Research: Whatever it takes

One of the questions I get asked the most is, “Do you do a lot of research for your novels?”

The answer is an enthusiastic YES. I write historical fiction, women’s fiction, and romantic suspense/thrillers. Part of the fun of writing a book (for me, anyway) is the research. Yes, it’s fiction, so I can just make stuff up, but I enjoy the journey of experiencing new things—and the challenge of finding a way to do it.

For my latest book Presidential Advantage, I wanted to get an inside look at the White House. Not the easiest place in the world to just drop by for a visit, right? But where there’s a will, there’s a way.

Luckily, I used to be a newspaper reporter, so I applied for press credentials to attend the Medal of Freedom ceremony in the East Room. That event was followed by an official COVID-19 press conference with the Vice President in attendance, so of course, I stayed around for that.

I have to admit, it was a little intimidating standing shoulder to shoulder with the news anchors you see every day on television. Presidential Advantage is about a First Lady who is thrust into the world of politics (and the Secret Service agent who rescues her), so I wanted to be able to provide historical background on the White House from her point of view.

The best part of the day was when I got to go behind the blue sliding door you sometimes catch a glimpse of when the president (or some other high-ranking official) enters the James S. Brady Briefing Room. (I’m not going to go into any detail on what’s there…Top Secret).

If you think getting into the White House is taking a big step for research, it wasn’t my biggest test of faith. For my Phantom Force Tactical Series, I wanted to be able to write authentically about shooting a military-grade weapon out of a helicopter.

So, I did.

The opportunity came when I attended A Girl and A Gun conference in Texas. I didn’t do too bad at hitting targets while hanging out of a fast-moving, dipping, diving helicopter either. It was a blast!

I’m sure some authors are more comfortable (and creative) just making things up, but I need to see, feel, hear, taste, and touch things to make them real for the reader.

I’ve also flown a few hundred feet off the ground in a Vietnam-era Huey and slept in an open field with a few thousand Civil War reenactors surrounding me, all in the name of research.

The fact that I get to experience these things in order to provide hours of entertainment and escape for my readers is why I think being an author is the greatest job in the world!

PRESIDENTIAL ADVANTAGE

An unsuspecting First Lady must rely on a Secret Service agent to discover who can be trusted—and who will do anything to keep control.

WHEN A SHY, country girl from Virginia marries a prominent Georgetown attorney, her life is bound to change. But when that attorney is catapulted to the office of President of the United States, she is thrust into the position of First Lady—and uncovers a world of secrets and betrayals that alters everything she once knew.

After recovering from her initial missteps and negotiating the obstacles of her new public life, Elizabeth Collins begins to understand the nature of politics. But as another election approaches, turmoil in the White House intensifies. Leaks. Lies. Deceit. Deception. People the First Lady thought were friends desert her and the true character of people she thought she knew is revealed.

When the stakes become life and death, the First Lady uncovers the ultimate betrayal and is forced to come to terms with her own role in the political process. Only with the help of Secret Service Agent Clint Brody can she hope to find her way out of danger—and uncover the identity of the real traitor in the White House.

PRESIDENTIAL ADVANTAGE BUY LINKS:
Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088CS9WV4
Barnes and Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/presidential-advantage-jessica-james/1137023047?ean=2940164077020
iBooks https://books.apple.com/us/book/presidential-advantage-operation-first-lady/id1515085528?mt=11&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/presidential-advantage-operation-first-lady
Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1021768?ref=jessicajames
Draft 2 Digital https://books2read.com/u/3LDodN
Google: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Jessica_James_Presidential_Advantage?id=aI7mDwAAQBAJ

My dd traveled to Virginia to visit her dad for ten days. She took the three girls. Yes, they brought their own food, wore masks, used hand sanitizer constantly, and yes, her dad has been very carefully self-isolating throughout the crisis, so I’m not worried about that.

She left me with the “the boys.” Her hubby and the sixteen-year-old son. Does the picture make better sense now?

Does this one help clarify? While Mom’s away…

No? Then let me explain.

I remember reading a book some time ago (I still think I have a copy somewhere) called Brain Sex. It describes the fundamental differences between a male brain that gets washes of testosterone (the first happening in the womb), which destroy certain connections between the left and right halves of men’s brains, and an undamaged female brain. Well, the author didn’t really say men are brain-damaged, but that was my conclusion. I’ve had years of observations to prove my theory.

Being the good mom she is, who runs her household with as much precision as she can with four children, nine dogs, five cats, etc., she sat the boys down before she left and explained the schedule of daily activities they had to complete for the upkeep of the home and animals.

So, why is it that since she left, I have to constantly follow them around like a deranged drill sergeant to ensure everything is being handled? Short of blasting a bullhorn in the morning to make sure everyone is up at a decent hour, I’m the timekeeper as well as the drill sergeant.

I mean, seriously, guys? How many times can you walk past a clothes basket filled with towels to be folded before you notice it and take it upstairs? Or to empty the dehumidifier with the red light you pass a dozen times before you go, “Oh! I better empty it!”

So, I have to keep a schedule with tick marks to make sure plants are watered, horses and goats are watered and fed, dogs are walked routinely, the floor is vacuumed,  the trash is taken out… I’m not getting a ton of writing done, which had been my hope.

So, my question is, Does this situation resemble your home situation? Do you believe, as I do, that men are brain-damaged and perhaps, incapable of remembering to get their dirty clothes into a hamper and delivered to the washing machine? Just askin’. 🙂

Comment for a chance to win your choice of ebook from among my huge backlist of books!

Just a quick note! I’m still hoping my scheduled guest sends me something to post but in the meantime…

Enter these contests before they end!

1. Storytime — A Puzzle Contest — This offer ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. Gabbi Grey: Why gay romance? (Contest) — This offer ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Last day of July! Open contests! NEW PUZZLE-CONTEST! — Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Binge-TV Question (Contest — 2 Winners!) — Win a FREE book!

UPDATE: The winners are…Heather Chvala and Carol Cox!
*~*~*

Today, I wrote some words, edited some words. Now, I’m thinking about binge-watching some series on TV for the rest of the day. I binge-watched Criminal Minds through the end of Season 12, then was stymied because Netflix doesn’t have 13 & 14, and CBS All Access only has Season 15. Argh. So, I looked at older, canceled series and settled on Medium.

I’m in Season 1, and so far, I’m enjoying it. The hubby is CUTE. I love the middle daughter; she’s a scene-stealer. The concept of the psychic helping the police makes me fidgety and wanting to return to my Shattered Souls world. But no, that’s not happening anytime soon.

So, now, right this moment, I’m thinking I’ll need another series to follow once I finish Medium. I love paranormal series (I’ve seen every Grimm, Lost Girl, Vampire Diaries, and most of Supernatural). I love sci-fi shows (I’ve always been a Trekkie, love Primeval, Dr. Who). I love action shows (I’m a huge fan of all the Chicago series, The Rookie, SWAT, Station 19). So, now you have an idea of what I like. I don’t like pure drama series. I get bored quickly.

For a chance to win your choice of download of one of my backlist stories, recommend a series I should binge next and tell me what you’ve loved binge-watching (because it’s not all about me!). I’ll choose two winners!

COWBOYS:  A BOYS BEHAVING BADLY ANTHOLOGY
Editor: Delilah Devlin
Deadline: November 15, 2020

COWBOYS is open to all authors.

Editor/Author Delilah Devlin is looking for stories for a romantic erotica anthology tentatively entitled COWBOYS:  A BOYS BEHAVING BADLY ANTHOLOGY.

Why write a short story for this collection? Well, it’s certainly not about making a lot of money, so why do it at all? I’ve said this before, but here are my thoughts…

Writing a short story for a call for submissions is a chance to flex your writing muscle! It can be a chance to experiment with a genre you’ve never written. If you’ve never written a story in first person but don’t want to begin by writing an entire novel using it, start short! For myself, I’ve written stories in new genres or with fresh themes that ended up being so much fun to write they’ve spawned entire series.

You have a deadline! I don’t know about you, but I have trouble keeping my butt in the chair without one!

It’s a promotional opportunity! If selected, you’ll be joined by 12-15 other authors for the launch, sharing your audiences and, hopefully, picking up new readers along the way. Having your story in the collection is another chance to be “seen.”

And remember, you retain the rights to your story, so you can republish it for individual sale or give it away to attract subscribers to your newsletter. You might even decide there’s more story to tell and expand it into a novel!

Here’s what I’m looking for…

COWBOYS: A BOYS BEHAVING BADLY ANTHOLOGY will include stories that satisfy the reader who craves stories with cowboy heroes. They may ride into the sunset, but cowboys never go out of style. They embody the fiercely independent, earthy alpha male and a hero who isn’t afraid to show the gentle, nurturing side of his complex nature when he’s faced with a woman/man or an animal in need.

Even when he’s coated with dust from riding behind a herd of cattle, or up to his knees in mud freeing a calf from a wallow, his image doesn’t tarnish. A woman’s imagination sparks, filling in the details—the scent of horse, cow, and crisp, clean sweat; the sight of sun-leathered skin and crows feet; the feel of work-hardened thighs and arms; and the sound of a deep-voiced drawl.

COWBOYS will seek stories that satisfy the reader who craves the romantic idea of that gruff, capable man while exploring stories set in the American West, a new colony on a far-away planet, or exotic International settings!

I’m open to any subgenre of erotic romance you want to write. I’ll accept contemporary, historical, science fiction, or paranormal stories, and I won’t be picky about whether the stories are hetero, LGBT, ménage… Basically, you, the author, can go anywhere your imagination takes you so long as 1) the story is a romance, and 2) you have a bad boy somewhere in the pages!

The anthology will be sold at a low price—my intent is exposure for you and your writing. The more readers reached, the better! You will retain the rights to your story so that, at a later date, you can republish your stories individually.

I’m seeking hot and inventive stories from authors with unique voices, and above all, I’m looking to be seduced by tales filled with vivid imagery and passion.

Published authors with an established world may use that setting for their original short story.

This is erotic romance, so don’t hold back on the heat. Stories can be vanilla or filled with kink, but don’t miss describing the romantic connection between strong-willed individuals learning to trust and love one another. A deep sensuality should linger in every word. Keep in mind there must be a romantic element with a happy-for-now or happy-ever-after ending. Strong plots, engaging characters, and unique twists are the ultimate goal. Please no reprints. I want original stories.

How to submit: Prepare your 2,500 to 5,500 words story in a double-spaced, Arial, 12 point, black font, Word document (.doc or .docx) OR rich text format (.rtf), with pages numbered. Indent the first line of each paragraph half an inch, and double space (regular double spacing; do not add extra lines between paragraphs or do any other irregular spacing). U.S. grammar (double quotation marks around dialogue, etc.) is required.

In your document at the top left of the first page, include your legal name (and pseudonym, if applicable), mailing address, email address, and a 50-words or less biography, written in the third person, and send to boysbehavingbadlycowboys@gmail.com. If you are using a pseudonym, please provide your real name and pseudonym and make it clear which one you’d like to be credited as. Authors may submit up to 2 stories. I will try to respond no later than January 30, 2021 with decisions.

Payment will be $25.00 USD, ninety days after publication at the end of that month.

Who am I?

Delilah Devlin is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of erotica and erotic romance. She has published nearly two hundred stories in multiple genres and lengths, and is published by Atria/Strebor, Avon, Berkley, Black Lace, Cleis Press, Ellora’s Cave, Entangled, Grand Central, Harlequin Spice, HarperCollins: Mischief, Kensington, Kindle, Montlake, Penthouse, Running Press, and Samhain Publishing.

Her short stories have appeared in multiple Cleis Press collections, including Lesbian Cowboys, Girl Crush, Fairy Tale Lust, Lesbian Lust, Passion, Lesbian Cops, Dream Lover, Carnal Machines, Best Erotic Romance (2012), Suite Encounters, Girl Fever, Girls Who Score, Duty and Desire, Best Lesbian Romance of 2013, and On Fire. For Cleis Press, she edited Girls Who Bite, She Shifters, Cowboy Lust, Smokin’ Hot Firemen, High Octane Heroes, Cowboy Heat, Hot Highlanders and Wild Warriors and Sex Objects. She also edited Conquests: An Anthology of Smoldering Viking Romance, Rogues: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology, Blue Collar: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology, Pirates: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology, Stranded: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology, and First Response: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology.

Direct any questions you have regarding your story or the submission process to me at boysbehavingbadlycowboys@gmail.com.

UPDATE: The winner is…Elaine Mulder!
*~*~*

I checked the calendar this morning and had to do a double-take. We’re at July 31st! July 31st! Has this year flown by for you like it has me? Sure, it’s been a very strange year. One for the history books in so many ways. A year where we’re living from one disaster to another. Plus, we’re stuck at home.

I had to think back to my childhood where we stayed glued to the TV through JFK’s assassination, the moon landing, the Viet Nam war. (An aside, one of my most vivid memories was watching a reporter get shot and having a South Vietnamese medic wrapping his leg with a tourniquet—while he continued his report!) Now, we (maybe just I?) can watch news 24/7. I’m listening to the news while I’m typing this! It’s crazy. Not healthy, I’m sure, but I feel like I have to know the second when the zombie apocalypse starts! Because that’s next, right?

In the meantime, it’s the end of July. I did plenty of work this month but don’t yet have a new book to share. That happens in August.  Check out Cage, if you’re ready for another sexy bounty hunter. I did a s*$t-ton of editing for other folks. I painted my ass off. I spent a lot of pool time with the kids. So, I wasn’t lazy. I just wasn’t writing fast enough. I realize I’ve been using my family’s self-isolation as an excuse to…watch more movies with the family, participate in meal preparation, playing with the little ones, playing with a new hobby that provides me joy… Maybe that makes me a bad writer, but I’m not caring. 🙂

These contests are still open!

1. Susan Saxx: Nathan Unwrapped (Contest) — Win a FREE book!
2. Storytime — A Puzzle Contest — Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Gabbi Grey: Why gay romance? (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!

The Puzzle-Contest

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me the story that goes along with this picture! 

Hello, everyone! Big thanks to Delilah for letting me hang out with you today in her place. I always appreciate it and always have a great time.

I just had my birthday a couple of days ago. For some people, they’re not a big deal. For us, they’re mostly a family thing, though when my kids were younger, we of course did the parties with classmates so they could do something fun, like hayrides, or bowling, or whatever the fun thing was that year. Now that they’re grown, it’s just immediate family and occasionally one of their friends for dinner, cake and presents. For us, as parents, it’s usually the same, minus their friends.

But I remember family birthdays from when I was a kid, where sometimes extended family came (and I have a very large extended family), usually grandparents, or when we were in school, best friends. My mom always made our birthday cakes, and we got to choose what we had for our birthday dinner—I had lasagna a lot of years because I loved Italian food. I remember how much fun it was with the whole family around the table, eating a special dinner, then digging into a delicious homemade cake.

When you’re a kid, you don’t fully appreciate those days, I think, or at least I don’t believe that I did. When you’re a kid, you think things will always be the same, right? That your family will always be together, that home is always going to be there. Also while wishing fervently for the time to come when you can date, or drive, or any number of other milestones. And before you know it, you’re not home anymore, or at least not in your childhood home, your family is spread over seven states, and those family days are fewer and far between.

Anyone else has moments when they look back at these things and wish you’d paid closer attention, or to just go there for one day, one hour? Maybe it’s just the birthday. There are a lot of July birthdays in my family, and they all seem bunched up in a 7-10 day period, including a couple on the same day. But these days, we’re reduced to birthday cards in the mail, phone calls, text messages, and Facebook because none of us live close together.

So this is my long-winded way of saying pay attention to those days when you get to be with the people you love, always. If you’re lucky, you’ll continue to have lots more of them, and you’ll still have all the good memories. If you’re not as lucky, you will have the good memories, and even though they aren’t the same, they’re still a really nice thing to have as a substitute.

These days, we’re making new memories, just with a smaller group, and I know better now. These days and moments are precious and deserve full attention. My family birthday dinner will be this coming weekend. I am not making my own cake but ordered one from a place I love as a splurge, and our little group will have a good meal, followed by amazing cheesecake, and I will cherish every moment of it.

Since I last visited here, I have a new novella out, so I have an ebook version to give away in the winner’s format of choice. Just tell me something you know now that you wish you’d known “then” about birthdays. Or maybe just a favorite birthday memory? Everyone who shares by 11:00pm on July 30, 2020 will be entered in the giveaway.

Light the Way Home

Single dad Nate Baxter has his hands full with his son and his haunted lighthouse. He doesn’t have time to spend with a woman…especially one who won’t stick around, like his ex-wife.

But Lucie Russo’s not like other women Nate’s met. She’s sweet and sexy, and his mouth waters every time he’s around her.

Will a family emergency cause him to break his relationship rules? And if he does, will his heart be broken too?

Get your copy here!

Excerpt from Light the Way Home…

Lucie had been on Mac’s Light Island for almost three weeks, but the view from the back door of her temporary home still took her breath away. Right now, she realized she’d been standing there staring, slack-jawed, at the sunlight glinting off the grey-blue ocean waves for a good five minutes. Shaking her head, she pulled the door shut and stepped down onto the sidewalk, feeling in her purse for her car keys.

She closed her fingers on the fob as a giggle reached her ears. She turned to the white picket fence that bordered the property next door as a big multi-colored ball sailed over it, toward her. “Oh!” She caught it before it hit her in the face, then started across the grass, balancing the ball on her hand.

Another giggle sounded as she neared the fence, so she adjusted her direction a tiny bit and came to a stop looking directly down onto a tousled blond head.

“I think you lost something,” she said.

The little boy’s face tipped up quickly, his blue eyes wide with surprise–as if he couldn’t believe she’d found him already.

Lucie grinned and held the ball higher.

He smiled as he got to his feet, brushing off his jeans-clad knees.

From seeing him playing outside several times already, she’d guessed he might be four, but now at close range, she scaled that back to three.

“Hi, I’m Hayden,” he said, holding out his right hand.

It was her turn to be surprised. She shook his hand, bemused. “Hi, Hayden, I’m Lucie.” Not too many three-year-olds had such good manners. Aside from the ball toss at her face, that is. “Nice to meet you.”

He glanced up at his ball. “Me an’ my dad are your neighbors.”

“I see that.” She noted he hadn’t mentioned his mom. “Who were you playing with?” She gave the ball a little bounce.

“Maybe you wanna play with me.” Guileless blue eyes locked on her face.

Ah. She squelched the pang in her chest. “I wish I could, but I’m on my way to town. Maybe we can play another time?” she added when his grin vanished.

“Like this afternoon?”

“Hayden!”

The deep voice got her attention–and the boy’s–just before a tall, sandy-haired man rounded the back corner of the next-door house.

Lucie’s mouth went dry. Wowza!

About the Author

Elizabeth Andrews has been a book lover since she was old enough to read. She read her copies of Little Women and the Little House series so many times, the books fell apart. As an adult, her book habit continues. She has a room overflowing with her literary collection right now, and still more spreading into other rooms.  Almost as long as she’s been reading great stories, she’s been attempting to write her own.  Thanks to a fifth-grade teacher who started the class on creative writing, Elizabeth went from writing creative sentences to short stories and eventually full-length novels. Her father saved her poor, callused fingers from permanent damage when he brought home a used typewriter for her.

Elizabeth found her mother’s stash of romance novels as a teenager, and—though she loves horror—romance became her very favorite genre, making writing romances a natural progression.

Along with her enormous book stash, Elizabeth lives with her husband of twenty-six years and spends plenty of time with her two young adult sons who have recently flown the coop. When she’s not at work or buried in books or writing, there is a garden outside full of herbs, flowers, and vegetables that requires occasional attention.

You can find out more and keep up with news at her website: www.ElizabethAndrewsWrites.com