Delilah Devlin's Blog, page 276
March 28, 2018
N.J. Walters: Spring is in the Air
According to the calendar it is officially spring. The bitter winds have subsided and the snow has begun to melt. Even if winter is still lingering in my neck of the woods, the hope for warmer days, for daffodils and crocuses is there.
I’m like a bear—once winter comes I want to hibernate. And like the bear, I wake in the spring, look outside my home, and wonder what’s happening in the world. The longer days make me want to go outside and do more instead of scurrying from place to place as fast as I can. Being able to leave the boots, scarf, heavy coat, ear muffs, and gloves behind is a sign that the worst of the winter is behind me. I doubt I’ll get quite to that stage for another month or more, but I’ll be able to start shedding some layers as the days progress.
Opening the window on a warm day and allowing the breeze to freshen the air, not having to turn the lights on until much later in the day, watching the birds come back. These are the things I love most about spring.
It won’t be long until the lawn chairs come out and I can sit out on the patio at night and watch the world go by. I live in an apartment, so I miss that during the winter months.
First we have to get through the dirty stage of spring, where the snow melts to reveal all that’s been buried over the past few months. But clean up will begin, the sun will shine, and the warm days will be welcome.
In the meantime, when the days are still chilly, I’ll curl up with a good book. If you’re looking for something to read, you might check out my Blood of the Drakon series.
Drakon’s Past
Blood of the Drakon, Book 4
Constance Owens has a gift for finding unique items in the most unlikely places, which comes in handy since she buys and sells artifacts and antiques for a living. When she purchases a set of four dragon statues, she has no idea just how unique they are, or that finding them will thrust her into a world of secret societies, men who think nothing of kidnapping and murder to get what they want, and dragon shifters.
Nic hasn’t survived for four thousand years by letting his guard down, and he doesn’t trust anyone except his drakon brothers. The loneliness haunting him has been getting worse since all his brothers have found their mates. And when he finds the woman his drakon recognizes instantly as his fated mate, he doubts he’ll ever have what his brothers have, because it seems she’s involved with the secret society of hunters who have been hunting and capturing his kind for hundreds of years.
Buy Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0786R7LSM/
Entangled: https://entangledpublishing.com/drakon-s-past.html
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/drakons-past-nj-walters/1127620047?ean=9781640634695
iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/drakons-past/id1324091386
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/drakon-s-past
About the Author
N.J. Walters is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who has always been a voracious reader, and now she spends her days writing novels of her own. Vampires, werewolves, dragons, time-travelers, seductive handymen, and next-door neighbors with smoldering good looks—all vie for her attention. It’s a tough life, but someone’s got to live it.
Visit me at:
Website: http://www.njwalters.com
Blog: http://www.njwalters.blogspot.com
Newsletter Group: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/awakeningdesires/info
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/N.J.WaltersAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/njwaltersauthor
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/NJWalters
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/author/njwalters
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/n-j-walters
March 27, 2018
Read Chapter One of A Long, Hot Summer!
My life is a little crazy here! I’ve been ensconced for a week at my dd’s house. I’ll be here for another 10 days, while she’s off helping a relative with a sudden upswing in his business. So, I moved in. I have 2 kids, 6 dogs, 5 cats, and 2 guinea pigs to care for.
And I’ve been working really, really hard between getting kids ready for school, doing mountains of laundry and dishes, and general upkeep around the house. I’m writing a sequel to Reaper, which includes plenty of Dagger, too. And I’ve been working on finishing up 5 editing projects by the end of the month. I’m going from the wee hours of the morning until midnight.
How am I doing it? COFFEE! 
March 26, 2018
Heather Long Loves Action Heroes
As always, thank you Delilah for letting me come to hang out and play. I talk a lot about books when I come to visit, and today I wanted to shift gears a little. I wanted to talk about action movies. I grew up in the 70s/80s, and I loved action movies as a kid. I remember seeing The Black Hole in theatres, and Star Wars was the first movie I ever saw in a movie theater—yes, I know, I’m dating myself.
There were loads of other great action films: Lethal Weapon, Die Hard, and Terminator…you know there’s too many to list. My love of action movies didn’t dissipate in the 90s, or the 2000s, or the 2010s. In fact, we have action movies in the guise of superhero films now.
Now here’s where I pivot a little toward books. See, I said I was shifting gears, but not totally. The primary reason I love action movies and the genre in general is the excitement you feel, the adrenaline rush of a chase scene, the fight for survival, and the laughs or romance or both the characters.
John McClane crawling through the air vents talking to himself. Sarah Connor falling in love with the man who traveled back in time to save her. Martin Riggs wigging out on criminals and his partner alike. All of these characters kicked ass, but they had deep histories, which colored their reactions to everything.
So here we are, racing along, laughing and cheering, and hoping these guys and gals make it to the other side. Remembering how much I loved this part of the movie, any movie, reminded me that I love it in books, too.
Remembering how much I loved the action/adventure/romance aspect, I wanted to recreate it one of my books—what about a whole series of them? I had some of that tension in Her Marine Bodyguard, but it wasn’t quite the same thing. Then along came Securing Arizona, my first book in Susan Stoker’s Special Forces: Operation Alpha Kindle World. Then Chasing Katie in Elle James’ Brotherhood Protector Kindle World, and I zigged back to Guarding Gertrude.
In each of these books, I ramped up the action. I wanted to add those touches of laughter in the face of danger, wild chases that keep you on edge, and some crazy antics for survival.
Then came Protecting Pilar, a book which started out action from beginning to end. Cannon had made previous appearances in this series within a series, and he’s even driven a truck through a barn collapsing it. So how could I one up that? How about car chases? Shoot outs? And exploding cars?
Action movies offer delightful fun and rewards. Their very first job is to entertain, but the very best of them balance out their action with solid characters, a good plot, and the emotional immersion that has you pumping your fists into the air and saying yes. Protecting Pilar did all those things for me while I was writing, I hope it brings you equal delight when you read.
Do you love action movies and books?
Protecting Pilar
Love doesn’t come with an instruction manual…
Ben “Cannon” Stone had been called many things—pretty boy, rich kid, and heir-apparent. The one title he earned and made him proud was that of Navy SEAL. Although he wore his scars on the inside, it didn’t make him any less screwed up. He just deflected with a grin and a smart-ass comment. At least until a pouty princess collided with his car…
War isn’t always fought abroad…
Born a Napolitano but raised as a Petrucci, Pilar knew all about blood feuds and the family business. Her personal policy of non-involvement falters the day she overhears her grandfather order an assassination. Worse, the killing promises to launch of a war of retribution with Pilar in the crosshairs of a killer. The last thing she needs is a car accident and some pretty boy offering to help her…
Hell is a road we make…
Cannon doesn’t know where she came from or who is after her, but he isn’t letting anyone hurt her. Isolated. On the run. And unfamiliar with the enemy, this SEAL will use every skill he has to protect the woman who just might be his Mrs. Right.
Learn more about Heather’s Special Forces Brotherhood Protectors series and her other books!
March 25, 2018
Victoria Pinder: The House of Morgan (Contest)
A sexy trio of romances: Three passionate billionaire siblings follow their hearts in search of happily ever after — from a bet that leads to love to an unexpected baby!
Get at Amazon
This series was really the start of my career. Sure, I wrote books before, but none took off like The House of Morgan. I was always in all stores with this series, and I’m a big proponent that authors should be wide and in all stores. But at the same time I know there are tons of readers in Kindle Unlimited. So what I decided to do as these readers reach out is cycle books in and out. So, from the end of March until mid-June, I put the first three books in The House of Morgan into Kindle Unlimited. The eighth book in the series isn’t scheduled for release until October. So, now was the perfect opportunity to let the KU readers at least get a peak at the beginning of this family saga.
And I will say it’s a saga. The stories all begin at a funeral, though it’s the funeral of a man who, in his efforts to keep his family, almost destroyed everyone involved. John the second son walked away from billions and joined the FBI to find out exactly what his father did to his sister, Victoria ‘who died.’ However, his father died before any evidence is found and his sister Victoria ‘returns from the dead’ to ensure her own father is really dead. (She walked away from the family.) And then there is the oldest son, Peter Morgan, who stayed close to their father because he wanted to protect his siblings and take the brunt of his father’s will. This is just the beginning, and all three of them are now out to find out what happens next, when their lives are finally their own.
If this sounds like drama and romance all mixed together then you’re prepared to enter the House of Morgan and see for yourself!
And if you’re in KU, the book is available now!
Plus you can now enter to win a Kindle and get the link to the book at,
http://victoriapinder.com/house-of-morgan-boxed-set-giveaway
Or you can go to the raffle copter, directly!
March 24, 2018
Solve the puzzle to find the cute cowboy!
Whew! Almost missed posting today! My website was kaput! German for fucked (not really). I just moved from one hosting site to another. There have been, ahem, issues.
Anyway, because I’m completely anal about posting every single day, here’s something quick and fun! Enjoy! This one’s coming in just a few days. You can pre-order it here: Cute Cowboy
March 23, 2018
Angela Addams: Strong Women and Vigilante Justice
I’ve always been a huge fan of strong female characters. Buffy, Wonder Woman, Selene, Hermione, Ripley, and many more, have all been key inspirations for not only my writing but also, in a lot of ways, the essence of who I am.
What would Hermione Granger do? Is, in my opinion, a morally sound way to make a lot of decisions. And yes, I fantasize about having the same super strength or fighting skills as Selene, and I would totally step into Buffy’s shoes if a Watcher came to find me.
Vigilante justice is also something that really intrigues me. Partly, because I like the idea of a hero who is not bound by the laws and restrictions of conventional society, and partly, because I know what a slippery slope that can be. There’s very little black and white when you’re writing vigilante stories, because the character’s motivations and actions go against the very essence of our societal structure and yet their motivations are usually honorable or, at least, for a pretty good reason. That, to me, allows for more complex characters and world building. And being a rebel at heart (and sometimes in action), that kind of character greatly appeals to me.
Which is why I wrote Burning Kiss. Jade is a complex character. She’s not all sugar and spice, she’s also raw, hot anger, and she has an agenda that she feels is justified and a motivation that is not only about revenge but also about penance. It’s not a love story, like most of my romances to date, but it is a story, when you get right down to it, that is all about love and what love can drive you to do.
About Burning Kiss
Rehabilitation doesn’t work. Prison therapist, Jade Harris, learns this firsthand, after one of her paroled patients came looking for her, only to find her best friend instead. Driven by rage, Jade sets out to hunt down potential predators, baiting them into attacking her, and then ensuring they’ll never rape again.
Fighting the lure of her own demons, Jade finds herself sucked into a gruesome murder investigation that drags her back to the grounds of her old university. There’s a man hunting women on campus the police have no real leads, but Jade doesn’t have to play by the rules. And she knows just how to entice a predator.
Trapped in a triangle of toxic lust, driven by her need for retribution, Jade will risk not only her life, but the obliteration of her sanity, in her quest to take back the night.
WARNING: Jade is ruthless and daring. She will make you squirm. She will make you doubt. Whether you trust her or not is up to you, but she’s going to make you question everything you think you know about justice. Contains explicit adult content, graphic depictions of rape and other violent crimes, psychological mind games, and vigilante justice.
Universal Link: books2read.com/u/4jwRzD?affiliate=off
About the Author
Every day is Halloween for author Angela Addams. Enthralled by the paranormal at an early age, Angela spends most of her time thinking up new story ideas that involve supernatural creatures in everyday situations. She believes that the written word is an amazing tool for crafting the most erotic of scenarios and has recently started down a dark path to disturbing thrillers and erotic horror.
Her Order of the Wolf series, featuring kick ass Amazon warriors and their mates, and her Dark War series, set in a world of witchcraft and war, are available from Entangled Publishing.
She is an avid tattoo collector, a total book hoarder, and loves anything covered in chocolate…except for bugs.
She lives in Ontario, Canada in an old, creaky house, with her husband, children, two cats and a couple weird guinea pigs.
Website: http://www.angelaaddams.com/
Newsletter: eepurl.com/blFHeL
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AngelaAddams
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Author.Angela.Addams
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angieaddams/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/angelaaddams/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4801196.Angela_Addams
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/angela-addams
March 22, 2018
Elle James: Montana Ranger’s Wedding Vow
Check out my sister’s latest, exciting release! ~ DD
Montana Ranger’s Wedding Vow
Hot Delta Force Cowboy and sexy female Army Ranger plan a wedding to trap a saboteur
Dallas Hayes muscled her way through Army Ranger training only to be considered a curse on her all-male unit in an operation in Syria. When half the team is killed, she’s left Injured, losing the lower portion of her leg and is medically discharged from the life she loved in the Army. A fight with her physical therapist at Walter Reed lands her at the Brighter Days Rehab Ranch in Montana with an offer to join the Brotherhood Protectors.
Retired Delta Force soldier, Vince “Viper” Van Cleave, did his time in the Army but hasn’t managed to fit into the civilian world. What can an expert sniper do with his life when not shooting at enemy combatants? A widower, his first assignment is to masquerade as the groom of a former Army Ranger female and stage a wedding to smoke out a wedding saboteur. Together, they make a formidable team that might just make it to the altar intact.
Amazon | Amazon UK | Nook | iBooks | Kobo | GooglePlay | Print
March 21, 2018
Geri Krotow: Fully Dressed
Hello Delilah Devlin readers!
It’s a joy to be with you again, to share my brand new series, The Bayou Bachelors. Book One, Fully Dressed, is out and I’m having a blast hearing reader responses to this story that was inspired by real-life trip to New Orleans, encountering a flood, and having to be rescued by canoe to make it to my dear friend’s PhD ceremony! There is a full excerpt on my website, along with all the ordering links. This is an ebook original but print copies are also available. I know that many of us love to have real books in our hands!
Please make sure to sign up for my newsletter—it’s going to be a busy year with FIVE NEW books out. Enjoy your day! Peace, Geri
Geri Krotow Links:
Website: http://gerikrotow.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gerikrotow
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gerikrotow
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geri_krotow/
Pinterest: http://Pinterest.com/gerikrotow
Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/gerikrotow
March 20, 2018
IN TOO DEEP is here! (Contest)
I’m back from Nashville! I had a great time at A Weekend with the Authors! As always happens when I travel, the first day there, I started sniffling. Yes, I came home with the “conference crud”. However, it didn’t dim my joy at being able to hang with readers and other authors. Here’s me, waving at my friends and missing those brave souls who dressed as Wonder Woman!
The next installment in the Triplehorn trilogy has arrived! If you love stories about brothers, who also happen to be cowboys, this series is for you! All three brothers reunite with women from their pasts—the ones that got away. The last book’s release isn’t very far away!
And if you have time, tell a friend about this story and, maybe, write a review. Readers trust other readers to let them know whether they should take a chance on a their next book boyfriend…
Enjoy! ~DD
In Too Deep
In Too Deep
The Triplehorn Brand, Book #2
Some things never change. And some things change everything…
Gabe Triplehorn can think of no better getaway from his heavy responsibilities at the ranch than to go back to a time and place where he didn’t have a care in the world. When there was just a campground, a river, and a girl. When he gets to Red Hawk Landing, the campground and the river are still there. He just never expected the girl would still be there, too. Only now she runs the place.
Lena Twohig can think of no better place to raise her young son than the family-owned campground that holds so many memories. Especially, the romance with Gabe that lit up one long-ago summer like a wild electrical storm. Now he’s back with a ranch-hardened body she knows she shouldn’t want so badly.
No amount of lies, or the years that have passed, can tame this tidal wave of passion.
What’s coming next…
A Long Hot Summer
The Triplehorn Brand, Book #3
Coming April 3rd!
When two lonely hearts collide, age becomes just a number…
Sarah Colby’s marriage was over long ago, but she’s never shed the scars her abusive husband left behind. One shameful indiscretion, an affair with a younger man one long-ago summer haunts her.
Tommy Triplehorn is happy his brothers have settled down and started families of their own, but he’s feeling a little smothered by all that domesticity. Carousing and drinking no longer provide him any thrills, and he thinks he knows the reason why. He’s waited long enough for Sarah Colby to get over being ashamed of their past. He’s old enough to know what he wants, and he wants her.
And in case you missed the first one…
Laying Down the Law
The Triplehorn Brand, #1
A teller implicated in a bank robbery seeks sanctuary from small-town sweetheart she left behind—who happens to be the new sheriff in town.
A lifetime ago, Zuri Prescott kicked the dirt off her boots and fled her small-time, small town, but lived to regret choosing a glam city life over her high school sweetheart. When she’s framed for a bank robbery, she flees to her home town, seeking refuge with her old flame while she figures out her next steps—only to discover he’s the last man she can confide in.
Sheriff Colt Triplehorn knows trouble when he sees it, especially when it’s one familiar naked trespasser, caught between an angry bull and her underwear. Sure she’s up to her usual no good, he grants her sanctuary at his ranch where he can keep an eye on her while he purges her from his system once and for all. When he realizes she’s involved with a robbery, he has to make a career-compromising choice between following the letter of the law and his heart…
Contest
Win a $10 Amazon gift card! All you have to do is answer me this:
What TV Western series did you love? Would you love a “Longmire”
or “Dr. Quinn” set in Montana?
March 19, 2018
Cailin Briste: Foam, Concrete, and Goldsmiths — Researching How to Steal the Pharaoh’s Jewels (Giveaway)
Hi. I’m Cailin Briste, sci-fi fantasy suspense erotic romance author. I think that’s all my author hats. Thank you, Delilah, for allowing me to guest post on your blog.
As an author, I find myself researching everything from the structure of foam to the direction shards of concrete take when a pillar is struck by a bullet. Before I began writing, I thought authors who wrote historical fiction were the only ones required to do extensive research. Not true. All fiction writers do or should.
The existence of the Internet is a major boon to researching the details that make my speculative fiction stories realistic. I don’t write highly detailed technical sci-fi, but I want my stories to be plausible. I read several academic papers online about foam before creating the stuff that I used in a car crash in How to Steal the Pharaoh’s Jewels. I wasn’t sure if it was possible to have a foam that solidified quickly enough to be effective. (The foam is in the excerpt below.) I learned a lot of interesting things about bubbles and what constitutes foam before deciding my creation was credible. None of that research ended up in the book. But if I’m ever asked about my vehicle safety foam, I ought to be able to answer the question. If I don’t forget what I learned. No guarantees.
When it comes to guns, weapons, and fighting, I work hard to achieve accuracy. My characters know that running behind something doesn’t guarantee safety. (Not all screenwriters understand this point.) But despite all I’ve read on the subject, each situation is unique, and sometimes you need to see an event to be able to describe it. Amidst the gazillion videos of people shooting guns, I found a real treasure.
Personal Defense Network posted a video on concrete bullet ricochet. It was perfect for figuring out where my hero or heroine might get hit by flying concrete in a sniper attack while hiding behind a bank pillar. Another scene found in How to Steal the Pharaoh’s Jewels.
As great as the Internet is for research, I’ve also come to depend on in-person expertise. How to Steal the Pharaoh’s Jewels, required input from my massage therapist and my son-in-law the paramedic. In the past I’ve worked with a rope bondage master, and I’m currently working with a sadist for my next BDSM title, Rand: Marshal of Tallav.
No matter what a scene involves, there’s always something that I need to look up. How to Steal the Pharaoh’s Jewels is set on a world colonized by the French. I use French place and business names. The Banque Populaire is an actual French bank. The designer of the Pharaoh’s jewels of the title is Alessandro Castellani. I used the first and last names of two renowned Italian goldsmiths. These are the details I love to seed through my books. Research makes this possible at the same time it adds an enjoyable element to grinding out my quota of words each day. Not that every day is a grind, but some days…
How to Steal the Pharaoh’s Jewels
Release Date: April 23, 2018
Price: $2.99
Universal Buy and Pre-order Link: https://books2read.com/pharaohs-jewels
Cade’s fantasy is to seduce his best friend if he isn’t murdered first.
His comfortable routine as a member of Sebastian St. Croix’s cat burglar team is shattered the day he’s pinned in a crushed car. In a moment of clarity, before everything goes dark, he realizes he’s in love with his best friend, a woman who has sworn off intimate relationships for life.
It’s taken Bassinae years to overcome a past filled with physical abuse and embrace the truth that she is a powerful, capable woman in her own right. Tamping down a case of nerves, she’s ready to take on a larger role as a thief in Sebastian’s next caper. If only Cade would stop acting like a lovelorn idiot. She needs her best friend’s support to help steal the Pharaoh’s jewels.
Set in the distant future, this sci-fi suspense romance has action and adventure as well as a sizzling romance.
Excerpt:
With a grunt of approval, Cade noted the route change had worked. The road ahead was less congested, so he relaxed back into his seat and picked up speed. A parking garage lined the left side of the street with office buildings on the right. He checked the time and glanced in the rear-view mirror. “Want some music?”
At that moment a large dump truck came barreling out of an exit of the parking garage. Cade swung right and hit the brakes hard, hoping to lessen the inevitable impact, but even with the protection devices built into the vehicle this would be a brutal collision. Safety foam inundated the foot wells of the car, and the air ballasts deployed. The scree of metal and the splintering of the car’s plastic shell, filled Cade’s ears along with a sound like the roaring thunder of thousands of wild animals stampeding toward him. One thought struck him. No pain. And then the world winked out.
The next he knew, someone was shouting his name and agony radiated from his pelvis. The gray airbags that held him in place deflated while before him the mangled remains of the windshield gave him a partially obstructed view of the front end of the dump truck, an irresistible force that even Gerald St. Croix couldn’t have stopped. The left side of the car was crushed and had been pushed into the passenger side. Cade had been displaced two-and-a-half feet to his right.
A voice sounded behind him. “Cade. We’re going to get you out of there. Hang on. They’ll have to cut you out.”
My Current Giveaway
I’m giving away a Kindle Fire 7 to one follower of my Facebook page when it reaches 1500 followers.
https://www.facebook.com/cailinbriste/
I’d love to have you subscribe to my monthly newsletter here: http://cailinbriste.com/cailins-newsletter-sign-up/
My Facebook readers’ group, Cailin’s Romance Immersion Therapy, also has openings for anyone who needs group romance therapy sessions. We support one another’s need for romance, and as the group therapist I regularly add useful and entertaining posts to help you keep yourself fully dunked in romance. https://www.facebook.com/groups/CailinsRomanceImmersionTherapy/
