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.

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“…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…

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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.
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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.

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“…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.

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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.
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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…

I’m running a contest to celebrate this release with a $25.00 Amazon.com gift certificate as the prize. Details below!

One adventurous little submissive is just what the bosses need…

Raelie might be a submissive in search of just the right Dom, but she’s not the kind to sit back and wait for the right man to happen. When she gets the chance to fill in as Bryce Caldwell’s executive assistant, she decides some subtle seduction is needed to see if he dominates the bedroom the same way he does the office.

Bryce can’t keep his mind off the sexy blonde sitting just outside his office. Especially not after the security cameras in the copier room catch Raelie “misappropriating” office property. A little disciplinary action leads to a whole lot of complication while he tries to find out whether she’s the right assistant to fulfill a special vacancy. Add a second round of interviews, and suddenly, Bryce is finding out he’s not the only one who’s not sure who’s really in charge.

Read an excerpt
Buy your copy at Amazon
Buy your copy at Smashwords

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Lately, I feel like I’m living on the edge of a whirlpool. I’m swimming along and making a little headway, and then the current pulls me right away. I didn’t plan to be this busy, but I don’t know how to say no, and I really do like a challenge to keep me edgy.

So this is a drive-by. A shout-out to those of you who love my dirty little stories to let you know that I have something new out there, ready for you to read, but you won’t be able to find it in the usual places. Pleasing Sir was a story I wrote as an experiment. A straight-to-the-Internet project to test the Kindle waters.

It doesn’t mean I won’t keep writing for the usual suspects, and doesn’t mean I’m not extremely happy about how they treat me, it just means that I like to experiment and see what else is out there. Maybe the book won’t do well in this venue—in which case, I’ll pull it and submit it for consideration to one of my favorite publishers. Or maybe it will do well enough that I’ll want to do it again. What I like about this is that I’m not dependent on a publisher’s scheduling. And, in the future, I can time the releases of my self-pubbed things for when I have a drought of releases from other houses. I don’t want them to back up against each other, although this one has, but ah well.

And just because this is self-published, don’t go thinking it won’t be any good. It’s still a really hot “Delilah Devlin” book. It’s a full 22,000-word story, comparable in length to a Samhain or Ellora’s Cave novella. I paid a professional editor to find all my typos, so no worries there either. If you’re in the mood to try something with a BSDM-bent and a sexy ménage, go get your copy. If you do buy it, be sure to go back and leave a review. Let someone who’s curious and on the fence know what you thought about the story.

Thanks for all your support. You make it easy for me to get out of bed and hit the keyboard every day.

About that contest!
Help me get the word out! Here’s how you can qualify for the prize:
1) Write a review and send me the link so I can verify
2) Post about the book on your blog (send me the link)
3) Talk up the story on a reader’s loop (forward me the email)

The following is from authors Mandy Roth and Michelle Pillow… ~DD

Big thanks to Delilah Devlin for letting us come here and play today! We’ll get started with our first Q&A.

How You Doin’?

Q: The two of you have some very beautiful covers. Do you have any creative input on these? If so, how much or how little?

Michelle: I’m very lucky to have a really good friend, what was her name?, who does coverart for me at a couple of my publishers, man I wish I could recall… Steve…Bob…Nat…

Mandy: Hmm, odd. Wonder who the friend is. We should send her a fruit basket. Or hunky male cover models WITH fruit baskets. LOL. All joking aside, I really think that over the years we’ve been very blessed when it comes to cover art. There have only been a few that made me cringe. No. I won’t name names but I will say, they still make me cringe today. LOL. It was hard to recontract a few things because I loved the covers so much and knew they’d change. Like Gypsy Nights. I loved, loved, loved its first cover so much it was hard to agree to re-release it elsewhere.

I feel very strongly that cover art can make or break a book. Unless you’re to the point that your name on a blank screen will sell a book, you do need to be mindful of art. I’m curious, how do readers feel about cover art?

Michelle: Natalie Winters! That was the name. (*cough* aka Mandy Roth’s art penname)

I agree, cover art can really make or break a book. It’s the first thing a person sees while browsing. I, too, have had some covers that make me want to cry. I won’t list them, but I’m sure you can pick some out if you browse our websites, lol. New cover art day is like a holiday for me and a bad cover is like getting a single pair of plain white socks for Christmas—sure, you needed socks, but who wants to open that gift? A good cover is like a box full of coffee beans. Mmm… coffee…

Featured M&M Book of the Day:

Buy Link

Raven Books
www.theravenbooks.com
Raven titles are available on Amazon.com as well as other third party sites

Mandy M Roth
www.mandyroth.com

Michelle M Pillow
www.michellepillow.com

Thanks for letting us hang here, Delilah! Everyone, remember that to be entered in the contest at the end of the tour, you need to comment on the posts. You can enter as much as you like.

Join us tomorrow when we visit Stephanie Julian.

Today’s the end of the contest! I know, two someones get prizes and the rest of y’all don’t. So most of you will heave a dejected sigh. 🙁

But it’s not all bad, right? You had fun. Maybe learned a little about me and my stories. I sure had fun reading through your entries.

If you don’t know me well, be sure to drop by often. I run contests almost weekly. It’s a bribe to keep you coming back, but I think that’s not such a chore. Lots will be happening in the coming months. I have two major releases coming up: Darkness Captured (dark paranormal) in September and Ravished by a Viking (futuristic) in January. I have eBooks coming soon with both Ellora’s Cave and Samhain—and I have a couple of free reads on the way. Textile Free will be available for a free download as soon as the cover is complete and I figure out how to put it up on Smashwords.

So lots happening. I blog every day. Even when I go on vacation, I have friends take up the slack and blog for me. The content here is never stale.

So back to wrapping up this contest. First, let me answer the questions:

1) List as many images as you can find hidden in the pretty picture at the top of this page.
This one was the most fun. Someone mentioned the “skin” at the top of the page acts like an ink blot test. Everyone saw something different.

The most popular answers: wineglass (it’s supposed to be a chalice!), wolf, sailing ship, two knights on horses, one carrying a pennant, a dragon on a shield, a crescent moon and a hot as hell man.

The most creative answers: witchy woman with a black pointy hat, side view of an angel, a heart, the number 3, a minatour holding a flag, and a woman with a unicorn coming out of her forehead, the letter D (bottom of the wineglass), double d’s on one of the knight’s shield, mother and child, Mother-father-and-child, flick knife, prawn/shrimp, and a picture frame.

2) What is the title of the book I will self-publish next month? And what color is Raelie’s bra? Pleasing Sir; lavendar/purple

3) What three novellas appear in Un, Deux, Trois, Ménage!? Raw Silk, Fun with Dick and Jayne, Jane’s Wild Weekend

4) What is the title of the short story I have in the latest anthology in the “Fantasy” section? The Obedient Wife

Now for the drawings (both are being conducted using a random number generator)…

The winner of Prize Package #1, which includes a $25.00 gift card from Amazon.com, and a download of any of my eBooks, is…Miranda Grissom!

The winner of Prize Package #2, which includes a Delilah Devlin canvas tote bag, two signed DD print books, reader’s choice, and Delilah’s goodies (pen, bookmarks, post-it notes), is…Sue Brandes!

Ladies, congratulations, and be sure to email me about delivery of your prizes!

Thanks so much, everyone, for celebrating with me! ~DD

My “Brand New Look” contest ends today! Be sure to check Monday’s post for the contest rules and the prize list!

Please welcome my guest today, Juniper Bell! ~DD

I’d like to give a big thank you to Delilah for having me on her blog. Delilah, you’re one of my heroes and it’s a thrill to be here! Call it a Release Day treat for myself—my latest book, My Three Lords, comes out today from Ellora’s Cave.

My Three Lords is an erotic Regency ménage about one newly married young lady and three very naughty lords. I wrote the story because the idea came to me, because lords were the Alpha heroes of their time, and the thought of three of them … mmm. I didn’t worry about whether such a story could have happened in that time period. Regency romances come in many flavors, from sweet to steamy, although I generally picture formal balls and strict rules of behavior. Think every Jane Austen movie ever made.

I don’t think of threesomes … or in the case of my book, a foursome. Would a gently bred girl and three noblemen really end up in bed together?

So I did a little research, and lo and behold, people back then did all kinds of things they weren’t supposed to. Or at least, they thought about it. I found examples of erotica written around that time—not during the Regency itself, but from ten years earlier and about fifty years later. And some of what I read made me blush. One book, written by “Anonymous”, wrote about lusty governesses seducing schoolboys, anal sex, lots of man-on-man sex, woman-on-woman, multiple partners, group sex, even brothers and sisters experimenting.

I have no idea if his story is true. But at least it proves that people thought about sex then—a lot, in his case. Erotic books were written, published and read. But I wonder, why should that surprise me? The infamous Marquis de Sade was still alive at the time my book takes place (1811). Casanova had only died about thirteen years earlier. Those guys would put some of our current-day studs to shame.

After all, why would the Regency-era sex drive be any less than ours? Human nature hasn’t changed that much. Just because social behavior was strictly controlled doesn’t mean people didn’t get down and dirty in the privacy of their own bedrooms. In fact, maybe the lure of the forbidden made it even more tempting.

If Mr. Anonymous could write scorching erotica in the 1800’s, I can write scorching erotica set then. Maybe my story wouldn’t have happened, maybe it would. Who knows? But I’ll wager my best silk gloves that some adventurous lords and ladies thought about it. Ah, the seductive power of fantasies.

So is My Three Lords historically plausible or not? I say, based on my research, that I have no idea. But if you read it in the spirit of erotic fantasy, absolutely.

And that’s the best way to enjoy it anyway.

Here’s the blurb and an excerpt from My Three Lords, which releases today from Ellora’s Cave.

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How is one innocent country girl to choose between a Duke, a Marquis and an Earl? Must she?

When Miss Alicia Silverwood marries the Earl of Dorchester, he whisks her off to Notre Plaisir, a country manor where erotic surprises await in the company of three powerful lords.

The young Earl needs a wife and heir. The cynical Marquis de Beaumont needs a playmate. And the commanding Duke of Warrington needs a reason to live. As for the new Lady Dorchester, she’s about to discover the true nature of her own sensual needs. On top of that, she’s falling in love.

It might take a miracle for Lady Alicia and her three lords come to an arrangement that makes them all happy. Or perhaps all that’s required is a little scandalous rule-breaking.

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“I make you two promises, Alicia. The first is that I shall not take your maidenhead. Only one man may do so, and that is your husband. The second is that tonight you will experience more pleasure than you’ve ever imagined, thanks to me. If the Earl were here tonight, you’d receive no gentle caresses, no stroking such as I intend to give you. Your nipples would be left untouched, save for a rough tweak or two. Whereas I intend to savor their sweetness and watch them stand to attention like pink sentinels of your desire.”
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