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Help me choose a title… (Contest)
Tuesday, July 3rd, 2018

UPDATE: The winner is…Susan Landowski!
*~*~*

All the Kindle Worlds are gone. šŸ™ As a result, I’m repurposing stories that lived in other authors’ worlds and getting ready to republish them. One story I can never repurpose, because it’s solidly locked inside another world, is a piece of fan fiction I wrote for The Vampire Diaries. I was invited to write a story for the world, and Amazon even mailed me the first four seasons of the show (the only seasons available at the time) for me to immerse myself in the Diaries. Unbelievably, I’d never watched the show. I binge-watched with my dd and her husband, and then had to dream up a story that could have happened—like an episode of the show.

Since I can never repurpose this enough to sell and not run into copyright issues, I’ll be giving this one away to my newsletter subscribers. So, if you aren’t already a subscriber, here’s the link: Delilah’s Newsletter.

Contest

My original story had an uninspiring title—Making Amends. It centers around Damon and a creature he encounters. Read the excerpt, then try to think of something better than what I had. I thought maybe, Woman on Fire, but yuk. Offer a suggestion—good or bad, it’ll still count!—and you could win a $5 Amazon gift card!

Untitled

Damon knew something was afoot the moment the door closed behind him. The usual soft snick of the lock was replaced by a dull, echoing thud. Instantly all senses went on alert.

Tilting his head, he concentrated, listening to the sounds of the old boarding house, dismissing the usual creaks and groans, and then narrowing his focus to anything livingā€”anything with a heartbeat. No sounds alerted him. He raised his head and sniffed, but beyond dust and the odor from an open whiskey decanter, he detected nothing. And yet, the hairs on the back of his neck rose.

Never one to ignore his instincts, he let the change come over him, his fangs descending from his gums, and his face and body tightening as he allowed his bloodlust to overtake him, giving him added strength to greet whatever might be lurking in the evening shadows.

An amused snort sounded beside him, and he shot a glance toward the sound. Nothing.

Although heā€™d relish a fight, the speed at which this mysterious creature apparently moved removed that option. Better to know his foe before engaging in a battleā€¦

He shook his head, retracting his teeth, his thoughts racing, but only in anticipation of a challenge. Not from fear. For him to fear, he had to give a damn about his un-life. He stepped deeper into the house. ā€œCome out, come out, wherever you are,ā€ he sang softly and narrowed his eyes.

A soft caress, lighter than a stir of air, touched his shoulder. A thin giggle sounded, high-pitched, young, moving from behind him, then retreating toward the large open living room. Logs shifted on the fireplace, then burst into flames, and for the first time, Damon saw the outline of something, a translucent echo of an image, as it shimmered in front of the fire, and then moved fluidly and quickly away, disappearing against the gloomy paneled walls and heavy furnishings. Legs, a torso, but beyond that it had moved too quickly, and oddly meltingly, for him to discern more of its shape.

ā€œYou are female,ā€ he drawled, pretending unconcern, when he knew whatever had joined him in the house wasnā€™t benevolent. Just a hunch, but he knew.

ā€œAm I?ā€ came a voice, hoarse and deep, whispering into his ear.

Damon held still. He hadnā€™t felt a gust of breath, so whatever was here in this room wasnā€™t living, wasnā€™t breathing, since heā€™d felt no glint of recognitionā€”not a vampire using some sort of glamour to mask his or her presence. Also unlike any ghosts he had encountered, which tended to appear as their former selves. What the hell was it? ā€œYou are…male, then?ā€

ā€œWhat would be the point of that?ā€ came a breathier whisper.

Damon quirked up one side of his mouth. ā€œDo I know you?ā€

ā€œWrong question.ā€

He quirked an eyebrow. ā€œDid I know you?ā€

Breathless laughter rang around him, from just in front of him and then to the fireplace where flames licked outwardly before bouncing back as the tinkling laughter faded, nearing him again.

Damon felt almost dizzy from the frenetic movements of the entity. ā€œMaybe I should leave you to your amusements, since Iā€™m tired of this game.ā€

ā€œNot a game, not a game,ā€ came a singsong voice, still androgynously husky.

But decidedly female since he was intrigued. Damon drew a deep breath and strode toward the sideboard to pour a drink. No movements or sounds intruded, so he took a seat on a leather couch and drank, breathing in the sublime scent of 50-year-old whiskey while he pondered this latest mystery.

ā€œFemale, maybe,ā€ he said softly. ā€œNot human. Not vampire. . . .ā€ He raised his voice slightly. ā€œNot ghost.ā€

ā€œClever, clever.ā€ The seat beside him sank, the indention pointed rather than a smooth curve like a round bottom sitting.

He stared at that point. ā€œWonā€™t you introduce yourself?ā€

The point slid toward him, a faint groove marking the dark leather, until it skipped to his thigh. Damon felt the sharpness, like the dull side of a knifeā€™s blade as it skimmed one thigh, then trailed upward, jumping to the arm holding the drink, up to his shoulder, then across his face to his mouth. There was sizzling heat in the scrape.

Instinctively, he gasped, then quickly pressed his lips together to keep whatever was touching him from entering. He arched a brow, not wanting the creature to see his unease.

The point scratched his bottom lip, drawing blood, and then left. The shimmer touched the fire in the hearth and crouched there, holding still for the first time while its form continued to glint red, orange, white, and blue, until it slowly solidified, colors dulling, but its form revealing its true nature.

Damon held perfectly still, his drink dangling from frozen fingers as he tried to gather his scattered wits. Cold spilled down his spine.

Although her appearance was strangely altered, he recognized her. How could he not? Heā€™d killed hundreds of women, maybe thousands, but who was counting? Too many to remember all their faces. But heā€™d never forgotten his first meal. The one whoā€™d made him a vampire.

11 comments to “Help me choose a title… (Contest)”

  1. SUSAN M LANDOWSKI
    Comment
    1
    · July 3rd, 2018 at 9:38 am · Link

    The One That Made Me as a title



  2. Tamara Kasyan
    Comment
    2
    · July 3rd, 2018 at 10:08 am · Link

    Sire of Fire or Sire in Fire or something similar. I like the play on words.



  3. Jackie Wisherd
    Comment
    3
    · July 3rd, 2018 at 10:26 am · Link

    How about the title of Fascination.



  4. Shirley Long
    Comment
    4
    · July 3rd, 2018 at 11:54 am · Link

    Into the Disappearing Fire

    Heart of Fire

    Beware of the Fire



  5. Colleen C.
    Comment
    5
    · July 3rd, 2018 at 12:17 pm · Link

    The Past Returns



  6. Debra G
    Comment
    6
    · July 3rd, 2018 at 1:49 pm · Link

    I am so bad at this. So refreshing Fire



  7. Joy Boutwell
    Comment
    7
    · July 4th, 2018 at 6:48 pm · Link

    1. Flaming Beauty
    2. Hells Flaming Revenge
    3. Your First Remembers
    4. You remember your first
    5. First Never Dies
    6. First Taste of Hell
    7. Finding Beauty in Hell
    8. Hells Invisible Flame



  8. Carli
    Comment
    8
    · July 5th, 2018 at 6:13 pm · Link

    The Fiery Goddess



  9. flchen1
    Comment
    9
    · July 6th, 2018 at 6:24 pm · Link

    The Eternal Return
    Beauty in the Flames
    Into the Fire
    Heart of Flame
    His Fiery Past



  10. Delilah
    Comment
    10
    · July 8th, 2018 at 6:57 am · Link

    Thanks for all the great ideas!! I’m pondering, so don’t yet know which lovely idea I’ll choose.

    In the meantime, the winner of the Amazon gift card is…Susan Landowsk!



  11. Delilah
    Comment
    11
    · July 8th, 2018 at 6:57 am · Link

    Thanks for all the great ideas!! I’m pondering, so don’t yet know which lovely idea I’ll choose.

    In the meantime, the winner of the Amazon gift card is…Susan Landowski! Congrats, Susan! Email me at Delilah@delilahdevlin.com to arrange delivery of your prize.



Comments are closed.