Another Sunday and time to plan out my week. Let’s pull a card…

This morning, I pulled the King of Cups. Who is he? The lute was a big hint. Orpheus, the King of Thrace, was given a lute by Apollo when he was born. Orpheus grew into a gifted singer who could heal men’s souls with his songs. He accompanied Jason on his quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece. While he was a healer and a priest and a gifted singer bringing light to everyone around him, his own story was tragic. He married Eurydice who was attacked in the woods by a man when she was alone. She fought him off, but when she ran away to escape him, she was bitten by a snake, died, and was dragged down into Hades. Orpheus used his gift of song to charm his way into the Underworld. Hades gave him a chance to retrieve her. He could lead her out of Hades, back into the world, but he could never look back or he would lose her forever. Yup, just as he was ready to step out of the Underworld, he glanced back to make sure she was there, and she was gone. His end was sad as well. Dionysus–you know the god of wine and pary–was jealous of Orpheus’s popularity, so he sent his minions after him. They tore him into pieces. The Muses were so grieved they gathered his parts and buried him at the foot of Mount Olympus.

So, what does his card mean for me? Gah. Gifts, love of family. Tragedy. I’m not sure. In the picture, he holds a golden chalice and his lute. He wears his crown as King of Thrace. He wears his finery as he sits on his golden throne which sits on firm fertile land but also on the water. So, I’m going to say I can hold my gifts—talent (work), but must balance my seat (my writer’s chair) between my work, which is shared with others and those who hold my heart (my family, like he held his wife).

Knowing NaNoWriMo starts this week, I think it means I have to make sure I don’t shut the door on family while I make my daily wordcount.

See how this works? I stare at a card to divine its meaning, but I see that card through the filter of my obligations. Anyone can read cards!

So, what does The Mythic Tarot book say? “…it is time for the individual to experience this ambivalent side of himself or herself…” That’s helpful?!

Open Contests

1. Flashback: Brotherhood Protectors — Guarding Hannah (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win a FREE book!
2. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Sweetest Day Celebration! — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
3. 10 Things I love about Halloween (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Gabbi Grey: Trying It Short! Rise — Out now! (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
5. Meet your Weekend Book Boyfriend–Dylan O’Hara–and get ready for Halloween! (FREE Book!) — This offer ends soon! Everyone, get your FREE book!
6. A Reminder & the Saturday Puzzle-Contest! — Win an Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is…Diane Sallans!
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This is a reminder that my current call for submissions for the next Boys Behaving Badly Anthology is drawing near. I’m considering pushing out the submission date to accommodate writers but want you to keep this challenge in mind. Follow the link to learn more about what I’m seeking. These anthologies are always fun!

The link:  Call for Submissions

The Saturday Puzzle-Contest

Since “secret identities” are on my mind today, I chose a very pretty picture of a possible heroine in such a story! I have to choose a theme for my own story. It’s raining outside. It’s been raining a couple of days now and there’s no end in sight. The temperatures are warm for this time of year, but I’m at last ready for the cold to arrive. This picture feels “fall-ish” or maybe even a little “Christmas-y”—it’s the colors, I guess. Enjoy it!

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me what sort of secret identity story you’d like me to write. Have fun with the challenge!

UPDATE: The winner is…Jeanette Whetzel!
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We’re counting down! It’s just a week away now. We still haven’t painted our pumpkins, and I know my dd is dreading the mess. The kids love doing it, but whoo! Paint gets everywhere so we do it on the lawn with a large throwaway tarp or tablecloth. This weekend, they’re going to the theme park in Hot Springs for a scary Halloween night. I’ll stay home and enjoy the quiet. The kids all have plans for Halloween night—which neighborhoods and community buildings to hit, which friends they’ll bring along… Fun will be had by all.

Here’s a fun list of 10 things I love about Halloween…

• 👻 “The veil” between the worlds of the living and the dead thins
• 🎃 The family decorates pumpkins
• 📺 Halloween movies play
• 🌃 Kids play in the dark
• 🧛 Vampires are cool again
• 🧟 Zombies come out to play
• 👹 Monsters carry candy buckets
• 🤡 Clowns become rightfully scary
• 🧹 Tiny wicked witches arrive at the door asking for candy
• 🍬 Candy becomes an acceptable food group!

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon GC, tell me five things you love about Halloween or share a memory of a Halloween past!

Before I get into my Sunday “usuals,” I want to say thank you so much for supporting Gunn’s Mission! I woke up to see that the story was sitting at this ranking among the millions of books available in Amazon. I’m more than pleased. Thank you, again!

Another quick note: AUTHORS, I am looking to host more of you in November and December. If you have a book to promote or an older story you want readers to notice, contact me at delilah@delilahdevlin.com!

Sunday Tarot

I have never, not once, pulled this card before. It’s not a “me” card. But it does present some interesting possibilities for the week after last week’s dismal divination. I did try to fight The Devil’s temptations, but in the end, I gave in. This card gives me a chance to turn that around.

This is The Magician. It’s Hermes, the Trickster, son of Zeus (he fathered a ton of children, the horny bastard) and Maia, Mother Night. He is a master of all the elements — earth, air, fire, and water. I see all the “suits” of the tarot deck represented here — cups, swords, pentacles, and wands. So, I read that as meaning that this week is open to all possibilities. Notice he’s pointing up and down — it can go either way. As well, that “either way” theme is represented in the background — rocks and sandy pathways.

Since I’m a cup half-full lady, I’ll choose the more positive route. I’ll set a plan and maybe accomplish half of my To-Dos and be pleased.

What does The Mythic Tarot book say? “A risk of some kind is required, a willingness to jump into the unknown.” I just love that ambiguous language.

Open Contests

1. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: It’s beginning to look a lot like…Halloween! — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. Celebrate Dictionary Day! (Contest) — Win a FREE book!
3. Word Search: Animals in the Arctic (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Flashback: Brotherhood Protectors — Guarding Hannah (Contest) — Win a FREE book!
5. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Sweetest Day Celebration! — Win an Amazon gift card!

The winner is…Stacey Kinzebach!
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It’s Saturday, and my family has plans for tonight! It’s a movie night! I’m not sure what we’ll be watching, but I know it’ll be something scary because we’re getting ready for Halloween. We’ll watch a kid-friendly Halloween movie, followed by something truly scary after that for the bigger kids (me). No one likes to sit next to me when a scary movie plays because I tend to jump. Once, when I watched Carrie in the movie theaters, I tossed my popcorn into the air when that hand sprang out of the grave.

But that’s tonight. Today is an unofficial holiday that only folks in a few cities actually celebrate — Buffalo, New York; Detroit, Michigan; and Cleveland, Ohio. It’s the Sweetest Day and celebrates CANDY. I can get behind that holiday, so I’m sharing a sweet puzzle today. Enjoy!

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me what your favorite Halloween candy is!

UPDATE: The winner is…Beverly!
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Thanks to everyone who picked up a copy of my latest book, Gunn’s Mission! I hope you’re enjoying my Arctic adventure!

Gunn’s story isn’t my first foray into the Brotherhood Protectors world.

I began with a story about Jamie and Sky, which was also book #10 in my Uncharted SEALs series. Big Sky SEAL introduced Jamie’s partner, Reaper, who became the hero in my first Montana Bounty Hunters book. I had the hunters visit the BP guys in a couple more books, but I was having so much fun writing the offshoot series that I didn’t come back to the BP series until I was invited to be part of a series of stories written by a group of authors. That’s the fun part of writing in another person’s world. You can try different storylines and see what fits and what excites you—and just maybe, it will spark another idea.

I adored writing Guarding Hannah, which was set in West Yellowstone, so much so that I’m thinking about starting up a bounty hunter group set there. We’ll see. I still have books in the offing that I have to write—a couple more BPs, a Dead Horse story, a Dead Horse bounty hunter story, and maybe a comedy about aliens. We’ll see.

In the meantime, let’s revisit Guarding Hannah…

Guarding Hannah

An ex-soldier who prefers dogs to most humans must protect a nature photographer from an extremist group hunting wolves in Yellowstone.

Nate “The Edge” Edgerton prefers dogs to humans, like Pierce, the retired war dog who saved his life in Afghanistan, because he prizes loyalty above all else. He trusts his team and his dog but has learned to be cautious trusting women. After Pierce rushes to the rescue of a nature photographer being threatened by wolf poachers, Nate earns his first assignment as a Brotherhood Protector. He’ll keep her safe but keeping his heart secure will prove to be the hardest part of the job.

Hannah Mackey, a nature photographer tracking wolves, photographs poachers in the act of killing a wolf, and she’s a second away from being shot herself when a large black dog rushes to her rescue, followed by a very handsome and angry man.

When Nate brings her to the Brotherhood Protectors, she’s dismayed that they’re insistent on providing her protection from retaliation by the well-organized poachers who are part of an extremist group, especially when they assign Nate as her protector. She has a job to do, and she’s not going to let the threat from a criminal gang stop her from doing it. She also doesn’t need the big, brooding man following her around. His dog, she’ll take, but Nate? Hell, no. Been there. She can take care of herself, thank you very much.

Read an excerpt and order a copy here!

All the Brotherhood Protectors stories I’ve written…

Click on the covers to learn more about them!

 

Contest

For a chance to win one of the stories shown above, tell me whether you’ve read any of these, and what settings/worlds you prefer!

UPDATE: The winner is…Janelle!
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I’m floating on a high now that my book is out! I’m glad that so many of you are enjoying it. I always wonder if I hit the mark. 🙂

In the spirit of the themes used in Gunn’s Mission, today’s word search is for animals that live in the Arctic.