Who is Xio Davis?

 Who is Xio Davis, bank robber, wolf shifter, twin to Xan Davis? Something more?

You don’t hear a lot about them, but Chinese workers helped to build the transcontinental railroad and became a pivotal part of taming the West. Many worked long hours, under dangerous conditions, drilling holes for explosives on the sides of mountains while they hung in baskets in extreme heat and cold, working against the brutal elements of the Midwest.

Many came from Guangdong province, a place in civil unrest, deep in poverty. Hungry, needing to provide for their families, many migrated to the United States for the work offered, work that because of the conditions, many already living in America refused to take.

Because the railroad wanted to keep their workers happy. skilled Chinese cooks made more than the unskilled workers, and were sought after for their abilities to create the meals the Chinese workers exclusively ate. In Black Hills Desperado, Xio’s grandmother, Mai Ling was one of those workers, feeding crews who laid the rail across the West. But she was much more, which Xio discovers in her lesson from Gee, an anti-social werebear that runs a bar called The Den.

“Mai Ling served meals to the men laying the rails. When the railroad came through the Badlands, she met your grandfather, Eli Snow.”

“What’s for chow?” he asked.

Startled, Mai Ling lifted her gaze from the stew. She noticed a tall man with blond hair and fancy clothes leaning on the chuck wagon she’d brought out to where the men worked. Slung low across his hips was a holster, and in the hand-tooled leather rested an even more impressive revolver that would certainly send her to her backside if she tried to fire it. Big man. Big gun. “You work with crew?”

“No, ma’am. I’m passing through to Los Lobos.”

He stared at her from under the brim of a weathered cowboy hat. There had been enough heat in his eyes to make her turn red, even though there was ice on the ground and a wind that blew down from the north, making the day quite frigid.

She wanted to tell him the food was for the crew only, but something in the man’s expression told her he wouldn’t take no for an answer. So she lied. “Dog.”

The gunslinger straightened his spine, scowling at the kettle hanging over the fire. He sniffed and curled his lip. “Dog?”

“You no like?”

“No, ma’am. I no like.”

“Why you no like?” She lifted the ladle to her mouth and took a bite of the beef stew, watching him cringe.

“I guess you could say I’m a bit of a mongrel, and eating that would make me feel like a cannibal.”

“It’s good. You try some.” Scooping up another portion, Mai Ling thrust the utensil out to Eli. “You no look like dog.”

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Xio Davis’s heritage runs deep in the Black Hills. A wolf shifter, rebel and orphan, she finds herself at the mercy of a ruthless Alpha, Magnum. Life gets worse for her when her brother leaves to serve his country. Xio chooses a different path out, riding out of Los Lobos on the back of a stranger’s motorcycle, sinking deep into the criminal underworld.

But finding her way home is harder than leaving, and Xio must come to terms with her past and who she is, where she comes from, before she can move forward with her life and Mate, Marcus Cazador. Can she break free from being the bad girl of the Black Hills, or will she meet her end where her story started?

Today, my Black Hills Wolves story, Black Hills Desperado releases. Please join me in celebrating the launch of this new series. You can purchase book number 3, Black Hills Desperado here: Black Hills Desperado

Bio:

D. L. Jackson is an award-winning author of urban fantasy, science fiction, military romance and erotic romance. She loves to incorporate crazy plot twists, comedy and the unexpected into her worlds. As a U.S. Army veteran, she naturally adores men in uniform and feels the world could always use more. She does her part by incorporating as many sexy soldiers in her novels as she can. When she isn't writing or running the roads, you can often find her online chatting with her peers and readers. Grab a cup of iced coffee, pull up your virtual chair and say hi. She loves emails and blog visits from her readers. www.authordljackson.com

Thanks for stopping by,

D.L. Jackson

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Shifted Plans

by Brandy Walker

   It has been ages since I’ve been able to talk about a new release. This year has been a whirlwind of activity having nothing to do with writing. We’re a military family and moved mid-year from Washington State to Virginia. It takes a lot to pack up three kids, a dog, a husband, and a house. Yes, the military does all of the heavy lifting, but the rest is left up to me. Needless to say, it’s taken me a bit to get back into the swing of things.

   Shifted Plans is the first release I’ve had since the move in June and it’s also my very first release from Decadent Publishing. YAY!!! I hope you’re as excited for this new Decadent line as I am. I know there have been some great books before mine and I expect there will be many more after. In fact, I’ve already submitted my second book in my series within the series, Shifter U, the premier college for shifters of all sorts. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

   I started out my journey back in college when Avery popped into my head. She’s the last girl standing in the townhouse she lives in. All of the other girls having graduated or found her mate. Its her last year at Shifter U and all she wants to do is graduate so she can go back to her hometown to start her life on her own terms.

   Avery was strong-willed but with the heart of a romantic. She longed to find her mate but resolved to just let it happen. And it did. Right when she least expected it.

I hope you’ll enjoy reading about Avery and Declan.

Buy Links:

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Blurb:

Avery Hillman has one year of college left. Once it’s over she has plans, BIG plans. A job managing her family’s medical practice, an apartment of her own, and a new life where she’s the one in charge. No hovering family, no annoying siblings, and no mate to have to divide her time to be with.

Declan Weller has one more class to finish. One more thing he can cross off his ten-year plan. Once that is done, he can transfer to the new job waiting for him and his new life. He isn’t looking for his mate and as far as he’s concerned, finding her can wait another two years.

The Fates have a plan of their own. One that includes throwing Avery and Declan in each other’s path. It’s high time those two found each other and learn the most important thing of all…sometimes plans need to shift.

Phoenix Rising

By Cara Carnes

I’m thrilled Phoenix Rising releases today. When this line of paranormal new adult books was mentioned to me, I knew instantly what I wanted to write. Specifically, I knew what I wanted Riletta and Macen to share with the world.

What I didn’t expect was the visceral reaction I would have as a writer while putting their story down. I’ve written quite a few books at this point. The characters are always fiercely independent in my head and I as the author always have a firm grasp on their personalities, flaws and little idiosyncrasies.

From the start, though, these characters were different. This story was different. Even as I typed THE END I still couldn’t put my finger on precisely why. Then, late one night, it came to me.

Their journey was mine. Or rather, ours. We’ve all been there in one way or another—in a new place, starting a new leg of our life experience. I might’ve breathed life into Riletta and Macen but they gave me understanding, insight into how far I’d come. More importantly, how much I’d grown.

I was too young to be on my own. I didn’t know that then. I do now. I didn’t have many of the life experiences other kids my age had. I love my family dearly, but stating I was sheltered is such a grave understatement that,if I to said it aloud, lightning would strike me. I knew no one. To make matters worse, I wasn’t exactly a social bug. Add this to the fact I wasn’t living in a dorm and the perfect recipe for a horrible first year culminated.

Fortunately, fate intervened and I followed my heart’s desire and enrolled in a journalism class. It was mostly juniors and seniors. To say I was out of my comfort zone was an understatement. But I was helping put together the college newspaper. Nothing could stop me.

I learned so much the first year there—jello shots aren’t the world’s answer to tasty party snacks and the world will NOT end because there are thousands of crickets have invaded the campus (you don’t want to know. Trust me, it was VILE. *cringes) Those are the first two that came to mind. There were so many more. What can I say? I was a naïve newbie with LOTS to learn. 

I could share tales of over imbibing, misadventures of the socially awkward. But the most important lesson I took from that year was risk. Taking a chance by putting yourself out there is hard, but the reward when it pays off is so worth it.

 

I hope you enjoy Phoenix Rising. More importantly, I hope it helps you recall your younger self and discover exactly how far you’ve come since then.

So, what did you learn your first year away from home?

Buy Links:

Amazon || Kobo || iTunes || Decadent Publishing

Blurb:

Sometimes you have to crumble to ashes before you can fly

Riletta knew hardship. As a shifter who couldn’t shift, she was raised in a wolf pack that ostracized her. She was ready to tackle the world when she was dropped off at the university with no identity, very little cash, and the only thing she wanted—freedom. The last thing she expected was for the university’s resident Alpha wolf to stake a claim.

Macen Giordano hadn’t expected the little female to bring out his protective wolf, but he’s not about to let university politics harm the innocent shifter. Riles may not be wolf, but she is his.

When prejudices threaten them both and shed light on her true nature, the two must survive the impossible to earn their destiny.

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