Due to fan requests for FBI Agent Reggie Casse to have her own series and find a love interest, the Reggie Chronicles were born last year with Hart’s Girls, Reggie Chronicle 1. Reggie’s struggles and successes in life continue with the launch of Heart of the Matter, Reggie Chronicle 2, launching 6/1/22. It will be followed by Magnolia Blossoms, Reggie Chronicle 3, launching 7/1/22. eBooks and Print are available. They will launch in audiobook format near the end of this year, so stay tuned.
Thank you for reading. Don’t forget to leave a review. You are so dear to me and greatly appreciated. I hope you enjoy my books, and we become great friends. Stay in touch.
Heart of the Matter, Reggie Chronicle 2
By Multi-Award-Winning Author, Lynda Rees, The Murder Guru
FBI Agent Reggie Casse and fiancé, U. S. Marshal Shea Montgomery, want a quiet but memorable wedding. Shea’s WITSEC witness, a corpse with a unique tattoo, a missing baby, and a kidnapping at their reception lead to an international ring selling items money shouldn’t be able to buy and a wedding no one can forget. Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum meets James Patterson’s Alex Cross in rural Kentucky racehorse country.
Thank you so much for letting me visit you so I can share my news with your loyal readers.
Free books!
Pretty cool, eh?
So the deets—I’m launching an indie series in the fall. I’ve written a bunch of books for the serie,s and it’s time I put them out in the world. I’ve titled the series Mission City. Pretty simple, eh? (I’m Canadian…I just had to throw that in.) Anyway, in writing those books, I developed a number of secondary characters whose stories I couldn’t wait to tell. Ace’s Placeand Marcus’s Cadence are two of them. Characters from both stories have already appeared in several books published under the pen names Gabbi Grey and Gabbi Black. Although each story I write is a standalone, I like to interweave characters into the stories. I think it brings a richness and, to those who read across my genres, an opportunity to see old friends.
Today I’m letting your readers know about the two short stories—available on all platforms for free—and offering a contest. What is your favorite trope? What type of stories do you return to again and again? I’m a big fan of second chances. I’ve written age-gap. And many of my stories have a touch of angst (although not these two). Share your thoughts for a chance to win an audiobook of either Ace’s Place or Marcus’s Cadence—coming soon and narrated by the amazing Michael Dean. If you don’t listen to audiobooks, I’ll be happy to give you any book from my back catalog—Gabbi Grey or Gabbi Black.
Thanks for hosting me, Delilah. I love sharing my good news with your lovely readers!
Ace’s Place
Derek Murphy has come to the godforsaken small town of Merritt, British Columbia in search of a new beginning. The man is tired, jaded, and resigned to never having sex again. Until Friday night at the local sports bar changes everything.
Harold Graham, hometown boy made good, has lived in Merritt his entire life. When he meets the new guy in town, he’s compelled to reach out the hand of friendship. And maybe more.
But secrets and omissions cloud what could be the beginning of something special. Can they take a chance on being vulnerable enough to fall in love?
What happens when your biggest crush turns up on your doorstep after twelve years?
Cadence Crawford has a good thing going. He’s making waves as a realtor in Mission City, British Columbia. Yes, he’s recently suffered a personal loss, but he’s moving on, and his path forward includes selling the only true home he’s ever known.
Marcus Brannigan is doing fine. He has his physiotherapy practice, he watches over his younger twin sisters, and he’s happy. When he unexpectedly runs into Cadence, who is selling the home he’s always coveted, he’s prepared to do some negotiating.
Neither knew they were seriously crushing on each other. Now they’ve admitted the truth, is happily ever after in the cards?
Marcus’s Cadence is a 7k second-chance gay romance, instalove short story with a very happy ending and a malti-poo named Kiki.
Gabbi lives in beautiful British Columbia where her fur baby chin-poo keeps her safe from the nasty neighborhood squirrels. Working for the government by day, she spends her early mornings writing contemporary, gay, sweet, and dark erotic BDSM romances. While she firmly believes in happy endings, she also believes in making her characters suffer before finding their true love. She also writes m/f romances as Gabbi Black and Gabbi Powell.
This month on May 26th, my mother turned 92. As I thought about an African-American woman I wanted to honor in my post this month, Catherine Louise Williams Taylor Phillips came to my mind.
Lately, I’ve been asking her questions from a book/journal called My Mother’s Life: Mom I Want To Know Everything About You. I speak to her every morning and after our check-in ritual, I ask her if she’s ready for the question of the day. She says yes, answers what she can recall then shares anecdotes that have nothing to do with the question. That’s my momma.
I don’t know how many of you are familiar with the turn of the 20th-centuryth century song “M-O-T-H- E- R (M Is For The Million Things She Gave Me).” Here’s a vintage recording if you want to give a listen. It’s a schmaltzy ditty that touches my heart because of the mother I was fortunate to have. So today, I want to celebrate a few of the million things my mother gave me.
My mom was born on May 26, 1930 and was sent to live down South with her grandmother when she was a few months old. She shared with me that she didn’t even know there was a depression and regales me with stories of being the spoiled red-haired fox her uncles chided and chastised.
When Alex Haley’s Roots was televised, she wondered what the big deal was then proceeded to tell me about the Pitt family that owned her grandparents. When I let her know I’d decided to pursue a Masters degree two years after graduating from college and having worked in the big bad world of advertising, it was only then she shared that she had been hoping I would go back to school. She even declared, “Why who knows? You may want to go on and get a PhD.” That was the first time I realized my mother wished things for me, but by her restraint showed she respected that what I wanted when and if I wanted it was what was important.
In things small and large, she made it plain—not only to me but to my sister as well—that we were to be who we wanted to be. We weren’t put on this earth to live up to anyone’s expectations. She recalled a time my sister came to her with a picture she had drawn and said, “I couldn’t do it as good as Anna.” To which my mother assured her she wasn’t supposed to do it as good as Anna. She was supposed to do it as good as Muriel. When I felt unconfident or about to settle for less than what I was worth, I recalled her telling me with great vehemence, “You can scrub toilets before you kiss anybody’s ass.” She doesn’t remember saying this but I do, and I will always be grateful for the confidence those words instilled.
As a minister, I’ve helped families in which the relationship between mothers, daughters and sons was strained and far from loving. They can’t sing without reservation as I can the last line of the song I shared above but thanks to the love I have from my mom, I’ve found ways to help honor their struggles and woes.
The last line of M-O-T-H-E-R goes, “Put them all together they spell MOTHER. A word that means the world to me.” I will forever be grateful to my mother who means the world to me. For a chance at a $10 Amazon gift card, share in the comments about someone who was a mother to you or perhaps you have mothered.
HauntedSerenade – by Anna M. Taylor
All the women in Anora Madison’s family have lived haunted by the curse of Poor Butterfly: women still longing for but deserted by the men they loved. Determined to be the first to escape a life of abandonment, Anora fled Harlem for Brooklyn, not only severing her ties with her mother Angela, but also ending her relationship with Winston Emerson, her lover and the father of her child.
Six years later, Anora comes home to make peace, but an unseen evil manifests itself during the homecoming and targets not only Anora, but her little girl Cammie.
With nowhere to run, Anora must confront the evil now trying to destroy her life. She vows to protect her daughter at all costs, but if that protection can only be found with Winston back in her life, how will Anora protect her heart?
Excerpt from Haunted Serenade…
In September 15, 1963, the one year anniversary of my aunt Diana’s death, four young girls in Birmingham, Alabama died when their church was bombed for its involvement in the Civil Rights movement.
My mother called that evening and inquired after my health and the health of my daughter Cammie – the granddaughter she vowed never to acknowledge.
Fear, anger and sorrow sounded in her voice. Mine too. We mourned those girls, their families and the sister/aunt we both loved. In that spoken grief, I silently mourned what had died between my mother and me.
The following month she called again, this time inviting me to bring Cammie to dinner. Like some sulky child, I felt tempted to ask what took her so long. Instead, I swallowed my hurt and came home.
Years ago, I was in high school reading an article about John F. Kennedy Jr. and started wondering what it’d be like to deal with that level of scrutiny. As it was, I felt very judged in my hometown, so it threw me into imaging what he must have felt in his everyday life. Later in college, I wrote a short story imagining a teenage girl who was dating a guy who was basically a high school version of JFK Jr. I kept thinking about all the focus that had been on his wife, Carolyn, and I decided to turn that short story into a novel. I read (and watched) a lot of biographies on John and Carolyn and got a feel for what their lives were like behind closed doors. I read about insecurities they had, the opportunities he couldn’t take because of his family name, and what it was like living in a fishbowl with strangers watching you grow up and having an opinion on everything you did.
I really got into what it would be like to grow up where every move you made was watched, so then I imagined this teenage girl, Emme, who already has insecurity issues after being in a bad first relationship. I had Emme find a soulmate connection with this popular guy named Brendon who is also a well-known senator’s son. Brendon is trying so hard to live up to the family name and be the perfect son and student, but he is overwhelmed by the pressures on him. In my short story, I had given him a love interest that was his opposite, so I made Emme much more carefree and laidback. I pictured Brendon being on all these school committees and clubs and worried about grades and getting into his dad’s former college, while Emme is busy just being a normal high school student and trying to get on the school newspaper staff.
Then I thought about how important family ties were to JFK Jr. as I felt that connection with him as John passed shortly after I lost my grandpa. I wanted to include what my family had gone through with my grandfather’s dementia, and I thought I could have both Emme and Brendon dealing with grandparents with health issues which winds up cementing their bond even more. Brendon and Emme became more real to me as I was writing, and I almost felt bad giving this couple so many relationship obstacles on their path to true love. Notice I say, “almost.”
I re-released the updated book, Dating the It Guy, this April and since so many readers had asked if I’d do a sequel, I thought instead I would write an epilogue of what happens to Emme and Brendon couple years later after they graduate from college. In one way I was giving the readers a look into the future, but it was also a way for me to give my characters a happily ever after since it’s always been so sad that John and Carolyn’s lives were cut short. I learned a lot about John and Carolyn in my research and came to admire them both.
I write novels about friendships, crushes, hope, dealing with self-doubt, finding where you belong as well as your soulmate. My sister says my books are an airing of my grievances, but I like to think I’m just working through issues via my characters to help my readers work through theirs. Either way, the bumps along the road gave me a lot of material.
I’ve been writing since I was a kid, but my mom made me show her I was serious about it my senior year when she signed me up for writing conferences to see if I’d sink or swim. Who knew I’d finally feel like I fit in somewhere…well, fit in-ish. I love reading, TV shows, watching strangers’ IG stories, and lipstick.
Teamwork makes the dream work, and that’s true for my upcoming multi-author series, Athena Project. Delilah is one of my cohorts, as is Reina Torres, Jen Talty, and Regan Black. All five books release on June 21st.
Read an excerpt from my story, Beck’s Six, and then learn how you can order a signed print copy!
Beck’s Six
Rebecca “Beck” Morrissey likes her black ops work but she’s tired of government politics, as are her closest friends. She’s spent way too much time working for secret government agencies, and she is fast approaching burnout. Her option? Join Hank Patterson’s Brotherhood Protectors—if she can convince him it’s workable. The last person she expects in the meeting is Roman McClain, the man she shared both a dangerous op and incendiary sex with four years ago. And it seems that attraction is still alive and ready to explode. How will that affect them when Beck and her friends join the Brotherhood Protectors for an extended training session in Wyoming’s Wind River Mountains?
Things get even more complicated when Beck’s sister disappears, just as they learn that a radical, antigovernment group, headquartered in the Wind River Mountains, is preparing for an attack on a major target. In all likelihood, they have snatched Beck’s sister to use her as a bargaining tool. Now it’s up to Beck and her group of friends and Roman and the Brotherhood Protectors to pull off a rescue and thwart a disaster, all while she and Roman deal with an attraction that is hotter and stronger than ever.
Excerpt from Beck’s Six…
It’s a great idea. A terrific idea. He’ll jump on it right away.
Yeah, keep telling yourself that.
Rebecca “Beck” Morrissey kept repeating those lines to herself as she drove up the driveway of Hank Patterson’s ranch to the big ranch house that also houses the offices of Brotherhood Protectors. She had a great proposal for him that was unique and had endless possibilities. Hank had built a great organization with Brotherhood Protectors and she was sure this would only enhance it.
She recalled when Hank had left his SEAL brothers to deal with trouble at his ranch in Montana. He’d told her he never realized what would evolve from that. First SEALs, then other Special Forces, became part of a still growing group that dealt with trouble better than anyone.
Now Hank had two very successful setups going already, the original Brotherhood Protectors based in Montana and the Colorado offshoot in Fools Gold, Colorado. Team Trojan, former Green Berets out of Fort Carson who had left the service and Fort Carson on a bitter note. They had formed the basis for that setup and it was working very well. But apparently the number of extreme bad guys was growing because the entire organization was constantly busy.
And they all thrived on doing the kind of work they’d trained for, but without the politics involved.
Beck and her four friends who she pitched this idea to wanted the same thing. They were all hoping Hank would say yes to her proposal. They had all been friends for a long time and had been involved in government agency dark ops or secret projects, so they brought a lot of experience with them. But like her, they were ready for something new. Something where they had fewer restrictions and could choose their cases. When Beck reached out to them with her idea they had responded with enthusiasm.
Hank will see the benefit of it.
She kept repeating it to herself as she parked her car, walked up to the house and rang the bell.
“You made it.” Hank grinned as he opened the door. “Good. How the hell are you?”
“I’m terrific.” She squeezed him back. “And getting better.”
“Well, I sure am damn glad to see you. And anxious to hear about this hot idea you have.”
“Which I hope you will think is as exciting as I do.”
“I am open to suggestion,” he told her. “Come on down to the offices. I’ve got one of the Brotherhood Protectors down there who knows you. Thought we could use his input.”
She wondered who the hell that could be? She knew a few of the men but she didn’t think she knew any of them well enough who might be on board with her suggestion.
She followed Hank down the stairs to the offices, which took up the entire basement of the ranch house.
And stopped.
Dead still.
When she saw the man lounging against one of the desks, for one brief moment she thought her heart actually stopped beating.
Holy crap!
She hadn’t seen Roman McClain for four years and she hated the fact that her body’s reaction to him hadn’t changed a bit. One glance at him and every one of her hormones jumped up and began to dance. Heat sizzled through her and it had taken every single ounce of willpower not to let it show.
She wondered what his reaction to her proposal would be, because Roman McClain was the last person she’d expected to be a part of this.
Oh, this was so not good.
Roman, on the other hand, looked very comfortable. She wondered how long he’d been a part of BP.
“Hello, Beck.”
His deep voice still resonated through her and lit fires under her hormones.
Damn!
“Hey, Roman.” She cleared her throat. “Long time no see.”
He nodded. “Four years.”
She couldn’t stop staring at him. She thought she’d buried her feelings deep but it seemed even after all this time Roman McClain still had an incendiary effect on her.
More than six feet of well-muscled masculinity, the jawline beard he still wore accented the high cheekbones and lips that delivered scorching kisses. Kisses that she still remembered after four years. Deep blue eyes studied her from beneath thick black lashes that were the same ebony as his hair and beard. She remembered running her fingers through that thick hair. Feeling the scratch of his beard on her thighs. His—
Stop it! Get your act together.
She could be a big girl about this. He’d made no bones about their one night together. That was all it would be, a sort of celebration of the op they’d completed so successfully. Just because he’d kept his word and that one night was all they had—or were going to have— didn’t mean they couldn’t at least be civil to each other. And apparently Hank was counting on Roman’s opinion of her proposal.
“So I take it you’re out of Special Forces and are now a part of Brotherhood Protectors?” It was as much a statement as a question.
He nodded. “I am.”
“Roman’s been with us for almost two years,” Hank told her. “He’s become a key member of the organization.”
“Well, good. That’s good.”
Or maybe not.
She used every ounce of discipline to get herself under control. Her training with black ops was a big help. She’d spent four years burying the memory of her one night with Roman McClain as deep as she could. He wasn’t a man who stayed around for more. She’d known that from the beginning. But that one night together had been worth it.
“How about a cup of coffee?” Hank asked.
“Uh, sure. That would be good.” And give her something to focus on.”
Once she had taken a couple of sips of the hot liquid she drew a breath and forced an air of calm.
“Okay.” Hank’s voice broke into her thoughts. “So how about telling us what’s brought you here today.”
“Okay. Well. You know I spent the past few years working for several black ops organizations within the government.”
Hank nodded. “And from what I’ve heard, did an incredible job.” He nodded toward Roman. “Roman here told me you and he had worked an op together and it went off like clockwork. I think the words ‘consummate professional” were used, if I recall.”
“Thanks for that, Roman. It’s nice to have good advance publicity.” She took another sip of her coffee.
“Okay, Beck.” Hank waved a hand for her to tell her story. “Let’s have it. Who are these women and why would they be a good fit for Brotherhood Protectors?”
“Anyway, I have four very close friends who also worked in that environment including the CIA, the Department of Defense and others I’m not at liberty to mention. And they were—are—all damn good. The point is, we’re all suffering a bad case of burnout.”
“I can get with that,” Hank agreed, “It takes a toll and working for the government can be very frustrating.”
“Amen to that.
So.” Another sip of coffee. “Anyway. Last month we were all in Virginia, having lunch and discussing our situations. And…”
Romance is well known for its series. It’s rare to see a stand-alone book that doesn’t connect in some way to a previous work by an author. Why do we love series so much?
There’s comfort in the familiarity of going back to visit places and people who are as recognizable to us as our next-door neighbors and friends. Being able to immerse ourselves in a world where we know bad things can and do happen, but there will be retribution and a happily ever after at the end. Sometimes when the world’s gone crazy, it’s a nice escape to visit one of these make-believe worlds.
The same reasons I love to read series are also the same reasons I love to write them. In fact, I can’t seem to not write them. Every time I start to write a book, before I’m finished it, I’m already thinking about one or more of the other characters, and I know they must have their story told. But with my latest series, I’ve taken it a step further.
I first met the Salvation Pack wolves a decade ago. I’d planned on a five-book series. You know what they say about the best-laid plans, right? Nine books later I was done. Or I thought I was. All the original pack members had their stories, along with new members we met along the way. But I couldn’t stop thinking about the pack or about the children, the next generation. Who would they grow up to be? What would happen to them?
Turned out I wasn’t the only one with questions. Readers kept asking for more, so I dove back into that world and created the Salvation Pack: The Next Generation series. I’ve planned for five-books—everyone gets their story told.
It’s been a joy to revisit characters I love and create brand new stories.
Wolf Meets His Fate features Aaron LaForge, the youngest son of the alpha from the original series. He’s set out to find his fate, but it—or rather she—finds him.
Be sure to check it out.
Wolf Meets His Fate
Salvation Pack: The Next Generation, Book 4
Orphaned at birth, Jesse is raised in the Louisiana swamp by powerful witch Lottie Broussard. Hated by her father and shunned by the pack that should be hers, she is forced to run for her life after Lottie’s death.
Searching for his life’s purpose, Aaron LaForge has left his pack and is living on a farm in West Virginia.
When their paths cross in a local bar, he sees it as fate. At first, he only wants to help but quickly realizes she’s his mate. Jesse isn’t ready or willing to trust anyone—let alone a male wolf. But Aaron is as stubborn as he is convincing. As their relationship heats up, the dangers around them mount. Can their love survive their fight to stay alive?
Teaser from Wolf Meets His Fate
Closing her eyes, she tried to catalog everything she remembered about him. It had all happened so fast, but he’d left an impression. And it wasn’t only his physical appearance.
Yes, he was handsome in a primal way with his broad shoulders and muscular build, but there’d been something in his eyes—compassion, understanding—that made her want to run toward him instead of away. That made him dangerous.
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.
You may notice that some authors are using platforms like Patreon as a way to connect with readers and offer exclusive or “you read it first” content. Like many writers and artisans of the past, a patron is someone who shows support by contributing in a financial way to show support for the person making the art.
Unlike in the past, you don’t have to be a wealthy person and that creator is not your responsibility to house, feed, or any of those other dramatic past gestures of support. Instead, you can contribute as little as a dollar a month (varies by creator) and get access to rough drafts, initial sketch concepts, sometimes the ability to weigh in on decisions, etc. It all depends on the artist and what they offer and at what level.
If you like to feel like you are contributing to someone’s art, this is a neat way to do that. Maybe you don’t have time to read everything they write, this is an excellent way to help them cover the costs of covers, edits, and more. Maybe you have a friend and you don’t read their genre, but you want them to know you support them. Again, an excellent way to do that. My mom was a patron for the first two years until I started getting actual readers showing support by joining. Then she said, okay, you got it from here. She still shows support by buying the books!
Every creator runs their Patreon differently, but the one thing I think most of us have in common is offering something exclusive to those patrons. My patrons get access to the first draft as I write it in serial form. They are my first choice when I need beta readers. I send them mail quarterly and the fourth quarter mailing is filled with goodies I have collected from other authors and fun things I pick up just for them.
There are many platforms, but Patreon is the one I use for mine. Check it out. Ask your authors if they have an account and get in on all the exclusive fun!
The Swift University contemporary reverse harem (RH) is a Patron-first read.
