So, is this breakfast you’ve baked for me?”

Her eyes go dark, what could be classified as deadly, and she smiles slow, devious, a smirk of proportions so epic, I’ve never seen another like it. “Cold day in hell, mi esposo. And before you even think to open that stupid mouth of yours once more, for the indefinite future, your situations are your problem.” She wax-on/wax-offs her hands in front of her. “This is off-limits until further notice.”

Buy Links:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3khNaKY
Barnes and Noble: https://bit.ly/3JJSYK1
Apple Books: https://apple.co/33IRS1W
Google Play: https://bit.ly/36zxOQJ

About the Author

Paris Wynters is a multi-racial author who writes steamy and sweet love East Coast stories that celebrate our diverse world. She is the author of Hearts Unleashed, The Navy SEALs of Little Creek series, Love On The Winter Steppes, and Called into Action. When she’s not dreaming up stories, she can be found assisting with disasters and helping to find missing people as a Search and Rescue K-9 handler. Paris resides on Long Island in New York along with her family and is also a graduate of Loyola University Chicago.

Website: https://www.pariswynters.com
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/pariswynters
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pariswynters
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pariswynters

Grown up Drummonds. What happens when your YA characters won’t leave you alone? Well, if you’re me, you write grown-up versions of them. Dibs in the Drummer, Ozzy & Raven, What Happens in Florida, and Spring Break Take 2 are just a handful of stories that continue to overlap the YA books in this series.

In the YA September North versions, you see the events from the teens’ perspectives. In the adult, Cara North versions, you see the events from a new angle as some of these characters are now all grown up and ARE the parents.

It’s a wild and complicated series I have created, but I love the family so much, they just won’t let me let go of them. Not yet anyway. I have concluded the YA series with the Gen 2 Drummonds and will continue to play in the land of Drummonds until the Cara North versions hit that Gen 2 conclusion as well.

It all started with these three in Drum, Fight, and Break. This is the cover for the print anthology with the bonus story of The Rooster: Kendra and William’s Story

You can get started with Drum by clicking the title above. 

Then, this happened: Dibs on the Drummer. 

During the Gen 1 stories for Lou, Hendrix, and Junior, Drum and Mariah started talking, but as adults and since the reader can see some of the struggles they are having as adults in those three stories, I ended up writing this one. You don’t have to read the other stories to enjoy, it, but I am sure it helps to read Drum so you know their story as teens to understand where they are in this story on the verge of an empty nest and a lot of life happening as they move into their fifties. It is a contemporary, erotic romance. A bit of a second chance romance, too. 

Links:
Website: https://www.creativewritingwithdrnagle.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorCaraNorth
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/caranorthauthor/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/caranorthauthor
Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/caranorth_author/?hl=en
Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20650398.Cara_North
BookBub : https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cara-north
Amazon Author Page:  https://www.amazon.com/~/e/B002BLLE1U
TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdht9Kg1/
Patreon Page: https://www.patreon.com/musesandsirens

UPDATE: The winner is…Beth!
*~*~*

Make Cain this Weekend’s Book Boyfriend!

For a chance to win your choice of one of these Cowboys
on the Edge stories, answer me this!

Yellowstone or Longmire?

(Click on a cover if you’d like to learn more!)

Don’t know what you’re missing in this cowboy series? Read an excerpt…

Snippet from Cain’s Law…

Cain Whitfield wasn’t the sort of man who put much stock in premonitions or any “sixth sense.” But the moment he’d first spotted the shy brunette through the window of the Prickly Pear Motel, he’d known trouble had arrived in Caldera.

His gaze had snagged on her ill-fitting clothing and her wildly curling hair. Not unusual, his noticing a stranger arriving in his little town, but the minute his dick twitched, he should’ve heeded the warning.

Yeah, he sure could pick ’em. Just like his ex, only Susan hadn’t burned down a cabin. She’d left his place cleaner than she’d managed to keep it the entire six months they’d been together. Hell, the woman hadn’t even left him a can of beans in the pantry when she’d walked out on their marriage. On a Monday. After he’d left for work. Via a note taped to the kitchen counter because she couldn’t put that into a U-Haul trailer.

Staring at the fire that lit the Texas night sky, he shook his head. The strobing lights of police and fire vehicles were no competition for the furious blaze. No simple kitchen fire or leaf pile run amok.

It was going to be a long night.

UPDATE: The winners are…Colleen, Miki, bn100, Jennifer Beyer, Debra Guyette, and Stacey Kinzebach!
*~*~*

It’s Monday, a holiday (so kids are home), and it’s the beginning of a week of bad weather. The 8-year-old slept over with me last night and told me to turn off my alarms because she wanted to sleep in. Wish I could sleep in!!!!

Thought I’d take a moment to remind you about the pre-orders I have up. No, I don’t have big old blurbs to tell you about the last two because I haven’t written them yet, and I never know what the story is about until I’m midway through. I know that sounds crazy, but that’s what works for me.

Both of the first two books are EROTIC romance, so be warned! No Tender Mercy comes out on March 22nd! It’s the sequel to Her Sanctuary. If you love Texas and vampires, you’re in for a sexy ride! Dark Seduction, which releases on April 19th, is the sequel to Dark Legacy and is a story I’m republishing. It’s a full-length novel, very sexy, smutty, involves a police investigation, and is full of twists and turns involving vampires and demons. I love the story. It’s my third favorite thing I ever wrote.

These next two are part of a series you should be very familiar with by now! Hot SEAL, Wild Thing releases May 24th! The authors in this series are using song titles as our theme this time around. Of course, I jumped on one of my old favorites. All I know about my hero is that he’s living his life as wild and freely as he can. If you have any ideas why that is, I’d love to hear them! 🙂

If you read my latest bounty hunter story, Eli, then you’ve met Gabriel. And I gave you a huge hint about his possible love interest, so be sure to pre-order so you read their adventure! It releases on June 28th—my birthday!

Contest

For a chance to win your choice of a download from my ginormous backlist, let me know if you plan to read any of these stories! Also, if you want to gripe at me to write a story you’ve been waiting for, let me know! I’ll choose two commenters!

Open Contests

1. Diana Cosby: Valentine’s Day – Birds & Animal’s Love Liam MacGruder! (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win a pretty mug!
2. Story Cubes: Tell me a story… (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Cheryl St. John: My Character’s Clothing Choices (and what it says about her!) FREE in KU! — Get your FREE small-town romance!
4. A Reminder! A Puzzle! And a Contest! Oh, my! — Win an Amazon gift card!
5. January George: The Way Back Home (Contest & Excerpt) — Win an Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is…K Campos!
*~*~*

Thanks to Delilah for hosting me again!

When I asked for this date, it was because I had planned to have the last book in my Rafferty Ridge series releasing next week, but life had other plans. So many plans. I have always written. I write in my head as I’m driving (wish I could master dictation but somehow it doesn’t work for me), I write in my head as I’m cooking, showering, watching TV. But finding time to write at an actual computer the last month or so has been HARD. My husband had hernia surgery in January and can’t lift anything over ten pounds and with two young kids, a full-time job in healthcare and so much laundry I could probably fill an 18-wheeler, writing kept getting pushed back. The last two years have felt like a juggling act, just trying to keep all the balls in the air with work, family, kids, school, something to keep myself sane like running or quilting. But it ends up feeling like I’m doing everything at a bare minimum, and that’s hard with writing. You want to put your best work forward and when you have limited time and energy, that’s where writing starts to be pushed to the back burner.

But I’m also working on being kinder to myself, we are all struggling right now and as much as I love to write, it shouldn’t be adding to my stress. The book will be finished at some point, but I am not exactly sure when. And that’s okay. In the meanwhile, the first two books in the series, Where the Light Comes In and The Way Back Home, are both available on Amazon and are really fun, quick reads. And I just might leave you scratching your head wondering how I’m going to redeem Sarah in book three (I’m still working on it).

What are some things that you have struggled with during this pandemic? What are some self-care things you have found that helped? Leave a comment for a chance to win a $5 Amazon card!

The Way Back Home

EXCERPT from The Way Back Home:

“You’re not going to say anything?”

Teo raised his eyes to hers, and they caught her like a fishhook. A glimpse of that old hurt, of a raw vulnerability that almost took her breath away. “You just sustained a head injury, My. It’s not the time.”

“When is the time? Because the minute you can get rid of me, you will, and I’ll never see you again.” She wished she could keep her voice flat, emotionless, but it cracked on the tail end.

He looked away, at the refrigerator that had started humming. “What difference does it make at this point?”

She stared at him. The protective shell she’d built had been ripped off and it hurt as much as the day he’d left. “What difference does it make? Did I really mean that little to you?” Her voice rose, thickening with emotion and anger.

“Mean that little to me?” For the first time she heard anger in his voice, real emotion that broke through that carefully hardened exterior. His posture changed, no longer languid, his body tensed like was readying for battle. “You were the one…” He trailed off, losing steam, and turned, bracing his hands on the counter. The muscles in his back and shoulders sagged under the thermal shirt.

“I was the one what?” Maya asked, uncertainty edged into her tone. The air had been sucked out of the room at his outburst and she couldn’t breathe.

His voice became flat and emotionless again. She couldn’t see his face, but his shoulders sagged. “You need to rest.”

“I was the one what?” she asked again. Her voice betrayed the tension that was making her headache worse. She wanted him to say it. She was the one who’d gotten pregnant. Who had ruined everything. She was the one.

The silence hung between them, the clatter of the fridge, the harsh sound of her breath in the cold air. And her heart squeezed and ached, still pathetically clinging to a shred of hope.

He didn’t move, didn’t turn, but his words had the impact of a sledgehammer. “You were the one that didn’t want me.”