New books since January 1

The last release I really discussed was Dude Ranch Nights, which came out back in 2017. Althogh it has not been quite one a month, a lot of Deirdre O'Dare tales are again available. I mentioned the Amazon Kindle effort last fall and this has continued. Most of the future releases will also be included in this program.

Guilty By Innocence came out on December 31, so it just barely hit in 2017. It tells the story of an unlikely pair, a vice detective in El Paso, TX and a young man who is found at the scene of a brutal mass murder, apparently the work of a drug cartel related gang. The young man, Gabe, has lost his memory but Jax, the cop, soon recognizes the likelihood he is guilty is very slight.

Here is the prologue which gives you a glimpse of this harshly realistic story although I guarantee it has a happy ending. It is a gay romance, after all! Here is the cover--very similar to the original.

***

Prologue

El Paso, TX

Late Fall

Cold. Pain. Floating and yet so heavy. Sensory details flooded his mind, but they only confused him.
Where am I? What’s happened?
He realized then that odors were the most insistent cue. Hot, metallic—the raw, thick scents of fresh blood and terror.
Holy Mother, what’s happened?
Sticky moisture seemed to coat his skin, growing crustier by the minute. The fingers of his right hand clenched around something hard, solid. His hand hurt, but he could not let go. He clutched it with unremitting urgency. Next, he heard a low, anguished moan followed by the building scream of sirens.
Then the scariest question of all entered his mind: Who am I?
He could not come up with a name or even a single trace of an identity. Before utter terror overcame him, he let the dark weight of silence close over him like water.

Chapter 1

A Few Minutes Later

Jackson Byrne “Jax” McDermott pulled his unmarked car to the curb, cut the ignition, and stepped out. 3150 Rincon Street was ablaze with lights and starting to swarm with action. The first responders had begun to arrive. He watched four EMTs led by their sergeant, Delia Maldonado, unload from their ambulance, which had pulled in behind his car.
Before they went to work, he needed to view the scene. From the sound of the call, they’d probably just be picking up pieces anyway. Two uniforms were already stretching yellow crime scene tape around the simple, boxy, typical tract house on the sprawling city’s northeast side. Jax stepped across one tape band and headed for the open front door, which hung off a single hinge.
Mickey Finnegan, one of the newest rookies on the EPPD, came charging out. He skidded to a stop and then puked into the arbor vitae to the left of the cement stoop.
Jax looked at the young cop with a trace of sympathy. He’d been there once. “Bad, huh?”
Micky coughed and gagged before he replied. “Yeah. Real bad.”
Edging past the green-faced rookie, Jax went inside the house. With ten years as a cop behind him—six on the street and four as a detective—broken by a tour in the Middle East with the National Guard, there wasn’t much he hadn’t seen. He’d deal with it. He stopped two steps inside, blinked, and began to breathe in shallow pants through his mouth. You could cut the stench with a knife—blood, puke, piss, fear and death. There might have been a place somewhere when he’d seen that much blood, but he couldn’t recall it. The whole room seemed to have been painted red. He counted six bodies.
Delia came up behind him. He held out a hand, halting her for a moment. “They look like coroner cases,” he said. “Give me a minute and then you can do your thing.”
He did a quick mental count—an older man against the far wall, a middle-aged woman two steps to the man’s right, a young woman with her arms extended toward a kid, apparently a boy maybe four or five. Gaping throats slashed open, still-seeping gashes on limbs and torsos. They all must have struggled, resisting to no avail. An infant, just beyond the boy. Whoa. Unbelievably, the kid moved and made a faint mew like an injured kitten.
Delia shoved past him. He let her. He managed to draw a fast sketch of the scene in his notebook to show the small form’s spot on the sticky floor as the EMTs worked. When his gaze skidded to the last body, he went dead still. From the blood-crusted face of an apparent corpse, two eyes stared at him, eyes holding a clear and unmistakable shine of life and awareness. No gashed throat on that one, either. He was definitely still alive. The eyes blinked shut, as if the man knew he’d been made. Jax grabbed his camera and snapped a couple of fast shots.
Delia and her team bundled up the infant to evacuate it. As she started past him, following one of her crew with the baby, Jax halted her.
“Del, that one’s alive, too.” He pointed.
She stopped. Her glance whipped around to the last body, apparently a young man.
Sixth victim? But wait, in one blood-painted hand, he clenched the rough wooden handle of a two-foot long machete, the wide blade streaked black with blood.
“You can take him as soon as I mark the placement of the body, but tell the ER crew he doesn’t go anywhere until they hear from me. He could be the perp, and I’m not taking any chances. Save his clothes, too, and anything else you or the ER staff find on him. I’ll get hold of Nat at the ME’s office and see if she can meet you at the hospital to get blood samples and anything else she can while it’s fresh.”
Del nodded. She knew the drill. These days, crime scene pickups were a regular part of her team’s routine. El Paso had become a war zone. Like Jax and a number of others on the force and in the first responders, she’d been in the military in the Middle East. None of them had seen anything worse while they were over there.
It only took a couple of minutes before the EMTs were back with a gurney. Eight careful hands lifted the young man’s body from the floor. If he was still conscious, he played possum like a champ, but the slow rise and fall of the bloody, tattered T-shirt across his chest proved he still lived.
Once the ambulance shrieked away, Jax took out his camera once more and began to snap pictures. There wasn’t much in the way of physical evidence to collect—except for the savaged bodies and blood. There was plenty of that. Jax knew two crime lab techs would be there any minute to go to work on the wet evidence.
When he finished at the house, Jax drove over to St. Martin’s Hospital. Not that he didn’t trust both Delia and Nat to do their jobs, but he’d learned better than to leave anything to chance. Over the years, he’d seen too many guilty fucking bastards get off on technicalities and sloppy police work. He’d be damned if one would skate because of his failures.

Arising from the Near-Dead?

I did not realize how long it has been. Turns out I have taken a much longer sabbatical than I planned or anticipated. I was going to do a short break in my usual down time from around December 1 until that midway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox which falls in early February. As the Scots poet Burns put it, "The best laid plann of mice and men gang aft aglee." Mine sure did!

Right after the first of January, we had to have our oldest dog put down. She was really my brother's but we share a home and she'd been part of my clan for quite awhile since I moved in with them on April 1, 2009! We think Beebee had some kind of internal cancer but she had been failing for awhile and attempted  treatments were not doing much good. When she stopped eating and got 'that look' in her eyes, we knew it was time. The other four moped and missed her for a bit but soon closed ranks and moved on.

Our next issue was a really nasty case of the flu. Despite having had the shots--they finally admitted the vaccine was less than 40% effective!--we got sick, majorly sick. Never had to go to the hospital but took every home remedy in the book and drank lots of hot lemonade and rum toddies to dampen the awful croupy cough enough to sleep some. It hung around for a good month and left us feeling totally trashed. Then as a follow up, I got some kind of a digestive problem and ate little to nothing for about three weeks and did not dare get too far from the facilities. Peppermint oil finally calmed my innards and I've used it ever since as it also keeps my intermittent IBS at bay quite well.

So now it is March and I go for my belated annual eye exam. Yes, I am still battling the dry eye and allergy eye issues but I also learned that I was ripe for cataract surgery! My doctor tried valiantly to ease the dry eyes as much as possible with a variety of ideas--more time passed--but the surgeon finally decided to go ahead so I had the two eyes done on May 3 and May 17. That was an adventure also. My right eye did fine and is now 20-20 except for close up, the normal cataract removal 'cure' for myopia ,but the left one was worse on both myopia and astigmatism so I find I still have to have correction there. Actually I do not mind--trying to keep track of readers and get used to no close vision was driving me nuts! I got my new glasses in mid June and then had a really bad allergic conjunctivitis spell. Finally as the summer rainy season started with an increases in humidty, I can actually see clearly most of the time!

That being the case I have crawled out of  my den like the groundhog and looked around. What, it's summer? You mean 2018 is over half gone? Yikes! Anyway, despite my semi-absence, things have been moving along.

My wonderful new publisher, JMS Books, has been steadily reissuing my favorite stories from the old Amber Quill library. Loose Id, which had begun to reissue my popular Canine Cupid tales in groups of two republished with one new story announced their closure early this year and my rights were returned in late spring so those also will now be at JMS. I've got lots of new covers to share and I'll be doing that shortly.

One more installment in my "Perils of Pauline" year was the total crash of my computer about three weeks ago. With all the other issues I had failed to do the backups, even had not copied a lot of things to my flash drives, so I lost a lot. We're shopping around some of the data recovery firms to see if we can find one that I can afford and maybe send the old hard drive away and hope I can get a bunch of photos and writing projects back in a usable form but no guarantees. Among them were the first scenes for two new canine cupid stories, one historical and one contemporary. I am trying to reconstruct them in my mind and then get some words down again but it is like pulling hen's teeth.

Anyway, more than enough whines. Actually I am not whining as I know the old hippie saying is true. Yes, shit does happen! Sometimes it just comes in bunches like grapes and you have to deal with it, meanwhile hoping the current run of catastrophes has finally reached the end!  Please join me in a fervent prayer to whatever Deities you trust and put faith in that this will prove true!

However you cannot keep an ornery and feisty old Welsh-Irish tale-weaver down so stay tuned and I will do my best to provide regular installments on the creative endeavors of me and my alter ego. Yes, Gwynn Morgan is still around too and trying to resurrect the idea to getting her novels out in new forms via Smashwords and bringing  her long-delayed Copper Stars of Cochise trilogy to an end with the third never completed tale!

What, no pictures? Hmm. Okay--my two canines deserve a view since they are part of the inspiration for future Canine Cupid stories. Behold, Rojito and Ginger in repose. And the late Beebee, about a year ago before her decline was too serious
.

Dude Ranch Nights--New Deirdre O'Dare Work

I'm delighted that JMS has decided to release a few hetero erotic romance tales and that my Novella Dude Ranch Nights is one of them. In fact as of today, it is available. Here is a  link.  https://www.jms-books.com/general-c-36/dude-ranch-nights-p-2211.html?zenid=DarPSHLdU8KeV55WaxXtH0

And I will follow that with a blurb, an excerpt and the cover.

Blurb: When New York socialite Carole “C.J.” VanDemont loses the uncle with whom she went adventuring life looks bleak and dull. Then an ad sends her to Arizona to visit La Riata guest ranch and experience wilderness adventures with guide and rancher Cameron Greenway. In Cam she finds everything she imagined and more. He puts a whole new twist on adventure for her until she becomes helplessly addicted to his brand of excitement. Must and can she return to the staid life awaiting her?

Excerpt: (The opening two scenes) 

Demont-Delft Estate,
Newburgh, New York
April 7, 1953

 
Carole Janine VanDemont, C.J. to her friends, crossed the exquisite Aubusson carpet with quick, choppy strides. She paused before one tall window to stare out over the rolling grounds of the family estate, which extended to the distant river, a branch of the Hudson. Tinted a soft green by the fresh spring foliage, with a hint of scattered pastels, the scene reflected pastoral peace. Instead of providing inspiration or comfort, the familiar view seemed bland and dull.
"What does one do when, at twenty-six, there are absolutely no new worlds to conquer?"
Although her question was rhetorical, her brother Michael answered it anyway. "Why, one either seeks to discover new worlds or rests on one's laurels, I expect, sis. Life isn't that boring, is it?" His lifted eyebrow echoed the mocking tone of his words.
She shrugged, an irritable twitch of her right shoulder. "Oh, I don't know. I'm just out of sorts, I suppose. It was most inconsiderate of Uncle Rene to kill himself just when we were planning the trip to India. I was counting on riding elephants, perhaps shooting a tiger this year. Daddy would never think of such a trek, and he'd have apoplexy if I went alone. What shall I do instead?"
"You sound as if Uncle Rene crashed his plane on purpose or out of spite. I thought you were fond of the fellow."
"I was. His death left me devastated. Now don't misunderstand, but had we not been related, I could've happily married the man. He's the only person who's ever challenged me."
"But he happened to be Mom's black-sheep, younger half-brother, so that was out of the question. Too bad." Michael, home from Harvard on spring break, flopped into a chair. He picked up a magazine and began to leaf through the pages. He stopped, mid-flip, perusing one page more intently. "How about an Arizona dude ranch vacation? Here's an advertisement. Sounds fascinating to me."
He tossed the magazine to C.J. as she stalked by, pacing the confining limits of the elegant but comfortable den. She caught it with a supple twist of her wrist, scarlet nails flashing in the light of the lamp by which he'd been reading. "Surely you jest. Riding old nags along bridle paths in the desert instead of Central Park, and eating beans around the camp fire? I might as well go on that cruise with Grandmère."
Still she scanned the ad, stopping her restless motion as she read...

Adventure of a lifetime!
Hunt savage, illusive wild animals in the rugged southwest. 

Camp in sites made famous by Zane Grey and John Ford in books and films.
Relax and enjoy the modern comforts of La Riata Ranch 

or rough it he-man fashion in the wilderness.
The choice is yours.
Contact Cameron Greenway, YA7-5635 or P.O. Box 1727, Verdell, Arizona.

There were also photographs. One showed a rustic, two-story lodge-style building constructed of rounded stones bonded with cement. The big house was surrounded by smaller cabins of comparable construction and a grove of towering, wide-leafed trees. Another showed several saddled horses hitched to the rails of a massive log corral. The one that caught C.J.'s eye featured a man, uncommonly tall, unless the horse at his side was pony-sized. He wore cuffed jeans with cowboy boots, a wide-brimmed hat, and a shirt with elaborate embroidered yokes. He seemed to be looking straight at the camera--or the reader--his piercing pale eyes casting a hypnotic spell. Though unsmiling, his craggy, handsome face stole her breath.
C.J. sucked in a quick gulp of air. Oh my, now that's quite a man. He looks like he belongs in a movie with John Wayne or perhaps Gary Cooper--a real cowboy. Can he be Mr. Greenway or a mere employee? All at once she was determined to find out. If it took a trip to Arizona, at least that would beat sitting here at home dying of ennui. Striding to the shiny walnut desk in one corner of the room, she picked up the telephone to place a long distance call.
Three days later, she boarded the train to head west, not sure what she would find there, but feeling a tickle of excitement for the first time in weeks. With a small sigh, she settled back in her Pullman compartment to pass the leisurely trip.

* * * *

Cameron Greenway paced the bricked platform between the Santa Fe Depot and the nearest track. His boot heels beat a sharp rhythm on the hard surface with his restless strides. Due in soon, the Super Chief was already a few minutes late. He glanced at his watch, frowning. At this rate it would be dark by the time they got back to the ranch.
He'd driven to town to pick up a client, one C.J. VanDemont. Mr. VanDemont had a strange voice, low and husky, but something about it had bothered him. Well, people often sounded peculiar on the telephone. The connection had not been the best. Anyway, the man indicated he wanted the full package--a ten-day adventure with camping, hunting and some side trips for scenic photography. That Cam could do. He had no false modesty about the quality and level of adventures he provided. He'd perfected just the right mixture of luxury and rustic atmosphere to please almost any well-heeled guest. He tailored the degree of roughing it to each client's abilities and desires once he met them in person.
Although he affected the image of a rough, unschooled cowboy, Cam was a graduate of Yale and the scion of an upper crust family. Even if his parent's current wealth came from mines and ranches in Wyoming and New Mexico, both of them had roots in the bluest blood of the eastern seaboard. The family's black sheep, he had gone his own way to build his life in its unique mold. The role of guide, outfitter and dude-rancher suited him to a "T." He played the rugged outdoorsman to the hilt and actually lived that life as much as was possible in the modern era.
The sharp blast of the diesel's horn alerted him to the train's imminent arrival. He stepped back from the track as the sleek silver, red and yellow locomotives swept past him, slowing to a stop with a shriek of steel on steel. Several passengers alighted, but none Cam could identify as C.J. VanDemont. Damn, did I make this trip in vain? I'm sure the man said he'd arrive today.
At that moment, a modishly dressed young lady approached him. Tall for a woman, she carried herself with arrogant grace. Honey-blonde hair fell in shoulder-length waves to brush the bottle green yoke of her masculine-cut suit jacket. A matching pencil slim skirt outlined pleasing curves of hip and derrière. Black high-heeled pumps accentuated her trim ankles and well-turned calves beneath the skirt's hem. Full, scarlet-painted lips curved into a smile as she tilted her head, studying him.
"You look just like your picture," she said. "Would you happen to be Mr. Cameron Greenway?"
As he nodded, he registered several facts at once. First, it was the same voice, low pitched but definitely not masculine. Second, this lady was one gorgeous female, and last, he was knee deep in trouble if she really was C. J. VanDemont. Why in the world would a woman like this want to rough it Arizona style? She had socialite written all over her.
"Yes, I am. And you're C. J. VanDemont? I wasn't expecting a lady."
She laughed, the sound carrying so much raw sexual energy his whole body tightened. Gods help me, this woman is short-fused dynamite!
"I know." She lowered her lids demurely, shielding vivid green eyes for a moment, then offered a pretty smile, but quite artificial. "I was almost sure you didn't realize I was female, but that's okay. Yes, I really do want to rough it. I've been on safaris in Africa, a trip to Alaska, across the Gobi, and several similar treks. This year was supposed to be India and the Himalayas, but my uncle, Rene-Paul Dubois, got himself killed in a plane crash, which put an end to that. He was the adventurous relative with whom I've enjoyed many travels. In his absence, I anticipated a frightful and boring spring, but then your ad caught my eye. Here I am."
For a long moment Cam studied her, while his mind whirled in a frantic spin, trying to come to terms with the notion of being alone in the woods with this amazing vision. Could she be as bold and daring as she presented herself to be? What kind of adventures did she expect to enjoy?
Well, I aim to please. Entertaining this woman well might be worth much more than the normal fees I charge for my services. I see some distinct possibilities here.
He'd taken a few couples out for hunts and camping, but more often, if a couple booked a holiday, the lady stayed at the ranch while her husband went on the hunt or camping and photographic expedition. He'd installed a swimming pool, located a few gentle nags anyone could ride and hired help who knew how to keep "dudes" entertained. But a lady on her own who wanted the full experience--this was going to be a first.
"Well, Miss VanDemont, we need to get your luggage and start for the ranch. It'll be dark before we get there anyway."
With an elegant wave, she indicated a couple of bags sitting on the platform not far from where they stood. "That's it. I know enough to travel light. If I were going on a cruise, it would be different, but I find them incredibly tedious. Shuffle-board and dining at the captain's table? Please, I'm not a fifty-year-old fossil! And by the way, please call me C.J. I hate to answer to 'miss.'"
Cam collected the two bags and tossed them into the truck. Then he handed C.J. into the passenger seat, circled the cab to slide behind the wheel and headed his new Ford pickup down the highway. He had the distinct feeling he could be in for the adventure of a lifetime himself. This lady was a looker, for sure. She could stand in for Veronica Lake or Lana Turner any day and nobody would miss them. She radiated sex appeal along with the scent of Arpege that wafted with her every move.

By God, I'll show her adventure if that's what she wants. And if she has other kinds of sport in mind, I can handle that as well.

Dude Ranch Nights--story behind the story

As most of you know, JMS has been strictly an LGBT publisher from its inception. However, they are now expanding a bit to offer some 'regular' fiction to include some M/F erotic romances. I'm thrilled to be able to announce my novella, Dude Ranch Nights, which has been out of print for some time, is one of this beginning batch of tales. It was released today!

I do want to remind my readers that the story is set in the early 1950s and I tried to be completely true and authentic to that time frame as I wrote it. Therefor some things that are not politically correct now are going to happen, even some things a few readers may find upsetting or offensive. I do no intentionally offend or upset anyone but since I majored in History when I was in school, I have some strong feelings about remaining authentic and never rewriting what was real to mollify anyone's 2017 sensibilities. You cannot change what was and pretending will not make it go away or cease to have occurred!! That being said, let's go into a bit of background for this story.

At the period, when I was only a very small child, "Dude Ranches" were a big fad. Some were very tame and genteel but others catered to more adventurous and thrill-seeking clientele. My dad was good friends with a man who ran just such a place. Dad went along on a number of dangerous and exciting hunts and expeditions. His tales of them piqued my interest--little pitchers with big ears!--and as I approached my teens, I developed a large crush of Mr Greenough, who was the guide and proprietor. He had the reputation for being quite a ladies man in his younger years and even up into his sixties, he seemed to be a very glamorous and exciting sort of chap! So from my early efforts at fiction, I was sure I would eventually write some stories inspired by that mystique.

There is a family saga 'big novel' which has sat in fragments in the back of a file drawer for many years and may or may not ever see the light of day. However, Dude Ranch Nights has been completed, published and is now going to be reissued. Now I hasten to explain that Cameron Greenway is not intended to 'be' or even closely correspond to the real Mr T. Leo Greenough, but I do credit the latter for inspiration here. Still I state without hesitation that any real resemblance is coincidental and not truly intended; the worthy gentleman has been deceased for close to sixty years  and may he rest in peace.

Carole is strictly the figment of my imagination, perhaps a vague construct from some of my youthful daydreams and flights of fancy concerning how life might be had I been 'to the manor born.' To some degree we are sisters of spirit for I was always interested in adventure and challenges and pursued as many of them as I could. Had I enjoyed an adventurer uncle, I surely would have gone with him every chance I had!

The photo at right was taken by my dad and it or a similar one graced the cover of an outdoor adventure magazine back in the late 1950s. It was at Mr. Greenough's Spring Creek Ranch in the Verde Valley in central Arizona and features him with one of his mules and two of the hunting hounds. This is NOT Cam Greenway but with a bit of imagination you can perhaps visualize the hero of Dude Ranch Nights!

News!! JMS and Kindle Unlimited

With courtesy to JMS Books, a bunch of my older former AQ LGBT stories are going to be coming out on Kindle Unlimited and later released by JMS on their normal venues. This is very exciting to me, both to know some of my older and long-orphaned faves are going to be available again and about the chance to gain many new readers. Of course they are free to read for a time for Amazon Prime members and discounted to buy so it's a great opportunity! Here's the link to my page and they are right at the top of my list!
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Deirdre+O%27Dare

The first four to be released are Always on My Mind, Muscle Car Man, Special Delivery and Guilty by Innocence.  Four more will be appearing there soon and others through this fall and winter. These are mainly older tales that have been out of print since Amber Quill closed and date back on the original release far enough that a whole crop of new readers has come on scene! Here are the four covers and a short blurb on each one.

 Special Delivery: Monte’s sporting goods store is teetering on the edge of collapse due to the economic problems. The small conservative eastern California town he chose for his dream project is not welcoming, even though he keeps his gay lifestyle quiet. Then big trouble and a gorgeous package delivery driver fall into his world at the same time. Are they somehow connected?

Always on My Mind:  Garth Talent could never forget Peter Nightrider, his best bud from high school, or the one drunken night they shared exploring each other's bodies. He's spent fifteen years with that memory and has never found anyone to erase it. Now Garth is a high-priced attorney and Peter is a celebrity, heading an exciting Native-Pop music group. But Peter is in serious trouble and Garth is the only one who can help him. 

Guilty By Innocence: Jax is a cop by choice and to honor his father who was killed in the line of duty. His allegiance to his fellow officers and his code of ethics are the ruling factors of his life. At a hideous crime scene, when he finds an unconscious young man holding a bloody machete, Jax confronts a quandary. He can hardly believe this beautiful youth could have committed this atrocity, but if not, who did?


 Muscle Car Man: Jeff Castle has changed lanes from the high-tech world to that of the classic muscle cars and their fans when he inherits his uncle's glorified junkyard. His new life is complicated when help is hard to find. An impulse leads him to pick up a hiker on a remote road, and the man turns out to be just the kind of muscle Jeff needs in every way. 

Canine Cupids redux

Cops and Canine Cupids came out several weeks ago.. You can find it at http://www.loose-id.com/authors/erotic-romance-authors-a-f.html?cat=1064

I really like the cover. Loose Id artist Valerie Tibbs has come up with a great design that lends itself to featuring new guys and dogs as each collection in this series comes along.  Book two, of course, features a law enforcement officer as a lead character in each tale. That fact is hinted by the cover and again the three feature dogs are up there front and center.. There is officer Craig Rommel's Belgian Malinois Samson on the left (the Sam who does the saving in Saved By Sam), detective Boz's Mini-Schnauzer Snick (the Schnickelfritz who falls in love!) in the center and Trek's Pit Bull Commando on the right, the one who got dogjacked!

Dogjacked is the new story in this set, sharing the spotlight with reprints Saved By Sam and Schnickelfritz in Love.

Here are the blurbs from the three tales:

Dogjacked: Travel writer Trek ends up stranded in a small New Mexico town after a would be thief tries to steal his restored 1959 Plymouth Fury, with his Pit Bull traveling companion in the car. Commando makes it a short trip but then Trek must either leave his dog or stay while it is in quarantine since the dog literally nabbed the thief. Local cop Dan comes to his rescue. He shows Trek the local sights--and a few more things, as well.

Saved By Sam: A closing time robber confronts bartender Roy and almost gets the best of it until cop Craig and his dog take charge. When the dog and the officer are both wounded, Roy uses his military medic skills to stabilize them until the EMTs arrive. As they recover, one thing leads to another and the two men become unlikely friends and ultimately more.

Snickelfritz in Love: Electrician Jake and detective Boz have an  unusual meeting at the dog park when Boz's Snick takes a strong liking to Jake's retired greyhound Athena. After this awkward start the two end up working together when thieves rip expensive electronic parts off at a construction site where Boz is the lead in installing specialized equipment. While the men solve the crime, Snick and Athena plot to keep them together.

They are all fun stories and ones I had a great time writing. I do not consider myself a humor writer but situations in all three tales lend themselves to some humorous passages, giggle worthy if not laugh out loud. Of course there is some danger and adventure as well as some hot scenes mixed in with the other action. Novella length, each tale is a nice break time read, while traveling to or from work or to get in the mood at bedtime. Hope you will give this collection a try; if you have read Canine Cupids I, you already know what these stories are like and recognize that IMHO dogs and hunky guys just go together like PB & J!

Stick with me and we'll talk about Kindle Unlimited in the next post!

Back and Raring to Go!!

It became a much longer sabbatical than I had intended when I made the last post. New things have come out and I have a variety of other news and updates as well. So I will do my best to get all caught up in the next few days here.

Like many writers and other artistic folks, I do have periodic bouts of depression when it is a struggle just to do what one must to stay alive and semi-functional. The past couple of months were one of those times. The well of words and thoughts ran totally dry and I knew I had to let it recharge for awhile. The level is rising now and soon will be ready to pour forth some new creations. That's good! I also had my summer struggle when the allergies and my ongoing dry eye issues carried on a fight in my poor abused eyeballs, making it hard to be on the computer very much. I used the time to do some sewing--two new full-bed sized quilts-- and new earrings and other jewelry which I have resumed peddling at the local Farmer's and Crafter's Market every Saturday morning. Even at my worst, I do need creative outlets and those serve well when the writing goes into a hiatus.

Okay, 'nuff of that. Let me gather my wits and get the chronology straight and I'll bring you up to date. New covers, new releases, and a new ongoing program where many of my older LGBT tales are becoming available on Kindle Unlimited. Also some of Gwynn Morgan's long OOP (out of print) romances will be coming at Smashwords before the end of the year. Stay with me!

Luck n' Love, Deir'