TOP PICK D.D. AYRES

I'm so glad to have my chaptermate, D.D. Ayres back to "get lost" with us today. Anyone who can write about dogs and have another hero in the book is talented. But don't just ask me, her latest book is a Romantic Times TOP PICK ! 

RIVAL FORCES

K-9 Rescue series, book 4

DESIRE IS A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH

When it comes to training K-9 patrol dogs, Yardley Summers always trusts her instincts. But when it comes to dating men, she keeps her heart on a very short leash. Mostly, she’s too busy with her four-legged trainees at Harmonie Kennels to commit to a relationship. Only two men have managed to distract her: a handsome Doctors Without Borders physician who’s suddenly gone missing―and the red-hot dog trainer from her past who’s suddenly back in her life…

Now a K-9 rescue team leader, Kye McGarren has never forgotten the days he trained at Yardley’s camp―or the nights he spent in her arms. When he hears that Yardley is on a mission to find the missing doctor, Kye is determined to keep her out of danger. With his K-9 partner by his side, he joins Yardley on a death-defying mission―one that reignites their mutual passion. Will Kye be able to rescue his romantic rival…without losing the woman he loves?

Read a Little, Buy the Book

FIND D.D.

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A veteran author of romance and women's fiction, D.D. AYRES is new to Romantic Suspense. She believes the lure of romance is always the human connection. Put that connection in physical jeopardy, and we learn a bit more about who we really are.

With her K-9 Rescue series, D.D. hopes you will enjoy her sexy, suspenseful portrayals of K-9 teams at their best. D.D. lives in Texas with her husband and a soft-coated Wheaten terrier named Zoe.

THE K-9 SERIES 
by D.D.

PRIMAL FORCE

K-9 Rescue, book #3
Read a Little, Buy the Book

IRRESISTIBLE FORCE

K-9 Rescue, book #1

Read a little, Buy the book

FORCE OF ATTRACTION

K-9 Rescue, book #2

Read a little, Buy the book

NECESSARY FORCE

K-9 Rescue, ebook Novella

Read a little, Buy the book

ANGI: What’s your favorite “dog” movie? 

D.D. : I’m reluctant to say “Old Yeller” because, well, boo-hoo.  I can’t wait for the upcoming movie version of Robert Crais’s book, SUSPECT.  He’s a terrific writer.  Hope they do the book justice.

SIDE NOTE: Did you know that Old Yeller in the book is a BLACK MOUTH CUR? My daughter has one. They're not quite as big as Spike, the Mastive/Lab mix used in the film. But they are very protective hard-working dogs.

ANGI: Hugh Jackman or Tom Hanks? 

D.D. : Hugh Jackman.  He can do everything: sing, dance, act in movies and on stage, be the sex symbol or play a convincing villain.  Tom’s no slouch.  But you did ask. 

ANGI: Can you tell us about a real-life dog hero you’ve met or researched?

D.D. :  I ran across so many stories about wonderful dogs, either told to me or through research.  So, I’ll tell you a personal story. 

My research for PRIMAL FORCE, about a service dog and a wounded veteran, led me to Patriot Paws, a nonprofit that trains service dogs for disabled veterans.  On my first of several visits, a friendly curly Labradoodle named Johnny met me practically at the door.  While I interviewed his trainer, Johnny sat by my side instead of his handler’s.  He leaned first his head and then after a while, his whole body weight against my leg.  Petting him, I thought, how sweet.  Later, I learned that Johnny is a PTSD service dog.  And he was doing what he’s trained to do when a person feels anxious: offer comfort.  I didn’t think my interview nerves showed.  This smart boy read me like a book.   

ANGI: What's your most favorite thing to do in your state?

D.D. : Watch thunderstorms roll across the open plains at night.  It’s a spectacular display because you can see forever. 

ANGI: What do you like about the hero of your book? 

D.D. :  Kye McGarren (RIVAL FORCES) is a laid-back guy, unlike most Alpha males in books these days.  He knows how to relax. Yet he can and does bring it, when the stuff hits the fan.  His sense of humor and fun play well off heroine Yardley Summers, who is one intense and driven woman, for good reasons. Kye knows what he wants, and how to get it.

Even if his sense of fair play has him defending the life of his rival for Yardley’s affections.  AND, he has a very special talent that doesn’t get displayed until the end of the book.  Ladies, it’s worth waiting for.

ANGI: Sand or Snow? 

D.D. :  Snow!  As a southerner, I always revert to a child when it snows.  I run outside and spin around in circles.  My husband, a New Yorker, thinks I’m nuts.

ANGI: What would be in your “doggie” bag?

D.D. :  Seafood!  Or Chicken Tortilla Soup from Habaneros, Fort Worth.

ANGI: Got a favorite flower? 

D.D. : Gardenia.  The flower’s thick luscious petals and delicious scent are the essence of sultry romance to me.

ANGI: Favorite dog picture?  

D.D. :  Isn’t she the cutest thing?

ANGI: Who’s your favorite cartoon dog?

D.D. :  Can I have two?  Snoopy and Tramp, from “Lady and the Tramp.”

ANGI: What drinks or snacks are always on your desk when you’re writing?

D.D. :  Coffee or tea. 

ANGI’S GOTTA ASK: What’s one thing on your bucket list?

D.D.’s GOTTA ANSWER:   I want to visit China.  See the The Terracotta Army with my own eyes.  The idea of doing something like this boggles my mind.  No one was to ever meant see them again after burial.  

DON'T MISS THE NEXT INSTALLMENT OF 

K-9 RESCUE !!  coming in September.

EXPLOSIVE FORCES

K-9 Rescue series, book #5

Read a little, Pre-Order the book

ANGI'S back this weekend on First Fridays

UP NEXT ON GLIAS:  Elisabeth Hobbs

~Angi Morgan

Get Lost on Goodreads, Facebook
or @GetLostInAStory  #GetLostStories

D.D. is giving away a CD of either IRRESISTIBLE FORCE, FORCE OF ATTRACTION OR PRIMAL FORCE to THREE 3 readers.

North America Readers 

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D.D. WANTS TO KNOW: What type of dog would you like to see a book about?  Have I missed any K-9 0ccupations you’d like to see a book about?

Justine Davis--EPIC Finalist!

I'm thrilled to welcome Justine Davis back to the blog and announce that Lord of the Storm is a finalist for the prestigious EPIC award in the Science Fiction Category.

Shaylah Graymist, ace fighter pilot for a brutal intergalactic Coalition, is given a slave as a reward for heroism in battle. The incredibly virile slave named Wolf wears a collar which controls him completely, allowing her to make him do anything she wants. Yet Shaylah has an old-fashioned belief in love and refuses to take advantage of him. A tense friendship grows between her and Wolf, along with deep desires he refuses to admit. The Coalition destroyed his people. He won't betray their memory. 

When Shaylah returns to battle, Wolf rebels and is sold to a prison colony. She frees him, and together they journey to his home planet. As she learns more about Wolf, she begins to question her loyalty to the Coalition, and the passions between them burn out of control.

Find out more here: Lord of the Storm

Jan: What is your definition of romance?

Justine: Ironically, this question really stopped me. Since you said romance, and not love—two different but related things—the words that come to mind are thrilling, balancing act, too fast or too slow. All parts of the process, I think. Nothing matches the thrill, the balancing act between your life Before and your life Now, and wavering between wanting to jump ahead and being afraid enough to want to slow down. . .it's all in there. But just recently I read a quote from the greatest baseball announcer of all time (there is no arguing this, sorry) Mr. Vin Scully who, when encountering someone on the way to a wedding, said, "Ah, marriage. The most optimistic of man's endeavors." I have to agree.

Jan:  What’s on your bucket list?

Justine: The main item on my list is to live long enough to tell all the stories I want to tell. That's also unachievable, so I'm not sure what that says about me.  

Jan:  You’ve won FOUR RITA awards from Romance Writers of America and are a Hall of Famer to boot!  When you first started writing, how did you define success?  

Justine: That could have a long answer since I started writing. . .well, as soon as I could write. Before that I told stories in my head. I thought everyone did. Later I would write endless sagas, because I didn't know how to bring things to a close, and because those people were my friends and I didn't want to leave them. I think that's why I love romance, because I know my people are happy and I can picture where they are now and smile. I love it when I get mail asking how/where characters are now, because it means they're as alive to that reader as they are to me. But I digress. . .  I think the first real success for me was when I wrote a story that had an actual beginning, middle, and end. It was only eighty pages, but it was a triumph. I took that thing out and just looked at it often. When, thanks to the encouragement of my husband and a new computer purchased with a small inheritance from a much beloved aunt who shared my love of reading, I began to write with an eye to publication, I told myself I wanted to sell my first book by the time I was thirty. I was a bit late on that, but in my thirties was close enough.

Jan: In your spare time, you knit and enjoy photography.  What sort of writing schedule works best for you to balance your world?

Justine: I'm still looking for that balance. I've found having a dog that requires attention and walks is crucial. Otherwise I'd be in my office all day and half the night. My schedule is completely reversed from what it used to be. I used to be the proverbial night owl. (hence the graveyard shift) I would get off at 8AM, go home and sleep from nine to about one or two in the afternoon, get up and write until 9PM when it was time to start getting ready for my duty shift. My brain didn't really kick into gear until evenings, and at midnight I was just hitting my stride. But when my husband became ill everything changed, I had to hit the ground running first thing in the morning. Over the next three years my inner clock got reset, and it seems to have stuck. I'm up and working by six most mornings, often earlier. About 1ish the dog reminds me she exists, and it's off for a long walk. And wherever I go I take my phone to make notes, so I guess I'm never really not working in some way.

Jan: What's next for you?
Justine: Besides new Cutters, I've just signed to do a book in the Whiskey River series for Tule Publishing. I'll get to write in a world created by two long-time writing friends, Eve Gaddy and Kathy Garbera. It's been a long time since I've gotten to write a pure romance, and I'm looking forward to it. 

It's always a pleasure to visit with Justine.  Please scroll down to the Rafflecopter and enter for a chance to WIN a copy of LORD OF THE STORM!!

FIND JUSTINE DAVIS: 

Contact: Justine's email

Website: justinedavis.com

Facebook:  JustineDareDavis

Twitter: @Justine_D_Davis

Pinterest: pinterest.com/justineddavis

                               Blogs: justinedaredavis.wordpress.com

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GLIAS welcomes back Michelle Major and Romantic Times Top Pick!

GET LOST IN A STORY READERS, I have the distinct privilege of calling the lovely Michelle Major my neighbor and friend.  Which is why I cannot believe I dropped the ball on today's interview, and hope she (and you) will forgive her humble GLIAS correspondent for failing to send her the appropriate questions when she was clearly marked on my calendar.   But enough of my groveling.  Michelle Major doesn't need any help from me.  Today, I'd like to present an author readers will want to get to know and  add to their "Automatic Buy"  lists.

But don't just take my word for it.  Romantic Times called her March 1 release a TOP PICK!!!

HER ACCIDENTAL ENGAGEMENT

When the local police chief comes to a single mom's rescue—with a pretend marriage proposal!—fake sparks become all too real Her Accidental Engagement! 

Julia Morgan is in the midst of a nasty custody battle, trying to prove she provides a stable environment as a single mother for her son, Charlie. When the opposing lawyer starts to play dirty, she has a few tricks up her own sleeve…one that involves the hunky, most eligible bachelor in town. 

As Brevia's police chief, Sam Callahan is used to saving others, so when he sees a cute, sassy blonde in need of help, he gladly plays hero. Not only will pretending to be her fiancé help Julia's case, it will also get his father off his back about finding "the one." But what happens when pretend doesn't seem so—well—pretend anymore?  

Michelle Major, Author of Love, Life and Happy Endings

EXCERPT:

Julia Morgan lit the final match, determined to destroy the letter clenched in her fingers. She was well aware of the mistakes she'd made in her life, but seeing them typed on fancy letterhead was more than she could take at the moment. She drew the flickering flame toward the paper but another gust of damp wind blew it out.

The mountains surrounding her hometown of Brevia, North Carolina, were notoriously wet in late winter. Even though it hadn't rained for several days, moisture clung to the frigid March air this afternoon, producing a cold she felt right to her bones.

With a frustrated groan, she crumpled the letter into a tiny ball. Add the inability to burn a single piece of paper to her colossal list of failures. Sinking to her knees on the soggy ground, she dropped the used matchstick into a trash bag with all the others.

She ignored the wail of a siren from the highway above her. She'd pulled off the road minutes earlier and climbed down the steep embankment, needing a moment to stop the panic welling inside her.

For a few seconds she focused her attention on the canopy of pine trees below the ridge where she stood, her heartbeat settling to a normal rhythm.

Since she'd returned to her hometown almost two years ago, this love of the forest had surprised her. She'd never been a nature girl, her gypsy existence taking her from one big city to another. Thanks to her beautiful son, Julia was now rooted in Brevia, and the dense woods that enveloped the town gave her the sense of peace she hadn't known she'd missed for years.

The makeshift fire hadn't been much of a plan, but flying by the seat of her pants was nothing new for Julia. With a deep breath, she smoothed the wrinkled letter against the grass. She'd read it compulsively over the past week until the urge to destroy it had overtaken her. She knew the words by heart but needed the satisfaction of watching them go up in flames.

Unfit mother. Seeking custody. Better options.

Tears pricked the backs of her eyes. Burning the letter wouldn't change the potential it had to ruin her life. She'd tried to dismiss the contents as lies and conjecture. In a corner of her heart, she worried they were true and she wouldn't be able to defend herself against them.

Suddenly she was hauled to her feet. "Are you hurt? What happened?" A pair of large hands ran along her bare arms, then down her waist toward…

Whoa, there. "Back off, Andy Griffith," Julia sputtered as parts of her body she thought were in permanent hibernation sprang to life.

As if realizing how tightly he held her, Sam Callahan, Brevia's police chief, pushed away. He stalked several yards up the hill toward the road, then turned and came at her again. Muscles bunched under the shoulders of his police uniform.

She had to work hard to ignore the quick pull of awareness that pulsed through her. Darn good thing Julia had sworn off men. Even better that big, strong alpha men were so not her type.

Julia gave herself a mental headshake. "What do you want, Sam? I'm sort of busy here."

She could have sworn his eye twitched under his aviator sunglasses. He jabbed one arm toward the top of the hill. "What I want is to know what the hell you're doing off the side of the road. Again."

Right. She'd forgotten that the last time Sam had found her, she'd been eight months pregnant and had wrapped her ancient Honda around a tree trunk. He'd taken her to the hospital where her son, Charlie, had been born.

That day a year and a half ago had been the start of a new life for her. One she'd protect at any cost.

Sam had been new to Brevia and the role of police chief then. He'd also been a whole lot nicer. At least, to Julia. He'd made the rounds of the single ladies in town, but ever since Charlie's birth Sam had avoided her as though he thought he might be the first man in history to catch a pregnancy. Which was fine, especially given some of the details she'd heard about his history with women.

"Julia."

At the sound of her name, she focused on his words. "There are skid marks where your car pulled off."

"I was in a hurry," she said and swiped at her still-moist cheeks.

His hands bunched at his sides as he eyed her bag. "Do I smell smoke?"

"I lit a match. Lots of them." Her chin hitched. "Wanna call Smokey Bear for backup?"

He muttered something under his breath at the same time a semi roared by on the road above.

"I didn't quite catch that."

Sam removed his sunglasses and tucked them into the front pocket of his shirt. He was almost too good-looking, his blond hair short but a little messy, as if he needed a trim. The effect softened his classically handsome features and a square jaw that fell just short of comic-book chiseled. His gaze slammed into hers, and Julia knew if ice could turn molten, it would be the exact color of Sam's blue eyes.

"You were on your knees," he said slowly.

Julia swallowed. "I lost a contact."

"You don't wear contacts."

"How do you.? Never mind." She bent to retrieve the bag of worthless matches.

His finger brushed the back of her arm. "What are you doing out here, Jules?"

Something about the sound of her name soft as a whisper broke through her defenses. She straightened and waved the letter at him. "I have a meeting in town and needed some fresh air to collect my thoughts."

"At the salon?"

She shook her head. "No. Hair dye doesn't require much mental fortitude. I have a real meeting, with an attorney."

He didn't ask for details but continued to watch her.

"It's about Charlie," she offered after a minute. "About my custody." To add to her humiliation, she choked on the last word.

"You're his mother. Of course you have custody."

"I know." She lifted the letter. "But Jeff and his parents think-"

"Who's Jeff?"

"My ex-boyfriend." She sighed. "Charlie's father." Sam's eyes narrowed. "The one who's never set eyes on him?"

Off to buy my copy.  How about you?  But wait, there's more.  Since Michelle's not here, I get to ask readers a question on her behalf . . .

I know first hand that Michelle is a sucker for pets.  She LOVES animals, and she and Indiana Jones have nothing in common.  One day when we were talking she sent her kids into my backyard to keep them busy.  Her suggestion to coax them...."You might want to go into Mrs. Bell's backyard.  I think there's some snakes back there."  And off they ran!

So here's my question for Readers, and I'll do a book giveaway of HER ACCIDENTAL ENGAGEMENT in either paperback or digital (US only for paperback please.) 

What's your favorite pet?  And when it comes to snakes, are you more like Indiana Jones or Michelle Major?

Michelle Major Contact Information:

www.MichelleMajor.com

https://www.facebook.com/MichelleMajorBooks

Twitter:  @michelle_major1