Magical March Greetings...

Magical March greetings, here’s a recent blog I penned for SHAPESHIFTER SEDUCTIONS. Why post here? I have good news.
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The Shapeshifting Chihuahua as Villain

Mad as a March Hare *greetings”, shapeshifter lovers. It’s that time of year, and Spring is less than two weeks away. I see the yard bunnies gamboling about, and no doubt, they are creating baby bunnies.
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This past week I received an unexpected gift, one we authors excitedly jump and down for in giddy-landia. Our very own Serena Shay wrote an Author Discovery for my futuristic erotic romance, MURDER BY HAIR SPRAY IN GARDENIA, NEW ATLANTIS.

I’m going to share it near the end of this post. Never fear.

However, while my heroine, Sheriff Kalypso, and my hero, Zryphus, are not official shapeshifters, the starring villain is, and so are some of the secondary characters.

When it first emerged in my writerly mind that the serial killer was a Chihuahua shapeshifter... well, it struck me as deliciously bizarre. I mean, a Chihuahua. Yes, they can be fearsome attackers for their size. In fact, I’ve read where burglars fear small yappy dogs, especially Poodles and Chihuahuas, more than most breeds.

Still... an adorable, put-him-in-your-bag Chihuahua?

But there he was before my mind’s eye, looking smugly dapper as a Southern gentleman... and, by that certain gleam in his eye, I knew he was also diabolically psychopathic.

So, how is it in the year, 2051, there is a shapeshifting dog capable of turning into a serial killer? Here’s a bit of back story.

Picture this scenario, if you will...

It’s been a rainy weekend. The sun has finally broken through the clouds. The birds are chirping. You step outside to take out the trash, or to simply enjoy the beauties of nature... and there he is. Near your doorstep.

Drenched, shivering, and so tiny, he gazes at you with pleading brown eyes. A Chihuahua. Maybe, he even looks like the tan-coated, “Yo Quiero” Taco Bell Chihuahua. And you always were gooey-heart fond of that little critter.

He’s wearing no collar. No way to ID him at the moment. He looks hungry, pathetically in need. He’s shivering so hard you wonder why his itsy bitsy bones aren’t rattling... you call to him... eagerly he comes to you... you pick him up and coo sweetly...

But... what if... he’s been designed to be the perfect spy... and you’re the target...

WHAT IF... 40 years earlier... on March 7, 2011.
~~~

Shapeshifting Infiltrator

Infiltrating, it’s a specialty of mine. I come by it naturally. Though, my talent has been honed to a laser-like precision.

Once I present my face to the biometric scanner, I adjust the Level Six security badge filched from the woman I am impersonating -- using her mannerisms, of course.

No worries, said woman is now on a planet in a nearby solar system. She is luxuriating at a resort-like, interplanetary trade center. Men interested in purchasing a bride with her charms will bid for her, and, as they say, the rest of the story is a ‘happily ever after’. That is, if you revel in carnal pleasures.

Careful to stay in tune with the woman’s energy matrix, I glance around the waiting room, as if it’s all too familiar. It is standard for many of the underground compounds where advanced experimentation, especially genetic manipulation, takes place on a humongous, mind-blowing scale.

Why am I doing this? My shapeshifting kind needs to know, if we are to survive and prosper. Also, you can imagine the market for this type of information. It brings in those pots of gold. And silver.

Hearing the twelve-foot thick door open with my inner animal ears, I remain seated, and smooth my uniform skirt with one gloved hand. Inside, ‘the game’ thrills through me. The hunt is on, and I am the one being chased.

He doesn’t speak as I rise, the large bull of a man who is likely a clone of a WWII General. In fact, we will not converse in any way.

The woman officer I impersonate has the ability to mind-record her experience, then write a report for her White House boss. No, no one in residence who is a politician. The ‘elected’ are kept out of the loop.

According to protocol I am to walk beside him, but two inches behind, so I am able to follow his lead. With a piercing stare, he watches me approach.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised if his gut is warning him about me. Still, he smartly turns on his heel, and we move into a corridor that has been designed to accommodate beings up to twenty feet in height.

The white-blue glare of light not only reveals the finest detail of an individual’s features, but sterilizes. No germs allowed here.

Sooner than I expected we enter a dome-shaped room of mammoth proportions. The rounded ceiling allows for perfect light distribution, as well as distribution of any released aerosols.

It takes several blinks of my eyes before I comprehend what I’m viewing. Tanks, like good-sized aquariums, hold liquid-suspended bodies of Chihuahuas. Different colors, all different sizes. Stunned is not a strong enough word for the emotion I suppress.

Slowly, we walk by tank after tank, and it becomes obvious human genetics have been introduced. Hands instead of paws. Skin instead of a dog’s coat. The front half is Chihuahua while the back half is humanoid. Then, the reverse.

I cringe inside, but keep my impassive demeanor. What is the precise goal? It certainly doesn’t appear to be only placing the brain of a human inside a Chihuahua.

My question is answered as I look ahead at a semicircle of giant tanks. They hold the dead bodies of a man-dog creature in different stages of a shapeshift.

The obvious hits me. Why a Chihuahua? Having no time to consider answers, I refocus on the horror-sad creatures suspended in some type of blue-tinted gel. At least, they have escaped through death.

What I see next, though, in hanging translucent tubes. They have not escaped. Obviously, the human-looking males are biologically alive. Their bodies are slender in stature, and I sense they are primitive shapeshifters.

This is born out in a gruesome demonstration. One of the tubes is electrically charged. White arcs of plasma lightning spiral rapidly up and down, reminding me of a scene out of Frankenstein. Only this is the futuristic version.

Except, it’s occurring now. The man creature comes alive, moving, then writhing. In a process that is painful to watch he gradually shifts into a misshapen dog. It resembles a Chihuahua.

For the barest instant, I lose my connection to the woman officer’s matrix, the energy copy I have made of her that I wear like a garment. My nausea surfaces, and I taste it.

Slipping back into character, I sweep my gaze over the twenty tubes, and memorize every detail as the officer would have done for her report. If I’ve failed due to my momentary lapse -- if I’m about to get caught, well, there’s no time to worry.

I keep panic from nipping at my heels, and wait on fate’s next move.

With an abrupt turn, the General strides for an exit. Like a programmed robot, I follow, keeping my place beside him. Before I know it, we pass through some type of energy field.

The bright New Mexico sunshine beats down on me a moment later. Before me, thirty feet away, is the black limousine I arrived in, waiting. The driver holds the back door open.

As the General pivots from my side, I hear in a growled whisper, “Whoever you are, you’re damn good.”

I know in that instant, he’s letting me go for reasons of his own. Who says clones don’t have souls? Or...

I move with a military stride toward the limousine, then lower myself within. As we glide through the opening gates, I realize in the time it takes for a trap to snap, that the General is an infiltrator, too. Just not a shapeshifter.

I have a sense he’s a time traveler. But, only as sense.

So, jump for the juicy grapes...that changes my plan of escape. Why endanger a fellow infiltrator?

Closing my eyes, I explain my mission to the Guardian Wind Spirit, and ask for his assistance. Several minutes later, a desert whirlwind arrives out of the blue. Like a mini tornado red dust whips around the limousine, forcing the driver to stop.

I throw off the uniform. With a mischievous grin, I open the door, even though it’s been secured.

Diving outward, I roll. All the while I transform into my furry self.

Free, I race for the nearest cover. It won’t be long. Already, I hear the whir of our clan’s small, phase-shift hovercraft.

Who am I?

My kind may be living next door to you right now. For sport, we may peer at you from a dense thicket, knowing you can’t harm us. Or, we might lead you on a merry chase.

Have you noticed a sly smile flitting over your neighbor’s features? Perhaps, a flirtatious, even vixenish personality?

Some of my kind are cooking enthusiasts, specializing in fowl dishes. Chicken, duck, pheasant, squab...turkey and goose... the holidays are always a tummy-filling banquet for us. We laze about the den, the fireplace crackling happily.

Oh, and pudgy pigeons are a favorite food, when we can snatch them unnoticed. If you dare boast, count on family and friends to invite themselves over for a savory roast and a wine toast.

My kind are fox humanoids, as old a species as humans. Yes ~grins~ why not admit it up front? We are only cunning and sneaky when it’s a necessity, or to our advantage. Often in these times.

The difference between us and the human population today, we were never genetically altered to serve a master. My kind never lost the ability to shapeshift because of cruel genetic interference, as was done to humans after the fall of Atlantis. Since Earth became our home, age upon age ago, we have preserved the ability to change forms at will.
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AUTHOR DISCOVERY ~ Murder by Hair Spray in Gardenia, New Atlantis

~~~ An Author Discovery by Serena Shay ~~~

What happens when two strong-willed characters collide? A whole lotta alpha goodness!

Kalypso Sun Wing and Zryphus Vasquoz are sure to delight readers with their sassy interactions with one another and their "my way or the highway" attitudes.

Kalypso Sun Wing likes to think she's as hard-headed a leader as they come, what with her command position during the conflicts and her general dislike of Federal, but really she is a mushy-gushy marshmallow on the inside. She protects her friends, her society and the ones she loves.

Zryphus, whew, what can I say about Zryphus? He's smart and a male in all the wonderful ways men can be male. He comes on strong and stays that way, proving to Kalypso that he's here to stay and that she can trust her heart with him.

I love the way Ms. Kougar has taken a real historical event and injected it into a fabulously fictional future. The mixing of the two era's offers, to this readers way of thinking, an innocence to a fast paced, post war society.

Don't miss Murder by Hair Spray in Gardenia, New Atlantis - New Atlantis Trilogy, Book 1. You'll want to be ready for the next installment on the newly re-risen continent!

Serena Shay

Author of the top selling, THE CHALLENGE ~ serenashay.com ~ shapeshifterseductions.blogspot.com ~
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Murder by Hair Spray in Gardenia, New Atlantis
by Savanna Kougar

Blurb:

In 2051, Atlantis is no longer a legend. The risen antediluvian land has been colonized by rebels who battled for freedom against the Global Elite.

New Atlantis Sheriff, Kalypso Sun Wing, has survived the sterile fifties' suburbs, the revolutionary turbulence of the sixties and the disco guru seventies. After the suicide of the man she loved, Kalypso barely survived the designer eighties or the fast-forward nineties. Watching Atlantis rise from the ocean she realized her destiny.

Zerculeon, Zryphus Vasquoz, chose an enforcement career with Earth's Federal Union. He is fascinated with primitive worlds and wants to make his own way outside the family heritage. Once he gets an eyeful of the beautiful Sheriff, as they investigate the Hair Spray serial murder, Zryphus knows he's found his one woman, despite her cold disinterest.

When the Hair Spray Killer stalks Kalypso, Zryphus won't let her out of his sight, or his bed. They realize those controlling the Killer's leash will use every evil to win world dominion.
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Available at ~ bookstrand.com/murder-by-hair-spray-in-gardenia-new-atlantis ~ bookstrand.com/savanna-kougar ~
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The Kougar’s news ~


Just Another ParaNormal Halloween, an anthology, received a 5 star review from Linda at Goodreads~ goodreads.com/book/show/9476103-just-another-paranormal-halloween

What Linda said:
Just Another Paranornomal Halloween Is A Collection Of Great Stories By Eight Authors That Combined Their Tales In One Awesome Good Read! From Pixies And Wolf Shifters Falling In Love, To Vampires And Tiger Shifters To Witches And Necromancy, There Is Something For Every Taste! This Is A Chance To Read An Author's Style Of Writing And Enjoy Their Books. I Just Loved Every Story That I Read And I Laughed At Ms. M'Lady's Wit And Cried At Ms. Phelan's Story Of Lovers Separated By Fates.

THE TIGER’S MASQUERADE is my erotic romance short story. Here’s the blurb ~

Stacy wasn’t looking for a tiger-man to erotically and exotically fill her tank , then steal her heart. That is, until the Halloween ‘Call of the Wild Masquerade’ ball. But, what kind of tiger does she have by the tail?

Zyrru wasn’t looking for a human woman to un-tame his fiercest passions, and alter his royal life forever. After all, he’s only vacationing on Earth, and is almost engaged to The Princess. But her rosefire scent is irresistible.

Available at ~ mojocastle.com/ParaHalloween.html ~
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HAVE A MAGICKAL MARCH

Savanna

Savanna Kougar ~ Run on the Wild Side of Romance ~
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Well, I Never

It’s release day! “Belonging” is now on the market. For those who missed my earlier chest-thumping, “Belonging” is the story of Jeremy, a young man raised by vampires, who falls in love with a vampire, only to discover his boyfriend is carting around some really serious baggage. More serious than being undead, having fangs and drinking blood, I mean.

I never thought I’d write a vampire story. Hell, I never thought I’d be writing romance. I grew up reading SF, fantasy and comic books. I watched Star Trek religiously. Romance novels in those days centered on weepy wussettes who pined after arrogant assholes who belittled them throughout the book and then married them in the last chapter. Not what I wanted to read, and definitely not what I’d write. Write a romance? I scoff at you.

Shows what I know.

At some point in the 1980s the wussettes stopped crying, got jobs, got independent, kicked those arrogant jerks to the curb and found men worthy of them. I discovered Nora Roberts and started reading romance. I was still into SF and fantasy, though the books I’d always favored had a romantic element to them. I was writing and occasionally selling fantasy stories. Still no plans to write romance.

Enter paranormals. Suddenly the fantasies had hot parts. I could get mutants and relationships in the same book. Better still, humor, long missing from both genres, was allowed. Okay, maybe I could write this.

A market call for an anthology sparked an idea and prompted me to try my hand. They didn’t take my story. Another publisher did. All of a sudden I was a published paranormal romance writer.

Hetero only, thank you very much. Chicks and dudes exclusively. Okay, back in high school when I was writing X-Men fan fiction I made Angel gay. That was an aberration. I don’t do slash. No way.

Then another market opened up, and sparked another idea. Two guys, one woman. The guys ditch the woman and end up together. It sold. Just like that I’m a published writer of paranormal M/M romantic comedy. If my English teachers could only see me now.

Still no vampires. The market, in my opinion, had become oversaturated with the fangy fuggers. Sure, I read “Interview with the Vampire,” and drooled over Spike like everyone else with estrogen. Couldn’t get into “Moonlight,” sorry. I planned to stick to shapeshifters. What else could be said about vampires? How do you make it original? Nope. No vampires, no way, no how.

You know where this is going.

No anthology this time, just the raw idea. I look down at my screen and there’s a vampire there and I’m writing about him. Them. Two guys again. What the hell? What happened to all the women?

Okay, there’s a woman. She’s in the next one. Halfway through my vampy tale I got an idea for a sequel. A M/M/F ménage. I never thought I’d be writing a ménage, but …

The moral of the story? Never say never, I guess. My subconscious is a twisted bastard and my muse is an evil bitch. If this keeps up, I’ll be writing that M/M/M ménage idea after all, and damn the pronouns. That one has an SF setting. I haven’t abandoned my background entirely.

One little side note: My original title was “Blood Lust,” but while I was dragging my feet with the final edits Stormy Glen came out with a book with that title and I had to scramble after something else. The moral of THAT story is, stop screwing off and get back to work before all the good titles get taken. I’ll never procrastinate again. Oh, wait …

My New Cover

Here it is, my cover for BELONGING, my upcoming M/M vampire book! Hot, eh? Since I haven't even finished the edits yet, I can't give out a release day. I'll be back with more info and a possible blog when the book comes out.

2011, A Magical New Year & Volcano's Forecast

So, what will be the MAGIC during the year, 2011?

This year, magic will begin in the home. Look for ways to make your home environment, not only more practical and comfortable, but more enchanting in appearance and mood.

Remember, there is always a special magic in preparing food. Spices, herbs, the blending of ingredients. Now is the time to bring forth a new renaissance in cooking good and wholesome foods while adding your own good, good vibrations.

Experiment with recipes. Go with the flow. Listen to your own inner chef. Your own inner kitchen witch. For, her wisdom goes back into the ancient mists of time.

Enchantment is the word that best expresses many of the new trends that are emerging, from fashion to music to a refurbished restaurant.

Allure arrives next. Instead of blatant, in your face sexuality and bared bodies, an alluring way of dressing, of presenting oneself, and using accessories will start to come into its own.

Most important, now is the time to MAGICK up your own personal vibration. This is best accomplished during 2011 by becoming in tune with Nature, especially with the natural settings around you. There are natural elements and frequencies that want to help you. They were designed for us human beings.

Get to know Mother Nature with your heart and soul. Make friends with her, if you haven’t already. Because Gaia, the Earth, wants you walking upon her terrain. Her joy is living side by side with you.

Now, more than ever, Mother Nature wants to be your friend.
~~~

~ Wishing you every lovely and wonderful enchantment during 2011 ~



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Volcano’s Angelic Forecast for the New Year, 2011

2011, Where the power of the heart is released. The saying, HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS, will never be more true than during this year.

This love and ‘caring’ for our own, for those closest to us, will spread out to our neighbors, then to our local community. For, this is the key to survival and prosperity, right now.

In opposition to this profound opening of the human heart, those who are soulless will unleash devastating attacks designed to destroy our ability to love, and our ability to be compassionate toward each other.

This is, also, the year we will have the opportunity to step up, and become a cornerstone within our own world. We will learn how to rely on each other in good ways, in the ways that matter. As well, this ‘heart-caring’ for one another will become the cornerstone for how this year progresses.

Revelations of TRUTH begun during 2010 will continue at a quantum pace. However, this year, TRUTH will find its way, as led by the heart. This will occur on the world stage and at a personal level.

The weather and natural disaster chaos of 2010 will not lessen, but is likely to increase in intensity. Around the world coastal areas are particularly vulnerable.

As the year deepens, the word, community, is likely to become a buzzword because there will be a ‘mass recognition’ that we ALL need to come together. However, rather than the idea of a global village, and top-down solutions, it is time for the rise of grassroots solutions. For only, at a local level can the needs, and the heart, of each individual be met.

Look for the crash of the OLD WAY, as many institutions falter, then go the way of the dinosaur. They will not go peacefully. They will thrash and smash anyone and anything in the way like a beast gone utterly mad.

Out of these events, we will realize, as never before, charity begins at home. And, with each passing day, the world stage as presented by ‘those’ who use the mainstream media will diminish in importance, despite the constant CIRCUS CIRCUS atmosphere.

2011 will become known as the Year of Decision, a pivotal point in time that determines the course of humanity’s future for the next ten years. This is true for personal decisions, as well as those decisions that affect everyone on our beloved Earth.

During 2011, one of the most positive vibrations available to US ALL, is that of creating the ‘unconventional’ this year. Or, the mother of invention is necessity. When it comes to solutions, and forging a better life for yourself, and your loved ones, free your innovative side. It’s time to tune into your own individual genius. And, go for it.
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Angelic blessings from Volcano & Sedona
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MORE...Volcano’s Angelic Forecast for this week ~ sirenbookstrand.blogspot.com ~
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Happy New Year smooches from the Kougar...

1 + 1 + 1 = Story

By Pat Cunningham

(Note: this post originally appeared on Shapeshifter Seductions back in January 2010. The book in question, under the title "Belonging," was recently accepted by Siren. That's how long it takes me to write something. E-pub date is tentatively scheduled for May 2011. In the meantime, check out the action with the Guts and Butts Gazette over on www.shapeshifterseductions.blogspot.com. It's a howl!)


I can’t remember the book or the author now – it was either Damon Knight or Ben Bova, I was writing SF then – but one of the many how-to-write texts I studied in my early writing years offered this advice: for a good story, you need more than one idea. A single idea is a sketch, a scene, a vignette. A story needs at least two ideas to play off each other. Not too many or the story gets muddled – I’m looking at you, Pirates of the Caribbean 2 – but enough to provide weight and depth, and give the characters, and the readers, something to sink their teeth into.

I got to test this theory recently when I was inspired by a TV show and started fiddling with plots. I found several ideas that fit together and gave me plenty of grist to put my characters through all kinds of angsty hell. Isn’t that’s why we write in the first place?

Idea #1 – a couple months back I guest-blogged on the bizarre ideas my mind keeps throwing at me, like where a shapeshifter’s clothes go when they change and would a vampire’s fangs be considered concealed weapons by the police. One question dealt with a vampire’s sex drive; can the undead get it up? This led to the theory fresh blood in a vampire’s veins makes them horny, and sooner or later some enterprising brothel owner would catch on. Originally I’d planned to write about a prostitute and the vampire she falls in love with, but … well, you’ll see in a minute.

Idea #2 – I try to write every day. When I don’t work on a WIP, I jot a few lines in a notebook. Sometimes it’s flash, sometimes it’s a scene or a character sketch or a dialogue exchange. Recently what came out of my pen was a bit about a human who’d been raised by vampires. That’s not a story by itself, but if added to something else …

Idea #3 – okay, this one’s embarrassing. It stems from that TV show, and the fan fiction that’s grown up around it. I’m familiar with fanfic – I’m a Trekkie from way back – as well as the interesting phenomenon known as slash. So I went poking around on a fanfic site, and – well, as the pistol-packin’ preacher said, Holy shoot. I don’t remember Trek slash being quite that graphic. There was stuff on there that would make Ellora’s Cave editors blush. And so MUCH of it! You wonder where these guys find time to actually fight evil. Inspired, as it were, by this, I decided to try my hand at a M/M story. I couldn’t use the TV characters, of course, but there’s nothing to stop me from “casting” the actors in the roles. I find it’s easy writing dialogue when you can hear a particular voice. (I put Stone Cold Steve Austin in a novel once and his dialogue just flowed. Not bad for a wrestler.)

Adding the three ideas together, I had my plot and characters: a young human man, raised by a nest of vampires, who becomes a prostitute in a bat brothel and the object of affection of one of his male vampire clients. Both come with hefty baggage, especially the vamp (idea #4, which I can’t divulge because it’s a plot twist) which they have to wade through to reach their HEA.

None of these ideas could really sustain a full story, let alone a novel, on their own. Put ‘em together, though, and I just might have something. I’m still working on the draft. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

By the way, I’m not going to say which TV show it is. Bad enough I start laughing whenever the one actor comes on screen because I can’t help thinking, “Hey, it’s the man ho.” I don’t need any defamation lawsuits. Writing as a profession is risky enough.
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The Magic of a New Print Release ~ BRANDED BY THE TEXANS

Happy Holidays, everyone. My Western Erotic Romance Menage recently became available In Print at the usual vendors. So, if you’re in the mood for lustin’ and lovin’ cowboys who know how to win over the woman of their dreams... well, dang it, take off your dusty boots, put your feet up before the crackling fireplace, and do some private enjoin’!

~ Sliders Meets Bonanza Meets the Three Star Republic ~

BRANDED BY THE TEXANS

Blurb ~

What can three Texans do to a woman’s body and heart?
Kylie is about to find out.
Beyond her wildest dreams.
On a parallel Earth.

It’s 2009... Kylie is on the run from the law for a crime she didn’t commit. A promising doctoral student, she’s lost everyone and almost everything, except for what she stows in her car. Now, Kylie has to salvage the rest of her life. But, where in this age of GPS tracking, TV’s Most Wanted and cameras everywhere?

It’s 2009... Dillon, Dono and Dash are three brothers desperate for a wife to brand as their own. The Union made women scarce in the Three Star Republic by releasing a bio weapons’ plague during the border wars. These tough-as-leather Texans will do anything to keep the right woman, even if they have to lasso her like a wild filly and love on her until she loves them back.
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Story Excerpt ~

Dillon hitched his boot on the first rail and leaned forward, resting on his crossed arms. Swishing their tails, four of their year-old fillies munched on the fresh hay they’d been given in the morning. They were part of the next generation in the ranch’s breeding program to create the hardiest and best-looking stock.

Joining him, Dono and Dash keenly studied his expression, once they’d planted themselves.

“I don’t want to know,” Dillon forestalled any explanation. Looking away from his brothers, he eased himself by watching the fillies, yet kept Dono and Dash in his peripheral vision.

“We need more of a plan than just the garden,” Dono began.

“What kind of plan?” Dillon kept his tone neutral.

“You know that hole in the dimensional wall near Pine Springs at the gas station? I hear tell it’s still open.” Dash propped his boot up.

“Talked to Craig last Saturday,” Dono continued. “He says they still get vehicles with license plates and the people want to pay with credit cards. When they ain’t single women, he pretends to take the information and tells folks to make certain they get back on the main road the same way they came through town because a bridge is out.”

“Craig keeps a whole dang list of bachelors like us—”

Dillon shook his head, stopping Dash. “I’d lasso a woman for us quick as a rattlesnake strikes and bring her home. That’s accepted here. It don’t seem right when the woman is from a parallel world.”

“Hell, you could be doin’ the woman a favor,” Dash persisted. “Pamela says there were all sorts of women from her Earth who were looking for what she called their ‘soul mates’ and having no luck.”

“Talk about wanting a woman, big brother. How long will it take us to lure a woman here, even with the niceties? Right now, unattached women are scarcer than hen’s teeth.” Dono punched the fence plank, emphasizing his frustration.

“Yeah, and the fallout from the plagues has caused a low birth rate.” Dash kicked the dirt, barely stirring any dust from the low mountain ground of northwest Texas. “Besides, I don’t want no close-to-the-cradle bride. I want a real woman.”

Dillon dropped his head, staring at nothing. “Yeah, I agree. I want a woman not a child that still needs raisin’. What does Craig want from us?”

“Stud service for his two mares,” Dono quickly answered. “I know he’s been after our line for a long while.”

“Shoulda known. Dang it, they’re poor stock. What’s he offerin’ exactly?” Dillon raised his head and eyed his brothers.

“We tell him our general preferences, and he puts us at the head of the list for that type of female. One of us has to be within ridin’ distance of his fill-up station or someone else gets the call.” Dono’s gaze glittered with his desperate hope.

“It’s still faster than tryin’ to lure a woman here or canvassing the whole republic for a bride.” Dash used his most convincing voice.

“Let me guess, you two already told Craig our preferences.”

Dono and Dash nodded as one. “Just like we discussed,” Dono seriously replied.
“And how is this plan supposed to work? There are no roads to drive the Tesla or the trucks into Pine Springs. And the ranch don’t take care of itself.”

“We all take three day shifts,” Dash answered too enthusiastically. “It’s only half a day’s ride down our mountain path.”

“Besides it will give us a chance to make more barter deliveries to the general store.” Dono slightly grinned.

Dillon figured he knew that he and Dash were winning their big brother over. “You two got this all worked out, have you?” Turning at the waist, he leaned on the top rail again.

“We’ve been talkin’ a lot, figuring it out, yep.” Dash tossed back his long auburn hair. An unruly forelock had fallen over his eyes. “You’re not the only one loco and longin’ for a woman around here.”

“Must be true.” Dillon heard the dry retort of his voice. “Since you two got stud hormones that won’t be eased by pounding fists on each other. Promise to stop, and I’ll go along with this plan.” Dillon drilled them with his gaze. “Act up again, and I’ll stop it deader than a border raider’s blasted ass.”

“Wahoo!” Dash leaped straight up.

Dillon scowled. “This doesn’t get you two out of garden duty.”

Dono jabbed Dash’s ribs with his elbow. “Come on. She’s not gonna want a steady diet of meat, canned vegetables, biscuits and beans.”

Watching his brothers gallop toward the fenced-off plot with Maisy and Wayward hot on their heels, Dillon briefly shook his head.

One of the fillies, a chestnut he called Stargirl because of the marking on her forehead, approached and nuzzled his chest. He rubbed her gleaming neck. Her winter coat had fallen out mostly and she shone with a deep red color. “You’d make a good mount for a woman, my Stargirl.”

Despite his misgivings over the whole dang scheme, Dillon shrugged. He could kill two birds with one stone. They could all be on the lookout for a woman while increasing their trade with the general store. Their ranch’s tanned hides and smoked beef were always in demand. To their benefit, they’d stock up on needed items as well as purchase more of the luxuries. A woman would appreciate that.
~~~~~~

SEXCERPT ~

...She slid against him in a dang erotic way he surely relished.

“How about your ankles, darlin’?” Dillon swirled his thumb over her outer ankle.

“Please.” Her voice was barely above the sound of the water.

Continuing to massage her foot with one hand, Dillon smoothed his other palm over her ankle. Dash watched him languidly stroked the sweet shape with the length of his fingers. Dono followed his lead using his thumb to lightly stimulate her sexual point, the one located below her inner ankle.

“I should be dreaming.” She sighed luxuriously. “I’m keeping my eyes closed just in case I am dreaming. Besides, those cowboy cocks of yours are looking for love already.”

All three brothers locked gazes with each other. “Lookin’ for love, like the song?” Dash fondled her ass with small squeezes.

“Yeah, the song. From a John Travolta movie.”

“John Travolta?” Dono cupped her ankle between his hands and massaged.

“He’s a well-known actor on my Earth. Oh, I like what you’re doing, musketeer cowboy. Both of you, what you’re doing.”

“There is no John Travolta, the actor, here.” Dillon gradually smoothed the heel of his hand up the water-slickened flesh of her calf.

“Mmmm…Viking cowboy. Who did sing it? I can’t recall on my Earth.”

Dash watched the shower spray strike his wife’s body forming rivulets that flowed over her delectable round shape. Heaven had definitely found him, and he wanted to stay. “Lots of artists here, honey. I’ve been known to belt it out now and then.”

“Mmmm… a singing prince cowboy.” Kylie moved against him, sensual as a big cat. “Oh, yes,” she moaned, “your hands are driving me so sexy-insane.”

Dono braced her foot against his solar plexus, then slipped both of his hands up her leg. Sweeping longer strokes, he massaged her calf, gradually including her knee.

Clenching her ass tighter, Dash slipped his thumbs over the tender inner flesh of her crack.

“Three against one. I’m liking this more and more.” Arching her back, Kylie pressed her butt against his loins.

Dash groaned. Of its own accord, his shaft nudged her twat’s petals, steamier than inside the shower stall. Controlling himself, he gently rubbed his cock’s head back and forth, and ached mightily to plunge inside her.

“Such a nice tease, prince cowboy,” she throatily crooned. “Yes, oh God, my thighs have never felt this good…Dillon, Dono.”

Nestling the crown of his shaft between her carnal folds, Dash took a look at what his brothers were doing. They massaged in different ways, fondling the entire length of her thighs.

“Kylie,” Dono darkly purred above the sound of the shower. “I’ll bet you’d like me pleasurin’ your nubbin.” Dono eased his hand over her curls. Cupping, he kneaded her woman’s plump mound.

Tightening her hold on his neck, Kylie uttered a strangled whimper and rocked her sex rose on Dash’s cockhead.

Dono slipped the side of his hand between her thighs. Teasing the cleft of her mound, he fingered open her female flesh. “I’ll bet you’ll like Dash puttin’ his big cock inside you at the same time.”

“Come here, Kylie,” Dillon commanded. “I’ll hold onto you and suck your teats.”

A needy cry escaped her throat, and Kylie let go of Dash’s neck. Leaning forward, she reached for Dillon. Her arms flew around his neck and she clutched him like a lifeline.

“That’s it, my sweet thang.” Dillon roved his hands over the voluptuous swells of her hips and the slender dip of her waist. “Dash’ll keep himself reined in till you want him real bad.”

Gripping her thighs near her ass, Dash spread Kylie as her legs loosely surrounded Dillon’s hips. Rearing wild with ache, he jabbed his cock’s head inside her slick little hole. Not wanting to take her too fast, he fucked her entrance and waited for Dono to do his special magic with her feminine bud. “She wide enough for you, brother?”

“Yep. I feel her. You’ve got the most exquisite nubbin, Kylie love,” Dono crooned, coaxing her to let go of any inhibition. “You like me squeezin’ it this way? Strokin’ this way?”

“Oh, please, yes…keep doing what you’re doing. Dono, yes, pinch me.”

Kylie squirmed on the hot poker that was his cock and danced in that cat-like sinuous way of hers. Dash stroked her inner thighs with his thumbs. More and more, he fell in love with the way his wife moved, with the feel of her body.

“Dang, princess,” he growled. “I want to melt the cream in your sweet pussy.”

“Yes, do it!” she cried out.
~~~~~~

Have a Happy Ridin’ and Ropin’ Holiday...

Savanna

Savanna Kougar ~ Run on the Wild Side of Romance ~
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A Siren-BookStrand #1 BESTSELLER ~ http://bookstrand.com/branded-by-the-texans ~ http://bookstrand.com/savanna-kougar ~ Rated: SEXTREME *Ebook & In Print*
~~~

READER REVIEWS ~

Hi Savanna,

I wanted to tell you that I just read Branded by the Texans and LOVED IT! I really hope you are planning more books in the Three Star Republic.

I loved the seamless way you blended a historical western feel with a sci/fi-alternate universe reality. I aways enjoy pop references in a story as well (Captain Sisco and Chuck Norris comments). I'm certain I'll be rereading it many times in the future.

Thanks for the great read!

Corinne

~ corinnedavies.com
~ daviesromance.blogspot.com
~~~
This is Judy’s review at Amazon

5.0 out of 5 stars Love, love, loved it!, August 31, 2010
By Judy L. Hauge (Lindale, Tx United States)

This review is from: Branded by the Texans [Three Star Republic] (Siren Publishing Menage Amour) (Kindle Edition)
I know everyone usually says that they don't usually write reviews but in my case it's true. I love this book. As a Texas woman it hits to the heart of what a Texas man should be and want in a wife. The males were tough, strong, and dominant but gentle and calm. This went for their land, their animals, or their wife. They were rivers that wore away her resistance. This author was also able to insert into this book the political climate witch is brewing in Texas and put it into the story line to make the whole book seem more realistic. The only drawbacks that I could see was that the Kylie seemed a little too accepting of another "Earth" and the fact that she had been kidnapped, but she stayed true to the pioneering spirit of defending her man no matter what.
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Anthology Magick ~ The Tiger’s Masquerade

As many of you know, I've had a lifelong love of mysticism and all paranormal topics. So, it's a natural for me to write erotic romances in those subgenres ~ futuristic, fantasy and everything paranormal.

Halloween, Samhain, the thinning of the veil between the worlds, has become a very Muse-inspirational time of year for me. And, currently, I’m penning away on my witchy WIP, Kandy Apple and Her Hellhounds.

So far, of course, I’ve only scratched the surface of all my story ideas. But, scratch I’ve done with two of my heroine feline shapeshifters, Sun Rocket and Sable. And now, my Tiger Shapeshifter hero, Zyrru, is scratching my heroine, Stacy, in all the right romantic-passionate places.

Zyrru stars in my short story, THE TIGER’S MASQUERADE, which is part of the Just Another ParaNormal Halloween anthology ~ now available at Mojo Castle Press as an ebook, and will soon be in print.
~~~
In the mood for Just Another ParaNormal Halloween... ?

Here is K.A. M'Lady’s clever intro of all the short stories included in the anthology.

On the Darkest Knight of a Pixies Holiday, you'll feel an A-mazing Grace, but beware of Love, Lies and Zombie Cries, for Samhain's Visitor and His Girl will arrive at the Tiger's Masquerade, followed by the Man in the Long Black Coat.

It's Just Another ParaNormal Halloween at the Castle... Mojocastle.

By K.A. M'Lady
~~~

What follows are the blurbs, and an excerpt from THE TIGER’S MASQUERADE:

Blurb ~

Stacy wasn’t looking for a tiger-man to erotically and exotically fill her tank, then steal her heart. That is, until the Halloween ‘Call of the Wild Masquerade’ ball. But, what kind of tiger does she have by the tail?

Zyrru wasn’t looking for a human woman to un-tame his fiercest passions, and alter his royal life forever. After all, he’s only vacationing on Earth, and is almost engaged to The Princess. But, her rosefire scent is irresistible.

Excerpt ~

Stacy slipped her hands over her gown’s full skirts reveling in the feel of the shimmering pink satin. Picking them up as elegantly as she knew how, she moved toward the mansion’s ballroom.

Excitement pounded her heart. Expectation had shadowed her all day and now it heightened. For what, she wasn’t certain, except that her boss had teased her with promo pictures of the tiger men she’d hired for her Call of the Wild Masquerade ball.

Stacy paused at the arched entrance, sweeping her gaze over the huge room’s starry ethereal decorations, the ones she’d helped to arrange the day before. Not quite prepared for more than images of the Tame a Party Tiger men, Stacy came to a sliding halt on her dancer’s shoes.

Aware she looked ridiculously awkward with her arms akimbo and her body leaning forward, still, Stacy stared, and practically panted. Thankfully, her mask didn’t impede her breathing any, and she wasn’t wearing a corset, or she might have keeled over in an un-ladylike faint.

Exotic. Sexy. Gorgeously handsome.

Mygawd! Their bods were fighting lean, yet with beefcake muscles galore. At least, from what she could observe, since they wore updated versions of sixties’ sharkskin suits. Damn, who knew her heart could beat this fast over looking at a man? Okay, sharp-dressed tiger men.
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The Man in the Long Black Coat
by Susan Gabriel

“Behold, I come as a thief in the night and I tell you, ye worship ye know not what.”

Blurb:

Mariah Bishop, the preacher's daughter, lives in a town where religion and superstition are so deeply entwined there's no telling where one ends and the other begins. But her father, the good Eldon Bishop fears there is something more than religious rapture stirring in the young Mariah.

When the mysterious man in the long, black coat blows into town and holds an old-time revival on All Hallow's Eve, Mariah and the colorful characters which surround her are set on a course with consequences they couldn't possibly foresee.
~~~

A-Mazing Grace
by D. McEntire

Sometimes a wrong turn can be the right choice…

Blurb:

Halloween never meant anything special to Grace. That is until taking up an offer by her best friend for a night time trip through a local corn maze leaves her changing her tune—and her life. Coming face-to-face with a man sporting glowing red eyes and fangs, then rescued by a man who seemed just as unreal as the first makes for one hell-of-a wild night only she seems to remember.

Connell has hunted alongside his brothers for centuries, following a code to protect the secret of their race—vampires—by removing rogues vampires who refuse to blend in among society. That secret is threatened when wiping the memory of a feisty human female he saves from a rogue doesn’t take completely.

But, it isn’t her recollection of him that leads her deeper into his world. Arriving moments too late on the scene of her second attack by a rogue leaves him facing the choice of converting her or leaving her to die.
~~~

A Pixie Holiday
by Brigit Aine

Halloween brings all sorts of interesting things to Kira's life, and some of them are worth it.

Blurb:

On Halloween Kira is able to go out as herself, with no glamour on and allow others to see her true self, a pixie As she is trying to avoid the man her father sent years ago to try and marry her, she runs into a someone else, someone who makes her feel safe and protected. Although she isn't even aware that she needs protecting, yet.

Lance knows he needs to get Kira to like him, after all they are going to be married, but he has to keep her safe and get her to the conclave before any of that can happen. And it seems as if those who do not want to see an alliance between the Pixies and the Wolves would do whatever it takes to make sure his plans are foiled.
~~~

His Girl
by Sapphire Phelan

Erotic paranormal romance with vampires.

Blurb:

My Girl was more than just a song for Evan McPhail and Aimee Saunders; it was the music of their love and passion for each other. For nothing could tear them apart, not even death.
Then Aimee vanished.

She returns to Evan thirty years later, no longer human. To the tempo of their passion, they prove that doesn't matter.
~~~

Samhain's Visitor
by Kiki Howell

Samhain's visitors can be anything from dark and shadowy to sexy and full of surprizes.

Blurb:

When an uninvited visitor shows up during Sarah’s Samhain ritual, her Mute Supper is literally disrupted by cups and plates being tossed about. Soon, the shadow weighing on her and the voices with cryptic messages incite terror.

But, help comes in various forms. And, one is sexy and full of surprises.
~~~

Darkest Knight
by Ashley Blade

Blurb:

What would happen if you woke up one day a vampire?

Julie asked herself the same question many times, especially after reading one of her favorite paranormal stories.

Now what seemed like a fantasy world captured in descriptive words becomes her reality and she has to figure out if it was all it was cracked up to be.
~~~

Love, Lies & Zombie Cries
by K.A. M'Lady

When It Comes To The Heart, Something Always Bleeds

Blurb:

Jayda Oslynn knows what death feels like. She knows the solitude in the darkness’ silence. The lonely spaces between life’s last breath and the realm of the undead.

Like the women in her family before her, she’s had a life-long affinity with those that wander in the land between. Some call it black magick or necromancy, but to the Oslynn family it’s always been known as death dealing. And, whether a blessing or a curse, Jayda’s always been able to feel their feelings – their love and suffering, their happiness and sorrows. The truth, when shared through her eyes, always has a way of being felt and seen.

This Halloween, Jayda finds that when dealing with the dead, some memories are better left buried, for the real truth never stays buried and hearts, once broken seldom seem to mend.
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SHAPESHIFTER LOVERS, come on by and check out the *new* look for SHAPESHIFTER SEDUCTIONS, the home blog of authors: Serena Shay, Pat Cunningham, Rebecca L. Gillan, Solara and yours truly.

Mr. Wolf will be looking for you.
~~~~~~

Happy Thinning of the Veil ~

Savanna

Savanna Kougar ~ Run on the Wild Side of Romance ~