The calendar says it’s summer, but when I look outside the window the view doesn’t quite agree. The trees are just getting leaves on their branches and the flowers are beginning to poke their heads above the soil. I live in a cold climate so this isn’t unusual, but I do love summer and can’t wait for it to truly begin.

Summer…just saying the word conjures up images of steamy hot nights and long sultry days. Warm sand and cool drinks with little paper umbrellas, backyard barbeques, picnics, and long holiday weekends. People slow down more in the heat of the summer, they’re not as frantic, and they relax more and go with the flow. There are baseball games to watch while sipping a cold beer, vacation days to enjoy to the fullest, and books to read while lounging on the deck.

Looking for a sizzling summer read to enjoy on the deck or by the pool? Check out the latest book in the Forgotten Brotherhood series.

Hunter Avenged
Forgotten Brotherhood Book 6

It’s taken Viking hunter Sven Knutson six frustrating months to find her. To track down the angel responsible for compromising the Forgotten Brotherhood and waking the drakon. She may be clever. Resourceful. But no one ever gets away from Sven. Ever.

All Rivka longed for as an angel was a chance to serve on Earth and help humans. Instead, it all went impossibly, horribly wrong, and she still doesn’t understand how or even why. All she knows is that she’s on the run—not only from Heaven’s dangerous elite guard, but also from the Brotherhood, who want answers.

She might just have to trust the immortal Viking whose icy blue eyes make her feel almost wickedly human. Because someone wants Rivka dead and the Brotherhood eliminated. Someone powerful enough to take on the most dangerous assassins who have ever lived. Someone who could unleash the fury of both Heaven and Hell…and Rivka is the key.

Teaser from Hunter Avenged…

Rivka awakened longings, needs he’d never experienced. I should walk away.

That would be the intelligent thing. His mottos in life were simple. Show your opponent no weakness. The most dangerous weapon in the world was a warrior’s brain. A thinking warrior lived to fight another day.

He was tossing out every tenet he’d ever lived by, allowing his emotions to overrule his common sense.

*~*~*

Want to read more? Click on one of the links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BMYKZQ2T/
Entangled Publishing: https://entangledpublishing.com/books/hunter-avenged
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hunter-avenged-n-j-walters/1142718008
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/hunter-avenged-2

About the Author

N.J. Walters is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who has always been a voracious reader, and now she spends her days writing novels of her own. Vampires, werewolves, dragons, assassins, time-travelers, seductive handymen, and next-door neighbors with smoldering good looks—all vie for her attention. It’s a tough life, but someone’s got to live it.

Visit her at:
Website: https://www.njwalters.com
Blog: https://www.njwalters.blogspot.com
Newsletter Sign Up: https://eepurl.com/gdblg5
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/N.J.WaltersAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/njwaltersauthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/NJWalters
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/njwalters
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/n-j-walters

UPDATE: The winner is…Jennifer Beyer!
*~*~*

Although writing is often a solitary pursuit, many writers reach out to others who labor as well.  After I wrote my first couple of books, I realized I didn’t know much.  About any of it.  I joined a couple of writing groups, started attending conferences and classes, and did my best to immerse myself.  Why reinvent the wheel?  Why not learn from those who came before me?

That journey led me to a group of writers in Vancouver, Canada, near where I lived.  Life was going along great until the pandemic.  That group wound up shuttering, but luckily, I found an online community that welcomed me with open arms.  And my world expanded as I made friends with other writers literally from around the world. Friendships were born, relationships cemented, and support networks put in place.  The great thing was I wasn’t just learning—I was sharing what I knew.  And as my career grew as a writer, I found ways to connect with others.

During that time, I connected with a group of women who wrote books similar to mine.  And, during some crazy meeting, someone proposed we write a series together.  A shared world.  Between my love of these woman and FOMO (fear of missing out—which is real for me), I knew I had to be part of this.

Cataluma, California, was born.  It’s taken us about a year to plan, write, edit, and then publish our stories.  Along the way there’ve been laughter, tears, frustrations, and true joys.  I’d written in shared worlds before—and will continue to do so—but this was the first time I’d been so involved in the process from the very beginning.

High on Love is the fifth story in the series.  The books start off sweet and work their way to steamy.  My book definitely has a steam factor, which matches the other Gabbi Powell books I’ve written.  And not to stray too far from my brand—my heroine comes from the small town in British Columbia where I’ve set my other books.

Connections.

There are ties within the stories, within the series, and within the friendships that’ve been tested and cemented.

I hope you check out High on Love.

Thanks, Delilah, for letting me visit!  As a thank you, I would love to give out a $5 Amazon Gift Card to one lucky commenter.  Let me know—how do you approach a series if you don’t know all the authors?  Do you start from the beginning, grab your fave’s book, or pass altogether?  Leave a comment!

High on Love

Kendra Barker’s a long way from her Canadian home. Her road trip has landed her and her 1983 Harley in Cataluma, California, but she only plans to stay long enough to rest, maybe make a few dollars, and enjoy the Strawberry Festival. As a bonus, the one place she finds to stay is an empty apartment with a super sexy landlord.

Javier Fernandez has been cruising through life on autopilot. His marijuana shop is doing well. His mother is, for the most part, under control and managing her job as mayor of his beloved Cataluma. Now, he just needs to get this pesky Canadian woman out of his head. He gave her a place to sleep, and he very much wants to be in her bed, but come the end of the weekend, she’ll be moving on. Javier doesn’t do one-nighters and he doesn’t want to deal with a broken heart. Long-distance, and cross-borders is a recipe for disaster, right?

High on Love is a story in the Shopping for Love in Cataluma series. The book is a 39k word small-town interracial romance novella with a tattooed heroine, a stoic hero, and the love affair that’ll change their lives forever.

Links:
UBL:  https://books2read.com/High
Amazon US:  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BZ2M8Z4G
Add it to GoodReads:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/125352653-high-on-love

About the Author

Gabbi Powell has been a lover of romance since she first put pen to paper in the eighth grade to write her first romance.  She writes her novels while living in Beautiful British Columbia with her trusty ChinPoo dog a as companion.  She also writes gay romances as Gabbi Grey and contemporary dark erotic BDSM novels as Gabbi Black.

Personal links:
Website:   https://gabbipowell.com/
Newsletter sign-up: https://sendfox.com/gabbipowell
Bookbub:  https://www.bookbub.com/profile/3142441314
Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/authorgabbipowell/
Facebook (personal): https://www.facebook.com/gabbi.powell.9/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/powell_gabbi
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Gabbi-Powell/e/B08T8NTQNY
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21065056.Gabbi_Powell

When I sat down to write my current series about three witch sisters, I didn’t know where it would lead me. I’ve been an urban fantasy fan forever though, so I’ve had some key influences. The 90’s TV show Charmed, The vampire film series Underworld and Xena, Warrior Princess to start with.

The Magicians is one of my favorite television shows ever. I devoured the entire five seasons like a rabid were-creature and could almost re-watch the whole thing. I loved it that much—except that my “to be watched” list is as unruly as my “to be read” list!

Eliot was my favorite character; his chill demeanor in the face of a lifetime of trauma really speaks to me. He’s smart and talented and happy to let people recognize it or not. He’s loyal and even with all of that he makes mistakes all the time. Just like every single one of us.

I’m sure that my series has some unintentional Magician’s flavor, I don’t know how it couldn’t. It was too brilliant not to have influenced me.

American Horror Story: Coven, while it edged into “horror” a bit more than I like (I was prepared for AHS to be ‘horror’ don’t worry!) I really enjoyed the story. I love when the lines are blurred between good and evil, and while Fiona was definitely evil, not every choice she made was.

Right now, I’m watching The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and I love the whole aesthetic so much! It’s such eye candy for me, but I have a lot to catch up on.

Obviously, my favorite element of urban fantasy is ritual magic. Like in Alice in Wonderland, I want to believe in impossible things. Magic is one of them.

In my series, The Silver Wilde Chronicles, the main character is the middle sister of a trio of witches. When their mother disappears, the search for her leads their entire worlds to turn inside out. I’d say she’s got a bit of Charmed’s Phoebe, Underworld’s Selene and The Magician’s Kady mixed in there. The free prequel is three chapters showing how she ended up captured by a vampire, which is where book one opens.

What are your favorite urban fantasy films and tv shows?

Life has been… a magical rainbow dumpster hellfire, and it’s about to get so much worse.

I’m Silver Wilde, a Hekate-worshiping witch, with the power of compulsion – which I only use to check alpha holes who need a smack down, of course. And the occasional barista for free coffee.

I thought I was at rock bottom grieving for my best friend, but then it became a mesmerizing, glittery black hole and sucked me right in.

Starting with the sketchy client who said I couldn’t quit… I told him to hold my beer.

Now it’s like I woke up in some alternate universe. Meddling questions. Vampire captors. Gut churning portals.

My mother, the most powerful witch I know, has disappeared. Just… Poof! Nowhere to be seen, astrally or otherwise. WTAF?

And let’s not discuss that pesky death prophecy I never should have asked for. What a thorn in my side.

It’s fine. I’m fine. This isn’t my first creepster rodeo. I’ve had to deal with a shady dude the bloody way before. And, to find my mom, I’ll do it again.

Scorched Heart and Sass is a sexy, snarky adventure in a magical world with witchy, occult flavor, full of unwanted alliances, unwelcome revelations and uninvited emotions.

This is book one of an urban fantasy series with a slow-burn, steamy romance subplot, adult language and adult themes.

Pre-order now!

Get your FREE read!

Download now! Ignite, by Dahlia T. Drake

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Check out my website

Love and triangle. Two fairly innocuous words. But it’s when they’re paired together in that order that they become possibly the two most hated words in all of romance—the dreaded love triangle.

Whether it was Rory trying to choose between Dean and Jess, Bella between Jacob and Edward, or Elena between Stefan and Damon, whoever she ended up with, I always felt a little cheated. I could never decide who was her perfect fit because each guy matched her in different ways. Why couldn’t she have it all?

And then I discovered my two favorite words in romance. Two words so destined to exist side by side, they’re literally smooshed together. WhyChoose!

A few years ago, I was introduced to a whole new (fictional) world where the heroine could have everything she wanted. Hot Boy Next Door… absolutely! Sexy Bad Boy… yes, please! Sweet Cinnamon Roll… come on down! According to the rules of WhyChoose romance, the more the merrier!

When I decided to pitch my hat in the publishing ring and give penning my own romance a try, there was no question it would be a WhyChoose romance. I wanted my heroine to have three men, each one complex and compelling in his own way and each one able to grow with her and fulfill a different need of hers.

So was born Vasenia and her three love interests, Marek, Gaeb, and Ryfin. In Blade & Thistle, my debut WhyChoose fantasy romance, we get the first installment of their exciting, enemies-to-lovers tale. Be sure to check out the blurb and excerpt below and read for free on Kindle Unlimited. I hope you enjoy reading Vasenia have it all!

Read now: https://mybook.to/Blade-Thistle

Follow me: https://jacindahalebooks.com/thank-you-for-reading/

Blade & Thistle

Vasenia has hated her life in Eretamia ever since her father, Imperator Supreme of the Sadoran Army, forced her to join him on his military campaign in the gloomy, backwater colony far away from the high society of the capital. But when her betrothed retrieves her for their wedding, she assumes the gods have finally shined their favor upon her.

Until her caravan is attacked along the forbidden, northern border and Vasenia finds herself in a hell far worse than Eretamia and at the mercy of three ruthless warriors. No, not warriors—Harrow demons.

Barbarians. Savages. Harrow demons. Warriors Marek, Gaeb, and Ryfin and their people, the half-fae Itheni, are known by many names but understood by few who live south of the magical border that protects their home, least of all by the Sadoran invaders.

But when the three warriors rescue a Sadoran woman on their trek home, they discover she’s more than just another invader. She’s half-fae too, a descendent of the lost women whose connection to their people was severed by a curse a thousand years ago.

When an ancient bond links her to them, Marek, Gaeb, and Ryfin realize they have no choice; they must bring their enemy home. But if they want to keep her, they’ll have to claim her and bind her to the fae by the only means they have: pleasure.

Excerpt from Blade & Thistle…
All three of them stand together near the entrance staring at me and exchanging words in their language. I try to focus on the things that made them so barbaric to me mere days ago. The blue tattoos marring their thick forearms. The hair on their chiseled jaws. Their undisciplined stance as if they could unleash the savage at any moment. I swallow thickly.

Single words filter to me. I understand tonight and seal before Marek motions to himself, Gaeb, and Ryfin. Gaeb nods in response and looks at me, his face wiped of humor.

I take a deep breath as Gaeb approaches.

“Sen,” he says, and warmth fills me at the name. It’s not an endearment, but somehow it softens me in ways Lucius’ my love never did.

“The ceremony on the dais bound us to one another, but the binding must be sealed.”

I nod.

“Sealing requires us to join the Goddess together,” Gaeb pauses to let that sink in and adds, “all of us.”

I can feel Marek’s attention focused on me even though his face remains in shadow, and Ryfin’s back is to me but his sudden stillness tells me he’s paying close attention to Gaeb’s words.

All of us.

I knew it as soon as I was brought here. What other use is there for a bed as big as this one? I’ve been preparing myself for this for hours.

Gaeb touches my waist, a feather-light touch but enough to send a shiver through me.

These men may not be demons, but they’re still my enemies. My body doesn’t care, though, as a now familiar feeling begins to ride my blood. What is it if not power?

He said the power in the wych elm is within me as well. If I can coax it out, learn how to master it, perhaps I can use it against them. My passion won’t be wasted anymore.

Gaeb tilts his head and narrows his eyes, attempting to read me. “You understand, yes?”

I nod again.

He cups my face, moving closer. The firelight illuminates the warm brown of his eyes, and his irises shine like sunlight through amber. “Do you want this?” he asks, his fingers caressing my cheek.

My consent is a tactic, a strategic maneuver.

But his touch settles and stirs me at once, building within me a heat that both loosens my limbs and tightens every muscle in my body. His thumb lands just below my bottom lip, and my mind empties of everything but this hunger I have for him, for all of them.

“You have to answer, Sen. Do you want to seal the binding with us?”

“Of course, she fucking wants it. I can feel her fae from here, so let’s get this over with.”

Ryfin stalks toward me, and I gape at him, at the foreign words that sounded so clear to my ears. But before he can reach me, Gaeb shoves him back.

“No,” Gaeb says, and it’s the only word I understand before I lose the translation.

Lucius didn’t ask my permission. It wasn’t required. Father betrothed me to him, and a lady of Dora is her family’s to possess and give away. Thus, I was given to Lucius and he took me, and not a care was spared for what I wanted.

I wanted Lucius’ family name, the access to power he could grant me, the security of his position. But had I wanted him? As I want Gaeb and Marek and even Ryfin?

Gods forgive me, the answer is no. I never wanted Lucius.

Someday this will be over. I’ll be returned to Father, to whatever Sadoran nobleman will take Lucius’ place, and to the role my mother was meant to play had she not proved a lovesick fool.

My mother lacked the control I possess. She didn’t merely want the Jacquerran man who wasn’t my father; she fell in love with him. I won’t make her mistake. I won’t fall in love with these men before me.

But I will fuck them. And then I’ll seize the power it gives me.

I stare at Gaeb, steeling my expression. “Yes,” I say.

I never planned on writing a book. 

Sure, I wrote in school when asked and there was a collective groan when I got up to read my fifteen-page story in the fifth grade. But, writing wasn’t on the menu as a grown-up. I got a degree, I was a teacher, a wife and mother. 

But then my child had a near-death experience. He needed one-on-one care and I was the only person equipped to care for him. I quit my job and kept him and his twin sister home. They were nine months old at the time. 

Now, if you are a creative person, like me, you can’t help but make stuff. And you understand that when a creative’s brain is shut off from doing what it is hard wired to do, it begins to percolate, to leak ideas, to create sleepless nights while those ideas spin around and around in your brain until they MUST be acted upon so you can finally get some freaking sleep. 

I had to write these ideas down before they consumed me. Eventually, I hot-glued a huge, long, blank sheet of paper to the wall in my hallway and I started taking notes. And as I wrote, I realized that I had a story to tell.

While feeding my twins one day, I imagined a smart, caring druis who would do anything for her family and friends. I named her Avalina.

A handsome, sexy, jerk who was in trouble and needed a savior came to me in the middle of the night while I stood in the hallway, listening to my son breathe while he slept. Who better to help him than Avalina?

But, I also have a love for smart, sexy, dorky guys who are turned on by a good puzzle (enter my husband, ahem…) Inventor Tobias came to my mind while I was doing laundry. He, of course, needed a twin, so I gave him his sister, Dahlia, who is a metallurgist mage.  

And, as every story needs, a good villain. But, I didn’t want just any villain. He had to feel  justified, to have a true purpose for what he was doing. A man willing to sacrifice for what he believed was the greater good. Commodore Theodore Van Alst is exactly that. But, with a twist. 

Each and every character that came to me had an agenda, something they needed to say, to do, and make me believe their story was the true one. I needed to work out their truths and lies, their plans and what they really wanted versus what they truly needed. I weaved their lives together on this big, blank sheet of paper glued to my wall in the spare moments I had throughout the day. 

I did this for three years. Three years of ideas, jumping in and out, organizing themselves on the wall. Every time I walked by, I’d grab the pencil I had stuck next to it and write something new. 

When the twins were old enough to go to school three days a week, I thought to myself, “I have time. I’m going to write that story.” 

So, I wrote. 

I wrote it in three months. Now, it’s taken me another three to learn, edit, rewrite, figure out my voice, rewrite it again, send it to friends, family, editors, beta readers, get feedback, and rewrite it again. 

A year after I began writing, and four years after I quit teaching to take care of my son, I will have a book. A book I wrote. (I still kind of can’t believe it and will probably cry when it’s finally in my hands.) Three Coins From a Dead Man’s Pocket is Book One in my Realms of Souls Saga. 

I now have three huge, long pieces of paper taped to the walls in my hallway. Some are full of scribbles, some have only one or two notes. But, they are filling up all the time. I can’t wait to discover new characters, new worlds, and new romances that NEED to be told or my brain will explode. I’m excited to get their stories out of my head, through my fingers, and into your hearts. 

I don’t have a hard date for release just yet, but I’m aiming for August 2023. 

Blurb sneak peek: A powerful druis with a thousand-year-old secret. An unpredictable love that breaks all the rules. And an ancient soul plotting to destroy the barriers that keep their realms safe.

Want to read the ENTIRE blurb AND be the first to know when my book releases? Join my email list HERE. 

The next stop for Realms of Souls info is my Facebook group. I’ll have announcements for release date, merch, contests, freebies, and other thoughts about characters that I have no idea what to do with. Accept for probably writing them on a blank piece of paper on my wall. 😂 

And, occasionally, I feel the urge to make a video. You can hear my ramblings first hand if you follow me on TikTok. 

UPDATE: The winner is…Sara D!
*~*~*

When I learned how Charlotte E. Ray engineered her success, the old Brylcreem hairdressing advertising slogan came to mind, “A Little Dab’ll Do Ya.” Her use of initials rather than her full name allowed Charlotte to attend the male-only bastion of Howard Law School, graduate in 1872, and eventually become not only the first African-American female lawyer in the United States, but the third American woman of any race to earn a law degree.

One of six children born to Charlotte Augusta Burroughs and Rev. Charles Bennett Ray, Charlotte was born in 1850 in New York City. Charlotte’s family enrolled her in one of the few schools at the time that educated girls, the Institution for the Education of Colored Youth in Washington D.C. There Charlotte took teacher training which enabled her to enroll as a teacher trainee at Howard University.

In 1869, she taught at Howard University’s Prep School, the Normal and Preparatory Department. Knowing of their law school’s bias against women, Charlotte applied to the law department as C.E. Ray. Her stratagem worked, and she was accepted. There is some dispute about whether or not this story is true, but from what I’ve read about her, I believe it. While pursuing her law studies, she continued teaching at the prep school. In 1872 she was the first woman to graduate from the law school. She specialized in commercial and corporate law. After passing the bar exams, she became the first woman admitted to the bar to practice in the District of Columbia and the first African-American woman lawyer in the US.

In 1875, Martha Gadley, an African-American woman whose petition for divorce from an abusive husband was denied, decided to appeal the decision and hired Charlotte Ray to represent her. Ray argued the case before the District of Columbia Supreme Court and won. This victory however could not overcome the discrimination against African-Americans and women Charlotte faced, and she had to close her practice by 1879. She moved back to New York and became a teacher in Brooklyn.

Besides her law practice, Charlotte participated in social justice movements of her day. She attended the National Woman Suffrage Association’s (NWSA) annual convention in New York City in 1876, and she joined the National Association of Colored Women (NACW) in 1895.

Records show she married in 1886 and became Charlotte Ray Fraim but had no children. In 1911, she died of bronchitis in Woodside NY.

I never cease to be amazed at how the women of this era refused to be cowed by societal expectations. Charlotte Ray’s victories are now recognized and celebrated. I’m glad her little stratagem enabled her to get what she strove for.

For a chance at a $10 Amazon gift card, leave a comment on Charlotte’s life or on the life of any woman you know who let a little stratagem do her.

“Take Me To The Water” by Michal Scott from Silver Soldiers

SILVER SOLDIERS: A BOYS BEHAVING BADLY ANTHOLOGY will satisfy the reader who craves stories with older alpha male heroes—those salt-and-pepper hotties with crow’s feet earned through rugged training and years of combat. Former soldiers finding their footing after their first careers, or current soldiers nearing the end of their military careers. They’re ready to find the right partner to put down roots, ones who aren’t afraid of scars and rough edges.

Excerpt from “Take Me to the Water”…

That pitiable wreck of a man wasn’t her Ambrose.

Older, grayer, leaner, of course. She was older, grayer, leaner, too.
But the figure hunched in that corner of Douglass Fellowship Hall wasn’t her Ambrose.

Her Ambrose had never hidden, never cowered, never shunned attention even though he’d never sought it.

What had prison done to him? What had all these years of absence done to him? Why had she received no answer to her letters? Why had he stayed away when he had been released?

He’s not your Ambrose anymore. That’s why.

She closed her mind to that lie. In his eyes—despite the pain and sorrow etched on his face—she saw her Ambrose.

In whom she’d always taken her delight.

How many Christmases ago had it been when their bodies had become one, when their souls had soared, when their future had been assured? How many had passed since she’d learned of his release? How many had she stood in this window and waited for him to come back to her?

To come back home.

For hadn’t that been what he and she were to one another? What he and she had claimed to be for one another the night he’d left to fight in the West?

Buylink: https://amzn.to/3GBExbG

UPDATE: The winner is…ButtonsMom!
*~*~*

During the infamous 2020, I spent a lot of time (more than I should have) watching YouTube. Like so many others, I found myself with extra time on my hands during that period. However, I wasn’t lounging around my house all day in my pajamas. My nine-to-five considered me to be an essential worker. This meant going to the office daily. What made this interesting is that while I was mandated to be at the office physically, only employees were allowed in the buildings. This meant that customers, consumers, clients, etc. were not allowed on the property. The results were (especially for the first two months), I spent eight hours alone in an office with the door shut and no work to do. I just sat once I had caught up on all the outstanding work that I had prior to the shutdown. Employees were not allowed to gather, and we really couldn’t talk with each other. It was a long eight hours.

I don’t know the reason (well, I can speculate but I shouldn’t say) the reason why they didn’t just tell us to remain at home was never explained. But the reason we had no work to do for such an extended period of time is that the powers that be did not devise a plan to address this. I made suggestions from the beginning, but, of course, there were egos to consider. Que sera sera. But none of that is neither here nor there now, and it’s been three years ago. I only mentioned it because it was a period when I experienced a lot of depression. Now, there are two kinds of depression: situational and clinical. Neither feels good, but clinical depression usually requires professional/medical intervention because it is a chemical imbalance. Situational depression, on the other hand, can be resolved by manipulating the environment. What I was experiencing during that time clearly was situational depression due to social isolation. At least, if I had been allowed to stay home, I could move around my house and roam around my backyard. As it was, my office has a small window with zero scenic views and is hard to access. I was left to stare at four walls in an approximately 12 x 10 room. I suppose it’s better than an 8×8 cell. However, after a while 12 x 10 begins to feel more like 3 x 3. So, while the powers that be sorted out a plan, my focus was to tend to my mental health.

Humans are social people. Taking away that social contact can be devastating for some. During the pandemic, people found alternative ways to meet their needs for socialization. As mentioned previously, one of the ways I fulfilled that need was by watching YouTube. However, many of the YouTubers that I had watched previously disappeared (e.g., beauty and makeup influencers). Thus, I began searching for new content creators to watch.

Somehow, I stumbled across perfume reviews. These weren’t my favorites because I had a hard time imagining the scents being described. Sure, I know what rose and lilac smell like, and I may could image them together. But when they began talking about top notes of balsam and red saffron with hints of vetiver and orris, it was like speaking a foreign language. All I knew was it didn’t smell like frying bacon. However, I watched these videos out of boredom and a mild hope that I would learn something. And I did learn something. Another reason I watched these videos is that many aromas make me happy. In the middle of the pandemic, I wanted something… anything… to make me happy. Sometimes, it is the small things that yield the most joy.

Many of the content creators spoke about having seasonal fragrances. They would say things like “This is what I’d wear in the spring.” Or “This would be smashing for a fall holiday party.” Color me weird, but I’d never thought of perfumes in seasonal terms. I purchase what I like and wear it until the bottle is empty. I never stopped to say, “Oh, I need to wait until winter to wear this.”

I still do not buy into that philosophy of wearing only during certain seasons—for one, because many of the scents I go for are too similar, and second, I’m not that organized. So, why am I discussing it? Well, I bumped into a dilemma. Usually, I create my own situations, but I have a whole multibillion-dollar company to thank for this one. See, they discontinued my favorite perfumes—one that I have doused myself in since my mid-twenties after obtaining my first job that I could afford to splurge on more than a body spray from Bath & Body. I mean this was my go-to jam, and I always received compliments that I smelled lovely. Yes, it stroked my ego.

I first noticed the scent missing in several stores, and when I went to the website, I saw that it had been reformulated and retitled. I learned my lesson about something similar with Estee Lauder’s Beautiful and Beautiful Sheer. Apparently, Beautiful Sheer was a limited edition. I purchased Beautiful thinking it would be similar, and I didn’t like it at all. My previous experience has made me weary of purchasing this new/rebranded version of my beloved fragrance. And for some reason, I none of the local stores are carrying it. So, I did what any obsessed person would do and turned to the internet. I found a carrier of the original with the price jacked up (of course). I only order one bottle because I had never ordered from the seller, and sometimes, what one receives is not what one ordered. I wanted to ensure that it was the real deal. Fortunately, it was. Unfortunately, I didn’t place a second order sooner.

By the time I used up this bottle, I had forgotten the name of the seller. I thought a Google search would bring it up the way it had the first time. To my surprise, though, the company had perfume listed for sale. I figured that they had decided to bring it back due to either customer demand, poor sales of the rebrand, or both. I didn’t care which. I was just happy. Eagerly, I put it in my cart. I did, however, notice that it was slightly cheaper. By hey, who am I to complain about a bargain.

Well, you know the saying if it’s too good to be true it probably is? Uh-huh. It was the same packaging, and the smell seemed the same—emphasis on seemed. When I sniffed it in the bottle, it was the same familiar scent. But when sprayed, it was much lighter. I know body chemicals can change the way a fragrance smells, and my instinct was to assume my body chemistry had changed. But it smelled lighter in the air. Yet, the biggest difference was it had zero staying power. It had been that once applied, the scent lasted the duration of my workday and longer. Additionally, the scent could be smelled father away. What I had vanished nearly after being applied, and the only people who could smell it had to be way into my personal space—as in their noses pressed to my neck. I’ve concluded (and I cannot prove it which is why I’ve neglected to name the fragrance) that it either has been reformulated with cheaper materials to cut cost, or I purchased an old batch that the company was trying to get rid of. I could be wrong, but that’s my opinion. In any case, I’m on the hunt for a new to-go scent. Enter dilemma number two. I can’t find anything. Well….

Thus, I purchased one perfume, and I loved it in the store. However, after wearing it for about an hour, the smell makes me nauseous. Another one I like but nearly everyone close to me tells me they can’t stand it. I like floral and clean scents. This one smells like a rose bush, and my friends all hate it. They say it’s “too much.” Normally, I wouldn’t cave, but since I am around them and they all complain, I agreed not to repurchase. There are a few others that I have enjoyed in the past, and now I don’t care for them. I suppose my preferences have changed over the years. Or maybe it is my olfactory that has changed.

So, here it is May. I’m in the same office with a slightly lighter workload. We’re no longer under lockdown conditions, but many of the Covid precautions remain in place. Employees are still required to socially distance. Masks are still required (although many employees can be seen without masks when no one is watching). Gatherings are not allowed, and persons allowed on the premises are restricted. Also restricted is the number of persons allowed to be in one area. As I write this, the Writers Guild of America continues to be on strike, and so I’m once again, reduced to watching YouTube—though not as much and not during working hours. Only this time, I find myself searching for a “summer” scent. Mind you, I still don’t know what that means exactly, and I intend to wear it regardless of the current season.

My curiosity has gotten the best of me. Who else has experienced something similar with either having their preferences for perfumes change or not being able to find a perfume that they like? Have you ever had your favorite perfume discontinued or fallen out of love with a scent? Have you had friends tell you that they can’t stand your cologne? Do you have seasonal scents? One person who shares their story below will be randomly selected to win a mystery gift. The contest ends at 12:01 AM CST on June 1, 2023.

Get ready. It’s time to hit the ice again. Future Goals has arrived and is available.

When a college hockey player needs the help of an attractive older attorney, he gets more than he bargained for when trying to sort out the troubles in his career. Falling in love was never part of either man’s plan, especially as Corrigan’s and Sacha’s lives should never have collided. Now they’re left questioning if they’re standing in the way of the other’s future goals, or if there’s room for redirection.

Order your copy at:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3RjPYb9
Other booksellers: https://bit.ly/3CI8d5W

Missed the first four books in my hockey romance series? No frets.

Out of the Penalty Box (book #1), where it is one minute in the box or a lifetime out, is available at https://amzn.to/2Bhnngw. It also can be ordered on iTunes, Nook, or Kobo. For more links on where to purchase or to read the blurb, please visit https://bit.ly/2i9SqpH.

Defending the Net (book #2) can be ordered at https://amzn.to/2N7fj8q or www.books2read.com/defending. Crossing the line could cost the game.

Ice Gladiators (book #3) is the third book in my Locker Room Love series. When the gloves come off, the games begin. Available at https://amzn.to/2TGFsyD or www.books2read.com/icegladiators.

Penalty Kill (book #4) retakes the ice. Get a copy at https://amzn.to/3ex0N9p or https://amzn.to/3ex0N9p and let the pucker begin.

For more of my stories, shenanigans, giveaways, and more, check out my blog, Creole Bayou, www.genevivechambleeconnect.wordpress.com. New posts are made on Wednesdays, and everything is raw and unscathed. Climb on in a pirogue and join me on the bayou.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this post or any others, feel free to comment below or tweet me at @dolynesaidso. You also can follow me on Instagram at genevivechambleeauthor or search for me on Goodreads or Amazon Authors or BookBub or TikTok.

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Until next time, happy reading and much romance. Laissez le bon temps rouler.

About the Author

Genevive Chamblee resides in the Bayou country, where sweet tea and SEC football reign supreme. She is known for being witty (or so she thinks), getting lost anywhere beyond her front yard (the back is pushing it as she’s very geographically challenged), falling in love with shelter animals (and she adopts them), asking off-the-beaten-path questions that make one go “hmm,” and preparing home-cooked Creole meals that are as spicy as her writing. Genevive specializes in spinning steamy, romantic tales with humorous flair, diverse characters, and quirky views of love and human behavior. She also is not afraid to delve into darker romances as well.