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When her sailboat is chased by Chinese pirates into the Japanese equivalent of the Bermuda Triangle, American volcanologist, Gem Ishiwara, puts up a good fight. Good but hopeless, until she is rescued by what her eyes tell her are red dragons, and her brain tells her is an impossibility. Her brain wins with an expedient Ctrl/Alt/Delete. She wakes to discover aliens really are on earth, they’ve been here for far longer than anyone ever imagined, and they are very, very interested in her.

Excerpt –

“Uh, Dr. Ishiwara, we’re being followed.”

Gem Ishiwara, volcanologist employed by the United States Geological Survey Office, and on loan to the Japanese to study the increased volcanic activity off the coast of Japan, closed the report she’d been reading, and gave her assistant, Ken Komatsu, her full attention.

“Followed? We’re in the middle of the ocean. How can you tell we’re being followed?”

“Because this is a 30-foot, single-mast sail boat with only a 4-cylinder diesel inboard motor, and theirs is a large cabin cruiser of some sort. Every time I tack to the wind, they change course as well. They don’t need to use the wind to move forward. Could you grab the binoculars and see who’s out there?”

Gem broke out the glasses, and it didn’t take her long to find their guests…make that pursuers. Her ‘uh-oh’ had Ken demanding, “What?”

“Ken, get on the radio and notify the Lucky 7.” Lucky 7 was her name for the Japanese research vessel, the Kaiyo 7. She’d dubbed it ‘Lucky’ because she hoped it would be. Kaiyos 1 through 5 met watery ends, with only the last one, Number 6, remaining intact long enough to be retired in 1964.

“We’re being tailed by either Chinese or Japanese pirates. Their boat is moving too fast for me to get a name or country of origin. And while you’re at it, break out the Uzi.”

Gem took over the helm so Ken could go below to radio for help. What had started out as a routine visit to their land base in Yokohama, Japan, had suddenly turned into a life or death situation. Her previous enjoyment of the sound of the boat’s keel slicing through the Pacific Ocean took a nose dive. She’d just this morning thought it cool that the Kaiyo 7’s tender was sail and not motor. As a scientist studying the planet, she was all in favor of not polluting the ocean with more oil slicks, but now, at this particular moment, she’d give anything to be captaining a drug-runner’s super-fast cigarette boat with hugely powerful motors. After all, what was a little gasoline pollution compared to the cost of being raped, killed, or sold as a sex slave?

Gem looked about the deck of the pristine sailboat, and mentally calculated the profit the pirates would make if, in some world bazaar of pirates, they sold all of the oceanographic equipment and related electronics they’d picked up in Yokohama. Taking the sailboat would be worth the effort. Her cataloging was interrupted by Greg.

“Do you know how to use one of these, Doctor?” Ken held out the automatic weapon.

Gem looked over her shoulder and discovered the pirate speedboat was gaining on them. “No, but what’s to know? You just aim and pull the trigger, right?”

Ken couldn’t quite keep his manly displeasure at her lack of firearm training from his face. “Right, I’ll handle the weapon. You just keep making zig-zags. Maybe we can keep them away from us long enough for the Japanese Navy to send a ship or a helo to rescue us.”

“I hate to burst your bubble, Ken, but they’re really gaining on us.”

C. L. Hadyn aka Cyn Hadyn, a career historian with Hungarian/Viking nomadic roots, loads up the gypsy wagon for the last time (hopefully) and heads to Greensboro, North Carolina, to follow her delusion of becoming a New York Times best-selling author. Yeah, sounds silly but it’s true. I’m a transplanted Yankee living way south of the Mason-Dixon Line despite its lack of decent Italian food. Uh, concerning the Italian food, I’d still sacrifice a small digit for authentic Italian cuisine a la Philly, Trenton, or New York.

Before settling down to write full time in the land of ‘bless your heart, and y’all’, I was a Special Operations (US Army and US Marines) military historian/archivist. Now I collect a retirement check and write paranormal, and historical romance. I guess my service with Army and Marine Special Operations left an indelible impression on my writing, because my characters, both male and female, are distinctly Spec Ops in their outlook.  They leave no man behind, color outside the lines, and are very, very lethal. I’ve also pushed the envelope a little by including Erotica and BDSM and M/M romance. Which brings me to my latest books: Golden Hours Book 1: Fall Back; Off Track; The Danegeld, and Guarded Hearts, published by Decadent Publishing under the pseudonym C. L. Hadyn.

If you have a taste for the paranormal, historical romance, or something more outre’, I would love to hear from you via Facebook.com/Cyn Hadyn or C. L. Hadyn.

 Other books by CL Haydn

Coming April 5 – Beach House – a contemporary romance just in time for a beach read.

When Alli arrived at her beloved Beach House to recover and get her life back on track the last thing she expects to find is a border living there. Throwing him out is her first priority. The last thing she needs in a man anywhere near her.

Alex rented the beach house for the whole summer, depleting his bank account in order to get his head on straight and his writing back on track. Finding a woman on the deck when he returns from shopping is not only unwelcome, turns out she’s also the damn owner!

Two damaged people need to find a way to coexist and heal, helping each other in ways neither saw coming.

Get a free read at Booksprout for a review….

Excerpt –

Allison rolled her suitcase across the gleaming hardwoods to the sand colored tile in the large gourmet kitchen.

She smiled at the sight of her favorite bedroom suite to the far right of the great room, on the north side of the house and closer to the kitchen. She was able to get her things inside using the luggage as well as the cane to assist her.

The master suite had never appealed to her, stairs not withstanding. This smaller room was the one she had furnished despite Richardson’s snooty decorator, Sofia.

A soothing sage green in color, this room, like the great room, had a lovely view of the ocean and a private deck with excellent shade. The queen size bed left plenty of room for a sitting area and the private bath had a walk-in shower. No tubs for her in the near future, except for possibly the hot tub on the main deck.

Her chair stood in front of the glass wall. It was the one she’d fought for. The decorator hadn’t wanted it in here, didn’t like the way it looked with the rest of the furniture. Sofia had chosen two French style, horrendously uncomfortable and elegant chairs for the space. She’d gone so far as to tattle to Richardson, but for once he’d been in a magnanimous mood early in the marriage and waved it off. This was a beach house, not a board room!

Allison had chosen it, a chair and a half swivel recliner with a whimsical fabric of a darker green than the walls with red, purple and yellow shapes to add color and informality to the room. The fabric had made her smile. This was a reading chair, something she could curl up in.

The master suite, even if she could use the stairs, was not to her taste. Even though the house was hers, a wedding present, Sofia had decorated that bedroom in Richardson’s rigidly upscale sophistication. It could have been lifted from his penthouse in New York City. Nothing beach-y about it at all.

Unpacking could happen later. She wanted, no she needed to sit in a shady spot on the main deck and just breathe for a little while. Let herself revel in the belief she was finally safe and free.

Choosing one of the beach loungers in a shaded part of the deck, even knowing she’d have problems rising, she slipped off her shoes and ran her hand through her hair, releasing it from the ponytail she’d had while driving. She pushed the heavy red tresses away from her face and allowed the ocean to mesmerize her. Such freedom before her.

She was dozing when the shadow fell across her and a deep voice said, “Who are you and what the hell are you doing here?”

For additional beach reading, check out Cancun Memories and Learning Trust.

Please meet Leslie Ray. Her latest book – Exposure – is now available and it’s one you shouldn’t miss. Part rom-com, part angst – go for it!

* You are going to be new to many of my readers. Tell us about yourself.

Born and raised in the south, I’m a Southern writer through and through. I love to capture the essence of growing up in a small-town in my books. When I am not writing, these days I spend most of my day negotiating with my youngest to actually pay attention to virtual school. Thank you Covid. One day, when the world returns to normal, we’ll go back to our adventurous lives of exploring new places.

* Tell us about the book that’s just come out.

EXPOSURE is the first in my new Carefree series. Beaufort, SC is the inspiration for this series setting and I’m so excited to do a coastal series. Especially on these dreary winter mornings, it’s nice to escape to the warm sun and sand of the SC coast.

EXPOSURE follows the lives of freelance nature photographer Julia Hawthorne and police chief Miles Scott, two perfect strangers who have a troubling connection in their past. This saucy rom-com quickly becomes an emotional journey as the past collides with the present, leaving Miles to make a tough choice between hiding his scars or exposing his heart.

Find out more at Welcome to Carefree

* What started you on your love of writing?

Funny story, I was living in Pennsylvania, about to move back to the south. In preparing for the move, I went into the bank to close out my accounts. You should know, I’m a klutz. It’s my superpower. So here I am, walking into the bank, not paying attention (per usual, I was trying to get my life together while in motion, always a good idea), and I took one step in the door only to crash into a wall. A roughly six-two, very fine wall of a man. He was decked out in his dress blues and looking very sharp. I have no idea what branch of the military he was, but it got my approval. The man was pure male perfection. I would like to tell you this is the part where I said something charming or witty, but those off the cuff comments apparently are reserved for my books and not real life. Instead, I stuttered some unintelligible “I’m sorry” and went on about my way hoping no one else saw me. When my bank business was finished, I got back in my car and texted my best friend the words “If I ever write a romance novel…”. And so, my first novel was born. I spent the first six weeks of our move in coffee shops, bouncing between looking for jobs and writing my first novel. You can read about my amazing collision in RUN TO ME. Though Emerson and Preston don’t meet in a bank, they do have quite the first collision.

* Do you write in more than one genre – tell us a little about each one and the books you’re working on in each?

I have only ever published contemporary romance novels. They are my great love. I have a series set in the NC mountains (Spruce Pine Series) and now I am starting my series in SC (Carefree Series).

I have a YA Dystopian novel started. I don’t know if it will ever see the light of day, but it’s a story that came to me one hot summer day. I was walking our dog, who’d just had surgery, and the grass was dry and crunchy. As I walked in the heat, listening to the sound the grass made beneath my feet, the story came to me. I still think about it from time to time. It will hit me out of nowhere, which is a good sign one day it will get written.

* Have you attended any writing conference or classes? Tell us about some that and some that have been especially helpful.

The only major conference I have ever attended was RT (Romantic Times) which unfortunately does not exist anymore. What I will say about the big conferences is they are an amazing place to network, and meet fellow authors and readers. Not to mention it’s just fun to be around a ton of people who have the same passion as you.

* Are you a member of any writing groups?

I am a member of RWA (Romance Writers of America) and our local RWA chapter Heart of Carolina Romance Writers. I am also part of an amazing critique group comprised of 6 other extraordinary romance writers.

* How attached do you get to your characters? Do you know what happens after the book ends?

My characters live in my head so long, they’re like family. I think that’s why you’ll see previous characters pop up throughout a series. I have a hard time letting them go.

I do usually know what happens in their lives post book. Again, sometimes the reader gets little glimpses into their lived as well later in the series. Maybe one day I’ll do a crossover and bring some of my favorite characters together from different series. I’m sure I can find a way to make it work.

* Describe your ‘perfect’ writing day.

Oh, how I imagine this one often. Ha! My perfect writing day would be a long morning writing session in a coffee shop, lunch with a friend for a little break, and then a nice long writing session on my front porch on a nice, warm, sunny spring/summer day. I recently left my day job to focus on writing so hopefully, one day post COVID, I can actually make this happen.

* Could you tell us the one question you wish people would ask about your writing… and don’t forget the answer.

I don’t know that I have a specific question I wish people would ask, but I love when people do ask questions. I LOVE talking about my writing. It can be such a solitary journey so I love when people want to step into that world and talk about it. It’s like watching a behind the scenes clip after the movie.

Check out her other books as well!

From the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Outer Banks, a diverse variety of captivating romance novellas await you in this charity anthology brought to you by Heart of Carolina Romance Writer

Amazon – available for preorder now!

Samantha Covington’s SOMEONE LIKE HER can conjure anything, except love.

Love may require breaking someone’s heart. Even your own in JUST DUCKY by Laverne St. George

When you trust the enemy, at least you know where you stand in TWO IF BY SEA by Maggie Preston.

Worlds collide in BROWN MOUNTAIN LIGHTS by Donna Steele.

The last thing he expected was what he needed the most in Linda Tiffin’s UNWRAPPED WITH LOVE.

One grumpy actor in need of rescue plus one overly prepared hiker equals one hike to love in GRINDING CORN by Laurel McMacken

Ten years, three months, and one week…THE GIRL NEXT DOOR is all grown up by Laura Browning.

A bad-ass outlaw biker falls for a woman he can’t have in MIRROR IMAGE by B. L. Harris.