Delilah Devlin's Blog, page 204

Red Dawn (FREE Read!)

It’s Friday! You have the entire weekend ahead of you to do what you love most. For me, that would be writing my next story! But realistically, it will also mean cleaning out the pool shed and starting the long process of cleaning the pool before the hot weather comes in April! I’m being optimistic about that. Generally, I freeze my butt off getting into the pool in April! (But I still do it!)

Anyways, since you’ll be eager to kick off your reading spree, here’s something short and sexy that will transport you to another, nearby world. Just click on the cover to get your FREE copy of Red Dawn!

Happy reading!

Red Dawn

A colonist living on a lonely Martian plain receives her new mate, a man culled from among the newly transported convicts…

And if you loved this short story, I have many more: Short Stories

Characters in Dead Horse, MT (Contest)

I’m scribbling down ideas for the new bounty hunter office in Dead Horse, MT. Now, I need to cast my characters. New hunters to add, for sure. New townsfolk to populate the place. I want to “build out” the town more than I did in the original Bear Lodge town. Dead Horse is located close to Yellowstone, so I have to keep that in mind. In addition to hunters, I’m thinking local sheriff, deputies, ranchers, cowboys, diner waitress and cook, football coach, etc. People you expect to “see” in a small town, and some of the seedier folks, too, who can be part of the scene my hunters operate inside.

So, for fun, and for a prize, how about you make some suggestions. I might not use your idea, but it might spark an idea for me. And if you do see your character in the pages of one of my stories, you can have bragging rights!

Inappropriate content, perhaps? (Puzzle)

Let’s hope that the Puzzle Police don’t shut down my puzzle tonight for inappropriate content!

I blew off work today. This puzzle depicts how I felt about it. Enjoy!

Any ole reason to party…and open contests! (Contest–2 winners!)

Hey there! It’s Tuesday morning. Some of you are heading to your polling places. I voted yesterday and wore my “I Voted” sticker proudly for the entire day and evening. Other news on the homefront—the soon-to-be 16-year-old male passed his written driving test. I don’t know whether to shout “Yay!” or shudder.

Answer one question! (Contest)

I’m being a little lazy about my blog today! What with voting, running errands (dropping off donations, UPS, the post office, lunch out with my dd and SIL), my head is filled with more chores. So, I’ll ask a question. You’ll answer. The winner (selected randomly!) will have her or his choice of a download of one of my recent releases. So, here’s the question…

If you could only have one aroma in your nose for the rest of your life, what would it be?

I gave you a hint in the pic of what my choice would be. What’s your favorite scent?

Do you love this cover? (Contest)

Ready for a new Montana Bounty Hunter agency? It’s already up on pre-order here: Cage. After Brian’s story released (Didn’t get your copy? Order it here: Brian), the agency at Bear Lodge is pretty full up of hunters and their women. I figure that with their success (catching lots of bad guys, the reality show), Fetch Winter, the guy who owns the business, can afford to open another satellite agency. This one will still be in Western Montana, but farther south, close to Yellowstone.  This guy, Cage, is one of Fetch’s new hires, and I’m thinking that some of the hunters from Bear Lodge are going to have to show him the ropes, so you aren’t seeing the last of Reaper and his crew just yet.

A Song for You & Open Contests!

So, the 15-year-old’s very pretty boyfriend sent her a video to watch that brought her to tears. Okay, so 15-year-olds shouldn’t be taking themselves so seriously, but the kid has great taste in music. Had to share…

I haven’t heard of this guy before, but I’ll be paying attention now.

Open Contests

And just a reminder, there are some still prizes out there, waiting to be claimed!

The eyes have it… (Puzzle & Contest) — This contest ends tomorrow night! Win an Amazon gift card!
Put your thinking hats on… (Contest) — This one also ends tomorrow night! And again, win an Amazon card!
Reina Torres: Jesse releases today! (Contest & Excerpt) — Win a copy of a very sexy book!
All Kinds of Wrong… (Puzzle & a Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!

 

“The Move” Update, because you all want to know about a writer’s glamorous life, right?

So, the move update… My dd and her family are living here now! We still have some rooms where there are a few boxes left to tackle. We still have pictures we have to find places to hang. My office/art room smashup still has to be sorted and seems to get worse every day when my dd says, “Should I donate this?” and I say, “But I can do something with that!” So, natch the item joins the piles to be sorted in my space. She shudders when she comes down here. I shrug and tell her, “I’ll get to organizing when I finish this set of edits…this book…” Yeah, it’s going to take me years.

Besides the people now crammed inside this house–8!— (Okay, so not crammed, we actually have enough rooms everyone has their own bedroom!), we also started with my mom’s 4 dogs and my dd’s 6 dogs, her 4 cats, her guinea pig, and our 2 horses… We’re a truly big, blended family now. And here’s proof!

I hesitated posting this pic because the fence is bent—the horse likes to lean over it to get at the grass in the yard—and the tarp over the woodpile is shredded from a recent storm, plus our pretty horse Brandy looks bedraggled from the rain, but Malek and Brandy met at this moment, and there wasn’t a war. So, yay!

Malek’s pretty smart though. He tolerates other dogs, cats and guineas, and humans who are part of the fam. Now, horses. We’re making great progress.

My quiet life is no longer that. It’s noisy, chaotic, filled with loud voices (it’s an Irish/Scottish/German/Mexican family, so lots of vigorous…uh, debating). And I love it. If it was quiet here, I’d dwell on the losses over the past couple of years. However, I know my father built this house for his family. It’s still in the family, serving its purpose. He’d be happy that we’re happy living here. My role has changed from daughter to matriarch (although I’m happy that my daughter likes to run things). She leaves me to putter in my hoarder’s craftroom-office, makes most of our meals, runs kids to their appointments. I’m here for backup when she’s over-committed. It works.

As well, we have room for extended family to visit. Same as my mother did, we shift kids to bunk together to open up a room, use sofabeds. We expect lots of guests come summer because, hey—pool! Can’t wait to get that sucker cleaned up and ready for the season. This year, I’ll have plenty of help.

All Kinds of Wrong… (Puzzle & a Contest)

Thanks to everyone who got their copy of Brian!  I’ve been busy since the release, trying to find art for the new series, Montana Bounty Hunter — Something, MT. Still haven’t hit upon the name of the town yet, but it will come. I’m also looking for handsome men to be on the covers. That’s been a chore (Haha!), looking through all the pictures on the photo sites. I do however think I have my first hero’s name: Cage.

He’s a big, burly guy. I don’t know his “story” yet, but that tends to come to me once I have a title and a cover, because then I put it up on my screen and just imagine what sorts of trouble he will face.

I’m not sure about titling just yet. Did you like having their names as the titles? Reaper, Dagger, Cochise, Hook, Wolf, Animal, Quincy, and Brian… Using just their names was so dang easy. Do you want me to continue that or give the titles some word or phrase that serves as the theme of the story, like Fallout or Hunter’s Destiny? Or do you want their name with a word or phrase like Cage’s Destiny (not a title I want, just an example) or the heroine’s name, like Sarah’s Destiny? You tell me because I could use some help deciding. If you leave a comment with your idea, you’ll be entered to win a $10 Amazon gift card! And, if you have an idea for a title… Go for it! I’m in brainstorming mode, so your suggestion might strike an idea for me. Have fun with it!

So, while I was doing searches under “Hot Males”, “Handsome Men”, and “Muscled Torsos”, I came across this picture I couldn’t resist downloading because I know it will make you laugh. It’s all kind of wrong for a romance cover…

A. Catherine Noon: Burnout

A. Catherine Noon here, author and textile artist. Thank you so much to Delilah for hosting me today! I’m glad to be back.

I don’t know about you, but the pace of life seems much faster than it ever has before. And I’m definitely struggling with burnout.

This beautiful boy above is a golden eagle, who lives at the Northwest Trek wildlife preserve in Washington State. He’s got a problem with his wings, but he’s fierce and beautiful.

One of the suggestions for recovering from burnout is rest. I’m not sure I have any suggestions for how to rest, but the zoo is one of my experiments. I left my ringer off for the visit, though I did use my camera on the phone for a few shots. For the most part, though, I tried playing with my digital SLR camera, a Nikon CoolPix.

My next experiment is to take a course on Bluprint in Digital Photography, so I can get better at using the camera.

For most of the day yesterday, I didn’t think about anything besides wandering around the wildlife preserve with my husband. I didn’t worry about politics, work, or any of the stressors that plague daily life.

If you are reading this and have suffered any kind of trauma or major stressors, know this: you are not alone. Resting is not a weakness, and getting help is not stupid. Mental health is health, and we need to end the stigma. And writers are as prone as anyone to having challenges with mental health. The frustrating thing for me is that I’m at the point now where my personal issues are not reached by words, by writing. They’re deeper, pre-verbal. Image-based.

And so, I play with my camera and fiddle around with collage. I remember Delilah talking about her doodling, and I’ve watched that avidly. It seems like a fun way to engage some of the same parts of the brain.

What about you, Dear Reader? What are some of your favorite ways to de-stress?

“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”

– E.E. Cummings

acatherinenoon.com | noonandwilder.com | writerzengarden.com | knoontimeknitting.com