Cynthia Sax's Blog

Throwback Thursday – Dark Flight

Dark Flight is an enemies-to-lovers alien-like romance featuring a winged warrior hero!

I love Orol. He’s Kralj’s second-in-command and is, like the rest of modified humanoids, a little bit broken.

Rhea, his human heroine, is a bit broken also.

They are well matched, not that they believe this.

(grins)

Dark Flight

His mission. His challenge. His forever.

Orol, the Refuge’s second-in-command, has been given what he believes is a simple mission—escort two human females to the settlement. The winged warrior arrives at the meeting site to find one of the females missing and the other aiming a gun at his head. To rescue the first, he must capture the second. Once he has Rhea in his talons, however, he realizes he never wants to let her go.

Her enemy. Her captor. Her everything.

Rhea doesn’t trust anyone. She certainly doesn’t follow commands issued by a gorgeous flying male with glittering eyes, a beautiful face, and a seductive touch. Orol is dominant, edged with darkness, and determined to find her sister. Rhea will do anything to prevent that, even if it means playing sensual games of submission with her powerful enemy, seducing him into forgetting everything except her.

Dark Flight is a STAND-ALONE SciFi Romance set in a gritty, dark world.

Buy Now:

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Flight-Refuge-Book-2-ebook/dp/B07124941B/

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Flight-Refuge-Book-2-ebook/dp/B07124941B/

Amazon AUS: https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B07124941B

Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/dark-flight/id1242494643

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/dark-flight-3

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/727350

Gardening Is An Experiment

A friend was telling me she did the exact same thing in 2025 as she did in 2024 with her garden and her results were completely different.

That’s because there are a gazillion variables with the gardening experiment and many of them (like weather, first frost dates, insects, etc) we have very little control over.

And gardening IS an experiment.

Gardeners try new things all the time. Some of these things work. Some of these things don’t.

I tried to grow blueberries from seeds this year. None of my three attempts were successful. I will likely try again in 2026 using different techniques.

Because it is all a big experiment. And that’s part of the fun.

Have fun with it, my friends!

Assassin’s Haiku And C.S. Sax

I debated long and hard about whether I should re-release Assassin’s Haiku under the Cynthia Sax name or the C.S. Sax name.

I love this dystopian romance and I really wanted it to be available to reading buddies.

The world is dark like the cyborg world. Our heroes and heroines are battling an authoritarian government like the heroes and heroines in the cyborg world are. The hero is a genetically modified assassin, very similar to the modified humanoids in the Dark Thoughts/Refuge Series world.

I think reading buddies who love those two worlds will love Assassin’s Haiku.

But it IS a re-release. And it isn’t technically a SciFi Romance (or Contemporary Romance).

So I decided to release it under C.S. Sax.

Assassin’s Haiku

C.S. Sax

Twice a week, every week, Haiku sits beside Dante in the dimly-lit underground poetry bar. As they listen to the poets read, she basks in the warmth of her genetically-enhanced assassin’s body, and longs for the smack of large, leather-clad hands against bare skin. No other male, human or otherwise, makes her tremble like Dante can with one dark look.

Her heart, body and soul are his, if only he’d ask.

Dante won’t ask, because he knows a killer doesn’t deserve love. Instead, he sits in silent torment, watching Haiku, wanting Haiku, yet unable to touch her.

She is poetry and light, embodying all that he fights for, and when Agency operatives attack the bar, putting Haiku in danger, he must protect her. He takes her to the safest place on the planet, his underground bunker, and then realizes he has made a deadly mistake.

Haiku may now be safe, but Dante’s heart has been put in jeopardy.

Buy Now:

Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/Assassins-Haiku-Dystopian-C-S-Sax-ebook/dp/B0FN314X65

Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Assassins-Haiku-Dystopian-C-S-Sax-ebook/dp/B0FN314X65

Amazon AUS:
https://www.amazon.com.au/Assassins-Haiku-Dystopian-C-S-Sax-ebook/dp/B0FN314X65

Amazon Canada:

https://www.amazon.ca/Assassins-Haiku-Dystopian-C-S-Sax-ebook/dp/B0FN314X65

Apple Books:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/assassins-haiku/id6751852667

Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/assassin-s-haiku-1

Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1845894

Muse Food – Reflections In The Water (Or Mirror)

A character looking at their reflection can be a powerful (and fun) plot device.

They look in the mirror

and they see an older version of themselves with some extremely deep scars

or a monster reaching out to them

or a vision of something that hasn’t yet happened

or a loved one who has been long dead

or…

The possibilities are endless.

(grins)

Have fun with it!

Cynthia Sax Weekly Update – November 23

I am now crafting the third installment of the Super Secret Project. I continue to LOVE writing it. It is fun. It is light. It is exactly what I need writing-wise right now.

My pre-order abilities have been reinstated. Woot! But it is November so I still plan to release Super Secret Project in 2026 because…well…it is almost here.

Where did the year go?

Have a wonderful week, my friends. (big hugs) Give yourself a gift this week. This gift might be an evening spent in bed with your favorite book. Or a fancy new notebook. Or a dinner with a loved one (human or furbaby or other). Treat yourself. You deserve it!

Moonbeam: Two Alien Romances From The Vault

Moonbeam includes two sizzling alien romances from Cynthia Sax’s vault.

Lust By Moonbeam

Cathy arrives at Moonbeam, the Roswell of the North, with one goal—to prove the mysterious dead tree circles are not caused by UFOs. Meeting a devastatingly handsome lumberjack with unusual blue and green eyes is a bonus.

He thinks he’s an alien.

That doesn’t bother Cathy. She can tolerate a little strangeness in a one-night stand, especially since Rellec claims her body as no sane man ever has—with the hungry touch of forever.

Rellec arrives at Moonbeam with one goal—to retrieve his destined mate, ensuring the continuation of his species. Having trained long and hard for his passion-filled mission, he is determined to claim his tiny human.

Failure is not an option.

Ravished By Moonbeam

When Officer Danielle smacks a hunky alien with her police cruiser, she suspects her black-and-green perp is up to no good.

She shoots him. He grins.

She hunts him down. He captures her, seducing her on a bed of pine needles.

And she’s never felt so alive.

Krol is Sila’s best warrior. He’s rough and tough and he knows a fragile human female can’t handle his true nature.

To win his mate and ensure the continuation of his species, he attempts to be the gentle male he believes she needs.

Then his Danielle tries to terminate him, and he discovers Earth women aren’t as dainty as they appear.

In Ravished By Moonbeam, the heroine harbors VERY dark suspicions regarding the hero.

Buy Now:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/Moonbeam-Two-Alien-Romances-Vault-ebook/dp/B0FMXC4CNY

Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Moonbeam-Two-Alien-Romances-Vault-ebook/dp/B0FMXC4CNY

Amazon AUS:
https://www.amazon.com.au/Moonbeam-Two-Alien-Romances-Vault-ebook/dp/B0FMXC4CNY

Amazon Canada:
https://www.amazon.ca/Moonbeam-Two-Alien-Romances-Vault-ebook/dp/B0FMXC4CNY

Apple Books:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/moonbeam-two-alien-romances-from-the-vault/id6751244980

Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/moonbeam-two-alien-romances-from-the-vault

Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1835852

Buy A Holiday Gift Today

I’ve completed all of my (known) holiday gift buying.

I always do this early because the holidays are hectic in the Sax household and I like to take my time with buying gifts. I like to relax and enjoy it.

I also have some loved ones, like my Awesome Mom, who worry every year that they won’t receive any gifts. They worry they’ll be forgotten.

My Awesome Mom already has her tree up. My presents to her are, right now, under the tree. She can look at them any time she wants and be reassured she hasn’t been forgotten.

Consider buying one of your holiday gifts for a loved one (and this can be for yourself – you deserve love also!) today. Future you will be grateful. And your loved ones will feel loved.

(smiles)

Deep Impact, Bad Parents And Flawed Heroines

Spoiler Alert – This post will talk about Deep Impact and it WILL contain spoilers. If you haven’t yet watched this awesome comet disaster movie from the previous century (1998 – grins), you might wish to skip this post.

Deep Impact is my favorite comet disaster movie. I really like that it has a news media/journalism angle to it and that it talks about how a government might cover up a possible world ending disaster.

(It stars Morgan Freeman as one of my favorite movie world leaders which is a huge plus.)

I also like that the characters are fully developed, including some seen-only-in-one-scene characters like the older gentleman reading his paper.

Jenny Lerner and her parents are especially nuanced. Jenny, as a high profile journalist, has a guaranteed spot in the humanity saving ‘arc.’

If she chooses, she can survive the disaster.

You and I suspect she won’t survive it because she’s the heroine, yes, but also because she has character traits that serve as flaws in any disaster situation.

She is soft-hearted and VERY easy to emotionally manipulate.

Her mom knows this.

Jenny’s mom doesn’t have a place in the ‘arc’ and she realizes her daughter won’t allow her to die alone. Jenny will, if given the choice, walk away from her place in the ‘arc’ and sacrifice her life to be with her mom during the comet strike.

So Jenny’s mom makes her own sacrifice and ensures Jenny doesn’t have that choice. She does everything left in her power to increase the odds her beloved daughter will survive.

That’s how much Jenny’s mom loves her.

Jenny’s dad also knows Jenny is easy to emotionally manipulate.

And he, being a selfish bastard, has no qualms about doing that to ensure HE doesn’t die alone. He, without hesitation or any hint of regret, emotionally blackmails his daughter, knowing it will result in her death.

I hated him for doing that.

But I LOVED that the writers built this nuance into the story.

The writers could have given Jenny solely the expected-in-an-action-movie heroic motivation of saving an innocent child and stopped there.

But they gave her a secondary motivation. She is manipulated by someone she loves.

Someone whose last act shows he doesn’t love her enough.

And that is great writing.

Throwback Thursday – Breathing Vapor

I love cyborgs. I love assassin heroes.

The hero of Breathing Vapor is both and I love him SO much.

His next target is Mira, a human female and his genetic match.

This is a true enemies to lovers romance.

(grins)

Breathing Vapor

Vapor is the most advanced cyborg the Humanoid Alliance has ever developed. He’s a finely honed weapon, a warrior without parallel, half man and half machine. No lock can contain him. No being can stop him. Whatever he wants, he takes.

He wants Mira Breazeal, the Designer’s daughter.

She’s his one temptation, his sexy target. Vapor shouldn’t crave her caresses, steal her kisses, make her scream with ecstasy. The cyborgs want her dead and they would question his loyalty if he didn’t kill her. The humans would shoot him on sight if he dared to touch her.

Their love is forbidden. Their desire could be lethal. One human and one cyborg will risk everything for a moment of passion.

Buy Now:

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Breathing-Vapor-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook/dp/B015UN87JC/

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Breathing-Vapor-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook/dp/B015UN87JC/

Amazon AUS: https://www.amazon.com.au/Breathing-Vapor-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook/dp/B015UN87JC/

Amazon Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/Breathing-Vapor-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook/dp/B015UN87JC/

Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/breathing-vapor/id1044911340

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/breathing-vapor

Overwintering Peppers. Again.

Last winter, we overwintered mini sweet bell pepper plants inside our home for the first time ever.

(You can read about those adventures here – https://tasteofcyn.com/2024/11/23/gardening-bring-mini-bell-peppers-inside-update/ )

It took a bit of work and we didn’t see a huge increase in pepper production.

Yet we’re overwintering pepper plants again this year.

Why?

Because of diversification. We overwinter some plants. We start some new plants. That increases the odds that SOME of these will produce peppers.

This world is a wild place right now. Many scientists tell us we’re in a new, not-yet-experienced climate system. We don’t know what will work.

So, in the Sax household, we’re trying as much as possible and hoping for a win.

(smiles)

Swans In Stavanger, Norway

If you love swans, as I do, you’ll likely love Stavanger, Norway.

They were EVERYWHERE, even in places they shouldn’t be (which was often obstructing traffic – grins). And they were GORGEOUS.

They can definitely be found near less boat traffic heavy bodies of water.