Happy Halloween! Puppy Pirate and Navigator!

Ahoy Ye Maties! Hand o’er your booty or you’ll be walking the gangplank!

Sometimes a dog’s life isn’t what it’s hyped up to be.

Have a super, fun day!
Terry
“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
Connect with Terry Spear:
Website: http://www.terryspear.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/421434.Terry_Spear
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TerrySpearParanormalRomantics
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TerrySpear
Wilde & Woolly Bears http://www.celticbears.com

Halloween - The Perfect Holiday for a Demon

Today's guest is Scarlet Love, author of Demon Holiday.

Most people know that Halloween was originally a pagan holiday. On the ancient Celtic calendar, the year ended on the last day of October. (This was also the end of the harvest period.) They believed that on this night, the veil between this world and the otherworld was at its thinnest and the dead and living could thus communicate most easily then.

In the Middle Ages, people believed that departed souls would be abroad on this night. They might try to enter your house to steal your body. Originally, people would leave food for these spirits to placate them, but others would try to scare them off with jack o’lanterns. These practices may be the origin of our trick or treat custom. (If you didn’t leave a treat for the spirit, he might play a nasty trick.)

So if the spirits are abroad, what kind of mischief can they promote?

You can find out, in my short story, which is one of two stories in Demon Holiday.

Blurb: The demon in Demon Holidays is a sly one who goes out on Halloween looking for  - well, what do you think a demon would be looking for on a cold and dark night?

The angel he stumbles upon is perfect for his purposes, but she has her own ideas about what must be done on this night when the spirit world collides with the mortal world.

Sparks fly as they each wield their own powers, hoping to find a common ground.

Excerpt: Demon reached for the underside of Angel's breasts. “The clock has struck midnight,” he said, using a soft tone to sweeten his harsh message. “It’s Halloween. I could take the baby now, if you don’t agree to have sex with me.”


“Demon!” She whirled on him, eyes spitting her own brand of silver fire. “You’ll never touch me in this or any other world if you harm that baby!”

He grinned slowly, savoring her fury. The more she resisted, the sweeter her ultimate capitulation would be.

“I like that fierce side of you,” he said.

“I don’t like the mean side of you. Don’t threaten me, Demon. You can’t take the baby.”

“Oh, but I could. The veil between the human world and ours is at its thinnest on Halloween. It’s easy for me to reach through.”

“The days when you could get men to perform evil for you on Halloween are gone. We angels have worked hard with humans to de-fang that holiday.”

“You haven’t eliminated the ability of the spirits in our realm to move freely in the human world.”

“That’s exactly why I’m here! It’s the one day in the year I can have some influence over this baby’s fate! So go away, Demon. I don’t want you here.”

She stared him down, her gray eyes sparking determination into his. But she didn’t move when he placed his hands directly on her breasts. “You know,” he said, “it’s a terrible thing for an angel to lie.” He tried very hard not to smile.  ~~~

Amazon

Nook

Communication is Key

So I've discovered, for about the four hundredth time in my life, that communication is key to a less stressful relationship.

The first time--or one of the first times--was when my now DH and I were dating. He kept wanting to get me a piece of jewelry with a ruby in it. Since his ex was born in July, I thought it meant he still had an attachment to her. It took a while, but I finally realized he wanted to get me a ruby because he he associated rubies with romance, not his ex. Next time, I thought, I would just ask instead of assuming the worst.

I try to keep the lines of communication open, but I've been reading this memoir about divorce and started to worry that I wasn't paying enough attention to my DH's needs. Being a little paranoid, I started seeing metaphorical rubies all over the place, particularly in the toilet. By that I mean that my husband is usually very great about putting down the toilet seat, and I know not all women are as lucky as I am and spend a lot of time screeching from the cold waters of the toilet bowl. Well, the other day DH left the seat up, and I thought nothing of it. Then he did it again, and I thought...whoa, is the honeymoon over? Did he forget I live here, too? Does he not want to be married anymore? Does he want to live a wild single life where he can just leave the toilet seat up any time he wants to?

My imagination was in full crazy mode until, in a slightly casual but definitely probing conversation, I found out that DH left the seat up because he'd cleaned the toilet. I hadn't even noticed. The first time, he just forgot. The second time he'd cleaned the toilet and hadn't had time to put the seat down before I got home from work. Whew! I'm glad I found that out before I started divorce proceedings.

I realize this seems a bit nonchalant, but it really isn't. Communication IS key, and I have to remind myself of that all the time. If you're assuming the worst about something, ask. Don't assume. That's just my little relationship lesson for the day. Have a great one, and happy reading!

The Colors of Autumn

Living in Western North Carolina, there's always a great variety of leaf color in the fall. With the TV saying this past weekend would be peak color, on Sunday, my husband and I went for a drive, and were thrilled to find that the colors were the best we'd seen, ever. Here are a few photos of that breathtaking drive.

I never tire of seeing these beautiful colors, probably the reason fall is my favorite season!

I hope you enjoyed the photos!

Gwyn

Cover Reveal! Mastering Hanna by Anna Lund

Isn't it great? Mastering Hanna, a sci-fi erotic romance will be released under my Anna Lund pen name. I'm excited to be working with Blushing Books and am working on what I hope will be book #2 in a new series.

Blurb – Mastering Hanna
___________________________________________________________________

When the women of Vanya are captured by slave traders, Hanna does not hesitate in her duty to protect her princess. Despite fighting for her freedom, she is overwhelmed and suddenly finds herself on a spaceship—chained, helpless, hurtling through space, fated to become sex slave to the King of Noria.

But fate is thwarted by her sexy, dominant captor Jarrod, an escapee from the tranium mines, mercenary for hire. His job—to see that the king gets his slave. But he is as much a captive to Hanna as she to him. The pull of desire—desire to both rescue and enslave her—is as powerful as the chains that bind Hanna.

Although this is a forbidden passion, Jarrod is helpless to resist the charms of this beautiful, willful slave and shows her the erotic ways of master and slave, pain and pleasure, spankings and strict obedience. Hanna vows to make the best of her new situation, and learns her slave lessons well. When she falls for Jarrod, she knows that no other master will do. Where ever he goes in the universe, she knows she must follow.

Will Hanna and Jarrod's conflicting responsibilities keep them apart forever, or will their passion overcome any obstacle the universe puts in their path to happiness?

Mastering Hanna will be released October 31st!

Natasha
www.natashamoore.com
www.annalundauthor.com

It's Pouring, Under Flash Flood Watches, and the Book is Done!

Honeybee on wildflowers

Note the sacks on her back legs full of golden pollen? She has pollen on his antennae too and a soft dusting of gold pollen all over her body. These are wildflowers, the last before it gets cold. Wait, it’s supposed to get cold? Ha!


And this picture of the little honeybee shows her wings as she held them still for a few seconds. I really went out to take pictures of the last wildflowers of the season, but had fun capturing her too.

Snail on the run…

Drenching rains mean wet potty breaks

Flooded fields and the rain is still coming down

Yard is flooded too, but I could only take these pictures under cover. It’s still pouring.

Snails and toads are loving it! Puppies NOT. I have to carry each of them out into the rain repeatedly before they finally give in and potty. lol

ugh

Which means I’m puppy watching in the pouring rain. For each of them. But we did need rain!
I did manage to finish Jaguar Christmas!!!! Off to work on Billionaire in Wolf’s Clothing revisions so I can turn it in. And then the print version of Taming the Wild Cougar. And then, I’m FREE!!! For an hour or so. I have a couple of promo blogs to do.
 
We're under Flash Flood Watches through Sunday evening. Have a great day! :)

Terry
“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
Connect with Terry Spear:
Website: http://www.terryspear.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/421434.Terry_Spear
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TerrySpearParanormalRomantics
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TerrySpear
Wilde & Woolly Bears http://www.celticbears.com

The Value of Meditation for Writers or Anyone

I may be the only person on the planet who’s never tried yoga. That is, until last year. Now it’s my new addiction.

But my yoga is not an exercise class, it’s a spiritual practice. My teacher is a wonderful, wise, profound woman who sometimes says such amazing things that I want to run home and write them down.

She starts every session with a few minutes of mediation to clear the mind and prepare the body for our yoga poses, but I would be devoted to this class even without the stretching and strengthening benefits of Warrior One and Downward Facing Dog.

Because I’ve found that meditation is magic.

I challenge you to try it.

Position doesn’t matter – you can sit in the traditional pose, cross-legged with your hands on your knees and your thumb and forefinger touching, or you can simply sit in a chair with your palms on your thighs. In yoga pants or plain old comfy sweats. Nothing matters as much as your mental state.

Here’s the secret: listen to your breath. Literally. Breathe in. Breathe out. And really listen. The mere act of listening to yourself breathe will slow your breath, smooth it out, lower your blood pressure and calm your brain waves. It will increase your focus dramatically because you will be present, ‘in the moment.’

It’s not easy clear your ‘drunken monkey mind’ (as my teacher calls it) because pesky thoughts are always trying to interrupt your silence. What are you going to make for dinner? What time will hubby be home? When do you have to pick up the kids from soccer practice?  These thoughts and a million others will devilishly try to interrupt your serenity.

Don’t let them. Silently say, “I’ll think about you later,” and let them go.

Then concentrate on the silence in your mind and let the magic happen.

I’ve had visions. I’ve had solutions to book plot problems pop into my head. Sometimes I just have a beautiful, overwhelming, blissful feeling of peace.

Often when I leave class, I have this sense of people around me moving at 150% speed. It’s weird, but I feel slow, centered, incredibly calm. I try to keep that feeling with me as long as I can.

What about you? What is your meditation experience? Ever wanted to try it? As a newbie to this, I'd love to hear from you!

Leigh

www.leighcourt.com  

My Daring Highlander Cover Reveal

My Daring Highlander is being recorded for audiobook right now. I've listened to seven chapters of it and Dave Gillies is doing a fantastic job. He's a native Scotsman and has a wonderful Scottish accent which goes perfectly with the story. He also narrated My Brave Highlander. I don't have a brief sample of My Daring Highlander to share with you yet but this is what the story is about:

Beautiful and fiercely protective of those she loves, Lady Seona Murray captured Keegan MacKay’s attention when she first set foot in Dunnakeil Castle. Though she is a chief’s daughter and forbidden, Keegan has fallen in love with her from afar and burns to possess her. But so does the clan traitor, Haldane, an obsessive outlaw bent on murder and kidnapping. 

Sinfully handsome, Keegan MacKay is a fearsome guard as well as the chief’s cousin, but Seona’s father would never consider him a worthy husband for her because he is not a titled laird. Seona has secretly watched the sensual, tawny-haired warrior from across the crowded great hall for months, but when he is tasked with escorting her across Scotland, back to her home, their simmering attraction flames into sizzling passion with just one kiss. 
Though she fears she is endangering Keegan’s life, Seona cannot resist his seductive charm or his spellbinding kisses. Keegan sets fire to the memories of her sad past and shows her what it means to truly live. But her father has other plans. He’s arranged for her to marry a wealthy Lowland laird. Is Keegan daring enough to steal her away? Or will the vindictive Haldane snatch her first?


Thanks!
Vonda
www.vondasinclair.com

Her Royal Romance - 2 Years Later!

Facebook reminded me that is has been two years since my first book in the Her Royal Romance series, Her Royal Masquerade, was released. Self-publishing was still kind of a new thing and to be honest, I really didn't know what I was doing. But I surrounded myself with people who did. I asked a lot of questions and I learned. Now there are four stories in the series, 3 full-length and one short story. All of these can be read as a stand alone, but they all deal with two royal families from two different parts of the world.

Her Royal Masquerade:

Time is running out for Prince Vittorio. His father’s health is failing and he must find a royal bride. Fast. He’s never forgotten his glimpse of a beautiful Scandinavian princess and lures her to his Mediterranean country with an invitation to his father’s birthday ball. He’d planned to propose a marriage agreement as cold as her icy reputation, but then he discovers she's as colorful and warm as a summer sunset. The heat between them flares red-hot and when she allows him to seduce her, Vittorio sees his future unfolding just as he had planned. But what he doesn’t know is that the woman in his bed is not a princess at all.

The last thing schoolteacher Mia Holmberg expects when she masquerades as her royal cousin is to be swept off her feet by a charming prince. The incredible night in Vittorio’s arms is like a fairy tale come true, but she’d never want the life of a real princess, with all its pomp and politics. Knowing they can never have a future together, she slips out of his bed and back to reality, where she belongs.

But Vittorio discovers the deception and kidnaps Mia back to his palace, demanding she be his mistress until the real princess appears. Despite her attempts to stay aloof, Mia soon learns there’s more to the prince than arrogance and attitude, but now she’s in danger of falling in love with a man she can never have.

Her Royal Bodyguard:

After almost getting kidnapped, Princess Angelina is swept away by royal bodyguard Rico Santori to a small, secluded village for her protection. Always the good girl, the obedient daughter, the proper princess, Angie’s tired of putting her own desires – her own life! – on hold. She could have been killed in the kidnapping attempt and never known the ecstasy of making love with a passionate man. Angelina has had a crush on the strong, loyal Rico for years and while they hide out, pretending to be a newlywed couple, she decides to practice her seductive skills on him.

This is Rico’s last job for the royal family. He’s leaving to build his own life, opening his own security firm. Angie is smart and pretty but she’s royalty and he’s just the hired muscle. But as the days go by, her attempts at seduction try the calm patience he’s known for. He warns her they can only share a bed until he returns her safely to the palace.
But when danger strikes again, it may be too late to explore the love they never expected to find.

Her Royal Rendezvous:

Love is…
reunited lovers risking their hearts for a second chance.

Two years ago, Liliana Gullotti broke off her engagement to Tony Barone, head of royal security, because his job took over his life and left no time for her. But when she sees him at the prince’s wedding reception, she knows she’s never gotten over him. And she agrees to meet him at their old rendezvous spot one last time.

Tony never stopped loving Lil, but has honored her request to stay away from her. But once she approaches him at her cousin’s wedding, all bets are off. He’ll do whatever he can to show her she means the world to him. And that a single rendezvous will never be enough.

Her Royal Mistake:

A night of passion leaves the princess pregnant.

Birgitte, the “Ice Princess” of Stagatland escapes her narrow and empty royal existence with mindless partying. A wild night with a handsome olive farmer leaves her with a problem that can only be solved one way…a marriage of convenience. Raised by cold and judgmental parents, Birgitte knows nothing of love but is determined to do her duty to the royal line.

With royal blood in his own veins, Nardo Gullotti is a man of honor and proposes as soon as Birgitte mentions her pregnancy. But passionate and earthy Nardo can’t be satisfied with a marriage in name only. He is entranced by the lovely Birgitte and determined to shatter the ice around her heart…by any means necessary.


I wish I was a faster writer. I wish I could have had more than four releases in this series in the past two years. But I have other projects and I'm trying to balance my life so that I don't get burned out. I don't want this writing life to be stressful. I want it to be joyful.

So I do plan more books in the series and I hope you'll enjoy the stories in the series now. And if you've read them...which is your favorite? I'd love to know. I won't tell the others...promise!

Natasha
www.natashamoore.com

Wolf Awareness Week: St Fracis Wolf Sanctuary, Texas

Saint Francis Wolf Sanctuary, Texas

Wolf Dog–escape artist extraordinaire

She was the sweetest wolf dog, but her family couldn’t keep her at home because she was such an escape artist. She leaped from her den over a high fence at the wolf sanctuary, but they resolved the problem and she’s fine now.

Arctic Wolves from a sanctuary closed down in Oregon due to owner dying and wife unable to manage because of own health issues–the companions were able to stay together when they were moved to the Texas sanctuary

The poor wolves had to get used to the heat of Texas, but it’s very treed there at least, and they take good care of them.
Wolf dog grieving–this male lost his mate and for three weeks, he had been grieving. When we were at the fence, he came up and checked us out, the first time, he’d initiated any response like that, and then he howled, setting off all the other wolves.

Arctic Wolf on a Walk–they pair up all the wolves and wolf dogs because they are pack animals, except fo this beta wolf. They had tried several different pairings and she wouldn’t accept them.

She adored the handler who walked her though.

Arctic Wolf Scent Rolling

Here she is scent rolling. They only had a few they could take out and walk on leash. She loved to walk, found some freedom, and could smell all the new smells, and scent rolled to take them back with her before she returned to her pen.

More Wolf Dogs

Most of these wolf dogs were raised with families and end up in a wolf sanctuary like this because they aren’t dogs! They are partly wild wolves, and they can’t be raised like the family dog.
The First True Dogs – Leptocyon, the first true canine, Eucyon, his descendant,  and the Dire Wolf, that competed with the saber-tooth tiger for prey–after 40 million years of evolution, the first modern dog was born. Estimates of 15,000-30,000 years ago, the first gray wolf was domesticated.
http://dinosaurs.about.com/od/otherprehistoriclife/a/Prehistoric-Dogs-The-Story-Of-Dog-Evolution.htm

But try to fit a wolf into most people’s lifestyle, doesn’t work! They can love a family, be protective, but still have the need to run.

A family raised a wolf dog, mostly wolf, but like many wolf-dogs or wolves, they couldn’t manage him any longer. The caretaker at the sanctuary, not this one,  was trying to settle the wolf down before the now older boy was allowed to see his “family” pet. The wolf was so excited, but the caretaker was confining him, and the wolf believing he couldn’t see his pack mate from former times, bit the caretaker. A wolf’s bite is dangerous! And the caretaker had to be rushed to the hospital for care.

The wolf was reacting like a wolf, not a home-raised pet. He loved the boy and wanted to reconnect with him. The wolf is fine, the boy did return another day to see his “pet” wolf, and the caretaker still runs the sanctuary and understands the wolves well enough to know the dynamics being played out, but his main concern had been for the safety of the boy and the wolf.

The moral of the story is leave the wolves in the wild. Find a home-raised dog and love it unconditionally. And love the wolves in the wild where they’re meant to be.

Okay, I’m off to write on the jaguar story!!! And the same thing goes here. Don’t take home jaguar cubs to raise as your own. They have an even more powerful bite, and those claws are just as dangerous, not to mention a powerful swipe of their paw can paralyze or kill. :)

Just saying…
Terry
“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
Connect with Terry Spear:
Website: http://www.terryspear.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/421434.Terry_Spear
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TerrySpearParanormalRomantics
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TerrySpear
Wilde & Woolly Bears http://www.celticbears.com

How to Die in Croatia

How to Die in Croatia

Drive a car. Seriously. It's a lovely country. You should visit. But be careful if you rent a car.

I shouldn't actually use the word 'car'. No, because hubby wanted a van. Not just any van. A nine passenger van. Our family consists of five people. Plus, admittedly, a fair amount of luggage. (You can't travel for 2 weeks with an overnight bag.)

Right from the beginning, he stated that we needed this monster vehicle. All I could picture was us in this van, hogging tiny European roads, and searching endlessly for parking spaces the size of a double-wide. So I talked him into renting an SUV with a trunk. I thought.

We got to Zagreb, Croatia and I took one of the kids to a little cafe for a snack and he went to get the car. You know what happened.  When I came out, what was I the proud possessor of? Yes, a nine-passenger van the size of the Loch Ness monster. You can see it above in all its glory. Here is the cute cafe in the Zagreb airport.

We did a LOT of driving in Croatia. In fact, we virtually circumnavigated the country. However, it wasn't the van that was the problem. It was the other drivers. Ack! Croatia has some of the most scenic roads in the world. The scenery is GORGEOUS. But if you have a nerve in your body, you can't enjoy it. Aside from one awesome new turnpike, the roads are narrow, curvy, one-lane roads that wind through endless mountains and drop off shoulderless, directly into the ocean.

Speed limits are high, traffic is constant, and trucks chug slowly up the mountains, enraging the drivers behind them. The game all Croatian drivers appear to enjoy is to beat the trucks by overtaking every car in the long line, one at a time. You see the car come up behind you, pull into the opposing lane, right in the face of 70 mph oncoming traffic, and try to squeeze in front of you. Of course you let them in, because otherwise an accident is certain. It's a game of chicken, and they don't play to lose. Then the next car behind you pulls into the oncoming traffic.

I suppose there are those who will only participate in this death-defying game when there's a dotted line for passing, but they must be viewed as cowards. Everyone else views the straight line in the middle of the road as a signal to pass immediately, lest you lose this opportunity to kill yourself and everyone in sight. It was so bad that one of my teens actually said, "Maybe in Croatia, the straight line is the one that means you can pass."

Of course, we did see the exact accident you would expect to see. First, we saw the tire, complete with its axle, sitting on the road in front of us. A bit later, in our lane, was the busted car missing its tire. In the opposite lane was the other car, also missing it's driver side front tire. Someone had misjudged the passing and they hit each other in the same spot, front drivers side, knocking a wheel off each car.

Despite all this, you should visit the country. The scenery is awesome, and so are many of the coastal towns and islands. And, oh yeah, hubby was right about the van.

Next time: Hubby tries to return the monster van at midnight at the airport in Split. Poor guy.