Shameless Plug (Not that kind) and Random Thoughts

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!

http://www.extasybooks.com/catherine-lievens/charlie-richards/deja-black/liza-kay/lynn-michaels/suede-delray/978-1-4874-2273-8-winter-magic/

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