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?

Yum! Of course, the title caught me, and then that hint of nipple. What can I say? I’m so easy! Had to invite Lucy here. She appears in this volume! ~DD

Our readers asked for it, and now we’re pleased to present Volume II of first-time lesbian encounters inspired by Katy Perry’s hit song! Seven returning authors continue to arouse, plus six new authors will not disappoint.

This diverse collection travels the globe and the ages. No two settings or circumstances are alike, proving that women from every walk of life and culture are curious and eager to explore their full sexuality…with each other.

Buy links:
Ravenous Romance
All Romance Books

Info about Lucy:
Lucy is a graduate of the University of Derby, where she studied Creative Writing. During her first year, she was dared to write an erotic story – so she did. It went down a storm and she’s never looked back. Lucy has had stories published by Cleis Press, Noble Romance, Ravenous Romance and Xcite Books. She is also the editor of Uniform Behaviour – Steamy Stories About Men and Women in Uniform. Find out more at https://www.lucyfelthouse.co.uk.

So, sue me! I had to make that sound sexier than it really is. I’m blogging at the Whipped Cream Reviews blog today. Stop by and say hello. I don’t want to be lonely. 🙂 ~DD

And a reminder!

Tonight, I have two back-to-back events:
* Night Owl Romance, live chat with Lorie O’Clare at 8 PM EST!
* After Midnight Fantasy authors’ chat at Writerspace at 9 PM EST!

Report Card

Although real life sank two days like a torpedo (Wednesday’s trip to the Wax Museum and the medical drama with my daughter on Thursday), I still managed to get some stuff done.

* On Monday, I did a marathon and wrapped up my BDSM story, and then revised and shipped the sucker to my editor. By Friday, I had a contract and a title: Begging For It.

* On Friday, I shipped a partial (three chapters and a synopsis) to an editor I had chatted with regarding my medieval fantasy. I am hoping for feedback. He did say to send it “raw” and he would offer suggestions for what needs to happen with the story to make it saleable. We’ll see. I’ve been stuck on the project for a while.

* Yesterday, I completed a revision of a previously published short story I plan to include in a Kindle anthology. I added 19 pages (mostly sex and angst), and shipped it for critique.

Not shabby for the week, huh? And I got a lovely bit of news, via surfing the EC site last night—Handy Men will release on April 6th!

Special Events

I do have some things happening this week if you just want to hang out and maybe win something…

Tonight at 8 PM EST, I’ll be live at the Writerspace chatroom. I’m giving away a $25.00 Amazon gift certificate and a signed copy of Ravished by a Viking to two lucky winners!

Tomorrow night, I have two back-to-back events:
* Night Owl Romance, live chat with Lorie O’Clare at 8 PM EST!
* After Midnight Fantasy authors’ chat at Writerspace at 9 PM EST!

I hope you’ll join me. We always have fun!

[Psst! Yesterday’s contest runs through today. I’ll announce the winner tomorrow morning! So be sure to post a comment for a second chance to win!]

I woke up late today. I was a little worn out.

Yesterday, I spent the day trying to find a doctor to accept the red-headed hellion as a patient. She has stomach issues and no insurance. Yesterday, things came to a head when the clinic she has been going to told her she needed to go to her family care doctor even though she was in pain and becoming dehydrated. Well, she was going to them because she didn’t have a family doctor! Every doctor we contacted had waiting lists of three to five weeks for new patients. So, I took her to the emergency room. And guess what? They couldn’t run any tests either, even though I had my checkbook handy.

Red and I were seriously discussing sending her to Ireland. She has dual citizenship, and there, she has a right to health care. It may still, in the long run, be cheaper for me to pay for a round trip ticket for her to go there for testing and any surgery she may need. But we did find another group doctor clinic. I had to be the mean mama at the front desk, asking them what the hell we were supposed to do to get her seen by someone when she’s in pain.

And we don’t need health reform? Shame, shame, shame!

So, off my soapbox. Y’all know I don’t get political here. And I do have a very important question to ask you. 😉

If you were to write a book, what would you choose as the topic? (Now, you could choose fiction or non-fiction—just something you would be passionate about writing!)