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
I’m having some writer’s block and am stuck on progress to Stranger Creatures book 5 so I’ve been working on poetry today.
I’ve loved the ocean and swimming ever since I was a little kid and it occurred to me that maybe I should have a mermaid or selkie in one of my books, or maybe create an entire chapbook of poetry about them. There’s something magical about the saltwater breeze and diving through the waves. Water is one of the most important things so we have to do whatever we can to keep waterways clean so the fish can breathe and all the things we’ve never seen can keep on being.
Kylie was the victim of a brutal experiment that gave her telekinetic abilities. Coyote shifter Trevor doesn’t trust the psy but when his feelings for Kylie grow out of control, will he risk everything to be with her? When a deranged doctor has disturbing plans for shifters and psy, can Trevor and Kylie stop him, or will they be silenced forever?
Excerpt:
Kylie’s strength and fire as well as her obvious intelligence appealed to Trevor on a level he couldn’t describe. I can’t be with her, his reminder to himself lacked certainty. As soon as his time watching out for her came to an end, he’d get her out of his mind. Until then, how hard could it be to ignore his attraction to her? He was strong. He’d been on countless dangerous missions for the Shifter Enforcement Army and Shifters United. He’d been injured, lost team members, been down roads of grief and sadness that seemed to have no end, but he’d survived. A pretty woman with a smart mouth and intensely beautiful brown eyes wouldn’t be his downfall. He could handle occasionally working with Kylie. He could handle having a massive crush on her and he could ignore the fantasies of her that liked to invade his dreams. He would be fine. Everything would be fine.
A little more about the story:
Trevor Ryland was a minor character in Wolf’s Challenge (Stranger Creatures book 1) and in Tiger’s Last Chance (Stranger Creatures book 3). The gruff coyote shifter really needed his own story. For Trevor, nothing is ever easy but he’s tough and he’s strong so he’s used to persevering and getting things done. When he falls for a psy, he is convinced he can forget about her. Kylie Claremont, a smart, beautiful web designer turns out to be unforgettable.
What I’m working on at the moment:
I’m working on book 5 in the Stranger Creatures series. This will be Luke and Jordan’s story. I’m also working on book 2 in my Haven Forest Resort series. I have some poetry and essays that will be featured in different magazines and anthologies coming soon.
As the population expands, forests and waterways are torn apart mercilessly to make way for subdivision after subdivision, and for businesses that sell the pointless things we’ve been told to want and need. Meanwhile, the creatures that count on the streams and the trees to live and breathe are pushed back and bulldozed over because real estate developers have been taught that they don’t have to care about anything green except the money that patches the holes of their ever-depleting souls.
Erotic contemporary menage romance Anything You Want by Tina Donahue is now available!
A note from Tina Donahue:
Do you like chocolate? If you do – frankly, I’m an unrepentant chocoholic – then you’ll enjoy my newest release Anything You Want. When my editor at Extasy said they were looking for chocolate-related (and other treat-related) romances, I knew Anything You Want was perfect for them… and anyone else who enjoys two smokin-hot billionaires, a sweet yet feisty heroine, luscious chocolate, a decadent resort, and romance that can’t be stopped.
So sit back, relax, and enjoy this sneak peek… preferably with a box of chocolates nearby. 😊
Blurb:
At a hedonistic resort, her indecent cravings are about to be sated…
With the big three-o only days away, Jamie’s had it with dieting, exercise, and being alone. Off she goes to Wicked Desires, a decadent Caribbean resort where clothing is optional, carnal appetites rule, and food, especially chocolate, is celebrated. If only she had a guy to indulge with…
How about two? Billionaires Creed and Tav are checking out ideas for their new video game. The play features a resort where anything goes and an unlikely heroine as the star. Jamie’s luscious curves and sweet vulnerability make her the perfect type to base their game on. Since she’s also in IT—having put her dream to create candy on hold—she understands their lingo.
Hell, their desires are perfectly in tune with hers, whether it’s food play during meals, punishment in the discipline room, or a romantic evening on the beach.
When it comes to sweet delights and these two hunks…who says she can’t have anything she wants?
EXCERPT:
Pretending she was in full control of her lust, Jamie slipped her fingers across Tav’s palm. God. The heat and texture of his skin was as wonderful as Creed’s, his handshake also meant to embrace, not bruise.
Damn, did she want them to do her.
Both looked at her expectantly.
Why? “What?”
Creed’s smile turned mischievous, even a little tender. “What’s your name?”
“You didn’t tell us,” Tav said.
Right. “Jamie Parker. Nice to meet you. This place is something, isn’t it?”
“Hey there!” A redhead appeared at their side, wiggling her fingers in greeting. “I’m Francine. This is Karen.” She gestured to the brunette next to her then spoke to Tav and Creed. “We need two more for our nude volleyball game. You guys wanna join?”
Tav released Jamie’s hand.
Her spirits nosedived.
She waited for him and Creed to take off, leaving her to start the mingling process again. Sadly, they weren’t hers to keep. Both could go wherever they wanted. If she were a masochist, she could even tag along, like the fifth wheel, and cheer them on while they were play—
“Thanks, but no,” Creed said. “I’m busy.”
Tav nodded. “Same here.”
“No prob.” Francine offered a thousand-watt smile. “We’ll catch you guys later.”
Jamie struggled not to pump her fists, thrilled at how this moment turned out, except she didn’t understand any of it.
They’d actually turned those babes down. Why? And what were they busy with? Her? Seriously?
She hated being so uncertain of herself, but hell, having lived with nothing but rejection from the opposite sex didn’t make one bubble over with confidence. “Do you guys work here?”
Surprise flashed on their faces.
Tav spoke first. “No. What made you think we did?”
Not about to point out the obvious—that they’d focused on her to the exclusion of the other women—she shrugged. “You didn’t want to join the game. Might be fun rather than standing around here.”
Creed tapped his chest. “You don’t seem to mind.”
Already he read her too well. She forced herself to look at his face rather than his pecs. “I’m not into sports.”
“How about this place?” Tav grew serious. “Having a good time?”
She might if she hit it off with them. So far, things looked promising. “I have no complaints…but I only got here an hour ago. You guys?”
“We arrived yesterday,” Creed said.
Tav chimed in, “To look around.”
Yet they were still in the get-acquainted section rather than frolicking like Adam with countless Eves? Didn’t make sense.
However, the cryptic way they’d answered reminded her of the guys she worked with in IT. She always had to frame her questions carefully to get more than a two-word response from them.
“Look around for what?” She gestured to the room in general. “The facilities? Didn’t you plan your itineraries before arriving? The details are online, or you could have video conferenced or Skyped with the Wizard of Wishes.”
Creed scratched his cheek and fought a smile. “God, that name’s so dumb.”
She laughed. “Incredibly so. What packages did you sign up for?” She was betting on sex and all the kinky stuff the resort encouraged.
“We didn’t.” Tav frowned slightly. “We’re here to work.”
She took them in. Hell, she drank in every part of them, including the thick ridges between their legs.
Call her crazy, but those bulges seemed to have grown a little bigger and harder since they’d been speaking with her. “Work at what?”
Tav spoke first. “A project.”
“It was missing an element,” Creed said. “We just couldn’t get it right.”
Tina’s an Amazon and international bestselling novelist who writes passionate romance for every taste – ‘heat with heart’ – for traditional publishers and indie. Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly,Romantic Times and numerous online sites have praised her work. She’s won Readers’ Choice Awards, was named a finalist in the EPIC competition, received a Book of the Year award, The Golden Nib Award, awards of merit in the RWA Holt Medallion competitions, and second place in the NEC RWA contests. She’s featured in the Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market. Before penning romances, she worked at a major Hollywood production company in Story Direction.
On a less serious note: she’s an admitted and unrepentant chocoholic, brakes for Mexican restaurants, and has been known to moan like Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally while wolfing down tostadas. She’s flown a single-engine airplane (freaking scary), rewired an old house using an ‘electricity for dummies’ book, and is horribly shy despite the hot romances she writes.
Coyote’s Vow (Stranger Creatures book 4) is now available! Each story in my Stranger Creatures series features a different couple as they fight for their happily ever after. Coyote’s Vow is Trevor and Kylie’s story.
Kylie was the victim of a brutal experiment that gave her telekinetic abilities. Coyote shifter Trevor doesn’t trust the psy but when his feelings for Kylie grow out of control, will he risk everything to be with her? When a deranged doctor has disturbing plans for shifters and psy, Trevor and Kylie must stop him, or they will be silenced forever.
Excerpt:
Who is she? Trevor tried not to stare at the woman sitting across from Shifters United President Matt Blackwell but damn, she was beautiful. Her long, black hair had a purple, glossy tint. Intricate tattoos wound around her arms and lower legs. He wanted to run his fingers along the ink lines of every single tattoo. Her skin looked so smooth and touchable. Bitable too. Nope. Not appropriate. Not at all. He forced his descending coyote fangs to recede.
Blackwell didn’t introduce Trevor to the mystery woman, though, and that sent his curiosity into caution mode. The purple-haired beauty gave him a wary look before glancing back down at the computer tablet in her hand. Right. Business. Trevor had obviously interrupted a meeting. He’d stopped by Matt Blackwell’s hotel room to drop off a folder full of intel and surveillance photos. He needed to find an excuse to stay and talk to the woman with lovely dark brown eyes.
“Thanks for taking care of the research,” Blackwell gave him a nod. “Set the info on my desk and I’ll take a look before the meeting tonight.”
Trevor walked past the mystery woman and set the folder full of information on the small desk beside the coffee table. He stole another, longer glance at the woman. Her nails were painted indigo blue. His favorite color. The tattoos winding around her arms seemed to be in motion, encircling her in their safety. Weird trick of the light. Had to be. He rubbed his eyes. Blinked. The tattoos went still. The woman smelled amazing, like wildflowers after the rain, but she didn’t smell like a shifter. Didn’t mean she wasn’t one.
Scent blockers made it easy for shifters to mask their unique scent, to a degree. The blockers also did a fairly good job at hiding other smells shifters could detect, like fear, desire, and rage. Even so, Trevor could almost always detect hints of the slightly rancid, faint garbage aroma of the blockers, no matter what brand or what home recipe a person used. Coyote shifters could pick up on smells most other shifters couldn’t.
What is the woman with the willowy tattoos? Was she a threat to Blackwell? Maybe a rabbit shifter? Rabbit shifters were the only animal shifters who carried no animal scent, but their eyes…. Not a specific color, just a look. Plus, they usually liked to flash their double rows of horrifying sharp teeth upon meeting other shifters. Just for a flex. The rabbits could be mean when bothered unnecessarily, but mostly, they were pretty decent. The woman caught him looking again and gave him a little half smile. Her pretty eyes with long, thick lashes were definitely not the strange eyes of a rabbit shifter.
“I’ll see you later, Trevor.” Blackwell gave him a pointed stare.
“You’re alright here?”
“I’m fine. I have Nathan,” Blackwell gestured to his giant assistant and body guard who was seated in a chair in the kitchenette, reading a book.
No code phrases were used, and Trevor didn’t detect any signs of distress from the mountain lion shifter or his bear shifter assistant. Trevor nodded. Apparently, Blackwell had no intention of introducing him to the woman sitting with him. Nathan, grinned at Trevor, like he knew something. Fine, Nathan could keep his secret. But Trevor would get information, one way or another.
A little about the first three books in my Stranger Creatures series:
Each story features imperfect but determined characters who find the courage to love and the strength to survive in a world where there are no guarantees.
Wolf’s Challenge (Stranger Creatures book 1)
When temptingly handsome, powerful shape shifter Derrick dares shy, single mom Sydney to take a chance with him, will she rise to the challenge or will she run for safety, leaving him in the dust?
Bear’s Edge (book 2)
A boss can’t date her employee—simple as that. No matter how much Shayla wants to unravel a few of Grant’s mysteries and take her friendship with the shy, sarcastic man to the next level, she’s determined to keep her fantasies of him to herself.
After bear shifter Grant lost his girlfriend and three best friends in a fire, he did his best to shut himself off from everyone around him. Falling for Shayla wasn’t part of his plan, but after a kiss that leaves them both speechless and hungry for more, Grant can’t keep his desire for his boss under wraps any longer.
When things between the two of them get hotter than he could have imagined, Grant wonders if some of his darker desires will be too much for Shayla or will she embrace the needs he’s kept hidden for so long?
An obnoxious reporter and Shayla’s bitter ex have teamed up to chase down conspiracy theories that could destroy Shayla’s business and worse, put her life in danger. To find their happily ever after, Shayla and Grant will have to trust in each other and find a way to crush all the obstacles standing in their way.
Tiger’s Last Chance (book 3)
While working a case, Sean Whitman is tortured for information, drugged, and bitten against his will by a shape shifter. The fallout ruins his career. Needing a fresh start, he leaves town and opens a private investigation business. Learning to live life sober isn’t easy, but he makes it to the two-year mark.
When Detective Nikki Jackson with the Great Oaks, Virginia Police Department calls him to ask for his help as a consultant on a case, he’s captivated by her sweet, slightly Southern voice. In person, she’s unlike any other woman he’s encountered, and nearly impossible to resist. But could the sexy detective ever want a man like him?
After Nikki’s last dating disaster, the mountain lion shifter has sworn off men. Then she meets Sean, and with every second she spends around the tall, dark-eyed man, her resolve crumbles. Despite the undeniable attraction between them, Sean seems determined to push her away.
An investigation into missing refugees leads Nikki to the discovery of a radical political group’s horrifying plot for dominance. Traitors are embedded within the very organizations meant to keep shifters safe. As the list of people she can trust dwindles, she calls on Sean to help her unravel a web of deceit.
As Nikki and Sean fight for survival, his fear of losing her could become a reality. Will he get one last chance to show her he loves her?
You can visit my amazon author page for buy links and to learn more about the books in my Stranger Creatures series. (also available at other e-book sellers).
Advertisers selling specialized wrinkle creams definitely have a message about aging. They want us to fear it. They use words and images designed to make women feel we should hide ourselves from view unless we’re willing to spend a ton of money on products that give hope for unnecessary results. Those messages are bullshit.
We are all meant to grow and change. We are meant to share our knowledge and experience with those around us. We are meant to speak up and be heard and be comfortable in our skin because no matter what those glossy magazine spreads or greedy corporations and politicians want us to believe, women are phenomenal and valuable, regardless of whether we meet the current manufactured beauty standard.
The older we get, the louder we should shout our message because every trip we make around the sun is another year of insight.
Last month, I got the dreaded co vid which I originally thought was just the flu, and have been feeling pretty rough. My mind is kind of foggy and thinking hurts a bit so I haven’t done any fiction writing but I have been able to write a few poems. Poetry is easier on my brain right now because I can think on the image or feeling I want to describe for a few minutes and come back to it later.
The weather has been not so horrible during the later part of winter and I had planned to start running again. I hate treadmills and refuse to run on one. I don’t really know why. The treadmill just feels like my feet are pounding on jelly and I’m in a hamster wheel but running outside in the fresh air amongst the trees, past the lake, on the pavement, is so much better. This past month, I haven’t run at all. I barely have energy to take the dog for a walk.
Life definitely throws wrenches into our plans. Really, feeling a bit terrible is not the worst thing on earth. Thinking of all the things I could be doing instead of being stuck on the sofa too tired to do anything but too uncomfortable to sleep felt like the biggest waste of time. But why does every moment have to be productive?
Maybe my brain, though it feels foggy right now, is resting and quietly processing some thoughts and ideas that will be ready for me soon, when I’m feeling back to good. Either way, my pets have enjoyed the past month of my stillness. Yuki, my giant Great Pyrenees, has rarely left my side and my two cats, Gerald and Lu, have taken turns sitting on my lap. Hopefully, I will be running in the sunshine in another week or two, but for now, I will sit with the pets and write some more poetry, and also watch Lord of the Rings again and eat ice cream.
Not Ghosts, But Spirits (volume 1) is now available! This anthology features poetry, art, and other work from people in the women’s, queer, trans, and/or non-binary communities.
I’m so excited to have three poems in this beautiful, amazing anthology- Procrastination, I Can’t Contain, and The Night Below.
Christina Lynn Lambert 