Delilah Devlin's Blog, page 479
September 8, 2012
Saturday Snippet: Talk-Talk (Contest)
Well, it’s almost here! On Tuesday, Laying Down the Law releases. It’s available at all the usual places, but you can click on the cover to find those links. I hope you’ll love it. I don’t see why you wouldn’t. 
Post a comment today for a chance to win one of my backlisted, downloadable Samhain stories!
Seeking sanctuary could be the hottest mistake she ever made.
The TripleHorn Brand, Book 1
A lifetime ago, Zuri Prescott kicked the dirt off her boots and ditched her small-time small town for the glam city life—and lived to regret it. When she’s framed for a bank job, she lights out for home, seeking refuge with her old high school sweetheart while she figures out her next steps. Only she discovers that the boy she left behind is the last man she should trust.
Sheriff Colt Triplehorn knows trouble when he sees it, especially when it comes in the form of a familiar trespasser, caught naked between an angry bull and her underwear. Sure she’s up to her usual no good, he grants her sanctuary at his ranch—the better to keep an eye on her, and purge her from his system once and for all.
Reconnection is sweet and hot, but the heat can’t hide the truth. When Colt inevitably finds out what Zuri’s running from, it’s too late to put the fire out, and he’s got a career-compromising choice on his hands. Follow the letter of the law, or follow his heart.
Product Warnings: When a sheriff captures the girl who got away, expect revenge so hot it leaves brands on two lonely hearts…
Colt knelt beside her clothing, tucked a finger under her skirt and raised it. “This all you have to wear?”
Light shone through a large jagged tear where the bull’s sharp hooves had ground the navy, summer-weight wool skirt. Zuri’s shoulders slumped.
“Do you have something else to put on?”
She shook her head, and Colt stared for a long moment. Then he dropped the ruined skirt to the ground and picked up the blouse. It was grayed from her time in the floodwaters and smudged by the bull’s abuse. Colt shook his head. He dropped the blouse too, heaved a sigh, then stood and began to unbutton his shirt.
“Where are your shoes, Zuri?” he asked, his voice rough as gravel.
“Guess I lost them,” she said, feeling like her mouth was stuffed with cotton.
“You gonna tell me what’s goin’ on?”
She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth because it had started to tremble, but managed a nod, even though she knew she’d wait and see whether she could trust him with all her woes.
“Here,” he said, holding his shirt out for her take.
Only problem was, she’d have to stand and walk out of the water to get it.
Shouldn’t matter that much, anyway, she told herself. Nothing he hadn’t already seen…or tasted and caressed. “Um…I don’t suppose you’d turn around?”
His steely gaze narrowed. “Not a chance.”
“When did you get so mean?”
One dark brow rose, and Zuri felt a flush of heat paint her cheeks and chest.
“You do know you’re bathin’ downstream from a herd of cattle…” he drawled.
Zuri popped out of the water, her hands curling at her sides. “Ugh! And you just stood there?”
His soft chuckle held a note of bitterness and not a hint of amusement. Zuri began to think she’d run into the wrong man.
Slowly, she stood, barely resisting the urge to cover her important parts with her hands. With her head held high, she walked out of the water and snatched at the shirt, but he drew back his arm at the last second and held it just out of reach.
“Colt, this isn’t funny,” she said tightly.
“No, it’s not. Guess I’m just seein’ how much you want it.”
Zuri dropped her hands at her sides and slowly curled her hands into fists. “What’s it gonna take?”
“I don’t know,” he said, his gaze dropping down her body, lingering over her nipples, which tautened with embarrassing speed, then sweeping downward to the ruff of dark hair cloaking her sex. “How ’bout a kiss? For old time’s sake.”
Zuri sucked in a breath, startled at how quickly the tension coiled around them. “Just a kiss?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, his gaze at last meeting hers again, and narrowing.
She stepped closer, knowing she was flirting with fire. They’d never stopped at just one kiss. Not once they’d gotten past the hurdle of her virginity.
Swallowing hard, she pressed a hand against his naked chest to steady her weakening knees and lifted up on her toes. Her mouth grazed briefly over his, and she dropped down and took a step back. “The shirt?”
“Call that a kiss?”
“Colt…don’t…” she said, all bravado seeping away as she noted that anger rather than attraction glinted in his storm-cloud eyes.
“Forget how I like it?” he said softly.
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Be sure to check out the snippets on these other authors’ blogs:
Rhian Cahill
Shelli Stevens
Anne Rainey
Jody Wallace
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Myla Jackson
Taige Crenshaw
HelenKay Dimon
Lauren Dane
Shiloh Walker
TJ Michaels
Leah Braemel
September 7, 2012
Guest Blogger: Jane Lovering
I’ve always wanted to write about vampires. Partly because there’s something fascinating in a creature that lives off blood, but also because I’ve always wanted to shift the paradigm slightly. All my novels feature heroes who are less Alpha and more Beta – men who are the heroine’s best friends or quietly in need of saving themselves, so I wanted to change the received wisdom of vampires as being dominant, controlling beasts. In my latest novel, Vampire State of Mind, they are still in charge, they are gorgeous and glamorous as vampires always have been, but the vampires I have created are fallible, they are stuck in their old-fashioned ways and sometimes in need of saving by the heroine, as much as they, sometimes, attempt to save her.
I’ve also located them firmly in Britain – these are very British vampires. They believe in filing and order and frock coats, or at least designer jeans. They don’t bite, unless it’s in special clubs where that sort of thing is allowed, their demons live on thrills and adrenaline so they lead lives where excitement is more important than regularity – and they don’t fall in love.
Vampire State of Mind is a deliberate attempt to subvert the Vampire Genre by taking some of the power away from the vampires and placing it in the hands of the heroine, in this case a council worker called Jessica Grant, who runs the Human/Otherworld Liaison office, acting as PR for the creatures from the Otherworld and keeping them firmly in their places. Jess is strong, self-deprecating and too chaotic to be allowed in charge of anything more than an electric pencil-sharpener and a sidekick called Liam.
Here’s the blurb.
Jessica Grant knows vampires only too well. She runs the York Council tracker programme making sure that Otherworlders are all where they should be, keeps the filing in order and drinks far too much coffee. To Jess, vampires are annoying and arrogant and far too sexy for their own good, particularly her ex-colleague Sil, who’s now in charge of Otherworld York.
But when a demon turns up and threatens not just Jess but the whole world order, she and Sil are forced to work together, and when Jess turns out to be the key to saving the world it puts a very different slant on their relationship. The stakes are high. They are also very, very pointy and Jess isn’t afraid to use them, even on the vampire that she’s rather afraid she’s falling in love with …
For more details go to http://www.choc-lit.co.uk/html/vampire_state_of_mind.html
Or http://www.amazon.com/Vampire-State-Mind-Choc-ebook/dp/B008GGBRU2/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346587575&sr=1-1&keywords=vampire+state+of+mind
www.janelovering.co.uk
@janelovering on Twitter
September 6, 2012
Guest Blogger: Vivian Arend (Contest)
Now that I’ve been writing for a few years I’m discovering more and more that definitions are far too fluid to be able to set in stone. What one person considers terribly racy and suggestive barely makes another person yawn. With the recent increased exposure for erotic stories, I’m still thinking about this—what makes one person say that a book had “oh my gawd hawt sex” and the next person simply says “meh”?
Expectations have a lot to do with it. If I hear something is awesome, great, incredible, I’m going to compare to what I’ve already experienced that meets that criteria for me. And then I’m going to make a judgment call. Bottom-line, it still comes back to OUR expectations, and our past experiences. Which means the old axiom of “You can’t please everyone” still remains truth.
So, in a seemingly total change of topic—but not really—what do you think about paranormal stories? I ask because here too there are expectations and past experiences that colour our thoughts. I will admit it: I’m not a vampire fan. I’m also a wimp, and dark, frightening stories put me off. So for many years when people talked about loving a paranormal series, I didn’t pay any further attention. I’d TRIED reading a paranormal. Someone got killed in the first three pages, their soul sucked away to the eternal abyss of pain, and the hero was wiping blood from his mouth and—**shudder**
Okay, let’s think about rainbows and ponies for a while. Better? Me too.
Not that dark books are bad—they can be beautifully written, with exquisite plotting and character development. But they aren’t for ME. And that experience coloured all my thoughts of paranormal. Until one day…
I read a Shelley Laurenson book.
Paranormal? Yes. Well written? Yes. But most important to me, it was funny as spit. I got kicked out of bed for giggling so hard I was shaking the bed and woke my husband. That book changed the way I thought about paranormal series, because while some are dark and full of vamps, some are sheer out fun and full of people I’d like to meet in real life.
Just like the steam level in sexy books can will be judged on what you’ve already read, there are a wide variety of paranormal stories that have different elements. Darkness, sexy alpha males, complex world building. Or…there’s the Takhini Wolves and Granite Lake Wolves, my version of stepping into the ‘other’ side. Shifters with sarcasm and steam. Also powerful Alphas, but they’re more likely to be involved in a bar brawl after shooting moonshine than a bloodletting.
Next Tuesday SILVER MINE releases. If you’re not a huge paranormal fan… (because the darkness scares you? You’re not into weird world rules?) …this is a different kind of book to try.
Who knows? You might find something totally unexpected. You will find sex—although of what heat level, you’ll have to be the judge.
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Silver Mine:
Takhini Wolves, Book 2
If a tree falls in the forest, duck…
Life in isolation is the safest place for Chase Johnson, a crossbreed who doesn’t know which form he’ll assume next—cougar or wolf. Once a year, his unelected position as spokesman for the Yukon outcasts forces him to visit civilization. This time he runs across someone unexpected. She’s not his mate, but she pushes all the right buttons.
It’s taken years for Shelley Bradley to gather the courage to return to her home pack. In spite of being the lowest of the low—a shifter who can’t shift—she’s determined to make a place for herself as the Whitehorse locals’ new vet-slash-doctor.
There’s definite electricity between her and Chase, but sex with fellow shifters and the inherent mind games got old a long time ago. Ignoring him seems best. When he shows up at her office with a wound that won’t heal, she’s stuck—yet drawn to solve this medical mystery.
As they journey deep into outcast territory in search of answers, their powerful sexual attraction crumbles her resistance. But time is of the essence. If a cure can’t be found before his human and cougar succumb to his injury, he—and others like him—will die.
Warning : Contains a silver-tongued, hairy-chested, lean-muscled Alpha who’s got what it takes to lead in the wilderness and in the bedroom. Yeah, I know…not really much of a deterrent, is it? Throw in continuing territorial wars and a domestic cat. Stir and enjoy the chaos.
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Vivian Arend in one word: Adventurous. In a sentence: Willing to try just about anything once. That wide-eyed attitude has taken her around North America, through parts of Europe, and into Central and South America, often with no running water.
Her optimistic outlook also meant that when challenged to write a book, she gave it a shot, and discovered creating worlds to play in was nearly as addictive as traveling the real one. Now a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of both contemporary and paranormal stories, Vivian continues to explore, write and otherwise keep herself well entertained.
Vivian Arend: Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
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Question: DO you like paranormal books? If you do, what kind is your favourite? If not, what’s the one issue you dislike about them? I have an ebook copy of the 1st book in the Takhini Wolves, BLACK GOLD, for one commenter, (or if you don’t like paranormal, winner’s choice of a backlist contemporary ebook. Because fair is fair. 
September 5, 2012
Guest Blogger: Jules Bennett (Contest)
If you know me, you know my love of a sexy stiletto. I can’t count the numerous heels I own, but last time I attempted, it was around 100. I wore heels during both pregnancies, while I worked all day in the salon and even in high school. I cannot express my love enough for a sassy shoe.
About six months ago I noticed something on my foot…and it hurt. I put off calling the doctor because I just knew what he’d say. I didn’t want to hear that I would have to put my heels away for something more *gasp* practical.
Well, the time has come that I finally sucked it up and went to the doctor. Here’s a little piece of our conversation:
“Mrs. Bennett, great to see you again,” the doctor says as he walks in the door.
“Listen, I know you’re going to tell me I need surgery.” I didn’t even say hello back. “I know you’re going to tell me my heels caused my foot problem and I don’t care. Just schedule the surgery, let’s get it over with so I can get back to my shoes.”
After a moment of silence, he busted out laughing.
“Well,” the doctor said, still grinning. “I’m not going to talk you out of those shoes am I?”
I followed his gaze down to my black and silver stilettos and shook my head. “Nope. If I have to have surgery every few years, then so be it. I refuse to buy ugly shoes.”
He slapped my folder on the counter and smiled. “Well, then, that was easy.”
So, after I set him straight, he made me an appointment with a surgeon. I’ll be going there on Tuesday. I’m sure I’ll have to be as blunt with this new doctor. My other doctor knows how stubborn I am so he wasn’t wasting his time arguing.
I hate to be so stubborn, but there are just some things I will not budge on and my shoe collection is one of them. I only buy heels for special occasions (ie: when my girls were born, when I sell another book, when I have a release, when I hit a milestone, etc). So in my defense, each pair holds a memory.
Okay, that’s pushing it, but I seriously refuse to clear out my arsenal of shoes and switch to something like…tennis shoes! I do own tennis shoes, but they are strictly for workouts.
So, do you have something you’re just as passionate about? Is there something in your life you won’t budge on? I’ll give a signed copy of my latest Harlequin Desire release WHATEVER THE PRICE to one person who leaves a comment!
September 4, 2012
Today’s Little Pick-Me-Up
I like collecting books of quotes—little inspirational sentences. They’re pick-me-ups—reminders that we’re all on this journey together. I opened one of the quote books sitting on my desk for something I might impart to give you a little inspiration for your day, and this is what I found:
“It’s never too late, in fiction or in life, to revise.” — Nancy Thayer
Now, how profound is that? Do you have a favorite quote or saying?
I’m blogging two places today. Post a comment here and at Wild and Wicked Cowboys. They both count in Hustler Magnets Contest! Have a great day!
September 3, 2012
Guest Blogger: Karis Walsh
Thanks to Delilah for letting me guest blog on her site today! For those of you who don’t know me, I’m an author of lesbian romances. I’ve been fortunate enough to work with Delilah on two of her Cleis Press anthologies – She Shifters and Girls Who Bite. I’ve also had two novels, Harmony and Worth the Risk, published by Bold Strokes Books, and my third book will be released in January, 2013. It’s called Sea Glass Inn and it’s about second chances.
Have you ever wanted a do-over? A chance to revisit a conversation or career or relationship and maybe get it right this time? My character, Melinda Andrews, tries to do just that. Move, start fresh, gamble on a new life that is more aligned with who she is and what she and her son need. I love Mel. She brings a little bit of crazy and a whole lot of brave with her as she attempts to restore a dilapidated old inn on the Oregon coast. She’s not only my creation, but my inspiration as well, because – whether this is life imitating art or vice versa – I’m beginning a new chapter of my own. Starting over. Redefining myself. Mel bought a house to celebrate her newfound freedom, but I chose to get a new horse instead. (And new vet bills, feed bills, etc. But I’m pretty good at ignoring such practical matters.) So I – being who I am – listed and prioritized the qualities I wanted in a horse. And life – being what it is – tossed my list in the trash and sent Siena and Sunshine my way.
Siena and Sunshine. The Thelma and Louise of the horse world. Best buddies and refugees from a local animal shelter. (Their previous owner apparently wanted his own fresh start, so he simply abandoned his eight horses on a vacant piece of property. Nice, huh?) Frankly, except for the fact that they’re equine and have four legs apiece, they don’t fit the description I made of my perfect horse. For example, they’re not a gelding, aged six to ten years; they’re two mares, aged… well, it’s really not polite to ask. But they are gentle and wary-yet-friendly. Together, we’re going back to basics and beginning again. Trying to erase old pain while never forgetting the important lessons we’ve learned along the way. I’ve discovered that Siena and Sunny aren’t wrong for me because they don’t match my list. I simply wrote the wrong list.
We don’t get true do-overs in life. We can’t go back and change the past. But we can, and should, try to heal old wounds and revisit missed opportunities as we go forward. I suppose the best we can do is move toward the future a little wiser and kinder and more careful to protect ourselves and those closest to us. Siena, Sunshine, and I are definitely bringing some baggage with us on this journey, but who doesn’t? As my character Mel learns: new beginnings require hard work, patched-together dreams, and a determined (albeit shaky) faith in the power of love. New starts with old scars are always difficult. But the rewards? Definitely worth the effort.
website: kariswalsh.com
After a life of wrong turns and lost hope, can true love be more than a bittersweet fantasy?
Melinda Andrews arrives on the Oregon coast with a dream of running the Sea Glass Inn. Still reeling after an unexpected divorce, Mel believes she has missed her chance to find love. All she wants is to make her business a success and regain her independence. She locates the artist who inspired her move so she can commission more paintings for her new inn.
Pamela Whitford runs a gallery in a small seaside town, planning events and supporting other artists while neglecting her own talent. Since being deserted by the love she thought was forever, she refuses to let anyone close enough to hurt her again. But Pam can’t resist the struggling new innkeeper, and she agrees to paint for her even though it means opening herself up to creativity and the vulnerability that goes with it.
Can they learn to trust again and discover a second chance at love?
September 2, 2012
Sunday Report Card and a Question…
Don’t forget! The Hustler Magnets Contest is still ongoing. And in fact, a comment today counts toward the drawing. There will be 5 lucky winners! Also, don’t forget about the Promo Ho Contest. Four Amazon.com gift certificates are at stake!
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Sunday Report Card
Remember back in May when I told you I have 18 projects to get out the door by January 2, 2013? That list grew a little bit to 21 projects. Currently, it looks like this:
4 3 full-length novels (2 1 paranormal suspense, 2 BDSM) — Shattered Souls, done—and scheduled to release January 8th!
5 3 novellas (1 Delta Heat, 1 Triple Horn Brand, 1 Delta Heat, 1 Femme Noir, 1 Triple Horn Brand) — Delta Heat: Fournicopia, and Triple Horn Brand: Laying Down the Law done!
4 2 short stories — “Red Dawn”, “Johnny Blaze”, done!
3 2 anthologies I have to edit — Smokin’ Hot Firemen done!
3 novels to extensively edit & expand with my sister (it’s a secret!)
1 novella to extensively edit and publish — Dragon’s Desire, edited! Publishing soon!
1 short story anthology to edit and publish — Licks, done!
My productivity slowed down last month, partly because I spent a week in Louisiana having fun, then had to recuperate from all that fun, but mostly because the pool and crafts (pendant-making) just seemed like so much more fun. I’m paying for it this month. Don’t expect to see me much on Facebook or Twitter, except very late at night, because I have to keep my cave door closed. I am very, very close to having one novella done, have two novels to kick off at the same time, and an editing project I have to pull together this week. Sound like enough to keep me busy and out of trouble? Sheesh!
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Guests
If you’ve ever seen the musical, Oklahoma, there’s a character named “Ado Annie” who gets into trouble with men because she can never say no. Well, meet her twin. I really try to keep guests down to three a week so I have time to have some fun here, but I can’t say no when I have such fabulous guests coming. This week, I’ll have the following ladies. Be sure to drop by and see what they’re all talkin’ about!
9/3 — Karis Walsh
9/5 — Jules Bennett
9/6 — Vivian Arend
9/7 — Jane Lovering
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Subscribe now!
Look to the left. See the “Subscribe to Blog via Email” notice? I added that in case you’re absent-minded and forget to check out my blog every day for new contests, guests, and events. You won’t be spammed if you subscribe. You’ll just get an email showing you what’s on my blog that day.
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The Question
Last week, I asked you what TV show you’d most like to see have a renunion show that had been off the air for at least 10 years. This is kinda related. Have fun!
Which TV show’s cancellation most made you want to howl?
September 1, 2012
Snippet Saturday: Fireworks
Every author has a book of her heart. One that she knew was the very best she could do. I’ve had two of those books of the heart. Seduced is one of them. Everything I love about paranormal stories is in there—the thrill, the goosebump awe, even a touch of horror. And I had so much fun writing this book. It took only 5 weeks to slam down 85,000 words, because I was “living” the story every day of that five weeks. Today’s Snippet theme is fireworks. I could have chosen a kiss, but this is so much more fun. Anyone love zombies?
“…The electrifying follow-up to INTO THE DARKNESS is a breathless read. Devlin’s intricate vampire society is filled with compelling personalities. The chemistry between the characters is explosive, and the horrific villain will give you goosebumps…the ending will leave you begging for more.”
4 ½ Stars and TOP PICK!, RT BOOKreviews
“…This is a deliciously edgy series with mind-blowing sex scenes that sizzle…Ms. Devlin’s DARK REALM series is devastatingly erotic and pushes the boundaries in both premise and sexual explicitness. Ms. Devlin pens in uncharted territory that will leave the readers breathless and hungering for more…”
Paranormal Romance
For eight hundred years Nicolas Montfaucon has dedicated his life to preventing the rebirth of an immortal evil. But now a terrible storm has assaulted unsuspecting New Orleans—and the beast walks the earth once more. “The Devourer” has been awakened, and there is only one in the besieged city who can help Nicolas defeat the foul creature—a mysterious and beautiful enigma who haunts the handsome Revenant’s erotic waking dreams and enflames his passionate obsessions.
Chessa Tomas is not an ordinary policewoman. A vampire, she works only at night, patrolling a seamy and unseen underworld of roiling chaos. Though Nicolas is sensuality incarnate, Chessa wants no part of him or his kind—but she cannot close her eyes to the unholy malevolence that would consume their world. And Nicolas has uncovered the secret lust that rules her—a steaming, uncontrollable desire he intends to unleash, bending Chessa to his will by making her most forbidden fantasies real.
The bodies they’d come to inspect lay on a tarp floor in black bags. The young man knelt and unzipped the first one. A woman in her mid-forties, gray roots showing beneath auburn colored hair, stared sightlessly upward. Her smocked denim dress with its embroidered flowers was marred by the large dark hole that sank in the center of her soft upper abdomen and the blood-spatter spotting the crisply ironed fabric.
“Looks like he used a post-hole digger to rip through her,” the young man said, pushing his glasses up his nose. “What kind of person would do a thing like that?”
The next three bodies had similar injuries.
Working silently, they finished making notes, Alex holding his breath over each corpse.
“You have to sign out,” their escort said. “I’ll escort you to the checkpoint.”
Lit as bright as any high school football field on Friday night, they made their way between the tents, passing people rolling gurneys with more bodies in FEMA black bags.
Alex was signing the checkout roster when screams ripped through the night, coming from the direction of the row of refrigerator cars.
Chessa sprinted back through the grounds, reaching for her weapon as medical personnel scrambled past, horror twisting their features. Chessa tried to halt one woman to ask what had happened, but she twisted away and kept on running.
At the corner of one trailer, she glanced over her shoulder to find Alex standing close by, his weapon drawn. He nodded to her, and she ducked around the corner, the stock of her Glock 40 gripped between both hands as she scanned the area.
Deep in the shadows she detected movement. The figure beyond the end of one truck ramp moved oddly, jerking, twitching, then stomping rapidly, almost too fast for the eye to follow.
Not human, that was for damn sure. She tightened her grip and took a stealthy step forward. When another twitching figure stepped suddenly in front of her, her mouth gaped.
The man was a walking corpse, his features bloated like a body too long in the water, the skin of his face peeling away to reveal underlying muscle and scraped bone. The odor that emanated from him had her stomach lurching.
Before she could do more than blink, his hand shot up so quickly she didn’t have time to dodge.
“Shit!” she cried out, as he grabbed her throat and dragged her closer. His gaping maw of a mouth opened wide to reveal a row of jagged teeth.
Choking, she shoved the barrel of her weapon into his belly and fired off three rounds.
The shots passed through him, dinging against the trailer behind him, but he didn’t loosen his grip.
Something large and solid barreled into her and the monster from the side, sending them both flying. Alex didn’t stop, rolling quickly to his feet.
Chessa leapt to hers, but not as quickly as the ghoul who rose straight from his back to a standing position, his arms outstretched toward her. “What the fuck?” she cried out, this time ducking beneath his grasp, only to have his hand grab at the back of her jacket and jerk her off her feet.
She swung her foot forward and slammed it backward against his knee, but he seemed as immovable as a tree trunk.
Suddenly, a shot rang out from beside her and the monster’s head exploded, splattering her with gray gelatin and coagulating blood. The hand gripping her tight, opened, dropping her to the ground. The corpse crumpled beside her.
Chessa kicked it, cursing, and scrambled away.
“Zombies, Cheech,” Alex shouted, already searching the shadows for the next one. “Aim for their heads. Move it!”
Together, they raced down the row of tractor trailers while Chessa stretched her senses, scenting the air for the smell of rotting corpses, listening for the heartbeats of the living and finding wildly beating hearts as workers huddled beneath wheel wells.
Scent proved an elusive clue as the breeze changed direction, but she found more of the creatures by their tell-tale jerking movements and eerily rapid advances.
With Alex’s back sliding close to hers to watch for anything coming up behind them, she paused to pop off rounds when she spotted one, then moved forward again.
She fired until she ran out of bullets and dropped her clip, quickly reached for another from her pocket and rammed it up, filling the chamber with another round.
Knowing she had only one clip left, she crept forward, scanning left to right and back again, her Glock following the direction of her gaze.
More strange stomps sounded behind her. Alex squeezed off shots, another zombie, then another stomped into view, their features twisted in frightening leers. She aimed, fired, missing as they rushed forward in their halting gait that looked like a film in fast forward. Her mouth dry, she drew a deep breath to steady her aim and dropped them.
They moved trailer to trailer, peeking inside, finding bodies writhing in body bags, finding more roaming the grounds. Only when the minutes dragged on without finding new targets did she draw a deep breath.
Chessa straightened and lowered her weapon, glancing behind her to find Alex sliding his gun into his holster.
“How many rounds do you have left?” she asked, dropping an empty clip and ramming her last one home.
“I have a box in my trunk.”
“I have to reload.”
Alex lifted his hand to glide his fingers over her cheek, drawing something sticky from her skin. “You know, we’ll have to hit all the bodies left in the trailers. Can’t take any chances.”
Chessa nodded toward the people cautiously emerging from their hiding places. “What will we tell them?”
Alex smirked. “That a demon called The Devourer paid them a visit and sprinkled a voodoo priestess’s powder over the bodies to make them rise from the dead?”
She rolled her eyes. “Uh…no. Think of something less absurd.”
A grin broke across his face. “Good thing it was us here, huh?”
Realizing she’d missed a few clues while they’d battled zombies, she gave him a searching glance. “Yeah, who else would have known how to kill them?”
When she’d streaked toward the tractor trailers, he’d kept pace. He’d also managed better than she to sight their rapid movement and drop them before they’d crept too close.
Not something any human should have managed.
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Be sure to check out the snippets on these other authors’ blogs:
Rhian Cahill
Shelli Stevens
Anne Rainey
Jody Wallace
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Myla Jackson
Taige Crenshaw
HelenKay Dimon
Lauren Dane
Shiloh Walker
TJ Michaels
August 31, 2012
Guest Blogger: Cheryl Ann Smith
Did you know that there are five thousand two hundred and twenty-three common Regency Era first names? Okay, I totally made that up. There are probably more like a couple dozen or so each for both males and females. But why do I care? You see, the thing is, unlike contemporary authors, historical writers have an unwritten code that you need to stay within certain parameters when naming your characters. If you call your heroine Cheryl, for example, the readers (and editors) will be all over you, and rightfully so. You should at least use a name that sounds historical, even if your British readers gnash their teeth at your end result. All you can do is your best. If it sounds too modern then it probably is. I’m pretty sure you won’t find a single Neveah, Caitlyn, or Alexis in any Jane Austen book. It’s a guess, but I’m pretty sure I’m right.
Using Cheryl for a Regency heroine would be like calling a vampire hero, Bob, Fred, or Wally. Those names, though awesome, just don’t have the same punch as Lucian or Dante do when naming a neck-chewing hero. Wally, Lord of the Vampires. Hmmm. You decide.
Then there are terms of endearment. Some affectionate Regency terms are Darling, Dearest, and Love. You won’t hear a historical hero calling his heroine Love Bunny, Snooky Bear, or Sugar Lumps. Again, just a guess. Can you imagine an alpha duke making kissy lips while calling his duchess Snooky Bear? Um, no. Nor can I imagine a duchess calling her duke a Hot Hunk of Burning Love. Though it would be pretty darn funny if she did!
I guess the point I’m trying to get to is that even a secondary character might be a hero or heroine in a future book. So choose their names wisely. When my readers started clambering for a redemption story staring Hortense from book two of my Brides series, I probably should have thought further ahead when I named her. Huh. Do you think I could have gotten away with calling her Sydney?
Notorious bad boy Simon Harrington, third in line for his uncle’s title, has finally conceded to settling down and finding a noble wife. Then he stumbles across a courtesan in peril on a dark London street, and his life takes an unexpected turn. Fearing for her safety, he brings the mysterious beauty to his cousin’s School for Brides, where compromised women are taught how to be suitable wives. But he finds it impossible simply to walk away.
A poor country squire’s daughter, Laura Precott was promised in marriage to the shadowy Earl of Westwick. Instead of making her his wife, however, he betrayed her and forced her to become his mistress. When she learned of his plan to sell her at auction, she fled for her life.
Simon knows he must forget his feelings for such an unsuitable woman or risk disgracing his family. But when Laura’s former lover turns out to have been murdered the very night of her escape, suspicion falls squarely on Laura. Now it is up to Simon to prove her innocence even if it leads to his downfall…
August 30, 2012
Brand New ContestS…and a Question
I’ve got TWO CONTESTS starting up today–you don’t want to miss them.
But be sure not to forget the question at the bottom of the page!
Winners
First, you want to know who won The Authors After Dark Grab Bagszzz Contest, right? Thanks to everyone who posted over the last couple of weeks! I let the random number generator choose the day and the winners, and here they are: Strohs (Aug 16), Crystal Guidroz (Aug 16), and June (Aug 27). Ladies, congratulations! Now, email me to let me know where I should mail your prizes!
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Hustler Magnets Contest
I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I am a collector (hoarder!). One of the things I can’t resist when I’m out and about is magnets! My file cabinet is covered top to bottom in silly magnets. When I was in New Orleans for the Authors After Dark Conference, I think I bought 10!!!! Well, part of my prescribed therapy is to let go of the some of the things I ”collect.” See the five magnets lined up in the picture? I picked them up in the Hustler Store on Bourbon Street. I’ll give them away to five lucky winners! But that’s not all… (Now I sound like the OxyClean guy!) I will fill the package your magnets come in with trading cards and a bookmark, and a cute little plastic boxed office kit. So don’t be shy. You know you want it.
What do you have to do to win? Post comments on this blog from now until the contest ends! Each time you post counts as another entry!
This contest ends on September 13th!
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Promo Ho Contest
What can you win? One $25.00 Amazon.com gift certificate, given to a new lucky winner every week of the contest!
What do you have to do to enter? See the covers below? These books are in sore need of online reviews by readers. So I’m offering a tempting bribe. You know there won’t be as many entries for this contest as for the Grab Bag contest, so you stand a better chance of winning! And wouldn’t you like to have some cash to spend on new books? And who knows? Maybe you already have these stories sitting on your TBR pile. Time to move them to the top!
Give an honest review for one of these stories on one of the online bookstores. Send me the link at del…@delilahdevlin.com. It can be the same review on three different sites, but send me three separate messages with the different links. Doesn’t matter if the review is on Samhain’s or Ellora’s Cave’s website, Amazon or Nook—send me the link to the review. Easy as that. Send me the link!
This contest ends September 27!
(Yes, LDTL isn’t out yet, but you can have it on pre-order and get it the moment it’s ready!)
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The Question
If any TV show that has been off the air for at least 10 years could have a reunion show, which show’s cast would you like to see back together again?
(Question is from “The Question Guys”)
