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Archive for May, 2016



Lizzie Ashworth: Getting Ancient Rome Right!
Tuesday, May 3rd, 2016

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Happy May, Delilah fans! I’m Lizzie Ashworth, here for a day to bring you a bit of sexy fun. Right now I’m immersed in writing a historical romance set in Ancient Rome. It’s a love-hate relationship!

Research is at the heart of any historical fiction. Without details of place, dress, and social customs, an author can’t create a believable story. I love research but sometimes I just want to write the damn story.

Unfortunately, the further back you go in time, the harder it is to find information. For my current research on Rome, I’m regularly frustrated by gaps in the record. I want the story to be as accurate as possible. How do I know if I’ve got the right information?

I confess. Without Google searches, I’d have to fold up my tent and go home. One thing I’ve learned, though, is not to take one Google search as the whole story.

For example, one academic source insisted that women in Rome were not allowed to drink wine. (Wine was the ONLY alcoholic drink known in those times other than beer, which was considered disgusting and only for savages.) Initially, I found a few other sources that affirmed that information. I started writing scenes based on that information. Then one day I stumbled across an article that explained the women/wine thing.

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In early Rome, in the nearly six hundred years of its existence as the Roman Republic, the Senate made laws and oversaw government operations. Conservatism ruled the day. In those years, wine was forbidden to women except at special festivals where men weren’t allowed. Restricting wine except in women-only events meant women couldn’t get tipsy and provoke men with unbridled sexuality.

But in the mid-first century BC, Julius Caesar wrested control from the Senate (for which he was assassinated) and became the first emperor of the Roman Empire. Another four hundred years would follow under the rule of emperors. Social norms relaxed in the empire. Wine-drinking for women was no longer a crime punishable by death. Whew! By the time of my current work (50 AD), women had gained many social liberties including the right to own property, the right to divorce, and even the right to run their own businesses.

Notoriously, the empire also saw sex scandals, blood sport in the arena, and other excesses which have become the hallmarks by which most of us remember Rome.

As an author, I want to entertain readers with compelling stories about fascinating people. But I also want my stories to reflect the truth about those times. This means the work takes longer. Sometimes hours, days, even weeks elapse as I try to uncover some obscure detail.

Here’s an excerpt from my current work in progress, a continuation of the story of Caerwin and Marcellus. In Book I, Caerwin and the Roman Dog released last November, Caerwin is taken captive by Marcellus as his Roman legion crushes her native tribe in Rome’s quest to seize Britannia. I’m planning for a late summer release of Book II.

Excerpt…

Caerwin and the other women waited in the carriage. Outside her window, she watched Marcellus. The baggage wagon had pulled forward so that both conveyances waited in the shade of tall trees. A cluster of taverns and eating places lined the wide roadway.

Antius attended Marcellus who stood fully in her view outside the front of the carriage as he began divesting himself of his weapons. No one could enter Rome bearing war gear. Antius received each item, making a stack that she guessed would be put away in the trunk: the sword, the red sash around his midsection, the wide leather straps he wore across his chest bearing his medals of commendation. Caerwin shifted uncomfortably as her mind raced ahead to the inevitable conclusion of this process. Surely he wouldn’t…

The segmented torso armor clanked as it joined the pile, reminding Caerwin of all the nights she had watched him undress from the comfort of his bed. Or discomfort in the certain knowledge of what would come next. She wriggled on the seat, unable to look away.

Marcellus pulled his tunic over his head. Her mouth went dry. It had been weeks since she’d seen him undressed. He stood in the dappled sunlight in nothing but the cloth that wrapped his loins. The gods! Had there ever been a man of such beauty as this? Muscle curved across his shoulders and chest. A narrow line of body hair descended briefly down his lean abdomen. The wound on his bicep remained a puckered red line along the bulge. His hands, his forearms, the line of his jaw…

She licked her lips, absorbed fully in this vision of manhood standing just yards away. Everything about him incited her. Her breath came in short light bursts. Her pulse throbbed in her throat—and in less modest places. Moisture crept between her tightly clenched thighs.

Antius unfolded the long white yardage of Marcellus’ toga then sorted out the tunic with its two red stripes. Marcellus paused, standing fully facing Caerwin and meeting her riveted gaze. She gasped at the unmistakable knowledge in his dark eyes, the slight smile curling his lips. By the goddess Sabrina! He had intentionally positioned himself to disrobe in her view. He had purposefully captured her attention to display himself.

He turned slightly and shifted his hips so that the front of his loincloth gave full evidence of his pleasure in her attention. Her eyes closed in the sensation of him over her. She could feel him in her. She squirmed. Her nipples hardened. Her hands filmed with sweat. She wanted him in ways she’d never known possible.

“What mystery holds your adoration?” Junia said. Her forehead wrinkled as she gazed at Caerwin. “I must know.”

Caerwin’s face heated as she tore her gaze away from Marcellus. Just as he had placed himself in her view, he had also made it impossible for Junia or Porcia to see him. Unless Junia came to Caerwin’s position in the carriage.

“I…It’s…” Caerwin stammered. What could she say? Marcellus meant this for her, not to be shared with Junia.

Against her intention, her gaze drew back to Marcellus. The moment had passed. Marcellus had already shrugged into his tunic and Antius had begun to wrap the toga. “An eagle,” she said finally to Junia. “Powerful animal. Quite beautiful.”

“Indeed,” Junia said suspiciously.

~~~
Check out my Roman Pinterest page for some fascinating images and facts about that long lost world.

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Rainy Day Means Playing Hooky
Monday, May 2nd, 2016

I was supposed to have a guest today, but I’ll have to post that author’s blog tomorrow. Today’s…difficult? And her blog is on my computer, which I am no where near to, so here’s my day so far…

First off, I spent the night at my dd’s. Her two youngest (2 and 7) are both having their tonsils removed, and I have to babysit the 11-year-old and her gazillion animals. Since they had to be at the hospital an hour away at O-dark-thirty, we were all up at 3:00 AM.

Of course, just as they were leaving, the power went out, because hey, HORRIBLE THUNDERSTORM. I felt bad for my dd driving through it, but the Punkus (the 11-year-old) and I went back to bed. Nothing else to do.

And my alarm didn’t go off when it was supposed to, so guess who’s not going to school late, or at all? Yeah, Punkus can help me with the gazillion dogs. She even agreed to clean the cat box. 🙂

So the day feels like it’s half over already. We’re watching Mean Girls and still in our jammies. I told her mom the power came on too late for P to go to school. She never reads my blog, so she’ll never know. It will be our little secret.

Say a prayer for the wee ones, I’m headed back into the movie.

Irish Winters: In the Company of Snipers
Sunday, May 1st, 2016

Hi Everyone!

I’m Irish Winters, author of the romantic suspense series, In the Company of Snipers. First of all, thank you Delilah for having me on your blog. What an amazing opportunity to reach out and meet new people!

A little about me…

It’s all about your heart. I put my passion for writing aside when I married a Vietnam vet back in 1972, then worked over thirty years for the Air Force. I didn’t get serious about writing romance until five years ago while I was recovering from a crazy heart condition called a-fib. Needless to say, any heart problem is a pretty big deal. Mine made me stop and think about my priorities. About my family. My sons. My grandchildren. About death. About what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Until then, I hadn’t given my passion for writing its just due because, like the rest of us, I had a real job to pay the bills. Not anymore!

With my heart fixed and my priorities fixed along with it, I retired from Uncle Sam and got serious about writing. By the time I published ALEX, my “In the Company of Snipers” series was born, and another dozen guys were clamoring to have their stories told. So… along came MARK, ZACK, HARLEY, and CONNOR. Then RORY, TAYLOR, GABE, MAVERICK, and tougher-than-nails CASSIDY, my first female sniper with her own novel. ADAM joined The TEAM on April 30th. LEE and KY are close on his six later this year, with HUNTER, ERIC, and JAKE chomping at the bit for 2017. My “Snipers series” is 16 books great and counting. Is there romance involved? Hot, steamy sex? Is there intrigue and mystery? Does someone always have to die? Yes, yes, yes, and—yes!

So you see, it’s all about your heart. Fix your heart. Follow your passion. Run headlong off that cliff called life and live!

Come visit my guys and me at:

IrishWinters.com or on Facebook or at Irish Winters Blog

A little about ADAM, Book 11…

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He lives for the rush…

Thrill seeking ex-Navy SEAL Adam Torrey loves a good HALO jump. There’s nothing better than the exhilaration and freedom of a heart-stopping, high altitude plummet to earth—until he comes face to face with Shannon Reagan, daughter of the billionaire inventor behind the world’s most lethal military drone. She’s champagne and caviar to Adam’s beer and pizza. They have absolutely nothing in common. Except those damned drones…

She’s living the dream…

Her father’s dream. Not that Shannon has a choice. She already has everything she’s never wanted. Obscene wealth. Dubious fame. A failed marriage. An unwanted pregnancy. When her father’s integrity comes into question, she jumps at the chance to redeem him by accompanying the drone prototypes to Hawaii. Why not? It’s a simple flight across the Pacific with Agent Torrey. She’ll be in one of her father’s corporate jets. What could possibly go wrong?

Excerpt from ADAM…

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Rising back to the surface, he sucked in another gulp of air and returned below the waves. His chest burned with the strain of the shallow dive on his tender ribs, but he’d seen enough. Working his hands and fingers alongside her thigh and knee, he freed all of her except for her foot. The netting had wrapped itself around her ankle and held her tight, her leg stretched taut by the rising tide.

Damn. He needed air. Topside again, he found himself clinging to the cargo door beside her, more tired and weary than he’d ever been. She was really stuck. Cords of shuddering pain wrapped wickedly around his chest, limiting what little air he could suck in. Even if he could dive again, he couldn’t break the nylon without some kind of a sharp tool. Time was running out.

“How you holding up?” he gasped, wiping the spray out of his eyes. “Still with me?”

Shannon nodded, but fear shadowed her face. Yeah. She was scared and he was scared for her. She blinked the saltwater spray out of her eyes. “Are you hurt?”

“No.” He shook his head. “I’m good. Don’t worry about me. I’m not leaving. I’ll get you out of here,” he promised, reaching one hand to smooth the sodden hair out of her eyes. Not only was she stuck, but every swell of the ocean against the cargo door and the downed craft splashed waves of saltwater back into her face and eyes. She wouldn’t need to sink in order to drown. The ocean would do it for her.

“I’m really stuck, huh?”

“Yeah. You are, but…” He looked around for something sharp to cut the nylon. “I won’t let you drown, Shannon. I’ll be right back.”

With a desperate lurch, she let go of the door and clutched his wrist, her fingernails digging into his skin for dear life. “Don’t. Please don’t… go.”

“Hey.” He covered her hand with his, wanting to instill hope where there was damned little of it to offer. “I need to find something to cut the net off your foot.”

She stared, her eyes bleak. This girl didn’t believe him. He hoped she wasn’t right in that conclusion. His ribs were on fire. Breathing had become an extremely difficult mechanical effort. Suck air in. Push air out. Pray to be able to do it again. She might be right, but he’d never tell her that.

“Shannon.” He brushed another handful of wet hair out of her face and pressed his forehead to hers. “Trust me. I’m coming back if it’s the last thing I do.”

She let go of him, her cheek flat against the only thing that kept her afloat and blinking with those big sad eyes as the ocean splashed another drowning wave into her face. Coughing it out of her mouth and lungs, those soft blues looked gray and utterly without hope.

Damn it. The only way to convince her that he meant what he said was to act, so Adam turned his back to her and swam for his life, intent of finding the first sharp thing he could. He staggered to shore, holding his right arm tight around his ribs to control the pain while he searched. Some of this debris had to be small enough and sharp enough, damn it. At last, a shiny piece of jagged metal. It would have to do.

He’d turned back to the water when he spied a black handle sticking up from the sand. He looked twice. Could it be? A knife? The best find of all. Crouching to one knew, he pulled it up. Damn. It wasn’t just a knife. It was a Night Stalker Bowie. He glared down the beach with different eyes now. Where the hell was Ramsey?

Since the confrontation before takeoff, Adam hadn’t thought twice about the ornery bastard, much less that he too might need rescue. It made no sense he could be there. No one in his right mind would’ve remained in the cargo hold during the flight. Between the high altitude, freezing temperatures and hypoxia, Ramsey had to have known he’d never survive without specialized equipment. An ugly thought sprang to Adam’s mind.

Sabotage.

ADAM is available at Amazon

A little about the series…

IN THE COMPANY OF SNIPERS

This multi-book series revolves around ex-Marine scout sniper, Alex Stewart, and his covert surveillance company, The TEAM, home-based out of Alexandria, Virginia. An obsessive patriot and workaholic, he created the company to give ex-military snipers like him a job and a chance to serve their country again.

In the Company of Snipers is a collection of 16 love stories. Each book is a complete romance in itself where, in the course of an active TEAM operation, one agent will come face to face with his or her demons. They’re all patriots and warriors, dealing with what they’ve lived through or the mistakes they’ve made. By the end of the telling, it is my hope that you, my reader, will come to realize along with my heroes that…

Love changes everything.

Ebooks, paperbacks, and audio are available on Amazon