Last day—whoohoo! The break from my usual scenery and routine has been nice, but I’m ready to get home, read the mail, do my laundry, and get back to some serious work!

Have to admit, I’ll miss the 80-pound retriever. She snuggles up to my back and doesn’t move the whole night long. The border collie mix decided the floor next to me was just the right spot—almost like she was keeping guard while I slept. And the parrot!! I want one so bad now. He’s an absolute riot. When the little one was visiting, the parrot and the girl had a contest to see who chattered most. I loved the noise. When someone called they’d ask, “Is that the parrot?” I’d say, “No, that’s the girl.” A few minutes later, they’d ask, “Is that the girl?” And I’d have to laugh because it was the parrot.

Total mad house. Makes me want to get a goldfish when I get home. Something to take care of, but low maintenance. I know my current limits.

In the meantime, I received this review for the current EC Caveman anthology, Jewels of the Nile I, in the mail. Sonya at Fallen Angels Reviews gave it 5 Angels!!

She said this about my novella, Making the Madam:
“Ms. Devlin will take the readers on a ride on the wild side of the west. Merry and Nathan will have the readers in stitches as the story unfolds. The intense passion will have the readers screaming for more and grabbing lots of ice.”

About the anthology as a whole, she said:
“This anthology is a keeper to every romance reader out there that loves a variety of stories in one book. The stories are very intense and give the readers what they want and so much more. I cannot wait to see what the authors will come up with next.”

Here’s some happy news before I whine about my lack of progress today. During one of my many procrastinating surfs I found a new review of Sin’s Gift from Paranormal Romance reviewer, Sonya Harrison. Here’s a snippet. Follow the link for the full review (and of course, be sure to read the excerpt on my website!): Review for Sin’s Gift

“Delilah Devlin is her signature self with this novella. Hot love scenes and strong characters pull the reader into the story immediately. Paranormal elements are neatly woven into the story and well-timed comedic quips bring the characters to life. This novella seems to set the stage for other stories to follow as more is revealed about the body snatching demons on earth. Readers will be left begging for more and will no doubt want to read more about Sin and Jake’s on and off-duty escapades.”

Cool, huh? I especially liked the part where it said, “[DD] is her signature self,” which got me to thinking if the rest hadn’t been great someone who didn’t like me could read it to mean something very negative, like “DD is her signature self, dishing raunchy, pointless sex interlaced with ridiculous flights of fantasy,” or some such.

Whew! I survived to write another day. Which gets me back to the fact I wrote one bloody paragraph today. AND I wrote only five yesterday. What gives? I think I need to get to a printer and get my pages on paper, then take scissors to them and re-arrange the paragraphs. I just can’t visualize it without my great big screen.

So, I’m not going to beat myself up because it would only frustrate me more. Since I have two more days of my retreat I’m going to concentrate on brainstorming two more projects that are on the horizon. Those of you on my chat loop got a hint of what those two will be. Not sure yet whether one of them is a Harlequin Blaze or an Intrigue, but I suppose I will know when I start to write the opening pages whether I can dampen my enthusiasm for the sensual side of the story. *snort*

Hellion’s back. Need I say more?

But I did manage to get the paragraphs I’d written into some semblance of order with proper transitions, and they made sense (always a good thing). I completed a rough draft of chapter one and dove into two. I got to thinking after I closed down for the day that I was making the opening more complicated writing-wise than I needed to with this darn flashback, so I may turn the first few paragraphs into a prologue that is the future event so I can dispense with all that past perfect crap. I’ve done it (flashbacks) many times before—and effectively (I hope)—but this time it just felt damn hard.

Okay, so all of the above is pretty boring to read about, but since I’ve been on this retreat I haven’t had anyone to talk to about the writing, so I’m pretty much talking to myself here. Wish I found me more fascinating!

There’s nothing like sleeping in a strange place for dreaming. This morning I woke from a dream where a giant moth was spitting silk thread and wrapping me inside a tight cocoon. I awoke inside my own very real cocoon with two dogs, one very large retriever/lab mix snuggled up against my body on top of the sheets. Both were quite content and didn’t like me nudging them to get up so I could move.

Not sure I will ever be able to use that in a story, but I thought it was pretty funny.

My second day was productive (no little hellion underfoot). I would have liked to finish chapter one, but I’ll take the nine pages of progress. The chapter is a little out of order, and I’ve decided to pull back on the scene where the hero finds the heroine with another man. I liked the imagery in my head of him meeting her stare over the other man’s shoulder while they are, em, shagging, but this hero isn’t the sort to share. So, it wouldn’t make sense for him to want her afterward–which would mean the story would end in chapter one.

Long-ass way of saying it, I know. Hopefully, I’ll get my brain better organized for Day Three, so I can wrap up the opening.

I agreed to house sit for a friend of mine. She lives on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas and offered me the use of her house for a “writer’s retreat.” The location’s gorgeous with a comfortable house and a large lawn that ends at water’s edge–paradise, right?

I went for it, needing time to knock out a novella for the next “Cowboy” anthology. The four-year-old was supposed to be with Daddy in San Antonio. Daughter started a new job and therefore wouldn’t have time to interrupt me as much with phone calls and visits.

After agreeing to house sit for a week, the ex-SIL begged my daughter to pick up dear little hellion early because he was feeling overwhelmed. Since daughter was now working, I got drafted to pick her up (an eight hour round trip).

Well…this is day one of my “retreat,” and daughter called me begging me to come to breakfast. I went, and she brought the hellion and dropped the bomb. “You know I wouldn’t ask, but I have to go to work today…”

*sigh* So, I’m house sitting, walking and feeding dogs, playing with the parrot, and now, keeping the dogs and the hellion from knocking things over as they sail through the house giggling and barking (hellion/dogs). Guess how much work I’ve gotten done thus far today?

So, why do people not get that I’m a writer and that doesn’t mean I’m available 24/7 for all life’s little emergencies? And why can’t I say no?

Lastly, wouldn’t you know I forgot to pack the camera battery I charged so I could take some pics?!

I didn’t even know it, but my Spice Brief has been bundled with stories by Spice greats Jina Bacarr and Eden Bradley.

In the French Quarter, two unearthly lovers explore the limits of their consuming hunger with some unique, non-human powers. In Tokyo, a newly arrived young woman eagerly investigates her wildest sexual fantasies in one of the city’s erotic hideaways known as love hotels. On the beach at Veracruz, the sensuous sea seduces a pair of strangers, who share an intoxicating tryst and go their separate ways. Lust, hunger, passion—find all this and more in these deliciously naughty tales from Spice Briefs. Bundle includes Invite Me In by Delilah Devlin, Tokyo Rendezvous by Jina Bacarr and Soul Strangers by Eden Bradley.

Here’s the link if you want to take a look! Exotic Erotica Bundle

This is a view of Lighthouse and Capitol Peak I pulled from the Internet. It’s located in Palo Duro Canyon in the panhandle of Texas. It’s the second largest canyon in the U.S. and is the setting for the opening of the next story I’m working on.

I’m doing a lot of research right now. Geography, geology, flora, fauna, yada, yada.

What I’m stumbling over right now is getting the “bouldering” and rock climbing techniques down. Not that I have to use a lot of it. Just enough to make the heroine sound authentic. If anyone has any experience out there, I’d love some tips.

Research aside, I’ve already started on the story. Here’s hoping it’s as sexy and fun as it is in my head!