Delilah Devlin's Blog, page 118

Anne Rainey: Another Chance at Love (Excerpt)

I love a tortured hero, don’t you? In the latest installment in my Zenarians series, I deal with the trauma of loss. My battle-scarred hero Zadoc lost his beloved ofelia (soulmate) to the war with the Mordaines. Murdered right before his eyes. Doomed to live without her, each day is a new torment for him. I honestly cried a few times while writing his tragic story. He loved his Jasmine with all his heart. So, when unassuming Laura St. Claire comes into his life and he finds himself drawn to her, Zadoc is torn. It’s a betrayal to Jasmine’s memory, and yet there’s just something about the dark-haired human female that tugs at him. Even her scent is somehow familiar. Is he being given a second chance at love?

When you pick up this novel you can expect to read about an immortal alien hero, an introverted bookworm of a heroine, love scenes that will knock your socks off, and edge-of-your-seat action. Have tissues handy because you just might shed a few tears!

Other novels in my Zenarians Series include Zar, Kade, and Dyre. All can be read on their own, but you won’t want to miss these over-the-top alphas! To get you started you can read the first chapter of all four books on my website: https://www.annerainey.com/zenarians-series

Zadoc: Zenarians Series, Book Four

She awakens the beast in him…

Zadoc has known happiness when he met his beautiful Jasmine. His ofelia. His soulmate. She was his whole world. Only to have her ripped away from him when she was murdered during the war with the Mordaines. Her death was a knife to his heart. As a centuries-old Zenarian immortal, Zadoc is aware that he will never love another. Never feel the soft caress of a lover’s hands upon his wings. The physical scars he bears are a constant reminder of all that he’s lost. Until he meets Laura. Sweet, shy, and Earth-born. Her presence brings light and joy to his soul—and his creature isn’t immune to her innocent allure either. After so many years of cold emptiness, Zadoc will go to extreme lengths to keep Laura by his side.

Laura enjoys a simple life. A good book on a stormy night. Sunday dinners with her family. Her life is as modest as it gets and she’s happy with the status quo. When she meets Zadoc, co-owner of Zenarian Industries, she’s instantly drawn to him. His commanding presence and the deep, gravelly tone of his voice sends tingles of awareness along her nerve endings. Everything feminine in her stands up and takes notice. Until she glimpses the black wings sprouting from his back. Wait, wings? Before she can wrap her mind around what she’s seeing, she’s kidnapped by a disgruntled co-worker and tortured, marking the beginning of Laura’s crazy adventure into a world she never knew existed.

Buy Zadoc on Amazon Kindle Unlimited: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09WJRPB6J/

You can also join me on Rainey’s Readers for exclusive peeks at upcoming books and contests: https://www.facebook.com/groups/785284435328066

Excerpt from Zadoc: Zenarians Series, Book 4…

Laura couldn’t look away. She suspected she was frozen in terror. Or maybe she was having a crazy and intense dream and she couldn’t wake up. Sleep paralysis was a thing, right? People suffered from it all the time. You think you’re awake, but you aren’t. Either way, nothing in her life could’ve prepared her for what was sitting next to her. Zadoc has wings. Giant black Lucifer-type wings. She watched as the gorgeous man shifted around on the sofa to get more comfortable. She had to scoot away from him to keep from being hit in the face by the right one. They were spread out on either side of him. A twitch of his shoulder and the left wing flexed, knocking into the table lamp. For a few worrisome seconds the metal base teetered back and forth before it steadied.

Oh, God, it couldn’t be real. “Touch him,” she mumbled to her cowardly self. “Just find out if they’re real.”

Taking a deep breath, Laura reached out with her right hand and stroked a feather near the top bend. It was as soft as velvet beneath her fingertips. Zadoc’s entire body went rigid and his eyes flew open. His gaze snared hers. “Ofelia,” he murmured in a voice so deep and hoarse that Laura felt it coast along her nerve endings.

She slowly got to her feet. “I don’t—”

Sheer terror prevented her from finishing the statement. She backed up a step, stumbling over the heels that she’d kicked off earlier, then ran toward the door. She heard Zadoc calling her name, but adrenaline was pumping hard and she ran for all she was worth. She saw her purse on the table near the door and grabbed it, then gave the knob a vicious twist, shoving the door wide. She hauled ass down the sidewalk to the street beyond. “Help!” she screamed. A porch light came on a few houses down and she ran toward it. She could hear footsteps behind her, but she didn’t dare look back. Suddenly a car came barreling around the corner, headlights momentarily blinding her. Brakes screeched and a passenger door swung open. She stared in horror as Eddie sat behind the wheel holding a gun.

“Get in,” he shouted. “Now, Laura, or I’ll kill you and your boyfriend.”

Laura looked back and saw Zadoc running toward her. The wings were gone. As if they’d never been there. Had she dreamt the whole thing? Jesus, maybe. A combination of too many hours at the office and not enough sleep. She’d had freaky dreams plenty of times. Zadoc yelled her name and Laura started in his direction, but Eddie’s words pulled her to a halt.

“He’ll die first,” Eddie snarled. “I have nothing to lose, thanks to you.”

Her stomach churned and her knees nearly collapsed. If she didn’t get in the car then Eddie really would shoot. Zadoc would be dead and it’d be her fault. And all because she’d had a nightmare and imagined things that couldn’t possibly be real.

The post Anne Rainey: Another Chance at Love (Excerpt) first appeared on Delilah Devlin.

Quick Note! And Open Contests!

I’m just ducking in to make a quick post! I went to “Art Day” at my local art guild and spent the morning wallowing in watercolor. I need more days spent like that! So, I’m just making a quick post to remind you that there are open contests you need to ENTER WHILE YOU STILL CAN!

Open ContestsHappy International Kissing Day! (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!Montana Bounty Hunters–Dead Horse, MT (Contest–2 Winners!) — Win a FREE book!Saturday Puzzle-Contest! — Win an Amazon gift card!Diana Cosby: Nature at the Shore! (Contest) — Win a FREE tote!10 Things That Make Me Sigh (Contest) — Win a FREE book!The post Quick Note! And Open Contests! first appeared on Delilah Devlin.

10 Things That Make Me Sigh (Contest)

I did a “10 Things That Make Me Smile” in May and enjoyed hunting for the right emojis so much that I had to do it again.

So, here’s a little list of 10 things that make me sigh with happiness (not frustration!), listed in no particular order.

Breakfast on the table. Stepping into the pool for a swim. A goodnight kiss from the 8-year-old. The Happy-Ever-After for the story I’m reading. Smelling flowers. Finding constellations in the sky. My cat purring in my lap. The smell of a freshly mopped floor. A small square of dark chocolate melting on my tongue. Reaching The End of my book!

You know what’s coming next!

For a chance to win your choice of a download of any of my backlist of books, tell me five things that make you sigh!

The post 10 Things That Make Me Sigh (Contest) first appeared on Delilah Devlin.

Meet Gabriel… (Excerpt)

I’ve got my head down, typing my stubby fingers to the bone to get this book done! It arrives on July 26th, but I wanted to give you a little taste of Gabriel’s story. Enjoy the excerpt! ~DD

Have you preordered your copy? Link to Gabriel

Excerpt from Gabriel…

Gabriel Pelletier was pretty sure something had changed. Not that he was a deeply intuitive man—at least, not when it came to women. However, he was one hundred percent sure something was different about the bounty hunter’s office admin and operations guru, Fredericka Newton.

For one thing, she’d insisted that very morning that he call her “Fig” like everyone else in the agency did—her delivery crisp, her lips firm. And she’d hit him with that as he’d poured his first cup of coffee before the morning meeting had even begun.

When she’d turned on her heel and left him with his jaw sagging and wondering what bee had crawled up her ass, he’d seen Chase’s black eyebrows rise and his lips purse, had noted Cowboy’s grimace and Cage’s slow blink. Worse, Marti had been doing her best after her initial snort not to bust a gut laughing while her man Hardman shushed her with a glare.

Gabe had thought he’d had a budding friendship happening with Fredericka…er, Fig. “Fredericka” had been the name she’d given him when he’d first arrived after he’d received the invitation from Cage Morgan to join the agency. He’d sat across from Fig’s desk, filling out forms, while she’d kept up a light patter of conversation, which he’d learned later from the rest of the hunters was highly unusual. The Fig they knew was all about the job, hyper-focused, no chitchat. And yet, she’d been friendly with him. Soft and warm-looking, too—something he’d mentioned to his partner, Eli Pope, who’d done his level best to hold back a grin, especially when Gabe had mentioned just how nice “Fredericka” was.

Today, he’d finally seen what the rest of the crew saw when they looked at Fig.

Her expression as she’d reviewed the details about their latest high-dollar target had been set. Her words blunt and to the point. She’d been completely professional but a little cold.

While she’d always used a light touch with makeup since he’d met her—just a swipe of cherry lip-gloss (he’d loved the sweet scent), a hint of color on her cheeks, a little mascara—this morning, her face had been devoid of any enhancements. Even the cherry gloss was gone. She’d still been cute as hell, but not as…well, approachable…as he’d come to expect.

They’d all been called in for an early morning meeting before heading out en masse to retrieve one mean motherfucker by the name of Arnold Paxton. He’d skipped his court date for an assault charge, instead opting to march on the Montana state capital building with his Proud Boy-wannabe brothers. After trashing every business with a name he didn’t like and scuffling with cops on the capital’s steps, he’d gone into hiding.

Fig had gotten a call from the agency’s owner, Fetch Winter, saying that he had good intel concerning where Arnold Paxton was but that getting him out of his group’s compound would be tricky and might require some serious firepower.

Which was why most of the hunters from the Dead Horse office were currently sitting in the woods twenty miles from Lander, Wyoming. An eight-foot-high game fence surrounded the property where their target was hiding, with signs depicting an AR-15 and the warning “Will Shoot” posted all along the fence line.

At the moment, they were gathered on the side of a dirt road while fellow hunter Chase Kudrow was operating a small drone to fly over the compound located a quarter-mile inside the fence. He and Fig were standing in front of the open back gate of the operations van while they studied the monitor she’d set on the floor, showing what the drone was capturing of the compound’s layout below. Despite the fact the sun was an hour away from rising, stark outlines of dark buildings against pale, snow-covered ground came into view.

“See there?” Cage said, pointing a finger toward the screen. “Fetch’s source thinks he’s in that last cabin.” He pointed at the last cabin in a row of cabins that had once been the Middle Fork River Campground but was now the home of the Wyoming Reservists—a white nationalist group that was enjoying a growing reputation in the region—all of it bad.

The drone lowered and hovered next to a window, but the cabin’s interior was dark until Chase hit a button, and the screen turned green. Using the drone’s night vision capability, a bed with a large lump in the middle came into view. The lump was facing the far wall. Of course, they couldn’t be lucky enough to have Arnold facing the window so they could be sure the lump was their guy.

Chase brought the drone high again, high enough that they could see all ten structures, including the office building at the center with an adjacent parking lot.

“I count eight SUVs and trucks,” Cowboy said.

“So we’d be facing a minimum of eight armed and motivated assholes.” Cage scraped a hand over his short dark hair. “Unless we can positively identify Paxton, we won’t have probable cause to enter private property.”

Fig glanced toward Cage. “We can’t keep flying drones, waiting for Paxton to step outside. Someone’s going to notice. We need to set up some fixed surveillance inside that compound while we still have the cover of darkness.”

Cage’s eyes narrowed while he watched the screen.

Gabe knew that Cage didn’t like the fact they’d be trespassing to set up cameras. He also didn’t like the idea of the hunters coming up against so many armed men.

Cage shook his head. “I’ll say yes to the surveillance. But no one gets close to the cabins. Cameras on the road, on the river. One on this area with the picnic tables,” he said, pointing toward a common area in the middle of the cabins. “We may be here a while because we need to catch this bastard when we aren’t facing a dozen gunmen. If he leaves, we catch him on the open road. If his friends leave, we infiltrate and do our best to avoid an armed confrontation.”

The group standing around him nodded.

“Good thing I booked the motel for a week,” Fig muttered.

“We’ll have to move the van around,” Cage said, “unless we can find a spot with lots of cover, off road.” His gaze went to Gabe, and there might have been a little gleam of humor in his eyes. “You work with Fig on finding that spot.”

“Boy’s too young to find it,” Chase rasped then faked a cough.

Gabe cleared his throat. “On it, boss.”

“Enthusiasm can trump experience,” Marti drawled. When Hardman’s head slow-turned toward her, she shrugged. “Just sayin’. I’m rooting for him.”

Fig rolled her eyes. “I can find my own damn spot.”

“But why would you want to?” Marti quipped.

Chase bent and gripped his knees while he chortled. “Hardman,” he said, lifting his finger while trying to catch his breath, “can’t you do something about her?”

Hardman wrinkled his nose. “Nope. And I wouldn’t want to try.”

Gabe shook his head, glad of the darkness hiding his hot cheeks. The hunters loved to rib each other, but this was the first time they’d targeted him. He found it hard to look at Fig given the sexual nature of their jibes.

He cleared his throat. “Soon as the sun comes up, one of you needs to monitor the feed from the surveillance cameras we’ll be setting up. Fig and I will go on recon to find the perfect spot.” Inwardly, he groaned, then quickly amended, “For the van.”

Cowboy clapped a hand on his shoulder, his shoulders shaking with repressed laughter. “Take your time, man. We’re all rootin’ for you.”

“Jesus Christ,” Fig muttered. “Bunch of horny twelve-year-olds. We still have cameras to set up.”

“She’s right,” Cage said. “Chase and Cowboy, you head back to the motel and try to rest up. You’ll be on surveillance tonight.” He turned to Eli and Gabe. “You two need to get inside that fence. Work with Fig to make sure she has the views she needs.”

Fig nodded. “I can work a drone to figure out the best placement and send you the GPS coordinates. Use earpieces so I can supervise the camera angles.” She climbed into the back of the van, Cage following her inside, and the remaining hunters around Gabe began to disperse.

Her tone had been all business, and her gaze had landed on Eli, barely encompassing Gabe. Yeah, something was up. How the hell had he pissed her off? Things had been going great between them, or so he’d thought. She’d even ridden shotgun with him a few days ago when he’d had some quick pick-ups of people who’d missed mandatory drug tests.

Things had seemed to go sour after he’d paid her the highest compliment he could for a woman. He’d been burned bad by his ex-wife and had been leery of getting involved with another woman. So, he’d been relieved to find someone like Fredericka. Someone who understood men and could hold her own in their environment. He’d felt comfortable enough to tell her so.

“It’s funny,” he remembered saying.

“What is?” she’d asked, the beginnings of a smile on her face.

“How you run that office. All these heavy-duty ex-military types—you hold your own and keep them all in line. I admire that.”

“You do?” she said, turning toward him. Her pretty gray eyes were wide.

“Hell, yeah. You’re what? A hundred pounds soaking wet, but they all listen when you speak. They respect you. They see you as an equal member of the team.”

“So…you like me because I’m one of the boys…?”

That wasn’t exactly what he’d meant, and something about the way she’d said that, or maybe the way her eyes had narrowed, had made him feel instantly unsettled. “Well…yeah.”

The second he’d said those two words, her demeanor had changed. Her chin had jutted upward, and her soft gray gaze had gone flinty—almost the same dark silver as cold steel.

Since then, they hadn’t shared coffee at her desk or any private conversations at all. He missed that. He’d screwed something up and didn’t know how to fix it.

Or even whether he should. Obviously, he was the world’s worst at reading a woman.

Eli moved back to his truck which was parked behind the ops van. He returned with a bolt-cutting tool. Since they were already armed and wearing their Kevlar, all that was left was to flick the switches on their earpieces.

“Testing,” Eli said.

“Testing,” Gabe parroted.

“I got you both, loud and clear,” Fig said, then appeared in the doorway holding a black canvas bag which she tossed to Eli. “Cameras.” Then she turned quickly and closed the van’s back door, shutting them out.

Eli’s eyebrows rose, but he shouldered the bag and moved away. Gabe followed Eli as he walked to the fence and quickly cut a hole in it. When he ducked through the bent-back wire, he pushed aside any lingering thoughts of Fig and whatever the hell he’d done to offend her. They had cameras to install—all without alerting anyone inside the encampment they were there and being surveilled.

He grabbed a fallen tree branch with several brush-like smaller branches and swept the snow behind them to hide their prints.

Ahead, Eli paused and checked the compass on his watch before stepping out again.

The wind picked up, carrying a flurry of hard, crystalline sleet that bit his cheeks. Gabe pulled his knit hat down over his ears.

“Damn, I’m bringing the drone back,” Fig said in his ear. “Wind’s picking up. But I have a picture of the compound, and I’ve superimposed coordinates.” She named the first set of coordinates where they would install a surveillance camera.

“Setting my GPS,” Eli said, then trudged forward again.

They arrived at the location and quickly withdrew the first camera, setting it up on a tree overlooking the road leading into the campground.

“Good picture,” Fig said. “Maybe tilt it downward another fifteen degrees.”

They made the adjustment, and she confirmed the view was good. They moved on to the next set of coordinates.

An hour passed, and they finished the last installation in a tree overlooking a boat dock.

“Who the hell would get on the water in these temperatures?” Gabe muttered.

“If all other escape routes are closed…”

“Yeah,” Fig said. “The cameras aren’t exactly cheap, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“We gonna have a boat ready to give chase?” Gabe asked.

“Not in the plans, but we can watch Paxton’s direction and try to catch him at a bridge.”

Gabe shrugged. “Guess that’s it then,” he said. “Fig, we’re heading back your way.”

They followed the river bank then cut straight through a wooded area. Again, he brushed at their footsteps. No use letting anyone who might be out there hunting or doing a perimeter check know that someone else had been there. Besides, old habits died hard. He’d spent time with Special Forces at Fort Carson, Colorado, and knew how to mask a trail in the snow.

Eli tapped his earpiece then raised his eyebrows.

Gabe tapped his earpiece too, cutting the transmission while wondering why Eli didn’t want Cage and Fig to hear them.

“So, what did you do to piss off Fig?” Eli asked.

Gabe frowned. Eli wasn’t one to gossip like most of the rest of the hunters were, but they were partners. He supposed it was fair for Eli to wonder whether there was something he should know about. “I haven’t got a clue.”

Eli resumed his pace, not looking back at Gabe. “You had to have noticed when she turned into an iceberg,” he said, his voice low.

Gabe blew out a breath. “Well, we were talking that day I took her out on a ride-along. I was feeling…good. I told her I liked the fact she was easy to talk to. I might’ve said talking to her was like talking to one of the guys…”

Eli coughed. “You didn’t.”

Gabe grimaced. “It was meant as a compliment.”

“Fig might seem like a different kind of female, she’s ex-Army, same as you, but she’s still a woman. I can’t imagine telling her she’s great, just like one of the guys, went over real well.”

Gabe’s shoulders sank. “I’m not good at talking with women, which is why this is bothering me. Fig’s the first woman I’ve felt comfortable with in a long while.”

“Since your ex, who cleaned out your place while you were deployed?” Eli said, amusement in his voice.

“Yeah, down to the landline telephone we didn’t even use.”

“So, you’ve got trust issues.”

“I don’t want to be fooled like that again.”

“And your confidence is shot.”

“She was screwing around with her boss, and I never saw it coming.”

“Fig’s not your ex-wife. I’m sure she’s seen the Dear John stories firsthand, and I can’t imagine she’d have been okay with what your wife did.”

“I never thought she’d be…like that.”

“You need to figure out how to fix this,” Eli said. “Do it for the team. When Fig’s out of sorts, everyone feels it.”

Gabe nodded. “She’s been grumpy as hell.”

“The coffee was ten times stronger than usual—not that it’s her job to make it, but damn, I felt like I was drinking ten-day-old espresso.”

“I never tasted it this morning. I was too busy wondering where Fredericka had gone,” he muttered.

Eli glanced back and gave him a crooked smile. “Figure it out.” Then he tapped his ear. “Yeah, Fig, I’m here. Not sure what happened.”

Gabe tapped his in time to hear Fig say, “Folks are stirring in the camp. Get your asses back here now!”

Dawn crept up from the edge of the horizon, and Eli and Gabe hurried back to the hole in the fence, using wire to quickly close the opening. Then they jogged back toward the van and opened the back door.

Cage and Fig were seated at the long bench that held four computer monitors offering several different views of the cabins, river, and road on the screens.

Fig’s attention was on a tablet she held. The screen was divided into smaller windows showing the same views as the monitors. As Gabe watched, she tapped one of the small windows, and the image filled the tablet’s screen. “All set,” she said, handing the tablet to Cage.

Cage glanced at Gabe and Eli. “Eli, you’re with me. I’d like to head back to town and get some breakfast. We can monitor the feeds using this,” he said, tapping the tablet.

His gaze swung to Gabe and then Fig. “Find someplace to park this van. We’ll need it close enough for you to monitor the transmissions and fly your drones but hidden from the Reservists’ view. Let me know where you land.”

Gabe drew a deep breath and gave Cage a nod, not daring to look at Fig. She might be a little more intuitive than he was, and he didn’t dare let her know, not by a glance or his expression, that he was determined to mend their relationship. It was time that he and Fredericka had a little talk.

The post Meet Gabriel… (Excerpt) first appeared on Delilah Devlin.

Desiree Holt: Three Interesting Facts about PROTECTING KATE (Excerpt)

I have a new release coming on July 12th, and I thought you’d like to know some of the personal motivation that went into creating the story.

The title is a tribute to one of my longtime industry partners and friends, Kate Richards. She is the owner of Decadent Publishing, and I’ve worked with her for more than eleven years, both as a publisher and an editor.Kate, the heroine of Protecting Kate, first appeared in Protecting Susan. In that book, Susan came to Kate’s farm for battered women to learn self-defense skills.My favorite hero from Susan Stoker’s Special Forces series, SEAL of Protection, is Tex Keegan, He appears in all of my stories as a secondary character, including this one.

Read an excerpt from the book, and then learn how you can order a signed print copy!

Protecting Kate

For Kate Bartlett running Haven Farm was the realization of a dream. Helping battered and abused women build a new life was very satisfying. Of course, it left her with no personal life of her own but she put that on the back burner.

Dan Wolff left the SEALs with a nightmare that wouldn’t go away. It kept him from having a personal life and sent him to the small town of Dixville, Florida, where he served now as sheriff of the county. His biggest challenges were the rednecks who thought it was fun to get drunk and beat up their women, a situation that brought him into continuous contact with Kate.

But it all changes when a group of convicts escapes from the nearby prison and takes refuge in Dixville. Can Dan protect the women who make perfect shields? And will he and Kate finally give in to the attraction that sizzles between them?

Excerpt from Protecting Kate…

Clad in his battle fatigues, his face darkened with camouflage paint and his M4A1 rifle in his hands, Dan Wolff crouched in the thicket of trees, staring at the cluster of small adobe houses with straw roofing. At three in the morning, it was very quiet in this village, even though it was a hotbed of activity for the local gang in this small city. Was it too quiet? Should people be moving somewhere, or was everyone asleep? Were there only three gang members guarding the inside, or were there really more? As team leader, he hadn’t been happy with the scarcity of information they’d been given, and neither was their commanding officer, but they were running out of time to stage their rescue. Ten women had been taken captive by gang members who announced they were going to stage an execution to make an example of them. Send a message not to mess in gang territory.

The women had come down here on a trip from the States to study the country and have a vacation. Although why the fuck anyone would want to take a pleasure trip to a place overrun with gangs was beyond him. Oh sure, the resorts were beautiful, and the areas immediately surrounding them were gorgeous. But there was always a sliver of fear in the area that one or more of the gangs would decide to have a little fun. It had happened before, and he’d bet his left testicle it would happen again. Of course, he fervently hoped it wouldn’t come to that since he was intensely fond of both of them.

But the women had been appalled at some of the conditions they’d seen on their trips to the smaller villages—another idiotic move—and talked about bringing organizations to the country to help correct it.

What he wasn’t fond of was the sketchy information they’d been given. Their commanding officer had busted his butt to get as much as possible, but the gang holding the women made sure what was known was sketchy and frequently changing. So, they went with a rundown full of holes. Unsure number of gang members involved protecting the women, but not more than four. Which room in the house they were sequestered in, but probably one of the bedrooms. And more like that. But he was the team leader, so it was up to him to make apple juice out of apples, even as he cursed the newly minted CO every minute.

After he used his night- vision goggles to study everything around them, doing his best to make sure gang members wouldn’t come flooding out of the trees, he waved his team forward. As described, there was only one man guarding the front door and two lounging against a junker across the street. Dan figured they were pretty damn overconfident.

He gave the signals they’d prepared, two of the SEALs crept up on the gang members against the car, and two more of them breached the door, with four others as backup. But when Dan had his men kick the door down and roll in with their guns at the ready, all hell broke loose. Unlike the few gang members they had expected, there were several in the house, standing behind the women who were bound and gagged…and terrified, not to mention other terrorists in a second room. They’d laid a trap so successfully that even checking out the scene ahead of time had revealed nothing.

Fucking shit!

“Back off, back off,” he shouted to his men, but, by then, it was insanity.

Bullets were flying, people were shouting, and bodies were falling. It was a totally fucked-up mess.

When it was over, three gang members were dead, four of Dan’s men were wounded, and all the women were either wounded or dead. He called for emergency pickup, and those of his men still functioning were able to hold the rest of the gang off until two choppers arrived, cleared the area, and landed to pick everyone up.

He had no idea how he was going to live with the memories of all the people who had been killed on a mission he led. In the debrief, his commanding officer had tried to assure him it hadn’t been his fault. That their information had been bad. A trap, in fact. That he, the CO, took full responsibility for it.

But Dan couldn’t deal with it. Despite efforts to change his mind, he resigned from the SEALs, determined to bury himself as an ordinary civilian, with no mention of the military at all. Someplace where, hopefully, he could redeem himself enough that the nightmares would stop.

He had no idea where that place would be, but he knew just the person to ask.

Available for preorder on Amazon:  https://geni.us/ProtectingKate_AznALL
Want a signed print copy? Click here for details:  https://bit.ly/ProtectingKatePRINTorder

The post Desiree Holt: Three Interesting Facts about PROTECTING KATE (Excerpt) first appeared on Delilah Devlin.

Diana Cosby: Nature at the Shore! (Contest)

©Diana Cosby 2022

The shore is an amazing place.  Wildlife is abundant and you never know what you’ll see as you walk through the marsh, or along the beach.

In addition to shorebirds running along the ocean-smoothed stones, early in the summer, birds are still migrating through, with some choosing to stay instead of continuing to fly north.

Early in the summer is also a time to see the newborn birds and wildlife.  In a few months, they’ll be off on their own.

One of my favorite birds at the shore is the tern.  They’re amazing to watch as they soar with the wind currents, hover above, then dive into the water.

An interesting bird to watch at the shore is the Laughing Gull.  It’s appropriately named as when you hear the gull call out, it sounds as if it’s laughing.

You never know where you’ll see wildlife.  At times they’re walking along open fields or along the shore, other times they’re hidden in the trees and brush.  Take care, and I hope you have a wonderful summer!

Contest

***ONE winner will be drawn from everyone who posts on my guest blog post about, ‘Nature at the Shore!’ on Delilah’s blog between 10 July 2022 – 17 July 2022 and will win a tote.

About Diana Cosby

A retired Navy Chief, Diana Cosby is an international bestselling author of Scottish medieval romantic suspense. Books in her award-winning MacGruder Brothers series have been translated into five languages. Diana has spoken at the Library of Congress, Lady Jane’s Salon in NYC, and appeared in Woman’s Day, on USA Today’s romance blog, “Happy Ever After,” MSN.com, Atlantic County Women Magazine, and Texoma Living Magazine.

After her career in the Navy, Diana dove into her passion – writing romance novels. With 34 moves behind her, she was anxious to create characters who reflected the amazing cultures and people she’s met throughout the world. After the release of the bestselling MacGruder Brothers series and The Oath Trilogy, she released the bestselling The Forbidden Series.

Diana looks forward to the years of writing ahead and meeting the amazing people who will share this journey.

God bless,

Diana Cosby, International Best-Selling Author
www.dianacosby.com
The Oath Trilogy
MacGruder Brother Series
The Forbidden Series

Social Media
Website:  https://www.dianacosby.com/
Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/978803.Diana_Cosby
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Diana-Cosby/e/B003YJ1MR4/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1417447922&sr=8-1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Diana-Cosby-Romance-Author-150109024636/?ref=ts

The post Diana Cosby: Nature at the Shore! (Contest) first appeared on Delilah Devlin.

Saturday Puzzle-Contest!

It’s Saturday, so of course, I have a puzzle for you! The picture you’ll reveal after solving the puzzle is my summertime ideal—where I’d love to be, what I’d love to be doing.

Solve the puzzle and share whether this is something you’d love as well or share what your ideal summer activity would be for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card! Have fun!

The post Saturday Puzzle-Contest! first appeared on Delilah Devlin.

Montana Bounty Hunters–Dead Horse, MT (Contest–2 Winners!)

Check out the series here!

I’m working on finishing the next Montana Bounty Hunters: Dead Horse, MT, book now, so I thought I’d post a little reminder of the stories that precede Gabriel’s in case you haven’t read them yet!

Readers enjoy the interplay between my ex-military hunters, love the strong heroines, the action, the sexiness, the action-packed scenes. Oh, and the humor! If you haven’t given my bounty hunters a try, now’s the time!

For a chance to win your choice of one of the books in this series, tell me what you love to see in an action-packed story!

And don’t forget, Gabriel is coming July 26th! Preorder your copy here: Gabriel

The post Montana Bounty Hunters–Dead Horse, MT (Contest–2 Winners!) first appeared on Delilah Devlin.

Open Contests!

I had a very busy day—none of it writing-related. I do have a bit of a life outside of writing. I’m a member of a local artists’ organization, and I’m getting more involved with the running of the organization. So, today, I attended a board meeting (I just joined it!). I have a list of To Do items from that meeting. Plus, tonight, I attended another art-related event, a planning meeting for the Arkadelphia Arts Festival which will be happening in September, and for which I will be participating again as an artist selling paintings! Woot!

So, no time for a fun post. Instead, I’ll leave you with a reminder of what contests are still open. Enter while you can!

Michal Scott: Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley — An Extraordinary Life In Her Own Words (Contest) — This ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!June into July (“Wish I was this cool” Puzzle-Contest — and More!) — Win an Amazon gift card!Teabags, a metaphor for…? (Contest–2 Winners!) — Win a FREE book!Happy International Kissing Day! (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!

 

The post Open Contests! first appeared on Delilah Devlin.

Happy International Kissing Day! (Contest)

Don’t you just love these holidays you’ve never heard of? For me, they’re a chance to make darn near every day special!

So, today’s International Kissing Day! And yes, it’s really a thing! And it should be celebrated. I love all kinds of kisses. A quick buss on the cheek. A French kiss! Kissing a baby’s toes. Butterfly kisses! The 8-year-old’s favorite goodnight kiss was a butterfly kiss that made her giggle because it tickled. She’s outgrown them now, and I miss them.

Kissing can be an intimate sign of love or even an act of submission—think about kissing Don Corleone’s ring in the movie The Godfather. Or a sign of respect and reverence for Catholics kissing the pope’s papal ring—the Fisherman’s ring.

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me something about a kiss. Maybe describe the first time your loved one kissed you. Or tell me who you’ll kiss today to celebrate the holiday. Or, tell me your favorite movie kiss! 

The post Happy International Kissing Day! (Contest) first appeared on Delilah Devlin.