KOD’s very own DAPHNE DU MAURIER AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN MYSTERY/SUSPENSE is open for entries until March 15th at 11:59PM (MDT).

There are both Published and Unpublished divisions. A few categories are full as of this time.  Please visit the website at http://www.rwamysterysuspense.org/daphne for more information.  For any questions, contact Daphne Contest Chairman, Brooke Wills, at daphnecontest@gmail.com

And now, please put your hands together for the following KOD-members, who have good news to share:

Mia Kay‘s second book in the Agents Undercover series, HARD SILENCE, is up for pre-order in anticipation of its April 25, 2016 release from Carina Press. HARD SILENCE is the story of secretive rancher Abby Quinn and Jeff Crandall, the flirtatious FBI profiler next door.

Check it out here: http://authormiakay.com/2016/02/07/hard-silence/

You can read the first five chapters of HARD SILENCE for free in ONE NIGHT WITH A COWBOY: A Western Romance Sampler, which will be released on March 1 from HQN. http://authormiakay.com/2016/02/07/one-night-with-a-cowboy/

Beth Treadway bought licensed pictures for her website and covers. She’ll be consistent across her covers and social media when she releases.

AHUNTER4TRUST, the fifth book in Cynthia Clement’s Hunter4Hire series was released this week.

Darrogh is an elite alien warrior. A life spent in combat on the outer frontiers of the galaxy has forged him into a skilled and effective soldier. He has never had contact with women until he crashes on Earth with the rest of his military unit. The last thing he expects or understands is the attraction he has to Tamsin, the woman he has been hired to protect. With unknown assailants threatening her life, Darrogh questions whether he should also be protecting her from him.

Tamsin lives a life of luxury. The daughter of an aristocratic British banker, she rejected her father’s arranged marriage when she found her fiancé in bed with her best friend. She has distanced herself from her family’s heritage and built a life of her own. All of that changes when her father insists that she needs protection, and contacts aHunter4Hire. Tamsin asserts that she can take care of herself, but she can’t fight her attraction to Darrogh. Dare she trust another man with her heart?

And Nichole Christoff’s THE KILL SHOT, Book 2 in the Jamie Sinclair series, won the Grand Prize in Romantic Suspense (Applause, applause!) in the Houston Bay Area RWA’s Judge a Book by Its Cover (JABBIC) Contest. As a result, it will be featured as part of a group ad in an upcoming issue of Romance Writer’s Report. Book 3, THE KILL BOX, also won Second Place in Romantic SuspenseCheck them out here: www.nicholechristoff.com

The mystery anthology, EIGHT MYSTERY WRITERS YOU SHOULD BE READING NOW will be free on Kindle this weekend.

Editor Michael Guillebeau asked seven other mystery writers (Lisa Alber, Kathleen Cosgrove, Chris Knopf, Jessie Bishop Powell, Larissa Reinhart, Jaden Terrell, Lisa Wysocky) to put together an anthology of sample works and short stories with a foreword by Hank Phillippi Ryan and they are celebrating the release with a free weekend. Larissa wanted to let her crime loving friends know! Here’s the blurb:

“It’s easy to find a book; it’s hard to find the book, that new author who sets your life on fire.

That’s why we put this collection together. This book gives you an easy way to sample a group of eight up-and-coming mystery writers who you may not have heard of, but who critics and award committees have noticed. We’ve assembled eight very different styles to let you sample a wide array of stories and find new voices you might have trouble finding on your own.

We have hard-boiled detectives, and we have crime-solving animals. We have deeply flawed characters, and we have cute youngsters. We have damaged women, kick-ass women, noble women and mean women, sometimes in the same character. We have tough guys in spades, and we have funny in spades.  Each writer contributed a story, a sample chapter from a book, and an interview. Because of our variety, there’s sure to be something here you’ll love, and maybe love for life.”

Teresa Reasor has finished her 11th full-length novel. It is a Scottish Medieval titled TO CAPTURE A HIGHLANDER’S HEART: THE WEDDING NIGHT. It will be released March 21st but is up for preorder now at Amazon, Apple, Kobo, Barnes and Noble and Smashwords.  For more info, visit Teresa’s website. http://www.teresareasor.com/Welcome.html

And that’s the news. Have a wonderful weekend!

This week’s quote: “There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortnuately, no one know what they are.” (Or maybe fortunately…)