Delilah Devlin's Blog, page 510

Hidden Treasures

I swear my life would make the best reality show. A house full of eccentric elderly people. Pets who act like children. A Red-Headed Hellion with children who would frighten The Children of the Corn. I'm the one in the middle of all the chaos.

I've been trying to simplify my life. However, the older of the two little girls has some learning issues. I'm going to be helping with homeschool. I already babysit quite a bit, rush to town to help with emotional bedtimes, etc. For a year, my daughter lived in a trailer she'd bought and put in the pasture beside our house. It was to be a temporary housing solution. We hoped the house across the road would come available and be reasonable priced, but when that didn't happen fast enough, I found a very nice, cute little house that needed a few renovations in town, five minutes away. Problem solved, or so I thought.

A week after her family moved in, the house across the road was offered to us, along with 8 acres of land. No more driving to get where I'm needed. No more worrying about the hellions escaping the front door and running into the street (the two-year old moves step stools to reach the upper latch of the front door). But the house was built in the early 80′s and was occupied by an old lady who lived alone until her family moved her into a nursing home. We pretty much have to plan to gut the bathrooms and redo them, replace the roof, the carpet, the tile…

So, I'm buying that house, along with everything still inside it, selling the other, and this weekend we are holding a massive garage sale to get rid of all the items the woman horded in her house for thirty years.

We have found some treasures. I scarfed up two lovely old blue carnival glass bowls. My daughter found a Beatle record in mint condition. My mother, aunt and grandmother swarmed the crocheted afghans and a multitude of coats and jackets the woman barely wore.

Yesterday, my grinning son-in-law walked in to present me with a Teen Wolf doll whose eyes glow red and growls when you flip the switch.

The sale starts early tomorrow morning, so be thinking about me, setting up tables to pile with clothing, toys, dishes, crocheted toilet tissue covers, a dozen bibles, statues with Jesus standing at the bottom of the sea beside a conch shell, dressers crammed with linens, picture frames with photos of smiling people who are no longer living and whose relatives didn't care enough to save.

My daughter has a box for the photos she's sure some long-lost grandchild might someday return to find. She'll keep it along with the dead husband's Mason uniform and her Mason wife's pin. Maybe when the old woman finally passes, she'll return and be happy about the fact we saved something she treasured. While we renovate, we'll respect.

But she's not getting the Teen Wolf doll back.

Guest Blogger: Lissa Matthews

Psst! Remember, continue to post in order to increase your chances to win

The Dragon with a Cup of Joe Contest!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

'Tis the Season

'Tis the season of giving. And it's still a season of thanksgiving, as well as a season of reflection.

I have done a few things this year outside my comfort zone. I've learned a lot, changed a lot, and I've met some wonderful people this year. One of them being Delilah. She is down to Earth, open, kind, patient.

I'd started reading her cowboy stories before the Lori Foster Readers and Authors get together in June and when I had the chance to meet her, I zoomed across the room and accosted her. I told her I loved her books and that I'd love to pick her brain some time. She was gracious and offered to sit down with me at breakfast the next morning.

That kind of willing and open kindness is something I find missing a lot in this business and in life in general. I don't understand it. Delilah let me ask questions and never made me feel like a lesser author just because I didn't have the right publishing credentials or didn't know the right people. There was nothing I could do for her in return for her sitting and talking with me.

She's professional and she's quick with a smile. Her sister, Myla Jackson, is the same way. Both of these women are incredibly successful yet don't treat others any different for not being quite so… They gave of their time and their lessons learned. They gave of themselves and in the spirit of giving, that's something most reserve for the holidays, but they gave it in the middle of the year. They touched me and I know they touched others. We should all strive to be less full of ourselves and willing to talk with, spend time with, and help each other. We should all strive to talk less about ourselves and our successes, and listen more.

These two authors are not the only ones like this. I've met others this year who are just as quick to take a moment to talk, to offer their time, to do something that may not benefit them in any way at all but to make someone else smile or feel better.

I do a lot of reflective thinking at this time of year. What could I do better, how could I be a better friend, a better author, a better mother, daughter, wife, a better all around person? I think I know and it starts with saying thank you to Delilah and Myla for showing me the kind of author/person I want to be toward others in this business.

Throughout the holiday season this year, I've been emailing people I've met in this business to thank them for their friendship, to thank them for any help they've given me, to tell them I miss them, that I love their books, and in some of my guest posts I am doing it, too. Just like in this one.

What about you? Have you told those that mean something to you or that have come into your life and changed you in some way, thank you?

Of course, now, I get to plug in a bit about my upcoming Samhain Publishing release, Twisted Up. It'll be available on December 20th for purchase, however it is available for pre-order now at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Samhain Publishing.

One rope. Three days. And two hearts on the line.

Justin has had enough. Ella, the woman who healed his broken heart, has been cancelling on him for two months straight. Sure, she's busy with her job, which has her traveling far and wide. But that never stopped her from sharing nights of trivia, long conversations and blazing hot sex—until now. Truth to tell, he misses their easy friendship, the way her sighs fill his ear as he fills her body.

What he can't figure out is, what's changed?

At work, Ella finds it easy to talk to rooms full of strangers. Once back at her lonely apartment, though, she's back to her painfully shy self—until Justin. Their chance meeting grew over the months into a year-long affair, but she can't shake the feeling that rejection and pain are just around the corner. Best thing to do? End it now, before their intimacy digs too deep.

Suddenly he's at her door with a length of neon-green rope and a naughty proposition, daring her to say no. Just how good could it be? There's only one way to find out.

Product Warnings: The sheets are tangled, the hat is crumpled, and the jeans are worn low on the hips. The cowboy is hot, determined, and helpless in the face of bunny slippers. Readers may need extra batteries to get this one out of their system.

For more information, please visit my website or blog, and sign up for my newsletter. You can also find me on Twitter and Facebook.

I want to thank Delilah for having me! I wish you all a very happy holiday season.

Enjoy the BEST EROTIC ROMANCE!

Best Erotic Romance officially releases today! You can't go wrong—just take a look at the list of wonderful authors who contributed to this anthology: Sylvia Day, Donna George Storey, Heidi Champa, Delilah Devlin, Saskia Walker, Justine Elyot, Angela Caperton, Andrea Dale, Kate Dominic, Craig J. Sorensen, Shanna Germain, Emerald, Kate Pearce, Rachel Kramer Bussel, Erobintica, Kristina Wright, and Nikki Magennis

Buy at Amazon * Buy at Barnes & Noble * Buy at Books-A-Million

This inaugural collection of erotic romance features the very best of the genre. In erotic romance, the sexual component is critical to the development of the romantic relationship. Each of these masterfully written tales contains the essence of true romance: a central love story and an emotionally-satisfying, optimistic ending. What sets Best Erotic Romance apart is the scorching hot sex and the happily-ever-after (or happy-for-now) ending. Award-winning romance writer and editor Kristina Wright and her cast of terrific romance writers have crafted stories that touch the hearts and minds of readers, and linger in the memory for a long, long time.

An excerpt from my story, "Drive Me Crazy":

Just a glimpse of him standing in profile, arms crossed over his well-developed chest and leaning his firm, round butt against the dispatch counter, was enough to shore up my weakening resolve. Dressed in faded blue jeans, a black, chest-hugging t-shirt, and a red Razorback ball cap turned backwards on his dark shaggy hair, he was every woman's blue-collar fantasy. My mouth dried as I glanced down his tall, muscled frame. What woman in her right mind wouldn't want one night with all that ripped hotness?

And that's all it could be—one night. I'd waited until the last possible moment to make my move.

The midnight drive to the dispatch office had given me plenty of time to argue my way out of what had seemed like a good plan earlier when I'd realized that the planets had aligned to give me this one last chance to fulfill my long-standing fantasy.

There'd never been the right time. For the longest time, I was married. When my husband dumped me, Danny had been living with a woman with two kids, and seemed to be heading down a straight road to marriage.

We'd flirted; he'd issued lazy invitations for dates or a quickie at the Motel 6 down the road. But I'd never detected even a hint of serious interest. If something was going to happen, I had to be the one to make a move. Today had been my last day at Henderson Transport. It was now or never.

All the reasons why I was crazy to consider it fell away as I ticked through them in my mind:

He's too young—He'll be happy because I won't have any expectations, I said to myself. Well, none beyond a really good time.

I'm management and he's a driver—Midnight had just ticked past, so not true anymore. We were both free agents. Both consenting adults. All he had to do was say yes.

"You'll never see him again," I muttered under my breath as I rubbed my cold hands together. "If he turns you down, you won't have to live with his smug smile."

I sucked in a deep fortifying breath, adjusted the neckline of the red Lycra top to show my breasts to their best advantage, and pushed through the glass door.

His head turned at the sound, and then he straightened away from the counter and dropped his arms. "You cuttin' my route, Angel?"

I gave him a crooked smile. "Think I'd do that and ask you to wait for me here in the middle of the night?"

His brows drew together, curiosity glinting in his gaze before it dropped to my boobs. I'd worn a bra that pretty much left everything sitting on a shelf. My nipples were outlined against the red, stretchy fabric of my top, the tips spiking because I'd given them a little tweak before I'd exited my car.

His frown deepened. "What's this all about Angela?"

I cleared my throat and tried for a sultry look. "I think you know."

He cocked his head and looked me up and down again. Slowly. "You don't have to hijack a man's keys to get his attention, sweetheart."

I planted my hands on my generous hips. "Apparently, I do, because you sure as shit haven't followed through on any one of your invitations."

His lips twitched. "I thought you flirted like that with all the guys."

"You ever see me do it? Even once?"

His jaw tightened. Fatigue showed in the shadows under his eyes. Stubble clung to his craggy cheeks.

I felt a momentary twinge of guilt over the fact I was keeping him from his bed, but that was all I'd allow. He was young and hot as hell. If he needed sleep that damn bad, he could tell his latest squeeze to come around another time. Tonight, he was mine.

"My keys weren't in the lockbox. I know I left 'em there."

"You did indeed," I said nodding. Then I looked him up and down, making sure he hadn't mistaken my intent. "Fact is, I have an itch that needs scratchin' and I'm hopin' you'll help me out."

I tried to exude more confidence than I felt, but lost my nerve on the return trip up his hard body. I paused and swallowed hard, then gave a little cough to loosen the knot lodging at the back of my throat. When I reached his mouth, he was grinning..

Shit.

"Angela, is there somethin' you want?"

You, preferably naked and tied spread-eagle on a bed so you can't stop me nibbling every edible part of you.

"Angela?"

"Is there something I want? Yeah, there is."

"Then just say it."

But I couldn't. I felt foolish enough. I reached into my purse and drew out his key ring. "Look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have taken this so far."

"You made me wait half an hour, when I could have been home, showered and in bed. You know how long I've been out this time."

"I know. I arranged the schedule."

Still, he didn't take the keys.

I took a step toward him and had to tilt my head to maintain the lock on his gray gaze.

His hands settled on my waist."You want somethin', sweetheart?" he repeated, his voice lowering to a sexy rumble.

I squeezed my eyes shut, prayed for courage and that the blush staining my cheeks would fade. "I want you," I said, then opened my eyes.

His grin widened. "Now, was that so hard?"

A Question….

I love posting questions because the answers y'all give me are always so much fun! And if you need a bribe, remember that next Tuesday I'll choose the name of the winner of that pretty dragon mug from all commenters!

I was making my Christmas list yesterday. It's Christmas in this house, although some of us are atheists/agnostics, some Christians, some Catholics…some still exploring our options. Off topic, but do you know some Protestants don't recognize that Catholics are Christians? I get, "What church do you belong to?" "Not any at the moment, although I'm baptized in the Catholic church." "Oh, so yer not Christ-y-in?" When I get that from someone that ignorant, I want to say, "To Catholics you're all a bunch of cultists!" But I refrain—especially given my ambiguous relationship with any higher being.

Anyway, I've bought a few gifts, but not in any organized way. In fact, my daughter had to remind me I had some things tucked away I'd bought during the summer. So, now I know what I have and who I still need to buy for. I've made notes for most of the people on my list, except for one.

My father's gift is ALWAYS the hardest one to purchase. He loves tools, but he has every tool known to man. He loves John Wayne, but he owns every John Wayne movie ever made and has a collection of John Wayne clocks, lunch boxes, coffee mugs, toilet paper—yeah, rough and rugged stuff for the rough and rugged man. I'm still stumped about what to get him, but I'll figure it out.

So my question to you is who is that person in your life for whom you can never find the right gift? What have you gotten him/her in the past

that he/she loved or hated?

Alluring Tales: HIGHLAND HEAT

The winner of yesterday's one-day contest is listed at the bottom of this post! Also, don't forget to comment today to enter The Dragon with a Cup of Joe Contest!

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My friend and sometimes travel buddy, Sasha White, has a brand new story out this week! It's the next in the Alluring Tales: Night Moves series! Enjoy!

A Highlander who was trapped for centuries discovers carnal freedom when he finds the reincarnation of his soul-mate…and her husband.

When Dougal MacNeil refused to do an evil Druid's bidding he saved his honor, but lost the chance of a life with his soul-mate. Now, almost three hundred years later he has a chance to finally have what he's always wanted, a life with the woman he's always loved, or the re-incarnation of her anyway. In this life, she's already married to man he calls friend.

Dougal is shocked when the couple asks him to join them in their bed, but unable to walk away. Will sharing her love with another man shatter his heart forever, or can this traditional Scotsman find his happy ending with a new beginning?

Now Available at:

All Romance eBooks * Amazon * Smashwords

He heard them before he saw them.

The soft moans and rhythmic slapping of flesh on flesh penetrated seconds before Dougal turned and saw the couple on the landing above. He halted with one foot on the next step, closed his eyes, and sucked in a deep breath. His neighbors were at it again.

For a moment Dougal simply stood there, listening to Katherine's sighs and John's grunts echo through the otherwise empty space as his fought to control his own emotions. He should've taken the elevator, but why bother to get in a lift he didna trust when he could use the emergency stairwell to walk up to his fourth floor apartment? He never used the lift, and his friends knew that. They'd laughed at his 'quirk' before, and now they were using it to torment him.

He opened his eyes, intending to turn and go back down the stairs, but instead, he moved forward, up the steps until he had a clear view of where John had pinned his wife to the wall, and was thoroughly fucking her…right next to the door Dougal needed to go through.

Mind frozen, he put one foot in front of the other, continuing closer. Katherine's arms and legs were wrapped around the man, gripping him as his hips pumped rhythmically against her. Dougal's gaze locked with hers over John's shoulder as he moved up the steps and his cock grew.

The timber of her moans changed, deepening as she held her husband tight and stared deep into Dougal's eyes. "Yes," she gasped. "Yes, John, now."

The man shifted his stance bending his knees and turning his head to stare at Dougal comin' up the stairs as he pumped harder, faster. Katherine bounced against the wall her gaze never leaving his face as her moans turned into a chant. "Yes, yes, fuck, yes."

Anger began to mix with the lust running hot in his veins at their blatant behavior. It wasna the first time he'd seen them go at it, and he feared it wouldn't be the last. It had started just over a month ago when he'd stepped out onto the small patio off his unit to enjoy the sunset and a movement in the corner of his vision had caught his attention. He'd turned to see the couple on the patio fifteen feet from him, John sitting and watching the sunset, his wife on her knees with her head in his lap. He'd quietly watched her suck him off before backing into his unit to give them some privacy. Since that night it seemed that the couple worked to make their rutting as loud and obvious as possible. If he couldna see them, he could hear them through the walls, and it was driving him fucking crazy.

"Christ, you feel good," John panted. "Your pussy is so tight, so wet. That's it squeeze me, baby."

Without saying a word Dougal tore his gaze away from them and forced himself to move. Striding forward he yanked the door open and continued to his apartment as if they weren't there, as if the sight of them together wasna torture.

It wasna like he'd never seen people rut before, he'd been raised in a time and place where families lived in one room cottages and privacy was nonexistent. That wasna what bothered him about his neighbor's habit of near public fornication. What angered him was that he wanted to be the man betwix her thighs and he shouldna covet another man's wife, especially a friend's.

Read something White hot

http://www.sashawhite.net

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The winner of the yesterday's one-day contest is…Jo! Jo, congratulations and be sure to send me an email to arrange delivery of your prize! ~DD

Snippet Saturday: Family

This Saturday's theme is family. The one that stands out most in my mind, of the books I've written, is the Kinzie family. You remember the boys, right? Ezra, Josh and Cade made such an impression in Four Sworn, I couldn't rest until I gave the boys their own happy-ever-after with their dream girl, Chrissi. Here's an excerpt where you see all three brothers in the same scene soon after Ezra kidnapped Chrissi. Enjoy!

"…Put into the mix three sexy brothers who happen to be cowboys and who are hot for one lucky female? You have a sexual, erotic masterpiece!"

5 Stars and Top Pick!, The Romance Reviews

"…Delilah Devlin just makes this type of story such an adventure as well as a hot ride… You will never go wrong with a Delilah Devlin story and you will never be disappointed."

5 Cherries, Whipped Cream Reviews

"Cleverly written, Breaking Leather breaks the mold when it comes to ménage stories… Highly recommend."

Sizzling, 4 1/2 Stars, Sensual Reads

One for remembrance…one for healing…and one to seal her heart forever.

Chrissi Page has tried to find one man who heats her bed the way the Kinzie brothers did one shameful night years ago. She's failed miserably, leaving her with no choice but to bank that inner fire—and keep a lid on her inner bad girl.

She'd been weak, unable to choose between three men who appealed to her in different ways. And when they'd confronted her as a tease, anger had boiled over into a passion so wild, she's still trying to live it down.

Since that night, Ezra, Cade and Joshua have individually sown their wild oats with pretty much the entire available female population of Two Mule, Texas. Yet nothing erases the attraction they still feel for Chrissi. And when she ends up stranded on the road near their ranch, it's their last chance to turn their mutual obsession into an unusual proposition.

One weekend, three on one. If she can't stand the heat, they'll let her go on with her life. And try to find a way to live with the hole she'll leave behind in theirs.

Warning: A girl who thinks she can't have it all, and three brothers who set out to prove otherwise. One on one, two on one, and three on one; bondage in the wild; a bit of riding crop action. And a pickup truck load of emotion.

Josh Kinzie watched the truck drive along the last hundred yards of gravel road before bumping over a cattle guard and into the fenced yard. He made out two figures in the cab—the bear-like figure of his brother and a slender, dark-haired feminine one sitting beside him.

Ezra had done it. Gotten Chrissi into the truck. With a little help from him. While Chrissi had been busy with Ms. Dunstan, he'd been busy making sure her radiator hose sprang a leak.

He pulled the reins to the right, whipping his horse around, and let out a loud "Yee-haw!" before racing toward the house. He pulled back when he neared the front porch and slid from the saddle to the ground in one fluid glide.

Cade sat on the top step, squinting against the sun as he watched the truck come to a stop. "We may still hit a snag, bro."

Josh glanced back at the truck. The couple inside appeared to be arguing.

"Not a good sign if he can't even get her out of the truck," Cade muttered.

Josh snorted, not too worried. He remembered how Ezra and Chrissi bumped heads in the old days. "Ezra may not be one for sweet-talk, but he does have a way of makin' the ladies do exactly what he wants. Eventually."

Cade grunted. "Chrissi's grown a metal-plated backbone."

"Our girl's all grown up."

They shared a glance, but turned to the sound of a door slamming.

Ezra crammed his cowboy hat on his head and walked around the truck, his features stern and his jaw grinding.

The sound of a click made Josh choke down a bark of laughter. "Did she just lock him out of his own truck?"

Cade grinned. "Won't do her any good. Though I think he's only givin' her a chance to behave. He's got the keys in his hand."

"Still, she's playin' with fire." Everyone knew you didn't defy Ezra Kinzie and expect to come out unscathed.

The two younger brothers watched, amusement growing, as Ezra cussed softly and tried the handle again.

"Chrissi," Ezra said, his voice deepening in warning, "thought you wanted to use that phone."

Even through the windshield, Josh could see the stubborn tilt of her chin.

Dark humor glinted in Chrissi's eyes. "I'm thinkin' I'd be better off usin' your truck to get back to town all by myself."

Ezra held up the keys. "Woman, how do you plan on doin' that? Do you know how to hot-wire a truck?" He tugged off his hat and raked a hand through his short, dark hair. "You were fine a minute ago. What the hell changed?"

Through the windshield, her gaze shifted to the two men on the porch and held.

Josh cussed under his breath.

Cade stood and brushed off his jeans. "Guess it might help if we made ourselves scarce for a couple o' minutes."

Josh grabbed up his horse's reins and spared one last look at Chrissi.

Her gaze met his, and her eyebrows furrowed into a fierce scowl. He tipped his hat to her and ambled toward the barn. Not looking back once.

It was hard pretending he was relaxed and indifferent to her anger. While she'd blatantly ignored Ezra and Cade over the years, she hadn't been quite as harsh with him, giving him the occasional subtle nod or tight smile.

He'd thought maybe she didn't hold as deep a grudge against him because he'd always been the one eager to soothe her bruised feelings, the one to coax a smile when things got out of hand with Ezra. And everyone always thought of him as the little brother, even though he and Cade had been born only minutes apart. That fact afforded him a little extra leniency with the ladies.

Josh cupped himself, readjusting his cock. Yeah, relaxed was the last thing he'd felt for days since they'd hatched this wild-ass plan. He tugged on the reins, pulling his trembling horse behind him. Sooner he turned him over to one of the ranch hands to walk, the better.

He didn't like leaving everything in Ezra's capable hands when Chrissi was on a tear—even though Ezra had always been the one who could bend a woman to his will, usually with just a look.

Josh ignored a pang of worry over the fact his brother's naturally dominating will didn't appear to be working at the moment. Chrissi was here. Within reach. One of them would shatter the armor she'd built around her heart.

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Be sure to check out the snippets on these other authors' blogs:

Lauren Dane

Rhian Cahill

Eliza Gayle

Selena Blake

Anne Rainey

Jody Wallace

Lissa Matthews

Mari Carr

McKenna Jeffries

Myla Jackson

Taige Crenshaw

Vivian Arend

Alison Kent

HelenKay Dimon

Shelli Stevens

Shiloh Walker

Leah Braemel

Louisa Edwards

TJ Michaels

Guest Blogger: Meg Benjamin (Contest)

Reunited Lovers

Don't Forget Me is my first reunited lovers book. The hero, Nando Avrogado, and the heroine, Kit Maldonado, were together in a previous Konigsburg book, Long Time Gone. But I always wanted to do more with them—they were a couple of those secondary characters whose stories seem to be worth telling. But if they're still together, there's not much story to tell, so sorry guys, had to break you up!

I'm not alone in this, of course. A lot of authors have played with the reunited lovers theme. Jennifer Crusie does it in Maybe This Time, where the hero and heroine have actually been divorced and come together again through trying to foil some particularly nasty ghosts. Susan Elizabeth Phillips does it in Fancy Pants where the first half of the book shows the hero and heroine meeting and parting and the second half shows them reuniting. And of course there are all those historicals where hero and heroine are actually married and parted and reunited, like Eloisa James's charming This Duchess of Mine.

The tricky thing about reuniting the hero and heroine is finding a credible reason for them to have been apart in the first place. If either has been too dastardly, it becomes hard for you to reunite them (unless, of course, the dastardly one has now reformed and wants desperately to be forgiven). On the other hand, if the event that drove them apart seems too trivial, you doubt their ability to commit. There's got to be a legitimate reason for them to have broken up, but not something so awful that you just can't see them ever getting together again.

In the case of Kit and Nando, the precipitating event was cheating, which is a sort of standard way to break things up. But I didn't want Nando to be one of those guys who just can't seem to settle down. In their case, the breakup came after a series of increasingly bitter fights as they came closer to the date when Kit was due to return to school from her time in Konigsburg. I've seen that happen—I think most of us have. As couples approach a turning point, the stress makes them break apart. A casual affair with somebody else is a way to escape making the real decision.

So now having broken them apart (bad author, bad, bad author), how do you bring them together again? Again, a lot depends on the couple themselves. You don't want to create a situation where either of them has just too much to forgive. Otherwise, you wonder just why your hero or heroine is such a wimp. In Don't Forget Me, both Nando and Kit struggle against getting together again largely because they're both afraid of being hurt after they managed to heal (more or less). Both have told themselves they've moved on, but neither one really has. In their case, they're brought together by a song, "You Don't Know Me," and a dance. And, of course, by the torches they're carrying for each other that are bright enough to light Carlsbad Caverns.

So, of course, they do reunite—this is romance, after all, not Annie Hall or 500 Days of Summer. Here's the blurb:

Once they said goodbye forever. Now they want to walk it back.

Konigsburg, Texas, Book 6

Eighteen months ago, Kit Maldonado was so over Nando Avrogado, she left Konigsburg without a backward glance. With the family restaurant in San Antonio sold out from under her, though, she's back to manage The Rose, an exclusive resort eatery outside town.

Dealing with a stingy boss, an amorous head chef, an understaffed dining room and planning her aunt's wedding should have kept her hands full. But she realizes she might not be as over Nando as she thought.

As the town's new assistant chief of police, Nando's got enough trouble without sexy Kit fanning embers he thought had long ago turned to ashes. Every time he turns around, she's there—and it doesn't help that everyone in town wants to see them back together.

One incendiary kiss, and there's no denying the force of their attraction. But there's a mysterious and oddly familiar burglar who's been lurking around Konigsburg, someone who isn't above a little mayhem—maybe even violence—to cover his tracks.

The Contest

Of course, there's a contest! Leave a comment on my blog,

and be entered in a drawing to win a copy of Don't Forget Me!

Buy link: Don't Forget Me

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Meg Benjamin is the author of the Konigsburg series for Samhain Publishing. Book #3, Be My Baby, won a 2011 EPIC Award for Contemporary Romance. Book #4, Long Time Gone, received the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award for Small Press Romance. Book #5, Brand New Me, was a Long and Short Reviews Best Book. Meg lives in Colorado with her DH and two rather large Maine coon kitties (well, partly Maine Coon anyway). Her Web site is http://www.MegBenjamin.com. You can follow her on Facebook, and Twitter. Meg loves to hear from readers—contact her at meg@megbenjamin.com.

Alluring Tales: ENTANGLED IN DARKNESS

Psst! Remember, continue to post in order to increase your chances to win

The Dragon with a Cup of Joe Contest!

* * * * *

Another of my Allure Author buddies has a short novella out in our Alluring Tales: Night Moves series! Check it out!

Branlyn Carmichael has been having dreams. Sensual, hot dreams about a stranger with long, blond hair and pale eyes. A stranger yet he is somehow familiar. Nightly he visits, awakening not just her body, but also her memories. Memories of her childhood home and the horrible tragedy she witnessed there.

After fifteen years of running, it is time to go back to face her past. She can no longer deny the events she has seen or her connection to them. When she returns she finds her dream man waiting for her not in her mind but in her bed. He is flesh and blood claiming to be her protector, sent to shield her from a dark seductive power that wants to possess her body. A power named Gregorian.

Now she is caught between the light and the dark. With no way out except for complete surrender.

Download a sample excerpt to read at Smashwords!

Buy at Smashwords

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Guest Blogger: Summer Devon (Contest)

That question that writers either love or hate: where do you get your ideas? I usually hate the question, only because I often don't know any answer other "on dog walks." But I can finally give an explanation for how a story came into being. I'm talking about Unnatural Calamities, the book that came out yesterday.

Go on, ask it. I'll just wait here. Where did I get the ideas for that book, you ask?

I began Janey's story as an exercise. I'd just read a fun Harlequin Presents and it had a few great tropes (if you need a definition, here's a link to a trope site http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HomePage but watch out, that site will suck you in and spit you out hours later.)

That Harlequin contained a millionaire, a woman living under a false identity, and a secret baby. Ha, I thought, I can do better than that using even more romance standards. I decided to pile on as many clichés as I could: twins, mistaken identity, secret baby, amnesia, men with odd first names, a kidnapping, a rich guy, a fish out of water—all the while keeping the story believable.

About two chapters in, soon after I'd introduced the "grungy bad boy with mystical powers to attract women," I became more interested in the actual characters and their story. Toph and Janey turned into real people for me and I wanted to make sure they got a fair shake.

So I continued writing, now employing my usual method—I usually write character-driven stories and I love me some tension. But I still managed to work in the romance standards, mostly disguised as people you'd meet on the street. If you pick up a copy of Unnatural Calamities, and you're a romance reader, you might see many familiar figures or situations—but all twisted to fit a story I grew to love.

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She has a deft hand with banana flambé…and a touch that sets his body on fire.

Janey knows all too well she looks a wreck. What hard-working chef wouldn't, operating on three hours of sleep? Stuck in a dull Connecticut town, taking care of her beloved niece, Rachel, Janey spends her days looking for a job and her nights working high-end catering gigs.

Just her luck, she runs into Mr. Perfect two days past her designated laundry day. And she's just found out her niece is passing her off as "Mom" to avoid the embarrassment of admitting her real mother, Janey's identical twin, is serving time.

Despite Janey's questionable fashion sense and the juicy gossip about her checkered past, venture capitalist Christopher Dunham finds himself drawn to her spark. And warmed by her obvious affection for Rachel, so like what he feels for his own daughter.

When sexy, way-out-of-her-league Toph offers her a business loan, Janey can't believe her long string of bad luck with bad boys has come to an end. At least, until a blast from her sister's shady past turns up the heat on their attraction. And sets off a chain of events that could snuff out the flame just as their love starts to come to a boil…

Product Warnings: A comedy of errors, mistaken identity, poor girl meets rich guy, kidnapping at gunpoint, and hot handcuffed sex in a hotel bathtub—and that's all before lunch.

I'd like to give away two copies of Unnatural Calamities or any other book by Summer Devon (including any m/m's I've written with Bonnie Dee) winner's choice from http://summerdevon.com.

THANK YOU!

Kate/Summer

RED HOT WINTER is here!

Psst! Remember, continue to post in order to increase your chances to win

The Dragon with a Cup of Joe Contest!

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For those of you who have to have a paper copy of a book in hand, you're in luck! Three great ssssssmokin' stories await you. While you're admiring the cover and reading through the sexy blurbs, maybe you can answer a question, too.

What is is about printed books that calls to you? Or are you an eBook convert?

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Two men, one woman and some red-hot loving.

"True Heart" by Delilah Devlin

True can't believe his brother Lonny rented out their isolated hunting cabin to a city girl. With a herd to keep alive, who has time to babysit? Erotica writer Honey needs no distractions to finish her next book, but the Wyatt brothers set her imagination free. Then a fire forces her to seek shelter under their roof—and the temptation to do some "research" is overpowering.

"Winter Fire" by Jess Dee

Rachel and Jackson can't imagine being with anyone else, but Jackson never dates his twin sister's friends. At the twins' birthday weekend at a mountain resort, Rachel tries to forget him by indulging in a fling. Garreth weaves a fantasy that brings Jackson to their bed. Funny thing about his fantasies….they have a way of coming true.

"Triple Dare" by Lexxie Couper

Anna can see trouble is written all over Joseph and Rob, two sexy Aussies on a snowboarding trip to the Rockies. Sure enough, they end up needing her survival skills. Stuck in a remote cabin, the temperatures rise until a double dare turns into a triple threat.

Warning: These stories contain two men loving one woman in ways that break every fire code invented and are guaranteed to warm you on the coldest winter night.

Read an excerpt