Delilah Devlin's Blog, page 310

Heather Long: Ghost Wolf (Free Read)

Thank you Delilah for letting me come hang out today! I can’t tell you how excited I am to present Julian’s book, Ghost Wolf, for your enjoyment. Every journey begins somewhere. We met our first Enforcer, Margo, way back in Wolf Bite, when I first introduced you to Mason, Alexis and the Wolves of Willow Bend.

Margo was a tough character, and I was thrilled to explore her story in Rogue Wolf, which was the 4th book in the series. During Margo’s book, we met even more characters including the enigmatic and somewhat brutal “boss” Chief Enforcer Julian.  From the moment he was first mentioned, he captivated my imagination.

When he arrived in the flesh, late in the book, I have to confess to having chills. I wanted to know everything about him. Some facts, became clear immediately while others unfolded over time. It would take me three more books before I began to fully grasp the depth of just who Julian was and by then, I knew I had a longer journey to peel back the layers of his tale.

Here we are. Over the last several books we’ve discovered many things about the Wolves of Willow Bend. We’ve discovered what makes them strong, what challenges them, and what threatens to break them all. We’ve journeyed to every pack in the U.S. We’ve met their Alphas, their healers, and the mates who changed their lives and the world around them.

I can honestly say that Ghost Wolf, while the culmination of the journey we began way back in Wolf Bite, is not the end—but a brand new beginning.

Please accept my invitation to join me and discover Julian’s truth, the world he knows and the answer to so many questions.

I can’t wait to hear what you think!  If you’re new to me or to Willow Bend, please pick up a copy of Wolf at Law, it’s the prequel to the series and free just for you!

Before I forget, I will be at #RT17 in Atlanta. Here’s my schedule! Please don’t hesitate to find me and say hi!

Wolves of Willow Bend

 Ghost Wolf

Most Lone Wolves have a story—a pack they left behind, a love they lost, or worse, one they buried. Some leave their packs to roam because they crave freedom, and independence. Some leave because, in their hearts, they can’t bear to stay. Some leave because they see no way to go back…

Packs attacked. Humans forced to turn. Enforcers murdered. Following near miss assassination attempts on several prominent wolves, the packs are furious—out for blood and ready for war. Julian has been juggling the conflict without a real target for months. They always seem to be just one step behind the volchitsa, and even the wolves they’ve captured can’t tell them enough. With the fate of the packs resting squarely on his shoulders, Julian, the Chief Enforcer, will swallow his pride and seek out the one wolf he knows can help them all. She’s the only one who seems to know all the players and who can think like them. If anyone can find the Volchitsa, it’s the ghost he’s hunted for decades.

Dallas Dalton has lived on the run so long, she doesn’t really remember any other way of life. For an all too brief time, she had her daughter with her and the feeling of family until Julian got to too close once again. The damn wolf wouldn’t leave her be, no matter how much she’d sacrificed for him. Seeing him in Russia had been both a blessing and a curse, because no matter what she did, she couldn’t get him out of her system. Then he asked her for help…

Side-by-side, the Enforcer and the Rogue will have to work together to deal with the Volchitsa once and for all, but can they keep from killing each other in the process?

Find excerpt for Heather Long’s Ghost Wolf below.

https://books2read.com/Ghost-Wolf

Focus on Willow Bend

Series Reading Order:

Wolf at Law (Prequel)

Book 1: Wolf Bite

Book 2: Caged Wolf

Book 3: Wolf Claim

Book 3.5: Wolf Next Door

Book 4: Rogue Wolf

Book 5: Bayou Wolf

Book 6: Untamed Wolf

Book 6.5: Wolf with Benefits

Book 7: River Wolf

Book 7.5: Single, Wicked Wolf

Book 8: Desert Wolf

Book 9: Snow Wolf

Book 9.5: Wolf on Board

Book 9.75: Holly Jolly Wolf

Book 10: Shadow Wolf

Book 10.5: His Moonstruck Wolf

Book 11:  Ghost Wolf

Book 12: Ghost Wolf

About the Author

USA Today bestselling author, Heather Long, likes long walks in the park, science fiction, superheroes, Marines, and men who aren’t douche bags. Her books are filled with heroes and heroines tangled in romance as hot as Texas summertime. From paranormal historical westerns to contemporary military romance, Heather might switch genres, but one thing is true in all of her stories—her characters drive the books. When she’s not wrangling her menagerie of animals, she devotes her time to family and friends she considers family. She believes if you like your heroes so real you could lick the grit off their chest, and your heroines so likable, you’re sure you’ve been friends with women just like them, you’ll enjoy her worlds as much as she does.

Contact Details:

Website: http://www.heatherlong.net

Email: heather@heatherlong.net

Bookbub:  https://www.bookbub.com/profile/heather-long

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Heather-Long/e/B002BMBCUC/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/HeatherLongAuthor

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/HVLong

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/iKxQ5

Excerpt of Ghost Wolf by Heather Long

“Miss Dalton, there’s a procedure to these things…a custom.”

“Of course there is,” she replied, whirling to walk backwards and look at him. “There’s protocol to every interaction we have. Boring, staid, mired in way too many years of history because some overactive dominants need to have their asses kissed.”

“Are you finished?” He halted, and though his expression didn’t change, she knew she’d reached the end of the little path so she stopped, too. They were a safe distance from the pier and alone with the rocks and the sea.

Tilting her head, she considered whether she was done. “No,” she said after waiting a beat. “I think it’s important to establish where we both stand. You bark orders to total strangers and think it’s okay. I don’t listen to orders from people I don’t know, much less respect, and I definitely never kiss an ass.”

Folding his arms, Julian released a sigh. Impatience seemed to thread through his posture. Satisfied she’d found a chink in his armor, Dallas smiled.

“There, I’m done. We understand each other.”

The wolf shook his head slowly. “You are a piece of work, Dalton.”

“Maybe, but I bet you think I’m groovy now…” The tease elicited the first hint of a smile on his stone cool face.

The man had a gorgeous smile, and her tummy did a little flip. Would he play with her?

“You are something,” he said, conceding, and she resisted the urge to cheer. “Now, you’re going to listen to me or I’ll put your smart mouth on a bus back to New York with a note to your pack to keep you caged until you learn some manners.”

Dammit. So much for playing. “Boring,” she sighed. “Fine, do your worst. Give me the lecture.”

There should be a rule about stone cold foxes being stone cold meanies. Folding her arms, she met him glare for glare.

“How the hell did they let you out of your pack?”

“Because no one can keep me where I don’t want to be.” Not anymore.

It would be her mantra. She was free.

She planned to stay that way.

Mary E. Thompson: A Piece Of Me

Thank you so much, Delilah, for having me as your guest today! I’m thrilled to be here!

Every book takes a part of the author who’s writing it. It’s been almost four years since I wrote my first book, but each story has taken a piece of me. Whether it’s a fictionalized version of something I went through or a name of someone I know or a chunk of my own personality, every book has taken something from me.

When I first had the idea for my series, Big & Beautiful, I talked to a friend about it. She loved it! Told me to write it immediately. I started working on it right away, but life got in the way and it was almost two years after I wrote the first word to when I published the first of the books in the series.

Now, with the eleventh book available, I’m so happy I took her advice.

Olivia, the heroine in Curvaceous & Captivating, took the biggest piece of me. Olivia is a single mom struggling to keep her entire life from crashing around her. Laundry is a constant. Homework is a fight. And being alone sucks.

I’m not a single mom, but I feel everything she felt. My husband works ridiculous hours at times, leaves long before the kids and I get up, and misses almost every event at school. I know how lucky I am to be able to do all the things I do with our kids, and that many parents don’t get the same opportunities. My husband is one of those parents, and occasionally, for very short periods of time, I get glimpses into what life would be like as a single mom.

I put every single one of those glimpses into Olivia’s world.

Then added a sexy, alpha who won’t let her push him away because she doesn’t have time.

Grab a glass of ice water because these two definitely get HOT!

Excerpt from Curvaceous & Captivating

My head spun as his words sunk in. I felt like a jerk for accusing him of sleeping with his assistant when she was just being a good friend, or employee. It was sweet of her to protect him.

But wait, he didn’t date?

“Why are you here if you don’t date? I’m not going to sleep with you.”

That sexy, sinful smile was back. “Maybe not tonight, Olivia, but you will eventually. I saw the way you were staring at me when I walked in today. And the way you’ve been looking at me all night. You want me as much as I want you. And we both know you know how badly I want you.”

He punctuated his statement with an arm around my back and a rough tug that plastered me even tighter to his body. I could feel him. Him, him. It was digging into my stomach and turning me on.

I couldn’t even think of the last time I’d had sex. I didn’t need it. It had been so long that I no longer had the desire.

Until Ethan.

I leaned into him, aching for the kiss I knew was coming. His hand cupped my jaw. His thumb tugged at my lower lip. His breath fanned on my face.

“Do you want me, Olivia?”

“Yes,” I breathed, my pulse racing. My panties were soaked through and my nipples were struggling to break free. I needed to feel him. To kiss him. To touch him. To have him touch me. I ached at the idea of him filling me.

“Good,” he said with a smirk.

Then moved back to the other side of the island.

What. The. Heck!

He only has to resist one Curvaceous woman. Too bad she’s the only one he finds Captivating. 

Single mom, Olivia Humphrey is always overwhelmed. The laundry reaches the ceiling some days, dishes fill the sink, and the trash always makes her gag. But she doesn’t have time to worry about any of that. She has a job to do, two of them, and as the mayor’s assistant and a mother, she has to suck it up and get the job done.

Even if it means dealing with Winterville’s newest irritating man.

Ethan Norwood has bad news written all over him. From the dangerous glint in his eyes to the tattoos that cover his body to the power he holds as the biggest sponsor for Winterville’s Easter Egg Hunt. Olivia knows she absolutely has to stay away from him, not only because he warned her to but because she doesn’t need a man like him in her life. Too bad she doesn’t seem to be able to say no to him.

When Ethan and Olivia are forced to work together, it’s a battle of strength to find out who can resist longer. Or if either of them will.

Buy Now

Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06Y3JPD6P/

Kobo – https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/curvaceous-captivating

iBooks – https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/curvaceous-captivating/id1224232232?mt=11

Barnes & Noble – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/1126255797?ean=2940157509729

About Mary

Mary E. Thompson grew up loving to read, like a good little girl. Many nights she would fall asleep with the flashlight still turned on as she hid under the covers trying to finish the last few pages of a book. As an adult, the light from her ereader means she doesn’t need a flashlight, but she still stays up way too late to finish a book.

When Mary’s not reading, she’s playing with her two kids or living out her own real life romance novel with her hubby. She has a weakness for chocolate, especially when it’s paired with peanut butter, and has been known to have a bad day just because there’s no chocolate in the house. Unless there’s wine. Then everything is okay.

Mary grew up in Buffalo, New York and swears she’s the only local to never ski or snowboard. Soccer was always her sport, with a couple of adventures white water rafting and skydiving to keep things interesting. Mary moved to South Carolina for college but missed Buffalo every day. Yeah, she thinks she’s crazy, too. She somehow convinced her South Carolina born and bred hubby to return to Buffalo to raise their kids and live out their lives. He’s still not sure what he was thinking.

Connect with Mary

Website – http://maryethompson.com

Facebook – http://facebook.com/authormaryethompson

Twitter – http://twitter.com/authormet

Pinterest – http://pinterest.com/metdaisy7

Instagram – http://instagram.com/authormaryethompson

Goodreads – http://goodreads.com/maryethompson

Relay for Life — #TeamColleen

I’ve mentioned the 8-year-old’s struggle with a very rare bone disease here from time to time. Colleen’s battle began in 2015, but after two surgeries on her left leg, the last where they removed her tibia and replaced it with a donor bone, she’s cancer free. We hope forever, but she’ll be checked every year for the rest of her life. While she walks with a cane at home, at school, she’s still confined to a wheelchair for her safety.

Yesterday was a big day for our girl and our community. Her school honored her by making her the “mascot” for this year’s Relay For Life. They had a special recess where the entire school came out to play and hear about her journey. Everyone wore #TeamColleen T-shirts. The local paper, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, plus THV11, all highlighted her struggle. Last night, she was honored, along with all the local cancer survivors, with a dinner, and the family took their turn walking in the relay.

If you’d like to see the short TV news clip of yesterday’s recess, here’s the link: Colleen’s Story.

And if you’d like to donate to the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life, here’s that link: Relay For Life.

Jennifer Kacey: Our Rules (Giveaway)

Our Rules is out next Tuesday……Seeing that gives me a thrill like I can’t even tell you and it’s not just because it’s the first book in a new kink series!!

It’s because this series has been in the works for more than two years!
Because this series idea was born from a VERY DIRTY conversation I had with a customer of mine at my day job. (Psst which Book 4 will be based on!)
And because it makes me think of the rules I adhere to within my kink relationship.

Some of my rules just might show up in Our Rules…..*insert angelic smile here*

Amazon – https://goo.gl/Bej8UX

Amazon UK – https://goo.gl/J7CFsA

B&N – https://goo.gl/DWKKro

Totally Bound – https://goo.gl/GqQidk

Kobo – https://goo.gl/8qerH8

Itunes – https://goo.gl/UUDZrd

Print Totally Bound – https://goo.gl/yO8YXY

Website – http://jenniferkacey.com/books/hotwife/oururles.html

When the foundation of their marriage falters, Michael and Tabitha must rediscover what it means for her to be his hot wife.

Tabitha is a hot wife. Not just a sexy wife. A hot wife. A wife allowed to be with other men with the permission of her husband.

Michael couldn’t love his wife more. Which is exactly why he shares her with others. Because she’s his.

On the cusp of everything they’re worked for—years in the making—a shattered promise threatens the foundation of their marriage. A foundation Michael had thought unbreakable until he lets Tabitha down in more ways than one.

Taking her submission for granted could lose him everything he’s strived for, and winning back her trust is the only thing that matters.

The Giveaway

In honor of the above kinkilicious debauchery I’m going to have a HUGE giveaway! Three print books by some of my favorite peeps and lots and lots of other swag and kinky goodies!

**GIVEAWAY – US ONLY** – Just look at all the awesomeness you could win!! Tell me one kinky rule you’d LOVE to live by! And this can be anything you’d have to do or something someone else would have to do to/for you! (Give a blow job everyday….be naked when your man/woman got home every day…anything!)

I’ll pick a winner on Monday the 24th!! Good Luck!! PS –It’s always great to leave your email address in your comment so I can contact you! Hate not being able to give winners their goodies!!

Decadently Yours,

Jennifer Kacey

About the Author

Jennifer Kacey is a writer, mother, and business owner living with her miniman in Texas. She sings in the shower, plays piano in her dreams, and has to have a different color of nail polish every week. The best advice she’s ever been given? Find the real you and never settle for anything less.

Website – Newsletter – The Decadent Divas– Amazon Page

Facebook – Facebook Author Page – Twitter – Goodreads – Pinterest

Liese Sherwood-Fabre: Of Fandom and Sherlock Holmes

A few years ago, I had an idea for a story about Sherlock Holmes and how he became the “world’s most famous detective.” During my research, I discovered his fans (referred to as “Sherlockians”) are highly organized. Since 1934, these devotees have met to commemorate the great detective.  From the original group, interest spread throughout the world. Today, local organizations hold monthly or quarterly meetings to share their admiration for the man in the deerstalker. Beyond these meetings, a number of fan conventions occur throughout the year.

Large-scale fan events are considered a relatively new phenomenon, with the Star Trek convention considered the basis for modern fan culture. Long before the fan convention wave the 1970s, however, Christopher Morley and friends formed the Baker Street Irregulars (BSI) and assembled for an annual dinner in New York City each January. As part of the fan wave of the 1970s, additional events were initiated for those not invited to the BSI dinner and offered more ways to celebrate all things Holmesian. The Agra Treasurers of Dayton, Ohio, for example, hold a “Holmes, Doyle, and Friends” convention in the spring; the BBC have organized a “Sherlocked USA,” based on the Benedict Cumberbatch series in Los Angeles in May; and A Scintillation of Scions will occur in Baltimore, June 9-10. Other events occur in Minnesota and Indiana every three years.

I recently attended the 221BCon in Atlanta. Spread over two and half days (from Friday evening to Sunday late afternoon), fans attended panels on a variety of topics (I spoke on world building, Sherlock in alternate universes, and writing for an anthology), viewed Sherlock Holmes films (continuously running in one room), browsed vendor tables with a variety of Sherlock-inspired items (from full Victorian costumes to autographs of famous Sherlock Holmes actors to items with Victorian-style wallpaper prints), or attended invited celebrities’ talks. This year Curtis Armstrong (Booger from Revenge of the Nerds), Martin Powell (author of both prose and graphic novels), and Lyndsay Faye (author of a collection of short Sherlock Holmes tales) ran panels or Q&A sessions. In all, more than 600 people celebrated their admiration for the great detective.

The convention offered participants an opportunity to “let their hair down” and share a common interest in Victorian England and Sherlock Holmes in their many manifestations—including alternate realities and crossovers into other “worlds” like Harry Potter or Dr. Who. Not only did I share my insights on writing pastiches (as Sherlock Holmes tales are called), I even strutted my stuff as a Victorian woman in the costume exhibition (and even showed a little ankle in the process).

All in all, the weekend allowed fans to share their common interest all while having a good time.

If this sounds like some people you’d like to get to know better, you can find out about upcoming Sherlockian meetings and events on this Website. I’m sure I speak to all fans when I say, “The more Sherlockians, the better!”

About the Author

Liese Sherwood-Fabre has been writing fiction for more than twenty years, the past three with a focus on Sherlock Holmes and Victorian England. She recently released The Life and Times of Sherlock Holmes, a collection of non-fiction essays, and has a short story “The Case of the Tainted Blood” in the alternate universe anthology Curious Incidents: More Improbable Adventures from Mocha Memoirs Press. You can see more about her books and sign up for her newsletter on her Website: www.liesesherwoodfabre.com

Liese Sherwood-Fabre

“Gimmick-free, old-fashioned storytelling”

Curious Incidents: More Improbable Adventures

Kindle | Paperback

The Life and Times of Sherlock Holmes

Paperback

Website | Facebook | Twitter 

Ann Jacobs: The Making of a Series

The 2017 NFL draft is just weeks away, and OTAs are kicking off next week, so I decided the time is ripe to run a super sale on my 4 ½ book series, CALLING THE SIGNALS.

I love football. More accurately, I adore hot signal callers, quarterbacks whose stars have shone over three generations of fandom!

Be they fresh out of college or inductees into the Hall of Fame, they’re all my idols, so I decided to write a series about four fictional stars whose careers overlapped my youth, my young adulthood, and my middle age. These highly sensual/mildly erotic romance ideas became Calling the Signals, and a short introductory story sets up a fictional small Texas town that produced all four heroes.

Born in the dog days of Ellora’s Cave Publishing, these books started life as The Gridiron Lovers series there, but they underwent major changes as well as getting new titles and covers. I’m proud of them, and I hope readers will take advantage of the very special prices beginning this very week.

Happy reading!

Ann Jacobs

A passerby could miss it if he blinked at the wrong time, this tiny west Texas town that had only one claim to fame—its amazing record of having produced not one, not two, but three MVP

quarterbacks in the past thirty years. Rumor had it that Bobby Anthony, now a senior at Tulane, would soon become the fourth one.

Some folks said it was something special in the water that bubbled up from a spring outside the town limits, but Bobby’s mom, Melanie, knew better.

Hedgecock was a brawling blue-collar town full of roughnecks and cowboys. Over the years, a dedicated, talented coach had molded a ragtag assortment of boys into teams that won state championships in spite of the school’s small size. Those teams had provided the town with pride—an identity neither drought nor dry holes could take away from its residents

Melanie stared out at the field, the rotting bleachers where so many of her memories had been made, hoping the committee she’d been asked to join would be able to find a way to raise the money to spruce up the fields, and maybe put a spark of life back in a town whose sources of income had all but dried up.

In “Hedgecock, Texas: Home of the Signal Callers,” school secretary Melanie and bank president Cal Tate conceive a moneymaking reunion of the four past, present and future NFL stars—and discover their own second chance at love in the process. Here are snippets from the four novels that tell the stories of each man’s career—and his discovery of lasting love.

THE ROOKIE

Bobby…fresh out of college, multi-million dollar contract in hand, ready to show what he can do on the field—and off

Melanie…football fan, cheerleader, ready to hitch her star to the promising, super-hot Gamblers rookie

After he’d gotten to camp and spent a few minutes thumbing through the biggest playbook he’d ever seen, Bobby decided the chicks would have to wait. He’d have to spend most of his waking hours studying, not checking out the incredibly hot young women who were on one corner of the second football field, trying out for the Gamblers’ cheerleading squad. He noticed one, though. A gorgeous girl with a hot body, creamy skin, big brown eyes and long black hair that looked so soft he wanted to run his fingers through it. And he couldn’t resist making a point of running into her on the training center parking lot.

“Hey there!” he called out, and she turned and shot him a thousand-watt smile.

“Hello to you, too.” She stepped over closer, close enough that the sweet smell of her perfume wafted into his nostrils. “Good luck making the team, rookie.” Her gaze slid slowly up his body, and it was all he could do to resist pulling her close and seeing if he could rest his chin on top of her head.

“Thanks. I’m Bobby Anthony. And you are?”

“Marly Ragusa. Gamblers fan forever.” She paused for a minute, her pretty mouth gaping open. “Omigod, you’re the new quarterback the Gamblers took in the first round.”

THE MVP

Keith…NFL MVP, unbeatable on the field, his private life has known tragedy and disappointment

Tina…hometown girl signed on as nanny to Keith’s motherless baby, knowing he’s way out of her league

Something was bothering Jack’s dad. Tina sensed it, though Keith was going through all the right motions, playing with the baby on the carpeted nursery floor and riding him piggyback before helping feed him an early supper. She hoped it wasn’t something she’d done to upset her moody employer.

Of course it wasn’t. Tina scolded herself for her lack of self-confidence. If Keith was angry with her, she was certain he’d have said so. It must have been something that had happened while he was at practice. And she’d guessed from his silence and his scowl last night that he’d come home unhappy about yesterday’s game. If she hadn’t watched most of it on TV, though, she never would have known he’d thrown two or three interceptions or that the Gamblers had lost, because he hadn’t uttered a word about the game while helping tuck Jack in his bed.

THE CLUTCH PLAYER

Dave…beat-up, playboy quarterback at the twilight of his storied career, who’s hot in the clutch in his final swan song

Diane…Keith’s older sister, victim of an abusive marriage but open to a fling with playboy Dave

Diane knew Dave Delaney, the Savannah Rebels’ quarterback, from way back. Despite being past forty years old, Dave was holding on to a lead in the tight game. Or at least he had been until a minute ago when two Gamblers defenders turned him into the filling for a human sandwich. Without his helmet, Dave looked a lot like she remembered from long ago. Older now, obviously, he still had the wavy black hair and electric blue eyes that proclaimed his Black Irish ancestry. Pain registered on that handsome face as two of his teammates helped him off the field.

Why was he still punishing himself? Diane shuddered as she watched the coach, a doctor and a trainer on the sideline, looking at Dave’s right knee. If she wasn’t mistaken, that was the same knee he’d had surgery on a couple of seasons ago.

THE COACH

Colin…Hall of Fame golden boy, now retired, he can still sling it with the best of them

Susan…small-town bad girl, has it bad for the smokin’ hot coach who’s up for all the games she has in mind

Colin Zanardi leaned back in his desk chair at the Rebels’ Savannah headquarters. He’d obviously been too damn busy lately. Otherwise he wouldn’t have been half hard, wondering if Susan Anderson were as soft and submissive as she sounded on the phone.

During the last few phone calls they’d shared, the sexy widow had clearly been making a play for him. That didn’t surprise him—a good many groupie types still wanted a piece of him even though he’d hung up his cleats thirteen years ago and moved over to the coaching side of football. What intrigued him was the element of raw need he heard in her voice each time they’d spoken—and a hint of the feminine submissiveness that appealed so strongly to his dominant nature.

For the first time since agreeing to take part in this reunion, Colin found himself actually looking forward to his first return to the tiny west Texas town since he’d graduated from high school almost thirty-two years ago.

Website: http://annjacobs.net

Blog: http://annjacobs.net/blog

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnnJacobs

Author Twitter:

https://www.twitter.com/authrannjacobs.net

Buy links for Calling the Signals and all of Ann’s available books can be found at her website:

http://annjacobs.net/books (click on individual book titles).

Puzzle Contest

I used this image for a recent cover. Solve the puzzle, then send me an email naming the title of the book, and you’ll be entered to win a $10 Amazon gift card! And no cheating! Have fun!

Send your answer to me privately at delilah@delilahdevlin.com!

A Question and a Request

The Question

I’m here at 5:30 AM writing this little blog. Family duties will pull me from my desk again in just an hour. I’m okay with that. If you saw the pics I posted on Facebook and Instagram yesterday, you understand how I can be pulled away. Have you ever seen a cuter 3-year-old? Even those who are baby-averse can’t help an involuntary ahhhh.  

Anyway, since my mind isn’t organized enough at this early hour to come up with something brilliant to say, I’m resorting to quotes. Here’s one of my favorites…

“I dip my pen in the blackest ink, because I’m not afraid of falling in the inkpot.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

How does this apply to me today? Well, I am under a crunch to write the last chapter of a story I HAVE to have finished on Wednesday. I can do it, but I have to keep focused. Days like today, when I’m pulled away to play with the cutest 3-year-old in the whole wide world, make me nervous about meeting my deadline. But when I read that quote, I realize how silly my fear is. So, maybe I need to lose a little sleep to get it done.

My question to you is, what are you afraid of today

that you know is just plain silly?

The Request

This release is only a week away, and I’m hoping to get the word out to folks who don’t usually read me about the next book in my Night Fall series, Bad to the Bone. I’d love your support! All you have to do is follow this link and click. The day after the book releases, your tweet or Facebook notice will go out. You don’t have to write it, you don’t have to remember to do it—I wrote it and Thunderclap schedules it for you. So, here’s the link, and thanks for your support!

Thunderclap for Bad to the Bone

Kalissa Wayne: Living in Cajun Country

Good morning everyone! It’s a beautiful Sunday morning. To those who observe it, Happy Easter! To those who don’t, Happy Beautiful Sunday! Okay, now, on to a topic a little less…. Eastery!

My husband and I live in southern Louisiana, and I do mean southern. As in, Cajun Country. For those who don’t know, Cajun Country is anywhere south of Interstate 10 in southwest Louisiana and while it’s not all moss-covered-tree swamps, the majority of it is water-based. People down here move to their own beat, it’s called Zydeco – which is a blend of blues, R&B and the music indigenous to the Louisiana Creole and Native peoples of Louisiana. Zydeco blends guitar, accordion and washboard (yes, old-fashioned laundry scrub boards) and for those not used to the sound, may be an acquired taste. I love it!

There are always fun things to do around here, when the evil-day-job allows for such things. Our favorite thing has to be going to the Cameron Parish National Wildlife Refuge and driving their Pintail Wildlife Drive. Pintail is a 3 mile gravel drive though a wet-plains type of environment. They have a boardwalk you can enjoy. In the winter months, the area becomes host to millions (literally!) of birds. I now know to where all the birds fly south! It seemed that way this winter at least, because you saw more birds than water! We see all types of wildlife, from the birds, hatchlings, nutria rat, to the big ones – alligators! We think we even saw a bald eagle one day, but couldn’t get a close enough photo to decide either way.

We count gators as we do a slow cruise, and the highest we’ve counted is 105 in just that 3 mile loop. And no, we don’t get out of the vehicle! First, because it’s posted that you can only exit your vehicle at the boardwalk. Two, we aren’t idiots! Gators can move fast when they want to, and I’ve seen videos where they can rip the bumper off a truck, I’m not tempting them with my freakin’ legs! While I admire that gators are basically living dinosaurs, I give them much respect and a wide berth! (That photo? That’s taken from our truck which is about 20 feet or so away from them. Yeah, big boys!)

I have to state, here and now, a few facts about me… I was born and raised in the mid-west so I’m not a Cajun, not anywhere near a native, and my husband was raised in northern Louisiana so he can’t claim to be Cajun either. And I’m no expert on the subject, so come on down sometime and explore for yourselves! We’d love for you to visit!

http://www.bookstrand.com/book/the-dragons-soul-xan

Flash-forward: Bad to the Bone (Contest)

So, have you read any of my Night Fall series? The 11th story in the series is set to release on April 25th! Woot! I promise if you start with that story, you won’t be lost, but wouldn’t you rather immerse yourself in the darkness? All the stories, except for Silent Knight and My Sweet Succubus are novellas. Those two are novelettes—slightly longer than short stories. So, you really do have time to blow through the books before Bad to the Bone arrives…

And it should go without my saying that ALL the stories are sexy as hell. Because I’m a tease, I’m letting you look inside the beginning of Bad to the Bone. Read all of chapter one below. See if you can resist ordering so you can have the rest of the story… 

For a chance to win your choice of one of my previously released

Night Fall series stories, answer me this!

Do you love paranormal romance? If so, what flavor of heroes

do you prefer—vampires, werewolves, other shifters, witches, fairies?

    

     

(Click on a cover if you’d like to learn more!)

Bad to the Bone

One night of pleasure…

His name is Viper–a dark mysterious enigma who rules the seedy, dangerous vampiric underworld. For one night, he will escape his murky prison and tempt an innocent.

…can last a lifetime…

Beautiful Mariah haunts him. Lures him from his den with a glimpse of his past. One she doesn’t remember. This night, he’ll be her dream lover. He’ll seduce her, make her fall in love with him–then leave her. Again.

One night of pleasure is all they must know.

But Viper leaves her a clue. One he hopes deep down will lead her back to him although he dreads the consequences, because he’s not the same man he was. He’s not a man at all…

Pre-order your copy here!

Excerpt from Bad to the Bone…

One week ago…

Slim hips swished beneath a short, flirty skirt, drawing his gaze like iron filings to a magnet. The splash of large pink flowers on white stood out like a beacon in the darkness. Beneath the hem stretched a pair of nude legs, toned, and nicely curved at the ankles. Perfectly made to lightly clasp a man’s waist as he slid into moist heat…

He suppressed a low, rumbling growl from the beast rising inside. Something he rarely bothered to do in the squalid dens he roamed most nights. The creature lurking deep within was a sexual animal, a lustful, ravenous host who found partners only too willing to let him feast. But this woman was different. Her soul was pure. Her mind unawakened to the darkness.

He followed her as she left her apartment, sticking to the shadows, ducking into stairwells when she looked behind her as though checking whether someone followed. A frown marred her smooth brow, and her lips tightened. The clip of her heels on the pavement quickened.

Shoulder-length, flyaway brown hair bobbed across the tops of slender shoulders. The creamy skin of her exposed arms and legs swung in a rhythm that his heart picked up and matched, beat for stride.

Feeling more than ever like the true predator he was, he tamped down the shame that burned like battery acid in his stomach and continued stalking the woman who walked more briskly now along the darkened sidewalk.

When she turned onto a crowded walkway, her shoulders sank and her footsteps slowed as she relaxed.

Now, as she mingled with others strolling along the promenade, she believed herself safe. Little did she know, but her “spontaneous” decision to leave her apartment had been at his suggestion—a message telegraphed with tantalizing snippets of the smell of fresh salt air, the caress of a soft breeze, and a glimpse of sensual pleasure.

She hadn’t heeded her own natural inhibition. Hadn’t paused to check the clock and note the waning evening hours. Instead, she’d made her decision, wriggled into a sexy little skirt and snug pink tee, slid her feet into strapless sandals and bounded down the stairs, ready to kick off winter’s gloom in an unseasonably warm spring night.

He’d made sure she didn’t glance even once at the calendar resting on the bureau in her foyer. Nothing would trigger a fleeting memory. And while he’d provided himself the opportunity to see her, he’d decided days ago he wouldn’t use his persuasive gifts to bring her straight into his arms.

Tonight, he wanted to savor a natural seduction.

She paused along the gangway that followed the curving street through a long, outdoor strip mall. At the bottom of one set of stairs leading into a seafood restaurant, she lifted one foot, planting it on the first paved step.

As he drew back the suggestion that had led her here, her brow furrowed, and she shook her head. Her foot slipped off the step and slowly settled beside the other.

In a blur of movement no human would detect, he slid in behind her. “Did you forget something?” he murmured, careful to keep his tone innocently inquiring.

A gasp escaped, and her head jerked to the side then tilted up to meet his gaze. Her eyes widened, and then slid over his shoulders before rising again. “You frightened me.”

The deepening frown that bisected her brow amused him. She was annoyed and not bothering to hide it. Her eyes narrowed. “I know who you are.”

Viper jerked imperceptibly. His heart tripped, and then thudded dully again. She couldn’t mean what he thought. “I doubt that. If we’d met, I would have remembered,” he lied, giving her a rueful twist of his lips. More of a smile than most ever saw.

Her head shook, sending her fine, dark hair shivering silkily across her cheeks.

The urge to tuck her hair behind her ears was almost irresistible. He curled his fingers and stuffed both hands into the pockets of his faded jeans. “Who do you think I am?”

Gaze narrowing, she hesitated. “I’ve seen you before. At a club near the water. You’re the manager.”

Viper suppressed a grin, relieved her clouded mind hadn’t jumped to the right conclusion. She was talking about Dylan’s club. “I’m just filling in for a friend at The Cavern until he returns home. I have no ambition to run his place permanently.”

“The Cavern.” She nodded. “That’s the one. It’s a strange place. I did a piece there about the rise of Sanguinarian blood rituals. A whole subculture devoted to the practice exists, and most of them in this area hang out at your friend’s place.”

“You’re a writer then? Or are you a television reporter?” he asked, knowing full well she wrote a column for the social section of the Seattle Times.

Her casual shrug belied the fact she was serious about her work. Ambitious even. Or at least she had been. The social section wouldn’t encompass her ambition for much longer. A worrisome thought. However, he’d always loved that about her. She kept her eyes on the prize and rushed headlong wherever her curiosity and drive led. An excellent quality for a reporter, but one that had spelled disaster for him.

But then, she didn’t remember any of it. She hadn’t retained that lesson, because he’d needed her to remain safe.

“You know, they have a dress code here,” she murmured, eyeing his black leather jacket and T-shirt, and then sliding her glance quickly down his legs before rising again. A faint blush tinged her pale cheeks.

Viper’s eyelids dipped. “I’m not planning on going inside. I was waiting for someone.”

“Lucky girl,” she said softly, then shook her head again. “I don’t really have a reservation or anything, and I’m not dressed for it either. I’m not really sure why I stopped…”

His glance panned the line of people waiting patiently for their names to be called by the restaurant hostess who roamed outside, jotting on a clipboard. “Doesn’t look like my friend is planning to show. Would you like to go somewhere else?” he said quickly, not wanting her to decide to return home before he had a chance to chat her up and build a little trust and interest.

Time stretched between them. Her gaze flitted down the row of well-lit shops, still open with people walking leisurely along the covered walkway. A soft evening mist muted the glare of the streetlamps, as well as the sounds of the people passing them by as they stood at the bottom of the steps leading into the trendy restaurant.

“I promise I don’t bite,” he added, fighting the urgency building in his body to keep his words light and casual. “We can just take a walk. Find a cup of coffee, if you like.” He wanted her to say yes without any of his extra “persuasion.” Wanted her to choose him of her own free will.

A long indrawn breath lifted her chest, and she gave him a small, tentative smile. “A Starbucks is at the end of the strip.”

Warmth seeped into his chest. And although he knew tomorrow he’d pay a heavy price, he needed this night with her, whether it ended in her bed, as he hoped, or not. Simply standing this close, feeling the warmth of her body and breathing in her fresh, sweet scent flooded him with joy.

Viper tugged his hands from his pockets and crooked an elbow, feeling a little foolish for the old-fashioned gesture. These days he acted with reckless arrogance around the opposite sex. His gentleman manners felt a little rusty. Unnatural.

She didn’t seem to notice as her hand slid around his forearm, her fingers lightly resting atop the distressed leather. Through the barrier he shouldn’t have noted the heat of her hands, but he did. His blood stirred with pleasure, and he fought to keep the muscle she touched from tensing. “Shall we?” He stepped out, shortening his natural stride to allow her to walk comfortably beside him.

As she cleared her throat, she made a feminine sound. “You haven’t even asked my name.”

It’s Mariah, my love. “You haven’t asked mine,” he murmured.

Soft, rueful laughter floated around him. “True. I’m not like this. I don’t let strangers lead me around.” She ducked her head, perhaps to hide the new blush staining her cheeks. “I’m Mariah Cohen.”

To halt the automatic protest regarding her last name, he pressed his lips tight. Tonight, he wasn’t Viper. “I’m Daniel Vacarro,” he said softly and held his breath. Would the name niggle at her memory?

“Daniel. Not Danny?”

He gave an exaggerated shudder.

She laughed again. “Not manly enough?”

He narrowed his glance and arched a brow.

“See?” she said, a smile curving her soft, plump mouth. “We’re already getting to know each other.”

His gaze darted upward to catch a hint of amusement in her sparkling eyes. He gave a gentle snort. “Are you always such a smart ass with complete strangers?”

Her head canted as she peered into his face. “We aren’t strangers, Daniel. I admit, tonight I feel just a little reckless, but I recognized you right off. We’re just taking a short walk in the middle of a crowd of people.” She flipped her hair off her cheek. “What’s the worst that can happen?”

Viper shook his head. The woman was crazy. But she was right. The only danger he posed tonight was to her sweet, curvy body. His fingers curled over hers, pressing them against his forearm. “This is the place.” He swept her into the coffee shop and halted at the end of a long line.

As the people waiting in front of them peeled away, one at a time—some patting pockets for “missing wallets”, some squinting at the menu board as though they suddenly couldn’t read it—Mariah stood quietly beside him, bewilderment rounding her eyes as the line melted completely away. “This never happens.”

“What would you like?” he deferred to her, hiding a smug smile. So, he’d worked a little of his magic on the other customers. Bite me.

She placed her order, and then lifted a brow.

“Nothing for me,” he murmured.

“You didn’t come for the coffee?”

“I’m not the addict.”

“Afraid you won’t be able to sleep tonight?”

“Who’s going to sleep?” he muttered under his breath.

Her tongue swept out to wet her lower lip as rosy color crept across her pale cheeks. She let him pull her aside to wait at the end of the barista’s counter. “But you didn’t pay.”

Viper shrugged. “I know them.”

“Right,” she said, her tone indicating she didn’t quite believe him. “Did you wink at the girl or something?”

“Why? Do you think my charm’s irresistible?”

Her soft feminine snort was followed by a slow, dazed shake of her head. “I’m here, aren’t I? And we just met ten minutes ago.”

For a second, Viper closed his eyes, trying to keep his memories at bay and just enjoy the moment. She had no way of knowing how much her innocent comment ate at his resolve. They’d met a long time before this night.

Her name was called, and he opened his eyes, catching her gaze.

She gave him a concerned look, lips turning downward, then stepped forward to claim her cup. “Do you want to stay here?”

The press of warm-blooded bodies around him felt suffocating and far too tempting. “Let’s walk.” Outside again, he raised his face to the warm breeze and drank in the cleansing air. “Sorry about that. I don’t like crowds much.”

“I kind of figured that out. Tables are just down the way. Want to sit?”

He nodded, hoping his sudden melancholy would vanish. He had only a few hours to spend with her, if she let him, before he had to return to his world. He didn’t want to waste a moment thinking about things that could never be.

As she walked, she played with the plastic lid then took a quick sip. Her eyes drifted closed. “Mmmm…this was just what I needed.”

They reached the tables outside another café. Viper chose one at the outer edge of the extended courtyard and pulled out a chair, waiting as she settled before taking his own beside her, rather than across the table. His gaze swept the harbor, noting the glints of moonlight sparkling on the water. For a long moment, he remained still while he forced himself to relax once again.

She waited, just sipping her coffee quietly while eyeing him above the rim of her cup.

He wondered what she saw. He’d been careful with his appearance. Sure, he wore the same weathered jacket, a plain T-shirt, and jeans. But he’d polished his boots and used a brush instead of only fingers on his long, black hair. He knew most women found him attractive, but Mariah wasn’t into dark, dangerous men with sharp-edged features and hungry eyes.

Or at least she hadn’t been.

She lowered her cup. “Are you always this talkative?”

Right. He should at least pretend to be polite, however out of practice he felt. “Does it bother you? My not talking.”

“It’s a little unnerving.” Her glance met his then slid away quickly, but her shoulders tilted toward him. “I expected you’d be hitting on me by now.”

The subtle body language, crossed messages of shy interest and trepidation, set his blood simmering. “Are you disappointed I’m not?”

“Just a little uncomfortable.” She placed her cup on the table and wrapped her hands around it.

“Why?”

“Because I’m tempted to hit on you.” She wrinkled her nose. “I did just say that, didn’t I?

His lips stretched. “Yeah, you did.”

Her head canted as she eyed his mouth. “Are you gay?”

He jerked and nearly laughed. “Do I give off that vibe?”

“Not at all. But in my experience, a man doesn’t need more than a smile as encouragement to make a move.”

He chuckled softly at her disgruntled tone. “And you think I might be gay because I’m trying to be a gentleman?”

An eyebrow arched. “You have to try?”

Never harder than tonight. He nodded slowly.

“That’s a relief.” She blew out a breath between pursed lips. “Although I’d already guessed you’re a predator.”

Ah, here it came. He lifted both eyebrows. “Do I seem that sinister?”

She gave him a direct stare. “Not like a serial killer, but you could probably have any woman you want without much effort. So why haven’t you tried…with me…seeing as you’re not gay?”

He adjusted his legs, stretching them in front of him, parting them slightly to make room as blood began to fill his sex. “I wasn’t sure you were interested. Back there at the restaurant, you seemed to hesitate. I didn’t want to spook you.”

“So, you do…” Eyes flashing, she sucked her lower lip between her teeth.

His gaze speared hers. “I do what?”

“Want me?” Her gaze rose slowly to his again. Her breath hitched, lifting her small breasts.

He swallowed, wondering if he’d subconsciously sent out the idea, making it impossible for her to choose of her own free will.

Her eyes blinked rapidly. “Don’t feel like you have to,” she blurted. “I didn’t mean to put you on the spot. I guess I’m just in a funny kind of mood. I don’t want to say goodbye. Not yet.”

Viper settled back in his chair. “If all you want is company, you don’t have to invite me to your bed,” he said gruffly.

Again, her glance slid away as she studied the string of lights surrounding a toy shop across the courtyard. “But what if I want more?” she whispered.

Because he wanted to read her expression, he gave in to the urge to touch her hair and tucked a softly curling lock behind her ear.

Her gaze swung back, and her lips parted as she drew in a soft, shaky breath.

He cleared his throat and leaned closer to whisper for her ears only, “I’d ask, why me? Why tonight?”

Again, her plump lips pressed together then parted. “Well, it’s not because you were the first man to say hello tonight, if that’s what you think. I wasn’t really prowling for sex.”

“Then what was it?”

“Fishing for compliments?” When he didn’t respond, she lifted her shoulders. “Guess you don’t need them.”

Viper held himself still, determined to wait her out.

Her finely arched brows drew together, and her jaw tightened for just a moment. “All right. I just feel…I don’t know…a little lonely tonight. I thought maybe you felt the same way.”

Viper felt a burning at the back of his eyes and looked away. Because he couldn’t speak past the lump lodged at the back of his throat, he only nodded.

Her hand reached out and smoothed over the top of his.

Viper shivered. Her large brown eyes looked at him with a sadness that mirrored his own.

“Maybe we just need each other tonight. That’s all it has to be.”

She was reassuring him that there wouldn’t be any strings? “You should expect more,” he rasped.

Her small, tight smile made the sadness in her eyes more poignant. “Maybe tomorrow I will. But tonight, I’d just be satisfied to know you don’t want anyone but me.”

Viper forced a matching smile. “Would you like to fall in love with me tonight?”

“Does that sound so silly?”

His hand lifted and cupped the side of her face. “Your idea sounds just about perfect.”

Mariah pressed her cheek into his palm. “I don’t live very far from here.”

He couldn’t believe how quickly things had progressed. How naturally. “Sure you want to bring me back to your place?”

She wrinkled her nose then nodded. “I’m inviting you, aren’t I?”

“You’ll be safe with me. Tonight.”

Her eyes widened. “I just shivered.”

A genuine smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Call a friend. Knock on a neighbor’s door. Let them see my face; I’ll give them my ID. I don’t want you to worry about me.”

For a long breathless moment, her gaze locked with his. Then the corners of her lips lifted in a whimsical smile. “I’m not worried you’ll murder me or anything. And since I’ve already offered you my body—that pretty much rules out any molesting, unless it’s me doing you.”

Viper drew in a deep breath and began to relax, determined to enjoy her gentle aggression. “We haven’t even kissed. How do you know you’ll like being with me?”

“Are you kidding me?” One brow slipped upward. “Have you looked in a mirror lately? Maybe you don’t find me all that attractive.”

“Who hit on whom?”

Her smile deepened. “Ooh! A man who knows his grammar. I’m completely turned on now. Not the most elegant sentence, but something can be said for brevity.”

“Are you nervous?”

“Why do you ask?”

“You’re rambling,” he murmured. His fingers tugged at the lock of hair that kept slipping from behind her ear. “Come closer.”

Her glance dropped to his lips. “You’re thinking about that kiss we haven’t shared?” she whispered.

“I want a taste of that coffee you sighed over.”

A smile quirked her lips as she leaned closer. “Did I sound too orgasmic?”

“Is that even possible?” he said, his lips curving again. Lord, he’d missed their sexy bantering.

“Why do I get the feeling you don’t smile very much?”

“Because I don’t.”

Her dark eyes melted with a sheen of moisture. “You don’t have to be lonely, so why are you?”

He drew back a fraction of an inch. “You’re attractive enough a thousand men would want you. Why are you lonely?”

“I guess I just haven’t felt a connection. Do you know what I mean?”

Viper knew exactly what she meant. He sat beside the only woman he’d ever felt he belonged with…and lied. “I never gave it much thought.”

Her eyes narrowed. “That is such a man thing to say.”

Because he didn’t want to lie again, he raised his other hand slowly and slipped it behind her neck.

Her eyelids fluttered closed, and her head fell back, supported by the palm cupping her now. He shifted toward the edge of his seat and leaned close, staring at her parted lips.

The first tentative touch almost made him come unglued. His body tightened against the urge to take her to the ground that instant and cover her.

Instead, he breathed softly through his nose, pressed his lips against hers, and canted his head to deepen the pressure.

A low, breathy moan seeped into his mouth.

Slowly, he circled his head, dragging his lips over hers, suctioning softly until she gasped, and he gently thrust inside his tongue.

The taste of her—coffee, a lingering hint of mint from her toothpaste, her own sweet flavor—sent a fine tremor racing down his spine.

Her head drew back, and her tongue traced her bottom lip. “Are you reassured now that we’ve got that out of the way?”

The glibness of her words were betrayed by the breathless delivery. Viper settled his forehead against hers. “How far did you say your place is?”

“We can be there in five.”

“Make it four,” he muttered, and then stood, holding out his hand to pull her up.