Hi Delilah fans! Have you noticed how time speeds up as the holidays approach? Well, also as we get older, but we won’t go there.

Now we’re ten days from Thanksgiving! I’m debating whether to cook or ignore it. I love freshly roasted turkey, cornbread dressing, and cranberry sauce. And pumpkin pie with heaps of whipped cream. So maybe I’ll cook even if it will add pounds and leave lots of kitchen cleanup.

Also, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that Christmas is rushing toward us like an oncoming train.

So two things for you to consider as the holidays begin: Right now my latest novel is priced at 99¢ in these last few days of pre-release discount. TWO DAYS left at this price. It goes to $3.99 on release day, November 15.

Refuge in His Arms

You need this. What better escape for a peaceful moment to yourself than an exciting love story? What’s this story about? Read on.

Two strangers meet in the crisis of their lives. The ‘big one,’ the long dreaded quake that will destroy Southern California, hits at the worst possible time, a time when no one realized how devastating it would be to simultaneously experience a coronal mass ejection from the sun. One disaster would be enough.

As the story opens, Mackenzie Kilpatrick experiences a recurring dream about her husband who died in Afghanistan. He tells her to get out-of-town.

Even in her sleep, Mackenzie Kilpatrick remembers this is a dream she has dreamed before. She snugs her forehead against Sid’s neck and inhales his familiar scent. His strong arms clasp tightly around her, pressing his heartbeat through the thin cotton t-shirt. She strokes the back of his neck as her face nestles in the curve of his shoulder.

The dream shifts and changes. Sid’s husky voice comes from a distance. “Get out of L.A., Mac. Get out now.”

“Sid?” She strains with her dream-shout. “Sid!”

He stands in front of her, his close-cropped hair caught under his camo hat, his tanned forearms framed against his dusty uniform. Behind him, bare gray mountains rise high along the horizon. The armored Hummer sits several yards away bristling with weapons and antennae. Other troops duck as gunfire explodes around them. Sid stands there unflinching like he always does, staring at her from the shadow of his hat brim.

She knows he is dead.

Then she’s awake, gasping, tears on her face, her throat tight in the contortion of dream screaming.  She throws back the covers and sits up in the dark room. The dream has never been like this. She draws a shaky breath. The digital clock readout says 5:40 a.m.

Mackenzie’s day gets worse from there. Her parents call from Oklahoma, warning her that overnight, the sun has ejected a massive solar flare that’s hitting Earth. Her phone stops working mid-call. The television sputters and goes to static. With Sid’s dream warning and her parents’ plea for her to come home, she throws things into her car, loads up her dog Captain, and starts out of the drive.

She’s halfway out of the garage when the ground shifts. Walls tumble, cracks open in the roadway, and she barely makes it to the other side of the freeway when a traffic jam from hell stops her. She sees a way out—if she can maneuver down the sidewalk. Then she’s stuck. And there’s this guy waving his arms, shouting.

This guy…David Evans…not a man she would ever want to know. But there he is in all his devastating, overpowering presence leaning in her passenger side window telling her what to do and here she is stuck between a fence and a light pole, and well, it could actually be the end of the world.

Get this book while the 99¢ price lasts! (No cliffhangers, not part of a series) Available at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076YMYZKZ?ref_=pe_2427780_160035660
OR
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/756123

Free Read

NOW the second thing I want to mention is that from now through the end of the year, I’ll be offering free reads for some of my short stories. Right now you can pick up the very naughty and outrageous “A Gift for Jarrod” at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/383857

With everything she cared about gone, Dominatrix Macie Fitzgerald has built a new life in service to those seeking pain and submission. She takes pride in her success. So when she accepts Jarrod Bancroft’s application to her next training session, she acknowledges the risk. The ten years that have passed since he was her high school history student have only made him more magnificent in every way.

Life has been too easy for Jarrod Bancroft—rich parents, football star, law degree, high powered job, women by the score. Something is missing. He wants whatever Stonybrook Academy can dish out, much as it scares the hell out of him. And he was right to be afraid. He never imagined this. And the voice behind Madam’s mask sounds familiar, but after days of torture and deprivation, Jarrod’s only thought is to obey.

Macie faces her biggest challenge as she struggles to fulfill her professional obligation to give Jarrod what he wants. What he needs.

Will Santa leave anything under the tree for her? And if he does, can she bear to open it?

~~~

So Ladies, get busy with that one-click button and store up a few diversions for your holiday escape time. And keep an eye open for more FREEBIES by subscribing to my newsletter at https://eepurl.com/bHOyS9

Follow me for free erotic short works, hot photos, and the occasional rant on my blog at https://lizzieashworth.com/

Like my Facebook author page for updates on other nice and naughty works https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLizzieAshworth/

As always, THANKS FOR READING!

Thanks to Delilah for helping me to celebrate a book birthday! 🙂 My latest romance from Entangled Bliss debuts tomorrow.

This book is especially special to me for many reasons:

First of all, it was so much fun to write, because it’s set in a tourist town that’s dedicated to Christmas 365 days of the year.

The Snowflake Valley series (which are stand-alone books with a Happy Ever After in each) features a large family and focuses on the three oldest sisters. Because of their very bad relationships with men in the past, they’re known as the “bad-luck Barnetts.”

In the new release, One Week to Win Her Boss, the hero and heroine are destined to reach their Happy Ever After, too. Or are they?  In this book, that seems doubtful most of the way through.

Finally, this book is special to me because it features a couple I really love. A couple I tortured, of course, but still really, really love. LOL

Amber is all about the holidays and family. Because of his troubled childhood, Michael hates the holidays and is strongly anti-marriage. Unfortunately for Amber, she’s already in love with Michael, who happens to be her boss. But as far as he’s concerned, she’s off-limits because she has also already made a start to her family with her four-month-old daughter, Penny.

One other thing that made this story fun to write is that it includes lots of the Barnett family’s traditions. I’d love to hear about some traditions you share with your family.

From the back cover of One Week to Win Her Boss:

Single mom Amber Barnett loves family, kids, Christmas…and unfortunately, her boss, confirmed bachelor Michael DeFranco. It’s a crush she really needs to get over. Except, when she’s temporarily forced from her apartment, her only option is to stay at Michael’s private ski lodge, where she’s the housekeeper. No problem. Her handsome boss rarely visits Snowflake Valley unexpectedly, plus he’s spending the holidays with his family. Or so she thinks…

A stormy Christmas Eve reunion leaves Michael seeking the solitude of his lodge, where he finds Amber in residence—and in trouble. Attempting to save her from her matchmaking family, he announces they’re a couple. His good deed backfires when they’re instantly included in each and every holiday event in town. So much for solitude.

Only the more time he spends with the beautiful, cheery brunette, the more he yearns to make things real between them. But he and Amber want different things, and Michael could never be the family man she’s looking for.

Excerpt – this is from early on in chapter one, just after Michael has caught Amber camping out in the lodge. And I think it gives you a hint at the problems ahead:

Nobody was perfect, not even Michael. Though he sure looked darned close…but then, how would she know? Above all else, her time with her ex had proven she couldn’t trust her judgment when it came to men.

“Come back down to Earth, Amber.” She jumped. Michael stood in front of her, too close for comfort. “When you land, tell me why you’re here. And in your pajamas.”

His almost seductive growl did funny things to her insides. Too bad the question hadn’t slipped his mind, the way she’d forgotten what she was wearing—a floor-length, fuzzy, pink bathrobe that had seen better days and floppyeared bunny slippers no one but she and Penny had ever seen. Nothing like making a fashion statement.

Hopefully, he would be more impressed by her response to his question—as soon as she thought of one. “I…um…didn’t ask if you would mind if I stayed here—”

“That’s obvious.”

“—because I didn’t expect you to drop in.”

“Twice as obvious.” His gaze ran over her from head to toe.

Her body flooded with heat she wished she could blame on the warm robe. Why couldn’t she and Penny have had somewhere—anywhere—else to stay? “What are you doing here, by the way?”

“I own the place.”

She rolled her eyes. “You said you were spending the holidays with your family.”

“Yeah. Huge mistake,” he said, sounding grim as he looked away.

What did that mean? She wanted to know more about his upset holiday plans and his visit with his family. She’d never met them and had always been curious about why they’d never visited the lodge. Besides, she wanted to know everything there was to know about Michael.

Way to get over that crush.

Time to take control of this situation. No matter how inconvenient his arrival was for her or how unsettling his presence was to her heart, the fact was, there he stood. If she wanted to save her job—and she absolutely did—she owed him an explanation.

Or at least part of one…

Book Links
Entangled  https://entangledpublishing.com/one-week-to-win-her-boss.html
Amazon  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076PJ7SNN
Amazon Australia  https://www.amazon.com.au/d/B076PJ7SNN
Amazon UK  https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B076PJ7SNN
Amazon Canada  https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B076PJ7SNN
Barnes & Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1127274067
Apple iBooks  https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/one-week-to-win-her-boss/id1299758237
Kobo   https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/one-week-to-win-her-boss

About the Author

Barbara White Daille lives with her husband in the sunny Southwest. Though they love the warm winters and the lizards in their front yard, they haven’t gotten used to the scorpions in the bathroom. Barbara also loves writing, reading, and chocolate. Come to think of it, she enjoys writing about those subjects, too!

Barbara wrote her first short story at the age of nine, then typed “The End” to her first novel many years later…in the eighth grade. Now she’s writing contemporary romance on a daily basis. Sign up for her newsletter to keep up with the latest in her writing life:  https://barbarawhitedaille.com/newsletter.

Social Media Links
Website  https://www.barbarawhitedaille.com
Blog  https://www.barbarawhitedaille.com/blog
Newsletter  https://www.barbarawhitedaille.com/newsletter
Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/barbarawhitedaille
Twitter  https://twitter.com/BarbaraWDaille
Amazon author page  https://www.amazon.com/Barbara-White-Daille/e/B002J6B0QQ
Harlequin author page  https://www.harlequin.com/shop/authors/23759_barbara-white-daille.html
Entangled author page  https://entangledpublishing.com/category/barbara-white-daille/
Bookbub author page https://www.bookbub.com/authors/barbara-white-daille
Goodreads author page https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/529361.Barbara_White_Daille

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With Veteran’s Day today, I want to take a moment to say a silent as well as super-loud “thank you” to all the veterans, past and present, who have served our great nation. I was blessed to wear a U.S. Navy uniform for 9 years of active duty, 4 years at the Naval Academy, and I supported my husband and kids as he served for 27 years. And how lucky am I that I’m a writer, so I got to work wherever we lived, and now I use a lot of those experiences in my books.

My latest, The Billionaire’s Colton Threat, is out this month and part of a publisher series—meaning that my publisher, Harlequin Romantic Suspense, came up with a HUGE sweeping cast of characters and a super sexy, suspenseful setting and situations. I wrote about a Texas corporate star-turned-cowgirl, and the sexy smart Scottish billionaire she falls in love with. It was so much fun to write, almost as much fun as being on active duty and flying over cool places during a challenging mission. Note: I was an intel officer and flew as an observer.

I’d like to thank Delilah for another opportunity to get to know you, and I hope you’ll enjoy my latest. For a long-ish excerpt, plus the low-down on all of my books, please visit my website, and be sure to sign up for my newsletter and not miss any of the 5 new books I’ll have out next year.

Go Navy!

Geri
Connect with Geri Krotow:
Website: https://gerikrotow.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gerikrotow
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GeriKrotow

Tomorrow, November 11, is Veterans Day, and tomorrow I will fly the American flag in front of my house. Not because it’s a political statement but because it’s my way to say thank you to all the veterans who left their homes, their jobs, their families, and their comfortable lives to protect our country. Think about it – young men and women who believed so strongly in America that they were willing to give up a portion of their lives so that we can enjoy freedom.

Many years ago, when I was a small child, we used to have elderly veterans from World War 1 come to talk to us in our classrooms on that day. They would tell us stories about their experiences in the war – none really too frightening – and we children would sit listening, fascinated to be told what it was like to go to other countries, see other sights, and learn new languages. We were really too young to know the real implications of battle and these men and women were not about to frighten us — they were there to give us a sense of pride in our country and a reason to honor the day. They would tell us stories and then, in closing, would remind us that America was the greatest country in the world and we should never forget it

November 11 was originally celebrated as “Armistice Day” in memory of the end of “The Great War.”  That’s what they called it – “The Great War” – because their hope, these men who fought in the trenches in France and Germany and all over Europe in 1914-1918, could never conceive that there would ever be another such war. They were wrong, as we know, and so, in 1939, when another multinational conflict erupted, the “Great War” became World War I in order to remember and designate the next horror…World War II. Then, in 1954, the name “Armistice Day” was changed to “Veterans Day” to honor everyone – men and women–who served in all wars and almost every home in my neighborhood displayed the flag.

I was young, but I was old enough to remember, during the late 1940’s, another type of flag — the small cloth flags with a blue star that hung in the windows of the houses on my street indicating that a family member was serving in the Armed Forces:  Later, sadly, as the war progressed, some of those blue stars became gold when the family was notified that the service man had made the ultimate sacrifice for his country. Our country.

On the last day of that war, we kids were exuberant and wanted to celebrate and set off caps and fireworks but my mother hushed us and nodded her head to the house with the drawn curtains and the gold star flag in the window. “Remember them, Connie,” she said…”pay honor to the family.”  And that’s what Veterans Day is all about – honoring those who served America.

So, tomorrow I’ll hang the flag from the pole next to my door and I’ll remember the veterans — my husband, my brothers, my cousins, all my family members, their friends, and all those brave young men and women who went off to the wars – some to never return – and I’ll silently thank them for protecting our way of life … our country.

I hope you will, too.

About STORYTIME AT THE VILLA MARIA

The characters in my latest novel, STORYTIME AT THE VILLA MARIA, consist of senior citizens – some, World War II veterans, and they tell stories to their friends every Monday night at their senior citizen residential apartment house. They speak of patriotism and heroism and weddings and births and good times and bad and all the things relevant in their lives.  These characters remind me of my parents and my parents’ generation.  And that’s why I wrote the novel – it’s my love letter, my thanks — to the seniors of the world who went to war, to the wives and families who kept the home fires burning, and to the lives that they lived afterwards.

Meet…

Dominick, who married “the most beautiful woman in the world”…

Sophie, who is haunted by terrifying memories of the Holocaust…

Ella, who made “sweet apple pies” for her war veteran husband…

Tom, whose music lured women into his arms…

Artie, who is plagued by the ghosts of long-dead soldiers…

Frank, who can’t let go of his yesterdays, though a better tomorrow beckons…

Join them and others as they gather every Monday night in the library at the Villa Maria to share their memories, their fears, and their dreams.

STORYTIME AT THE VILLA MARIA—the unforgettable book about life lived and still to be lived, and about the mysterious threads of joy and heartache and love that are woven into every life—including your own!

“A charming novel of senior citizens, storytelling, nostalgia, and a world gone by but not forgotten.”

Get your copy here!

 About the Author

Constance Walker is the author of THE SHIMMERING STONES OF WINTER’S LIGHT, LOST ROSES OF GANYMEDE HOUSE, IN TIME, and WARM WINTER LOVE among other works of Gothic and contemporary fiction.

MY LINKS:

WWW.CONSTANCEWALKER.COM

https://www.amazon.com/Storytime-Villa-Maria-Constance-Walker-ebook/dp/B072Q3VBP1/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1497301294&sr=8-1&keywords=STORYTIME+AT+VILLA+MARIA
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/storytime-at-the-villa-maria-constance-walker/1126484514?ean=9780988430730
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/storytime-at-the-villa-maria-constance-walker/1126484514?ean=2940154392010
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2090408.Constance_Walker
https://www.facebook.com/search/str/constance+walker+author/keywords_top

Thank you, Delilah, for inviting me as a guest on your blog today. It’s so exciting to be back. I’ve missed all this fun stuff while life whipped me this way and that. They say trouble builds character, and maybe that’s true. One thing is for sure, humanity’s ups and downs, endless bouts of chaos and periods of unimaginable calm will keep you from becoming too complacent. It will give you a grateful heart—an outcome worth every fallen tear.

How fitting my topic is in the wake of all that has been gained, and lost, and gained again. Nothing is inevitable, and it’s never too late for wounds to heal. Life can be better on the other side of trouble! Trust me, I know.

I guess you could say, I’m a romantic at heart. Maybe it’s the way I was raised, by parents who stuck together through thick and thin, some seventy-plus years. It’s no secret, everyone is not so fortunate, as maybe they married the wrong person. It’s not so easy to prevent getting it wrong when we’re young, and maybe not all that bright. After all, there’s a lot of life’s lessons yet to be learned. I’ve been lucky, and I know that. We celebrated our thirty-third anniversary last month. As we grow older, I see things in him I never paid much attention to, and I love him more than the day we said, “I do.”

To me, there’s not much that’s more heartbreaking than to see two people who love one another, break up, especially when children are involved. It’s just— sad. For some reason, it thrills me when I hear of someone reuniting after they’ve suffered a divorce. Recently, one of our friends reunited with his former spouse even after she’d remarried and that relationship failed. I like the idea of people who made an impulsive decision to divorce their true love, having the opportunity to rectify their mistake. So thus, the inspiration for my latest story, Worth the Risk.

Forced to reconnect with her ex-husband in order to find their missing son, Stephanie and Devin Clark discover though their lives had grown dreary and cold, the flame never died, and before they know what’s happened, the fire of their passion is more combustible than ever, and life is anything but mundane.

Get your copy here!

Military romance has been, and will always be close to my heart. Up until now I’ve primarily written Marines, my affection for them is well documented in nearly 30 books including the Always a Marine series, Lone Star Leathernecks, and of course, When Danger Bites, the first book of Bravo Team WOLF—marrying my love of Marines to my love of Shifters.

When Susan Stoker invited me to come and play in her Special Forces: Operation Alpha Kindle World, I didn’t hesitate to say yes! What did give me pause was writing a SEAL, I’d written Marines, but SEALs are different. I wanted to be accurate, and I wanted to be entertaining—but most of all I wanted to be honest.

Operation Research

I’ve met SEALs in the past, but there are only so many questions you can ask. Instead, I relied on observation. It’s easy to forget these men are some of the toughest men around, not because they hide it—but because they are usually very comfortable in their own skin. They know what they are capable of and they don’t need to prove it to anyone.

Their training is brutal, and it’s not just about physical capability but mental discipline. Their service is often classified or top secret, and they are always training, or prepping, or on a mission. It’s rather humbling to realize that they need downtime after a mission because days of being on and focused and pumped with adrenaline requires decompression time before they can come back to the civilian world.

Admiring the fortitude required for all of the above is only the first step to getting a grip on the character.

What About Movies and Television?

Why not watch television shows or movies featuring special operations? We can do that, and I have, but entertainment always takes a certain amount of dramatic license just like I do in my books. FYI, currently I enjoy The Brave of all the latest offerings on television. Liking it doesn’t mean I can rely on those shows to do my research for me.

So you interview who you can, ask questions and recognize that you can’t always get all the answers, but you might get hypotheticals. Then you respect the work they do and focus on your character—I’m not going to write about every minute of his training or every hour of his missions, but I can take the long view and see how all of these will inform the character’s development.

SEAL, Now and Forever?

Mickey is a SEAL, that is very much a part of his identity, but he’s no longer active duty. In the Marines, once a Marine, always a Marine. For SEALs? They’re always SEALs, it’s something they earn, they become, and retirement or not, the experience is theirs forever.

The best part of a writing SEALs? What makes them dangerous isn’t their weapons or their combat skills—it’s what it took to make them SEALs in the first place—their mental discipline and strength of character. Those elements are amazing to combine into a character I create.

What is your favorite part of a SEAL? Real or fictional?

Securing Arizona

James “Mickey” MacBride retired from the teams with a solid record of mission accomplished. Now at odds and ends, he accepts the request of his retired Petty Officer grandfather. They want to gather the children of the USS Arizona—the descendants of the 355 survivors—for a special event. No problem, how hard can finding one woman named Arizona Kensington be?

Ari King has been on the run for over a year. No matter where she goes, her stalker finds her. She’s changed her name, her hair color, and even gave up the job she loved. When Mickey walks into the restaurant and asks for her by the name she surrendered, she takes his order then leaves via the back door, running for her life. Only she can’t shake him.

Securing Arizona was supposed to be a favor, but Mickey soon discovers it’s the mission of his life, and the men after her will have to go through this SEAL to get her.

Get your copy here: https://amzn.to/2heiufp

As a young 17-year-old, headed to college in rural New Hampshire, I could finally breathe. I grew up in Huntington, New York, on the north shore of Long Island, in the shadow of Manhattan’s museums, theaters, and art galleries. I soon learned I preferred the slower and less-populated life in New England. After earning a degree in Art Education, I stayed.

I gave up rocky north coast beaches for waterfalls and streams; skyscrapers were replaced with camping and painting landscapes in a small town. Eventually, I wrote this story.

With Every Kiss: an Opportunity Falls novel

Abigail Huntington, a successful Manhattan artist, is burned out, and is more comfortable wearing jogging attire, than dresses and heels. Bored by the city, and the jerks she’s dated, she needs to get away to paint beautiful and pricey landscapes, which is why she starts asking about New England campgrounds during her one-woman art show.

Mitchel Campbell, a corporate lawyer working for his father, wants to bed the pretty jogger he has watched for weeks. Recalling happier times in New England at his aunt and uncle’s campground near Opportunity Falls, he grumbles when he is ordered to attend an art show. He overhears a woman asking about campgrounds, and realizes she is the jogger. When he disappears minutes later, Abigail is left fuming. Meeting him again in a campground in New Hampshire is a coincidence…or is it?

Excerpt

Abby glanced at Mitch’s backside, bit her bottom lip, and stifled a groan. Wide shoulders and a narrow waist led down to a tight pair of jeans. She shook herself and decided to glance at the landscape instead. Mitch led them along a trail bordered by sweet-smelling pine trees and bushes filled with the fragrance of mountain honeysuckle. Frik ran ahead, barked, then returned to Mitch’s side.

“Frik, leave the deer alone. Abigail might actually like to see one.” Mitch stopped to let her catch up.

Her gaze followed his pointing finger. Nearly hidden in the trees, a deer nibbled on a branch. The delicate creature inspected the humans and continued to chew until the dog growled. In a flash, the animal bounded away with her white tail bobbing.

“How beautiful.” Abby stared, her gaze attempting to follow the doe. Awareness crept into her thoughts. When Mitch wrapped an arm around her, she gasped in surprise. When she immediately tensed, he quickly backed away.

“I’m sorry. Forgive me.”

She glanced over at him. Fisted hands perched on his hips. He glared down at his feet and kicked a root. Ashamed at her edginess, she stepped closer and wrapped her arm around his waist. He raised icy blue eyes filled with questions.

“What’s next?” she asked.

He seemed to stumble to get the words out. “Let’s keep going.”

She smiled at him and his embarrassment. She was beginning to trust him, but bending to a man’s sexual urges couldn’t happen. Not here. Not now.

Why not?

Too many months of celibacy, sprinkled with dates with boring men, had pushed her into a sexless existence. Where was the fun in that?

*~*~*~*

Want to read more? Find all the Buy Links at:
https://nancyleebadger.blogspot.com/p/books.html

More about the Author

Nancy Lee Badger, formerly of Huntington, New York, has fond memories of growing up on Long Island. Her life changed when she attended college in New Hampshire. After meeting her husband at Plymouth State, and raising two handsome sons, Nancy moved to North Carolina where she writes full-time. Nancy is a member of Romance Writers of America, Heart of Carolina Romance Writers, Fantasy-Futuristic & Paranormal Romance Writers, and the Triangle Association of Freelancers.

Connect with Nancy Lee Badger:

Blog     Website     Twitter    Facebook   Goodreads     Amazon Author Page

Contest

*a personal note from Nancy: With Every Kiss: an Opportunity Falls novel was released November 3^rd. Since this is also my birthday month, I am giving away an Artist’s Assortment of Goodies. No purchase necessary, and it ends November 18^th.

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