...but not that type of quickie, unfortunately, lol.
Though this guy from Depositphotos keeps talking to me today...
I'm just going to be straight with you.
This is the first 'proper' launch I've ever run. I'm learning everything from scratch and almost everything is succeeding, at least a full 2% or more. LOL. Yes, I like to poke fun at myself because it's life, right? It's like Mark Divine, one of my favorite teachers says...
NO PLAN SURVIVES FIRST CONTACT WITH REALITY.
So, d**n/darn it all, I forgot to write this promised newsletter to you until late in the day. During my pre-launch period. Not the plan, Susan. I thought, okay, what brilliant thing can I say?
Really, nothing. LOL, again.
But what I can tell you is...why I write the heroes I do. And...why I love heroes.
If you're anything like me, you might have grown up with a bit of a scary childhood. I did. (All love to my parents - they had their own stuff, real stuff going on.) And in a lot of ways, my dad did his best to protect us.
But it's made me really, really value a man...who can be a protector. Who wants to be one. And who will stand by his woman....no matter what.
I love nobility. Ethics. More on the nobility thing in another email. But a man who will take care of the woman who's presented to him...and that he falls in love with...
Gold. That's gold.
Cole Dawson is that kind of man. I may share with you in one of my launch week newsletters how imperfect he still is (omg, you should read book 2.) But he still...like what I call a REAL MAN....always comes through.
I picked a bit for you guys to read from A Real Man: The First Miracle. It's below, in a short excerpt, when Cole first meets Tabby.
If you want to get involved with a whole group of people who are fighting to live their best lives, and who meet every challenge thrown at them, PLUS are human and have fun and play and tease too (read: sass, plus there is open-door sex, fair warning), here's the link to grab Cole and Tabby and the whole Dawson Ridges Ranch gang for your very own.
And if not, if it's not your cup of tea, also awesome. And I mean that.
However, here's the excerpt. And don't forget:
1. If you do want the books, you get THREE gift books with them, plus a coveted KU sample. All free, two from USA Today Bestselling buddies of mine. Just grab them anytime before May 3.
2. I've got a bunch of totally free books below, too for you, from a promo I'm in with other authors! You can find a new author, as well! I know some of these people, and I admire the heck out of them.
3. Oh, and Lisa ok'd the streusel recipe! I'll be getting that on your special VIP site as soon as I can. Not quite yet...I'm not finding time to even do laundry right now (remember Kathleen Turner in Romancing the Stone? Truth. And...same here. lol. )
4. Last thing. I'm rebranding the series, so right not the covers don't match. But the Real Men series and Delta North are all one and the same. I'm working really hard to do that, too. Soon, it will be all pretty and good and match...
Okay, enough. For not having had a lot to say....
Here's your excerpt. Please enjoy, and hugs. I hope you all have a great weekend.
And please drop me a line! I always have time to say a quick hi back. If you want, tell me what kind of heroes you like to read...and why they touch you. Why they matter.
I love connecting with you guys. 
Okay, really enough! Excerpt now. *zipping lips*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Setting the Scene:
Cole's in the hospital, worried about his Dad. He's heard bad news about the ranch. And then...
~~~~~~
He needed to find his damn center. He put his head down, put leather to terrazzo. Suddenly, he slammed into something that barreled into him.
Or, rather, someone. Solid, hard, yet strangely…soft.
“Hey!” Outrage sparked, sharp. A feminine voice. “What the hell?”
* * *
The air flew out of her, in a wallop. Thud.
She looked up, eyes wide, and saw…a man.
Well put together, that face, she thought immediately. Good tan, interesting features. Blue eyes she could stare at for a couple of aeons. A gorgeous blue, like the sky itself.
Though she saw immediately the intelligence in them, how they took in everything. She saw too the surprise in them, as she scanned him lightning-fast. Saw how his expression went from being startled to an open expression. Not judging.
And then, interest.
In her?
Oh, thank goodness. She’d remembered to put her makeup on. She was safe.
But she’d sloppily let her housecoat fall open, over the nightie with the open neck. If he’d seen the scars on her throat, and below….
Hell. She’d been in such an all-fired hurry to get away from that stupid psych session, her exit interview. Trying so hard not to cry in that tiny, fakely cheerful room, being forced to listen to the all-knowing spew from the counselor who clearly thought she knew her and knew what was best for her.
She hadn’t cried. Not in front of her, thank goodness.
And she wouldn’t. Not now, either.
Not in front of this man.
* * *
He forced his eyes to focus in, travel up. Up, past the ugly housecoat that had fallen open briefly and revealed a feminine form in a pale, pink cotton nightie. Past the antiseptic odor, harsh, at odds with the form, which was inviting.
And underneath the scowl on that weirdly pale face? Just a tiny breath of something. But there it was.
Soft scents, that of baby powder tinged with something sweet.
His gaze traveled upward, anticipation coursing through him.
The woman obviously didn’t feel the same way. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” She grabbed her robe, pulled it tight and high up around her neck. Puzzlement flooded his brain. She stood in the hallway, swaying, the robe wrapped around her now, like a strait jacket. She was completely covered up, a wall of sorts protecting her.
“Watch where you’re going.” The frown on her face wasn’t difficult to read, either.
For some reason, though, her anger didn’t stab at him. Something else had actually stopped him cold. Suddenly, he was in a crazy alternate world, where her glare didn’t mean anger at him, and somehow, rather than a good, strong rejoinder, she needed tending. Like a calf recently birthed, sick, bellowing for its mother…she was in need.
But if he was right, you sure couldn’t tell it from her expression.
The unexpected words dropped from his mouth, his tone soft, faintly guttural. “What do you need?”
He saw the slight look of shock on her face, and in fact, wondered if he’d read her wrong when fresh words barreled at him, set him straight.
“Just do us all the common courtesy of not mowing down any more people as you barge through life.” She flicked a disdainful gaze at him, up and down, took him all in. Snorted. “While you’re taking care of number one.”
With that, she lurched down the hallway, still clutching the robe tight, as if she was Fort Knox and all that was under there was gold. He was left there, standing. Dazed.
~ Chapter 3 Excerpt, A Real Man: The First Miracle
By Susan Saxx
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