Author of the suspenseful, paranormal romances in my Stranger Creatures series. Also writing poetry, science fiction, and fiction. Sharing info about new book releases by different authors, poems, contests, and more
Water is life, as Audrey Hepburn says, and truly, water is life for all of humanity because we all need clean water to drink, to wash, to cook and to clean – basically, we need water for everything. Without clean water, things break down, people get sick, plants die, and fires rage out of control. The creatures who live in the ocean and other bodies of water deserve their waterways to be free of negative human interference like the tons of garbage being dumped wherever politicians please, oil spills, and factory waste and filth that finds its way into the rivers and streams despite the CEOs’ promises that such a thing would never happen.
The giant garbage patches stuck together in their own slime, moving through the ocean and smothering the creatures unlucky enough to encounter them are such a perfect metaphor for the greed and foolishness of ruling bodies of society discarding trash and polluting waterways simply because it’s cheap and easy and nobody can stop them. Just because something is possible doesn’t mean it’s ethical. When the damage grows to epic proportions, the harm is not reversible, and everyone suffers.
Arresting Benjamin (book 3 in the Arresting Onyx series) is now available!
With enemies at every turn, how will they survive with their lives and love intact?
Blurb
A one-night stand, a surprise baby, and a mysterious stalker.
Mechanic Benjamin Starwell can’t stop thinking about Belle Hamlin, the ballsy musician he slept with and skipped out on months earlier. He never meant to get her pregnant, but he’ll do whatever it takes to win back her trust and be a part of his child’s life. His desire for Belle drives him to be a better man, but he’s worn thin with a garage to run and his estranged sister dumping her troubles on him.
Belle’s juggling impending motherhood, her indie rock career, and a stalker who’s determined to see her fail. Even though she’s desperate to get her priorities straight, she pushes aside her past hurt and welcomes Benji back into her bed. She never expects him to slip into her heart.
When the danger escalates, they face the greatest challenge of all—protecting their unborn child.
Excerpt
Benji bolted upright, waking from a dirty dream that starred the sexpot beside him. His thumping heart struck his ribs as he dragged in air. What was that noise? The harsh pounding reverberated again from somewhere beyond the bedroom walls.Was someone banging on the apartment door? He pushed back the blanket and tugged his boxers on over his poor stiffy.
Belle moaned and dragged the bedding over her head.
He hurried from the room and knocked against the coffee table. Ouch! Pain shot through his big toe as he hopped to gain his balance. At least his soldier deflated.
Pepperoni hissed at him from atop his coat. Her eyes glowed yellow in the dim light like she was a blob of demonic, prickly fur.
The rude-ass visitor banged again. After flipping up the outdoor light switch, Benji unlocked and yanked open the door. Darkness surrounded him. Frigid cold smacked him in the face, prickling his skin.
Shadows cloaked the skinny man who shifted his feet at the threshold. Not even the faint moonlight streaming in from the breezeway touched him.
The stranger reared back, his eyebrows shooting up beneath his black cap. “Where’s Belle?”
“Asleep.” Benji swung his scowl from him to the empty light fixture. Had he taken the bulb? A shiver that had nothing to do with the cold shot up Benji’s spine. “Who are you? Why are you here?”
“I have to talk with her. I gotta.” He tightened his bulky coat around him.
“Come back tomorrow, at a decent hour. What’s your name?”
“No, I can’t.” He trembled. The scent of alcohol permeated the white puffs of air that escaped his mouth. “I gotta speak with her now. It’s taken me all night to get up my nerve to do this. She’s so damn stubborn.”
Hell, no. Benji fisted his hands. “You’re drunk. Get the fuck out of here.”
“Belle!” He gripped the doorframe, panic flaring in his eyes. “Come out here. Please!”
“Leave.” Benji shoved him back and stomped onto the landing. Ow! The cold corrugated metal bit into his bare feet.
The stranger snatched the missing bulb from his pocket and threw it before fleeing down the creaky stairs.
“Shit.” Benji leapt back as the glass hit the landing and shattered into countless shards.
The late-night caller dashed to the nondescript sedan in front of the building. The engine revved, the lights flashed on, and the vehicle sped away.
He clutched the freezing banister until the car lights disappeared down the street. His chest heaved. Heat lashed through his veins, combating the cold.
Pepperoni meowed and wove between his legs, rubbing him roughly. Tiny shards glistened in the weak light a few inches from her paws.
“C’mon, you.” He scooped the cat up and hurried back inside.
Amber Daulton is the author of the romantic-suspense series Arresting Onyx and several standalone novellas. Her books are published through Daulton Publishing, The Wild Rose Press, and Books to Go Now, and are available in ebook, print on demand, audio, and foreign language formats.
She lives in North Carolina with her husband and demanding cats.
Women are amazing, strong, resilient beings. We exist under less than equal standing, and in some regions, in horrifying conditions of inequality and abuse, and still, we manage to find ways to survive and support one another. We will not be silenced.
Creating the magic of a story with a world a reader can get lost in takes time and imagination. I love the challenge of writing poetry and steamy paranormal romance novels. I love to create characters and worlds out of nothing but a faint idea in my head. Discussing my own life and experiences presents a different kind of challenge because writing about myself requires my vulnerability and my willingness to step back to see what is and how it came to be.
I’m thrilled to have a poem (Wherever She Pleases) and an essay (The Hat in the Rabbit) in the Moms Who Write anthology, The History of Us: The Stories of the Women who Made Us. My grandmother Marie, with her cowboy hats, her bold personality, and her refusal to be pushed into a mold of submissive obedience, was a big influence on me when I was growing up. I wrote about how she inspired and shaped the lives of the people around her.
The History of Us: The Stories of the Women Who Made Us – BLURB:
How much of us is born into our DNA and how much of it is a result of the people who raised us? Our values and priorities and prejudices and passions are all influenced by people around us. The people who hurt us or built us up. The people who introduced us to new ideas or challenged long-held beliefs. They all matter, and they all change us. When we take the time to tell our stories, we acknowledge their influence on our lives. It can be healing and provide perspective on things that we haven’t fully processed. Introspection and self-awareness are important. Learning about yourself is a gift. Most of the time, though, stories are how we connect with other people. They are how we teach each other and relate and grow. By sharing stories, you give other people the gift of your insight. You are giving people important reminders and hope. You are empowering them through your words.
Purchase Link:
About Christina Lynn Lambert:
I write steamy paranormal romance novels as well as poetry. My romance novels feature imperfect but determined characters who fight like hell for a happily ever after. My poems are often about the havoc caused by greed, as well as the pain and joy of love, fighting to make changes in a messed-up world, and finding the good moments in life. I live in beautiful Virginia with my husband, two kids, a sweet, hairy monster of a dog, and two devious cats.
You can find me on social media where I share book info, poems, pictures of my pets, as well as funny and inappropriate memes:
Aiden “AJ” Shepherd’s mistake during a Shifter Army Enforcement rescue mission cost Ellie Ortiz’s brother, Marco, his life. She hates AJ with a passion until a chance encounter with him on New Year’s Eve reveals he’s not the cold, heartless man she once thought him to be. Her attraction to him takes her by surprise and she vows to ignore her feelings. When a new job puts her in contact with him every day, the heat building between them threatens to flare out of control. Her resolve to keep the sweet, sexy man in the friend zone is weakening by the day.
His secret could ruin everything
During a disastrous assignment with Shifters United, AJ uncovers some information that changes everything. Keeping the truth hidden from Ellie is killing him but he might lose her forever if he tells her what he learned on his mission. When Ellie ends up in danger, AJ will stop at nothing to save her. To survive, they’ll have to work together to stop a reporter who is determined to prove the existence of shifters.
Excerpt:
AJ held on to the door, shocked, nearly certain Ellie could be his mate, and there was nothing he could do about it because when she left Willow Hill, she’d be lost to him, forever.
“Bye, Ellie. Take care.”
“You too.” Her sad brown eyes shone with a hint of tears but held no promise of a possible future for them.
“If you ever need me”—he cleared his throat— “I mean, if you ever need anything, you have my number.”
She nodded and closed her car door. He wanted to exist in some alternate reality where the reason for Ellie’s sadness was because they were both going their separate ways, and the only way to fix the tears threatening to spill from her eyes would be to sit down in the car next to her. They could spend the whole ride back to her house talking like they had before about music and career plans and favorite foods. When they reached her house, he would take her into her bedroom and spend hours discovering what made her hot and what made her scream for more.
But in this reality, Ellie didn’t want him. She’d made a mistake in the heat of the moment, kissing him. He knew she regretted the kiss, even if she was kind enough not to say it out loud. He watched her leave the parking deck and drive out of sight. Forgetting her was going to be hell.
I am working on book 2 in the Haven Forest Resort series. This story will feature Rob, the leopard shifter Head of Security at the resort who had a small part in book 1. I will also be working on completing my Stranger Creatures series as well as publishing some poems in different magazines and anthologies.
About the Author:
Before I had the wild idea to write a book, I worked in a few different fields. I was in sales for a while, and after I finished college, I worked as a case manager. When my children were little, I was a personal trainer and running coach. During the evenings, when I was supposed to be studying for another fitness training certification, I started writing a story. Finally, I gave in and acknowledged that writing is what I’m meant to do. I love creating imperfect but determined characters who find the courage to love and the strength to survive in a world where there are no guarantees. My stories include a fair amount of sarcasm, suspense, steam, and violence. When I’m not writing, I enjoy spending time outside and finding ways to avoid cooking. I live in beautiful Virginia with my husband, two daughters, a sweet, hairy monster of a dog, and two devious cats.
For updates, info on contests, poems, beautiful nature pictures, and more, you can find me on social media at:
It seems that construction of new neighborhoods, mini malls, and businesses never ends. Any square inch of trees and green gets bulldozed and the displaced animals get blamed for being animals, for wanting food and wanting to survive.
Women and girls (all women and girls) should be safer than we are. We should have bodily autonomy, the right to choose, and the right to walk freely without being harassed. Instead, it seems, we have a lot of work to do, but we’re up for the challenge. We will not acquiesce to over-reaching authority, and we will not comply with the politicians and laws that press us to accept a continuous lack of equality.
AJ is convinced Ellie is his mate, but a secret could ruin everything.
Blurb
She had every reason to hate him
Aiden “AJ” Shepherd’s mistake during a Shifter Army Enforcement rescue mission cost Ellie Ortiz’s brother, Marco, his life. She hates AJ with a passion until a chance encounter with him on New Year’s Eve reveals he’s not the cold, heartless man she once thought him to be. Her attraction to him takes her by surprise and she vows to ignore her feelings. When a new job puts her in contact with him every day, the heat building between them threatens to flare out of control. Her resolve to keep the sweet, sexy man in the friend zone is weakening by the day.
His secret could ruin everything
During a disastrous assignment with Shifters United, AJ uncovers some information that changes everything. Keeping the truth hidden from Ellie is killing him but he might lose her forever if he tells her what he learned on his mission. When Ellie ends up in danger, AJ will stop at nothing to save her. To survive, they’ll have to work together to stop a reporter who is determined to prove the existence of shifters.
Excerpt
Ellie stirred at the feeling of strong hands under her back. AJ gently picked her up off the sofa.
“Sorry. You were sleeping so soundly, I didn’t want to wake you.”
She accidentally gave a little sigh at the sound of the growly bass of his voice.
“I’m gonna put you in the bedroom and I’ll take the sofa.”
“Okay,” she murmured. She must have fallen asleep before the movie ended. The warmth of his arms encased her, and she was so tired, she gave in to the urge to snuggle into his embrace as he carried her down the hallway. He laid her down on the bed then covered her up in blankets. He paused, stroked a hand down her cheek, then abruptly backed away from her.
“Night, Elena. I’m glad I ran into you today.”
“You can call me Ellie.”
“Ellie.” He spoke her name softly, almost reverently.
She closed her eyes against the desire to sit up and kiss him, to see if he tasted as good as he smelled. If she’d met him in another lifetime or in a parallel universe, then she would have guided his head down so she could taste his lips. Instead, she murmured, “See you in the morning,” and pulled up the covers.
Inspiration for Bear’s Dream (Haven Forest Resort book 1):
Aiden “AJ” Shepherd and his brother Greg were both a small part of Bear’s Edge (Stranger Creatures book 2) and the characters stayed on my mind. Eventually I decided that the Shepherd brothers needed their own series, so I had the brothers open up a shifter resort in the Haven Forest Resort series.
Check out the library scene in Bear’s Dream!
One of my favorite parts to write in the story was when AJ and Ellie escape captivity and seek sanctuary in a small library. Libraries have always seemed to be so much more than just a place with books to borrow. Libraries are safe places. They are places to let the imagination run free. Within the buildings full of books and helpful librarians, there are computers, connections to jobs, lifelines to help, opportunities for learning, and endless wonderful possibilities.
What’s next in the Haven Forest Resort series:
I am working on book 2 in the Haven Forest Resort series. This story will feature Rob, the leopard shifter Head of Security at the resort who had a small part in book 1. I will also be working on completing my Stranger Creatures series as well as publishing some poems in different magazines and anthologies.
About the Author:
Before I had the wild idea to write a book, I worked in a few different fields. I was in sales for a while, and after I finished college, I worked as a case manager. When my children were little, I was a personal trainer and running coach. During the evenings, when I was supposed to be studying for another fitness training certification, I started writing a story. Finally, I gave in and acknowledged that writing is what I’m meant to do. I love creating imperfect but determined characters who find the courage to love and the strength to survive in a world where there are no guarantees. My stories include a fair amount of sarcasm, suspense, steam, and violence. When I’m not writing, I enjoy spending time outside and finding ways to avoid cooking. I live in beautiful Virginia with my husband, two daughters, a sweet, hairy monster of a dog, and two devious cats.
The time has come to stand up, join hands, scream in voices made of fire, and refuse to relent until we have healthcare access for everyone, bodily autonomy, equal pay, more affordable childcare options, longer maternity and paternity leave times, and everything else we need that we’ve been denied.
Christina Lynn Lambert 