Is a plague of flies one of the signs of the coming apocalypse?

I woke up the other morning to one of those giant black flies buzzing around my room. I thought "Oh, yuck, a giant black fly. Blurgh." But then I went about my day, kids to swim practice, off to the library to do some writing, dinner with friends. I didn't get back home until about eleven that night. 
When I went into the bathroom to take out my contacts and wash off the day I was greeted with a plague of Jeff Goldbloom sized flies. I by plague I mean like twelve. Yech.
I attacked them with a fly swatter and hairspray.
Giant flies are totally gross when you have to swat them. First off they DO NOT want to die. I could be cause I'm quite a bit squeamish when swatting them. Little flies will take their swat and fall, but these suckers? Geez. I swear I hit some of them five times before they took a dive. And if you actually get a good wack in and they stick to the swatter, well, that's so gross I think I threw up a little bit in my mouth.
I couldn't reach all of them with my plastic excalibur, so in a panic, I grabbed for the hairspray. I thought maybe it would make their wings stick together, and if they can't fly, they'd fall, or something.
I imagined myself Lara Croft style, vaulting over the sink, flipping in mid air lighting the aquanet on fire and torching the little bastards.
The Suave pump action didn't have quite the same effect.


I'm so grossed out by this whole experience I'm literally grimacing as I sit here writing about it. Wrinkled up nose, grumpy ole man frown, rows of wrinkled over my scrunched up eyebrows.


I finally defeated all the little buggers (ha, I totally didn't mean that to be punny) and decided to wash up from my adventures in the kitchen, with the super anti-bacterial soap.
I'd made a red velvet cake for my cake decorating class earlier and hadn't yet rinsed out the mixing bowl. While scrubbing up I filled it with water so I could wash it too.
The water in the bowl, I swear to God, turned a bloody gooey color and consistency.
Water into Blood.
Oh, God, I'm on the verge of a personal apocalypse.


My only comfort in these dark times is a good paranormal romance.


Here are the best of the freebies.
Make sure to check the prices before you one-click in case the promo isn't still on.
Click on the covers to link straight to Amazon for the download.

5/5 stars from 3 Amazon reviewers.

The Problem with Black Magic by Karen Mead

Fiercely independent Cassie Tremblay divides her time between working the cash register at her neighborhood coffee shop and studying to produce the grades to get into a top-tier university. Sam, a mysterious co-worker at The Daily Grind, seems to have taken an instant dislike to her, but for Cassie, the looming specter of the SAT Verbal section is a much bigger concern.

After a freak accident nearly leaves Cassie and her co-workers dead, a spell cast in desperation transforms her from a regular teen to a valuable familiar: a magical well a demon can tap. As if she didn't have enough problems, now every demon (and their monstrous minions) seems to be after Cassie's latent magic, and will stop at nothing to possess her.
Blending a hint of gothic romance with wry humor, The Problem With Black Magic is a tale of one young woman's struggle for independence in a brand new world of sorcery, intrigue, and wonder.

4.3/5 stars with 393 Amazon reviews.

Hollowland by Amanda Hocking

Hollowland - the first book in the young adult dystopian series The Hollows..
"This is the way the world ends - not with a bang or a whimper, but with zombies breaking down the back door."
Nineteen-year-old Remy King is on a mission to get across the wasteland left of America, and nothing will stand in her way - not violent marauders, a spoiled rock star, or an army of flesh-eating zombies.
This is a young adult title with some language, violence, and mild sexual situations recommended for ages sixteen and up.

4.1/5 Stars with 310 Amazon Reviews

Moon Dance (Vampire for Hire #1)

Mother, wife, private investigator...vampire. Six years ago federal agent Samantha Moon was the perfect wife and mother, your typical soccer mom with the minivan and suburban home. Then the unthinkable happens, an attack that changes her life forever. And forever is a very long time for a vampire. Now the world at large thinks Samantha has developed a rare skin disease, a disease which forces her to quit her day job and stay out of the light of the sun. Now working the night shift as a private investigator, Samantha is hired by Kingsley Fulcrum to investigate the murder attempt on his life, a horrific scene captured on TV and seen around the country. But as the case unfolds, Samantha discovers Kingsley isn't exactly what he appears to be; after all, there is a reason why he survived five shots to the head.

4.6/5 Stars with 213 Amazon Reviews.

Samson's Lovely Mortal (Sanguards Vampires #1) by Tina Folsom

Vampire bachelor Samson can't get it up anymore. Not even his shrink can help him. That changes when the lovely mortal auditor Delilah tumbles into his arms after a seemingly random attack. Suddenly there's nothing wrong with his hydraulics - that is, as long as Delilah is the woman in his arms.

4.1/5 Stars with 208 Amazon Reviews

Jenny Pox by JL Bryan

Eighteen-year-old Jenny Morton has a horrific secret: her touch spreads a deadly supernatural plague, the "Jenny pox." She lives by a single rule: Never touch anyone. A lifetime of avoiding any physical contact with others has made her isolated and painfully lonely in her small rural town. 

Then she meets the one boy she can touch. Jenny feels herself falling for Seth...but if she's going to be with him, Jenny must learn to use the deadly pox inside her to confront his ruthless and manipulative girlfriend Ashleigh, who secretly wields the most dangerous power of all.

4.2/5 Stars with 99 Amazon Reviews.

Haunted on Bourbon Street by Deanna Chase

Jade loves her new apartment--until a ghost joins her in the shower. 
When empath Jade Calhoun moves into an apartment above a strip bar on Bourbon Street, she expects life to get interesting. What she doesn't count on is making friends with an exotic dancer, attracting a powerful spirit, and developing feelings for Kane, her sexy landlord.
Being an empath has never been easy on Jade's relationships. It's no wonder she keeps her gift a secret. But when the ghost moves from spooking Jade to terrorizing Pyper, the dancer, it's up to Jade to use her unique ability to save her. Except she'll need Kane's help--and he's betrayed her with a secret of his own--to do it. Can she find a way to trust him and herself before Pyper is lost?

4.3/5 Stars with 366 Amazon Reviews.

Fire Burn ad Cauldron Bubble by H.P. Mallory

A self-deprecating witch with the unique ability to reanimate the dead. A dangerously handsome warlock torn between being her boss and her would-be lover. A six hundred year old English vampire with his own agenda; one that includes an appetite for witches. The Underworld in a state of chaos. 
Let the games begin.
Life isn’t bad for psychic Jolie Wilkins. True, she doesn’t have a love life to speak of, but she has a cute house in the suburbs of Los Angeles, a cat and a quirky best friend.
Enter Rand Balfour, a sinfully attractive warlock who insists she’s a witch and who just might turn her life upside down. Rand hires her to help him solve a mystery regarding the death of his client who also happens to be a ghost. Jolie not only uncovers the cause of the ghost’s demise but, in the process, she brings him back to life!
Word of Jolie’s incredible ability to bring back the dead spreads like wildfire, putting her at the top of the Underworld’s most wanted list. Consequently, she finds herself at the center of a custody battle between a villainous witch, a dangerous but oh-so-sexy vampire, and her warlock boss, Rand. 

Enjoy these books while I go figure out how to prepare for the locusts. Or. Maybe this is the beginning of the Zombie Apocalypse.
Yay.

All Tied Up for #ManCandyMonday

Everybody is talking about Erotic Romance these days.

Thank goodness.

It’s about time.

No longer do we have to hide our erotic romance novels behind copies of Cosmo or in the depths of our e-book readers. Your best friend, your sorority sister, your book club gals and your librarian are getting down and kinky. Well, their reading choices are anyway.

A big theme in this genre is BDSM. And the B in BDSM? It stands for bondage.

The use of restraints.

For fun and pleasure.

But it’s not only the girls who get to be tied up. You can tie your man up too.

No need to be intimidated.

And don’t think you have to whip out the credit card and fork over the dough for your bondage fun.

A little creativity is all you need.

I'm oh, so lucky to be hosting #ManCandyMonday this week. The theme is Man Candy All Tied Up. Join me at 7pm (Mountain Time) on twitter for some hottalicious fun.

You can find my post over at the Man Candy Monday 2.0 Blog. Click here to link right on over there.
Here's just a little taste of today's theme of our favorite hotties, all tied up.

See, creativity with Christmas lights. 

To celebrate my guest post on my favorite blog site I've got three erotic romances for you to download for free today.

One of my favorite erotic romance series is the Harmless books by Melissa Schroeder. They are mostly set in Hawaii, have hot military men, a BDSM club and a whole lot of slap and tickle fun.

These two short stories are free on Amazon. Click on the cover to link straight there for the download.

Plus, Mel has two more Harmless freebies on her website.

A Little Harmless Fling

and

A Little Harmless Kalikimaka.

But beware this is a very addictive series. If you really get into it you can also join Mel's Harmless Addicts FB page. (I did)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/HarmlessLovers/

Enjoy

Just who are all these Indie Authors?

Who are all these Indie Authors I see everyday with free Ebooks? 
Well, these days anyone who wants to can publish a book. So Indie authors are your neighbor, your boss, your librarian and your favorite traditionally published author.
Wait, what?
Traditionally published authors self pub too?
Oh, yeah. Fo Sho.
Authors work those contracts hard to get back their backlists and self pub those. Authors with traditionally published books who have an idea for a story their publishing house just isn't buying will write that and indie pub it.
So don't discount an Indie pubbed book and author just cause. You may stumble across some really great writing.


Traditionally published authors and Indie authors both work equally hard at promotion. Even books put out by fancy big New York publishers don't get much of an advertising budget. Especially for newer authors.


Promotions are the lifeblood of advertising for authors. One advantage to being an Indie Author is deciding when and where to give your books away. 
I've heard tons of anecdotes about how free promotions boost sales, and not only for the promoted book. It boosts books numbers, so the author, the promoted book and the author's whole list of available books get more notice. Usually an author gets some more reviews for their book too.
If you're an indie author, be wise about when and how you do your free book promos.
If you're a reader, try these freebies and give the authors some love by leaving reviews. 


Here's a truckload of indie authors with free Ebooks today in all kinds of genres. Click on the book's name to link to Amazon for the download. Make sure to check the price before downloading as most promos are a limited time offer.


Peruse through my little free ebook Book Store. It's all sorted by genre (or categories that go together in my head)

 

My personal favorite section - Romance

Her Latin Lover  Katheryn Lane - Contemporary Romance

Panhandle Blizzard  Johnny Fowler - Western Romance

Lady Iona's Rebellion  Dorothy McFalls - Historical Romance

A Gift Of Ghosts  Sarah Wynde - Romantic Fantasy

Her Restless Heart  Barbara Cameron - Inspirational Romance

Build A Man  Talli Roland - Chick Lit

His Wife And Daughters  Wendy Nelson Tokunaga - Women's Fiction

It's not just for teenagers anymore - Try out some YA

Bound  CK Bryant - Young Adult Paranormal Romance

A Kingdom's Possession  Nicole J. Persun - Young Adult Fantasy

Grimsley Hollow  Nicole Storey - Young Adult Fantasy

Verita  Tracy Rozzlynn - Young Adult/Science Fiction

For the geeky glasses fangirl in you. Sci-Fi

Red Serpent  Delson Armstrong - SciFi - Adventure

Cathedral Of Dreams  Terry Persun - SciFi/Dystopian

Mysteries and Thrillers and Horror, oh my. 

Book Of Shadows  Alexandra Sokoloff - Supernatural Thriller

Trust Your Enemies  Mark Tier - Political Thriller

The Scent Of Murder  Jeffrey Marks - Mystery

Online  Seth Blackburn - Horror

Hey Smarty-Smart Pants - this section's for you.

The Godling  CK Collins - Literary Fiction

The Twenty Dollar Bill  Elmore Hammes - Contemporary Fiction

For the kid in you (or for your kids)

Time To Get Ready, Bunny  Brenda Ponnay - Children's Book

Pibbin The Small  Gloria Repp - Children's Book

Just don't drop your ebook reader into the sink with the dishes

Healthy Whole Grains, Easy and Delicious Soup Recipes Judith Hollier - Cooking

Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes Angelina Jarreau - Cooking

Seal Team 6 (Warrior Cookbook) Steven Doornbos - Cooking

Non-fiction - for your daily dose of reality

Kick Menstrual Cramps In The Nuts  TC Hale - Women's Health

Turning Inside Out  Phyllis Lily Jules - Biography/Memoir

Father's Day  Donald J. Bingle - Humor/Memoir

Work For Hire  Margo Karasek - Humor

Immersion  Mark McNees - Religion & Spirituality

Thanks to ereadernewstoday.com and their newsletter for this great list of Indie freebies.

Check them out on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/EreaderNewsToday or sign up for the newlestter at http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=EreaderNewsToday&loc=en_US

3 Short Stories from some big names in Romance

I have a dirty little secret. I love teaser stories. No, not the first three chapter kind, but an honest to goodness written just for me the-fan-of-series-romance-reader short stories. The ones that go in between books, or the prequel (which was really all that back story the author wasn't allowed to put in the first book.) Or the story an author wanted to write, but it's just not a whole book. These ones are a great way to discover the writing style of an author you haven't read before to see if you like them, but without the let down of reading a partial. I heart it all.


I also like 'em cause these little teasers are usually free.


Three gems popped up today in the freebie search. Yay.





Rings of Gold by Michelle M. Pillow @MichellePillow 
Ryan Anderson had expected retaliation in some form. A guy just didn't cross a woman with a sword, especially if that woman was Molly Shanahan, 2016 Olympic women's fencing hopeful. She'd been born with the glint of a gold medal in her eye. She might be the girl of his dreams, if he can get past her guard.

Cindi by Lisa Scott @ReadLisaScott 
"Cindi" A modern take on Cinderella. A short story of 13,000 words.

Cindi wants a perfect match—of designer shoes, that is. When her stepmother gets tickets to the Jiminy Shoes trunk sale, it looks like her dreams are coming true. Until her stepmother refuses to bring her. With a little luck, Cindi finds herself at the sale with the shoes of her dreams, and a handsome man to boot. But when she dashes off with one of the shoes by mistake, her life changes forever.

King, King, Goose? by Mandy M. Roth @mandymroth 

As dragon shifter and king of his people--the purple dragons of the east-- King Najarni wants to make his lovely wife happy. Her Earthly customs and holidays are strange to him so he sends men forth to her realm to learn of these bizarre rituals. When his wife, Queen Tara, sees what her husband and his faithful guards have done, she can't help but laugh.

Peek in and catch a glimpse into what Najarni has done for his beloved wife. 

If you pick up these stories let me know how they are. I've just downloaded them all myself. Leave me a comment or tweet out some love.

Enjoy.

I love me a man in uniform! It's #RomanticSuspense Day at @365FreeEbooks

I've heard rumors that New York isn't buying Romantic Suspense these days. But I think the Big Six must be on crack 'cuz who doesn't like a little cops and robbers with some love thrown in? 
Must be why there are so many Hot Cops and Sexy SEALs floating around in the Free Ebook-o-sphere.


I found all these Romantic Suspense Free Ebooks today. 
Click on the cover to link to Amazon for the download. Be sure to check the price, since most freebies are just a short promotion.



Undercover Secrets by Sally Berneathy @sallyberneathy
She's covering the story of the latest murder of a homeless man on the streets of Oklahoma City when she spots a derelict who looks anything but homeless. He's too alert, too well-muscled…too sexy. Who is this man and why is he pretending to be one of the street people? Can he be the murderer? 










Family Honor by Jamie Hill 
Bodies of dead women are piling up and Detective Melanie Curtis is doing everything she can to solve the ‘Cheerleader Slasher’ case. Surprised to discover her chief has requested help from the FBI, she’s even more shocked when she meets the sexy FBI special agent sent to assist her.












Agent in Training  by Jerri Drennen @Jerri47
When a threat and two attempts on Shiloh's life are made, the company insists she have an agent by her side. She's forced to turn to the one man she thinks doesn't belong at the department. Now, not only is she in danger of losing her life, after a night in his arms, she's afraid of losing her heart. 












Lancelot's Lady by Cherish D'Angelo @cherylktardif 
A Bahamas holiday from dying billionaire JT Lance, a man with a dark secret, leads palliative nurse Rhianna McLeod to Jonathan, a man with his own troubled past, and Rhianna finds herself drawn to the handsome recluse, while unbeknownst to her, someone with a horrific plan is hunting her down.










Hide in Plain Sight by Marta Perry
She couldn't turn her back on her family in their time of need. So when her sister was injured, financial expert Andrea Hampton traded the big city for Amish country to help turn her grandmother's house into an inn.

But life with the Plain People took a treacherous turn when a string of accidents and pranks threatened her family. Someone didn't want the secrets the old house harbored to come to light. Trusting anyone-- even the handsome carpenter who seemed so genuine--was a battle for Andrea, but her life depended on her ability to find the truth.

Danger Zone by Mal Olson

Air Force pilot Katrice Kennedy is a woman with nerves of steel capable of flying an F22 at supersonic speeds. Ex-Delta Force operative Benjamin Thigpen is a Homeland Security specialist immersed in national safety issues twenty-four-seven. They're strangers when they board a 747 in Washington D.C. But are they destined to become kindred souls when they survive a rock 'n roll landing on an icy Milwaukee runway and chase a could-be terrorist into the Danger Zone?

Intimate Strangers by Laura Taylor @AuthorLTaylor

He will fight to the death to protect the sanctuary he has created for himself and those from his past he has vowed to safeguard. Even as Hannah penetrates Nicholas’s isolation and melts the ice that encases his weary heart, she is seduced by the sensual, battle scarred veteran and the dark secrets of his past.

Surrender at Dawn by Laura Griffin @Laura_Griff 

Former Navy SEAL Jack Brenner knows he's in trouble the minute Charlotte Whiteside steps into a seedy Thai bar and asks him to help rescue her brother.

Deadly Obsession by Patricia A. Rasey @patriciarasey

A killer is loose who has a taste for human blood. Cole presses harder into the investigation, but the body count climbs. He has personal reasons for detesting the press, so sparks fly when Laurie hounds him for a story. Fate forces them to join forces, neither one anticipating the attraction that ensues. But just as Cole thinks he is close to finding all the answers, both personal and professional, Laurie disappears. 

Deceive her with Desire by Nina Pierce @NinaPierce 

Landscaper, Deirdre Tilling had no way of knowing that attending her friend's party would throw her into a dangerous world of corrupt businessmen and police stings. Of course her sexual romp with undercover DEA agent, Ayden Scott only pushes her deeper into the drug smuggling ring running up the Maine coast. As the heat rises between Deirdre and Ayden, one thing becomes painfully obvious...their relationship has jeopardized his mission and now someone wants them both dead. 

I like a little historical thrown in with my Rom Suspense. Don't you?

Behind the Mask by Meg Brooke

Lord Colin Pierce has never been a very good agent, and his failures have gotten him relegated to a diplomatic post far from the action. Now he has one week to stop the assassination of Princess Victoria, and he has the perfect plan: travel to Sidney Park, where the plot is to be carried out, foil the assassination, and atone for his past mistakes.
But his plan is derailed by his unexpected attraction to Eleanor Chesney, the sister of Viscount Sidney, who has her own plans for the princess’s visit. Struggling to escape the consequences of her own past, Eleanor still cannot deny the passion she feels.

If you grab any of these books leave me a comment so we can compare notes. Oh, and tweet out some author love. Authors love that. :)

Enjoy.