My “Brand New Look” contest continues through tomorrow! Be sure to check the rules and the prize list in yesterday’s post!

A little birdie at Ellora’s Cave told me that Warlord’s Destiny is the best-selling reissue so far, she thinks. That’s good enough for me! They’ve been breaking apart older anthologies and reissuing the novellas individually. Nice for the author because we’re seeing an older title gain a new life.

WD was originally published in 2005 as one of three stories in the anthology Fated Mates, which was nominated for Best Paranormal Erotic Novel of 2005 by RT BookReview Magazine.

Thanks so much for your support. Without it, I’d have to have a day job and would no doubt be writing fewer books!

This is what the story is about:

Promised in marriage for a decade, Mora has no illusions she is anything other than the sacrificial lamb to ensure peace between her peace-loving planet and the warlike world that demands her union with one of their own. No great beauty, she resigns herself to a loveless marriage with a man who will only do his duty by her. However, when she meets the rugged warlord who will be her husband, Mora feels an immediate stirring of lust. She decides in that moment to win his heart—she’ll settle for nothing less!

Lord Tetrik finds his bride more than the scrawny handful he had expected. She has hips to breed him strong, sturdy sons, and intelligence that is a gift worth more than a pretty face. When he suspects his wife harbors tender feelings for him, he wonders if he can be the husband she desires. After all, love for a woman is a frivolous thing—and not a Warlord’s Destiny.

Read an excerpt here

I’m running a contest through Wednesday on this website to celebrate my site’s new look. She’s shiny and new and ready for you to take a peek under her skirts! There are two different prize packages for two lucky winners.

The Contest: Ends Wednesday

Prize Package #1:
* $25.00 gift card from Amazon.com (I like to encourage READING)
* A download of any of my eBooks
Prize Package #2:
* Delilah Devlin canvas tote bag
* two signed print books, reader’s choice
* Delilah’s goodies (pen, bookmarks, post-it notes)

Rules:
* Send the answers to the following questions to me PRIVATELY at Delilah’s Email. All the answers can be found somewhere on my website.
* Post comments to my blog Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I will check!

Questions:
1) List as many images as you can find hidden in the pretty picture at the top of this page. (There is no right number of answers, so just find what you can!)
2) What is the title of the book I will self-publish next month? And what color is Raelie’s bra?
3) What three novellas appear in Un, Deux, Trois, Ménage!?
4) What is the title of the short story I have in the latest anthology in the “Fantasy” section? (Hint: look on the “By Genre” book page.)

Good luck and thanks, everybody, for you’re wonderful support over the years! ~DD

Just a couple quick announcements, then on to my weekly truth-telling…

Today, I’m going to work on getting together a set of questions and a list of prizes I will give away this week for a SCAVENGER HUNT to celebrate the unveiling of my new web design. So be sure to stop by every day, see what’s happening and post those comments!

Also in the planning stages is a blog tour to spread the word about the release of Darkness Captured in September. It’s not too early to plan, and I need your suggestions. What websites do you think I should approach to see whether they might host me for a day? You all have your favorites, I’d love to start a list so I can try to get on their calendars.

In addition, I’ll be preparing a contest widget that I’d love for any of you out there interested in putting it on your site. Of course, there will be bribes… 🙂

So on to the truth-telling…

This week:

* I wrapped up a story that was supposed to be a Quickie for Ellora’s Cave, but ended up being a novella. I was a little irritated with myself for not following the plan, but you won’t mind, right? The tentative title is A Long Howl Goodnight, and the story is related to the MIK series because it involves wolves from the Dark Mountain clan (last seen in MIK-6).

* I began work on my next Western for Samhain. Can’t tell you what it’s about yet, but I like the opening. My heroine is a writer, and strangely, every time I have a writer-heroine (the only other time was DiDi in Bad Moon Rising), I manage to portray her very close to my own personality.

* I continued teaching and providing detailed feedback for the FFnP Logline, Premise, Query and Synopsis class.

* And the big excitement was the finalization of my new web page design! Woohoo!

Next week, I hope to wrap up a short story for a Call for Submissions. I want to get through chapter 3 of the new Western. I want to finish the last bit of planning for the second Viking book, and I’ll be running that scavenger hunt! Lastly, I’ll wrap up the FFnP class.

Thanks for suffering through that last bit. 😉

If you’re reading this on my blog, you know I have a new website design. Woohoo! No, there wasn’t a thing wrong with the old, but I like to change it up now and then because I get bored with the same ole thing. I invite you to browse through my site if it’s been a while, because I’m constanty updating content. If you find a link or something that looks wonky (we can’t catch everything!), just let me know!

I should have a grand opening party or something, and run a scavenger contest to make you look around. Maybe I’ll start that Monday and run it for a week. What would you like for a prize(s)?

The little one goes home today. Even despite her running like a wild thing through the house, I managed quite a bit of work yesterday. My EC editor, Mary, asked me to add words to A Long Howl Goodnight to bring it up to novella length. I wrote an epilogue. I also added pages to a new Western novella. I have one really grumpy hero (there are a pair of brothers), which I find very, very sexy. And she’s the second writer-heroine I’ve had. It’s strange, but when I cast a writer, I somehow reflect a very accurate internal picture of me in the story.

Let me know what you think of the new site! And let me know what you’d like as prizes for a scavenger hunt! ~DD

I have the little on underfoot all day today. She’s still in bed, so I have a moment’s peace. I have to make this quick! (How do they find so many things to talk about?!)

If you could have the voice of any famous person, living or deceased, whose voice would you claim as your own?

You’ll find my answer in the comments later this morning!

If this page looks a little different (I’m noticing that my progress bars are purple today!), it’s because my webmistress is in the process of converting me over to another web design. Hopefully by the end of the weekend, it will all be over and we can ooh and aah over the pretty new page. Please forgive any inconvenience or confusion this may cause you.

And talking about those progress meters, another one is filled up. I finished a short novella yesterday and shipped it to Ellora’s Cave. It’s a werewolf story and involves the wolves at Dark Mountain who were featured in MIK-6. Cross your fingers my editor likes it. So now it’s back to cowboys and Vikings.

I’ll pick up the little girl today. She’s going to stay a couple of nights. I’m hoping I can get some writing done while she’s here, but that’s always a dream. She doesn’t mean to interrupt, but the concept of little interruptions killing a train of thought doesn’t compute in a 6-year-old mind.

Y’all probably want to know who won Tuesday’s Flashback contest, right? Thanks to everyone who posted, but— there can be only one! (I do miss The Highlander.)

The winner (by random number generator) is…Armenia Fox! Armenia, congratulations and be sure to email me with your snail mail address!

Psst! Yesterday’s contest continues. If you post today, you have two chances to win! ~DD

I want to give Delilah a huge thank you for inviting me today. Delilah’s an author I first started reading shortly after I decided to get serious about writing, now quite a few of her books stand side by side on my keeper shelf. I wonder if it was a sign that I’d write Texas Tangle when I picked up a copy of Delilah’s Tempted by a Cowboy anthology last year.

I’ve always loved cowboys—there’s something about them that I find so attractive, despite how they must smell of the barnyard by the end of the day. From way back to the days of Gunsmoke and Bonanza (I had a wicked schoolgirl crush on Little Joe) to modern day cowboys, I’ve always had a softspot for those Stetson wearin’ fellas. That’s probably what inspired me to write Texas Tangle (although I have to confess, neither hero is technically a cowboy, though they do both ride horses.)

But what is it about cowboys that we find so sexy?

I know first-hand that there’s something sexy about hearing a soft southern drawl of a guy asking if they can do something for me. Or maybe it’s just the way their “ma’am” drags out in a much sexier fashion than it does up north.

Or maybe it’s those chaps that highlight that cute tight butt by the absence of leather? (I used to think this until my eldest son bought a pair of chaps to wear while riding his motorcycle. Now I view chaps in a whole different light.)

Is it the slightly bow-legged amble after they’ve climbed off their horse?

Or knowing that they can make a thousand pound animal do their will?

Does wearing a Stetson automatically make a guy sexier? Well, in Matthew McConaughey’s defense, I don’t think the hat had much to do with how sexy he is. 😉

I love the cowboy on the cover of Texas Tangle – in fact Delilah must too, since it looks like he’s the same guy in her banner.

So tell me, why do you find cowboys sexy?

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

Thanks to her cheating ex-husband and her thieving brother, all horse breeder Nikki Kimball has left is a bruised heart, an overdrawn bank account and an empty home. When sex-on-legs Dillon Barnett and his brooding foster-brother Brett Anderson start showing more than just neighborly attention, Nikki is intrigued…and a little gun-shy.

Dillon and Brett have a history; back in high school, the two friends fought a bitter battle over Nikki. Now, ten years later, Brett still longs to be the man in Nikki’s life, but he’s determined to stand back and let Dillon win Nikki’s heart.

Society says Nikki must choose between the two men she loves. Is Nikki strong enough to break all the rules in order to find happiness?

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

“No, no, no!” With steam billowing from the hood of her truck, Nikki maneuvered blindly easing the vehicle to the side of the road, making sure the horse trailer she was towing wasn’t blocking traffic. “You can’t die here. We’re so close to home.”

With a sigh, she killed the engine, climbed from the cab and kicked the front tire. “You couldn’t have held on for another three miles, could you? No-o-o, you had to blow out the rad here, you piece of shit.”

She waited in the inky black night for ten minutes before a vehicle crested the hill, its high beams blinding her until the driver dimmed the lights. She moved to the side as the Jeep zipped past, not even slowing to see if she needed help. A half-dozen cars zoomed by over the next half hour without a single one slowing. She was starting to consider unloading her newest horse and riding him home when a familiar white pick-up slowed then parked in front of her truck.

First a long, booted leg, then the rest of the driver’s body unfolded as he clambered down. Dillon Barnett jammed a dusty black cowboy hat on his head before he ambled over. “Hey, Nik. Need some help?”
Read the rest of this entry »