Charity Sunday: Folds of Honor

How Charity Sunday works: for every comment made on this blog post, I will donate money to the charity named. The same promise is made for every blog site listed in the group–click the Linky Links link at the bottom of this post to see the list of participants and read/comment on any of them to see a donation go to that blogger’s charity. We’re all different! Thanks for your help and your participation!

My charity this moth is Folds of Honor in honor of Memorial Day, which was last weekend here in the States. The mission of Folds of Honor is: “To provide educational scholarships to spouses and children of America’s fallen and disabled service-members. … Honor their sacrifice. Educate their legacy.” So this charity helps two ways that are near and dear to my heart—it helps give people who need the boost an education they might not be able to afford, and it honors those who have given so much. Please comment!

A woman who has traveled thousands of miles searching for a tall man with brilliant blue eyes. A man she’s been dreaming of for months.

A man whose life is in danger—or so the screwy woman having dreams and visions says—but who doesn’t believe for one minute in the occult.

A man who has been thought dead for two years and who disappeared with a bundle in stolen cash.

How will these three come together? And who will be left standing at the end of their encounter?

Buy or Read for free on KU: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09K4SSBY7

Excerpt:

Without waiting for an invitation, Dan turned a chair around and straddled it, his arms resting on the back. He called out a request for sweet tea to the woman behind the counter, who seemed to know him and was unsurprised by his manner of ordering.

“Please join me,” Cassandra said dryly, though she might as well not have said anything for all the attention he paid her words.

“So, when are you leaving?” He smiled tightly, and his voice was anything but friendly.

Cassandra responded in kind. “I’m not sure yet. But if you’ll leave me your number I’ll be sure to call when I’m ready to go. You’ll be prepared then to start the celebration.”

“What, is the town in one of your hocus-pocus dreams, too? Is that why you’re hanging around?” He took a sip of his tea, which the waitress had just set in front of him. “Thanks, Mindy,” he said.

“I fail to see why that’s any of your business.”

“Look, you told me you have a dream where you see me die. Seems to me that makes it a personal issue and my business. I’d just prefer not to have you hanging around spreading tales that might get some people upset. This is home to me, not some research location for a parapsychology experiment.”

“Mr. Morgan, I have no idea why you’re being so rude.”

He snorted at her comment.

“But I can assure you that I have no intention of talking to anyone in Greenwood about you, or harming your reputation in any way. I also had no intention of speaking with you again and thus taking the chance of piercing your obviously very thin skin, but since you have invited yourself to drink tea at my table, the least you can do is be civil. I was sitting here minding my own business and enjoying the peace of your town when you forced yourself on me. In a manner of speaking.”

His eyes took on a darker glint.

“I know you know how to carry on polite conversation, since you did so Saturday night. If you choose not to prove that you can do it again, please drink your tea in silence. Or better yet, go somewhere else and drink it.” She lifted her coffee cup to her lips and shifted her gaze across the street.

Dan took a sip of tea and looked at her over the glass. His gaze, in fact, proved so intense that she squirmed involuntarily. She glanced down to make sure she was dressed appropriately, and of course, she was. She had on jeans again and a white blouse that had small sprigs of flowers stitched on it. The sleeves just covered her shoulders and the band collar stood up high on her neck. What was it with this man that threw her so off kilter?

“Well in fact, Ms. Hudson, I can be civil when I choose to be. That’s a very pretty blouse you’re wearing. See?”

“Thank you.” She directed her green gaze back to him. She could almost see the strain it took him to sit there speaking to her in a normal tone of voice.

“I like all of that fine embroidery work.”

“I did it myself.”

“All of it?” He sounded surprised. “It’s very nicely done. We pride ourselves here on knowing something about textiles and good work on fabric. It’s been the lifeblood of this part of the South for a long time.”

“I know that. I’m interested in textile work.” Cassandra sighed. “Mr. Morgan, why are you sitting here talking to me? It’s plain that you’d rather be anywhere else. Don’t you have a root canal or some other minor torture you’d rather be off to?”

“Why, Ms. Hudson. Beautiful and astute.” He grinned as she straightened in her chair and once again directed her attention to a storefront across the street.

More quietly he said, “I don’t know why I’m here. There’s something about you that has me intrigued, I guess. I drove past the motel half a dozen times yesterday trying to decide why I was even on that side of town. I kept hoping I’d see you out and have an excuse to ‘happen’ into you. But I didn’t. So I drove home and used up frustrated energy in the shop. Messed up several good boards before I finally wound down. Lucky I didn’t cut off a damn finger in the process.”

Cassandra snapped her head around. She hoped the astonishment she felt wasn’t plain on her face.

Dan faced her directly. “So, is that civil enough for you?” He took a big gulp of tea. “I suddenly wish this was something stronger. Now that I’ve found you, I can hardly wait to get away.”

“Flatterer.”

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. She is the primary persona of three pen names—triplets, if you will: Dee, Anne Krist, and Jenna Stewart.

As noted above, Dee S. Knight writes erotic romance—emphasis on the romance! She was part of an anthology named a Top Pick in Romantic Times magazine (Resolutions) and the sole author of another Top Pick designation, for the paranormal erotic romance, Passionate Destiny.

“Sister” Anne Krist does not write erotic romance. Her book, Burning Bridges, has received high praise and multiple 5-star reviews because of the depth of the romance and emotion.

Third of the triplets is Jenna Stewart. Jenna has tried her hand at ménage—in both historical and shifter books. She wrote the Sisters O’Ryan series set during the westward migration in the U.S., the Great Wolves of Men-Edge, and Unlikely Bedfellows.

Regardless of the name she uses to write during the day, their dream man, childhood sweetheart, and long-time hubby are all the same guy. What happens during their nights are their secret.

For romance ranging from sweet to historical, contemporary to paranormal and more join the girls on Nomad Authors. Once a month, look for Charity Sunday blog posts, where your comment can support a selected charity.

Author links:

Website: https://nomadauthors.com

Blog: https://nomadauthors.com/blog

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DeeSKnight

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

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

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

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

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

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Charity Sunday: The Light Foundation

How Charity Sunday works: for every comment made on this blog post, I will donate money to the charity named. The same promise is made for every blog site listed in the group–click the Linky Links link at the bottom of this post to see the list of participants and read/comment on any of them to see a donation go to that blogger’s charity. We’re all different! Thanks for your help and your participation!

I’d like to highlight a foundation I just heard about, the Light Foundation (https://www.mattlight72.com/). Usually, I like to focus on military charities but I also have a soft spot for groups designed to help kids or animals. Building better lives for children is the purpose of the Light Foundation: “Our mission is to take young people out of their everyday environments and provide them with unique opportunities that ignite their passion, purpose, and motivation to succeed.” They do this through leadership programs, camps, and scholarships. The results from their programs—including summer camps, hunting and fishing programs and more—are phenomenal. 88% of summer campers felt more confident to face life challenges, half experienced an outdoor activity for the first time, and 94% said they had a more positive outlook on the future. Remarkable!

This isn’t a huge charity but the good they do is needed in this world. Please comment and I will gladly send a donation. Thanks so much!

Blurb:
Two great historical mystery novellas that will keep you guessing.

In Jan Selbourne’s The Next Stop is Dead, a woman boards a city train one night and finds herself alone in the car with four strangers, all men. When she discovers one of them is dead, she has to find a way to exit the train and get help. Will she escape, or will the next stop be her final one?

In Anne Krist’s Missing, sisters Audra and Daina communicate using “twin language.” But how much difference will that make when Daina disappears? Can Audra find her sister before her abductor ends Daina’s life? Even with the help of an over-protective detective, saving her missing twin might not happen in time.

Buy link (KU):
Amazon US https://www.amazon.com/Evil-Lives-Night-historical-suspense-ebook/dp/B0B5B2VPB6/

Amazon Australia https://www.amazon.com.au/Evil-Lives-Night-historical-suspense-ebook/dp/B0B5B2VPB6/

Excerpt:
From The Next Stop:

Doug looked up in disbelief at the tall, grey-haired inspector. “Well, well, look what the wind blew in. Inspector bloody Parker himself. Couldn’t they find anyone else to work on a Sunday?”

“We meet again,” Parker replied curtly and pointed to the papers on the desk. “Now it’s bodies on trains.” He bent down close to Doug’s face. “Where’d you pick her up?”

“I didn’t pick her up. She was on the train when I got in at Richmond.”

Parker stood up. “And unknown to each other, you said, ‘Let’s pretend we’re in Agatha Christie’s movie Murder on the Orient Express.” He gazed at the ceiling. “Correction, Murder on the Dandenong Express.”

Doug steadied his breathing. “I told the police what Miss McLeod and I saw on that train.”

“It’s a pity you’ve sunk so low to making up stories.”

“Not so low I’d sell my soul for the job, Inspector.” Doug replied softly.

The room was deathly quiet until Parker spoke. “You’ve already been told, and I’ll tell you again. The train was searched and all passengers on the train questioned. The stations searched and railway staff questioned.”

“What’s to stop them opening the door on the other side and dropping onto the railway tracks?” Doug shouted at him.

“We aren’t that stupid,” Parker snapped back. “Saturday afternoon trains run every thirty minutes. The train travelling to the city at that time was stopped at Huntingdale. Passengers waiting for that train on the Oakleigh, Murrumbeena and Carnegie platforms were questioned. No one saw men jumping out of the Dandenong train.” His fingers tapped on the desk. “A bloody debacle. You and Miss McLeod will be charged with willfully wasting police time and resources and disrupting public transport.”

From Missing:

The morning hadn’t even really started and Audra felt fatigue and strain pull at her. The mirror had shown drawn skin in her cheeks, pale instead of their normal rosiness, and dark circles marred her eyes. A headache pounded behind those baggy eyes and the two pots of coffee she’d drunk since three o’clock didn’t help. Once again, she wore Daina’s coat as she ran down the hill to the bus stop on Dace. A transit change and three blocks later, and she sat in the downtown police station, tapping her foot and worrying the watch on her left wrist to see how much time she had to get to work.

“Ma’am?” The woman behind the partition with the glass front called Audra over. “Who was it you wanted to see again?”

“My sister is missing. I need to talk with whomever can help me. Please.”

“Come through the door and I’ll direct you to someone.”

“Thank you,” Audra said. Her voice held a quiver and she steeled herself to get through this process without breaking down.

She stepped through a wooden door to her right and then walked the maze of desks to get to the officer the woman pointed out.

“May I help you?” the officer asked, pointing to a chair beside his desk.

“I need to file a missing person report. It’s my sister. She wasn’t there when I got home last night, and we never go out after dark during the week. I need to find her.”

“Slow down, Miss.” He bent over to search a desk drawer for a form which he rolled into a typewriter sitting on an extension to his desk.

“Now. Name?”

Audra blinked. “My name or my sister’s?”

He barely stifled a sigh, like a man so used to doing his job that he’d lost all patience for those who didn’t understand what to do with his questions.

“The name of the missing person.”

“Daina Katyas. D-A-I-N-A.”

“Age?”

“Twenty-five.”

“When did she go missing?”

“Yesterday some time. As I said, she wasn’t there when I arrived home last ni—”

With that, he swiveled in his chair and held up a hand. “I can’t file a report until she’s been missing longer than half a day.”

“What? But that won’t do. She’s in danger!”

“How do you know this?”

“Her voice held tension when she called to me. I could tell.”

“She called you? After she went missing or before?”

Audra twisted the strap of her pocketbook and slid to the edge of the seat. “I don’t know. I just know.”

Taking a deep breath, she tried hard to calm herself, knowing how crazy that last statement had sounded. “Look, Officer…” She couldn’t focus on his nametag. She couldn’t focus on anything. She took another deep breath and another. Suddenly, her purse fell to the floor and she couldn’t catch air no matter how many deep breaths she grabbed. Pinpoints of blinding light flashed before her. She felt herself slipping from the chair. Gasping, falling into darkness.

Author Dee S. Knight:

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 (www.nomadauthors.com). Fortunately, Dee’s high school sweetheart is the love of her life and husband to all three ladies! On the last Sunday of the 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 Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B079BGZNDN
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/dee-s-knight-0500749
Sweet ‘n Sassy Divas http://bit.ly/1ChWN3K

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