First, I just want to thank Delilah for having me on her blog. I went to the RT Booklover’s Convention in May in Kansas City. Not only did I get to hear Delilah present on a panel, I got to eat some great BBQ.

My first three historical romances are about people in the 1880s. It just sort of happened that way. When I started writing, I didn’t find modern times to be all that romantic (I’ve changed my mind since then). However, in choosing a historical setting, I wanted a time period when folks were modern enough that I could identify with them, while getting to dress my characters in lovely and dashing clothing. Corsets, stockings, and waistcoats, oh my!

Then, I got to know Americans in the second half of the nineteenth century. Let me tell you, they were as nutty as peanut brittle, despite masquerading as genteel, thoughtful, refined Victorians. Their ideas on medicine and health would be funny if some of them hadn’t been so harmful. OK, they’re funny anyway. Let’s start with the truly clueless.

You’ve probably all heard about “female hysterics” and the weekly “pelvic massages” that doctors gave their patients. Haven’t you? Step right up and let the good doctor charge your husband his hard-earned money to bring you to hysterical paroxysm (orgasm). Dr. Swift in California made convenient home visits, rather than making suffering ladies take a trip to the office :

((This work has been identified as being free of known restrictions under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights. Published in the US before 1923 and public domain in the US.)

For this affliction—classified by too many symptoms to note here—women could also be put away in a mental asylum against their will by well-meaning family members. I’d take the pelvic massages over the asylum. In 1883, British Dr. Granville developed the “perceteur” or mechanical vibrator, and the rest, as they say, is history.

For something more serious, take a look at these incredibly effective drops for instantly curing toothache:

(This work has been identified as being free of known restrictions under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights. Published in the US before 1923 and public domain in the US.)

I bet people started having toothaches quite often and decided to skip a trip to the dentist in favor of a trip to the drug store, or “druggist.” Speaking of which, Bayer had a Heroin brand of cough medicine, containing diacetylmorphine as suppressant. By the turn of the century, Bayer was producing a ton of heroin per year, as well as a ton of heroin addicts. Those crazy fun nineteenth-century people! Read the rest of this entry »

Update! Saturday’s winner is Jen B!

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Today’s theme is life in a big city. Memphis is the closest big city to me. I can’t count Little Rock, because it’s more of a sprawling big town than city, at least to me. You get a glimpse of Memphis, the seedier side, in the first chapter of Lost Souls. I posted a couple of the first reviews right at the top. If you’ve been wavering, wondering if the story was for you, see what other folks are saying. It’s a good, emotional, exciting read, even if I do say so myself!

If you post a comment today, you’ll be entered to win
a $5 Amazon gift certificate!

“A sexy, fast-paced story of love, redemption, and one scary-as-hell demon. Lost Souls dares you to put it down (you’ll lose) as it nimbly walks the line between heart-pounding romance and paranormal thriller. Cait has fast become one of my favorite heroines as she learns to use her powers, fights her all-too-human weaknesses, and learns the gut-wrenching truth that sometimes, to save someone you love, the cost doesn’t matter.” —Susannah Sandlin, author of the Penton Vampire Legacy trilogy

“Ms. Devlin yet again, delivered a good balance of romance, nail-biting scenes and an exhilarating story line. But what had me captivated was the emotional aspects of this novel…Shattered Souls was exhilarating in its storyline, Lost Souls’ strength was in its gut-wrenching and heart piercing events…Nothing but praises for this book, simply a job well done.” —Under The Covers, 5 Feathers/Top Pick

Fan favorite Delilah Devlin delivers her second paranormal romantic thriller featuring unforgettable heroine, Caitlyn O’Connell. This time, the psychic PI joins her police detective ex-husband to find a demon pulling women into the past to commit their murders in a seedy Memphis hotel.

Private Investigator Caitlyn O’Connell is tapped by Memphis PD to discover who has been using a Memphis hotel as his killing ground. Women are going missing, and their bodies are found inside the walls of the hotel. But the bodies themselves? They appear to have been murdered in the distant past. With ghosthunters and cops crawling all over the crime scene, Cait and her detective ex-husband Sam Pierce race to find the demon responsible before he kills again.

Darkness sank as murky as the sultry summer air, as heavy as a blanket pulled over a child’s head to hide the monsters lurking in a shadowy closet. Street lamps popped and sizzled, darkening then lightening, but failing to flare bright enough or long enough to chase away deep pockets of inky black. Cait was creeped out, since all she had were glimpses of silvery light from a full moon rimming buildings and casting deeper shadows to cloak alleyways and doorway stoops.

Another full moon. An event she was acutely aware encouraged monsters, both human and supernatural, to come out and play. Edgy and beyond bored, she almost wished for something out of the ordinary to happen, but then quickly changed her mind. The last time her job had given her a real challenge she’d battled a demon in an attic while a wraith latched its freezing fingertips around the man sitting beside her, slapping him around like a rag doll.

For just a second, she relished that last memory. At least Jason had been awake.

For the umpteen thousandth time that night, Caitlyn O’Connell sighed. This time exaggerating the sound. Loudly. Actually, more of a groan than a sigh. A sound that invited Jason Crawford, lying back in the seat beside hers, to wake up and keep her company. She was bored as freaking shit. Surveillance was the one part of her job she truly hated. In fact, she thought she might like having her ingrown toenails cut better than sitting in a dark alley waiting for something to happen.

The weather irritated her even more. Although she’d stripped down to a tank top and jeans, the insides of her boots were damp from the oppressive summer heat. Not a trace of a breeze stirred, and they’d shut off the sedan’s engine to be able to hear vehicles approaching, so the AC sat silent.

What good was having magic if she couldn’t even muster up a spell to start a breeze? She’d tried waving, punching, wiggling her nose, but nada. Worse, she’d tried to come up with a poem to appease The Powers That Be, but hadn’t found a line that sounded even remotely elegant with “wheeze” tacked on the end.

She supposed she’d used up her last favor asking for intervention with Worthen’s monstrosity, the Civil War–era demon resurrected in his tomb, for which she’d had to beg The Powers and a certain sorcerer for help defeating. Or perhaps they didn’t like how she’d ignored Morin since she’d fought the demon and won. Whatever. She was a PI, not a witch. And right now, she had a job to do.

So why couldn’t she and Jason be watching the Peabody Hotel? Or any of the nicer hotels in the downtown area? The Deluxe Hotel was anything but deluxe. The marquee above the entrance was missing a few letters and read, DELUXE HO, which on second thought appeared apropos for the sleazy dive.

The whole area had an aura of neglect. Trash overfilled bins and cluttered the gutters. Worse, a small tattered sign was taped to the hotel’s glass door: AA MEETING, 9 PM SATURDAY.

Mocking her. The very thing her ex-husband, and now sometimes boyfriend, had been nagging her to locate. Read the rest of this entry »

Like any writer, I love to read. I was a reader way before I was a writer, but I didn’t come to romance until I was out of college. And then I couldn’t get enough. I started with historicals, buying them at the grocery store and Target and Walmart. Then I discovered used book stores and started stockpiling books. I ALWAYS had bags of books to trade in, and by the time the store closed, I had credit like crazy.

Then I discovered Paperback Swap, a website where you can request books, in exchange for sending off books of your own. There were wrappers to print, and I probably spent a billionty dollars in stamps and the mailman hated me because I was always sending or receiving books (and my mailman has to walk!)

Next I discovered Amazon and its one-click evil. Now the UPS guy hated me, but I was able to preorder the books I wanted.

And then I got my first iPhone. I was so excited because even though I was an ebook author, I didn’t have a way to read ebooks! Now I could order Kindle books or Nook books. I discovered Fictionwise and its wonderful, wonderful discounts. I still have books from them that I haven’t read, lol!

But one of the joys I found with ebooks was novellas! My grandmother would always get  those collections, you know, the anthologies that come out at Christmas? That seemed to be the only time you could get novellas in print form. One author–I think it was Julie Garwood?–released 4 tiny print books, then a novel. They made a movie about the series. Brothers and an adopted sister. Anyone remember that?

ANYWAY, back to novellas. I LOVED reading novellas. Most of the time they just focus on the romance, which is, after all, while I read romance. I mean, I love a meaty historical, and a twisty romantic suspense (not too gritty, please), but sometimes I just want a quick happy ending.

I love writing novellas for the same reason—I focus on the romance and can get my characters to a happy ending all the faster.

I’m writing a series now about a group of hot shot firefighters, starting with the by-the-book crew chief who falls for a rookie on his crew in All on the Line, available at Amazon  and BN.com.

Jaci Nichols thinks nothing can make her feel as alive as fighting wildfires–man against nature, standing up to danger every day.

Until her crew chief, Cal Sinclair, kisses her after a close call on the fire line.

Wow.

Now she’s craving more, but he wants to keep his distance.

Cal Sinclair doesn’t want to screw up his first year as crew chief, so he keeps his distance from the members of his hot shot crew. Hard to do when the sexy rookie gets under his skin. Something about her draws him, and makes him want to put it All on the Line.

The second book came out the weekend the Granite Mountain Hotshots died. Standing on the Line is also available, and Crossing the Line will be out this fall.

Do you like novellas, or do you prefer more meaty stories? What kind of novellas do you like to read?

The power was out last night. A storm thundered through. The lights blinked out, but my UPS kept my PC going for another half hour. Eventually, I had to power off and join the rest of the unconnected world. The outage started at around 9 PM and didn’t end until 6:25 this morning. After which it popped on for about 5 minutes—long enough for me to surface and send a message that yes, I’m alive, before it winked out again. I spoke to soon. 😐

I’m comfy again with the AC running. I don’t like to sweat for no good reason, so I’m grumpy today. I have tons of catchin’ up, but thought I’d pop in and tell you about two blogs you don’t want to miss today.

If you’re not following the Smokin’ Hot Firemen and High Octane Heroes blogs, you’re missing out!

Today on Smokin Hot Firemen, my sister Elle James is talking about smokejumpers and offering a very nice prize package to one lucky winner! All you have to do is drop by and comment!

At High Octane Heroes, Leah Ridgewood is talking about her beloved San Francisco—and giving away three books to EVERYONE! You know you don’t want to miss that! The least you can do is stop in and say Thank you, Leah!

I couldn’t have been more excited when Delilah selected “Saving Charlotte” for inclusion in the Smokin Hot Firemen collection. And why? Not just because it was a great opportunity to write a hot story about firemen (although, let’s be honest—that was at the top of the list!). But I actually had to go and interview a fireman.

In person.

And yeah, he was in full uniform.

*Drool*

There is just something about a muscular man in suspenders…

It took me a while to think of an excuse to interview my smoking hot fireman, but I’m a creative person, so I pulled it off.

In my story “Saving Charlotte,” Mark Connor finds this gorgeous woman tied to a bed in a burning building. He needs to cut her free, and in a hurry.

My question for my hot fireman in suspenders was this: Do firemen have cutting tools on their belt, and are they issued by the fire department, or can they have their own.

His answer was awesome. They do, in fact, carry cutting tools, and they can bring in their own. He went on, at length, about the different kinds and why he preferred the one he had.

It was so much fun to listen, although, I must admit, I have no recollection of what he said.

I was too busy watching his lips move.

And drooling.

Excerpt from Sabrina York’s “Saving Charlotte”

Mark Conner fought his way through the smoke and flames to the third floor of the apartment building. A skitter of concern writhed in his gut. This fire was moving fast. Despite the nearly fifty pounds of equipment, he picked up the pace and motioned to Izzy to do the same.

According to the wailing mother on the street, there was a child still trapped up here.

Two doors flanked the top floor landing. Without discussion—they hardly needed it anymore—Izzy turned right and Mark turned left. In tandem, they kicked the doors in. Mark angled his flashlight and scanned the smoky living room. Nothing.

Smoke roiled around him; sweat prickled his brow. There wasn’t much time.

Then he heard a faint cry. He shouldered his way down the hall and into the bedroom…and froze.

A second was far too long to stare. Lives could be lost in a second. But the sight that greeted him nearly brought him to his knees. A sudden, inappropriate lust snarled through him. He forced it to the back of his mind. For later.

He’d expected a small child, coiled in a corner.

Not an exquisite angel bound to a bed. Read the rest of this entry »

A while back, I shared pictures of some of the things I’ve made, just to show you there’s more to my life than writing (I hear the hisses and boos! :)). I asked folks to share their artistic passions too! Several of you responded so I’m sharing those pics today!

Ilona Fenton shared the following pictures. She loves crocheting toys and cross-stitching bookmarks.

I love Thor! I need one of these for my little Thor collection!

Ronnie shared a picture of this and had this to say:
“As an example of my cross-stitch stuff I have attached a piece I made for my husband’s powerchair. I stitched it onto the back of his headrest. Everyone loves seeing it. I also have one on the side of his seat that says ‘I Don’t Do Stairs!'”

She’s so talented at the cross-stitch, she makes her own patterns. Here’s one!

Kristen Jones crochets when she’s not looking after her little ones. She even does it for others through a Facebook swap shop and fan page!

This is one my daughter asked her to make for one of my Christmas presents! It’s glorious and of Ganesh! See the elephant at the center?

Melissa Porter sent in her friend’s creation and I can see why! I need one of those on my desk!

Author MJ Frederick has a crafty side as you can see here! She made most of these using transfers, and the t-shirt with the sprigs on it was something she used Elmer’s glue to draw, and then she died the tee green around it! Fantastic! You can check out her creations on Pinterest!

Ronnie Cornett has a very artistic side!

So that’s the wrap-up of the surprising talent we have out there. This is something I made this week. Loved the frog clinging to the top of the bead! (I didn’t make the bead, but that’s something I’ll learn to do some other day. LOL)

Thanks to everyone for sharing their pictures!

A star is born…

Return of the Fae, a contemporary paranormal romance, released this last week.  A witch out of water story. Parris McCall found out the things she actually thought made her weird growing up were actually her witch powers trying to break through the door she’d shut and locked so many years ago.

I had a lot of fun with this story because I’ve always felt different too. I was the girl who’d rather be in the library lost in a book than haunting the mall looking for the perfect makeup or perfume.  Not that I don’t enjoy playing dress up every once in a while.

Prudence, a witch who’s been banished by The Council, a total over-reaction to a situation involving a prince, some jewels, and a spell, shows up in this story. And boy, did the girl steal the scene. I’d thought she’d be a secondary character, one that told her story and gave Ty and Parris the information they were seeking, but now, she’s trying to get more time in the third book. And, I’m going to give it to her.

All because my husband is a Cincinnati Red’s fan.

Did I lose you? Probably. My mind runs in strange circles.  So let’s start at the beginning.

One Memorial Day, we were walking through Cincinnati waiting for the game to begin.  This was my first trip to the city and the Great American Ball Park. As we walked, I told my husband about the beginning thoughts about the plot of Return of the Fae.  I was stuck.  The advice from my husband?  Let it simmer. I think he was tired of listening to me complain.   But I took his advice and enjoyed the weekend, taking pictures as we wandered through A Taste of Cincinnati as well as the ball game.

Once we got home, I downloaded the pictures, and, found this —

And a character was born.

Return of the Fae –

A witch in training, a hunter on the prowl, and a world in jeopardy.

Learning the rules of being a witch takes years, but Parris McCall needs to master them in only weeks. Ty Wallace is going mad with his desire for Parris, but she’s a distraction in his quest to find Coven X before they take The Council and everyone he knows down.

The couple searches for Ty’s mentor, but he’s disappeared. Their only clue comes from a banished witch. When they return, not only are their own lives threatened, but a new life hangs in the balance.

Available at Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/Return-of-the-Fae-ebook/dp/B00DJVH8V6

Bio – Lynn Cahoon is a contemporary romance author with a love of hot, sexy men, real and imagined. Her alpha heroes range from rogue witch hunters, modern cowboys, or hot doctors, sexy in scrubs. And her heroines all have one thing in common, their strong need for independence. Or at least that’s what they think they want.  She blogs at her website www.lynncahoon.wordpress.com