First note. Yesterday was a phenomenal day of writing. I finished up the latest proposal I’m aiming at a New York house, revised it, and shipped the sucker to my agent. I hope like hell he doesn’t think my idea was too far out there, because the deeper I went into that futuristic (but oddly ancient) world the more I grooved on the story. After I put that one to rest, I opened up a half-written short story, added pages to hit the needed wordcount for a recent call for submissions, and shipped that one too!

Every single goal I had for the month of July I’ve fulfilled. That doesn’t happen often. I plan my work around a large, continuously changing goal spreadsheet. I always aim high, work like a demon to hit the mark, but give myself slack to fail at the smaller, less important tasks. The short story was the small, unimportant task for the month.

Second. One of my favorite review sites, Two Lips Reviews, is having a scavenger hunt and offering up a ton of great prizes to celebrate their third anniversary of operation. I have an icon hidden somewhere on my site that you have to find! Here’s the link to check out the rules: Two Lips Contest Rules

Last. You know that I have a new release tomorrow—a Harlequin Brief, entitled Eye of the Storm. Following is an excerpt.

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When we stood outside my door in the darkened hallway, I drew a key from my jeans pocket and handed it to Marcus, ignoring Cade.

Cade hovered close behind us while Marcus turned the key in the lock. Did Cade think I’d slam the door in his face as soon as Marcus crossed my threshold? I wanted to do it—but not as much as I wanted his steady gaze on my body when I stripped for Marcus and lay down on my soft bed and opened my legs.

I wanted him hot, hard, and wanting to be Marcus as he plunged inside me.
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Two days ago, I found out that the Spice Brief I’d contracted to publish MONTHS AGO, will be released on August 1st! Huh. A little warning would have been nice since I didn’t have the cover or the blurb. But rather than them sending it in advance, I scraped it off the eHarlequin site so you can look it over now! Best news, it’s available for presale now! Link to eHarlequin

So maybe the white guy on the left doesn’t look like the tanned, muscular hunk in my story, ditto for the black dude on the right. But you get the idea, right? Sexy threesome, a storm a-brewing…

Eye of the Storm will be my second Spice Brief. I’m not so keen on writing them because they don’t pay as much as Ellora’s Cave or Samhain and a girl’s gotta eat, but I like to try to find new fans. Maybe someone will buy the book, find my website, and have to read everything I’ve ever done.

I can dream.

If you’ve forgotten the first Brief I wrote, you can check it out by clicking on the cover.

This is one of the most sigh-worthy photos I’ve found. I plucked it from Gerard Butler’s website a long time ago. It comes from a scene in the movie Timeline. I printed it out and tacked it to my cork board. Whenever I need to remind myself what romance is about, I just look up.

Sometimes writers like to use photos as prompts to get our imagination spinning out new ideas. I haven’t written a story inspired by this photo yet, but I’d love to give it a try.

If you were the writer, staring at this picture,
what sort of story would you conceive?

I’ve been on a mission the past couple of months, trying to figure out where to branch out next as a writer. I’ve put together submissions for major publishers and am waiting now for verdicts. While I wait, I hatch. Part of the incubation period (tired of this analogy yet?) is research.

This past week I read one Harlequin Intrigue a day to get a feel for the line and to see if I’d even be interested in giving them a shot. The results were uneven. Two of the books completely blew—characters who all spoke the same, including Native Americans, and an 8-year old boy; plot holes big enough to drive a semi through; a female cop too stupid to report a stalker (oh, it might just be boys having some fun (puhleez!)—you name it, I suffered through it.

The middle three were all right, but nothing I would aspire to write because I was tempted several times to put them down and find something to eat—never a good sign when I read a book, because I know I’m bored.

One was very good, but still had a couple of logic leaps in the plot, but then there was THE ONE.

He was known as a tough-as-nails tycoon. Then one pregnant beauty penetrated his steely reserve.

Shipping tycoon Jackson Champion hadn’t become a Texas billionaire by crumbling under pressure. So when his sexy assistant, Ysabel Sanchez, decided to walk away from him and his mega-successful corporation, he wasn’t taking no for an answer. After all, memories of their recent one-night stand had consumed him, and now Ysabel’s inability to meet his eye made him wonder what she wasn’t telling him. But exploring their feelings had to wait. An unknown enemy intended to bring down Champion Shipping, and Jackson was an expert at protecting what was his. But could he also lay claim to Ysabel and the secrets she had yet to reveal?

You are going to say I’m prejudiced because Elle James is my sister. But my sister will tell you I’d be hardest on her because we are related! Her book had everything. Non-stop action, sensuality simmering on every page, humor, REAL characters! And it was set in Texas! If you’ve never tried an Intrigue, start here! Yes, the title is silly and the cover doesn’t do a thing for me—but neither of them were her choices. The story inside is to die for!
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If you post a comment today, you’ll be in the running
for a free download of this book!

I cleaned out my book files the other day because I couldn’t find anything in the jumble. I organized them by publishers (13), and then numbered the files by release date. When I’d finished, I discovered I’ve published 53 stories since late 2003! I thought it might be fun to drag out an old story once a week and give you a snippet to remind you of something you’ve enjoyed, or entice you to go find it and add it to your collection!

Lion in the Shadows was one of the most enjoyable books I’ve written. I loved the research—who wouldn’t when you get to talk to firemen about exciting rescues! It pushed boundaries. There wasn’t a lot of interspecies sex scenes when this came out. The heroine was very flawed; the hero very much in love from the start, but frustrated because she wouldn’t let him help her. Anyway, enjoy the scene, and if you lust for more, here’s the link (forgive me for the cheesy cover!): Lion in the Shadows

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From Novelspot: “This book is a great read about accepting love and closing the past…In LION IN THE SHADOWS, Delilah Devlin will once again leave you starving for more. She creates characters that are easy to fall in love with, such as Rafe, a man that keeps his promises no matter what the circumstances.”

FRom eCataRomance: “…a wickedly erotic and chillingly spooky tale of determined love, restless souls, and supernatural possessions. Heart tuggingly romantic and eerie at the same time, it will quickly become a favorite…”

When a teen dies inside an unexplored cave, it’s Lani Kimmel’s job to bring him out. This is not a pleasant job, but one she can handle as a member of the local fire department and an expert in cave rescues. But the trek into the cave awakens a creature that will push this no-nonsense woman’s boundaries of belief and test her newly emerging love for one man.

Rafe Chavez, the new sheriff in this small Texas town, has already staked a claim on Lani. He’s a man with a goal in his sights, and he’s not letting anything get in his way—until he dreams about an Indian brave who died in that unexplored cave, savaged by a mountain lion. When his dreams cross into reality, Rafe realizes he may be possessed by the Indian’s spirit—but the spirit isn’t alone and it wants Lani.

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

A noise from beside the bed woke Lani from a deep, dreamless sleep. It came from the end of her bed—a scratching sound on the hardwood floor, like the scrape of claws accompanied by muffled footfalls. She reached for Rafe lying beside her to warn him, but he wasn’t there. The bedding was cool to her touch—he’d left her some time ago.

She was alone with sunlight streaming through her curtains, and a wild creature paced at the foot of her bed. Then a purring, deep and resonant with each exhalation, rose from the floor, and before she could let out a startled cry, the creature leapt onto the bed, the mattress dipping beneath its weight.

The lion! The same one she’d faced on the ledge inside the cave—she was sure of it. It didn’t make sense. Suddenly, she understood.
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Unbroken is finished!

Yeah, another one bit the dust yesterday. Whew! At it’s core was the theme of infidelity and forgiveness. Cheating might hit someone’s hot button out there, but I like keeping it real. As well, it was a sequel to a very sexy ménage so I could hardly play it safe with a strictly m/f story.

Now I have to figure out what’s next. I have several projects in different stages, but I need to be smart about what I choose to focus on for the next little while. So, I’m going through my plans today and adjusting goals. I have a futuristic adventure that’s tons of fun to work on, but it might be smarter putting together an intrigue proposal instead. I know I have to wrap up MIK-7 sometime in August, but then I’ll feel like I have to plunge right into MIK-8, and I don’t have that story firmly in my mind yet. Decisions, decisions.

And it’s not helpful at all that I have the latest episodes of Torchwood saved. They are calling to me. I was heartbroken when Toshika and Owen died, and just have this horrible feeling that someone else is going to go. Does anyone know if they plan on any more episodes? This inquiring mind needs to know!

For those of you who don’t know, I have interests other than writing my own stories. Years ago, my sister and I decided we wanted to do something to share what we’d learned about the writing biz because we’d bumped along the hard way without much support. The publishing industry is cruel enough. Why not offer writers a place where they can hone their skills before they enter the fray.

I came up with the name, Rose’s Colored Glasses. Rose was a morphing of my sister and I. She wore large rose-colored glasses, through which she saw the stories living inside her mind come to life. Our mother drew the cartoon character of Rose, we developed a website and invited some of our closest friends to join us.

We offer online courses, some of them for free, but all at very reasonable prices. We travel to writing groups and provide in-person plotting bootcamps.

Last month, I organized a critique group and a workgroup to plow through Donald Maass’s Writing the Breakout Novel—both are still open to join.

In August, we will lead our annual “Write 50 Books a Year” workshop. It’s free, it’s fun, and you will take away tools to improve your planning and productivity.

In September, we will start our next interactive Plotting Bootcamp—a month-long endeavor that is so popular, we have many writers return again and again.

So, if you haven’t checked us out, we have a brand new edition of our newsletter for to read, chock full of lessons learned by “The Roses”.