Delilah Devlin's Blog, page 233
May 30, 2019
Junk Therapy
Be warned! This is probably going to be a bit of a ramble. It’s what happens when I get only four hours of sleep and I have to face my computer the next morning.
If you haven’t noticed. Sometimes, I kind of go off on strange tangents with my blogs. I can get bored doing the same-ole thing every day. So, sometimes, I let the first thing that pops into my mind lead the ramble…
This morning, as I was turning on the Keurig, I saw a bloated clear plastic bag on my art table and paused. The bag contained my latest thrift store purchases. And faced with coming to my desk to open up my computer or exploring what I’d purchased inside a stapled plastic “grab bag”, I chose to rip the bag open and dump the contents on my table.
I took the picture without giving it any thought to how it looks…
When my dd takes a picture of my treasure hauls,
it looks like this…
This is what happens when I take the picture…
Ack! Ignore the jumble-box of leftover beads in the upper left corner and the flower pot of pens in the upper right. Those belong there. But look at the horrid mess of junk I purchased, mostly sight unseen for $4.
The stash includes a McCall’s wedding dress pattern (it’s underneath the crap, lower left). Lots of really ugly and dated trim (which I just know will be something I can use in a mixed media journal, uh-huh), ugly fabric scraps, embroidery threat (I didn’t misspell that—I keep promising myself to begin a friendship bracelet, but the thread is too intimidating), a really ugly old-fashioned frog closure/sewing embellishment, a yard of red beaded/bugled trim underneath everything where you can’t see it (that I could use to frame something, maybe), a grody old index card box, a bag of cheap, acrylic loops and a plastic crochet hook to go along with TWO plastic potholder looms…
And its the looms that catch my eye. I remember those! I had one when I was a kid, and I made some really ugly potholders. So, of course, I have to go check Pinterest for “potholder weaving” and OMG. New obsession! After watching my third “How To” video, I went back to my stash, stuffed the crap back into the plastic bag, but left out the two looms and the acrylic loops and realized I can’t start a project because I don’t have the bloody-goddamn metal hooky-thing that you use to drag the loops.
So… I find a company that sells modern potholder looms—lovely metal looms instead of the cheap plastic, but still, the same damn things—and they sell the metal hooky things! I bought one. And then, I noticed they sell COTTON loops, so I purchased two bags of cotton loops in colors my dd will love (so she doesn’t yell at me for buying yet more project junk to add to my craft hoard).
And that’s my blog. Sad, isn’t it? But I did manage to write some words and my fingers are limber. Now, I can start the REAL work. 
May 29, 2019
There’s still time to enter! (Contests)
I just closed out three contests! Winners, be sure to check out the tops of the messages if you didn’t subscribe to the comments to get your notifications!
There are still 4 contests open! Be sure to enter today!
Tell me a story… (Contest) — win an Amazon gift card!
TGIF!! (Contest — 3 Winners!) — Win your choice of short story!
Delilah’s Scavenger Hunt (Contest — plus Freebie!) — Win the download of your choice, and EVERYONE gets a prize!
Update: Diana Cosby’s – Romance Reader’s Build A Habitat For Humanity House (Contest) — Win a tote and a mug!
May 28, 2019
Update: Diana Cosby’s – Romance Reader’s Build A Habitat For Humanity House (Contest)
My sincere thanks to Delilah for allowing me to return to her wonderful blog and share an update of Diana Cosby’s Romance Readers Build A Habitat For Humanity Home.
A bit of background. Romance readers are AMAZING, and SO is Habitat For Humanity, a charity that I love supporting and volunteering for. Several years ago, I thought why not pair the two and help a deserving family receive a home? And, the Diana Cosby’s Romance Reader’s Build A Habitat For Humanity House fundraiser was born.
I contacted the Habitat For Humanity office in Grayson County, Texas, where I’ve had the honor of helping with several builds and spoke with Laurie Mealy, Executive Director. She embraced the project and was thrilled at the thought of pairing romance readers, who love stories where heroes and heroines overcome challenges to make their dreams come true, with making the dream of home ownership for a deserving family a reality.
Goal: Fund an entire home – $55,000.
I kicked off the challenge by donating $200. As I write this, we’ve raised $18,938, which includes donations from several countries. Romance readers are amazing, and I have complete faith that as the stories they love, they will continue to join together to raise the amount necessary to give a deserving family a home.
How it works: As readers send donations to Habitat for Humanity of Grayson County for the ‘Diana Cosby’s Readers Build A Habitat For Humanity House of Love,’ the total contributions are updated below the house graphic on the upper right side of the homepage. Donations can be sent via PayPal by ‘clicking’ on the house, which takes you to the donation page, or by mailing a check or money order to:
Habitat for Humanity of Grayson County
901 N. Grand Avenue
P.O. Box 2725
Sherman, TX 75091
*Please note on your donation: ‘For the Romance Readers Build A HFH House.’
Again, my sincere thanks to Delilah for allowing me to return to her blog, and another huge thanks to everyone for helping make an incredible difference in a deserving family’s life. For when they walk into a Habitat For Humanity house, it’s more thank mortar and wood, but a place where they can call home.
Contest
Comment for a chance to win! ***ONE winner will be drawn from everyone who posts on my Habitat For Humanity post on Delilah’s blog between May 27th, 2019 – June 2nd, 2019. The winner will receive one of my mugs and a tote.
God bless,
Diana Cosby, International Best-Selling Author
https://www.dianacosby.com/
The Oath Trilogy
MacGruder Brother Series
Forbidden Series: Forbidden Legacy/Forbidden Knight/Forbidden Vow/Forbidden Alliance‒Aug. 6th 2019/Forbidden Realm‒April 4th, 2020
About Diana Cosby
A retired Navy Chief, Diana Cosby is an international bestselling author of Scottish medieval romantic suspense. Books in her award-winning MacGruder Brothers series have been translated in five languages. Diana has spoken at the Library of Congress, Lady Jane’s Salon in NYC, and appeared in Woman’s Day, on USA Today’s romance blog, “Happy Ever After,” MSN.com, Atlantic County Women Magazine, and Texoma Living Magazine.
After her career in the Navy, Diana dove into her passion – writing romance novels. With 34 moves behind her, she was anxious to create characters who reflected the amazing cultures and people she’s met throughout the world. After the release of the bestselling MacGruder Brothers series, The Oath Trilogy, and the first three books of The Forbidden Series, she’s now working on book #4, Forbidden Alliance, of the five-book series, which will be released August 6th, 2019.
Diana looks forward to the years of writing ahead and meeting the amazing people who will share this journey.
Website: www.dianacosby.com
Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/Diana-Cosby-Romance-Author-150109024636/?ref=ts
Goodreads author page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/978803.Diana_Cosby
Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Diana-Cosby/e/B003YJ1MR4/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1417447922&sr=8-1
May 27, 2019
May 26, 2019
Michal Scott: African-American Women and the Military
Earlier this week I saw a fantastic photograph documenting that West Point’s class of 2019 graduated 34 African-American women, a record number in the academy’s 217 year-old history. Here it is published by Time magazine: http://time.com/5594906/west-point-graduates-black-female-cadets/. The pride on those young women’s faces put me in mind of Black women who served in the military when black people were considered property. So, on the weekend we officially remember and honor the service of those who “gave the last full measure of devotion,” I thought I’d reflect on African-American women and the military.
Black women served as nurses, laundresses, cooks and spies, the most famous of whom was probably Harriet Tubman. One woman, Cathay Williams, enlisted as a man named William Cathey in 1866 and served for three years with the 38th US Infantry. You can read more about the military service of black women in all US wars here: https://www.womensmemorial.org/history-of-black-women. As I write historicals set during Reconstruction, I thought it appropriate to share a bit about Susie Baker King Taylor, the first African-American army nurse.
Born into slavery in 1848, Susie served as a nurse during the Civil War in the same regiment as her first husband, Edward King. Because she could read and write, she taught blacks and former slaves in addition to her nursing duties. She was never paid for her work. She published a memoir of her experiences, Reminiscences of My Life in Camp in 1902. You can learn more about Susie’s contributions and those of African-Americans in Civil War medicine here: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bindingwounds.
As an ex-slave and a military veteran, I like to think Susie King Taylor is smiling down from heaven on those 34 African-American female West Point cadets for whom her service paved the way and for whom we will be giving thanks for their service.
One Breath Away
Sentenced to hang for a crime she didn’t commit, former slave Mary Hamilton was exonerated at literally the last gasp. She returns to Safe Haven, broken and resigned to live alone. She’s never been courted, cuddled or spooned, and now no man could want her, not when sexual satisfaction comes only with the thought of asphyxiation. But then the handsome stranger who saved her shows up, stealing her breath from across the room and promising so much more.
Wealthy, freeborn-Black, Eban Thurman followed Mary to Safe Haven, believing the mysteriously exotic woman is his mate foretold by the stars. He must marry her to reclaim his family farm. But first he must help her heal, and to do that means revealing his own predilection for edgier sex.
Hope ignites along with lust until the past threatens to keep them one breath away from love…
Excerpt:
Arousal—fondly remembered and sorely missed—sizzled between Mary Hamilton’s well- rounded thighs. Moisture coated her nether lips and threatened to stoke the sizzle into a blaze. The sensation surprised her, as did the owner of the gaze that lit the flame.
Eban Thurman stood against an opposite wall of the town’s community hall. Although the room was wide as two barns and filled with revelers, neither the distance nor the presence of the crowd lessened the power of his gaze. He studied her with a curiosity that didn’t grope with disdain, but caressed with approval.
With respect.
This kind of appreciation was never given to women as dark and as large as she. Gratitude heated her face.
Gratitude and embarrassment. Her lavender toilet water couldn’t hide the fragrance of arousal. She shuddered with shame then glanced around. Had anyone else detected the odor? All the merrymakers seemed too caught up in the rhythmic fast fiddling and foot-stomping of Safe Haven’s seventh annual Juneteenth Revel to notice her discomfort.
In 1872 Texas, who took note of a black woman who ain’t been asked to wed? Yet Eban’s perusal said not only did he take note, but he liked what he saw.
Buy links:
Wild Rose Press – https://bit.ly/2HOu3qc
Amazon – https://amzn.to/2VT5u0F
May 25, 2019
Delilah’s Scavenger Hunt (Contest — plus Freebie!)
I spend a lot of time working on this website, so it only seems fair I should expect everyone to love it as much as I do, in all its sprawling splendor. Do you know I have a sh*t-ton of stories? No? Well, in the interest of acquainting some of you with what’s on my site, I’m holding a scavenger hunt!
Now, this is important. YOU CANNOT POST ANSWERS TO MY QUESTIONS IN THE COMMENTS. If you do, you’ve done the work and shared the answers with everyone else, and what’s the point? You don’t want competition for the prize, do you? NO! Send your answers to me PRIVATELY at Delilah@delilahdevlin.com!
Scavenger Hunt
Here are the questions…
What are the first three stories listed on my Upcoming Books/Coming Soon page?
Which series on my By Series page would you like to see more of?
How many Strokes volumes are listed on my Standalone page?
What free piece of fan fiction do I offer on my Extras page, and what TV show is it written for?
Tell me which story on my Short Stories page you’d most like to read (not the first three; they aren’t written!). (You might get a surprise!)
And the prize? How about a download of your choice from among my recent releases?! But, hey, everyone wins, right (see #5!)?
May 24, 2019
TGIF!! (Contest — 3 Winners!)
What are your plans for the weekend? Mine include a boatload of edits, a ton of new pages, and a trip to the zoo with the 6-year-old! She’s never seen a live tiger, and that’s the animal she most wants to see. So, I’ll be braving 91-degree weather to take her. Ugh. They do have wheelchairs to rent…
May 23, 2019
Tell me a story… (Contest)
I’ve had this cover image for quite a while. I bought it because I thought it was hilarious, and I knew I had to write a short story to go along with it—because, hey, I can write something short and hilarious and probably no one will read it, but I’d giggle every time I thought about it.
I have my idea in my head, but I thought I’d share the giggles. So, you tell me a story. Doesn’t have to be long. What story do you think this photo is trying to tell. Do it, and you’ll be entered to win a $5 Amazon gift card. Now, go!
May 22, 2019
You can still win!
I’m just jumping in to remind you that there are several exciting things, still ongoing, that you can enter! Here’s a list to keep it simple…
Readers and Authors: What do you want to see next? (Contest) —Win an Amazon gift card!
Kimberly Dean: Flash Fire or Slow Burn? (2-FREE Reads for KU Subscribers!) — Everyone can win with 2 FREE-KU books!
Flashback: Cain’s Law (Contest) — Win a sexy Texas cowboy book!
May 21, 2019
Flashback: Cain’s Law (Contest)
For a chance to win your choice of one of these Cowboys
on the Edge stories, answer me this!
Do you love cowboys who are also firefighters and lawmen?
(Click on a cover if you’d like to learn more!)
Don’t know what you’re missing in this cowboy series? Read a sexy excerpt…
Cain’s Law
When love is on the line, a cowboy will risk everything…
Texas Lawman, Cain Whitfield, has been burned before by a beautiful brunette with dark doe eyes. He won’t be fooled again. But fate has a rotten sense of humor when he discovers the latest stranger to arrive in his small Texas town is a former mob enforcer’s girlfriend–something he learns when the cabin she rented goes up in flames and her boyfriend tries to run them both off the road. Now, he’s got to keep her alive and under wraps long enough to arrest the bastard. Resisting his attraction to the drop-dead gorgeous brunette proves impossible when they’re forced to share a safe house while the sheriff and the other deputies double patrols to keep her safe.
Even though she knows they’re all wrong for each other, Carina Black can’t help her attraction for the proud lawman. She’s done with the glitz and glamour of her former life, but can she convince Cain to look beyond her past to trust she’s ready for life in a small town? As her former boyfriend closes in, she worries too that her poor judgment could bring harm to a decent man.
The longer they’re together, the hotter their passion burns…
She tugged her hand away then straightened her shoulders. “I’ll go. I know it’s the smart thing to do, and you’ve already done so much. But, I have to know…”
Cain felt his belly tighten in rejection, because if she asked, he’d tell her. And God help them both.
Her gaze dropped to her hands, which were curved into fists on her thighs. “Do you… could you ever…see yourself with someone like me?”
“Dammit, Carina,” he said, his voice rasping. “You’re so damn young.”
Her chin shot up, and her eyes flashed. “Too young for you?”
“Fuck, you deserve better than me.” His jaw clenched.
“If you’re looking for excuses for me to go, that’s not the best one to use. I’ve had money. I wore clothes that I would bet cost more than you make in a month. But, I wasn’t happy. And I didn’t like me.” She dipped her chin. “I feel safe with you.”
“I can’t be your bodyguard. Not forever.”
“I’m not talking about that. I feel safe—I know you won’t hurt me. That you won’t hurt anyone who doesn’t deserve it.” She lifted her gaze, locking it with his. “I can’t imagine letting anyone else touch me.” She stopped short and turned away her head.
Cain sat beside her, not breathing. She’d imagined him touching her. She’d flirted. Outrageously, but he hadn’t taken her behavior seriously.
She’d imagined being with him.
Cain straightened. What he should do was tell her she’d find another man. Someone good. Someone who could give her things. But his nobility could only stretch so far. He reached for her hand, but she pulled it back again, so he gripped her by the waist and pulled her over his lap.
Her body shivered against him. Her palms pushed against his chest.
He kept his arms around her, loosely. She could escape if she wanted, but with every second that passed, he watched her grow calmer. Watched rose creep across her cheeks, her tight lips relax.
When she leaned toward him, letting her ripe nipples scrape across his chest, only then did he move. He laid his palm against her cheek and rubbed his thumb across her plump bottom lip. “Stay with me.”
Carina made a noise, something between a sob and laugh, and pressed closer, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, and pushing her breasts against him, because she needed to feel his hardness. She craved so much more. Had since she’d lain alone that first night with the sounds of him walking circles around the house, knowing he would keep her safe. Alone with the smell of his lovely, manly musk on the sheets, she’d let that feeling grow over the past days, wondering whether this was how being in love felt. His care for her was as close as she’d ever experienced to being cherished. But since he hadn’t acted on any of the many invitations she’d offered with her eyes and “accidental” peeks at her ass, she’d begun to wonder if he considered her damaged goods—because of whom she’d lived with and what he’d done.
But there wasn’t any mistaking the look he gave her now with those clear blue eyes. No misunderstanding his raw tone. Stay with me. Before she’d let him reconsider, she reached for the hem of the tee she’d ruined with paint and pulled it over her head.
His gaze fell to her full breasts. “Jesus.”
“They ache, Cain. I ache. For you.” She felt breathless. Her heart skittered wildly.
Slowly, he raised his hands to palm her flesh, and she closed her eyes, loving the heat, loving his gentle caresses.
He bent his head and trailed his mouth across her shoulder, then lower, pushing her back so he could kiss the tops of her breasts. The moment he latched onto a tingling nipple, she cried out, so joyous was the feeling flooding her body with warmth.
Suddenly, he drew back. His hands gripped her bottom, and he rose.
She wound her legs around his waist as he walked to the bed. “I’ll get paint on your sheets,” she whispered.
“We’ll both get dirty, sweetheart. I’m not worried.” He set her down beside the bed then knelt to open her jeans and slide them down her legs.
Nude, she held her breath as he glanced at her sex.
His gaze dropped to her feet, and he held down her pant legs as she stepped out, leaning on his shoulders for balance. Then he stood, and she went to work on the chambray shirt he wore, unsnapping the buttons down the front, and then parting the sides to get her first look at his broad chest. He had far less hair than Joey, and it was brown and silky. She raked her fingertips through it, plucking. When he gave a little groan, her mouth curved. So, she nuzzled his nipple, loving the way he gently cupped the back of her head and rubbed her scalp. Lord have mercy, she loved the taste of his skin, the soft texture of his flat brown nipple. With her teeth, she teased it into a point then fluttered her tongue against the tiny bead.
“Witch,” he muttered.
She glanced upward, her gaze snagging on his hooded eyes. “I want you, Cain. All of you.” She backed away, sitting on the edge of the bed before lying full-length and stretching, her gaze going to his still-clothed body.
He didn’t need another hint. His clothing flew off. And then he was climbing over her, his large, long body inches from her skin, but still warming her, breast to toes.
He held still, braced on his arms as she raked his body with her searching gaze. Everywhere her gaze touched was tanned and hard. His stomach was firm, muscled, his arms and thighs bulged. Sweet heaven, his cock was lovely—reddened and engorged, straight with a plump, round head.
Her pussy clenched. Fluid rushed to wet her channel. She squeezed together her legs to hold it inside.
“I don’t want to scare you, baby.”
“I’m not a baby, Cain. And Joey humiliated me, but he didn’t leave me damaged. I swear, I want this. I want you.” Slowly, caught in his intense gaze, she inched apart her legs and raised her knees. Then she reached downward and wrapped her fingers around his cock. “Come inside me, Cain Whitfield,” she whispered. “Fill me.”
