I love the Dangerous Liaisons storyline and I very much enjoyed rewatching this teen-marketed modern (in 1999) retelling of it. It holds up to viewing over a quarter of a decade later and the cast is amazing. We see Ryan Phillippe, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Reese Witherspoon, and Selma Blair when they were babies. (smiles)

I also enjoyed it because of the redemption arc.

Sebastian and his stepsister Kathryn are two of a kind. They’re awful, mean people, and seem to have no redeeming personality traits.

And for much of the movie, they remain awful. They do terrible things.

Until Sebastian falls in love and has a change of heart.

His last act in the movie is sacrificing himself for another person.

This is the only true good thing he is shown to have ever done.

But it redeems himself in the eyes of the other characters and in the eyes of many viewers.

He becomes the hero.

While his stepsister, the person matching him for evil for most of his life, ends the movie as the villain.

This is the power of one selfless act. It can completely shift others’ views of us and of characters.

The Cyborg’s Secret Baby is a nod to the original real life secret baby stories – the stories of couples who conceived in the last moments before one (or both) of them go off to war.

They were separated by time and distance and crappy communications and there was no way to inform the father that he HAD become a father.

When he finally could contact his love, he found out they had a baby.

Stealth, the cyborg hero of The Cyborg’s Secret Baby, and Zebrina, the human heroine, are also separated by time and distance and too-dangerous-to-communicate situations.

She fears he has died. He doesn’t know he has an additional reason to live.

And cyborgs fully mature in less than a solar cycle (a year).

The Cyborg’s Secret Baby

A fierce cyborg warrior and his curvy human female share a no-longer-so-little secret.

Stealth, a K Model cyborg, knows his passion for Zebrina, the commander’s human daughter, is forbidden, yet he can’t resist the curvy female. He craves her touch, cherishes her sounds of pleasure, would do anything to keep her safe.

When he’s faced with the choice of protecting his fragile human or living to see the next sunrise, he chooses her, always her, sending Zebrina halfway across the universe to safety. He doesn’t realize their stolen moments had consequences neither of them believed possible.

After hearing her warrior died in battle, Zebrina focuses on the last gift he gave her. Doing what is right for their child is her sole priority. She will put their son’s happiness first, even if that means choosing another male over the love of her life.

The Cyborg’s Secret Baby is a STAND-ALONE story loosely connected to the Cyborg Sizzle series.
It is also a Second Chance Cyborg SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, often-violent universe.

Buy Now:

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Cyborgs-Secret-Baby-Stars-ebook/dp/B07F2NK6D4

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cyborgs-Secret-Baby-Stars-ebook/dp/B07F2NK6D4

Amazon AUS: https://www.amazon.com.au/Cyborgs-Secret-Baby-Stars-ebook/dp/B07F2NK6D4

Apple : https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-cyborgs-secret-baby/id1404800721

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-cyborg-s-secret-baby

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/870968

A much loved one gave us an Aerogarden as a present.

This is a VERY small mini-grow station. It is so small we have set it up on our kitchen table (and we LOVE that this is possible).

It supposedly supports SIX herbs. I am doubtful it will do that but we plan to harvest regularly so, hopefully, it will be okay.

It was super simple to set up. Take it out of package and plug it in, turning the lights on. Then just pop in the seed pods, fill the reservoir with water, drop in a couple caplets of liquid fertilizer, and it is good to go.

The buttons will tell you when it is time to refill the reservoir with water. Fertilize every two weeks. The lights are on a timer. They should turn themselves on and off.

Those lights throw off heat also, which I like because our house is normally too cool for herbs like basil.

And it is fairly quiet.

I also like that it is portable. When the Dear Wonderful Hubby and I are away from home, we can easily bundle the herb-filled aerogarden up and take it to Awesome Mom-In-Law’s house (i.e. Grandma’s House – grins).

And I like that she won’t have to water the plants often. Just fill up the reservoir every week or so.

Aerogarden suggests, aggressively, that we buy pricey replacement seed pods, which I do NOT like. But, thanks to the interwebs, I think I have figured out a less costly solution to that issue.

IF the Aerogarden works for us.

It is too early to know that.

But I am hopeful.

(smiles)

My approach to life is…

Little bits count over time.

500 words written a day (2 pages) is 182,500 words a year. That’s over 2 long novels (80,000 words or 320 pages long).

1 piece of trash picked up in the neighborhood every day is 365 pieces a year. This will make a HUGE difference in how the neighborhood looks.

1 extra seed sown could provide the equivalent of a full day’s vegetables for 1 person.

Stretching scrambled eggs once a week with a bit of water could save the equivalent of over 4 dozen eggs a year.

1 reach out to a friend could make the difference in her day.

Using 1 old cotton t-shirt, cut into strips, for tomato ties keeps that shirt out of the landfill and saves us money on ties.

1 romance novel bought could ensure that series continues (I’ve seen this happen first hand. 1 sale can make a HUGE difference.).

Little bits can make a difference in the world. Don’t ever doubt that, my friends!

The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I spotted this beautiful flower hidden from our immediate view by lush green leaves. We had to crouch to see it.

Is there something your main character notices that no one else does because it is hidden from immediate view or semi-concealed?

This could be their love interest’s true character or an explosive device placed by an enemy or a safe concealed behind a painting or something else.

(This happens quite often in murder mysteries. – grins)

How does that hidden something change your character’s future?

I got sideswiped by administrative tasks this week. (Taxes – ugh) So the progress on the fifth installment of the Super Secret Project stalled.

But I hope to return to the writing cave tomorrow. (smiles) It IS my happy place.

Have a wonderful week, my friends. (big hugs) Spend some time in your happy place also, whether that is between the pages of a great romance novel, sitting in the neighborhood café, drinking a cup of coffee and watching the world go by, or in your sweet lovely bed. Visit your sanctuary and refill your emotional well. You need and deserve this!

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

I was telling the Dear Wonderful Hubby yesterday

that the world might be a giant ever-burning tire fire

but

the music being shared is AMAZING.

I don’t like all of it, of course. Art isn’t meant to be liked by everyone. But I like a lot of it and I recognize the creativity and the awesome wordsmithing behind the works.

There have been some great romance novels released also (often self-published). And poems. And wow about the rebellious graffiti art springing up all over.

Art persists.

And so will we.

(smiles)

I recently watched The Art Of Racing In The Rain and the plot is fairly predictable.

It is a dog movie, showing the ENTIRE dog’s live (so keep your tissues handy). A human dies also. Again, this human’s death is so predictable it is almost a fridge-like cliché (ugh).

What is unique is…

The perspective.

It is not only told from the point of view of a dog but this dog’s human is also a professional race car driver.

This combination is engaging. I kept watching.

Does the story you’re reading or writing have a unique perspective?

Tolui, the hero of Warlord’s Mercy, is the big baddie in the previous stories in the series. And he does some not-so-great things. He is truly trying to defeat the Warlord Brothers.

But he has a good reason, a heroic reason for trying to do this.

He more than earns his romantic happy ever after with Lea.

Other Chameles view him as the enemy.

She sees the warrior hero he never believed he could be.

* * *

Tolui is a Warlord in search of a planet to rule. He has been leading his fellow clones in a stealth battle, fighting for both control of the Chamele sector and the right to exist. The brave warriors he commands warrant respect, and they deserve the best.

That best isn’t the barren, dangerous terrain on Chamele 4. When Tolui crashes on that planet’s surface, he’s determined to leave it as soon as possible. The tiny human female rescuing him might be as beautiful and as wild as the land she inhabits, but her flowing words, trusting gaze, and enthralling submission won’t stop him from rejoining the war.

After many solar cycles of living alone, Lea is overjoyed when a tall, scarred, muscular warrior falls from the sky. Her savage stranger is strong and severe, and he makes her feel safe, an emotion she hasn’t experienced in a long, long time.

He also insists they must part. Before they do, she’ll show him the splendor of her home, and she’ll enjoy his big form, collecting passionate moments she can revisit when she’s solitary once more.

Every additional moment Lea and Tolui spend together increases the chance they’ll both die. Lea is being chased by female-hating fiends. Tolui is being hunted by the best bounty hunters in the universe. War will soon arrive on their threshold, and the blood spilled might be their own.

Buy Now:

Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0886K65F9

Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0886K65F9

Amazon AUS:
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0886K65F9

Apple Books:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/warlords-mercy/id1511995733

Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/warlord-s-mercy-1

SmashWords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1020349

(I’ve been using these single serve yogurt containers with holes in the bottom for over 5 years now and they are the perfect size for starting seeds. – smiles)

The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I have started a gazillion seeds in the basement grow stations.

Woot! It is officially gardening season for us. This is always an exciting time.

Thus far, we’ve planted tomatoes (large and cherry), eggplant, mini bell peppers, lovage, good king henry, thyme (creeping and regular), marigolds, zinnias, peas, parsley, rosemary, basil, chives (garlic and regular), French sorrel, ground cherries, chard, spinach, lettuce, horseradish, watermelon and beets.

The regular thyme has already sprouted (We cold stratified it and it germinated in the fridge. That’s how aggressive these dollar store thyme seeds are.)!

We have some green in the grow station!

We also sourced some Jerusalem artichokes/sunchokes. They are currently wrapped in newspaper in a bag in the fridge. We’re waiting until pea transplanting time (i.e. when all the snow is gone and the ground is workable) to plant them outside.

Woot! It is GO TIME! Yes!