Bestselling Author Delilah Devlin
HomeMeet Delilah
BookshelfBlogExtrasEditorial ServicesContactDelilah's Collections

Archive for November, 2011



A Question… (New Contest!)
Monday, November 7th, 2011

NaNo Day 7:
LH—2169 words

The winner of the Autographed Book Contest is named at the bottom of this post!

I have three things to talk about today. Bear with me—you might like something I have to say. 😀

* * * * *

The “I’ll Change My Name to Wendy or Tammy” Contest
First, I am starting a new contest today, and it will end next Tuesday, November 15th! There will be more than one winner—but only if you are willing to be Wendy or Tammy for a day. Scratching your head? I have this stack of autographed books that I made out to the wrong person. It has grown to four. There’s a copy of Girls Who Bite, Veiled Alliance, Un, Deux, Trois, Ménage!, and Darkness Captured. So I will give away four books to four people—if those four are willing to be Tammy or Wendy (the names I put in those books by accident!) for a day! Okay, so I’ll scratch through those ladies’ names and add yours, before I send, but it’s more fun the way I put it. Or maybe just more confusing. Anyway, I will be rid of the stack, and four lucky people will have a signed book!

What do you have to do to win one of these four books?
Post a comment—here or on my Facebook page.

And remember, the Promo Ho Contest is ongoing! Check the Contest page for details!

* * * * *

While I’m Away…
This week I’ve given over control of my blog to a great list of guests! On Thursday, I’ll be heading to Altus, Oklahoma where my sister, Elle James/Myla Jackson, and I will be conducting a workshop for writers. Friday night is a booksigning, so if you’re in the area and want to know how you can meet us, just drop me a line! Anyway, I have guests lined up starting tomorrow. Take a look at the lineup!

Tuesday — Myla Jackson
Wednesday — Dani Worth
Thursday — Mahalia Levey
Friday — Sharon Hamilton
Saturday — Me, with a Saturday Snippet
Sunday — Cerise Deland
Monday — Jasmine Haynes

* * * * *

The Question…

If you were on an African safari, what would you absolutely
have to see for the trip to be complete?

The winner of the Autographed Book Contest is…Ilona! Ilona, congrats! Send me an email to arrange delivery of your prize!

Sunday Report Card
Sunday, November 6th, 2011

The week started off gangbusters. I wrote a short story in a day, then I went back to work on the Western that’s very, very late to Samhain. I already have a release date—January 31st—so I really do have to get that one finished very shortly. I also began work on the novella for the new Alluring Tales effort. It’s got a dragon, a knight, and a virgin. Yum!

The week started well, but by Thursday, I was covered up with family things. We’ve added to the household in the past few months. I’m sandwiched by elderly and very young people, and although I’m usually terrific at tuning it all out, it’s been kind of impossible to do that lately. Can I say that I never really knew my family was certifiably insane? Yup, a big ole blue streak of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, a variety of personality disorders and depression. I could literally write a book about this odd, dysfunctional family. It would be a true “dramedy”. Naturally, I’m the most normal person here. :mrgreen:

Yeah, I know. All I can say is it’s a good thing I have a sense of humor. Now I just need to find that door I thought I didn’t need for my office and re-install that sucker.

And at last, after many years of dragging my feet, I’m going to divorce my Irish man. It’s sad, but we have been living apart for quite some time. Our relationship, actually, has never been better, because we only speak occasionally to talk about all our nutty relatives—he has plenty on his side too. He thinks I’m disconnected from reality (Duh! Writer!?), but I know he’s a narcissist. It’s a friendly divorce. No dogs to cut in half. He has all the dogs; I have my Betta fish, Drago, and the feral cat that adopted me when I stood outside under a full moon. I figured it was a sign I should keep her.

Anyway, I’m rambling. It’s NaNoWriMo month and I have tons of words to write to catch up. These ones don’t count!

Today’s the last day to enter the Autographed Book Contest! Be sure to post a comment to enter. Muah!

Snippet Saturday: Setting
Saturday, November 5th, 2011

Setting is about more than where or when a story takes place. An author strives to place the reader in this other world and immerse them inside it. This is the prologue from Ravished by a Viking, where I introduce Eirik who is making a very grave mistake, one that launches his brother Dagr on a daring mission to rescue him, and which continues in the next story, Enslaved by a Viking. The last line of this excerpt is what “seals the deal” so far is Fatin is concerned. Enjoy sinking into the setting with New Iceland Vikings!

“With the intriguing meshing of the past with the future this was an engrossing read…”
Top Pick!, Night Owl Reviews

“A steamy and fascinating adventure…”
Romance Reviews Today

“Clash of cultures, clash of myths, clash of powerful personalities…how many authors can bring out on paper the excitement and more-than-willing suspension of disbelief that old fashioned adventure stories once brought us?…a wonderful, action-packed, emotional roller-coaster of a read.”
Alien Places

What a Viking wants, a Viking takes.

When his younger brother goes missing, Dagr, Viking warrior and Lord of the Wolfskin Clan, will do whatever it takes to get him back. But nothing could have prepared him for Honora—a feisty, intelligent woman who is nothing like the women of his world—women who are content to serve their men in all things. Drawn to her despite her recalcitrant nature, Dagr is determined to show her who’s boss both in bed and out.

When the two enemies-turned-lovers join forces to find Dagr’s brother they are thrown into a rousing adventure full of danger, intrigue and erotic abandon. Can their passion truly unite them or will their different worlds lead to destruction for them both?

Eirik Ulfhednar glared into his opponent’s reddened face and adjusted his hand, just a slight movement to improve his grip, and then bore down with all his might. The muscles of his forearm and bicep burned. A spike of adrenaline seared his blood.

Harald, who had boasted his prowess over drinks, didn’t seem so confident he’d win this contest now. His lips pulled away from his teeth in a feral snarl, but his bushy red brows rose, betraying his surprise that the man in front of him, so much younger and more privileged than he, hadn’t already crumpled.

A smile eased up the corners of Eirik’s mouth, and he narrowed his eyes. He would prove he was every inch his brother’s equal and deserving of respect from the crew at the mining camp. Respect that they’d denied him since his arrival that afternoon.

However, respect had to be earned from these fierce, rough men. An accident of birth didn’t grant an Ulfhednar, a Wolfskin, any special favors inside this clan. Further, Eirik’s status wasn’t helped by the fact that the last time he’d visited the camp, he’d been a gangly teen with blemishes on his face, tagging behind his elder brother.

But Eirik wasn’t a boy anymore. This challenge was a good place to prove it.

Without a hint to warn his opponent, Eirik opened his jaws and yawned, then squeezed harder around Harald’s huge fist and slammed it into the table.
Read the rest of this entry »

Come play at Wild & Wicked Cowboys
Friday, November 4th, 2011

Don’t forget! There are two contest currently running on this website.
See my contest page for details!

* * * * *

Ready to be swept away by a sexy story? You’re the one who has to write it. 😯

Check out Wild & Wicked Cowboys. The picture says it all!

A Question…
Thursday, November 3rd, 2011

A couple of quick notes first!

Goodreads is giving away a copy of Girls Who Bite! It’s easy to enter, just follow this link: Girls Who Bite Giveaway


Five Ways ’til Sunday is available for pre-order! Save yourself some cash and buy it while the price is only $2.45! You know you want it!

Contains five men on a mission to break down the resistance of one determined woman, using everything in their arsenal from BDSM accoutrements to roleplay of non-consensual situations.

* * * * *

As the Christmas season approaches,
what song is it that you just can’t wait to hear?

Guest Bloggers: A. Catherine Noon and Rachel Wilder
Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011

NaNo Day 2:
LR—13 words—edited and shipped to editor!
LH—1733 words

The winner of yesterday’s free download is at the bottom of this post!
Also, tonight I’ll be chatting live at Romance Reviews Today chat room.
Join me if you can! ~DD

* * * * *

NaNoWhat-Oh?

or “How to Write a Novel In One Easy Step”

Today is Day 2 of the National Nuttiness that is NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month. Every November, thousands of writers across the globe band together to write novels. The objective is simple: write 50,000 words, and write them during the month of November: from Midnight-Oh-One on the first through Eleven-Fifty-Nine on the thirtieth, write and write and write. And write.

And write.

How is this useful? Or sane? And is 50,000 words of quickly-written stream-of-consciousness any good?

That’s not the point. The point is, to write the first draft of a novel. It’s a helluva lot easier to edit a novel if it’s written, and you can’t sell it if yeh ain’t written it!

The thinking behind it is sound – most of us have extremely well-developed Critics that love to ding us for grammar, spelling, turns of phrase, plotlines (or lack thereof), and anything else we might be daft enough to set fingers to keyboard. The point of NaNoWriMo, therefore, is to develop a good head of steam and let the momentum take you through (or around, under, over, or whatever) the Critic so that you can actually get through to the end: and, in the process, write a novel.

After all, ask any marathoner: it doesn’t matter if you win. It matters if you finish.

So, how do you start? Visit the website above, and sign up for an account. See if you can find others you know who are NaNo-ing (I’m a.catherine.noon), and add them to your friends list. Write a blurb for your baby novel, and maybe even share an excerpt – no, it doesn’t matter if the excerpt makes it into the final draft. The point is to have fun!

Next, find your home region. (If you don’t have one, use mine – ChiWriMo!) The regions host all sorts of events, including “write-ins” – events where writers gather to write together! It’s loads of fun, and nice to be around people who don’t glaze over when you start talking about the writing process. Then, write. Track your progress daily on the NaNo site, and git goin’!

Talk to you in December! I’ve gotta get my word count in!

A. Catherine Noon and Rachel Wilder
Blog Website
Watch for BURNING BRIGHT, coming from Samhain Publishing September, 2011!

* * * * *

The winner of a free download of Stone’s Embrace is…Becky Ward! Becky, congratulations, and email me to arrange delivery of your prize.

Flashback: Stone’s Embrace
Tuesday, November 1st, 2011

NaNo Day 1:
LR—409 words—and finished draft!
DD—1303 words

The annual NaNoWriMo challenge starts today! 50,000 words in one month, which breaks down into 1,666 words a day, I think. I’ve done this four times. I’ve succeeded three of those four. At the end of every day, I’ll be back here posting my wordcount totals for the day, just to keep me honest. If anyone wants to “friend” me on the NaNo site, my handle is DelilahDevlin.

* * * * *

If you post a comment today, you’ll be in the running
for a free download of this book!

This book was a labor of love. I worked with two writers I admire, Kim Kaye Terry and Vivi Anna, to create a trilogy of stories that were tightly interwoven. In my story, I got to travel into the Greek Underworld with a gargoyle and wrote great sex with Hades. What greater adventure could a writer hope for?

“…STONE’S EMBRACE is a wonderfully descriptive story…The mix of Greek mythology with Christian elements is intriguing and adds to the subtle layering of eroticism and exoticism…this story is fantastic and a super-hot read!”
~5 Angels, Fallen Angels Reviews

“…The sex in the book was off the charts hot!…It was a wonderfully different story with a strong characters and a fun plot that left this reviewer breathless!”
~5 Stars, Just Erotic Romances

Lust trapped them in darkness…only love can free them…

Petra Pedersen has lived as a recluse all her life thanks to a genetic double whammy—a strange deformity and a shameful power inherited from the father she will never know. The power to incite lust in men and women with just a touch.

Exploring the garden of the mansion she’s just inherited, she comes across a fascinating stone gargoyle whose raw, passionate expression draws her to caress its broad chest. Her imagination follows her fluttering fingers. As she closes her eyes and gives herself up to the arousal, something shifts beneath her touch.

Long ago, failure to stop a demon battle trapped Octavius in a prison of stone. Freed by the woman’s incendiary touch, he doesn’t hesitate to unleash his pent-up rage and desire in a blistering fury. Yet once the haze of lust clears, he discovers he isn’t really free after all.

They are both trapped in another realm where he must choose between his last chance for redemption or returning Petra home…

Warning: Sex with inanimate objects, lusty m/m/f ménages with gods…it’s all good when the reward is freedom.

The letter had arrived only a week ago accompanied by a bank draft to cover the expense of her journey. Petra Pedersen’s father was dead and his house was to be divided among three sisters.

Sisters Petra hadn’t known about but was intensely curious to meet. Would they share more than a father’s claim on a birth certificate?

Her mother had spilled what little she did know about Jean-Paul’s past in an effort to dissuade her from coming. Beatrice had been aware of the first child, Dominique, who’d been born to a witch. It was her birth that had instigated Jean-Paul’s flight to Europe because, until that moment, he hadn’t believed the curse a Haitian priest had put on him when he’d refused to impregnate the priest’s disfigured daughter. Jean-Paul was cursed to father only females and each girl would bear the priest’s mark.

The evidence clear in his first daughter’s dark, mutated gaze had frightened him.

Determined to break the curse, he’d traveled, seeking a healer’s magic. He’d found her mother.

Beatrice hadn’t been able to resist the handsome stranger’s allure. She’d been raised in a good Christian in a small village. Magic didn’t exist except in fairytales. Never mind she’d been born with her own magical gift. A healer in a long line of healers, she’d assumed the gift came from God.

When her own daughter was born, despite the evidence of her daughter’s deformity staring back at her every day of her life, she’d still believed Petra’s gifts would be like her own. Jean-Paul had known better, fleeing shortly after the birth.

But her mother had clung to her belief—until she’d taken Petra along to tutor her as she plied her craft, laying on hands to heal. She’d been horrified to discover that Jean-Paul’s curse had changed her gift from something good into something dark and twisted.

Petra had been sheltered ever since. Kept away from others to prevent a chance touch—worn a contact to hide her evil eye. But the whispers surrounding her hadn’t stopped.

Women in their village eyed Petra as though she were a demon come to steal their men. The men’s gazes followed her everywhere she went as they wondered whether the stories were true—if her touch could enflame a man beyond control. They didn’t seem to fear the curse, and instead, sought excuses to rub up against her in the market or at church.

Her touch incited men to lose their minds to lust. To rape. Inevitably, she and her mother had been forced to move and start again. She’d donned gloves to prevent accidental touches.

Now, she stared down at her hands and wondered if her sisters would be immune and whether they’d inherited a different sort of curse.

“You sure this be the right place, cher?”
Read the rest of this entry »