Thinking about plugs. Did you know there's a plug flute? Like how does that even work? Do you pop that bad boy in and blow? The visual images! Goodness! Is that even a thing?
Sorry there. You know me. I flit here and there, all over the place sometimes.
First off, the actual plug!
Guess what's available for preorder!
Sequel to the Spring Fever anthology, these six stories bring you shifters seeking warmth and cheer with a little Winter Magic thrown in for this festive season.
Winter Magic – where warmth and cheer and all good things associated with the festivities of this magical season are set to make your hearts glow. The Winter Magic anthology features six shifter stories from some of your favorite eXtasy Book authors. Let romance work its magic for you this winter.
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Included in this amazing read is my story Challenge the Sun:
A Tengu Goblin finds his mate, but the hair consultant is broken, or is he? What will it take to give these two the perfect Christmas?
Dimitri Akiyama arrives in Louisville, Kentucky with his brother and his brother’s mate to celebrate the Christmas holiday, and he’s not happy about it.
Little does he know he’s about to get his own Christmas gift in the form of a human hair consultant named Eric McAlary.
The problem?
Eric’s injury from a military past and Dimitri’s belief that a Tengu demon can’t have a mate who’s broken.
It will take a little intervention to help these two find a love so great that they will challenge the sun.
Go ahead and pick up your copy today!
I'm excited. There's a bit of something unusual in Challenge the Sun, me playing with ideas I've been considering and possibly venturing off to do a bit more. We'll see. Crossing my fingers, it's well received. Winter Magic releases December 14th.
Shameless plug over.
Works in Progress
It's been an awful few months for me as of late. One of the recent mass shootings was here in Louisville, and one of the deaths hit close to home as a student who I consider a part of my family lost a member of his own. It was hard, and I started thinking that my words had no value. Why write? What was the point when there have been at least 307 mass shootings and other atrocities? What could I say or do that would be worth putting out there? Who would even care to read it?
Well, that's when my support system kicked in. My family and my friends, in particular, Erika who told me about her own suffering and dark times and how she used books as a means of escape, that what I write could actually help others. She challenged me to get back out there. I can appreciate that. I needed that.
So, here I am.
Now, I still have dark moments. Every night before I go to sleep, I remember the unfortunate people who were killed just because of their race and wanted to go to the store. I remember my student and his pain. I remember hearing about the way the gunmen went to a church with the intent to kill everyone inside. I am fearful of where I go, who I see, and the darkness that exists in the world.
Then I take a deep breath, I pray, and eventually, I go to sleep.
And, when I wake up in the morning, I write.
Currently, I'm working on Broken Promises, the third book in the Broken Series. The first one, Broken Bones, can be found on Dreamspinners. The second, Broken Pieces, is on Extasy Books. This one picks up where Broken Pieces left off, with a missing Kristoff. Jeremiah, alpha of the Iriquois pack, is going off to find him. Finally, these two will come together. There's someone hunting them and family issues to overcome, like how does one convince an ancient race of vampires to accept a leader who is half wolf and mated to a human? It won't be easy, but it will be totally worth it in the end.
Thinking of Broken Bones. Extasy Books picked up that one with the new scenes I added. I'm excited about that. Edits start after the holidays. Keep an eye out.
And, after Broken Promises, I have a griffin book that needs my attention. Oh, and a merman story.
Wow, I've got work to do! Feel free to read them when they're done!
In other news...
Well, 'tis the season of Girl Scout Cookies right around the corner. It's funny. I remember the troop leader saying she wasn't ever selling cookies again. Well, here we are. Again. Can't start until January 13th. Apparently it's among the Rule of the Cookie Sales. There's a pretty intense list of rules.
And if you break a rule, you'll have to answer to this!
Maybe not, but from the way she was doing her drill sergeant routine, that's what I felt like.
Oh, well.
Happy Cookie Sales!
School is almost halfway over, and something unusual happened. I have this class that's been hell since they were freshmen. Now, they're juniors. Well, let me tell you, the things they have done have been enough to make me want to pull my hair out. My students are actually considered the best ones out of the junior class, though. No lie. Anyway, my birthday was last week. They bought an ice cream cake, put together a party, and even prayed before they ate, inviting me in with them. To say I was shocked wouldn't cover it.
Anyway, I joined in, and I've been working on my perspective. I'm trying to see them and not their behavior, to love them and teach them. It's not only my job. It's who I am. By doing this, I can send more good out into the world. That's the goal.
Life. You have to look at the little things. Let those moments inspire you. Sometimes those little moments are all you have.
Love,
Deja
Then and Now
There are actually four books in the anthology including Winter Magic.
Winter Magic
Spring Fever
Where restless wolves and excited shifters of all kinds expect to fall head over heels in love due to Spring Fever.
Spring Fever - where emotions and happiness come alive following the harsh winter to melt our hearts. The Spring Fever anthology features six shifter stories from some of eXtasy Books' top authors, all-encompassing awakening love and in many cases a little bit of Spring lust!
My Story?
Calyx, a Tengu goblin, has one thing to do, and that’s to get an education that will help him protect his mountains and lakes in modern times.
Trey, a wolf shifter, has always been afraid of being himself and has lived his life according to his mother’s rules, rules wrapped in fear and heartbreak.
But, it’s spring break, and these two shifters have spring fever.
It’s time for everything to change.
Summer Heat
The Summer Heat has taken its toll on our shifters making them too hot to handle.
The shifters make plans for a summer to remember but all best-laid plans of mice and shifters often go awry. And that is certainly the case in the final six stories from some of eXtasy Books’ top authors. Follow the lives of those who have previously featured in Spring Fever, Winter Magic and Autumn Feast. Join them for a final fling where the summer heat will cause havoc for our heroes.
My Story?
Beyond the Veil
Tengu Goblin High Lords don’t have mates. Or do they?
Haru Akiyama is the Tengu Goblin High Lord, protector of the forest and the Shugenja people—keepers of the earth magic. His purpose has always been to guard, never to love, and never to mate.
No one told that to a wolf named Kindling Bowden, who sees Haru and knows in an instant that he’s found the keeper of his heart.
Can a determined wolf show his goblin he’s worthy of love, or will he go home empty-handed?
Autumn Feast
Family, friends and more spice than our shifters know what to do with in their Autumn Feast.
The shifters move into the autumn season with anticipation of upcoming celebrations and thankful for their family and friends around them. But of course, there is always something, or someone, to add a little spice to their lives.
The Autumn Feast anthology features six more shifter stories from some of eXtasy Books’ top authors and follows the lives of those who have previously featured in Spring Fever and Winter Magic. Join them in tales where the fiery color of the leaves may not be the only heat of the season.
My Story?
Say Yes
A wolf with trust issues who’s afraid of saying yes to wedded bliss and a goblin who wants to put a ring on it. What’s a goblin to do?
It’s time for the Autumn Feast, a time for celebration, a time for a goblin to finally convince his wolf to marry him. Well, that’s what Calyx Akiyama is hoping for, and all the sanctuary with him.
What will it take for Trey Bowden to say yes? How about a war?
Battling Anxiety
Unfortunately, things have not improved in the world. The only thing we can do is continue to try and bring light. I have ups and downs. I still struggle with anxiety. My kids turn off the news if they see me watching it, and that's telling when they notice.
I do my best to offer sunshine, to be supportive, and to remain positive. There's enough ugliness in the world. I would rather help to heal it.
As a counselor, I'm working to lift my students up. Helping them find the light.
Are you battling your own anxiety demons? Here's a link that could help.
There will always be darkness. Let's try and bring the light.
(And if you need prescribed medication, take it. These are just alternatives.)
Broken Series
Broken Bones is now completely with Extasy Books as well as all books in that series. I'm hearing a reunion. The guys want to get back together again. Who am I to question? Looks like it's time for Remi and Peter to come home, and they'll be bringing friends.
Dan Tolliver, the adopted son of Alpha pack leader Jeremiah Tolliver, has suffered his last moment of abuse by his lover Keith Mulligan and finds himself in the hospital. There he meets dark and sharp-tongued Dr. Aiden Kavanaugh, who believes Dan needs some of his straightforward kind of medicine. Still, there is something different about the doctor.
Aiden is a sandman, a weaver of dreams, and has been on Earth far longer than even he knows. He's at the end of his time, ready to transition, and needs a human mate to keep him connected to the world he's grown to love. Only he hasn't found a special person who makes him want to stay. He doesn't despair, because not every Sandman has the chance to choose, but he knows if he doesn't find a partner, he will soon lose his physical form and exist only in dreams.
When Aiden realizes Keith is a far greater monster than Dan has any idea, they grow and work together using the support of the pack―and Dan's inner strength―to overcome impossible odds.
Click here to see the others in the series.
As for the griffin book mentioned, that was Flirty and Red, a recent release. The cover is below to help you remember. Feel free to click on the image for the details.
A traveling nurse who doesn’t mind a little fun. A griffin who’s not playing around.
Then there's that merman series! Click the image for more.
I'm currently working on Trillian's story. He's the younger brother, but age has nothing on him when he sees what he wants.
In Other News
Girl Scouts for the little one is no more. She's interested in volleyball now. She didn't make the team, but she's a manager. She's learning and keeping me busy as usual. With her doing volleyball and playing violin as well as my son playing basketball and running track, I'm never bored.
And life?
Life is still good!
Love,
Deja