Blog
Dreaming of a White Christmas in Seattle
The holiday season is a delight for the seasons. The sight of bright, colorful decorations. The scent of pine from freshly cut Christmas trees. The taste of familiar dishes only prepared during the holidays. The sensation of snuggling up with someone special.
One of the most classic signs of the season is snow. Seattle doesn’t get a lot–less than 5 inches a year–and when we do, it doesn’t stick around for long. Still, when we get snow, it’s a wondrous sight to behold.
I hope you enjoy these photos from a snowy Christmas scene at Pike Place Market. This looks like a movie scene for a Hallmark Christmas movie, don’t you think? If I really got creative, I might even find a way to include it in one of my contemporary romantic suspense books! Maybe this year we’ll get a repeat performance. What a wonderful holiday memory to shop for gifts or pick up a live Christmas tree to take home for the family to decorate!
Seasons greetings from wet-not-snowy (yet!) Seattle!
You're invited to a Facebook Event...Now What?
The holiday season is officially underway and that means parties. House parties, work parties and Facebook parties. I’m guest hosting a few celebrations during the upcoming weeks, and I’d love to see you there!
Some people find Facebook events confusing so here are some tips to make the experience more enjoyable for you.
More and more authors are hosting events in their groups, although some still create Event pages.
If the event is hosted in a group, you must join the group to participate. After you join the group, click the NOTIFICATIONS button under the group banner and select “All Posts”. You can change the setting after the party if you no longer want to receive all posts from a group.
If you’ve been invited to an event, you RSVP by clicking “Going” at the INTERESTED button under the event title.
Facebook parties are a great way to discover new authors. Many give away copies of their books or offer free downloads. Take advantage of these opportunities! Authors frequently include invitations to subscribe to their newsletters, connect on social media or follow them on sites such as Bookbub or Goodreads. If you don’t want to clutter up your email with newsletters, opt to connect via one of these other methods to learn about new releases and sale alerts.
Like giveaways? Attend Facebook parties! Authors and readers have fun with games, challenges, get-to-know-you trivia and Q&As. Sometimes the only thing you need to do for a chance to win is comment on a post!
Can’t attend the actual event? That’s okay. Many events remain open 24 hours, including giveaway opportunities, so people can pop in and out or scroll through the posts at a time that is convenient for them.
Are you ready to party? Join The Tea Room Facebook Group and join me on December 12 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. EST to celebrate NINE LORDS FOR CHRISTMAS. Check out all their other holiday season fun as well!
My final tip for enjoying yourself at Facebook parties is to get comfy in your PJs or lounging-at-home outfit before logging on. Curl up in your favorite corner and have a blast!
Still have questions? Post a comment or email me at Jacki@JackiDelecki.com!
Coming Soon! MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE TO SURRENDER
Last week was Thanksgiving, the perfect occasion to pause and reflect on the good things in life, big and small. What are you grateful for this year? I’m thankful for friends, family, good healthy, the opportunity to travel and my occasional participation in the performing arts.
I’m also grateful for my writing life ~ the ability to tell stories and the readers who enjoy them. Thanks to each of you who has purchased, reviewed and read my books this year. It’s heartwarming to know readers connected with my characters and that my stories provide a pleasurable interlude from the daily grind of life.
Special thanks to everyone who made the launch of my new military romantic suspense series, Impossible Mission, a success. It’s always daunting to launch a new series, but readers responded positively and enthusiastically to the release of Mission: Impossible to Resist.
I’m currently working on the next book in the Impossible Mission series so keep reading for a cover reveal and excerpt.
Wishing you a bountiful feast with those you love most,
Jacki
And now…the cover for Mission: Impossible to Surrender! Coming February 7, 2019
Navy SEAL Finn Jenkins will do whatever it takes to protect beautiful Sophie Dean, no matter the risk to his own life…or heart.
Preorder now!
Amazon
Apple Books
Nook
Kobo
Google Play
Continue on below for an excerpt from Mission: Impossible to Surrender! Want to read this as a PDF? Click here: MITS Excerpt
Finn Jenkins stepped out of the sleek supersonic Gulf Stream jet and concentrated on masking the pain of his abdominal wound with each step down to the tarmac. Traveling 7000 miles to Nepal might be a bit extreme but nothing new as SEALS were trained to do extreme and the chance to have Sophie alone over the next eight hours back to Seattle was worth the trip.
Finn scoured the area, hyper-vigilant for anyone or anything out of place for this trade off of Sophie in the private section of Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport. The visceral memory of Sophie’s capture just months ago by 14K was worse than any stab wound. All because he had left her to check on the hired security in Hong Kong.
Never going to happen again, not on his watch. Not that Sophie would like hearing that her arrivals and departures were planned as if she were a package, highly valued, compliments of her father’s billions, but also a very loved package.
Finn heard the alert of a new text and saw that Reeves, the family’s security IT genius, had sent a message. What did Reeve’s mean that Sophie had a surprise that Finn wasn’t going to like? Was her surprise that she was with Alex Hardy, the damn famous rock star? He had heard that Hardy had followed her to Nepal. Finn’s plan of giving Sophia space might have blown like a M67, shattering his dreams into unrecognizable fragments.
Finn ground his teeth, a habit he thought he had left behind. He was going to kick Reeve’s ass for taunting Finn. Panic, an unknown and unacknowledged feeling for a highly trained operator, twisted in his gut.
A black SUV pulled up at the gate. Finn checked his watch—right on time. Nick, his older brother, climbed out of the SUV, scanning the entire area, reinforcing to Finn that everyone was vigilant about Sophie’s safety.
Nick had taken over coordinating Sophie’s months in Nepal while Finn was on his last mission. A joint military training to assist the Batallones de Comandos, Mexico’s counterpart to SEALS, who were trying to stop the deadly cartel in the Baja California Sur. Training mission, my ass. More like a set-up. Finn had finished off the cartel shooter who had killed the Mexican Comando, but not before the guy had sliced and diced Finn’s abdomen.
A familiar warmth spread through him watching Sophie climb out of the SUV, baring her shapely legs. She smiled and waved when she saw Finn. He nodded, trying to act like he had his shit together.
“Finn, I’ve a surprise for you.” She chirped from ten feet away, her light voice taking on the familiar teasing lilt, triggering his need for this woman, and only this woman. He had blown a possible future with her by caring too much to burden her with his feelings when she was shaken and vulnerable from the abduction.
He walked toward Sophie, wanting to sweep her into his arms and swing in a circle but knowing that his carved up abdomen wouldn’t allow it. Dread blocked out the pleasure of seeing Sophie, with her blond curls swinging around her shoulders, her violet-baby blues, and her childhood habit of worrying her lower lip between her teeth when she was nervous or excited.
He kept his steps even and unrushed as he tried to hide his feelings. He was an expert of hiding his love for Sophie.
#BlackFriday Freebie - Women Under Fire
Treat yourself to this romantic suspense freebie. Women Under Fire, book 2 in my Grayce Walters series, is FREE for Black Friday and Cyber Monday shoppers. Read the excerpt and then one-click!
A hot summer night—perfect for Mariners baseball. Davis gazed over at the empty seat and swallowed against the feelings tightening his throat. These were the same seats he and his dad had shared for years of cold, rainy baseball seasons. His dad should have been here, awaiting Felix Hernandez’s first pitch.
Davis kept scanning the crowd for Grayce as the stadium filled. She had been detained in her veterinarian office to take care of a yellow lab that had indulged in an overdose of chocolate.
He watched Hernandez go through his warm up. Armed with his wicked split finger fastball, Hernandez had the mojo to go up against tonight’s strong Red Sox batting order. The pitcher’s predictable ritual of rubbing down the ball with both hands, smoothing the mound with his right foot, didn’t bring the usual comfort. For Davis, the familiar rituals of baseball were fused with loss.
“Davis, what great seats.” Grayce scrambled over the men in the aisle to get to the center.
What the hell was she wearing? His dad’s cronies, the old lechers, were watching her sashay toward the middle seat in her short shorts and a tight top showcasing her snug yoga body.
He was suddenly hot and irritated. What was she thinking wearing that outfit? Where were her usual blue jeans? And her ponytail? She had pinned her dazzling blonde hair on top of her head and little wisps of hair clung to her graceful neck. Davis took a deep breath. He was in shorts and a t-shirt, but hell, he looked nothing like luscious Grayce.
“Davis, what’s the matter?” Grayce slipped into the seat next to him. She had no clue that she had just heated the entire male fan section.
He pulled her close and pressed a hard, possessive kiss to her lips.
Shouts came from behind. “Davis, you’re killin’ us man.”
There were more hoots and loud laughs. He knew what was on the men’s minds; the same thing that rampaged through his body. Grayce’s face turned red, either from the heat or his demanding kiss.
Her green eyes were rounded in surprise. “I’m glad to see you, too.”
“How’s your patient?” His voice was gruff.
“Recovering. Gus ate half of a Martha Stewart chocolate ganache cake. He had a few tremors, nothing like Mitzi.”
“Mitzi was poisoned.” He still couldn’t believe that bastard had come after his dog during his last investigation.
He looked down at Grayce. His height gave him full view of Grayce’s cleavage. His mind drifted away from criminals.
“Davis, your face is bright red. Is this heat bothering you?”
It took all his control not to comment that it was her exposed body causing the blood to flow in hot rushes through his body. He had learned early from his sisters never to criticize what a woman wore. Never. He was struggling to find a happy balance, somewhere between frustration and lust.
“Do you like my new shoes?” Grayce stretched out her toned leg. “They’re called espadrilles. James talked me into them.”
Davis admired her finely shaped leg. Her shoes tied with a ribbon that wrapped around her delicate ankle. He wanted to untie that ribbon. He took a deep breath, trying not to betray his rapid breathing. How could a woman’s shoe affect him this much? Damn James. It was just like Grayce’s best friend, a cross-dresser, to find the sexiest shoes.
The blood thundered in his head. Oblivious to his friends and the game, Davis stood, pretending interest in Felix’s position at home plate to give himself time to control his need to ravish Grayce. Grayce stood when he did. She pressed her warm woman’s body against his side. He was in trouble.
“Man, Davis, down!”
Davis and Grayce both sat.
“Do you know everyone in this section?” Grayce asked.
“Just the ones you’re driving crazy.”
“What?”
“Your outfit…men like that kind of outfit. And your shoes are…”
Grayce looked at him. “My outfit? I’m in shorts and tank top…just like every other woman here.”
Davis ran his hand along her toned thigh. “But you don’t look like every woman here. You look…you look so damn perfect.” He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer. “You make me forget I’m at a baseball game. You make me want to go home.”
ABOUT THE BOOK
Life has heated up for Grayce Walters: thrust into the public eye and hounded by the media after solving an arson case with a critical clue from a French Poodle. When Ewan Davis, the sexy arson investigator Grayce has been steaming things up with, starts talking commitment, she definitely feels the burn.
Then a desperate mother begs Grayce to help find her missing daughter—an Afghanistan war veteran suffering from PTSD, and Grayce reluctantly takes on the case, following a disturbing clue provided by the missing young woman’s cat. Calling once again on the aid of her cross-dressing best friend and her shrewd assistant, Grayce uncovers a terrorist plot with chilling international implications.
Grayce races to rescue the young veteran before the escalating danger explodes. But if she manages to escape the threat, will she find the courage to commit to the fiery passion that awaits her wrapped in Davis’s arms?
The Health Benefits of a Gratitude Attitude…and 5 Tips to become more Grateful
Everyone knows that managing stress is important for your physical and mental wellness. Many people follow advice such as working out, getting enough sleep, practicing relaxation techniques, and spending time with family and friends. Cultivating an attitude of gratitude is another way to manage stress.
There are seven scientifically proven benefits of gratitude, according to researchers, including improved physical and psychological health, better sleep patterns and increased mental strength. Other sources report grateful people eat healthier, have more energy and have stronger immune systems.
It’s not always easy to be grateful. Here are five strategies to develop a “gratitude attitude.”
- Keep a gratitude journal. Be specific when you write down what you’re grateful for. Reading back through your journal is a good way to remember your blessings when you’re going through tough times.
- Be appreciative of others. Make a practice of saying thank you and expressing appreciation towards others. This makes you and the other person feel good.
- Be mindful. When you’re tempted to complain or fret, take a moment to look for the positive aspects of the situation. For example, if you’re involved in a minor car accident, be grateful no one was injured instead of focusing on the damage and inconvenience.
- Help others. Volunteering creates a sense of gratitude through giving to those who are less fortunate or in need, and reminds us of the things we take for granted.
- Express yourself. Look for opportunities to express your gratitude for what matters in life. Tell friends and family what you love about them. Acknowledge positives such as the ability to get out and enjoy a walk through the neighborhood on a pleasant day or a healthy, flavorful meal your spouse prepared.
One thing I’m grateful for is my readers. I had an opportunity to meet new and familiar faces at the recent Passport to Romance Reader Appreciation Event. I’m also grateful for hot cover models who turn out to be just as nice in person as they are to look at.
What are you grateful for? Share your thoughts and let me know.
Happy Thanksgiving!
