Home

Friday, September 19, 2025

Real-World Distractions

  

 A Bodyguard’s Vacation

Some say authors can escape into their own fantasy worlds and leave the real world and its problems behind when they start typing. Every author can open the door to their imagination and forget about what’s going on around them.

Partly true. When I sit down at my keyboard and silence surrounds me, I relax and write. The moment I slip into the role of storyteller and guide my characters—the good ones and the bad ones—on their adventures, I leave my reality behind.

Partly not true. Recent political developments, rising tensions between states, and wars or imminent threats that country leaders utter on TV or social media do concern me. I’m not living under a rock; I think about what could happen within the next month or year. There are real conflicts around the globe that could affect my country, my family, and my friends. The world is not a safe place where I can live carefree. I think about the daily news and what I would do if conflicts got closer to my country's border.

Political developments have consequences. Some days, I can push away the bitter thoughts of war; on others, the news frightens me so much that I can’t write a single line. My recent work in progress has remained in that state for about a year. Usually, I’m a fast writer. I know my characters and the storyline, and I can adjust scenes as I go. This year, however, it hasn’t been so easy. Although the storyline is clear, I don’t make real progress because I’m not truly writing. I write scenes and take notes, but that’s not the real writing I want to get done.

I want to escape reality, yet with every news cycle, events keep getting worse. Maybe I’ll finish the new book next year. Maybe I will make peace with a situation I can’t change and hope for the best.

To end on a lighter note, here’s a scene from A Bodyguard’s Vacation, the third book in the series that I really loved writing.

A loving couple, a boat trip gone wonky, pirates on the loose.

 

Excerpt

The airport concourse at Nassau, Bahamas, was filled with hundreds of joyous people on their way to a warm and sunny vacation, waiting for their baggage. Even though they were there for leisure time, Jazmin felt the slight tension running through Ethan’s body like an electric undercurrent as he scrutinized the throng. His profession as a bodyguard demanded constant alertness while working and was hard to switch off. She had an arm around his waist, feeling wonderful and at ease, and hoped she could persuade Ethan to loosen up a bit. Ten days of sun and fun lay ahead of them. Ryan, his colleague and best friend, took his backpack off the belt to place it beside Ethan’s larger suitcase on the cart.

“That’s all?” Jazmin asked, amused.

“Hey, what do I need besides board shorts and some underwear?” Ryan made a face and ran a hand through his short-cropped blond hair. He held up a finger. “Okay, I brought one dress shirt—a really good one—and pants. But that’s about it. I’m here to dive and swim and sunbathe. And, well, you know, get my lady between the sheets.”

He wiggled his brows and Ethan inhaled noisily. “Thanks for not over-sharing.” He looked out for the second suitcase while Ryan grimaced.

“Thanks for understanding that my fun might be different from yours.” Ryan pulled out a Zippo and started playing with it. The distinct sound of opening and closing the brass lighter attracted the attention of a young boy until his mother gathered her luggage and pulled him away. “Tell me, Ethan, you got one, too, don’t you?”

“Yep.” Ethan stretched his six feet three inch frame to scrutinize the entire luggage belt, but still couldn’t make out Jazmin’s suitcase.

“You both don’t smoke.” Jazmin looked from Ryan to Ethan, who pulled his Zippo out. It was a matte-finished black one with the small sign of the US Army. “So why carry a lighter?”

Ryan took it for comparison to his shiny silvery one and gave her the look. “You never know when a breathtaking woman comes along and wants you to give her… fire.”

Jazmin rolled her eyes, giggling. “Oh, I see where this is going. But honestly, is this still a subject these days? I mean, women no longer depend on men offering fire.”

“Ah, depends on the fire, my beautiful lady.” Ryan gave a gamy grin.

Jazmin boxed his upper arm and he pretended to be hurt.

“All soldiers get one when they begin their training,” Ethan said without turning. He shrugged. “And you just carry it with you—like your keys, penknife, pants.”

“Yeah,” Ryan agreed, waving a finger at his friend. “Better not lose your pants, pal.”

“You’re making this up.” Jazmin laughed.

“No. Zippo produced these lighters especially for the army. They catch fire everywhere because they don’t work with gas. They’ve got a wick that is constantly powered with fuel, so it keeps the flame steady even if it’s windy, wet or whatever.” Ethan showed the construction to Jazmin, then put it back in his pocket.
Ryan upturned his eyes. “I just wanted you to show me yours—which is a great one, by the way—and not get a history lesson.”

“The lesson was for Jazmin,” Ethan replied evenly. “Not for you. I know you wouldn’t listen.”

Ryan opened his arms wide. “I love you, too, pal!” He laughed when the people around him looked irritated or grinned. “You don’t have to make it so difficult for me!”

Ethan’s smile got wider. “You don’t have to tell everyone around that the kid has arrived.”

“I’m like that.” Ryan nudged Ethan’s side. “Come on, you knew what to expect when you accepted Cheryl and me on this trip.”

“I had hopes that—maybe just for her—you’d behave like an adult.”

“Been there, done that. Didn’t like it. Boring. And don’t—” he nudged him harder—”behave like Walter. I’m on vacation. I don’t need another boss.”

“Well, I see what you do when you got none around.”

“Right, that opens up a lot of possibilities.” He looked as if he was actually pondering something serious. “Can’t wait for Cheryl to arrive.”

“Does she take Walter’s place?” Ethan chuckled. “As far as I remember she at least looks better.”

“She’s not my boss, you crank.” He playfully boxed Ethan’s chest. “She loves me. We’ve been together for a year already. If she had trouble—”

“Being a boss?” Laughing, Ethan evaded Ryan’s attempt to punch him and brought up his arms in defense. “Yeah, next time you should take a vacation with Walter.”

“You’d want to see that, hmm?” Ryan cocked his head. “I remember he spent three weeks with me… on a boat. We were pretty close.”

“I remember him taking a vacation soon afterward.” Jazmin lowered her chin while she arched her brows. “Alone.”

“But seriously,” Ryan went on, making a face in Jazmin’s direction, “if Cheryl wanted Mr. Super-serious, she’d have taken one of those manager-boss guys she works for.”

Jazmin looked at the emptying luggage belt. “My suitcase isn’t here. Damn it.”

 * * *

Find my books at annraina.com and in online bookstores.

Follow me on Instagram: ann_raina_author

Thursday, September 18, 2025

7 Days!

Only 7 days away until Temptation is out in the wild! It's book two in the Black Phantom series. Book 1 - Obsession - came out in July. 

And only 4 days until I'm on a jet heading to Australia to visit my friend Rhian Cahill. AND, I'll be at RARE Melbourne. Exciting times ahead and I'm looking forward to visiting Rhian again. We've become close over the years and being on the other side of the planet doesn't hinder our friendship at all! Love that girl.

I'm also excited for the release of Temptation. Rourke is one hot guy. Morally grey, powerful, used to getting what he wants. But Ellie has a way of bringing him to his knees. I hope you preorder Temptation so it drops into your e-reader on September 25. I will also be doing a paperback.

Book three comes out later in the year, and if you readers love the Black Phantom series...there could be more! 


A man used to getting what he wants, Tom Rourke doesn’t take being discarded lightly.

Smarting from Ellie’s rejection, he still can’t get her out of his head. She’d roused feelings in him he didn’t know existed. But they are no longer together. Refocusing his energy into ownership of the Black Phantom, he meets Heather Canyon. She casts an erotic web, but Rourke must resist her – or does he? – if she is to be his manager.

Rourke’s proposition is the perfect opportunity for dominatrix Heather to start anew and let her talents shine.

Ellie thought ending things with Rourke, her boss, was the answer to her obsession with him. Her feelings for him run so much deeper than she thought possible. He is everything she desires, but he’s her boss.

The more time Ellie and Rourke spend apart, the greater their longing for each other grows, culminating in a decision that could alter both of their futures.


Keep up to date on all my news and book releases by signing up for my NEWSLETTER. You'll also receive a complimentary Reading Tracker as a gift for joining the Shananigators! 

WWW.SHANAGRAY.COM




Monday, September 15, 2025

The cancelled anthology

My time travel novelette is finally launching in 6 weeks after being on the back burner for over a year! This little novelette has been on quite the journey, now launching as a standalone, even though it wasn’t originally written this way.

The earliest complete version was crafted to sit at the end of specific romance pieces in an anthology, a time travel novelette that (with the consent of the other authors) would incorporate elements from the stories that come before. I’d never seen this done in multi-author anthologies, and thought it would be an interesting exploration of craft.

The actual writing had to be done in three parts. First, I had to write my story up to around the halfway/two-thirds mark to establish the concept and premise. Then I had to wait until all the other stories were written before I could work their elements into my draft and figure out how to get to the end. Finally, I had to provide my fellow anthology-mates with elements from my story to incorporate into the background of theirs to support the time travel concept of my protagonist visiting their settings in the past.

We made it all the way to collating the anthology, hiring an editor, and designing the cover. And then we discovered why you don’t see this kind of thing done in multi-author anthologies.

Days before we were due to prep for go, we encountered a situation where the only way forward for us was to cancel the anthology. It was oddly fitting for Until We Met Again, since the story itself deals with things that suddenly disappear from your life.

This is an abridged version of a post that first appeared on jlperidot.com. You can find the full article on my blog.

Until We Met Again – a time travel novelette

A time traveller absconds to the past in search of her lost love.

One word: my name. A call from Origin through the neural lace grafted to my brain and nerves, connecting me to another place in another time. A reminder of what I’m here to do.

I clutch a bottle cap; its sharp metal edges ground me in the present. It’s funny, don’t you think, to consider this moment the present, as if the past and future I came from aren’t supposed to exist? If you were here, I’d ask. You’d smile and kiss my forehead and say you love my nonsense questions.

But you’re not here. They want me to forget you ever were.

✨ Preorder now 


JL Peridot writes love letters to the future on devices from the past. Visit jlperidot.com for the full catalogue of her work or subscribe to Dot Club for a collection of her tiny stories.

Saturday, September 13, 2025

Wolf Magic

I’ve always admired wolves. From afar. Until I recently had the chance to visit the Sedona Wolf Sanctuary with my husband.

Being inside the wolf enclosure and having wolves roam around and approach me was a magical experience. I got wolf kisses, and I bonded with Larka, the alpha she-wolf. We have a lot in common. Both of us are older females with arthritis.


Larka keeps the pack together. They can’t howl until she says it’s okay to do so. Her story has a happy ending, but it wasn’t always that way. She was abused by a man who previously owned her. She found her mate at the sanctuary, but Dakota sadly died. She almost didn’t survive her loss, and now she has decided to spend her remaining years as a lone wolf, but she still wields strength.

I have a lot of respect for her. She’s a survivor.

I’ve been dealing with a lot of stress and health issues lately, and visiting this mystical place was just what I needed. Along with hanging out with wolves, the group and I performed a sage smudging around a medicine wheel. The wolf sanctuary is situated on a spot with mystical importance to Native Americans, and that feeling was palpable.

My soul has been healed.


Enter a world of enchantment and passion

 

Friday, September 12, 2025

Unearthly Desire - NEW Release - Book 5 Outlawed Realm - Erotic Urban Fantasy Romance - Enemies to Lovers - Non-Stop Danger - Terrifying Monsters - A Shocking Secret #TinaDonahueMonthlyNewsletter #Giveaways #EyeCandy #EroticUrbanFantasyRomance

 



Unearthly Desire

Book Five Outlawed Realm
Erotic Urban Fantasy
Enemies to Lovers - Non-Stop Danger
Terrifying Monsters
A Shocking Secret

They’re fighting for their lives, freedom, and love…in the realm of the dead.

Eeete, a pleasure slave, thought she’d found freedom in an underwater colony until a hated Palace guard abducted her for his carnal pleasure. Swept with him through a portal into E3, she faces danger from the deceased, grotesque monsters, and a dimension where few things are as they seem and nothing can be trusted…including her own desire.

Running from sure death, she comes upon Makam, another guard, sentenced to E3 for treason against their dimension’s depraved ruler. She’s determined to hate him—as she does all men who imprisoned her in the Palace—but survival depends on them fighting together.

Curious about Makam’s seeming honor and tempted by his untamed allure, she soon falls under his sensual spell, their nights filled with unrestrained passion, their days spent trying to stay alive…an increasingly impossible struggle.

When all appears lost, an unexpected chance allows hope for them to flee together toward a promising future.

Until a shocking secret threatens to tear them apart forever.



TRAILER TRAILER


 


TEASERS







What else will you learn about in my newsletter?

CLICK HERE TO READ



Thanks so much for reading today's post. Hope you enjoyed it!

Follow me on Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tina-donahue


Thursday, September 11, 2025

It takes a real woman to manage brass balls

Years ago, I was fascinated with pawn shops. I’ve never been in one, but I love the idea of them. So much history, so much personal angst. Or happiness waiting to be passed on to someone new. Either way, I always thought they would be fun places to explore. However, I gave little thought to they’re also being a business. This is something Evelyn Collins isn’t able to forget.


Blurb:
As family wage earner and pawn shop manager, Evelyn Collins thinks she's kept a good watch on everything in her corner of the world. That is, until Harve Liddell, son of a local crime family, and Detective Joshua Rosen step up to show her just how much she's missed.

Evelyn Collins inherits the family pawn shop and thinks things are starting to change for the better. Now, if she could keep her younger brother out of trouble, and handle two surprising suitors, things would be great.

Harve Liddell suffers from the reputation of his family's involvement in organized crime, but Evvie Collins has always treated him as a friend. Far from friendship, he wants to set her blood afire with passion. When Harve's ready to move, he finds Detective Joshua Rosen is, too.

For years Josh Rosen has wanted Evelyn in his bed, but stayed away because Jews were second class citizens in Minneapolis. He's no longer willing to wait. The only thing blocking him is Harve Liddell, and the trouble Josh is sure he's embroiled Evelyn's brother in. He must find a way to trap Liddell without causing Evelyn pain before he can claim her.

Buy link:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Unlikely-Bedfellows-Publishing-Menage-Everlasting-ebook/dp/B009HA6D9Q/


Excerpt:

Nudging her to her back, he slipped between her legs as though he’d always belonged there. Maybe he had. God knew, he’d dreamed about being there long enough. Lacing his fingers with hers, he positioned their hands beside her head. No need to use his hand to lead his cock to her pussy. It found the sweet spot like an arrow aimed by an expert archer.

“This might hurt,” he said.

 “It won’t,” she said back, with such conviction he had a moment’s doubt that she was a virgin. But then, he knew his Evvie, and she was as pure as an angel.

 “Spread your legs as far as you can. And try to relax.”

 “Harve Liddell, you’re inspiring a lot of things right now, but relaxation isn’t one of them.”

 He laughed—a first for him, buck naked and between a woman’s thighs. He took her mouth at the same time his cock sunk into the heat and tightness of her pussy.

 He had to push, because her muscles resisted the necessary stretching to accommodate him. She wasn’t kidding—she was anxious.

 He swept kisses up her jaw to her ear. He nibbled the lobe and then whispered, “Relax, sweetheart. Let my cock in.” He flexed his hips, trying like hell not to hurt her any more than need be yet feeling the strain himself as each moment passed. It was all he could do not to drive inside and relieve his own urges.

 “Feel my dick, sliding inside you?”

“Yes,” she murmured.

 “It wants you. I want you. Your cunt wants my dick, too. God designed us that way.” Her breath hitched enough for him to feel it, and she squeezed his hands.

 “You’re so sexy. Your tits pressing my chest are driving me crazy.”

 The sex talk worked. She raised her hips to push against him and accepted him an inch more. With the next probe, her hymen blocked his way.

 “There’s no easy way to do this,” he whispered and thrust hard.

 “Oh, my God!”

 He was there, deep inside, surrounded by heat and her natural moisture. He took a needed deep breath, letting her adjust to his size. “It’ll be better in just a minute. I’m sorry I hurt you.”

 Remarkably, she wrapped her legs around his butt and pushed up. “No, I meant, ‘Oh, my God’ that feels incredible. You’re inside me so far, it’s like we’re one person.”

 His Evvie was one in a million. “It’ll feel even better, starting right now.” He pulled out to the entrance to her channel and slid back in.

Out and in. Out and in.

Then he took her mouth again, a conqueror, sliding his tongue in and out, reveling in her response. She sucked at him at the same time she met his cock’s thrusts. Her moans urged him on, harder, faster. He wouldn’t hold out much longer at this rate, but he had to, for her.

 Then she shattered beneath him. Her pussy grabbed his dick and contracted, all along his length. He drove in a final time, coming with surprising force.

 Harve broke their kiss in order to suck in air. He let go of her hands so he could push his weight a little off her, and she readily wrapped her arms around his neck and stroked his neck and shoulders while her spasms continued rippling over his cock. Her breathing was deep, her eyes closed.

 “My God,” she muttered. “My God.”

 He had spent his load but remained where he was to let her finish. Her pussy wouldn’t stop, providing an incredible ride inside the world’s sexiest woman. He dipped his head to lick her nipple. She arched her back to feed it to him.

 Finally, she calmed completely. His dick, spent but happy, slid out of her pussy. When he removed the rubber to dump in the trash basket beside the bed, it was slippery with her cream.

 “I didn’t hurt you?”

 “There was a tiny bit of pain, but no. It felt…like nothing I could ever describe to anyone.”

 “Good?”

 “Fantastic. Remarkable. A miracle. I should have done this years ago.”

 “No!” He sat up, propped on one hand, and stared down at her. “No, Evvie. You were keeping yourself for me.”

 She smiled sweetly and reached up to cup his cheek. “You’re probably right. It wouldn’t have been the same with anyone else.”

 He covered her hand with his own. “It’ll always be good between us.” He turned his head to kiss her palm, teasing her with the tip of his tongue. “I love you, Evvie.”

 “I must love you, too, or else how could I feel this good?”

 “Oh, the body lies all the time. Yours is meant to respond to a man’s dick, a man’s touch. I want you to love me with your heart and mind.”

 “I think maybe I do, Harve. But this has all happened so fast.”

 He hesitated, wondering how to approach his question. “Did Rosen kiss you when he took you home the other night?”

 She looked away and bit her bottom lip. “Yes. Why do you ask?”

“Did you enjoy it? Did he give you tongue?”

 “Harve, those are personal questions.”

 “My sweet siren, I’m not the only man who wants you in his bed. Josh Rosen does, too.”

 “How do you know?”

 “He told me. If I had to guess, I’d say he’s in love with you, too.”

 “Oh, no.” She bit her lip again, the sparkle in her eyes dimming. “I have feelings for him, too. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Since my dad died, everything seems different.”

 “It’s okay, honey. We want you to think about something. If one of us can make you feel as good as you just did, how much better might it be with two of us?”


 A little about me:
A few years ago, Dee S. Knight began writing, making getting up in the morning fun. During the day, her characters killed people, fell in love, became drunk with power, or sober with responsibility. And they had sex, lots of sex.

 After a while, Dee split her personality into thirds. She writes as Anne Krist for sweeter romances, and Jenna Stewart for ménage and shifter stories. All three of her personas are found on the Nomad Authors website. And all three offer some of the best romance you can find! Also, once a month, look for Dee’s Charity Sunday blog posts, where your comment can support a selected charity.

 Author links:

Website: https://nomadauthors.com

Blog: http://nomadauthors.com/blog

Twitter: http://twitter.com/DeeSKnight

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DeeSKnight2018

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/265222.Dee_S_Knight

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B079BGZNDN

LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/dee-s-knight-0500749

Sweet ‘n Sassy Divas: http://bit.ly/1ChWN3K