I can’t believe Thanksgiving is here. Holy frick, this year has zoomed by! For those who have shared, visited, commented, supported me, I say to you all…….
Now onto a few photos that made me smile and I hope they bring you joy as well.Â
I can’t believe Thanksgiving is here. Holy frick, this year has zoomed by! For those who have shared, visited, commented, supported me, I say to you all…….
Now onto a few photos that made me smile and I hope they bring you joy as well.Â
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âMANSLAUGHTERâ part two! As an illness that affects half of Gotham Cityâs population grows, Batgirl, Black Canary and Huntress pick up some unexpected help from Catwoman, Ivy and Harley, as well as some welcome backup from Batwoman, Spoiler, Gotham Girl and Wonder Woman. But as the Birds of Prey grow closer to discovering the source of the outbreak, what they find wonât end the plague and might only make it grow faster.
Tensions begin to rise when the Scooby gang takes refuge in a seemingly safe town. As the gang tries to hold together, a looming new threat completely unlike the monsters theyâve faced before reveals itself. The gang now faces being torn apart by two enemies: the monstersâŠand themselves. Meanwhile, Secret Squirrel must face the consequences of his disastrous actions.
What do you get when you cross a regenerative, cranky, old X-Man with a regenerative, wacky Wade Wilson? DEADPOOL VS. OLD MAN LOGAN! Writer DECLAN SHALVEY (DEADPOOL, MOON KNIGHT) and Mike Henderson (SECRET WARS: BATTLEWORLD, Nailbiter) are teaming up to team up Marvel’s deadliest heroes together in their own series! James “Logan” Howlett is after a newly discovered Omega-Level mutant, and he just won’t let Deadpool help. So, naturally, Deadpool vows to outmatch his newly marked enemy for the entirety of his mission!
If there’s one thing angsty teenage girls hate, it’s two older men fighting over her.
In this case…it’s DEADPOOL vs. OLD MAN LOGAN!
On a mission to save this new Omega-level mutant from pure evil…
…which regenerating hero will save Maddie first?
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I love Halloween because I enjoy seeing the various costumes. Whether I am astounded by a person’s creativity or left smiling over a trick or treater’s cuteness, I never end the night with a sad face. Below, I have shared a few photos that I thought were memorable from past Halloweens. Enjoy and remember be safe out there.Â
Photoed: “The Rock” Dwayne Johnson
Photoed: Ariana Grande
Photoed: Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson
Photoed: Serge Ibaka & Keri Hilson
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TONIGHT, SHE PLANS TO LET GO.
Dressed up and anonymous, Sadie Liberato feels powerful, sexy and free. Where better to lose herself than a masked party?
Gear Blackstoneâs cheating ex and scheming best friend have managed to spin his life into a serious downward spiral. At least with a mask on he can cut loose for one night. And cut loose he doesâwith the sexiest, snarkiest chick heâs ever met.
After a scorching-hot encounter, Sadie and Gear are desperate to find each other in real life. But can the heat last when the masks come off?
Excerpt courtesy of Marie Harte’s Website
The musicâs tempo jolted the partyers to new heights of enthusiasm.
âGreat DJ,â Devil said, his foot tapping to the beat.
She found herself doing the same. âNo kidding.â She eyed the tiny corn dogs on his plate. He had half a dozen. She wondered if heâd miss one⊠âHey, is that B-Man over there?â she asked.
When he turned his head, she stole an appetizer off his plate and shoved it in her mouth. Oh yeah, Elliot would be thrilled to see her display her âhouse mannersâ in public.
The devil turned back to her. âNot him.â He frowned at his plate, then at her full mouth. âDid you just steal my food?â
âNope,â she answered around a mouthful.
He stared at her for a moment, then burst into laughter. It was a full-bodied laugh, holding nothing back. Charming and real. She put Devil at the top of her list.
She swallowed, wishing she had something more to drink. As he finished off his plate, he glanced at her clean one, then at her. When he sighed and handed her his beer, she took it gratefully.
âNo backwash, I promise.â She opened her mouth to show him hers was clean, then downed half the bottle. âDamn, that was good.â
He blinked. âAh, you want more?â
âNo, no. You drink that. Iâll go get some.â
She moved to go, but he grabbed her arm. They both paused. Together, they glanced down at his large hand on her wrist, and he dropped her arm. âAh, thatâs okay. You stay here. Iâll get you something. Beer? More chow?â
She nodded. âUm, both, thanks. Iâll save your place.â
He left, and she watched his progress as he cut a swath through the crowd. Yes, the devil made his own path. This time, no one bothered him as he returned posthaste. To her surprise, she was glad. The guy smelled good, a hint of subtle cologne that went straight to her head. He had a kickinâ body and a great smile. But that air of Donât fuck with me really turned her onâah, made her amenable to his presence.
Talk about a wordy mouthful. At the thought, she found herself glancing down his body to see what else might be a mouthful.
Jesus, Sadie. Get your head out of the gutter, girl.
âYou okay?â Temptation leaned closer. âYou look a little flushed.â
âYou can tell in this lighting?â she teased, trying to get it together.
âGood point.â He handed her a beer, placed his own down on the table, and then put a plate overloaded with goodies on top of their empties. âThis is to share. To share,â he said slowly.
âYeah, yeah. Man, Iâm starved.â She fell on the plate as if the Russians were coming.
To her amusement, he fought with her for the cheese curls as much as for the mini egg rolls, and they devoured the snacks in good company.
They talked with their mouths full, making fun of the drunken genie as well as several unsuccessful hookups on the dance floor.
âOh, now that had to hurt,â the devil said. âRejected by a zombie and her warty witch friend.â
âYeah, but heâs not taking it personally.â Sadie took another sip of beer, loving the fact he hadnât gotten her a sissy glass to drink from. âSee? Heâs turning from the undead to slutty doctor chick.â
âSlutty? Isnât that non-PC?â he sneered, and she thought he sounded familiar, but the loud music made it difficult to tell. âBecause I say the wrong thing about a woman, not a âchick,â and Iâm a caveman asshole setting womenâs rights back twenty years.â
âWell, I can say slutty. You have to say sexually adventurous.â Sadie grinned. âKind of like telling a gay guy heâs a raging homo. Now I can say that, because my brother earned the title. But you try telling him that, and heâll knock your head off. And call him anything else, and Iâll knock your head off.â She hefted her fake sword before leaning it against the wall. âDonât try me.â
He shrugged. âYou have a sword. I have a pitchforkâŠsomewhere. I think I left it by the bar.â He glanced across the room. âBut hey, I have no plans to tangle with your brother. Iâm here to sin until this thing is over. Nothing else, and no fights.â He paused, and she swore he added something else under his breath.
At that moment, her brother appeared in the crowd, his gaze searching.
âShit.â
âWhat?â
She took Devil by the waist and turned him, noticing how he tensed but ignoring it. âSorry. Iâm having fun not mingling, and my brother is right over there looking for me.â
He relaxed and glanced over his shoulder. âWhich one?â
âSee the Phantom? Heâs a pain in my ass, much as I love him. I didnât want to come to this tonight, you know.â
âYeah? Me neither.â He stayed where he was, still watching the dance floor. âUh-oh. Heâs looking over here.â
âCrap, crap, crap. This is a primo spot!â She did what any smart woman in her situation would do. She turned Devil so he completely blocked her from Elliot. âI need to blend in. Work with me, would you?â
âSure, whatâ?â
She wrapped her arms around his thick neck and dragged him down for a kiss.
At the taste of his lips against hers, she shuddered, not having expected heâd taste better than his beer, or that up close and personal heâd smell like man and sex and chocolate. Chocolate?
Jesus, she must have had too much to drink.
Then he dragged her closer and deepened the angle of their kiss.
Sadie forgot about her brother, about the last crab cake on the plate, about how much she didnât want to be at the party.
And fell into the arms of a man who kissed like the devil himself.
Award-winning author Marie Harte has been writing professionally since 2005. Sheâs both a NY Times and USA Today bestselling author and has written over 100 books and counting. Marie writes books with heat, humor, and Harte. â„
She writes independently and for several publishers, to include Sourcebooks and Entangled. Though currently writing contemporary romance, she also writes paranormal and romantic suspense. Basically, everything romance with a touch of spice.Â
Before turning to writing full-time, she earned a B.A. in English from Pennsylvania State University and spent several years in the United States Marine Corps as a communications officer.
Marie currently lives in Central Oregon with her family. Thereâs nothing she likes more than finding a good book to read and a great cup of coffee to drink.
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One kiss can change everything. Dulcie has had a secret crush on her co-worker Rowan for ages, but sheâs too shy to let him know, and preoccupied with raising her rebellious teenage sister. When she bumps into him in the darkness of a haunted barn, she can’t resist stealing just one kiss.
That kiss enchants Rowan. If only he could figure out the identity of the woman whose kiss haunts him. While running from a troubled past, he may find that the woman he least suspects could lead him out of the dark forever.
Chapter One courtesy of Susan R. Hughes’ Website
Two weeks before Halloween
The first kiss happened in the dark. It couldnât have happened otherwise. Though Dulcie had longed to kiss Rowan for ages, ever since he first ambled by her cubicle at the office and tossed her one of his affable smiles, she wouldnât have dared to let him know. How could she? Rowan Pearce was beautiful. Self-assured. Magnetic. Everything Dulcie Brooks wasnât.
Of course she hadnât planned the kiss. Kisses were the furthest thing from her mind as she strode toward the haunted barn at Sumnerâs Farm. The ramshackle building stood on a small rise overlooking the farmâs expansive cornfields on one side and forest on the other. Above the craggy black outline of the treetops, a half-moon gleamed against a swath of inky sky.
Stepping around the slanted, weathered-looking gravestones that flanked the path leading to the barnâs entrance, Dulcie merged with the lineup of visitors waiting for the dour Frankensteinâs monster guarding the door to usher them inside. Red lights glowed in windows laced with cobwebs, where shadowy faces peered out and ominous moans and creaks emanated from within the wood-plank walls. Cheesy as heck, but just creepy enough to rouse goose bumps on her arms.
When a pair of hands gripped her shoulders from behind, Dulcie jerked and let out a startled squeak.
The hands pawed her hair. âBrains! I must find brains to eat. Where can I find brains?â
She spun to face her coworker, Nora, who flashed a wicked grin.
Dulcie folded her arms over her chest. âSo very droll.â
âScared?â Nora waggled menacing eyebrows. In the evening dark, the shadows crossing her face deepened the hollows of her eyes, lending her normally elfin features a ghoulish aspect.
âOnly afraid that youâll flay the skin off my arms like you did on that haunted hayride.â Dulcie plucked a sprig of straw from Noraâs pale blond curls. Huddled in the tractor-drawn wagon that had brought them to the barn, Nora had screamed like a six-year-old as zombies and masked men with chainsaws emerged from the woods and shambled behind in chase. Dulcie could still feel the fingernail gouges in the delicate flesh above her elbow.
Nora laughed. âThis place is a blast. Why didnât you bring your sister?â
Dulcie rubbed her hands along the sleeves of her cardigan, where the October chill seeped through to her skin. âAllie didnât want to come and hang out with my stuffy old coworkers at some lame team-building thing.â
âStuffy? Well, she may have a point. Weâre not exactly the most with-it crowd–evidenced by the fact that the only term I can come up with is âwith-itâ.â
Dulcie slid off her glasses and used the edge of her cardigan to wipe a fine coating of dust from the lenses. âShe had plans to go out with some friends tonight. Lord knows where, or what shady business theyâre up to.â
The lineup inched forward, and Dulcie glanced at her coworkers, a mixture of staff from several departments at the head office of Riverâs Edge Adventure Gear. Alan McCarthy, the companyâs vice president who had arranged the outing, waited at the front of the line.
Directly behind Alan, she spotted Rowan, his hands resting casually in the pockets of his fleece jacket while he chatted with copywriter Andy Newman. Normally she tried not to let her gaze linger on Rowan for too long, but she couldnât resist the occasional glimpse at the strong lines of his profile and soft sweep of his blond hair.
Glancing away, she gave herself a silent scolding. At twenty-six, she was far too old to be caught in the throes of a secret crush. Especially when sheâd barely spoken to the man in question in the nine months theyâd worked two floors apart in the same building.
âMy kids wouldnât come, either,â Nora commiserated. âItâs for the best that they arenât here to witness my embarrassing cowardice. It might scar them for life.â
Dulcie glanced back at her. âAt least theyâre at home with your husband, not roving the streets with their hoodlum friends.â
One edge of Noraâs mouth lifted. âYou sound like a mom.â
âIâm the closest thing to a mom that Allie has right now. Someone has to worry about her.â
Noraâs hands settled on Dulcieâs shoulders again, but with a reassuring squeeze this time. âSheâs seventeen. Rebellion is natural at that age. And, as her guardian, you have the pleasure of reining in that rebellion. But donât fret so much. This isnât big bad Toronto, itâs Donnington, Ontarioâs most innocuous city. Thereâs nothing scarier here than this ridiculous haunted barn.â
âThe shambling, grungy-haired, tobacco-reeking boy she hangs out with scares me more than anything lurking about here.â Dulcie heaved a sigh. âAt her age, I was home every evening, usually studying or curled up in front of the TV. No parties or boyfriends. I never gave our mother a momentâs anxiety.â
âYou donât say,â Nora replied dryly.
Dulcie shot her a withering glance.
âItâs just that youâre a cautious, by-the-book sort of person. In a good way. Everyone appreciates how reliable you are.â
Boring and predictable, you mean. Dulcie opened her mouth to offer a rebuttal, but couldnât think of one before the line ahead began to move and Nora nudged her forward.
Within a couple of minutes, Frankensteinâs monster lifted his moldy hand to direct them through the doorway into the barn. Dulcie entered ahead of Nora, her stomach tightening a little as she passed the threshold and headed into a darkened corridor. She felt Nora close behind, breathing raggedly, the toes of her shoes bumping Dulcieâs heels.
âStay close to me,â Nora whispered, dread lacing her voice.
Dulcie folded her arms tight over her chest to avoid Noraâs clutching hands. She shuffled toward a corner dimly illuminated by blinking lights. Eerie moans echoed through the walls.
A figure leaned out from an alcove–a vampire baring his fangs–and Dulcie jolted. Nora gasped, while the teenaged girl behind them let out a startled shriek.
âOh, for heavenâs sake,â Dulcie muttered, walking onward while the vampire retreated behind a curtain.
Rounding the corner, with Nora still at her heels, she passed a series of mutilated corpses and skeletons suspended from hooks, and then entered a corridor lined with formal portraits of ghoulish half-decomposed subjects.
Nora bent close to a portrait of a woman wearing a black Victorian dress and hat. âLook at this one,â she said. âThe eyes seem to follow you.â
Just then, the woman in the painting opened her mouth wide and screamed. Nora yelped and jumped back, splaying her hands over her face.
âOh my God, Dulcie. This place is gonna give me a freakinâ heart attack.â
Dulcie gripped her elbow. âCome on. Weâre halfway through.â
In the next room, in order to pass they had to push through a cluster of decapitated heads dangling from ropes, eerily aglow in sickly green light. Dulcie wrinkled her nose and shoved through the rubber props.
Emerging on the other side, she realized sheâd lost track of her companion. She spun to look back, but a crush of teenagers in the narrow doorway blocked her view. âNora?â
No response came, and to avoid being trampled she had to move forward into a pitch-black passage. Staring blindly, Dulcie pressed her hand to the rough planked wall. Whispers and nervous laughter echoed around her. It was all cheesy special effects and cheap scares, but she couldnât help the frisson of nervous tension that ran down her spine as she stumbled through the dark, not knowing what might leap out at her at the next turn.
She took a step away from the wall and collided with a warm body. Hands closed around her upper arms and she jolted.
âSorry. Are you all right?â
Dulcie froze, and then wavered on her feet. Rowanâs voice. Her pounding heart tripped over itself while his hands remained on her arms, steadying her. She could read in his tentative tone that he didnât know who she was.
She couldnât find her voice. Rowan Pearce stood inches from her, touching her. Heat flared from her skin under his fingers and rippled through her body. With her heart throbbing in her throat and her insides quaking, something came over her–an impulse too powerful to resist, a long-repressed compulsion unleashed in the cover of darkness.
Finding his elbow, in a single swift motion she slid her hand up the soft sleeve of his jacket and over the collar, touched his neck, and then traced the line of his jaw with her fingertips. Skimming her thumb across his lips to fix their location, she leaned in and pressed her mouth to his.
Excitement exploded inside her. His supple, warm lips tasted of the salty-sweet caramel popcorn sheâd seen him eating during the wagon ride.
To her surprise and pleasure, Rowan didnât pull away. His grip on her arms tightened a fraction as his mouth molded to hers and glided against her lips.
Though blind in the dark, Dulcie let her eyes flutter closed. The kiss lasted only a few seconds, but filled her senses with heat and longing.
Excited voices and giggles erupted from around the corner, just before a crush of bodies jostled Dulcie and Rowan apart. Shrieks filled the darkness. She stumbled sideways, dazed and disoriented, her hands flailing. The fingers of one hand scraped the wall while the other brushed against the people shuffling past. Rowan was gone.
She found her bearings when a sliver of light pierced the dark as a nearby door cracked open. The door opened further and she stumbled toward it, following a woman ahead of her onto the grass outside.
While the evening chill cooled her heated cheeks, Dulcie blinked and glanced around at the people scattered behind the barn. She didnât see Rowan among them.
A hand closed over her shoulder and she whirled around.
Nora stared at her with reproach. âWhere were you? I thought you were right in front of me.â
Dulcie cleared her dry, tight throat. âLost my way for a bit.â
Shuddering, Nora hugged herself. âI didnât like it in there. Too crowded. What did you think?â
âIt was ⊠fun. Kind of a rush,â Dulcie said. She still felt slightly dazed, as though sheâd just woken from an intense and titillating dream.
âBut would you do it again?â
She bit her lip to keep a grin from spreading over her face. Yeah, in a heartbeat.
I’m a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary and historical romance. Nothing gets my heart pumping like a good love story with absorbing emotion, plenty of passion, and an old-fashioned happy ending. Thatâs why I write romance, and Iâm thrilled to share these stories with you. I live in Ottawa, Ontario, with my husband and three children.
To  find out about my sales and new releases, sign up for my newsletter. You can also like my Facebook page and follow me on Twitter.
I contribute regularly to the Authors of Main Street blog. Sign up for the AoMS newsletter for articles, free short stories, and news about me and the other talented authors in our group.
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