Know that you are loved, my friends.

(big hugs)

You might be thinking, ‘Cynthia doesn’t truly know me. How can she love me?’

Do we EVER truly know another person?

I’ve known my Awesome Mom all my life. (grins) Yet I find out new things about her with almost every conversation.

And I love her.

Plus I do know some key things about you.

You read romance, which means you likely believe a bit in love, optimism and hope.

That, in itself, makes you worthy of so much love, my friends.

(more hugs)

I know you’re curious. That’s why you are reading this post.

I know you like connections. Again, you’re reading another person’s post.

And I know other things.

And ALL of those things make you worthy of love.

I also think if people can hate for no reason, people can certainly love for no reason.

(smiles)

And, as I’ve shared, I don’t lack reasons to love you. I have plenty of reasons.

You ARE loved. Know this.

Chuckles is a VERY grumpy wounded warrior. He is constantly in pain. And he is disillusioned with the world. One might say he has a beastly personality.

Bettina, aka Bait, has caused the disillusionment of many beings (most of them evil). (grins) She lies and she tricks beings…all for a good reason.

She is also Chuckles’ destined female.

Choosing Chuckles

A Cynical Cyborg Meets A Bad, Bad Female.

Chuckles hates all humans. In the past, humans betrayed him. That treachery caused permanent damage to his muscular form, resulting in a lifespan of pain. 

When the primitive D Model cyborg answers a distress call sent by a pink-and-blue haired, sparkly human female, he knows it’s a trap. He still has to respond to her fake cry for help. She belongs to him, is the one being genetically fabricated for him. But he plans to be her captor, not her captive.

Bettina, aka Bait, works with a team of females, snaring sexual predators in space, seizing their ships and transporting them to primitive planets. As soon as she speaks with Chuckles, she knows he’s not like the others. He has honor, is a being worthy of respect, of caring. 

But she can’t let him go. She has to trap him. His dominance thrills her. His deep voice evokes desires she’d never experienced in the past. She’ll risk it all, breaking every rule for one wild encounter with the male she calls Sir. 

Buy Now:

Amazon US: 
https://www.amazon.com/Choosing-Chuckles-Cyborg-Space-Exploration-ebook/dp/B07MXQ13WS

Amazon UK:  
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Choosing-Chuckles-Cyborg-Space-Exploration-ebook/dp/B07MXQ13WS

Amazon AUS:  
https://www.amazon.com.au/Choosing-Chuckles-Cyborg-Space-Exploration-ebook/dp/B07MXQ13WS

Apple Books:  
https://books.apple.com/us/book/choosing-chuckles/id1450000541

Kobo:  
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/choosing-chuckles

Smashwords:  
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/918618

It is Week 2 with the Aerogarden mini grow station and both the Thai Basil and the Dill are now taller than the seed pod stickers.

The Dill is growing so aggressively, as Dill does, it has outgrown the little plastic cap used to keep the heat and humidity in. It is now FREE, free to grow like it wants to grow.

(grins)

Every other pod, with the possible exception of the Thyme, shows signs of life.

I LOVE mass market paperback, the size that most Harlequin Romances and…well…most romance novels in North America were published in.

They fit easily in my hands and in my purse and in my luggage. I can fit four mass market paperback novels in one freezer-sized ziploc bag, making it super convenient to travel with.

(I prefer to read paperbacks when I travel because it allows me to disconnect completely and I can leave the books in Little Free Libraries all over the world for other readers to enjoy.)

I will miss this size of books. Greatly.

But, hey, the only constant in life is change, isn’t it? And I’ve read that change keeps our brains healthy and us feeling and thinking younger.

And the stories won’t have changed. They will still be wonderful escapes from reality.

(smiles)

Transition scenes are, admittedly, my least favorite scenes to write. I have to get my character from one point to the other and I’m usually in a rush to get to that second point. That’s the scene I really want to write.

But transition scenes are like bridges.

And we all know bridges can be super exciting. The bridge over a steep drop could be holding on by a flimsy and rapidly fraying strand of rope. The bridge could be guarded by a troll who demands a price the hero/heroine isn’t willing to pay. The enemy could be waiting at the end of it. A giant eagle could swoop down and carry our hero/heroine off while they are attempting to cross the bridge.

Make that transition scene interesting, my friends.

I continue to work on the fifth installment of the Super Secret Project and I continue to have fun with it. Which is a GREAT thing because the fun is the only thing I can truly control. And isn’t it great that I CAN control that? (smiles)

Have a wonderful week, my friends. (big hugs) Take control of your fun. Remember that birthday party you dreamed about as a kid? Give yourself a bit (or all) of that party. Eat hot dog and potato chips/crisps for dinner. Or wear a tiara for a day. Or go to the zoo and hang out near the monkey exhibits. Have a blast. You deserve that joy!

Cyborg Sizzle Escape Omnibus

Half Man. Half Machine. All Theirs.
* * *
While these cyborg warriors battle to escape their cruel manufacturers, they find the human females they are destined to love for all eternity.
This omnibus includes the first seven stories in the Cyborg Sizzle series: Releasing Rage, Breathing Vapor, Being Green, Crash And Burn, Defying Death, Chasing Mayhem and Jumping Barrel.
All of these Cyborg Romances are set in a dark, gritty, often violent universe.

Releasing Rage

Rage, the Humanoid Alliance’s most primitive cyborg, has two goals–kill all of the humans on his battle station and escape to the Homeland. The warrior has seen the darkness in others and in himself. He believes that’s all he’s been programmed to experience.
Until he meets Joan.

Breathing Vapor

Vapor is the most advanced cyborg the Humanoid Alliance has ever developed. He’s a finely honed weapon, a warrior without parallel, half man and half machine. No lock can contain him. No being can stop him. Whatever he wants, he takes.
He wants Mira Breazeal, the Designer’s daughter.

Being Green

Green, a cyborg warrior, cares for one being—his plant Windy. When Windy becomes sick, he’ll do anything to heal her, even venture across the universe to visit a worlds-renowned plant doctor.
He doesn’t expect to find love.

Crash And Burn

Crash was manufactured to be one of the best warriors in the universe. The cyborg has spent many human lifespans fighting the enemy. But, unlike his battle-loving brethren, he doesn’t enjoy killing. When he escapes the Humanoid Alliance, he vows to never end another life.
Then he meets Safyre, an infuriating human female, and he considers breaking his vow.

Defying Death

Cyborgs don’t show emotion. Death learned that lesson early in his long lifespan. To survive, he hides his fierce passions behind a stoic wall. He calls no warrior friend. He never admits to caring for any being.
Even the human female he’s destined to love.

Chasing Mayhem

Mayhem has spent his lengthy lifespan obeying the Humanoid Alliance’s rules. Finally free from their cruel control, the cyborg warrior plans to cause chaos. He infiltrates a remote settlement, provokes the savage locals until they want him dead, and allows himself to be captured by the sexiest little Retriever he has ever laid his mechanically-enhanced eyes on.

Jumping Barrel

Barrel requires an Expert for the Tau Cetian orphans. He’s looking for a female who is willing to commit to a lifespan-long role, who is comfortable with moving off planet, and who, preferably, has the ability to speak the offsprings’ first language.
His female, however, is looking for a hero.

Buy Now:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/Cyborg-Sizzle-Escape-Omnibus-Continuum-ebook/dp/B081VFHF1S

Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cyborg-Sizzle-Escape-Omnibus-Continuum-ebook/dp/B081VFHF1S

Amazon AUS:
https://www.amazon.com.au/Cyborg-Sizzle-Escape-Omnibus-Continuum-ebook/dp/B081VFHF1S

Amazon Canada:
https://www.amazon.ca/Cyborg-Sizzle-Escape-Omnibus-Continuum-ebook/dp/B081VFHF1S

Apple Books:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/cyborg-sizzle-escape-omnibus/id1488934271

Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/cyborg-sizzle-escape-omnibus

Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/992060

The world is a bit of a tire fire right now.

Many of us are feeling stressed and we’re feeling tired.

Some of us might be thinking about quitting.

Quitting writing. Quitting an exercise program. Quitting hanging out with family. Quitting day jobs. Or quitting something else.

Quitting is fine. Quitting often creates space for other things to happen. It can be one of the best things we ever do.

But also know that it is okay to take time off, to rest.

We don’t have to quit, if we don’t want to do that. We can put the writing, the exercise program, the family meet ups, the day job, whatever else on hold.

Many companies have leave of absence policies for exactly this reason. (Which means so many people do this, put their jobs on hold, they needed to put a policy in place to deal with it.) Most gyms make it easy to pause memberships.

If you need to take a break or have a rest, do this.

Life is not a race. We’re allowed to take time off.

(smiles)

The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I watched Gladiator II.

The first Gladiator was serious. It was well written. It was…well…not factual but it attempted to look historical.

This second Gladiator movie is silly. At one point, the Colosseum fighting ring is filled with water and stocked with very large great white sharks.

I often enjoy silly. Heck, I AM a bit silly. (grins) I wrote The Godrabbit. That’s a super silly concept.

But Gladiator II is also boring and predictable.

I knew this was a different movie when they once again killed off the hero’s wife.

When the wife or female love interest dies in a movie now, I brace myself for some lazy and uninspired storytelling.

And this proved to be true with Gladiator II.

They also killed the wife off for no good reason.

Because Gladiator II would have been a stronger, more interesting movie if she HADN’T died.

The wife was a warrior. She could have been a female gladiator. The hero might have faced her in the ring. Or fought alongside her. Or watched and worried while she fought and gained new urgency to free himself AND her.

THAT would have kicked a$$. And it would have been original, instead of striving to be a washed out copy of the first movie.

But, instead, the filmmakers reached for easy.

And they gave us boring.

If a solution in your story seems TOO easy, reconsider it. Interesting is rarely easy.

It takes a special being to befriend a mini dragon.

Dragons are fierce and solitary and they don’t show affection to many folks.

Xareni, the human heroine of Warlord’s Return, is a special being. She’s tough. She’s honorable. And she’s a little bit broken.

As is Ariq, the alien warrior who is determined to win Xareni’s affections.

To do that, he has to convince her mini dragon he’s not their next meal.

(grins)

Warlord’s Return

Ariq is a barbarian warrior seeking a war.

He locates that battle when he meets Xareni.

* * *

Ariq is one of Chamele’s top warriors. A genetic predisposition to fighting, paired with intensive training and experience, has honed the scarred male into an effective killing machine. He loves war, can’t live without combat.

The Succession Wars, however, have finally ended and the Chamele sector is now at peace. Seeking excitement and purpose, the barbarian warrior accompanies his Second to the Refuge, an outlaw settlement on Carinae E. He hopes to locate the battle he’s been craving there.

Ariq finds that conflict and more when he meets his fated mate.

Xareni owes the Ruler of the Refuge a favor. That’s the only reason she has returned to the settlement. She doesn’t like crowds or structures or a certain barbarian warrior who insists on following her everywhere. It doesn’t matter that there’s a connection between them, that he makes her burn with desire, that he looks at her with heat in his dark eyes.

She’s a monster and monsters don’t need anyone.

* * *

Warlord’s Return is a STANDALONE Alien Barbarian SciFi Romance featuring a determined barbarian warrior, an equally resolute human female, and an eyeball-eating mini dragon.

Buy Today:

Amazon US:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08FTJY7P1

Amazon UK:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08FTJY7P1

Amazon AUS:

https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B08FTJY7P1

Apple Books:

https://books.apple.com/us/book/warlords-return/id1527631786

Kobo:

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/warlord-s-return

Smashwords:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1038052

We have germination! Woot!

I see the Thai Basil seedling through the tiny hole in the algae-preventing sticker.

(grins)

Other seeds might have germinated also but I can’t see them through their holes.

(As shown with the photo of the Thyme pod. I can’t see anything in there.)

Which is one big drawback of the Aerogarden set up. My favorite part of gardening is when the plants first poke their tiny heads out of the soil. And due to the protective stickers over the pods, this isn’t easily seen.

But we do have life. And that makes me very, very happy!