UPDATE: The winners are…Beckie and Eileen Airey!
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It’s too bad the only Saturday song I can think of is Chicago’s “Saturday in the Park”—because I detest it. I know, there are Chicago fans out there, but I’m not one of them. But Saturday needs a theme song, don’t you think?
And it can’t be this one either… *shudder*
Now, you can thank me for the ear worm. 🙂
But it is Saturday! For me, it doesn’t mean much work-wise (every day is a workday), but it does mean the kids don’t have online schoolwork, so I’ll be seeing them in my office a heck of lot more. Argh.
Now, if I had time on my schedule to read a book today—I don’t! I’m editing and reading shorties for the anthology—I would likely pick up a book I’ve already read. One of my “comfort reads”, like Johanna Lindsey’s Warrior’s Woman or Mackenzie’s Mountain by Linda Howard, or maybe Julie Garwood’s Saving Grace. I have a single shelf of books I’ve read over the years that I consider my comfort reads. Okay, I think I’d read this one:
It was the first Sci-Fi romance I ever read, and I shared it with the ladies I bunked with during Desert Storm. That copy was so dog-earred by the time I returned home—LOL!
Anyway, for a chance to win your choice of stories from my backlist, tell me what you’re reading this weekend, and whether you have any comfort reads you’d like to share with other readers!
UPDATE: The winners are…Brenda Rumsey, Kelly Samuels, and C. Marie Bowen!
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This month, I’m reading the rest of the cowboy stories that will be a part of my next Boys Behaving Badly short story collection. I’m having a blast reading the offerings from some very talented authors! Once I select the stories, edit them, then compile them into a book, I’ll hand them over to my sister, Elle James, to create a cover for the antho before we get it up on Amazon for you all to purchase! (These big books are always offered for only $0.99—a steal because we want everyone reading the authors’ stories!) It’s a huge undertaking, but one I love. Every anthology, I’ve added new author friends, many of whom who come back, again and again, to submit new stories for readers to enjoy.
As soon as Cowboys is in the can, I’ll be searching for a new theme for the next anthology. That’s where you come in. Below, I have the covers of the previous anthologies so you can see what themes we’ve covered. For a chance to win a download of your choice from among these titles, tell me what you’d like to see next!
Click on the covers to learn more about these books!
UPDATE: The winners are…Evie, Amanda, and Linda Richter!
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Back in the day when I wrote strictly erotic romances… There was the little book that could…
The Pleasure Bot was a story I loved writing. I smiled my way through it. The story has some of my favorite tropes—mistaken identity and hiding in plain sight. Add a playful and annoying personnel AI computer, a pirate with a sense of humor, and a woman who thinks she only wants to get off—and you have it.
The story played well with reviewers:
Nominated for Best Erotic Romance and 4 ½ Stars and TOP PICK! from Romantic Time BookClub Magazine, “…Hot sex, sidesplitting humor and an out-of-this-world story set this erotica apart from the rest!”
Also, 5 Flames from Sizzling Romances; 5 Stars from Just Erotic Romances; 5 Stars from eCataRomance
Give it a go! The Pleasure Bot is book 4 in the Planet Desire series but is completely standalone. It exists in that universe, but the characters never cross paths. And isn’t that cover just lickable?
The Pleasure Bot
4 ½ Stars and TOP PICK! from RT BookClub Magazine, “…Hot sex, sidesplitting humor and an out-of-this-world story set this erotica apart from the rest!”
Bringing new meaning to battery operated boyfriend…
Priscilla Potter rents the latest sex toy, a better-than-lifelike pleasure robot, for a little weekend R&R. However, her fantasy companion isn’t quite what she expected. He’s unshaven, uncouth, and doesn’t seem to understand she’s in charge of her own pleasure. But she soon decides the on-line shop got the order just right. As the weekend draws to a close, she has to find a way to keep her robot past its return date.
Bootlegging “entrepreneur” Declan O’Hanlon needs a place to lay low until he can figure out how to liberate his crew and ship from Customs impound. The “uninhabited” house he picks for his hideout actually belongs to a sex kitten who mistakes him for her latest toy. Intrigued by the idea of being a woman’s fantasy come true, Declan does what any red-blooded man would do–he pretends to be her acquisition. But he doesn’t count on Priss being quite so irresistible. As the time depart nears he wonders how he can ever leave her behind.
I’ll give away a free download of any of the Planet Desire stories to three lucky commenters! Just let me know if humor is something you like in a story!
It’s almost the Thanksgiving Day holiday in the USA. (I’m Canadian, so I celebrated back in October.) It’s the time of year when we all stop and give thanks for all the blessings in our lives. And this year, I’m especially grateful for all I have.
2020 has been a rollercoaster with the pandemic and lockdown, but I’m still here and so is my family. For that, I give thanks every single day. I have a roof over my head, heat, lights, running water, and food in the cupboard. It’s so easy to take things like that for granted, but I never do. There are so many people living without these basic necessities.
Then there is my career…
October 27th marked a milestone for me—16 years and 106 books. Sometimes, I can’t even believe it myself. If anyone had told me back in 2004 that I’d have accomplished this, I wouldn’t have believed them. Back then, I wondered if I could write a second book. It’s been a wild and wonderful ride. One that I hope continues for years to come. I’m grateful to all my readers—many of whom have been with me since the very beginning—to my fellow authors for your encouragement and kindness, and to all the amazing editors I’ve worked with who have made me a better writer with each book.
To add to my gratitude, it’s my birthday this month.I make it a week-long celebration rather than a one-day event. I’ll treat myself to something yummy from the local bakery and maybe a new book. Along with the reflection on the year gone by, there’s the wonder of what this next one will bring and how it will change me. Life always has surprises, some good, some not so good, but all of them bring growth. No matter where my path leads going forward, I know that writing will always be a part of it in some shape or form.
I wish you all a safe and joyous Thanksgiving holiday. Blessings to all of you and your families.
Ivar’s Escape
Assassins of Gravas, Book 2
Ivar el Gravaso—a prince of Gravas—wakes in a prison cell with no idea how he got there or even who he is. If his captor can’t get answers from Ivar, his days are numbered. When a strange woman sneaks into the prison and promises to get him out, he’s suspicious. Is this nothing more than another trick by his captor or is she truly there to help?
Delphi is an assassin sent by the Gravasian government to infiltrate the space pirate stronghold of Tortuga in search of the missing prince. She finds a prisoner who is well-spoken, knowledgeable, and ready to fight, even though he has no idea who he is. He might be her target. It’s difficult to tell due to his ragged appearance. But no way can she leave him behind, no matter who he is.
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, 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.
One of the (many) things that fascinate me as a Romance reader and as a Romance writer are the beings or other living things a character loves BEFORE he/she finds her/his main romantic love interest(s).
What is her/his basis for love?
For example, in Warlord’s Return, Ariq, the barbarian hero, cares deeply for his brothers-in-arms. They have fought side-by-side for a good portion of his lifespan. He would do anything for them, would trade his life for theirs without hesitation.
I know Ariq is capable of great love and lasting relationships because he experiences that in a platonic way at the beginning of the story. When he meets his heroine, Xareni, I expect his commitment to her to eventually be as strong or stronger than his bond with his brethren.
Xareni, on the flipside, seems to be a loner when we first meet her. She has been hurt…greatly. Due to that not-yet-healed pain, she keeps herself separated from other humans and humanoids, tends to grumble at beings, is admittedly relationship-adverse.
Except she DOES have a relationship. She would kill, would die for Spark, the mini-dragon she considers to be her hunting partner.
She curses at the equally ornery creature but she goes out of her way to feed him the choice bits, often pets him, is more concerned about his reaction to returning to civilization than about her own. Her attachment to Spark is strong and deep.
And I know her relationship with Ariq has the capability of being as strong and as deep. Even when she pushes him away, when she stabs him…multiple times, I have faith she could eventually love him with all her soul.
Knowing this about both characters gives me great hope they will…eventually…have their happy ever after. Their relationship and their love should last.
Question: What does the hero or heroine love or care for at the beginning of the romance you’re currently reading?
Warlord’s Return
Ariq is a barbarian warrior seeking a war.
He locates that battle when he meets Xareni.
Ariq is one of Chamele’s top warriors. A genetic predisposition to fighting, paired with intensive training and experience, has honed the scarred male into an effective killing machine. He loves war, can’t live without combat.
The Succession Wars, however, have finally ended and the Chamele sector is now at peace. Seeking excitement and purpose, the barbarian warrior accompanies his Second to the Refuge, an outlaw settlement on Carinae E. He hopes to locate the battle he’s been craving there.
Ariq finds that conflict and more when he meets his fated mate.
Xareni owes the Ruler of the Refuge a favor. That’s the only reason she has returned to the settlement. She doesn’t like crowds or structures or a certain barbarian warrior who insists on following her everywhere. It doesn’t matter that there’s a connection between them, that he makes her burn with desire, that he looks at her with heat in his dark eyes.
She’s a monster and monsters don’t need anyone.
Warlord’s Return is a STANDALONE Alien Barbarian Sci-Fi Romance featuring a determined barbarian warrior, an equally resolute human female, and an eyeball-eating mini dragon.
USA Today bestselling author Cynthia Sax writes steamy Cyborg, Alien and Contemporary Romances. Her stories have been featured in Star Magazine, Real Time With Bill Maher, and numerous best of top ten lists.
Sign up for her dirty-joke-filled monthly newsletter and visit her on the web at www.CynthiaSax.com
When I inserted Testing Truth into my schedule two years ago, I had quite a few concerns about this story.
My cyborg series (both the first section and the cyborg space exploration section) is quite dark. It is set during war. Beings die (they ARE Romances and I believe in Happily EVER After so core couples and more are always safe). Bad things happen.
Truth, however, is a fun-loving cyborg warrior. He deals with darkness by making jokes and causing chaos. He has known loss and torture and horror but he chooses to focus on the good, the fun, the laughs.
This means any story featuring Truth won’t be overly dark in tone. He simply won’t allow that to happen. He’ll crack a joke and the tone will become light again.
I worried, two years ago, reading buddies wouldn’t embrace this lighter story.
Then the Great Pause happened.
I know I can’t deal with super dark-toned stories at the moment. The world is dark enough.
I’ve been reading lighter stories. And I suspect many reading buddies have been doing the same.
Testing Truth is definitely a lighter story. There is still a high death count. Bad things DO happen. But Truth’s reactions to these events keep the tone light, the jokes flowing and the chaos happening. His heroine is a princess. Her entourage is…unusual. There’s even a mini-dragon in this story. (grins)
And, of course, Testing Truth IS a romance. There are sexy times and love and those delicious aww… moments I adore in romances. Romance is all about love and hope and optimism, something everyone would benefit from having more of today.
I believe Testing Truth is the perfect Cynthia Sax story for this time. It is the story I was meant to write and the story reading buddies were meant to read. I hope you enjoy it!
Question: Have YOUR reading habits changed during the Great Pause? Are you reading shorter stories, longer stories, lighter stories, darker stories, re-reading more, reading more new-to-you writers, etc?
Testing Truth
A fun-loving cyborg gets serious about love.
Truth lives each moment as though it were his last. The cyborg warrior rushes into danger, teases beings he shouldn’t provoke, accepts every call of adventure he encounters.
When a prissy little human princess floats into the Rebel structure Truth is occupying, seeking a mercenary to assist her and her unusual entourage, he volunteers to be her warrior. She claims their assignment is dangerous, warns him he might not survive the task.
That is exactly the type of fun he has been seeking.
Princess Nanette of the planet Royaume must rescue her estranged brother from an enemy prison ship. That is her duty, and she has been trained to always place the needs of her planet and her subjects before her own. Nancy doesn’t have the freedom to indulge her passions for a certain dark-haired, gray-skinned cyborg. Not permanently and not publicly.
But she is unable to resist the warrior. Truth, with his laughing eyes, smiling lips, and rough hands, tempts her as no one else ever has. He could be her one fleeting act of rebellion before she’s matched with the powerful ruler her planet requires.
If they survive their current mission.
Their love is doomed. Their lifespans are at risk. This cyborg and his princess will need the help of every ally they have if they wish to see another sunrise.
USA Today bestselling author Cynthia Sax writes steamy Cyborg, Alien and Contemporary Romances. Her stories have been featured in Star Magazine, Real Time With Bill Maher, and numerous best of top ten lists.
Sign up for her dirty-joke-filled monthly newsletter and visit her on the web at www.CynthiaSax.com
