Hey there! I’ll be in Little Rock today to attend my monthly RWA chapter’s meeting. So, no writing—no hanging out online. While I’m away, I have a question for you to ponder…

If all drinking fountains could dispense another liquid in addition to water, what would you want it to be?

Personally, I’d want it to dispense Bellinis. Prosecco, peaches, organge peel… Mmmm…

I promised I’d post some things I’ve learned along the way about writing for aspiring writers. Here’s my take on POV.

I own a gazillion books about the craft of writing. Every once in a while, I’ll run my fingers over the spines and say a little incantation hoping the knowledge will seep into me by osmosis, because I haven’t read them!

So, everything I’m saying here is strictly “POV according to Delilah.” This is all I know—what I’ve picked up from listening to other writers complaining about someone else’s poor use of POV. We writers love to tear each other to shreds, don’t we? In a constructive way!

What is my impression of Point of View?
Down and dirty—it’s whose head you’re in, whose body you’re crawling around inside to describe what that character is seeing, feeling, touching, tasting.

Let’s start with the terms I learned first in high school English. This is the easy part to distinguish.
1) First Person: If you are writing a book and you have a single POV and constantly refer to him or her as “I”, you’re using first person POV.
2) Third Person: This is more commonly used in romance fiction. If you want to see inside more than one person’s head, you really need to be using third. Here you are referring to your hero and heroine as “he” and “she”.
3) Omniscient: This is trickier. You’re using “he” and “she”, but you aren’t in any one character’s head. You might be seeing something your characters can’t see. Use this sparingly, if at all. It’s a disembodied voice, not rooted in the emotions and insights of any character.

Knowing how to recognize POV is one thing. Using it well is an art.
I write mostly in third person. I write romance and love to see inside both character’s heads to know how the romance is progressing according to their separate POVs.

How do I decide whose head I want to be in?
I evaluate what I want to accomplish in a particular scene. What lesson will be learned? Who has the most to lose from the outcome of the scene? Whoever will give me the most emotional impact is who I go with.

How do I know I’m using POV well?
I pretend I’m using binoculars when I enter a scene. Once I’ve chosen the head I want to walk around in, I look at the scene through his or her eyes. What is she feeling? What is she seeing? She can’t see an emotion occurring in the hero, but she can read his facial expressions or his body language to surmise what’s happening inside him.

Take a look at this sentence and see if you get it:
“Sarah glanced at Luke. He looked embarrassed.“

Sarah can’t see embarrassment—but she can see red cheeks, a gaze that can’t quite meet hers—and guess what’s going in inside Luke. Be sure to “show, not tell”.

How often should I change POV? What’s head hopping?
When writing shorter romances (series, novellas), you will likely only use two POVs—the hero’s and the heroine’s. You won’t have the page count for other character’s POV and subplots.

Before I start writing, I decide whose book this is. Sure, I have a hero and a heroine, and they both are falling in love, but one character has more to learn, more to sacrifice. That’s the person who owns that story. I will spend more time inside her or his head. I try to balance the POVs scene by scene the best I can, but my main character needs more pages.

If my hero chooses to hurt my heroine to keep her away from him for her safety, I’ll be in his head. He’s fighting his emotions to give her the stoney-faced set down to drive her away. There’s more happening inside him, than her. In the next scene, I will want to know what she thinks and feels about what just happened. UNLESS, I want his motivations hidden—in which case, we will see the set down occur in her POV.

You no doubt have heard the term “head-hopping.” The simple explanation is that you swap POVs. Some purists think you should only have a single POV per chapter or scene. I go with that advice, most of the time. If I do decide to leap to the other person’s head mid-scene, I do it cleanly and I don’t go back. Changing POV mid-scene can very effective in love scene or a scene with a lot of action.

Don’t give your animals a POV unless they’re sentient aliens who think like us—I can’t think of any time I’ve seen that used effectively. Do you know what an animal thinks? I blur that rule only when I write my shape shifters, because even in animal form they retain some spark of human sentience.

If you’re a writer and have your own thoughts on how to identify whose head you should be in or how to deepen POV, I’d love the hear your thoughts. ~DD

If you’re checking for the winner of the countdown contest, scroll to the end! ~DD

Whew! So the book’s finally out. And several of you already wrote or posted a comment on my blog to let me know you loved it. Thanks so much! I always bite my nails until I hear back.

While I was being a promo whore trying to get the word out about the book, I was also busy writing. I’m making great progress on the big book, although past chapter eight it’s very, very messy. I also realized last night while I was watching NCIS (watching TV gives my subconscious time to mull over my stories) that I don’t have any reason for the brothel scene on the outcast’s planet, so I have to go back and layer in some plot. I had way too much fun with the sex, which meant I lost sight of what the hero and heroine needed to learn while they were gettin’ busy.

I have started a new quickie-length cowboy story for Samhain, but I want to start something for Ellora’s Cave too. I just need the right idea. Something sexy and fun to follow Dick and Jayne and Bad, Bad Girlfriend. Writing funny is a lot less stressful than writing the darker stuff! Will have to think harder and quickly because I don’t want large gaps between releases.

Here’s a list of what’s coming for the rest of the year. It may change as I finish up novellas for ebook release. You can always check for changes on my Coming Soon page.

03/24/10 – BAD, BAD GIRLFRIEND (Ellora’s Cave)
April-May/10 – MISS ADDIE’S GARDEN, New Love Stories Magazine
Summer?/10 – WARLORD’S DESTINY, a re-release (Ellora’s Cave)
Summer?/10 – FIRST KNIGHT (Ellora’s Cave)
05/01/10 – STONE’S EMBRACE, Captive Souls print anthology (Samhain)
06/01/10 – THE OUT-OF-TOWNER, Girl Crush anthology (Cleis Press)
07/01/10 – THE OBEDIENT WIFE, Fairy Tale Lust anthology (Cleis Press)
08/01/10 – THE WEEKEND, Lesbian Lust anthology (Cleis Press)
10/1/10 – COWBOY FEVER print anthology (Samhain)
11/01/10 – DARKNESS CAPTURED (Avon Red)

So, back to that contest. I used my random number generator and have a name. But before I announce it, thanks again for playing and saying so many nice things. I work in a cave and don’t stir from it for long periods of time. My online friends are my lights flickering at the end of the cave. Too cheesy and purple prosey? Yeah, but it’s true.

The lucky winner of the countdown contest from among the 100+ entries is…Terry W! Terry—email me!

He didn’t know the nightly peepshow was just a naughty invitation…

From Seriously Reviewed: “…Loved the characters, loved the conflict, loved the scorching hot sex. The title and concept is often fun and flirty but there is some serious emotional conflict happening within this story…I do give high praise to Ms. Devlin. Her writing leaves me breathless and her heroes are simply delicious.”

From Whipped Cream Reviews: “…I found this story to be very believable…I felt bad for Garrett as he dealt with his lonely heart and innermost longings, and I even could sympathize with Jayne, although I would like to have her problems. I especially liked the scene with the toy in the restaurant, that was hot, beyond belief…”

Be sure to post a comment to be eligible for the prize. The Amazon gift certificate will be awarded tomorrow!

I was gonna say, “The long wait is over!”—but the wait hasn’t been all that long. Still, the moment has arrived. Another lushly erotic romp is available for your enjoyment. So, do—enjoy, that is! And then come back and let me know how your experience was. There’s a couple in the book that I’d like to give their own story, but I won’t unless you’re curious about them too.

He didn’t know the nightly peepshow was just a naughty invitation…

Garrett knows what he’s doing can get him into trouble, but he can’t help himself. Every night, as he arrives home, the blonde across the alley gets busy with her boyfriend with the blinds open. He’s spent the past two weeks getting an eyeful and falling deep into lust.

But when Garrett sees a man in a black ski mask sneak into his sexy neighbor’s bedroom, he doesn’t know he’ll be the one captured.

Jayne has a nice life with a nice lover who sees to her every need, but she’s still drawn to the lonely man across the alley. She’s been sharing her deepest fantasies with him from afar, but is ready to up the stakes. When she talks Richard into enacting a dangerous scenario, everything works out as planned. Only Garrett’s not happy about being played. And he’s got reservations because she already has a lover and he’s not into threesomes. Guess she’ll just have to convince him otherwise.

Be sure to post a comment to be eligible for the prize!

So after listing all the reasons why you will love Dick and Jayne yesterday, what more can I tell you about the story that will hook you? Don’t guess I can tell you. But I can show you. The sex in this story is off-the-charts hot. The characters are loveable, if a little stubborn, and Jayne… Well, I could swing for the other team for a girl like Jayne. Enjoy the excerpt, and remember to post a comment to be eligible for the Amazon gift certificate I’ll award on Thursday!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The drive to the Italian restaurant seemed to take forever. Her flowery scent filled the car, made his nose and his dick twitch. All he could think about was running his tongue all over her curves to find every place she’d touched with her perfume.

Jayne flipped down the visor and gazed at herself in the mirror. “You must be wearing my lipstick.” She opened her small black bag and rummaged inside. Then she laughed.

“What is it?” he asked, darting a glance toward her lap.

Jayne raised a small silver object in her palm for him to see. “Richard left us a present.”

“What…” But he knew the second the words left his mouth. “A vibrator. Your boyfriend gave you a vibrator for our date?”

“Isn’t he sweet?”

“I’m assuming he intends you to use it.”

“We could always surprise him. Want me to put it inside you?”

His gaze swung toward her. Her smile reassured him she didn’t have designs on his ass, but the shiny metal egg did up the tension riding his body. “It’s mine to use however I want or you’re gonna pitch it out the window.”

“Fine by me,” she said, sounding breathless. “It’s all yours.”

He swung into the parking lot and drove to the back, halting beside a tall hedgerow. He turned to her and gave her a hard stare. “Before anyone sees. Get up on the seat on your knees.”
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Be sure to post a comment to be eligible for the prize! Get a second chance to win today by heading to After Midnight Fantasies to post a comment!

Yeah, I couldn’t come up with a catchier countdown title. But does it matter? You know what happens on Wednesday. Another sexy little romp will appear on the Ellora’s Cave website, and my job for the next couple of days is to entice you into heading there as soon as the covers are refreshed to buy your copy!

Guess I should start with the persuadin’.

Why do I think you will love Dick and Jayne? Let me count the reasons:

1) Hot cop main hero
2) Voyeurism
3) Sex in public
4) Sex Toy
5) Sex club shenanigans
6) A secondary couple you have to know more about—hellooooo, sequels!
7) Ménage a trois

But in case that wasn’t enough, take a peek inside the book…

He didn’t know the nightly peepshow was just a naughty invitation…

Garrett knows what he’s doing can get him into trouble, but he can’t help himself. Every night, as he arrives home, the blonde across the alley gets busy with her boyfriend with the blinds open. He’s spent the past two weeks getting an eyeful and falling deep into lust.

But when Garrett sees a man in a black ski mask sneak into his sexy neighbor’s bedroom, he doesn’t know he’ll be the one captured.

Jayne has a nice life with a nice lover who sees to her every need, but she’s still drawn to the lonely man across the alley. She’s been sharing her deepest fantasies with him from afar, but is ready to up the stakes. When she talks Richard into enacting a dangerous scenario, everything works out as planned. Only Garrett’s not happy about being played. And he’s got reservations because she already has a lover and he’s not into threesomes. Guess she’ll just have to convince him otherwise.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tuesday

They were going at it again, and he was gonna get arrested. Which would be pretty damn embarrassing, considering he was cop.

Like clockwork, the couple across the alleyway started banging the minute his car pulled into the garage.

The street along the back of the parallel rows of one-story houses wasn’t much of a buffer. Driveways spoked off the narrow, paved road. Only twenty feet separated his garage from the bedroom window across the way.

Last night, he’d loosened the garage light bulb to make sure it didn’t give him away when the door slid up. Tonight, he flicked his car’s overhead lamp switch off so that the light wouldn’t beam the moment he exited. Carefully, he closed his car door, pushing it with his hip to muffle the click as it locked, walked around to the back then sat with his butt against the trunk to watch the show.

They had to know anyone walking by could see every damn thing—every drop of sweat, every short curl of pale blonde hair. She faced the window, clutching the bottom windowsill, her breasts bouncing every time Boyfriend slammed her ass.

God, her tits were Grade-A prime. Cherry nipples, topping creamy mounds.

Her blue eyes closed, her mouth rounded, and he knew when she came because she always wore the same expression—her cheeks growing rosy, her eyebrows drawing together tightly and the corners of her mouth curving like the cat that licked the cream.

And if the wind hadn’t been whistling through the alley, he would have heard the whimper she gave when Boyfriend milked the last little contraction of her orgasm.

Fuck. He needed his own woman. Maybe she had a twin. Because he sure as shit wouldn’t be satisfied with anyone who wasn’t her, Jayne Peabody—Jayne Hotbody as he’d begun to call her. He’d had her plates run so he’d have a name to assign the woman who’d played a starring role in all his fantasies this past couple of weeks.

They’d finished and Boyfriend was pulling her into his arms, wrapping them around her belly and cupping those beautiful breasts as she snuggled against his chest.

It was time to leave. The show was over for the night.

Then her eyes opened, and Garret Masters could have sworn she looked right at him. He cussed softly, straightened and raised his arm, pulling down the garage door and shutting off the sight of her mouth stretching into a wide grin.

* * * * *
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