Bear’s Dream (a Haven Forest Resort novel) #ParanormalRomance #EnemiesToLovers #ShapeshifterRomance

A snowstorm on New Year’s Eve brought bear shifters Ellie and AJ together but a secret threatens to tear them apart. When Ellie is in danger, will AJ find her in time?

#ParanormalRomance #RomanticSuspense #EnemiesToLovers #ShifterRomance #RomanceNovels #SteamyRomance

about the story:

Bear shifter Ellie Ortiz’s nightmare boss, Tabatha, stole Ellie’s clients then left her stranded at a hotel during a snowstorm. Ellie is tired, hungry, and mad beyond belief. The last person she wants to run into is AJ Shepherd, the man responsible for her brother’s death, but there he is, sitting right next to her in the hotel bar. Even worse, she discovers that AJ is not as cold and heartless as she once thought.

A new job puts Ellie in contact with AJ every day and things get… complicated. When Ellie ends up at the heart of a reporter’s plot to prove the existence of shifters, she and AJ must work together to fight their way to freedom. The survival of shifters everywhere depends on it.

Image description – a picnic table sits in the forest. On top of the table is a coffee cup on a saucer, and an e reader. Pictured on the e reader is the book cover for Bear’s Dream which features a man and a woman embracing. Below the couple is an image of a bear walking through the forest.

Excerpt:

“You’re pretty amazing. I hope you know that.”

Ellie’s cheeks got hot at the compliment. She popped the last bite of cherry pie into her mouth to keep from saying something stupid and gushy back to him.

The opening chords to R.E.M’s “It’s the End of the World As We Know It” played and spotlights hit the screen behind the stage. Colored lights all around the courtyard lit up in time with the music. She and AJ stood and cheered with the rest of the crowd. The drum beat and guitar notes of every song reached out to fire up the courtyard. The music washed over her and she forgot for a moment every other care she had as the light show dazzled her.

After the show ended, they both agreed it was time to call it a day and head back to the hotel room. AJ made some chamomile tea in the coffeepot and she sat down next to him on the sofa. They were halfway into an episode of The Twilight Zone when he turned to her. “Thanks for looking out for me today, and getting me into the woods so I could shift out my injuries. I would’ve hated to have passed out and been forced to go to a hospital by some well-meaning regular.”

“I wouldn’t have let that happen.”

He brushed a curl from her face. She didn’t back away. His lips brushed hers, softly, as if he just meant a sweet, gentle kiss, but his grip on her hips was anything but gentle. If only their circumstances were different, then she could kiss him all night long if she wanted to. Still, she couldn’t stop herself from leaning into the kiss. Guilt and desire went to war inside her mind and he drew back, as if he understood.

“Night, Ellie.” His hands were gone from her body but his voice rumbled around her, reaching for her.

“See you in the morning.” She stood up and walked down the hallway, refusing to look back.

What is wrong with me? Kissing him was not okay!

The quilt and soft sheets on the bed made a nice nest for her to hide inside while she forced herself to think about anything except for AJ and how he’d touched her with more tenderness than any man ever had. Including Darien.

More about the story: Inspiration for Bear’s Dream (Haven Forest Resort book 1):

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.

Purchase Links:

Amazon US:

Amazon UK:

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bears-dream-christina-lynn-lambert/1143427363?ean=2940160979106

Apple iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/bears-dream/id6448857265?ign-itscg=30200&ign-itsct=books_box_link

Kobo Books:https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/bear-s-dream

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1388315

Google Books: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Christina_Lynn_Lambert_Bear_s_Dream?id=psu8EAAAQBAJ

What I’m working on now:

After a looong illness, I’m hard at work on Haven Forest Resort book 2. Each book in the series features a different couple on their journey to happily ever after. I’m also working on book 5 in my Stranger Creatures series as well as poetry, essays, and short stories for various magazines and anthologies.

You can also find me at:

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Christina-Lynn-Lambert/e/B01MCYK0K7

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/christina-lynn-lambert

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christinalynnlambert

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15900423.Christina_Lynn_Lambert

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christinalynnlambert

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/cllambauthor.bsky.social

The Forests After Fire #shortstory #romance #lovestory #flashfiction #romantasy

There’s always a little bit of magic, even in the most ordinary things. In my flash fiction story, The Forests After Fire, a song, along with some help from the universe, brings two strangers together.

#shortstory #romantasy #romance #seasons #lovestory #flashfiction #healingafterheartbreak

The Forests After Fire

The weather was still warm enough for one last weekend at the ocean when Caletta’s world fell apart. Well, not her whole world, just enough of it to ruin her weekend getaway and take half the stuff in her house. He left a huge mess in his wake and Caletta was too tired to clean. She had to duck underneath all the questions that hung in the doorway. Numb habits— a gift from a universe that understood that healing isn’t instantaneous, like striking a match or pouring water over a fire.

Trees and people take time, and by the time the autopilot light burnt out and woke Caletta from her sleep-walking life-dance, the leaves had changed colors. The trash can full of microwave dinner containers was full and she found herself craving something cooked on the stove. She soaked chicken thighs in butter and seasoned them with parmesan, crushed red peppers, and oregano. Spicy and savory. How long had it been since she’d been able to cook with red pepper flakes? He had hated spicy foods. Dinner tasted so good she cried at the tragedy of eating it alone. Then she cried harder at how the pitiful sound echoed through her half empty house.

The memories and the emptiness burned. Her tears burned too, long into the night. By morning, her tears tasted like the ocean and she wrapped herself inside her blankets to shake off the cold. Things were fine while she took a shower and got dressed. Her playlist begged her to sing, not quietly like she used to, but at top volume, until the lyrics were an anthem. She was happy for a few minutes, but then, the walls made her mad.

Every room in the house was some shade of beige. He’d convinced her that the bland tone would go with everything. Then, he’d made sure everything went with the beige, no contrasts, no vivid splashes of brightness— including her. Somewhere along the way, she’d learned to keep everything on mute, including her thoughts and ideas, because only soft, gentle things got space and love, at least with him. No more. Time to paint the walls.

Caletta dug around the boxes in the back of her closet and found her purple jacket, frayed jeans, and multicolor Doc Martens. Dressed like the Caletta that had been forced into hibernation for stupid reasons, she went to Best Mart. On the way to the paint aisle, she spotted the clearance section for Halloween stuff. Damn, I missed my favorite holiday! She’d missed that time of year when the veil was weak and two different worlds walked together, for those who wished to see. After Halloween, the magic was softer, quieter. But the veil that she felt open every Halloween wasn’t the only veil, nor the only kind of magic that wound through what seemed like ordinary days.

She found a bracelet of tiny silver skulls that jingled and a necklace of red leaves and alternating white beads that gleamed like little snowflakes. The necklace didn’t seem to be in the right place. She checked the price tag. Definitely not on sale. She put the necklace in her basket along with the bracelet, anyway. As she walked down to the paint aisle, she heard a song she couldn’t place but found she couldn’t turn in the direction of the sound. She didn’t feel… ready to hear the whole song. She shook off the strange feeling and picked out paint colors that would make her house feel alive again.

Matteo heard a soulful song playing through static. He wished Best Mart would fix their speakers because the music was… he didn’t know what it was. He needed to hear more of the saxophone notes and the singer’s powerful voice, but the sound faded out completely. He went on about the chore of stocking up on groceries and finding everything on his list for repairing the damage she’d done to the house when she’d left. Ordinary chores and an ordinary day mixed with memories and pain, and questions he’d never have answers to, but that song stayed on his mind. Songs were for hope while the forests healed.

On a night so hot, his ancient air conditioner gasped and tapped out, Matteo dreamed of red leaves blowing in the wind, of snow falling, and soft bells jingling. He heard the song again and found himself on a path of oak trees, lit by fairy lights. Something purple caught his eye, just a flash, then gone before his dream-self could get a better glimpse. When he woke to a broken air conditioner, he opened his bedroom windows and memories slipped out. Fireflies ate the worst parts and lit them up inside their bellies, one last, bright, awful time, then flew off into the night.

That November, the red leaf wind blew quickly into the first snow. The Autumn Festival of Lights in Great Oaks, Virginia began at sunset and Matteo, though he was running late, still managed to snag a good parking spot. He texted his friends that he would meet them soon at the arena for the outdoor concert. Strings of colorful fairy lights lit up the trees at the entrance to the festival. The sound of something softly jingling caught his attention.

A woman in a purple coat crossed his path. Her brown hair and lovely green eyes stole his breath and his words. He could have sworn that he’d seen her before. Somewhere. But he couldn’t find the words to ask. In the distance, he heard the band introduce themselves and their first song began.

“That song!” she said. “I’ve been dreaming of that song for over a year but I couldn’t remember more than a few notes.”

Matteo nodded. “I’ve been hearing it, too.”

They found a seat together and listened to the band play. The snow fell on the concert and the universe wove her magic through the forest and trees, and into the two people who were ready to see.

I typically write paranormal romance novels with a ton of steam and suspense. Over the past couple of years, I have been writing poetry as well as dystopian, horror, and fantasy short stories. I am just beginning to get the hang of writing flash fiction. It’s been a challenge to condense an entire story into less than 1,500 words, but I feel like I’m starting to fall in love with writing flash fiction.

If you’d like to follow me on social media for my latest book information and excerpts, poems, contest info, book recommendations, and other fun stuff, you can follow me here on my blog. You can also find me at:

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Christina-Lynn-Lambert/e/B01MCYK0K7

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/christina-lynn-lambert

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christinalynnlambert

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15900423.Christina_Lynn_Lambert

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christinalynnlambert

Bear’s Dream #ebooksale #romancenovels #shapeshifterromance #bookstoread #PNR

This spooky October, my steamy, suspenseful paranormal romance, Bear’s Dream (Haven Forest Resort book 1) is on SALE for $1.99 on Amazon!

Get swept up in the wild world of shape shifters and psy, and leave the chill of October behind. Each book in my Stranger Creatures series, as well as my Haven Forest Resort series, features a different couple in their fight for a happily ever after. Bear’s Dream is AJ and Ellie’s story.

Image Description: graphic is of a picnic table in the woods. On top of the table is an e reader with the cover of Bear’s Dream which features a couple embracing as well as bears roaming through the forest. The color scheme is an ethereal mix of grey, brown, and turquoise.

About Bear’s Dream (Haven Forest Book 1):

A deadly mistake, a chance encounter on New Year’s Eve, and a secret that threatens everything. Will Ellie & AJ escape the danger pursuing them?

#PNR #ParanormalRomance #RomanticSuspense #shifters #EnemiesToLovers #ShifterRomance #RomanceNovels #BearShifters #SteamyRomance

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 despises 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.

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 staggered toward Ellie, holding his side. She caught him before he fell. Blood poured down the side of his face. She pulled the hood of his coat over his head to hide the blood.

People rushed over to them, asking if he was alright.

I guess they only care how he is now that the fighting is over.

“He’s fine. Just a little bruised up.”

The wolf shifter woman cleared a path to AJ and guarded his other side. “I’ll help you get him to the woods. My friend can stall the cops and do crowd control while you guys shift out your injuries.”

“Thank you. Seriously, thank you.”

The wolf shifter nodded. “No problem. Hurry.”

Ellie grasped AJ’s face in her hands and looked him in the eye. “We just have to get to the woods. It’s not far. Stay awake and stay with me. I can’t carry you. Understand?”

“Yeah.” His voice was barely audible.

An eternity later, they found a spot amongst the pine trees and bushes with enough cover for him to shift. “Hold on. Don’t shift yet. Let me pull these chunks of metal out of your head first.”

He cursed as she pulled one particularly large, jagged chunk out of his scalp. Blood poured down his face and neck. His eyes drifted shut.

“Come on! Wake up! Shift!”

He slumped over, oblivious to her yelling. She stripped him then dug her fingers into his stab wound. He growled and shifted into bear form. A sob of relief escaped her. AJ shifted back to human form, then, a split second later, he was a giant furry brown bear again. The bear walked around for a moment, dug his claws into a tree, then pressed his nose to Ellie’s cheek, making her laugh. In the blink of an eye, he was in human form again.

“You’re alright now?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You’re sure?” She ran her fingers over the places on his head she’d seen cut and gouged. No sign of any wounds. She looked at his eyes. He focused on her properly. She breathed out a sigh of relief. “I’ve seen more than one shifter be pressed for time to heal and they weren’t healed up as well as they thought.” His injuries hadn’t been superficial. He wouldn’t have made it to their room to shift in privacy without being stopped by well-meaning regulars—shifters and psy often referred to humans with no strange, extraordinary abilities as regulars—insistent on taking him to a hospital.

People who hated shifters lurked in hospitals, watching, waiting to destroy anyone they found out of the ordinary. Today, some ignorant haters had almost killed AJ, at a damn winter festival celebration. Nowhere was truly safe. She was still freaked at how close he had been to losing consciousness and never waking up. She knew damn well he would have died if he hadn’t shifted when he did. She didn’t want his light to burn out. Didn’t want anybody’s light to dim, really, but he was… She shook her head. A good guy. That was all. She didn’t want to see a good person die too young. She wrapped her arms around herself and her eyes teared up.

“Hey,” he spoke softly, “look at me.”

She met his gaze, reluctantly.

“I’m all right,” he assured her. “The important thing is, a group of angry men didn’t get the chance to beat the living hell out of a shifter teenager.”

She nodded.

He gently stroked her cheek and his hand came away bloody. “Your turn to shift.” She hadn’t felt any pain in her face. Probably because several of her ribs were cracked and her stomach had a fist-sized knot in it where she’d been punched. She stepped behind a tree, undressed, and shifted. B shook out her thick black fur and walked around a few paces in the woods. After a moment, she reluctantly shifted back to human form. Ellie stopped still when she caught AJ staring at her.

“Damn, you’re beautiful.” His appreciative tone wrapped around her. She gulped and ducked behind the tree to put her clothes back on. She emerged, wrapped back up in her bloodstained winter coat and clothes. At least the blood wouldn’t show up since everything she was wearing was black.

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. I’m currently working on the next couple of books in the series as well as book 5 in my Stranger Creatures series. I’m also working on writing more poetry and some horror and dystopian short stories.

Purchase Links:

Amazon US:

https://www.amazon.com/Bears-Dream-Haven-Forest-Resort-ebook/dp/B09XT1WX5G

Amazon UK:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bears-Dream-Haven-Forest-Resort-ebook/dp/B09XT1WX5G

Author bio:

Before I was struck with the unexpected inspiration to write a book, I worked in a few different fields. I was in sales for a while and did not enjoy it. After I finished college, I worked as a case manager helping people with disabilities. 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 down the ideas for a story that I couldn’t get out of my head. Finally, I gave in and acknowledged that writing is what I was 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 teenagers, a sweet, hairy monster of a dog, and two devious cats.

For updates, poems, short stories, and other fun stuff, you can find me at:

Amazon Author Page:

https://www.amazon.com/Christina-Lynn-Lambert/e/B01MCYK0K7

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/christina-lynn-lambert

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christinalynnlambert

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15900423.Christina_Lynn_Lambert

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christinalynnlambert

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/christinalynnlambert

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chris4lamb

WordPress: https://christinalynnlambertwordpress.com

Alternate Dimension Days #Romance #ShortStory #FlashFiction #LoveStory

When you’ve been under water for so long, coming up for air can feel strange. It takes some time for the senses to adjust to the sunlight. The reflection over the smooth surface looks different when we know what’s above the water and what’s below.

Alternate Dimension Days is a short love story about an alternate dimension that might contain the light and hope that tech product developer, Jenna Kalen, needs after swimming against the current for so long.

There must have been a hidden portal to an alternate dimension somewhere on Irongate Road that Jenna Kalen had been accidentally travelling through some mornings. The portal ate time and spit her into an alternate dimension where she ended up late even though she’d left on time. Logic dictated that the lateness could be explained by traffic and construction on the roadways, except there were almost always traffic issues or construction detours. She’d been working at Delgado Star Tech for five years and up until the previous month, though she’d constantly been busy as hell with barely time to come up for air, things had been alright.

The last few weeks had been different. Unpredictable. Some days, she was really productive and she and the other members of the research team made a ton of progress. Other days, she ended up at work, slightly late, even though she’d been so sure she was running on time, and things seemed uncomfortably weird all day. Also strange was, on what she’d begun calling “time warp days”, she never really remembered parking her car in the deck, just running to the elevator, trying not to trip and fall on her ass. Things usually devolved from there. Obviously, she needed a week-long nap, followed by a vacation, followed by more sleep but her boss had turned down her vacation request. He’d given promises of a promotion to the team who developed the highest profiting product but the vague chance of a promotion carrot didn’t get her revved up on time warp days.

On those days, everything and everyone around her felt like a song being played slightly off key, so close to being fine that the mystery part of the harmony that was missing made her angry. Everyone seemed uncanny and gave her a sticky, skin crawling feeling, except that one guy who worked in the software development department. His hair was dark as night and his eyes were deep, ocean blue. His muscular forearms were covered in tattoos that reminded her of… something, maybe a scene from a movie or a story she’d once loved. She’d only seen him twice but each time, he’d looked at her as if he knew her. He hadn’t spoken either time, just nodded.

Maybe he had fallen through an alternate dimension portal, too. Maybe he could see how, on time warp days, the windows were foggy and blurred the out sight of the apple trees lining the street and hid the sunshine outside so that when evening came, the blur of darkness didn’t cut through any more of the windows than the sunlight had. Maybe he was sick of practically living in the Delgado Star building the way she was on time warp days. More likely, though, she probably reminded him of someone he used to know.

By the time her stomach started growling, Jenna decided she needed a break from working on the latest project. Her teammates objected heavily at the idea of stopping for lunch but she’d had enough— enough of racking her brain to help create products that she didn’t care about, enough of listening to her three teammates pick apart each other’s ideas without a scrap of empathy for one another, enough of their arrogant voices, and enough of the whole damn building.

The sexy, tattooed guy with the coal black hair stepped into the elevator with her.

“Hey, Jenna. It’s been a long time.”

The sound of his voice, smooth and deep, wasn’t the slightest bit off key, not the way everyone and everything sounded to her on alternate dimension days, but “Do I know you?”

“You used to. I stayed here for a while. Hoping you would find me again.”

Ah, hell. Was he an illusion? Was she so tired and off-center that she was imaging actual people? He took her hand. The man definitely felt solid and real. And… familiar.

When the doors opened, the sun hit just right, lighting up the world outside. She stepped outside into the light and broke the surface. The portal dissolved and the man with ocean-colored eyes asked if she was ready to leave.

She held tight to his hand and they swam to the shore.