I love Christmas! I love the traditions, family, gifts…the food.
 
But I also grew up poor and, oftentimes, wondered why other kids got presents that I didn’t. As I got older, I saw the realities of the world and realized how lucky I was. While I didn’t get the Barbie Dreamhouse I wanted, I did have a Barbie doll, and we always had a roof over our head and food on the table.
 
Some children aren’t so lucky…
 
When our boys were young, my husband, who was a police officer at the time, worked with the local community and knew the families who had rough breaks. The police department spent months collecting food and toys, and then took them to the hard-working families who needed help on Christmas. The faces of the beautiful children…and the tears of the appreciative parents were unforgettable. Our sons learned something, too. When they saw how wide-eyed a little boy was to receive a Tonka truck, they were more appreciative Christmas morning when they got their Nintendo or Sega…or whatever was popular that year.
 
Someone once said that if a group of people wrote their problems on a sheet of paper and tossed them in a basket and passed that basket around and traded problems, most people would choose to keep their problems. Obviously, no one can prepare for the tragedy that happens in the blink of an eye, but is it possible that we learn to deal with what we have—or don’t have?
 
I think so. I've been through a lot in life, and yet, writing has helped me. So, when a good friend suggested I write a Dear Santa story, I wanted to bring to life a story of a woman who, like me, didn’t realize how lucky she had it…and forgot about her dreams…or assumed she wasn’t powerful enough to make her dreams come true—personally and professionally.
 
I hope you enjoy my story of hope. Hope for a single mother…her son…and the children who live on the poor side of Chicago.

To show her he's the hero she once loved, he must find her son...

Determined to give the woman he loves closure and win back her heart, Vince embarks on an all-out manhunt for her missing son. What he discovers, though, might be a death warrant for him and the woman he can’t lose again.​
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What readers are saying about the Midnight Sons series:
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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "An Alaskan Adventure... Who doesn't love a bad boy? Match him with a tough, independent female, and you have a dream couple!" -- TOP 100 VINE VOICE (Sam's Folly)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Suspense and sensual romance are expertly combined in this riveting story." -- AVP (Sam's Folly)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "An escape into the remote wilderness, with scenes that'll take your breath away and characters you can't help but love." -- TOP 100 VINE VOICE (Alex's Atonement)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Suspense and romance with a good storyline." -- Goodreads (Alex's Atonement)

For more info or to download, visit Amazon.com.

Vince's Chance is stand-alone story. However, if you'd like to meet all the Midnight Sons, you can find links to the series at all major book retailers.

Since many are out of work right now, I'm going to lighten your load. I'm offering three of my bestselling First-In-Series Books absolutely FREE, so please share with your friends! For those of you who've already read these books, let me know which of my follow-up books you'd like. If I have a coupon for it, it's YOURS! Only exclusions are the Midnight Sons series, since Amazon hasn't given me coupons for them yet.

AND...if that's not enough... How about some FREE audiobooks to chase away cabin fever! Ask and you shall receive...any of my audiobooks!!! Simply email me: Carmen @ CarmenDeSousa . com, and it's yours! Hurry! Once I'm out, I'm out!
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For four thousand years, creatus have concealed themselves from the humans who hunted them almost to extinction. Unwittingly, one creatus will endanger them all...

In his quest to protect the woman he can never have, a twist of faith propels him into a role that will cause dissension among his family and endanger the anonymity that they've spent thousands of years protecting. Now, he will risk everything to save the girl from humans and his own kind. The one thing he can't save her from, however...is herself.

​​This 2-book set is FREE at all major eBook retailers! Download from Amazon.com now! Find links to all sites here!

Don't forget...email me if there's a book you're missing from your collection or if you'd like a free audio book! Find my full list on my Amazon Author Page.

Happy Reading, friends!

​Alex Belgarde has carried the guilt of his father’s death for more than ten years. Every year, as his family’s company falls deeper into debt, the guilt eats away more of his soul until there’s only one answer. Prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice to save his father’s legacy, Alex takes off on a frigid winter day with no radio and very little fuel in his seaplane. He’s using up the last of his reserve tank, preparing to drop from the sky, when he sees plane wreckage below.

Irene Rose has spent her life running away and chasing her dream. But after a possible terminal diagnosis, she realizes how lonely her life has become and is ready to forgive her sister and beg for her family’s forgiveness. Instead of arriving on the island of her birth, Irene finds herself stranded on an uninhabited island in the Gulf of Alaska. Unbeknownst to her, the pilot of the plane she chartered was a drug runner, so he didn’t alert authorities as they crashed.

While Alex’s illogical idea to save his father’s company is thwarted because of his compulsion to help, he finds purpose in offering aid to the beautiful and intelligent Irene. The attraction is mutual until Irene persuades Alex to tell her the real reason he can’t merely fly them to safety or call for help. Now the two castaways will have to fight the harsh winter elements, as well as the drug smugglers who lost their cargo in the wreck, if they want to make it home alive. Not easy tasks when Irene refuses to trust Alex to get her home safely. She simply can’t get over the fact that as talented, tough, and tantalizing as he is, he was going to throw his life away. Especially when her life will probably be cut short.

For the first time in his life, Alex will have to face his demons instead of running from them to win the girl and prove to himself that he’s a real hero…

So you know... I don't hate Valentine's Day at all. I'm not big on cut flowers, as they die and make a mess of my kitchen, but...I always loved the jealous looks of coworkers when the delivery gal came strolling in with a beautiful bouquet. Hehehe... Note: If you send flowers, send them to your partner's workplace. IMHO

So, why do I ask: "Who hates Valentines' Day?" Easy, because imagine you've been married fifteen years, gave up your career, spent your life taking care of your husband and son, only to find out your husband got another woman pregnant... That's rhetorical, of course. You'd be mad! With good reason!!!

Unlike many women's fiction books about divorce, Jana's story starts AFTER she's kicks out the lying, two-timing jerk. Some Lucky Woman is about being thirty-something, and not knowing who you are and what you like because your entire adult life has been spent making other people happy.

And now, without further ado, in Jana's words, here's why she's not gonna let Valentine's Day get her down...

​“Who hates Valentine’s Day?” the woman screeched in response.
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The floor came alive with stomping and hooting. Even I couldn’t help but applaud for that question. I’d almost forgotten about the lovers’ holiday. And why shouldn’t I? If I dwelled on the fact that tomorrow was Valentine’s Day, I might start feeling sorry for myself, and that’s the last thing I needed. For the first time in more than fifteen years, I had no one to bring me candy and flowers. Meh! Chocolate was fattening and flowers just made a mess of my counter top and then died anyway. READ MORE
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And if you haven't heard, I have a new series out...

And lastly, as a THANK YOU for hanging out with me and spreading the word, there's an awesome giveaway for YOU!!!

ENTER HERE!!!

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Five brothers risk their lives to rescue those caught in the death grip of the Alaska wilderness...and find their hearts in danger of falling for women as tough as the Land of the Midnight Sun.

The last thing Sam Belgarde has time for is to tramp through the Alaska wilderness chasing a spoiled socialite, especially when he discovers she’s the mystery woman who stole his heart then stood him up. But the reward her fiancé is offering will save his family’s struggling search & rescue company, so he’ll bend the rules just this once.

​Once he finds Nora Molina, however, things get tricky. They’re both keeping secrets. She’s obviously running from something—or someone—and they’re having trouble fighting the heat between them. Making matters worse, someone wants them to stay lost in the wilderness…permanently. READ MORE  

NOTE: Although the Midnight Sons series will continue with different brothers and ongoing story lines, each book is a stand-alone story--no cliffhanger!

​Happy Reading!