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
The zombie bureaucrats chant about the greater good
to drown out dissent
to smother the truth
With every step, the bloodless heartless horde
bulldozes its way into irrelevance
by Christina Lynn Lambert
Having many pointless, rigid rules within a bureaucracy can cause the bureaucracy to become ineffective. The larger a system becomes, the more inundated with rules it becomes until soon, if its administrators aren’t careful, that system begins to put forth most of its effort to simply keep itself existing. The people the system serves are treated as faceless numbers to manipulate. Rigidity causes fractures within the system until it either breaks or breaks the people it serves.
Mistletoe kisses, Yuletide passion and a sprinkling of kink – The Comfort & Joy holiday romance box set has it all!
Kick off the festive season with this red-hot celebration of holiday love. An aging author of kinky romance surrenders to the charm of her rock star neighbor. A selfish, cynical stock broker finds himself rescued by a spunky homeless girl. On her Dom husband’s orders, a devoted submissive provides Christmas service to his best friend. A gay grad student moonlighting at a sex shop discovers it’s definitely worthwhile to stay open on Christmas Eve.
Let Lisabet warm you up with a generous portion of comfort, joy and sensual pleasure.
Here’s an excerptfrom “Cherry Pie and Mistletoe”
“Wait! Just a minute. This is silly. We’re not teenagers. We need a bed.”
He chuckled. “There’s a sleep cubby behind the cab of my rig, but we’d be packed in like sardines. I actually think the booth’d be more comfortable.”
I giggled. “I did have sex in the back of an eighteen wheeler once, when I was hitching to the West Coast. A long time ago… Anyway, that won’t be necessary. Come home with me.”
“Huh? What about the truck?”
“Leave it here. My house is just down the road. An easy walk.” I clambered off the bench. “Give me a sec to close things up here and we can go.”
Bushy eyebrows knotted together, Dave looked doubtful. “You sure, Marnie? You wanna bring a total stranger into your home?”
“You’re no stranger,” I replied, turning off the coffee machine and flipping light switches. “You ate my pie.” I stepped into the kitchen to lock the back door and grab my jacket. “And I ate you,” I added , when I’d rejoined him in the main room of the diner. “I’d say we were pretty well acquainted.”
I left the little Christmas tree on, its lights twinkling through the fogged windows, but shut down the main sign. The neon Indian chief above the steel plated roof faded into darkness. Hand in hand, Dave and I stepped out of the vestibule, into the calm, cold night.
The wind had died and, as predicted, the messy precipitation of earlier had turned to snow. White flakes tumbled around us like feathers after a pillow fight. They landed on my cheeks, each one a tiny, icy prickle on my warm skin. I filled my lungs with the clean, frigid air, feeling more alive than I could remember.
A couple of inches had already accumulated, on the ground and on the hood of Dave’s shiny green cab. He was right; the tractor-trailer took up the entire parking area. I squeezed his fingers, then brushed my other hand across his groin. “That’s a big rig you have there,” I commented. “Must be hard to handle.”
“I’ve never had any problems,” he replied, reaching around my back to palm my breast. He grinned down at me, his curly hair dusted with glittering snowflakes. “Now where’s this house of yours? Or should I ravish you right here in front of your diner?”
Lisabet Sarai became addicted to words at an early age. She began reading when she was four. She wrote her first story at five years old and her first poem at seven. Since then, she has written plays, tutorials, scholarly articles, marketing brochures, software specifications, self-help books, press releases, a five-hundred page dissertation, and lots of erotica and erotic romance – over one hundred titles, and counting, in nearly every sub-genre—paranormal, scifi, ménage, BDSM, GLBT, and more. Regardless of the genre, every one of her stories illustrates her motto: Imagination is the ultimate aphrodisiac.
Let’s celebrate the #NewRelease of Amber Daulton’s latest romantic suspense, Harmony’s Embrace. It’s the long-awaited standalone sequel to Lyrical Embrace in the multi-author Deerbourne Inn series.
Reuniting with the man who broke her heart has never felt so right.
Divorced dad Birley Haynes is too busy raising his children and running his family’s music academy to start a relationship. Then Harmony Holdich, his high school sweetheart, returns home to Willow Springs, Vermont for Christmas and falls into his bed. She brings light and fun back into his life, but he can’t brush aside the threatening incidents around his workplace.
Harmony hadn’t expected a complication like Birley, especially so soon after the death of her unfaithful husband. With her life a mess, she plans to move across the country and start over. All she can offer him is a fling, but her heart yearns for more.
When the threats rise, how will Birley keep his children safe and convince Harmony to give love another chance?
Excerpt
Dear God. His heart slammed harder. He’d died and gone to Heaven.
Harmony stretched her arms above her head and danced in the middle of the living room. Her hips pulsated with the beat of the music. Twisty locks of her hair bounced around her shoulders. She winked, then glided her hands across her breasts and stomach, daring his gaze to follow.
Birley licked his lips. The organ pressing against his zipper throbbed. Sweat slicked his nape. He dropped his scarf beside her purse, jacket, and beanie on the coffee table.
“Dance with me?”
Her husky entreaty ricocheted through him like a ping-pong ball. How could he deny her? He gripped her waist. She slid her arms around him. They swayed, their bodies a scant inch apart. She nuzzled his neck, her breath fanning his skin. His hair prickled. The air crackled around them. He shuddered and held her tighter.
“I’ve missed this.”
His chest heaved. He struggled to fill his lungs with air. “Dancing?”
“Dancing with you.” Harmony stroked his clean-shaven jaw. “I’m sorry things didn’t work out with you and Susannah, but I wouldn’t trade this moment for anything.”
Oh, God. He kissed her and swept his tongue past her parting lips. Delicious. The taste of chocolate and wine clung to her breath. He nibbled and licked the smooth slope of her neck.
“Birley, yes.” She ducked her head and claimed his mouth with hers. Then she feathered kisses across his face. “I need your hands, your mouth, your scent all over me. Take me, Birley. Hard, soft, I don’t care.”
Fuck. Her breathy plea wrapped around his heart and shot blood to his groin. She eased back, drawing him with her. The wall halted her retreat, and he trapped her between it and his body. Their tongues dueled and teeth clanked. Heat sizzled through his veins and pulsed through every organ. Her body writhed against his. Was she trying to drive him mad? He snapped open the fasteners of her pants and slid his finger beneath the waistband of her insulated leggings. Silk brushed his skin, then he slipped into her warmth.
Amber Daulton is the author of the romantic-suspense series Arresting Onyx and several standalone novellas. Her books are published through The Wild Rose Press, Books to Go Now, and Daulton Publishing, and are available in ebook, print on demand, audio, and foreign language formats.
She lives in North Carolina with her husband and demanding cats.
Paranormal romance Tiger’s Last Chance is SALE priced at $1.99 USD on Amazon through November 15, 2020.
In the strange town of Great Oaks, VA, the road to love is full of surprises. Each book in my Stranger Creatures series features a different couple on their search for happily ever after. Tiger’s Last Chance (Stranger Creatures book 3) is Sean and Nikki’s story.
While working a case, Sean Whitman is tortured for information, drugged, and bitten against his will by a shape shifter. The fallout leaves him jobless, friendless, and dumped by his girlfriend. 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, accusing him of breaking into his ex-girlfriend’s house, Sean can’t help but like the sound of her voice, despite her ridiculous accusations. He’s shocked when she calls him back with an apology then asks for his help as a consultant on a case. On the phone, her sweet, slightly Southern voice captivates him. 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. But for some reason, despite the undeniable attraction between them, Sean seems determined to push her away.
An investigation into missing refugees leaves Nikki with more questions than answers. Her refusal to let the matter drop leads her 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, Nikki 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?
Teaser:
Her smile did awful things to his composure. He wasn’t prepared to love her. But he did.
Here’s a little excerpt from the story:
For the briefest moment, Nikki felt the depth to which Sean might be capable of pushing her. His kiss was crushing and brutal. His tongue pushed past her lips and his grip in her hair tightened. If desire were a vine, it would have wrapped itself around her veins and encased her heart. The heat between them flooded her. There was a sweetness, too, in his kiss, and the sweetness made her burn hotter.
A polite cough from inside the waiting car put a quick end to things. Sean pulled away and met her gaze. No words, but she got the message. She wasn’t alone. Comfort and friendship; he’d probably meant the kiss to comfort her and had gotten carried away in the heat of the moment. He’d carried her away with him, and she wanted to take him so much further into the unknown.
With each second, each step towards the waiting car, she tried to find reasons and more reasons to ignore her growing attraction to Sean. The number one reason to forget about the kiss they’d shared—relationships were trouble. She had plenty of other amazing things in her life, including her career, her volunteer work, and her band, even though the band rarely played anywhere because the members had trouble aligning their schedules. She didn’t need a man. Besides, he was probably still messed up over Sydney. Also, he was a regular. Or mostly regular. Not to mention he lived over a thousand miles away in Texas. She should tell him the kiss was a mistake. One look at him and she couldn’t bring herself to say the words. The kiss they shared had been anything but a mistake.
Also, Don’t miss books 1 and 2 of 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.
A little about me:
A few years ago, I read my first romance novel and I was hooked, so much so that I decided to give the idea of writing a story a chance. Love, courage, hope, and second chances are a few of my favorite themes. 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, and a sweet, hairy monster of a dog.
If you want to see what I’m up to you can follow me on social media at:
When questions arise about why something has to be the way that it is, answers like “well, it’s tradition, or that’s how it’s done because that’s how it’s always been done,” aren’t answers at all, just a lazy shrug and refusal to change.
Clinging to order in a world filled with chaos can feel like the only way to survive a storm, but what if the order being sought is a mirage in the desert?
What happens when rules that were intended to protect, expand without proper care or consideration? Rules and more rules emerge and ensnare. Video cameras arise in every possible space. People suffer under the overreaching lens of micromanagement. When authority figures over monitor and over punish, disaster strikes in the guise of a quest for order. Question everything, because the answers aren’t always truths, rather the answers given are often carefully crafted lies of laziness and ignorance.
I love the time of year when the leaves change and the air has chilled into a cold fog that promises magic and mystery. During autumn, I devote a large amount of time to watching scary movies, reading horror novels, and decorating my house for Halloween. Writing stories in the paranormal romance genre has been a wonderful experience for me because it has allowed me to bend reality to create strange, extraordinary worlds. I add a dose of suspense to everything I write because I have always loved to read stories that keep me wondering what will happen next.
For the past few weeks, I’ve been working on book 1 of my Haven Forest paranormal romance series. The Haven Forest series will be a subseries of my Stranger Creatures books (Wolf’s Challenge, Bear’s Edge, Tiger’s Last Chance, book 4 coming soon)
Book 1 of the Haven Forest series is AJ and Ellie’s story.
AJ’s mistake during a Shifter Army Enforcement rescue mission cost Ellie’s brother his life. Ellie wants to hate AJ but a chance encounter in a rowdy bar reveals he’s not the cold, heartless man she thought him to be. Accepting a job at AJ’s new shifter resort means the promise of a fabulous new career for Ellie. One problem- she can’t seem to forget about her attraction to him.
For me, writing a story is like pulling something from almost nothing. It starts out almost blank, except for a wisp of an idea, or a place, or a character. Nothing concrete. And then I have to stretch and pull on the idea until it takes on some kind of shape. Then I spin it around, and probably cry a few times and cuss at the blank pages of a notebook, until it come to life. Then I step back, and let it keep spinning.
Things and people that don’t have a voice are often forgotten and pushed aside. Sometimes people find their voice and find a way to shout loud enough to be heard. Trees, land, flowers, oceans, and animals can’t ask for what they need and so they are ignored, used for pretty pictures, and then demolished when they become inconvenient. As a writer, I like to give a voice to the things often kept quiet and words of hope when times are hard.
When threats escalate, will Jim and Calista succumb, or fight for a love they can’t deny?
Arresting Jeremiah, book 2 in the Arresting Onyx series is now available for pre order!
Blurb
Injured Parole Officer Jeremiah “Jim” Borden never expected Calista Barlow, the sassy blonde waitress he’s craved for months, to ring his doorbell. She slips into his heart—and his bed—but he’s obsessed with a gangland investigation that threatens his career and maybe even his life.
Calista doesn’t trust easily, not with a daughter to protect and the stalker who keeps calling her. After her violent ex-boyfriend returns, she finds solace in Jim’s arms.
Jim may have to forego his need for answers to protect the ready-made family he adores, but how will he and Calista escape an unseen enemy that is always one step ahead of them?
Excerpt
He hated to upset Calista all over again, but he had to know. “What were you thinking when you tried on the necklace?”
Air whizzed through her teeth. Silence stretched between them as they walked toward the diner. She sighed, her voice soft. “No offense, but I don’t know or trust you enough to let you in that much. I’ve made some mistakes—things I don’t want to talk about. Give me some time.”
Trust? He couldn’t blame her for that. If he demanded to know her secrets, he had to tear down the barbwire he’d erected around his.
No. That couldn’t happen. His life depended on his silence. Did her private thoughts and memories hinge on life and death too? His stomach twisted. Nothing bad would happen to her, not if he was around to stop it.
“What can you tell me?” Hell, only an asshole would ask something like that without opening up in return.
“The necklace reminded me of something I once wanted more than anything. Not the pearls itself, but what it represented. I couldn’t have it because I wasn’t good enough.” She pulled from his grasp and wrapped her arms around her middle.
“I’m sorry I forced you to try on the necklace. I thought you liked it. All women deserve something that makes them feel pretty.” The stench of oil filled his nose and he sneezed. He glanced at the noisy passing cars and pulled Calista farther back along the sidewalk, away from a puddle in the road, before a vehicle splashed them. “I understand about lack of trust and the need for secrecy. I hope someday you can tell me what happened, but I do know one thing, even if you never tell me. You were good enough. You always have been and will always be.”
Her blue-green eyes widened. She traced her fingertips over his smooth jaw, leaving sparks in her wake.
“You’re so kind. I almost believe it when you say it. God, I wish I’d met you years ago, Jeremiah.”
“Why do you call me Jeremiah? Everyone else calls me Jim.”
“It feels more personal, as though you belong only to me. I may have to share Jim with the rest of the world, but Jeremiah—the strong, kind man I’ve admired over the past several months—is all mine.”
Her admission branded him like a fire poker to his skin. If he were alone, he’d beat his chest and roar. No woman had ever wanted to claim him. No one but her ever called him Jeremiah.
He coughed, clearing his throat. “Friday is only two days away, but I can’t wait that long. Let’s get in my car and go to a park, somewhere private, to talk.”
“Talk? Is that code for necking like teenagers?”
“I’m game if you are, but I don’t want to be rushed. We’ll have time for kissing and touching later.”
She pecked his cheek. “We better go before the rain starts again.”
He grasped her hand and they hurried back to the diner.
Amber is working with the wonderful Maia from Silver Dagger Tours to host the release of Arresting Jeremiah. Readers, authors, and bloggers alike—they would love to have you on board for the month-long tour, beginning on October 14th.
There is also the option to review before the book goes LIVE!
Amber Daulton is the author of the romantic-suspense series Arresting Onyx and several standalone novellas. Her books are published through The Wild Rose Press, Books to Go Now, and Daulton Publishing, and are available in ebook, print on demand, audio, and foreign language formats.
She lives in North Carolina with her husband and demanding cats.
A group of fantastic romance authors has put together an exciting pre-holiday giveaway contest. Enter for your chance to win e-books and gift cards. Contest ends December 01, 2020.
