Delilah Devlin's Blog, page 529

A Question…

Yawn. Last night, I stayed up way too late playing with my new iPad. However, it's impossible to resist. I bought the white one and put a pretty pink cover on it. It's sitting on the nightstand, and when I reach to turn off the light at night, I can't help picking it up and flipping over that cover. Do you know how many free games there are to download? I haven't even scratched the surface. But I did buy Pages—so, at least I have a tool on the thing that I can use to write. It's there, buried in all those games.

The past two days have been a bust so far as writing. Monday, I had to work all day on reading through the copyedits for Girls Who Bite. I love how it looks! But no new pages Monday. Yesterday, I had a doctor's appointment in Little Rock, which stretched into a trip to the mall because the red-headed hellion needed to see the optometrist. (I have a new purse!) But when we arrived home, it was hot as hell, so I spent the rest of the day in the pool, then went back out last night with the Tiki torches lit to swim again. Sounds like a rough life, doesn't it?

So, in the interest of getting to work quickly, I'll simply pose a question, then run and hide out at my desk while you do all the work!

Whenever you are having a bad day, what is the best thing

you can do to help cheer yourself up?

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Pre-order UNDENIABLE now and save! Read an excerpt!

UNDENIABLE is available for pre-order, now! It releases one week from today, but if you buy it now, you'll save yourself some money: $350 $2.45

Buy link

The best defense is no match for desire this hot…

Kate McKinnon's Sanctuary is an island of refuge in a western frontier shrouded in post-apocalyptic chaos. Her only escape from her crushing responsibilities is occasional radio contact with other pockets of survivors. Especially one man whose deep, raspy voice cuts through her exhaustion, straight to her heart. A man whose face she has only imagined.

When she and her ranch hands are surrounded by renegades, she doesn't recognize the leader of the militaristic band that rescues them, but knows that voice.

Ty Bennett is already half in love with the human woman whose voice haunts his dreams. His impulsive offer to add muscle to the Sanctuary's defenses is dangerous to them both. Helping her may redeem some of his sins, but proximity only increases his hunger to possess her—body, soul…and blood.

Without hesitation, she welcomes Ty and his men into the Sanctuary…only to discover the reason why they only ride at night. Yet the survival instinct that screams at her to drive them off is no match for Ty's seductive powers. Or the need for protection from the threat that howls at Sanctuary's gates.

"So where are we going to bed down for the night?"

Kate felt the earth move beneath her feet—so shocking was the undercurrent of sensual promise in his question. She drew in a shaky breath. "We're not stayin' in town."

He laid his other hand on top of hers, enveloping her in heat that radiated up her arm and to places she had no business noticing when danger was still afoot. "My men need to top off the vehicles and find that crowd of troublemakers before we head out to your ranch."

"Fine," she said, her voice clipped. "We'll see you at the ranch tomorrow. I'll be sure to tell the men at the gates not to shoot you on sight."



He squeezed her hand. "I don't want you heading out there on your own. The sky will be pitch-black soon."

"We're ready for any trouble." The only trouble she saw was standing right in front of her.

His eyes narrowed. "There's no need to take the risk. We're here to help. Let us do our job."

She slowly pulled away her hand. She couldn't think when he touched her. At least not about anything that made any sense. His broad frame and handsome face turned her brains to mush.

"Katie, you need any help out there?" Shep shouted through the window.

Still not willing to turn her back on Ty and his men, she shouted over her shoulder. "Everything's under control," she lied.

"We need to talk," Ty said.

"I agree. There's a gazebo out back on the grass."

"You really want to be out in the open for it?"

"Who the hell's gonna attack with the Army in the front yard?" The intimacy of four walls around them would be too tempting. She'd fantasized about him too long.

He drew a deep breath and signaled with a wave of his hand for her to precede him into the church.

Accepting his direction meant turning her back on him and his men. But hadn't she already surrendered when she'd left the safety of the church? What chance did she really have if things turned ugly? Deep inside, she wanted to trust him. Wanted so much more.

This man had kept the hope for a better future alive in her heart for months. He'd made no promises and told her damn little about himself—but she'd held tight to the strength in his voice when he'd admonished her for being reckless, praised her for her courage and comforted her all those times she'd felt so overwhelmed.

She'd wanted to turn over the reins to someone stronger and more capable. Well, here he was.

His body appeared relaxed, like he had all the time in the world for her to make up her mind. She wondered what he saw and wished now she'd at least run a comb through her hair before she'd bound it in her usual ponytail.

Her dad had always said she should go with her gut when logic failed. Her instincts told her he was a dangerous man—and she wanted him on her side. Whatever the cost.

If her body was only too happy to surrender, she was entitled to enjoy making payment. She turned and led the way into the church, her heart skipping a beat when his hand settled on the small of her back. The pressure, even through her coat, thrilled her.

Shep awaited them, his rifle barrel pointing toward the ceiling. His eyebrows rose when he saw how close Ty stood.

"I know him, Shep. He's here to help."

He nodded and lowered his weapon as more men filed inside the chapel, but he didn't look happy.

"I'll have the men get the generator going and set up a perimeter defense," Ty said.

Another load off her shoulders. She glanced above to the choir loft. "It's okay, Danny. You can come down, now."

Danny's face, brimming with curiosity, peered over the balcony. "You sure?"

"Yeah. I've been…expecting them."

Ty nudged her back, a reminder he wanted to talk.

"I'll be in the back," she said to Danny and Shep. "Take a load off. Looks like we'll be spendin' the night here."

She headed to the back of the church, hanging a left at the altar and striding into the corridor where the church offices stood vacant. The door leading to the lawn in back opened with a whine, and Kate stepped into deepening twilight with Ty right behind her.

Their boots crunched on the dry grass adding to the crackling tension building in her shoulders and back. Ty was here. They were alone. What would happen between them? Would he insist on taking his pleasure now the bargain had been made?

She wasn't sure whether the thought excited or appalled her. Sam had been her only lover, but not once in their years-long arrangement had she felt this sharp-edged excitement.

Mingled with anticipation was the fear she'd disappoint. Ty was so much more man than she was woman.

They climbed the steps of the gazebo, and she turned to face him. Shielded from any prying gaze by the lattice-board sides of the building and the dried vines clinging to the frame, they stared at each other for a long moment.

Now that they were alone, she felt more than a little unnerved by his dark, hooded gaze. She cleared her throat. "You said you wanted to talk."

His gaze bored into hers. "We should set some ground rules."

She nodded, her mouth suddenly dry. Rules? "For the trip?"

"For what happens between us."

A fine trembling started deep inside her. He'd shot straight past business into intimacy. "All right. Shoot."

"First, you tell me everything I want to know. No secrets."

"Will you do the same?"

"In time."

She snorted softly and gave him a derisive look. "I'm supposed to give you my trust, but you won't reciprocate?"

"It's a little complicated. There are things best left alone for now. Can you live with that?"

It was perverse, but the mystery surrounding him was a huge turn-on. "Depends."

He lifted one eyebrow in question.

"On whether you follow through with your promise to provide safe passage to the people at the ranch."

He canted his head and stared like he was trying to see inside her. "Don't you want to ask anything for yourself?"

She licked her lips. "I think I'm going to get it."

His lips curved, and his dark eyes crinkled at the corners. "I think you're right," he said, his voice a deep, smooth rumble—like a panther's purr.

Her cheeks burned beneath his scrutiny. "What else?"

"I'm in charge. No questions. When I'm not there, you'll follow my next in command."

Her teeth ground in frustration. "Will I have any say?"

"I'll listen. But I make the decisions."

"Will your next in command have power over me?"

"He'll give the orders, but you're mine. He won't touch you."

The way he said it, flatly like an already recognized fact, rankled while at the same time tripping a thrill that heated her body from the inside out. She didn't know how to respond.

"Does anyone else have a claim on you?"

The deep, dark texture of his voice upped the tension building in her core. "Why?"

"Just wondered if I might have a fight on my hands."

She shook her head, ready to deny, but remembered his warning about no secrets. "My foreman, Sam…he's the only one. Sometimes. But he won't interfere."

"When was the last time you slept with him?"

She jerked at the crudeness of his question and dropped her glance, unable to hold hers steady beneath his steely gaze. "Weeks, and we don't sleep together," she muttered.

"Take off your hat."

His tight, roughened voice drew her nipples instantly to aching points. She closed her eyes and slowly took off her hat.

"Your hair. Let it down."

Her fingers trembled as she fought the elastic band, but finally her hair fell around her shoulders. She knew it was longer than had been fashionable, but her dad had loved her ponytail and had tweaked it often.

She gave him a quick glance to gauge his reaction. The flare of his nostrils seemed a good sign he was pleased.

Her hand rose to smooth down the flyaway strands.

He reached out, and tipped her chin upward to study her features. "Green. I thought they might be."

"Do we still have a bargain?" she asked, trying to sound cool, but knowing he heard the nervous quaver in her voice.

His response stole her breath away. He stepped so close the heat radiating from his body warmed the space between them. As she tilted back her head to hold his gaze, his head dipped and his mouth covered hers.

Now she'd been kissed plenty, but she'd never been devoured. He ate her lips, slanting over her mouth, sucking her lower lip between his teeth to nibble and then sealing their mouths to thrust his tongue inside. He swept behind her teeth, stroked over her tongue and curled his to tug and tease until she groaned.

Kate grasped the corners of his shoulders, holding on for dear life as he circled and prodded and told her without words how he'd fuck her. Hard, relentless—leaving nothing undiscovered.

She'd never known the likes of the lust that arose inside her—so strong her whole body shuddered with need. She closed the distance between them and pressed her breasts against his chest.

Ty's hands dropped from her face and parted her coat to reach inside. He smoothed around her waist to her back, and lower, to cup her bottom and draw her hips close.

His erection, thick and hard as a post, ground into her belly, building a fire that swelled her pussy and drenched her panties—she was more than ready to keep the bargain. Now!

He lifted his head and dragged in a deep breath. "I won't take you here."

"Why not?" she asked and glided her lips along his firm jaw.

"It's too open."

"Who's gonna watch?" God, couldn't he tell she didn't care? She nipped his chin.

"It's almost dark. The moon's rising."

"You think werewolves need moonlight to prowl?"

"I know they're more vicious when the moon rules them. We go inside."

Kate jerked away, and his hands fell to his sides. Maybe he didn't want her as much as she did him. Maybe he'd just been playing with her to see how far he could lead her. She drew the edges of her duster tight around her and swept her hat from the floor where she'd dropped it. She placed it on top of her loosened hair and gave him a look that anyone who knew her would say meant war.

"We still have a bargain," he reminded her.

"I still don't follow orders well," she said through gritted teeth.

"Like I said, I'm gonna take care of that. Let's get back inside. I need to check on the men."

Kate wiped her mouth with her forearm and cursed under her breath. Her lips still throbbed. Anyone looking at her would know she'd been kissed. She shook her head. Since when did she care? She'd been ready to fuck him where they stood.

Her body hummed with frustration, but she put one foot in front of the other, ignoring the moist heat between her legs and the man at her back.

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Trading Cards

Some things I took with me to Lori Foster's convention were trading cards. Not for baseball heroes or X-men, but romance covers! I took more of them with me than bookmarks.

Have you seen them? Are you collecting them? There's even a site where readers can go to peruse through romance trading cards and make requests for copies (Romance Trading Cards), but don't click away yet!

I had these made just before I left. Kind of a rush job, and I want the next to be a little more distinctive, but I think they're pretty just the same. I'll be putting them on my EXTRAS page so readers can request them. If you'd like a set, let me know. Just send me an email with your snail mail address and I'll hook you up! Are there any other of my older books that you'd like to see in trading cards?

I'm baaaack!

I'm back from Ohio. Lori Foster's was a great event. One I'd recommend to an author or a reader. It's very laid back. I was bummed that I managed to forget to submit a list of books for the booksigning, but it worked out. I made it around the signing tables begging for swag. I have a ton of books, t-shirts, and signed bookmarks, trading cards, excerpt booklets, etc., to give away. The authors were very generous. Let me get unpacked and I'll get started on that. For sure I don't want it hanging around my office!

I'd love to send kisses—muah, muah, muah—to the ladies who chased me down at the booksigning with books they'd brought from home for me to sign. I was very thrilled to see so many!

I will post pictures as soon as my sister, Elle James, sends them to me. Yeah, I took a camera, but did I remember to take it out of my suitcase?!

This week, it's nose to the grindstone. Sis and I managed a lot of brainstorming this weekend. I feel like the well (from whence all inspiration cometh) is refreshed. And I mapped out the external plot of the next Viking story! That one had been nagging me because I didn't know how I could equal Enslaved by a Viking.

This week, Juniper Bell aand Berengaria Brown will be guesting with me. And I think that's about it. Thanks to the ladies who have posted reviews for the books they've read. It's greatly appreciated!

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The Promo Ho and Red Ribbon Fairy contests continue! See details here! ~DD

Guest Blogger: Renee Wildes

CONQUERING FEAR

I am a true April Taurus—earthbound, practical, stubborn and temperamental. My life is ruled by fear. In true "bull" fashion, I tend to meet it head-on. It's what drives me, not a weakness but a motivator.

I've always been a tomboy, preferring horses to boys growing up. I belonged to the Wilderness Challenge Club in high school (Wisconsin Academy in Columbus, WI). Whitewater rafting, caving, rappelling, canoeing, if it meant sunburn, mosquitoes and getting dirty—that was where you'd find me. Very glamorous stuff. Now, I've always been afraid of heights. Like—freeze atop a 6-ft ladder scared of heights. We won't even mention airplanes. Sedatives. LOTS of sedatives…

So, the first time I went rappelling was at Devil's Lake, from atop Devil's Rock. Guarded by all manner of…rattlesnakes. Saw two, sunning on the rocks. So there I was on a snake-infested rock atop the world. Beautiful view. Wasted on a sixteen-year-old in a cold sweat. See, the secret to rappelling is to WALK down the rock face. Anyone who's walked across a floor knows the easiest way to do that is to be perpendicular to the floor surface. So if the floor surface is almost entirely vertical, that means the walker gets to be the one who's…horizontal. And that translates into standing backwards at the edge of a cliff, the true ground several hundred feet below, and LEANING back against a rope-and-nylon-harness-affair into thin air until you're lying down on NOTHING—and then walk down the wall.

Sure. Uh huh. (Never said I was a BRIGHT kid. Well, okay, I was. Straight A nerd.) And Mr. Snyder was right there like some hairy bearded cheerleader from Buffy saying stupid things like, "It's easy. You can do this. Nothing stops you. Just leeeeeean back and walk down."

But it was my best friend stating "Don't be such a chicken shit" that got me going. Okay, it took me 20 minutes of whimpering like a toy poodle in a thunderstorm before I leaned back enough to start walking. Reaching the bottom to more Buffy reject cheering felt like conquering Mount Everest.

That's how I tackle life. I let fear motivate me into moving, defeating, conquering. It can either stop you or get you going. Being a Taurus, stubbornness gets me a long way through life. As a writer I try to let the quality bleed off into my characters. Set them up against a bad situation some would consider impossible, but the character just takes a deep breath, says "Who if not me?" and forges on to start, to try. And so the stories go.

Renee

http://reneewildes1.wordpress.com

About Renee:



Fantasy Romance Author Renee Wildes writes the "Guardians of Light" series for Samhain Publishing. She lives in central WI with hubby, 2 kids, a calico cat, a black Chow, and 2 half-Arab mares. She still considers herself a tomboy, although she hasn't hoofed it down Devil's Rock in years. Nowadays, writing, reading and scrapbooking occupy her time—when she's not prying her kids out of a tree or off the roof… Her latest book, Dust of Dreams, comes out in paperback on June 8, 2011. Riever's Heart will be out in ebook on Sept. 27, 2011.

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The Promo Ho and Red Ribbon Fairy contests continue! See details here! ~DD

Guest Blog: Kaily Hart

Writing…it really is just YOU

Writing is hard work. It's grueling, mentally exhausting, sometimes stressful, anxiety ridden and SOLITARY! Well, unless you're a NYT bestselling author with an agent, publicist, editor and an assistant or two LOL.

Even then, it's still just you sitting at that keyboard creating and weaving stories. It's all on you to come up with the next idea and execute it the way you see it in your mind and within a given timeframe. No-one else can do that part for you. It's all on you to draw your inspiration from somewhere and wield enough discipline to keep going all in the face of increasing competition and possible rejection. Oh, and of course, none of us just write with nothing else to occupy our time.

There's family, other jobs, LIFE, which sometimes just gets in the way! In addition to being THE 'creative director', an author also has to worry about sales and marketing, branding and advertising, business planning and strategy, epiracy, going to conferences to continue to improve on the craft of writing and to network, and…probably a hundred other things. At least! I have to say for me…I love that part about being an author.

Yep, I like to be in charge. I've been the boss before and I really, really like it J. It's gratifying to know that it is just you. You're the one in control of your own writing destiny, you're the one steering your career, you're the one who gets to make all the decisions. It's kind of like being the CEO of your own little (perhaps VERY small J) empire and it requires you to learn and utilize a wide range of different skills. I just LOVE being an author!

Do you love YOUR job or do you yearn for something else, secretly or otherwise?

Do you have a dream job you'd prefer?

About Kaily:

Kaily Hart, a seemingly straight-laced mother of four left corporate America and a high-powered, lucrative career to be a stay at home mom. Ha! That lasted about four weeks, during which time she realized she had a deeply repressed dream —to write. And romance at that! By day, Kaily plays conservative wife and soccer mom, but at night crafts hot and steamy tales of romance and love with gorgeous heroes who wouldn't dream of leaving the toilet set up. Ever. She's smart and sassy, at least in her own mind, and is trying her best to bring the alpha male solidly back to contemporary romance, one hot story at a time. Two years ago she never would have thought she'd be doing this, but now that she is? Well, you couldn't pay her enough to do anything else.

Kaily's books, PICTURE THIS, PAY UP & PLAY ME are all currently available from Ellora's Cave and other ebook outlets.

If anyone would want to contact me (which I would love by the way) or just keep up with what I'm doing, you can find me all over:

Web – www.kailyhart.com

Blog – http://kailyhart.blogspot.com/

Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/kaily.hart

Twitter – http://twitter.com/kailyhart

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The Promo Ho and Red Ribbon Fairy contests continue! See details here! ~DD

Guest Blogger: Ann Jacobs

TIMELINES IN SERIES BOOKS

—more important than you'd think!

Well, summer's here, at least it is in the steamy part of Florida that I call home. My orchids moved months ago to shady spots outdoors, the DH's tomato plants are just about burned up from the sun…and I'm fantasizing about cooling myself off at the beach or in the pool. BEST RECEPTION, my latest contemporary BDSM, came out last week—I hope it went to Memorial Day picnics or into vacation to-be-reads with lots of eager buyers!

My good friend Delilah asked me to talk about the writing process, so I'll try to put into words my convoluted method for writing series since I'm now working on PRIME DEFENDER, the last of four books in my Necessary Roughness series for Ellora's Cave. First, about this time last year, came the idea for a spinoff from my Gridiron Lovers series—one that would deal less with football and more with the BDSM club where the guys go to play. That took very little effort because I loved Jimmy Bronson, a secondary character in COACH ME. I wanted to give him his own story—a big, lovable guy with a very unusual fetish that readers heard a hint about from Coach and his lady love.

So…I had my hero for one of the books. A person would probably think I would then sketch out the other main characters for the books. I didn't, though. Since Jimmy had this unusual fetish—and since I had decided up front that each of the books in the new series would explore an unusual BDSM practice, I picked three I found interesting. Then I sat back and did some research, trying to figure out what might cause different people to be dominant or submissive, why some would get turned on by things that would scare others away…and more.

Once I felt I had the psychology of my chosen kinks sorted out in my head, I sketched out a series proposal for my editor—descriptions of each hero and heroine, a brief idea of how the story lines would go in each book and a separate synopsis for each book. What I also should have done was establish a formal (written) timeline for the series. If I had, I would have avoided many revisions made necessary when my eagle-eyed editor noted inconsistencies among the books. But I didn't, and I digress…

Next, I started writing the books—one at the time, because I rarely bounce back and forth from one work in progress to another. SACKMASTER, the first, came out last fall; END RUN in February; and BEST RECEPTION last month. I'd hoped to have them released closer together, but two things came in the way: the publisher's decision to release a seven-book series of mine alternately with the Necessary Roughness books, and my aforementioned stupidity at having written myself into a corner by writing the Necessary Roughness series books as solo titles, not parts of an integrated, planned whole.

The series will come to a close with PRIME DEFENDER, which I set after the other three stories in order to avoid any lingering, head-scratching problems like the ones I encountered earlier. It's been a learning process. I've brought away the knowledge, if I ever again propose a series with multiple books sharing a tight time setting, that I need to outline the action in the first book and verify the consistency of action in subsequent ones, in order to save myself a great many unnecessary headaches.

Hopefully, this book will go well, and I'll be able to take a breather at the beach before the weather gets too hot to venture out from air conditioning. Thanks for inviting me to your home on the web!

Ann Jacobs

www.annjacobs.us

Like my new cover?

Just thought I'd share the cover of my upcoming Samhain release in its full-sized glory. The dedicaton reads: For anyone who loves Texans and vampires and doesn't like having to choose between them… So now you know…

If you'd like a sneak peek, you can read an excerpt here: Undeniable

I'll be out of town Friday through Sunday because I'll be attending Lori Foster's get-together in Ohio. Hope you enjoy the guests I have lined up to keep you entertained here! Be sure to stop in and welcome them while I'm away!

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The Promo Ho and Red Ribbon Fairy contests continue! See details here! ~DD

Guest Blogger: Sayde Grace (Contest)

Hello everyone! First let me say thank you to Delilah for letting me guest blog here today. Usually when I guest blog I have a clear idea of what I'm going to say or do but today I don't. Instead I'm going to send you all on a treasure hunt. Below you'll find a list of websites and things that I'm looking for. Find them all and I'll enter you in a chance to win all four of my books.

Ok, let's begin.

1. What is the title of my cowboy series?

2. Who is the next book in my cowboy series about?

3. What are the titles of my paranormal romances?

4. Name the blogs I participate in.

5. My latest release is….

6. Auburn Football or Alabama Football? I'll give you a hint! ROLL TIDE BABY!

All right everyone. Here are a few websites to help you with your search:

http://www.wildrosepress.us/wilderroses/

http://www.sirenbookstrand.com/

http://saydegrace.com

Ok, remember to comment and that if you get them all right you'll be entered to win free digital copies of all four of my books. Have fun y'all and thanks again to Delilah for letting me take over today!!

Sayde

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The Promo Ho and Red Ribbon Fairy contests continue! See details here! ~DD

A Question…

I'm out the door this morning—early. O-dark-thirty early. And since I'm yawning over the keyboard, I'll keep this short.

What is one vacation destination that many people think is fabulous, but which you personally have no desire to ever visit (or revisit)?

Remember, there are two contests prizes you can work on winning today. See yesterday's post for details. I'll check in later today to read your answers and start a list of vacation destinations I never want to visit!