Hi all. I’m really glad to be here today. Thanks, Delilah for having me as a guest. Be sure to leave a comment because at the end of the day I’ll pick a name for a free ebook. ~Desiree

They live in Texas and they wear cowboy boots, but they aren’t ranchers. Nope, they build ranches. And a lot of other things, from houses to major developments. They are the McMann brothers—Alex with a masters in business administration, Josh with an advanced degree in architecture, and Tyler, the civil and construction engineer. Each one is better looking than his brothers and they cut a wide swath through the eligible women in San Antonio.

In Erector Set, you will meet each of them and learn his story.

First out of the gate is Erected, Josh’s story with Vanessa “Ness” Bowen.

Who can resist a pint-sized female with luscious curves stranded in a parking lot? Not Josh McMann. It’s his pleasure to save Ness Bowen, especially given the instant sensual chemistry that explodes between them. When she wrecks her car on the way to meet him for dinner, he saves her once again. And dinner at home takes on a whole new meaning as the sexual pull becomes too strong for either to ignore. The more they see each other, the more intense and erotic the sex becomes.

But Ness sees Josh as a player, and she’s been dumped by men like him who were always looking for the next conquest. Josh has his own trust issues, having been burned by women interested only in his money and power.

When a breakfast date goes awry and Ness thinks she’s been dumped once again, it takes a lot of fancy maneuvering from Josh to make amends.

“Yeah, hi,” he said when a male voice answered. “This is Josh McCann. Did you guys tow a…” He looked at Ness.

“White BMW,” she told him. “With navy interior. One day old,” she added, anxiety edging her voice.

Josh repeated the information into the phone. “Okay, thanks. Uh huh. Hold on.” He pressed a button on his phone, pulled out a slim stylus and wrote something down. “Got it. We’ll take care of it.”

He disconnected and shoved the phone back in his pocket.

“Well?” Ness looked to be more in control of herself even with anxiety written all over her face.

“They towed it. About an hour ago.” He looked at her curiously. “Were you in the restaurant? Why didn’t you give it to the valet?”

She tucked her hair behind her ear. “Because I’ve already had one car demolished a couple of weeks ago and I was hoping to last another twenty four hours before getting a second one dinged. I thought it would be a lot safer here.”

“Were you in there with friends?” He felt like he was digging the information out of her. “Where did they go? Can one of them take you to get your car?”

She sighed, fiddling with her hair again. “It was a business dinner. I can’t ask a client to take me to pick up my car that got towed. Anyway, he’s gone.”

“Not friends. A client.”

He looked at her cast then back at her face, one eyebrow raised.

She straightened her shoulders, trying to make herself taller. “My broken ankle has nothing to do with my ability to conduct business. I don’t talk with my foot.”

Josh swallowed a smile.

“Well, that kind of leaves you in a predicament, doesn’t it?”

She did that straightening thing with her body again, as if somehow she’d grow another six inches. “I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, thank you very much.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Really.” She clearly put as much indignation into the words as she could. She needed to get her game face back on.

“Could have fooled me.”

“Besides, I’ve bothered you enough. I’ll just go on into the restaurant and they can call a taxi for me.”

She turned and began to clump her way back down the sidewalk, shoving his handkerchief in her pocket.

“Hold it.” Josh reached out to take her arm. “Hold it a minute, will you? You don’t need a cab. I’ll take you. And it’s really not a bother.”

How many times had he said that in his life?

Find me at www.desireeholttellsall.com, Twitter @desireeholt and Facebook /desireeholt.

Flying out the door, so this will be quick! I’m heading to Hot Springs this morning with my daughter. We have some errands to run.

Thanks so much to everyone on FB and Twitter who sent their congratulations for the two awards I received on Valentine’s Day! It means a lot—getting the awards, sure, but also the fact you are always there to support me. Thank you!

So, while I’m away today, here’s a question to ruminate over—it’s an important one (cough):

If snow could fall in any flavor, what flavor would you choose?

See? Life’s simple.

Thanks to the marvelous Delilah Devlin for hosting me today!

Let me be the first to admit that I have a hard time sticking to one genre.

Oh, my three books are erotic historical romances, but they are, in order, 1) a Dickensian alternate history of the invention of the vibrator, 2) a straight-up Regency set almost entirely in a brothel, and 3) a story about a dead lord, in Hell, who falls in love with the demoness in charge of his punishment. So we’ve got an erotic steampunk romance, an erotic historical, and an erotic historical fantasy romance (for which I’m currently working on a sequel).

And that doesn’t even begin to count the many half-finished and mostly-plotted ideas I’m working on behind the scenes. The young adult fantasy with yetis, Finnish magic, and the Arabian Nights. The Australian love-potion romance. The psychic noir. The fantasy adventure trilogy that starts in the Roman Empire, jumps to medieval France, and ends in Victorian London. The contemporary karaoke romance, or the time-travel romance epic fantasy, or the steampunk space opera menage with bonus sexy robots and squidshifters.

Someone—I’m sure they meant well—once told me to write the books you’d like to read. I want to read all of these stories. I want more crazy westerns and science fiction romance and more historical fantasy—oh, how lucky we live at a time when historical fantasy is coming into its own! I want to read genres that don’t even have names yet! I want more books like Zoe Archer’s Blades of the Rose, or Isabel Cooper’s No Proper Lady, both of which I cannot recommend highly enough.

My own books—Generous Fire, Hearts and Harbingers, and Damned if You Do—are definitely unusual, but they’re only a step or two outside the borders. I want to plunge headlong into the wilderness.

My question for you today is: do you have a favorite genre?
Or do you hop around Romancelandia, like me?

This post is proudly a stop on the TEXAS TWO STEP Blog Tour. For a complete listing of all stops on this tour, please visit here. All contests are for U.S. residents only unless otherwise noted. Comments left on this blog will be counted toward the Texas Two Step Faithful Follower Gift Certificate. To see a complete listing of Blog Tour Prizes, click here. Be sure to check out the freebies. Yours for the asking as long as they last.

A mega-thank you to Delilah for hosting this stop on my blog tour. DD has been an unfailing supporter and friend. She listened to me whine, complain, and basically kvetch about everything from a muse who took an ill-timed vacation to judges who just didn’t like my voice. When I sold to Samhain, DD was one of the first authors I turned to for advice, and she’s never led me wrong…well, maybe astray a few times, but there was alcohol involved and we agreed never to mention it again.

The hero of Texas Two Step (Mitch Landry) doesn’t have a sister, but like most men, he knows the rule about messing with a friend’s little sister…which is, Don’t Do It. In college, he was in a fraternity with Travis and Jason Montgomery. During that time, he heard a lot about their little sister, Olivia (the heroine of Texas Two Step) and even met her once. But she had been in high school…just a kid, he’d thought to himself at the time. Now at SMU (Southern Methodist University) law school, he shares classes and a friendship with Jason Montgomery. He remembers Olivia as a teenager until he meets her at The Bourbon Cowboy bar on her twenty-first birthday.

Texas Two Step opens about ten years after this inadvertent meeting at The Bourbon Cowboy. So much of the time when a story opens and the couple has a history, we only get to hear about it in flashbacks or musings during the story. But Olivia and Mitch have such a love affair that I thought it only fair to share snippets of their past in a Texas Two Step Prequel. Today’s installment is The Meeting-Part Two. If you missed part one and want to read it before today’s episode, click here.

I never had an older brother to “watch” out for me or shoo the boys away. I had an older sister, but I’m thinking that’s different.

What I want to talk about today is the older-brother-younger sister dynamics. Did you have an older brother? Was he protective of you like we romance authors like to portray older brothers? Did you ever date one of his friends? What are the rules of dating your brother’s friend?

Today’s TTS Blog Tour Prize

Many guest bloggers can offer a copy of a backlist book to be given away as a potential prize for a blog commenter. As a debut author, I don’t have a backlist. But I do have some awesome author friends who have stepped forward and offered one of their books as a prize.

Today’s TTS Blog Tour Author Sponsor is Turquoise Morning Press author Keri Ford. Keri will send Uninhibited in Apple   Trail, Arkansas Vol. 2 to one lucky person who leaves a comment. To find out more about today’s Blog Tour Sponsor, you can visit her website, Twitter or Facebook.

To learn more about me check out these links:
website , Facebook. Twitter, Group Blog , and Personal Blog

And if those aren’t enough, Sign up for inside scoops and special contests by receiving the newsletter I share with my blog buddies.

Remember! Leave a comment for a chance to win Keri’s book!

Texas Two Step is available for preordering at Samhain, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble and I will be forever in your debt if you would buy it!

Tomorrow’s Tour Stop is at Riding With The Top Down Blog and episode Three of The Meeting. Hope to see you there!

Oops! I promised on Facebook that I would choose a winner to receive a free download of Arctic Dragon from Saturday’s commenters. That winner is (by random number generator)…Cindy Bartolotta! Cindy, send me an email to arrange delivery of your free book! And remember, if you didn’t win this time, on Thursday, I will name The Believe Fairy Contest winner—so be sure to post a comment!

I had fun last night, tweeting during the Grammy’s. I probably wouldn’t have watched the whole thing, but it was so much fun keeping company with Dakota, Emma and Joy and a host of others who praised and panned the performers, that I stuck through to the end. How wonderful was Adele’s performance? And Jennifer Hudson’s? Bruno Mars has a new fan girl here too. His performance was so much fun!

I’ve been thinking about making the drive to Little Rock this week to watch a movie in the near future. I live in the boonies, so movies require an hour’s drive.  I spent some time yesterday checking out trailers to see what looked like fun. I found this one…

Doesn’t this look like fun?! Looks like Julia Roberts’ evil queen will steal the show!

Do you have any upcoming movies you want to see on the big screen?

RIP, Whitney

A note, first. I spent the night at my daughter’s last night. We were playing with our new Razr phones, adding apps, battling Angry Birds, when the first message popped up about Whitney. Both of us were saddened. The Red-Headed Hellion was a huge fan. I remember her dancing in the living room as a very little girl with karoake mike in her hand, singing, “I wanna dance with somebody…”

Chirping Like a Bird

Music means a lot to me. This morning, I wanted a reason to smile. I dare anyone who watches the video to not be twittering like a bird after watching this video.

We’re hoping to snag tickets today for Tom Petty’s concert at the Verizon, April 12th. Regina’s opening for him!

Sunday Report Card

This was a more productive week than last week. TG!

1) I have something in the works for Ellora’s Cave. Another My Immortal Knight. I have new covers for books 2-4 that I hope will attract new readers to the series, because I want to continue visiting that world. The first thing is a repurposing of a quickie I self-published. My freaky little succubus story. Following that will be the completion of Viper and Mariah’s story. Yay! Viper’s been waiting for an HEA forever!
2) I submitted a paranormal story that’s half-written to a publisher. Witches, demons, a bit of police drama in the mix. Cross your fingers!
3) Lastly, I am nearing the end of Dragon’s Desire. I hope to finish it up in the next couple of days. Since it’s a straight-to-Kindle project, it won’t be long before you can read it.

Remember, The Believe Fairy Contest continues! Be sure to click the link for the rules! And post a comment to enter! Ciao, for now!

What was your favorite Whitney song?

Enjoy an excerpt from an oldie set in a cold, cold place. The setting’s perfect for the pair you’re about to meet. I used a Russian Fairytale, a little Norse myth, and stirred it in a bowl together to come up with this odd little fairy tale. 🙂

“…ARCTIC DRAGON is a captivating fairytale…”
4 Kisses, Two Lips Reviews

“…Delilah Devlin is an awesome author who knows how to get a reader’s attention and keep them coming back for more…Ms. Devlin has written a fantastic story that explodes right off the pages…”
5 Angels & Recommended Read, Fallen Angels Reviews

Headstrong, and seeking a little respite from a suitor’s relentless wooing, Queen Larikke rides the arctic wind far beyond the bounds of Northland, only to have her horse bolt at a shot from a hunter’s gun. Her “rescuer” is a handsome, mysterious man who lives alone in the wilderness, his cabin filled with erotic images of women.

Rather than fearing her fate, Larikke sets out to seduce him, hoping for one last fling before she settles down to do her duty and wed. Thinking he was saving a life, Drake dragged a very strange woman home, stripped her, and warmed her by his fire. Now he finds his long, self-imposed isolation may have made her allure impossible for him to resist and that he’ll endanger her when he shares his special kiss.

A blanket of fresh powder muffled his footsteps. For a moment, the bitter cold wind died down. The stillness invited him deeper into the clearing. Something in the air alerted him, an intuition that was part of his true nature told him to wait.

Wind had blown snow against large tree trunks, forming deep banks where the tall green sentinels stood close together. Everywhere pure, pristine white dusted the tops of branches, cloaking them in rich, thick wonder. Precious sunlight peeked from behind a dark gray cloud and refracted like a billion tiny prisms on frozen crystals that gilded the uppermost layer of the snow.

His breaths seemed loud, intrusive and he concentrated on being quiet so that he didn’t disturb—not that anyone was would hear him this deep in the wilderness.

Rather, all was hushed, expectant. Quiet like he preferred now. Content at last with his own company.

The first few months had been the worst. The silence had nearly driven him nuts. Now, he barely noticed. Sounds other than voices, the hum of electricity or the roar of a passing engine were replaced with softer, more predictable ones—the rustle of pine needles as a breeze swept through outstretched branches, the resonant creaking when snow weighed the branches down. The rustle of animals as they scratched in the snow for food.

The voices inside his head had also faded. The strident ones that had called him a freak and the startled screams—well, they couldn’t reach him here.

If he missed the company of a woman—so be it. Other parts of his existence flourished in the solitude. Almost filling the aching void. The decision he’d made had been the right one. He’d spend the rest of his life—however long—alone.

Do no harm.

He lived by that rule now. At least in regard to people.

For now, he had a stew pot to fill, and he’d tracked a lone deer through the forest to this spot. A soft snort, and he found the doe digging with her hooves to uncover whatever she could still forage beneath the snow.

Drake tugged off his mittens and raised his rifle, setting the stock snug against his shoulder. He had the doe in his sights and slowly pulled back on the trigger, when an unexpected tinkling sound, like bells carried on the wind, drew his attention. His gaze strayed for only moment. As his attention returned to his quarry, a sudden icy wind swept up snow, obscuring his view.

The shadow of the deer still in his scope, he pulled the trigger, jerking the barrel upward at the last moment when he realized he wasn’t looking at a doe at all—but a woman on a bay-colored horse! Read the rest of this entry »