Delilah Devlin's Blog, page 182
October 8, 2020
Story Game (Contest)
Let’s get this party started!
I bought this little brainstorming tool years ago at some writers’ conference. I’ve used it only a few times—here! “Story Cubes” is a brainstorming game. You roll the dice and whatever pictures appear, face-up, are the ones you use to riff off a story.
Here’s the roll…
To make this fun, I’ll offer a prize—a $5 Amazon gift card to the winner!
Have fun with this! Don’t overthink it!
Other Open Contests
Roxanne D. Howard: Type Dirty to Me (Giveaway) — Win an Amazon gift card!
Puzzle and “Tell Me a Story” Contest! — Win an Amazon gift card!
The post Story Game (Contest) first appeared on Delilah Devlin.
October 7, 2020
Cheryl St.John: Take a Bite Out of Self-Doubt
Along our writing journeys, it’s not uncommon for writers to struggle with confidence. One of the things we can do to build confidence is to recognize and overcome self-defeating behaviors, like negative self-talk. Negative thinking can be detrimental to our performance, make us doubt ourselves, and inhibit our creativity.
We all wonder if we have the stuff it takes. As beginners, we wonder if we have an inkling of talent. Once our talent is validated by other writers and readers, we still wonder if it’s good enough, if we have what it takes. It’s good to acknowledge that we don’t know it all and to have a desire to learn and grow, but doubt can hold us back. We shoot ourselves in the foot by creating and feeding feelings of inadequacy.
Being unprepared can leave us feeling inadequate, so reading, attending workshops, and staying informed on the craft of writing and the market is another way to help us feel prepared. When positive thinking is paired with common sense, we can stay open to possibilities.
Confidence can be built by setting and achieving goals, so it’s pretty important how we choose to set goals and measure them. Short term and long terms goals should be realistic and achievable. Don’t set yourself up for failure by setting a goal like, “I will be published by this time next year.” Unless you’re independently publishing, a goal like that is out of your control, and the result will leave you feeling helpless or like a failure. Set goals with smaller steps. A long-term goal might be to produce a polished product for submission with the next ten months. Then set short-term goals to make it happen: Two new pages a day or two hours of writing a day, for example. Perhaps take an online class or find a critique partner.
“Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.” – William Shakespeare
Most of us were raised in a competitive and comparative environment, where our achievements were profiled and graphed into percentiles; where we were matched up against our peers as a gauge to see how we were doing. It’s no wonder so many of us have self-esteem issues and doubts about our abilities. Thank goodness teachers, counselors and parents have learned to work in teams to choose learning methods suitable for children of all capabilities. Students are treated as individuals and encouraged to learn at their own speed and in the manner best suited for them.
Sometimes, we make mistakes. Sometimes, a project crashes and burns. Sometimes, we have to do something wrong before we figure out how to do it right. And that’s okay—as long as we’re moving forward.
You have to be willing to make mistakes.
I know writers who never get started because they’re always planning, plotting, and talking about the book instead of putting words on pages. Know anyone like that? There are writing students (not actually writers yet) who read every book on the craft and attend all the workshops and conferences and ask questions and take notes and plan, plan, plan.
It’s a good thing to be teachable and eager to learn, but you can’t learn to write until you put words on paper. The people who don’t get that far want everything to be perfect before it gets on the page – or they want it to come out perfect on the first try, so they wait until they’re good enough. Guess what? Ain‘t gonna happen.
You have to be willing to make mistakes. You have to be willing to write badly in order to learn to write well. Ask yourself: What’s the worst that could happen?
“Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong.” – Peter T. McIntyre
I’ve been a worship leader for quite a few years, and I always say to my team of singers, “If you’re going to make a mistake, make it with confidence, and no one will know you didn’t intend it that way.” I have been known to sing the wrong notes or words, but I sing them with such authority that everyone follows along. Confidence grows with practice and with maturity.
I wrote a how-to-write book. It was a pretty big deal. Who was I to write a book that would be marketed beside admired and credible instructors? It was a lofty goal to write an instructional book, but I’d been leading workshops and teaching online classes for years, and I had a lot of encouragement from other writers, which built my confidence in my ability. I always ask myself, “What’s the worst thing that could happen?” Writing this type of book was something I’d thought about for a long time. It was as big of a step as writing or submitting my first book. My long-term goal was to submit it for publication. My short-term goals involved gathering my notes and thoughts, preparing the manuscript, and getting feedback.
Imagine my delight when the publisher I had dreamed of made an offer. The process was so different from my other publishing experiences that it was a stretch. The editor of Writing With Emotion, Tension and Conflict told me I should be proud of this project. And I am. I did something I had only dreamed of doing.
I have high hopes for the future generations of students and young adults receiving recognition for intrinsic value. We should all know that our value lies inside of us, not in our performance.
Some things just can’t be measured. What makes one book better than the next or one writer better than another? Only perspective. Only the reader, when you get right down to it. Because story-telling can be so subjective, I might enjoy a book you can’t finish, and a story I think is drivel could land on your keeper shelf.
No one can tell you whether or not you’re going to sell a book, publish fifty more or be a success. Another writer can read your work and assure you it’s good, but that’s not a guarantee. There are no guarantees when you start writing, and that can get frustrating.
As much as we’d love for there to be, there’s no writer’s crystal ball to foretell the future.
Take a man with a desire to run a hundred-meter race. He buys a pair of Nikes, goes out and gives running a shot, but he doesn’t do very well. Why not? He didn’t practice! He didn’t study how other runners achieve endurance through diet and exercise. He doesn’t know how good he really is until he’s trained by learning all he can, eating properly for energy and muscle and all that—and after he’s ready, after he’s prepared, by stretching to limber up and then running.
Then running again and again and again until he’s fast and he’s confident that he’s fast, and he’s ready to compete.
In many ways submitting a book is a lot like that. Your manuscript will be compared to all the others that cross an editor’s desk. It will be scrutinized for its ability to make the publishing house money in the marketplace—bottom line in this business. The only way you can have the confidence to know you’re submitting something with a chance of making it past that test is to learn your craft and practice, practice, practice. Work at writing and work at it until you get better, until you hit your personal stride. Then share it and get feedback from people you trust.
So how can you grow your confidence?
Confidence is gained by successfully completing a task and recognizing the accomplishment—repeatedly. By acknowledging a success, your brain processes, “I can do this again.”
We can’t nurture confidence if we don’t recognize or even appreciate what we’ve done. Don’t ever demean an accomplishment by saying or thinking, “I was just lucky” or “Anyone could have done it.”
Don’t look at a project as too large. Break it down into steps and accomplish them one at a time. If it’s helpful, record your page/time goals and accomplishments in your planner. Check them off as you reach and overtake each one. It’s like that joke, “How do you eat an elephant?”
One bite at a time.
Celebrate each success along the way.
Have a chapter one achievement award party or treat yourself to something special for milestones reached. Give yourself fun stickers or hearts on your calendar—something visual to note progress.
Learn from your mistakes. This might sound simple, but if one method didn’t work, try a different one. You can’t expect a different result from the same behavior.
“Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.” – Lou Holtz
Confidence is conditioned behavior.
Many years ago, a study was done at the University of Wisconsin. A scientist tied a mouse’s front feet together and placed the animal into the cage of another mouse. The mouse whose cage was being trespassed easily beat up the mouse with its feet tied. After that happened several times, the scientist put mice without tied feet into the cage. The mouse who’d won repeatedly was so confident by then that it took on and defeated mice even larger than itself. Under ordinary circumstances, that mouse would have run when it saw a larger opponent, but it had been conditioned until it believed it couldn’t lose. And it didn’t.
Condition yourself.
Congratulate yourself.
Celebrate your successes.
Sure, sometimes self-doubt is much deeper, it’s inadequacies we’ve carried with us from childhood and relationships and past hurts and experiences. But there’s help for those things, too, in recognizing it and getting help if need be and working on it. You’re a valuable person. You’re worth it. You deserve to give yourself the gift of improving yourself and reaching for your dream.
“If you want confidence, act as if you already have it.” – William James
Whisper My Name
Ripped from the headlines…
Laurel Whitaker has spent her entire life burying her infamous past and becoming a normal person.
Joe Cavanaugh suspects she’s in trouble. His job demands honesty, and it’s his nature is to protect.
Will Laurel’s truth be her undoing…or his?
BUY LINK: https://amzn.to/3hl5a5g
About the Author
Cheryl is the author of more than fifty books, both historical and contemporary. Her stories have earned numerous RITA nominations, Romantic Times awards and are published in over a dozen languages. One thing all reviewers and readers agree on regarding Cheryl’s work is the degree of emotion and believability. In describing her stories of second chances and redemption, readers and reviewers use words like, “emotional punch, hometown feel, core values, believable characters and real-life situations.”
Amazon and Goodreads reviews show her popularity with readers.
With a 4.9 star rating on amazon, Cheryl’s bestselling non-fiction books, Writing With Emotion, Tension & Conflict and Write Smart, Write Happy by Writers Digest Books are available in print and digital.
The post Cheryl St.John: Take a Bite Out of Self-Doubt first appeared on Delilah Devlin.
October 6, 2020
Puzzle and “Tell Me a Story” Contest!
For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle and tell me a story! Doesn’t have to be long or even good—just have fun!
The post Puzzle and "Tell Me a Story" Contest! first appeared on Delilah Devlin.
October 5, 2020
Lawless, coming October 13! (Excerpt)
With my hand still in a soft cast, I’m scrambling to put this bad boy to bed before it’s release next Tuesday. It’s going to be a shorter story than I had hoped (so I might be dropping the price), and so far, it’s very, very sexy. So if that’s not your thing—be warned! 
October 4, 2020
A Happy Quote & a Question (Plus OPEN CONTESTS)
At least, that is what this shut-in/hermit writer believes. And then I laugh. I may live in the country, but the only time I have solitude is in the early, early morning before everyone else is awake.
So, tell me how you feel about that quote!
October 3, 2020
Roxanne D. Howard: Type Dirty to Me (Giveaway)
Type Dirty to Me
by Roxanne D. Howard
Genre: Contemporary Romance
FROM EXCITING ROMANCE AUTHOR ROXANNE D. HOWARD
When hot actor Brem Lockwood enters her life, Madelyn has a choice—stay safe with an online fling or risk her heart for a chance at real love.
Divorcee Madelyn Stacilli has baggage deeper than the Grand Canyon, and her move to New Haven to start a new life is the perfect change she needs. When vicious gossip stunts her plans to open her own business, she can’t confide in anyone around her. But online, beneath the blanket of anonymity, she can let loose and find comfort with the mysterious Easton216. Their natural, open relationship is a breath of fresh air.
When British A-list actor Bremond Lockwood rents the house beside her to escape an intense media spotlight and malicious past, he charges headlong into her life. Madelyn grows torn between her steady, emotional online connection and a fiery affair with a Hollywood star. Brem’s intense passion ignites the embers of her sexuality from a long slumber, making her burn hotter than the sun.
Should she stay safe with her online love or risk her heart with the man in front of her? The road to recovery just got a whole lot more complicated.
Reader advisory: This book contains a scene of public sex and a scene of kidnapping. There is mention of gaslighting, alcoholism, emotional abuse, animal cruelty, and attempted murder.
Add to Goodreads
Amazon * B&N * Kobo * Totally Bound Publishing * First For Romance
Roxanne D. Howard is a U.S. Army veteran who has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and English. She loves to read poetry, classical literature, and Stephen King. Also, she is an avid Star Wars fan, musical theater nut, and marine biology geek. Roxanne resides in the western U.S., and when she’s not writing, she enjoys spending time with her husband and children. Roxanne loves to hear from her readers, and encourages you to contact her via her website and social media.
Website * Newsletter * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads
Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
$25 Amazon gift card & Paperback
The post Roxanne D. Howard: Type Dirty to Me (Giveaway) first appeared on Delilah Devlin.
October 2, 2020
Jaap Boekestein: How I Got Seduced into Writing Romance (And Loved It) — Excerpt
“What do you truly desire?” Lucifer asks in the Netflix series.
As a romance writer, I ask the same question. Of course, I don’t have a suspect at hand, the potential readers of my story are safe at home, so I just ask the question to myself: What would the reader truly desire in this story? Luckily, the answer differs with every story. If I’m writing a cowboy romance, I see tough men, courageous and willing to best the wilderness to save their women. But when I write a romance with something like “behind the mask” as a theme, I see secrets and seduction, subtle smiles and surprises. And I can smell the leather and feel the wind with biker romance and so on.
Ah, writing romance is never boring! It’s always different and trying to get in the mind and soul of the reader, to seduce and titillate – yes even arouse – her (or him… or them) is wonderful. I guess every writer likes to manipulate and surprise the reader a little. I know I do.
I haven’t always been a romance writer, and I still don’t write exclusively romance. Quite a few years ago, I started writing fantasy, science fiction, and horror short stories. In time, I branched out to genres like children’s stories, crime, and thrillers. Although I’m a short story writer at heart, I’ve done five fantasy novels, which had some romance.
For those who don’t know, I’m Dutch. I live in the lovely old city of Den Haag, the Netherlands. Although I had done a few English stories, back in 2015 I started writing in English in earnest.
Oh my, I felt like a kid in a candy store. The Dutch market for short stories is almost non-existent and very limited to a few genres. But the American and British markets! Wow! So many anthologies, so many genres—woohoo!!!!
I started writing romance stories. Well…kind of. Some anthologies were asking for horror-erotica and I thought: Hey, that’s interesting! Combining two strong emotions—lust and fear.
So I wrote horror-erotica for a while. I’m not really into slasher stuff, so I tried to keep it terrifying and sensual. It more or less came down to BDSM with monsters, which was great fun to do. Vampires yearning for the pain of sunlight, the werewolf wanting to tear apart his human mistress, a dark god doing knife play with two-feet-long fingernails on the body of his acolyte. Creepy and erotic. Trust me.
Through a path of weirder and weirder erotica (tentacle erotica, steampunk erotica, Cthulhu Mythos erotica, furry erotica to name a few) I also entered the field of more general romance/erotica. Stuff that could work in the real world, with real people. And hey, that was great fun, too!
I’ve been asked if the romance I write is based on my own experiences. Well, I wish! But for a part, they are inspired by real life.
I just came back from the dentist and walked back to the bus stop. A new crown, all was well. It was a sunny September day in The Hague, behind the Peace Palace, the neighborhood with all the embassies.
She was a pretty girl. No, a young woman. Slender, blond, some sporty, braided hairdo. Black suit-like outfit, without being really a suit. She was speaking on her phone.
“No, I can’t take public transport; I forgot my mouth masks.”
I turned to her. Shaven head, huge mirror shades, twice her age. But hey, today I wore a nice shirt, nice trousers.
“You want one?” I asked.
It took a short moment for her to realize what I was offering.
She smiled. “No thank you, I’m fine.”
I nodded and walked on.
I heard her say into her phone. “No, this nice gentleman was offering me a mouth mask.”
I smiled. Some courtesy, a nice thank you. All was fine.
The writer in me could think of a thousand different outcomes. Okay, a few dozen, probably. But I was happy with reality.
Offering a mouth mask. It was a nice pick-up line in these Corona times. I guess I wasn’t ever going to use it for real, but maybe I would use it in a story, one day.
Happy I took the bus home. Mouth mask and all.
This happened to me a while ago, and one day, I’ll use some of it for a story. Maybe with a different outcome…
#
You can find my stories in several anthologies, available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/jaapboekestein.com. Of course, there is the lovely First Response: A Boys Behaving Badly in which I have a story about a pair of handcuffs and the importance of keeping track of keys. [Delilah, can we have the cover and a link to amazon here? — Of course!
October 1, 2020
A New Puzzle-Contest! Have Fun!
For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card,
solve the puzzle then tell me who they are!
The post A New Puzzle-Contest! Have Fun! first appeared on Delilah Devlin.
September 30, 2020
New release! Hot SEAL, Undercover Groom is here!
The last Hot SEAL, Wedding Edition story is here—and it revolves around an “accidental” wedding! I know that, if you try one of our Hot SEAL stories, you’ll want to read them all. Check out Maryann Jordan’s Hot SEAL, Undercover Groom. Get your copy today, and then sit back and enjoy!
All Hot SEAL, Wedding Edition book links are below…
Hot SEAL, Undercover Groom
Bored. That’s Nolan “Ringer” Bell’s existence in a word.
A SEAL used to action, he’s sidelined for a ruptured appendix and on medical leave at his mom’s house. Desperate for any action, he agrees to help his PI sister. The case…suspected money laundering through a wedding chapel with ties to a casino.
Easy, right? Until he meets his partner.
Lynn Cox, a financial fraud analyst, is about to get the surprise of her life when whe agrees to help her best friend with a case.
She’s now partnered with the high school crush who left her behind when he joined the SEALs.
Their assignment…to have a pretend wedding to get a close-up view at what is going on in the chapel and spend their “honeymoon” at the Casino resort.
Ringer’s sweet but meddling mother is the secretary setting up the details, providing them with the paperwork for their “fake marriage license”.
Discovering they are married for real, Ringer and Lynn have to figure out how to get unmarried while still investigating the casino mob’s money laundering scheme. A night gambling and drinking lands Ringer and Lynn in honeymoon suite. Maybe mom knows best, after all.
More Hot SEALS! Order now!
Hot SEAL, Bachelor Party by Elle James
Available Now!
Amazon: http://bit.ly/BPHSBPAMZ
iBooks: http://bit.ly/BPHSBPAPPLE
Nook: http://bit.ly/BPHSBPNOOK
Kobo: http://bit.ly/BPHSBPKOBO
Hot SEAL, Decoy Bride by Delilah Devlin
Available Now!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/36Ks291
APPLE: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1497210586
Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hot-seal-decoy-bride-delilah-devlin/1136286286
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/hot-seal-decoy-bride
Hot SEAL, Runaway Bride by Cat Johnson
Available Now!
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Hot-SEAL-Runaway-Bride-Romantic-ebook/dp/B07XB3J3QJ/
Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/hot-seal-runaway-bride/id1462469622
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hot-seal-runaway-bride-cat-johnson/1132250756?ean=2940161402375
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/hot-seal-runaway-bride
Hot SEAL, Cold Feet by Becca Jameson
Available Now!
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084D76SXM/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i31
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/hot-seal-cold-feet
Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hot-seal-cold-feet-becca-jameson/1136295939?ean=2940163059751
iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/hot-seal-cold-feet/id1497397358
Hot SEAL, Best Man by Parker Kincade
Available Now!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2uTjL5m
Apple: https://smarturl.it/HSBMAPPLE
Nook: https://smarturl.it/HSBMBN
Kobo: https://smarturl.it/HSBMKOBO
Hot SEAL, Confirmed Bachelor by Cynthia D’Alba
Available Now!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/37L3U7B
KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/hot-seal-confirmed-bachelor
books2read.com: https://books2read.com/u/bpOKgk (THIS ONE LINKS TO ALL OF THEM)
Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w?ean=2940163031887
Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/hot-seal-confirmed-bachelor/id1497356729
Hot SEAL, Taking the Plunge by Teresa Reasor
Available Now!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3b0zv7i
Apple: https://apple.co/2UiSZxV
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2UgX0TR
Nook: http://bit.ly/2RPwteo
Hot SEAL, Undercover Groom by MaryAnn Jordan
Available Now!
Amazon: https://smarturl.it/MaJGroomSSAmazon
Apple: https://smarturl.it/MaJGroomSSApple
Kobo: https://smarturl.it/MaJGroomSSKobo
Nook: https://smarturl.it/MaJGroomSSNook
The post New release! Hot SEAL, Undercover Groom is here! first appeared on Delilah Devlin.
September 29, 2020
Another FREE Love in Lockdown story! Plus, all the open CONTESTS!
Here’s the latest entry in our series of FREE short stories aimed at telling the story about how love can still happen in these days of isolation!
The latest offering is from Ava Cuvay entitled “Noob at Love“! And yes, the hero is a nerdy gamer, but the language and energy, and sheer relief he experiences when he finds the girl who’s perfect for him in every way is a joy. So, download this short story now!
Noob at Love
Here’s what it’s all about…
Quarantine should be life as usual for Kyle, an online gamer homebody. But the constant presence and noise of his apartment neighbors is hell for the introvert. He turns to his favorite gamer pal, SassyKat, for consolation in the form of zombie kill-counts and good-natured teasing. Then, a fire alarm changes their relationship for good.
So far, four short stories have been published.
Click on the covers to get your copies!
Open Contests & Giveaways
These won’t last long!
Reina Torres: WEDNESDAYS (Contest) — Ends soon! Win a FREE story!
Puzzle-Contest–and many prizes to win!! — Ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
Michal Scott: Return to the Thrilling Days of Yesteryear (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
Blathering a Bit & Open Contests! (New Contest, too!) — Win an Amazon gift card! AND get a FREE book!
Brenda Whiteside: Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll (Contest) — Win a FREE story!
The post Another FREE Love in Lockdown story! Plus, all the open CONTESTS! first appeared on Delilah Devlin.
