I’m muzzy-headed this morning. Returned from Dallas close to 2 AM. The 6-year-old is with her mom and ecstatic to be back. Although, I’m sure she’s not as happy as we are to have her. It’s nearly a nine-hour round trip for us, and we made it a little longer because we stopped for dinner and a trip through Walmart to get her a toy to play with on the way home.

Anyway, let me recount the happenings this week.

* I reached negotiation stage on a proposal for a collection of short stories (more about that once the ink is dry on the contract!)
* I’m nearly through chapter two of the second Viking story
* I’m three pages away from being done with the short story
* I’ve revised 200 pages of the first Viking story
* I completed another chapter of the Quickie for Ellora’s Cave
* And I brainstormed an idea for a novella for Samhain

This week, I’ll:
* Finish through chapter four of the second Viking book
* Wrap up the short story and ship it out
* Finish the last polish of Pleasing Sir and ship it the guy who will format it for Smashwords and Kindle
* Write the synopsis and the opening scene for the novella for Samhain
* Finish the last two chapters and ship the Quickie off to Ellora’s Cave

And that’s enough, don’t you think?

Today, I have to prepare for a birthday party and clean the pool so the whole family can jump in! The sun’s out at last.

Psst! A short note from Tory Richards, my guest blogger this week: Guess what! Just did a drawing and Natalie wins a download of Talk Dirty to Me! Congratulations! Please contact me at tory.richards@yahoo.com to claim your prize, thanks.

Wasn’t she a great guest?

So today, I am driving with my daughter to Dallas and back to pick up the 6-year-old (she had a birthday while she was gone). While I’m away, I have 4 itty bitty questions I’d like you to answer. (My answers will be in the comments.)

1. Four TV shows you love to watch

2. Four websites you visit daily

3. Four of your favorite foods

When writers talk about building a “world”—what is a world?

A world isn’t necessarily a “where”. It’s the congregated circumstances your characters work inside. So, what the heck does that mean?

For the TV series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Buffy’s world is set in Sunnydale, California. At the start of her journey, she’s in high school and the most important activities she’s involved in are her cheerleading, passing her classes, and of course, boys. All by itself that can be pretty interesting stuff, right?

Joss Whedon added the whole “You are the One” role that Buffy is forced into accepting as THE Vampire Slayer, and suddenly, there’s a whole new texture to her world. Monsters come out of the woodwork, a Hell Mouth opens to release demons on the world, and she’s the only thing standing between the innocent human world and The Big Bad.

She comes into her “weapons”, her powers, which include her super-human speed, strength and fast healing. She’s a natural with cross-bows, pointy stakes and knows instinctually how to kill many of the beasties she encounters.

All the pieces fit together like a tapestry, and her journey convinces us this world exists, just as she must be convinced every step of the way.

Now her problems are bigger, her conflicts are bigger, and the antagonists that she must face in each episode of her total journey are bigger. The external plot really forces the growth of her character.

What was Buffy’s world? Every aspect of her life.

Her home life where she hides her role from her mother while trying to explain why she sneaks out at night, why her grades suffer, and why she keeps getting into fights.

Her inner life which she hadn’t really thought much about until she had to “dust” a vamp or two. Even then, she was never convinced she had the spiritual strength of conviction or the intelligence necessary to be the last hope of the world—not until the very last episode when she comes up with the plan to share her “power” with her “slayers-in-waiting”.

Her romantic life which gets pretty complicated when she falls in love with the very creature she’s destined to kill—and where making love with him can turn him into a soulless creature if he experiences that one moment of true happiness.

So, the world you build contains all the aspects of your character’s existence.

Why does it matter that every conflict, every hero, every villain, every resolution has to be bigger in a paranormal story?

1) You can have a true “super” hero. And don’t we all want guys who can leap tall buildings in a single bound, are stronger than Popeye, and better in bed than Casanova? When we suspend belief while reading a work of fantasy, it doesn’t seem too silly at all!

2) Doesn’t a reader want to escape into fantasy and join the quest to find The Holy Grail rather than looking for matching socks coming out of the dryer?

3) When our heroine faces pure rip-your-eyeballs-out evil, we don’t really want to believe the characteristics embodied by that villain truly exist. We can be scared, revolted, fascinated, but because it’s a good paranormal tale, we don’t have to close the book and wonder what the world’s coming to.

4) Don’t we all want to save the world?

The winners of this week’s contest are posted at the bottom of this blog! Thanks to everyone who played here, on Access Romance’s blog, and on Facebook!

I couldn’t sleep last night. I got an email yesterday evening that there’s interest in a proposal I submitted a while back. I’m supposed to talk to the editor later today. If all goes well, you’ll hear me squee clear to the Mississippi. Needless to say, after the email, I stayed up late reviewing my plans to see when I could deliver that book. It’s a different sort of endeavor for me, so I’m playing cautious. Since I won’t be able to depend solely on me for the work, I have to add time for the others I’ll have to solicit to do their thing.

Was that a tease or what?

Yesterday, I was very pleased with my page count, and if you take a look at the word counters to the right of this post, you’ll see a lot of pretty color to prove it. The first chapter of the new Viking book is done. It’s rough, but I think it’s compelling. I added to the short story I need to finish by the 15th. It’s a little mirky still. I’m not sure I like how it’s turned out, but I will hit it again today. I had thought to start a new short novella this week, but the one I worked on last month and set aside called to me again, so I plowed through another chapter of it. Now, I think I have a story there—and it’s full of horny werewolves, so some of you will be pleased.

Today, I need to brainstorm a sexy, winter cowboy story. Any thoughts on what you might like to see?

Wish me luck today. Whatever the verdict from the call, I will probably be twittering about it later. Love you guys! Thanks for being here. Oh, and Access Romance posted the blurbs and cover for Un, Deux, Trois, Menage! on their website today. I’d love it if you stopped by to say hello!

And the winners (by random number generator) are…

Congratulations, and email me to let me know where to send your prizes!

A note about the contest! Yesterday’s contest continues today. And since I find myself in a bit of a dilemma, you have additional chances to win. I double-booked today. So if you post here today and post at Access Romance’s blog, you will have additional chances to win. And to make this a little more interesting, I will add a second prize to the contest. In addition to the download of Ride a Cowboy, I will add a download from the Jasmine-Jade site—any book you want. So post away. Now there will be two winners!

Note from Tory:

Hi everyone! I’m honored to be here as a guest today. My first Ellora’s Cave Quickie was released in May and I’m excited to announce that so far it has received some great reviews. I hope you’ll check it out. It might be a Quickie but short isn’t always a bad thing.

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

Lilly has been in love with her brother’s best friend Blake for years. She lost her virginity to the oil driller on her eighteenth birthday, only to wake the next morning to find him gone. After he pulled that stunt twice more, she swore never to see or talk to him again. But now he’s back for her brother’s wedding, and he’s as sexy as she remembers.

Blake thinks Lilly’s even sexier than ever. Unable to resist one another, they don’t make it out of the airport parking lot before taking up where they left off. As the two rediscover their passion for each other, nothing and nowhere is off limits!

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

Lilly drove her little car around the airport at least twice before finding her way to Southwest arrivals. Parking wasn’t allowed so she could only hope Blake was waiting for her somewhere outside. She drove slow, searching through the crowd on the sidewalk for him. Desire churned in her stomach.

And then she saw him.

Her body reacted instantly, thinking about him was one thing but seeing him in the flesh was even more powerful. Awareness exploded through her body, as she remembered all the times and places they’d had hot, naughty sex. How Blake had taken her to paradise a thousand times. Her panties became soaked as she clenched her legs together hoping to ease the need that was becoming unbearable. A pleasant prickling in her full breasts caused her to raise her arm and brush it over them to try to ease some of the ache.

Blake hadn’t changed at all. He was still the sexiest man on earth. As she sat there staring at him she felt her breathing become erratic and her heart rate pick up speed.

Blake was six feet tall, and lean. Yet his black polo shirt revealed he wasn’t lacking on muscle power. The gray slacks he was wearing gave evidence to the strength in his thighs and stretched across the prominent outline of his cock. He looked dangerous. He was dangerous, only in a way that had always drawn her in. His dark hair was shorter than he used to wear it, military cut. Lilly couldn’t see his eyes for the dark sunglasses covering them, for which she was thankful. Blake had the kind of eyes that could look right through someone, into their very soul.

He’s just a man, he’s just a man, Lilly repeated to herself. Flesh and blood and as mortal as she was. He had emotions, he could be hurt. He had needs. Her cheeks grew hot when she thought of their last night together, and how they’d made love like two wild animals trying to consume one another. Then he’d left the next morning for an assignment on an oil rig in the North Sea. And she’d tried to convince herself that she hated him ever since.

Now she knew how futile that had been.

Reviews:
Manic Readers
My Overstuffed Bookshelf
Whipped Cream Erotic Reviews
Seriously Reviewed

My second Quickie with Ellora’s Cave, Breathless Surrender, will be out soon! Thank you for having me today Delilah. Readers interested in learning more about my books can visit my website!

Tootles!

Tory Richards
Author of sizzling romances!
Tory’s Website
Tory’s Blog

If you post a comment today and tomorrow, you’ll be in the running
for a free download of this book! I’ll announce a winner on Thursday.

When I wrote Ride A Cowboy, I didn’t know I’d be hooked on writing those sexy men. From the first line, writing the story about a woman who moved to the Hill Country of Texas was the easiest thing I’d ever written, because I was that girl. I knew those men. My back yard butted up against a working ranch. The book came out in February 2006, and if you look at my “Western” section on my books page, you can see what an addiction to Wranglers and a slow-talkin’ man I have.

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

“…Ooooh is this hot! So very descriptive in the sheer need to be loved, to be not only desired sexually by the other. Proving to Katelyn that all men aren’t like her ex, Daniel gives of himself without any hesitation. What a man! This is a keeper, fellow readers, and not just for those dedicated “sexy cowboy” fans.”
5 Hearts, The Romance Studio

“…This is one book I could not put down from beginning to end!…I have to compliment Ms. Devlin on her writing prowess. She roped this reviewer with her playground of words, expertise of emotional perception, and exceptional writing ability.”
5 Kisses, Romance Divas

Katelyn Carter came to rural Texas to lick her wounds and start over after her failed marriage, but a sexy young cowboy seems determined to show her that love is still in the cards for this single librarian.

Sheriff’s deputy Daniel Bodine answers a 911 call to remove a rattlesnake from his new neighbor’s bedroom. What he finds is an embarrassed Katelyn, dressed in little more than her pretty pink blushes. One little omission later, and he’s working for the lady as her handyman.

Burned once by a man, Katelyn fights her growing attraction but finds Daniel more temptation than she can resist. When he shows her he knows his way around a woman’s body as well as he does a hammer and a saw, she takes a walk on the nasty side, vainly hoping she can keep her heart free of entanglement.

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

The house Katelyn Carter had bought sight unseen was kind of like her—weathered by storms and in need of a lot of TLC.

After a quick glance around the empty road, she set her truck into park and stared. She let her eyes blur and tried to imagine how the old house must have looked once upon a time before the harsh South Texas sun baked its exterior. She wasn’t encouraged. Even seen from behind her dirty windshield, she could tell the one-story ranch needed a lot of work, and at the very least, a fresh coat of paint.

A lone tear streaked down her face, surprising her, and she sniffed. One last cry—she deserved that much. Then no more feeling sorry for herself. She had too much to do and a whole new life stretching in front of her.

A loud honk sounded and Katelyn swung her gaze to her rearview mirror to find that a dusty, older model pick-up truck had pulled up behind her. She swiped away the tears with the back of her hand, and then stuck her arm out the window to wave the driver past.

Instead, the driver-side door opened and a tall Texan in faded jeans and a cream-colored cowboy hat stepped onto the pavement.
Read the rest of this entry »

I promised pictures from the exhibit, but wouldn’t you know they wouldn’t let us film it, even without a flash. And would they sell us pictures of the artifacts?! Noooo! Only in Arkansas. And what’s with people who stroll through an exhibit in slow-mo listening to the audio guide and then stopping to read every single description posted beside the artifacts?! Hellooo! Headphones?

Here’s me with Shayla Kersten and Staci, another member of our DSRA group.

And here’s the red-headed hellion with her little one. The trick to getting more quickly through an exhibit is to train the baby to screech “Quiet! Quiet!”. People just make way. It’s like magic.

Ugh! I really, really need to get back on my diet, but there’s still some chocolate ice cream in the freezer.

And the shopping sack? I had to buy one of those pop-up books on Egyptology and a figurine of Bastet the cat. Oh! And a coffee mug. I collect them.