Until you’ve lost your reputation, you never realize
what a burden it was, or what freedom really is.
~ Harper Lee

I want to be like that one day. A one-line quote in The Goddess Within mini-book. Guess I better start saying pithy, quotable things, huh?

I’m supposed to be winging my way to West Virginia today. And there’s supposed to be a guest blogger here, but she didn’t show up. So it was fate, right? I’m not supposed to be at Lora Leigh’s big party this year. Nope, instead I’m sitting in my jammies, nursing a cold. I’ve emptied two bottles of Nyquil (lovely stuff) and a box of Kleenex (the kind with the aloe because my poor nose is sore).

Yesterday, I thought since it’s so warm still outside and the pool water is still in the 80’s, what difference does it make if I’m wet? Hmmm…my ears ache now because I couldn’t help myself. I couldn’t just look at the bugs and leaves the robot wasn’t sucking up. I went “pearl-diving”.

Back to that quote from the author of To Kill a Mockingbird. I flipped through my little book looking for inspiration, and that quote was the first to catch my eye. Why? It really struck home. I spent a lot of years in the military, a corporate job, a classroom—and I had to hide the wild child inside me. When I started writing, I let my inner vixen free to roam wherever. I kept my identity a state secret.

These days, I don’t care. I no longer pull a paycheck from anyone who cares what I do with the rest of my time, or what my morals are. I am free to be me. People ask what I write, and if they are old enough to send into cardiac arrest, I say, “I write very racy romances,” and give them a wink. Sorry, had to pause to clean the screen. I sneezed. The rest, I tell them I write in the very lucrative genre of erotic fiction. I don’t have a reputation left to lose—unless it’s for writing really steamy, really nasty pervy books. I’m loud and proud and out!

So, no more soapbox. Just thanks to everyone who’s bought my latest two releases. Four Sworn and Pleasing Sir are chugging along nicely as far as I can tell. I really don’t know how to get the word out any better than I do. I know this blog has a limited audience—mostly friends who’ve been with me a while. I kind of like that, but I would also like to know how to reach more people, because one of these days, I’d love to have an even bigger, badder rep. 😈

Thanks to everyone who made yesterday’s release day so perfect! And although I’ve had to cancel my trip to West Virginia for Lora Leigh’s RAW due to illness, I still have friends scheduled to take over this blog for the next few days. I might poke my head in the door occasionally, but I will be resting for the most part. Thanks again for your support and all your wonderful comments concerning Four Sworn! ~DD

Paranormal Logistics In a Semi-Normal World
by Fiona Jayde

As a writer, I love the art of world building. As a reader, I eagerly devour different worlds and customs and rules other writers create to spin their tales. I love seeing how fellow authors take common elements of vampires, werewolves, angels, witches, heaven and hell and everything in between and make it unique and sparkling. But being me, I always wonder about the logistics. Are there bathrooms in hell? Don’t people (and by people I mean angels, demons, weres of any species, witches, humans and humanoids) need to clean up after steamy love making? When weres shift, what the heck happens to their clothing and other personal items?

I’ve ran into that last problem head first when planning my paranormal series. My Bloodwolves (or Lycks) shift into fairly large wolves, and I had to make the hard decision to either somehow let them keep their clothing, or follow the rules of physics (such as they are) and make the clothes tear off. Torn clothing does leave a lot of nice possibilities for those steamy love scenes. But in reality (again—forgive the word), who wants to run around a city buck naked?

Nakedness aside, how do paranormal creatures live? Do they have money? You need at least a couple of bucks to buy a fresh bag of blood (we’re talking good vampires here—baddies will just eat and run). Do werewolves/angels/witches work? Pay rent? Buy toothpaste?

With so many excellent examples before me, I turned to the masters. Angela Knight in her Mageverse series allows her weres clothing to “meld” to their bodies– they chalk it up to magic, simple and clean and brilliant. JR Ward’s vampires have access to millions—probably because they are so old they’ve had ample time to mature their investments. Buffy the Vampire slayer got a job at a fast food joint to pay the bills. And Spike had a nice crypt—and though we never did see a bathroom, one would assume the undead don’t have need of facilities.

All these choices have significant effect on the characters and their conflicts, and overall storylines. In my case, I decided I liked torturing my characters. Which meant that they can’t just shift on a whim in plain sight because it can be embarrassing getting stuck in one’s own pant legs. With no opposable thumbs to help take those things off.

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

The first installment of a kickass paranormal series, Night Haven introduced readers to the world of vampires, bloodwolves and pulse pounding action.

Coming September 21 to Samhain Publishing

Desire cuts both ways…
Nothing gives Dina more pleasure than leaving the vampires she hunts to the mercy of the dawn. And yet most humans she is sworn to protect seem all too happy to offer up their necks. She has vowed never to be like those needy creatures yet, three months ago, she allowed a vampire to kiss her. The memory still makes her body burn—and her skin heat with humiliation.

For over twenty empty years, Luke has lived in a world of dead pleasure and burning sunrise, feeding off those who long for immortality and taboo thrills. Only his art makes him feel half-alive. Until one night in a dark, moody nightclub, where a reckless, amber-eyed bloodwolf left behind her clean, sharp scent—and an ache in his blood nothing but another taste can ease.

Finally, with the chance to purge Luke out of her system, Dina moves in for the kill. But she comes to a horrifying realization. She can no longer shift, and the desire to taste him—body, soul and blood—is making her crazy. As an enraged bloodwolf threatens to rip them both apart, she may just be crazy enough to trust Luke with her life.

Warning: Contains interspecies lust between a bloodwolf and a vampire, and desire thick enough to cut with a blade.

Read an excerpt here!

I have two winners’ announcements to make. Thanks to everyone who helped me get the word out about Pleasing Sir! The names of the winners are listed at the bottom of this post.

There’s a wild child trapped inside her, and they’re hell-bent on unleashing it…

As the pretty daughter of the town whore, Shanna Davies has always tried hard to toe the line. But she just can’t help it. Her boyfriend, Bo Crenshaw, has lured her untamed spirit out to play once too often. It’s time to get the hell out of Dodge and make a new start where no one knows her past. After she fulfills one last, wicked fantasy.

Shanna is Bo’s first everything. First kiss, first sexual playmate, first love. Yet he’s never managed to convince her that he accepts her—good girl and bad—just as she is. So, she wants a memorable send off? No problem. He’ll give her one that’ll make her think twice about leaving.

On the appointed night, Shanna expects nerves. Yet once she crosses the threshold, the prospect of surrendering to a night of unrestrained passion with Bo and the three Kinzie brothers makes her mouth water—and her courage dry up.

But she asked for it, and now she’s not about to blink first in this game of sexual chicken…

Warning: Four lusty cowboys prove a little domination goes a long way in breaking a stubborn woman to saddle. Lots of spanking, binding, flogging, and double-dipping can keep a girl on her toes, her back, her belly, her knees…

Purchase your copy here for just $2.25: Four Sworn at MB&M

Here’s an excerpt. Enjoy!

Bo gave Shanna a quick kiss then slid all the way inside her, sighing as her moist heat enveloped him. It had been far too long since the last time she’d succumbed to her natural urges and begged him for a quick “dick-fix”.

Her legs wrapped around his hips and hugged him so hard he had to thrust a couple of times to remind her to give him a little room to move.

As he got down to work, his cock rocking inside her lava-hot little channel, he blessed his Boy Scout training for his foresight to stuff a thick blanket behind the seat of his truck. It gave him just enough padding beneath his knees to keep him comfortable and to shield Shanna’s back from the cooling metal.

“This workin’ for ya?” He tried to sound nonchalant when what he really wanted to do was let out a whoop it felt so good.

She gave him a coy look from beneath her lashes. “You needin’ a little praise?”

She lifted her head and scooped his mouth with hers, fluttering her tongue over his bottom lip until he growled and consumed her like a bear dipping into a honey jar. She giggled into his mouth, and he pulled back, making a face. Moonlight shone so bright he could see the gleeful humor digging dimples deep into her cheeks.
Read the rest of this entry »

I’m running TWO contests.
1) One offering a $25 gift certificate from Amazon to celebrate the release of PLEASING SIR. This contest ends today! See details here!
2) The second is my usual thing. You post a comment here today and you’re eligible for a free download of any of my backlisted books.

Yesterday’s winner is posted at the end of this entry.

I went to bed last night with sniffles, and today I have a full-blown cold (hacking cough, runny nose, general aches and pains, aching back from cough). It’s looking iffy for my trip to West Viriginia on Thursday. I hope this is a really fast-moving bug, but if I’m not better, I won’t inflict myself on two hundred other people.

So back to tomorrow’s release. You know the story’s going to be hot as hell. And the reason has to do with the Kinzie brothers, who don’t get the girl at the end of Four Sworn.

Keep in mind this book is unedited because I’m still writing it, but I thought you might like a sneak peek.

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

Chrissi Page raised her cell phone in the air, staring at the screen. No bars. Not even a hint of one skinny, green nub. “Oh, come on,” she moaned as her radiator hissed behind her. “Damn, damn, damn.”

She’d been tempted to ignore the check engine light when it first appeared, wanting to take the chance she could limp back into Two Mule. However, the steam seeping from under the hood had pretty much killed that hope.

Today was not the day for her car to break down. Not so far from town. Not so close to their ranch. Any minute now one of the Kinzie brothers might happen by.

They’d stop because they’d never leave a woman stranded.

They might not let her go because of their shared past.

And she didn’t know if she had the strength anymore to fight fate or her own inexplicable needs.

Macy Pettigrew, her best friend and boss, had sent her to the Dunstan house to make sure the owners had followed her suggestions to increase the house’s curb appeal. Never mind that there wasn’t a curb. Not really even a road—more of a caliche-covered goat trail that meandered up a steep hillside, rutted from runoff during recent summer storms.

Something must have happened to her car on the run up that hill. She’d heard the rocks pinging against her undercarriage but had been too busy with her mind filled with Ms. Dunstan’s handsome neighbors. She’d been afraid she’d pass them or that they might stop in to see old Lettie Dunstan, the widow selling off her roughhewn home.

Chrissi had forced a smile on her face, looked at the potted plants the old woman had placed in pretty window boxes and admired the paint she’d used to spruce up the weathered door and window frames. The junk the old woman’s husband had accumulated, and that she hadn’t had the heart to part with after his passing, was gone from the front lawn. And lo and behold, grass was beginning to grow to fill in the brown patches where car engines and tires had lain.
Macy would be pleased. They had a potential buyer. One who’d relayed an offer via email, and which had checked out with the mortgage lender.

Chrissi heard a powerful engine rev behind her, and she slowly lowered her arms and glanced nervously over her shoulder. A sage metallic pick-up truck pulled off the road behind her, and her stomach dropped to her toes. She’d known the moment her engine light had shone that this was going to happen.

And good Lord, it had to be Ezra Kinzie. His dark gaze narrowed on her through the windshield, the intensity of it feeling like the hissing heat of a brand against her skin.
Read the rest of this entry »

I’m running TWO contests.
1) One offering a $25 gift certificate from Amazon to celebrate the release of PLEASING SIR. This contest ends tomorrow! See details here!
2) The second is my usual thing. You post a comment here today and you’re eligible for a free download of this story (or another if you’ve already read this one).

Yesterday’s winner is posted at the end of this entry.

I’ll admit it. Sometimes, when I sit down to write a book, I’m bored. That’s when I start asking myself what I can do to make a story different from anything I’ve written or read. I look for a flaw—something most people couldn’t overlook—then spend the story finding ways to get my characters to do just that.

That’s what happened with Unforgiven. How many books have you read where the hero or heroine cheated? I mean really cheated—not those mistaken identity things, or she walked in when the rival launched herself into his arms thing.

I wasn’t sure I could do it. And I knew it was a hot button item for a lot of people, but I seriously got a lot less flack about it than I thought I would. Face it. It happens more than we would like. Even to basically good people. Enjoy the excerpt. Tomorrow, I’ll be here with a sneak peek at the story that follows Four Sworn.

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

“…Delilah Devlin’s scorching and unforgettable story UNBRIDLED, has been followed up by the equally hot and mesmerizing UNFORGIVEN… As with any Devlin tale, the sex is so hot it should come with a burn notice. But more importantly, you get pages packed with so much emotion it chokes you…”
4.5 Cherries, Whipped Cream Reviews

“…Delilah Devlin gives a sneak peek into the head of a sexy cowboy whose old fashioned values conflict with his unrelenting desire for a woman who he feels has not lived up to his ideals. We also see a woman who is willing to bend her code for a man who does not necessarily have a big enough heart to deserve her love. Watching the two try to find a middle ground is what makes UNFORGIVEN such an entertaining read.”
5 Angels, Fallen Angels Reviews

How does a man get over a cheating woman? Sweet revenge…

For Cutter Standifer, the pretty little redhead who opened a café in Two Mule, Texas was “the one.” Until he caught her in a compromising position with the town’s worst womanizer. To further strain his rigid code, his little sister just married the same damn bastard who shattered his world and is living in sin with him and another man.

A year later, he still can’t forgive his ex-girlfriend. And forget? Forget, hell. He’s ready kick his code into the nearest manure pile and take what he never had from her—full satisfaction.

That fateful morning, all Katie Grissom meant to do was use the bad boy’s reputation to force Cutter to piss or get off the pot where their own relationship was concerned. But she went too far—deliciously too far—giving Cutter an eyeful she lived to regret.

When Cutter offers her a no-strings affair she jumps at the chance, hoping to either break through the rigid wall he’s built around his heart…or get him out of her system for good.

Warning: When a hard-as-nails cowboy finally lets loose on the only woman he’s ever loved expect the loving to get hot enough to melt a cold, cold, heart—toys, front and slammin’ backdoor sex are only the beginning…

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

Cutter Standifer stuck his finger inside the collar of his dress shirt and tugged. Damn thing felt tight. And every time he glanced at the bride and grooms, it just got tighter.

His little sister had wanted to be married in the sunshine, so they’d chosen the lawn on the south side of the house in front of his mother’s rose garden. He’d had landscapers working around the clock to clean up the overgrown flower beds. No one would find fault with the yard, the house or with the celebration he’d paid for. However, if they didn’t finish up quick, everyone’s Sunday-best clothing would be drenched in perspiration.

June in West Texas was hot as hell even though they’d scheduled the ceremony for just before noon.

If his mother had been here, she’d have approved his preparations. He’d done his duty. Dani looked prettier than the pink and yellow roses blooming in the background. She wore their mother’s white wedding dress, which had only needed a few tucks around the waist to fit and left too much of her tanned shoulders and chest bare for his liking. She’d twisted her long blonde hair up into some kind of knot that made her neck and shoulders look feminine, fragile and innocent. No one looking at her now, with her green eyes soft and bright with unshed tears and her lips curved into a wide smile, would know she was anything but fragile. And she damned sure wasn’t innocent.

Cutter jerked when the people seated around him erupted in a loud cheer.

The official groom bent Dani over his arm and kissed her like he wasn’t going to stop until her stays popped and he had her naked and under him. The crowd enjoyed his enthusiasm.

Cutter’s stomach clenched and he looked away. Not until the bridal couple had trailed down the aisle toward the house and the reception did he stir.

And then he moved like an old man, taking his time following the wedding guests inside, listening as music poured out the door onto the wrap-around porch.

Reluctantly, he reminded himself his duty wasn’t done quite yet. He had a party to oversee. Just a couple more hours and he could close the doors on the last guest and settle down to getting stinking drunk.

He wondered if anyone else who’d been watching had caught on to the fact the best man had looked every bit as happy as the bastard who’d placed the ring on his kid sister’s finger. Rowe Ayers, the best man, had beamed every time he looked at Dani—and at Justin Cruz.

As Cutter stepped into the ballroom, he caught sight of the threesome again and his stomach churned with disgust. Rowe was with the bridal couple, still smiling. First at Dani, and then at Justin.

What the fuck did that mean? Cutter didn’t really want to know. The thought of his sister, sandwiched between those two bastards was bad enough. The thought that maybe there was something happening between the two men… Well, it just wasn’t something he could let himself think about and not lose his breakfast.
Read the rest of this entry »

I’m running TWO contests.
1) The one to celebrate the release of PLEASING SIR (with a $25.00 Amazon.com gift certificate as the prize) is ongoing, and you still have time to enter it! See details in Thursday’s post!
2) The second is my usual thing. You post a comment here today and you’re eligible for a free download of this story (or another if you’ve already read this one).

Released in September 2009, Unbridled was the first of my Lone Star Lovers books for Samhain. It starts with a girl who interrupts a tryst between her boyfriend and another man, and quickly goes straight to the gutter after that. 🙂

Four Sworn, which releases next Tuesday, is set in the same town, but can be read as a standalone novel. And for those of you a bit squeamish about m/m contact, Four Sworn is strictly all about the girl. Four guys. One Girl.

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

“…In [UNBRIDLED]…we are following the sexy machinations of Justin, and he does sexy so well it isn’t difficult to picture him doling out love to his two subs. It’s also remarkably easy to see why they’d be eager to do his bidding. However, it is totally refreshing to watch Dani and Rowe slip the noose and insist on him obeying them for a change of pace…If you are seeking an intensely erotic short read, UNBRIDLED is the one for you…”
5 Angels, Fallen Angels Reviews on UNBRIDLED

Unbridled, Lone Star Lovers, Book One

Tough…or tender? If she plays her cards right, she won’t have to choose.

Dani Standifer arrives home at her West Texas family ranch a day early, ready to pick up where she left off with Rowe Ayers, her high school sweetheart. However, when she opens the door to their line-shack trysting place, it’s clear she waited a day too long. Rowe’s with someone else—another man. And not just any other man— Justin Cruz, the bad boy with whom she shared one wild encounter, years ago.

Justin’s waited a long time for this moment. He knows his reputation, but since he seduced Rowe, he’s been a one-man cowboy—waiting for Dani to return and become the delicious fulfillment of his and Rowe’s needs. If she’s up to the challenge.

To her own surprise, Dani finds she’s more than ready to have both men in her life—as soon as she and Rowe teach Justin a lesson or two about love.

Their small town may not be ready for their kind of relationship. And Dani’s brother Cutter’s mile-deep grudge against Justin throws in a complication that could break the foundation the three of them have built…

Warning: Hold on for the rodeo of your life with rough ridin’ male on male action; blazing hot m/m/f scenes; and melt-your-panties lovin’ as each of these sexy cowboys gives it the way they know best to turn their woman inside out.

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

Note for Readers: You must be of legal age in your country of origin to read this excerpt. Also, there is m/m content in this excerpt. Read on at your own risk!

Justin stared at the silent house, taking in the understated wealth it represented. The Standifers were old money in these parts. Old money—and spoiled and unappreciative of their advantages.

Eyeing the pristine white Victorian, he thought about the crummy apartment in town that he’d kept after his mother had died—the only thing he could afford with the odd jobs he’d worked until he’d landed the job as a wrangler at the Ayers ranch.

He’d have liked to go to school, just like Dani and Rowe. He’d had the grades. Could have ridden a football scholarship, but his sister had needed him to provide a roof over her head until she’d finished school. Now that she was attending a community college in San Angelo, he was free at last to pursue his own path.

Funny how he’d always thought he’d leave Two Mule in the rearview mirror of his pickup truck first chance he got, but things hadn’t worked out that way. When he’d hired on as a wrangler on Rowe’s family ranch after high school, he’d been happy for the employment. He’d discovered an affinity for working with horses and cattle, skills that had quickly gotten him noticed by Rowe’s father, who took him under his wing and groomed him to assume more responsibility. Over the years, he’d thrived on the attention, enjoying the respect he earned that didn’t have a thing to do with how well he tossed a football or how popular he was with women.

When he’d been asked to step in as foreman when the ranch foreman retired and moved to Florida with his daughter, the promotion had been a mixed blessing. He’d liked the authority, the trust invested in him, but he’d felt bound to stay, especially after Rowe’s father died. He’d managed everything, moved into the house, so that Rowe could finish his education. After he’d returned, Rowe asked him to stay, saying his house was too big and lonely without the company.

When Rowe had snagged his lustful attention after taking over the ranch, no one would have been more shocked than he was. Justin had never known he could be aroused by a man, had run through a string of girls in high school and an equally impressive list of women afterward, but other than his very brief fling with Dani, no woman had ever held his attention long.

Catching his boss skinny dipping in a newly dug cattle pond on a particularly hot summer day had opened his eyes to whole new world of sensual pleasure.

Not that Rowe had intended to attract him. He’d grinned when he’d been caught, then motioned for him to join. Just a couple of guys cooling down after a hot day’s work.

When Justin had stripped to his skin, his cock had betrayed him in an embarrassing way. He’d tried to make a joke of it, but Rowe’s expression as he’d tried not to stare at Justin’s cock had inspired that pesky little devil who sat securely on Justin’s shoulder—the whoring side of his nature that was ready to fuck at the slightest invitation. The side that never knew approval unless he saw it in the happiness of a lover’s face at orgasm.
Read the rest of this entry »

I’m running a contest to celebrate the release of PLEASING SIR with a $25.00 Amazon.com gift certificate as the prize.
See details in yesterday’s post!

Thanks, everyone, for your support in helping me get the word out about Pleasing Sir! I’ve been getting Google alerts ever since yesterday’s post.

If you’ve been visiting here for a while, you know I always have something happening here. Some new release. So far this year, I’ve had 16 new releases. I’m a very, very busy girl.

And next week, I have another story coming on Tuesday. The third book in the Lone Star Lovers series with Samhain Publishing. Over the next few days I’ll share excerpts from the first two books, from next Tuesday’s release, Four Sworn, and give you a sneak peak at book four that I’m wrapping up next week.

Here’s a little bit about Four Sworn to whet your appetites!

There’s a wild child trapped inside her, and they’re hell-bent on unleashing it…

As the pretty daughter of the town whore, Shanna Davies has always tried hard to toe the line. But she just can’t help it. Her boyfriend, Bo Crenshaw, has lured her untamed spirit out to play once too often. It’s time to get the hell out of Dodge and make a new start where no one knows her past. After she fulfills one last, wicked fantasy.

Shanna is Bo’s first everything. First kiss, first sexual playmate, first love. Yet he’s never managed to convince her that he accepts her—good girl and bad—just as she is. So, she wants a memorable send off? No problem. He’ll give her one that’ll make her think twice about leaving.

On the appointed night, Shanna expects nerves. Yet once she crosses the threshold, the prospect of surrendering to a night of unrestrained passion with Bo and the three Kinzie brothers makes her mouth water—and her courage dry up.

But she asked for it, and now she’s not about to blink first in this game of sexual chicken…

Warning: Four lusty cowboys prove a little domination goes a long way in breaking a stubborn woman to saddle. Lots of spanking, binding, flogging, and double-dipping can keep a girl on her toes, her back, her belly, her knees…