Posting from LA! I skipped the Fairy Ball last night. Allergies were driving me nuts (sneezing, wheezing), so I went to bed early. 🙁 Had a good day though. Met with my agent. Sat on a panel with the awesome, L.A. Banks, Kim Kaye Terry, Glenda Wood from Harlequin and J.D. Mason. The panel went very well! I attended the EC luncheon, popped in briefly to the late afternoon Samhain party, but again, I was tired and coughing, so I ducked out and hung with Vivi Anna and Kim (she injured her knee dancing, so needed the company!). That’s the best about conferences—cementing friendships. ~DD

Cougars…really?

Thanks to Delilah for having me here today!

My topic today is one I’ve done before but still fascinates me. Cougars. Why is a woman of a certain age (and that age is getting younger and younger—I’m thirty-five and I’d bet in some circles I would qualify) who’s interested in a younger man worthy of a derogatory title? Do older men get named for dating younger women? No, because that’s considered the usual way of things.

Women who take charge of their lives and their sexuality and go after what they want—whether it’s a younger man or a career or staying home with their kids—have earned my respect. I have a good friend who’s engaged to someone younger and she’s a beautiful, sweet woman. He’s lucky to have her! I think to insinuate that women dating younger guys is all about sex isn’t true. Just like people can have friends of any age, love blooms between all different age groups. And that’s the way it should be.

Even if it’s not about love, who cares? I say have fun. Go for it. What’s been good for the guys since the beginning of time is definitely good for us ladies.

I’m writing two very different so-called “cougar” stories right now and I’ve written one before, Full Disclosure. One of the reasons I love writing them is that I like an age range in my heroines and unfortunately, unless you’re writing women’s fiction, heroines above 35 don’t seem prevalent unless they’re with a younger guy.

I like writing about older women. They’ve usually got a better handle on what they want in their careers and sexually too. But they have a whole new set of vulnerabilities to explore.

What about you? Do you dislike the term “cougar”? Do you enjoy books featuring older heroines?

Visit Cari Quinn at www.cariquinn.com or at her blog: Cari’s Blog

Or join her fabulous multi-author loop: Three Wicked Writers Plus Two

I’m in LA! If you are at the Romantic Times convention, please look me up. However, I won’t be spending ALL my time hanging out at the bar. I have a book to edit and get back into my editor’s hands. What can I say? Time got away from me before I left. So much for a vacation. 😥 In the meantime, welcome my guest, Adele Dubois! Oh, and remember, the MOONSTRUCK contest is still running! See details in Tuesday’s blog! ~DD

What’s Your Fantasy

by Adele Dubois

All my life I’ve been fascinated by motorcycles and convertibles. The sensations of wind and speed thrills like nothing else. When the weather’s warm, I love to ride in my convertible with the top down, as do the heroines in almost all of my books. Though I don’t own a motorcycle, my law-enforcement heroes do, and they ride hard and fast when they need to solve a crime or sport the heroine away from danger.

I live vicariously through my strong, sexy characters in the novella REV ME TWICE and it’s stand-alone novel REV ME UP. These e-books will be combined in trade paperback as REV ME this fall.

Though I’m not fearless enough to ride a motorcycle in real life, I can live out the fantasy with my story characters. Isn’t that the best thing about fiction? We can go where we want to go and do whatever we please, including having the most amazing sex imaginable with a hot guy who looks good on a Harley.

What’s your favorite fictional fantasy?

Visit Adele Dubois at www.adeledubois.com/.

I’m on my way to LA for the RT convention. I won’t be back until Sunday. In the meantime, I have some fun guests lined up to keep you entertained. Don’t be shy about commenting! ~DD

I’ve blogged about Cowboys before and had so much fun with the Cowboy conversation starters, I thought I’d do it again on Delilah’s Blog.

First, what’s not to love about cowboys? Having lived in Texas, on a small 100-acre ranch outside of San Antonio, I know a little about cows—they’re dumber than dirt. I know a little about horses—just waving at them doesn’t stop them from running over you. I know a little about building fences—100 acres takes 9 months of weekends to completely fence, almost as painful as having a baby. We had the fortune of raising some exotic animals for a while in the form of ratites—I know, what’s a ratite? Think Ostrich, Emu and Rheas, those really big, flightless birds that are almost as dumb as cows. I learned a lot from the big birds. Ostriches can kick the crap out of you, Emus have a six-feet vertical jump and it hurts when they land on your head, and a Rhea male sits the eggs and doesn’t like it when you rob his nest.

I no longer live on that ranch—it was killing me to re-fence after every rain storm. After 14 years working it, we decided to try our hands as business owners in Arkansas. I miss the Texas hill country and the cowboys that came along with it. I always wanted my daughters to marry cowboys, but so far that hasn’t happened. And since I was already married when we moved to the Texas hill country, I didn’t get the opportunity to marry a cowboy myself, not that I mind having married the computer geek husband I have. He’s tough when it comes to trying his hand at ranching and he doesn’t give up.

However, IF I was single, here a few conversation starters I came up with for an encounter with a cowboy. Maybe one of you can use them since I’m already taken. Tell me what you think and if you have a few of your own, I’d love to hear them. Leave a conversation starter for a chance to win a download of FIT TO BE TIED or HONOR BOUND.

10. Bull riding or team roping?
9. Felt or straw cowboy hat?
8. Ever tipped a cow?
7. Skinny-dip or suit?
6. Saddle or bareback?
5. Where did you get your first kiss?
4. Candles or stars?
3. Ride much?
2. Do you sleep in the nude or with your boots on?
1. Do you own a pair of chaps?

I love to write about contemporary cowboys and cowboys of the old west. Check out SEX ED on Amazon. He’s a cowboy caught between a promise and a request he can’t ignore.

About Myla Jackson

Myla Jackson, aka Elle James, aka Delilah Devlin’s little sister. Woot!
Twenty years of livin’ and lovin’ on a South Texas ranch raising horses, cattle, goats, ostriches and emus left an indelible impression on Myla Jackson, one she likes to instill in her red-hot stories. Myla pens wildly sexy, fun adventures of all genres including historical westerns, medieval tales, romantic suspense, contemporary romance and paranormal beasties of all shapes and sexy sizes. or spending time with her family. She lives in the tree-covered hills of Northwest Arkansas with her husband of 20+ years and her muses— the human-wanna-be canines—Chewy and Sweetpea. To learn more about Myla Jackson and her stories visit her website at http://www.mylajackson.com.

First! Thank you to everyone who bid on my two auction items during Operation Auction in support of Fatin and her family! My bootcamp+ sold for $202.50 and the totebag of books went for $122.50! Congratulations to the winners!

Now, doesn’t the title of this post sound like one of those Ginsu knives commercials?! What’s this all about? Ellora’s Cave is running a sale. For a limited time only, you can purchase books from the ten authors listed on this ad at online bookstores like Kindle and B&N for a greatly reduced price. The list of my particular titles affected by this sale is at the bottom of this post!

A Long Howl Good Night – $4.45
Bad, Bad Girlfriend – $4.45
First Knight – $4.45
Fun With Dick and Jayne – $4.45
Jane’s Wild Weekend – $4.45
Knight of My Dreams – $4.45
Lockdown – $4.45
Raw Silk – $5.20
Ride a Cowboy – $4.45
Silver Bullet – $5.20
Sin’s Gift – $4.45
Warlord’s Destiny – $4.45
Handy Men (coming April 6) – $2.49

March was even better than February!

* Attend the Romantic Times convention in LA!

I have two reminders before we get to the guts of today’s entry! ~DD

Last Day of Auction to Support Fatin!

For Readers: A tote back with the reader’s choice of three signed print books, an Amazon gift card for $25.00, and various promo gifts from Delilah Devlin. Delilah does ship internationally! Bid Here

For Writers: Co-founder of RosesColoredGlasses.com and multi-published author, Delilah Devlin offers a one-on-one plotting bootcamp, with critique of the partial, when written, plus a second critique after revisions. The writer may work at his or her own pace. Bid Here

Four Sworn needs your vote! Deadline March 31st!

Four Sworn has been nominated for Best Erotic Romance (Non-Traditional Lifestyle) in 2010!

But it needs your vote to win! Here’s the link to the page. Be sure to check out the list of all the nominees in all their wonderful categories, then go vote for Delilah’s! 😉

The Romance Reviews Voting Page

Blog Tour Kickoff!

What is it about lesbian cops that pushes all the right buttons? It’s not just the uniform, with handcuffs and weapons, or the confidence, authority, and sense of danger. There’s something more as well, an irresistible force that these writers have channeled into fiercely erotic stories of policewomen in or out of uniform, on patrol or undercover, in charge or in need of healing, on the case or under the sheets.

The action can be gut-level tough, as in Jove Belle’s ”Hollis” where anti-terrorism boot camp surges over the inevitable edge into BDSM, or heart-wrenching as in Evan Mora’s “A Cop’s Wife” when death threats sharpen the need for life-affirming sex to a keen edge, or quirky as well as steamy while Teresa Noelle Roberts’s cop finds a way to maintain respect for her own “Dress Uniform” while indulging her anime-girl lover’s cos-play kink. Delilah Devlin, Andrea Dale, R. G. Emanuelle, Cheyenne Blue, and all the other contributors offer their own sizzling visions of the complexity and depth, the strength and vulnerability, and above all the commanding, overwhelming sex appeal of Lesbian Cops.

The editor of the compilation, Sacchi Green, kicks off a blog tour today! You can check out her schedule and click on the first link to an interview with Sacchi! Sacchi’s Blog

Meg’s blog is below, but I have an important message to share first! Operation Auction, in support of Fatin and her family, is still ongoing, but the chance to win my offerings ends later today. I have two things you might be interested in bidding for! ~DD

For Readers: A tote back with the reader’s choice of three signed print books, an Amazon gift card for $25.00, and various promo gifts from Delilah Devlin. Delilah does ship internationally! Bid Here

For Writers: Co-founder of RosesColoredGlasses.com and multi-published author, Delilah Devlin offers a one-on-one plotting bootcamp, with critique of the partial, when written, plus a second critique after revisions. The writer may work at his or her own pace. Bid Here

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Next month I’m traveling to Los Angeles to attend my first Romantic Times convention. This is, frankly, a Very Big Deal. RT draws both writers and readers, unlike some other writing conferences that are mainly devoted to writers. At RT you can expect to meet and talk to people who might actually buy your books instead of trying to find out how to meet your editor or your agent. And because I’m going to be meeting readers, I needed to pick up some promotional materials, “promo” for short.

This was a hot topic among the Nine Naughty Novelists, seven of whom are attending the convention. What would we bring? The possibilities were endless: pens, magnets, Post-its, keychains, bubble blowers, chocolates, etc., etc., etc. At first I didn’t even want to think about it, but one morning I came across the only piece of promo I’d ever hung onto for any length of time: a bar of sandalwood-scented soap.

Soap became my first promo item. I found a site online where I could buy small bars for not a whole lot of money. I found another site that sold organza bags for ditto. I chose a scent (cherry almond) that seemed unlikely to make people think it was edible (as opposed to, say, chocolate mint). I printed up cards to go in each bag with my name, Web site, and last two book titles. And I spent a couple of evenings in front of the television stuffing soap into bags (at least my hands smelled great).

Okay, all well and good. And then somebody on one of my discussion loops mentioned book thongs. Book thongs? When I Googled them, I found directions for making what amounted to a beaded bookmark using waxed linen thread. Seemed easy enough, so I hied myself off to Michaels and bought a few supplies. Little did I know. It turns out I have a great affinity for bright shiny things (sort of like a magpie) and a hitherto unknown fascination with stringing beads. The book thongs took over my life. I bought a large jar of miscellaneous beads at an antique mall. I started checking the Sunday ads for bead specials at Michaels and Hobby Lobby. I bought a stamp with my name so that I could attach a label to each thong to identify me. To date I’ve made about a hundred of these suckers, and I may reach over a hundred by the time I head to LA. If nobody wants them, I’m going to have enough stocking stuffers for the rest of my life.

If you’re a good businesswoman, you’re supposed to keep careful track of how much you spend on promo each year so that you don’t exceed a particular percentage of your profits. One of these days, I’ll probably sit down and add everything up. But to tell you the truth, I’m a little afraid of doing that—I have a sneaking suspicion that the total is going to be really depressing. Still, I found a new hobby and my house will probably smell like cherry almond for a while.

In the meantime, anybody want a book thong?