Yesterday, I spent the afternoon in Little Rock hanging out at a coffee shop with the members of a bookclub. I had a great time! Thanks for the cappuccino, Chris! We talked about books, they asked me about my life as a writer (I hope I didn’t bore them too much), and I signed a bunch of books. Here’s the gang:

I’m in the right upper corner, then going clockwise, Heather, Chris, Katie, Emily and Madonna (I hope I got those right!).

Did I mention it’s my birthday today?

The opening to Hot Blooded came to me as I was researching parks in Texas. I lived in Texas for nine years, but I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve never been to Palo Duro canyon. When I started to look through the photos I found online, saw some of the rugged peaks, and then when I saw this photograph, I had just the right place to begin.

Then I started the real research, contacting rock climbers to make sure I had the techniques down, knew the equipment. I’d climbed in college, but that was forever ago. I struck up an online conversation with Blake, who reviewed my climbing scenes and offered some helpful tweaks. I know this one’s not sexy, but I had so much fun writing this scene. I hope you enjoy it.

When the first small drops began to fall, Cass McIntyre welcomed the light shower the forecasters had predicted. Already halfway up the route she’d chosen, she’d worked up a nice sweat.

The rain quickly cooled her skin, which was caked in a thick, itchy layer of canyon dirt and chalk. The lazy breeze accompanying the rain fanned the burning cuts on her bare legs and arms, giving her a mental boost of energy.

After another fifteen feet into her ascent—chilled and achy now and getting a little impatient with the worsening conditions–she found a narrow ledge. She unhooked her biner from the rope, and decided to wait out the cloudburst, a rare occurrence in the Panhandle and extremely deadly because the rock face she climbed had become as slippery as mud.

She took small comfort in the phrase she’d heard over and over since she’d first moved to Canyon, Texas that ran like a mantra through her head. If you don’t like the weather in Texas, wait a minute.

Her mistake had been believing that piece of homespun advice.
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Psst! Yesterday’s winner can be found at the bottom of this post!

Today, I’m heading to Little Rock to meet with a reader’s group and see Heather B!! We’ll gather at a Starbucks and confiscate a big table. I’m bringing some extra books. Hate going to a party empty-handed.

But you don’t care where I’ll be. You want to know who yesterday’s winner is, and you want me to give you something hot to read!! I won’t make you wait…much! 😆

I just wanted to catch you up on what I’ve been doing lately besides running contests. I already told you I finished up another Western threesome for Samhain. Now, I’m working on its sequel. Sadly, just the man and the woman, but it’s going to have plenty of the “stuff” you ladies like!

And I’m working on something else—an idea I discussed with my agent. He wants me to work up a mini-proposal. Thinks the idea is “fresh”, the mythology “not done” to death. So plenty to do!

All right, I can hear you muttering your impatience…

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

Adam’s fingers closed around her wrist, and he pulled her from her stool, led her out of the kitchen and back down the hall to his bedroom. This time, he walked inside, switched off the overhead lamp and pulled apart the curtains covering a wide window.

The sky was an inky black with occasional smudges of light illuminating dark, roiling clouds. The window faced the long gravel road that led from the wrought iron gate at the entrance of the property to the garage on the other side of the house.

Adam came back to her, pulled her toward the window, and turned her to face it. He stepped behind her, his hands resting on the notches of her hips. “Think we’ll even notice when Johnny comes home?”
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[Check out the Summertime Contest rules on my June 19th blog! Be sure to post there to qualify for the grand prize, then come back here and post for another chance to win! Oh! And be sure to read to the end of this posting to find today’s winner!]

Tough and rough, tall and dark, these are men a woman never forgets. Experience pleasure like no other in the arms of a cowboy…

Tempted by a Cowboy contains three stories that include “Mustang Man” by Vonna Harper, “Long Hard Ride” by Mellisa MacNeal, and “Hot Blooded” by Delilah Devlin.

Mustang Man
Acclaimed horse trainer Miguel Perez is used to the unexpected from his work with wild mustangs. But nothing prepares him for the bolt of desire he feels when he meets Dawn Glass, as he’s eager to work his sexual healing on her in every possible way.

Long Hard Ride
Rodeo rider Michael White House is grateful when Diana Grant stops to pick him up in the middle of a rainstorm. But with one touch his gratitude quickly turns to lust and an uncontrollable desire to lay her down and ride her hard all night long.

Hot Blooded
Rancher Adam Youngblood is always happy to help a damsel in distress. But before he’ll pull the sweetly curvaceous and fiercely independent Cass McIntyre to safety, he demands promises of unconditional sexual surrender.

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

She lifted her hands, fingers spread. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For reminding me you’re not any different the rest of your sex.”

“You think so? So, any man will do?”

Her tongue wet her bottom lip, and then she lifted her chin. “Didn’t the other night at The Stone Pony tell you anything?”

His body went rigid with the reminder of what he’d seen. Her plastered against Johnny’s chest, his brother’s hands roaming her back and the curve of her bottom. Her unblinking stare, challenging him even as she tilted her head to let Johnny glide his lips along the silky skin of her neck.

He curled his fists and strode straight for her.

Her eyes rounded, and then her head turned as she sought an escape. She launched herself toward the hallway door, and he followed. She’d save him some trouble if she’d just go to the end of the hallway and try to hide inside his bedroom.
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[Check out the Summertime Contest rules on my June 19th blog! Be sure to post there to qualify for the grand prize, then come back here and post for another chance to win! Tomorrow, I’ll give away an autographed copy of Wild, Wild Women of the West!]

So, one release down. AND it’s in the bookstores and Amazon.com now! Why wait? Click on the cover and go ahead and order it!

It’s always such a thrill ride when you have a new book come out. You wait and wait for people to be able to find it, then the next day, you start the worrying. Will people like it? Did I take the sex too far? Was the story a little too strange and “out there”? For this one, not too much, I think. Book Four, now…? You will seriously wonder if I was doing some really cool drugs.

Next, we turn to another flavor of story. Tuesday, Tempted by a Cowboy releases! I have an edgy little romance between a park ranger and a Native American cowboy inside it. Is that enough of a description to whet your appetite? Well, wait! Because the next few days I’ll share excerpts and pictures of the place that inspired me.

Thanks for hanging in there. Be sure to post, and do it often. There will be plenty of chances to win something, but also to share the excitement with me!

Today’s the day Darkness Burning officially releases!!!

If you haven’t already bought your copy and need a few more reasons why, how about:
* Tough, sexy take-charge men
* Spooky thrills
* A mystery that will give you a genuine “WTF?” moment
* A fast-moving plot with plenty of twists and turns
* And did I mention hot, imaginative sex? (I don’t have to mention that do I, because you know me!)

Here’s someone who just earned herself a prize for the being the first to think of sending me a picture with her copy of the book! If anyone else wants an extra chance to win, be sure to send me one. Congratulations, Heather B! Be sure to send me an email with your choice of my backlist titles (so long as I have them it in stock)!

[Check out the Summertime Contest rules on my June 19th blog! Be sure to post there to qualify for the grand prize, then come back here and post for another chance to win!]

Here’s a glimpse of Nicolas from the last book, Seduced by Darkness, you remember him—tall, dark and dominant? He and Alex have shared a little more than air and Nic’s still pissed!

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

Just as he opened the French doors, a gust of air brushed against his back. “Hello, Nic,” he said, turning slowly.

Nicolas stood in shadows, his tall frame bristling with anger. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t raise the alarm now and let the coven know their daywalker is here.”

Alex breathed a sigh of relief. If Nic was taking the time to have a conversation with him, he might actually listen to what he had to say. “Let’s take this outside.”

“And give you a chance to escape into the sky?”

Alex blinked. “You know I’m Born?”

Nic closed in, his lips stretching into a mirthless smile. “Not until you just said it.”

“I’m not trying to keep it a secret from you, but it’s interesting Chessa didn’t give me away.”

“Chessa’s emotions are complex, right now. She’s hormonal. Something to do with her pregnancy, you bastard.”

Alex folded his arms over his chest, pretending he wasn’t already shifting his balance to bolt through the door. “Are you really unhappy about that? Unhappy for her? Or jealous you couldn’t be the one to plant it in her womb?”

Nic’s eyebrows lowered and his hands tightened into fists. “I’m going to kick your ass.”
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Beware the place where darkness rules and bloodlust is the ultimate aphrodisiac…

An apocalyptic storm has transformed New Orleans into a city of lawless terror—and Mikaela Jones is standing in the center of the nightmare. A beautiful, courageous journalist with a mysterious past, she sees monsters prowling all around her. But the gravest peril of all awaits Mikaela when she is taken captive by a mesmerizing male who is not mortal—a breathtaking creature who arouses the fire in her blood, making her burn for the exquisite erotic ecstasy of total surrender.

For seven centuries Alex Broussard has been waiting for the chance to free himself from the threat of the matriarchal undead society that seeks his destruction. And now, finally, that time is at hand—until the opportunity is ruined by the stunning, innocent, human interloper Alex is compelled to rescue from certain doom. Now they are joined, for good or ill, as they give in to the burning need that neither can resist—risking everything to experience the ultimate sensual release as the darkness rises all around them.

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

Here’s an excerpt. Mikaela thinks Alex is an ordinary Joe. She’s already had it up to her neck with vampires, and she’s relieved he came along because she’s “under the influence”…

Moonlight brightened as clouds thinned momentarily, illuminating the white-washed, latticed structure. He climbed the steps, set her on her feet in the center of the planked floor, and then pulled the cushions from the benches lining the outer walls to fashion a makeshift bed.

Miki wrapped her arms around her belly, shivering as she waited. When he’d arranged everything to his satisfaction, he finally looked back at her.

A frisson of alarm quickened her pulse. Gone was the teasing man. Now, she noted just how large he was, how his height loomed over hers, casting a long shadow. The breadth of his shoulders stretched the white, buttoned shirt he wore and didn’t disguise the thick muscles of his arms. Below, his legs, spread and braced on the wooden floor, were encased in dark trousers that hugged thickly hewn thighs.

She wondered who he really was. His hair was a little too long for a businessman. His body was too well built, too honed for a desk job. The dark intensity of his gaze had her guessing he had a more dangerous profession. Bodyguard, professional wrestler, fireman, cop.
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