I’m blogging in two places today. Be sure to check out the Samhain Blog where I’m talking about Cowboys, but be sure to comment here first to be entered in the Mermaid Journal contest (details in Tuesday’s post)! The winner will be announced tomorrow! ~DD

What can be hotter than Hell? In Darkness Captured, I tortured my characters, sending them to The Land of the Dead, forcing them to submit to untold indignities and dark pleasures. It was a completely decadent, utter joy to write. Here’s a snippet. Hope you enjoy!

“Delilah Devlin delivers an erotic tale of good and evil elevated to a higher level… The erotic scenes in this book are hotter than Hades and ten times more tempting. I dare you to resist!” 5 Cups, Coffee Time Romance

“Darkness Captured is…another steamy sensation!… Delilah Devlin is definitely the mistress of erotic romance!” Reader to Reader Reviews

“Another hot read of dark sensuality, riveting situations and jaw-dropping desire.” Fresh Pick!, Fresh Fiction

“Devlin creates memorable characters with exceptional emotional depth. Her magical worldbuilding sets as atmospheric scene for a fast-paced story. The sexual tension runs high and the encounters are smokin’ hot.” 4 Stars, RT Book Reviews

Driven by insatiable desire, a werewolf will enter hell to rescue a princess captured by the Master of Demons…

Headstrong and proud—a royal creature of sinuous grace, all primal instinct and lethal beauty—the shapeshifter Gabriella has agreed to serve as emissary to the vampires who rule in the shadows of the New Orleans night. But she cannot resist the pull of the demon she glimpses on the other side of a mirror, and she is drawn to him hungrily, through a magical portal into the Land of the Dead. Now an eternal nightmare awaits Gabriella at the hands of a mesmerizing dark lord who satisfies her every erotic need…while slowly devouring her soul.

The powerful warrior wolf Guntram Brandt is responsible for the safety of the vanished princess he swore allegiance to years before. Yet it is more than a soldier’s loyalty that pulls Guntram down into the depths of nightmare—for Gabriella ignites within him a burning animal passion that must be satisfied.

But when offered an escape, will she follow her rescuer to safety—torn between her lustful obsession with the dark lord who has enslaved her and her fierce sensual attraction to the only wolf who could ever master her?

Bright light streamed into The Master’s chamber, softened only by the mesh curtains closed against the morning sunlight.

Gabriella cracked open her eyes and listened, but heard no footsteps, no breaths or faint heartbeats. She inhaled through her nose, but found only the stale aroma of sex and Marduk’s fading musk.

She was alone.

Gingerly, she sat up, grimacing at the small intimate aches. Her mind spun with the images that flitted through her mind of all the nasty things she’d done. Her hand smoothed over her skin, touching on raised welts, still hot to the touch. A glance downward assured her they weren’t all that visible, were no longer red, just shallow stripes of raised flesh. She pinched one and groaned, loving the way the pain induced a heady arousal that rushed beneath her skin, flushing her, heating her sex.
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An Inspiring Man at 20″

There was a time when I drove an hour and a half each way to spend time with a man. Many know of his extraordinary strength, courage, ingenuity, and sexual prowess. He was always naked and prepared to conquer me, which is why I can tell you he is beyond gorgeous and a true hero. However, one day I turned around, and lost myself to another.

HA! A bit flowery, but oddly true. Way back when for almost three months I went once a week to visit and study a 76″ sculpture called The Lansdowne Herakles. That’s right, he was originally known as Herakles until the Romans decided to call him Hercules, but enough about that. It was no hardship to study this particular sculpture and yet, no matter how wonderful he is, Herakles was not who inspired me to write Tied Up For Love, that honor belong to a lesser character who was broken.

When the work I needed to do was finished, I would leave the courtyard where Herakles stood and spend time with Marsyas. The sculpture is small at less than 20″ and has lost some bits, but he still packs a powerful punch. While his pose, arms stretched above his head, is seductive the story behind it isn’t so much. I won’t go into details as it plays a part in Tied Up For Love, although I will tell you he pissed off the wrong Olympian, and paid a big price for being the best.

The sculpture has been with me in photos I’ve taken over the years. That’s right, I continue to visit him, although he’s currently not on show – shame. Anyway, this is such a memorable piece that when I was sat down to write another installment in my Mythological Messes Redux series, I chose Marsyas. Not only was he cut off at his prime, but later artisans and mythologists messed up his origins, and his importance was lost.

The picture above [from the Getty Museum website] hung on the wall above my monitor and I wrote this man a seriously hot and somewhat kinky second chance.

Thank you, Delilah, for allowing me to share how a sculpture fed my need to write Tied Up For Love.

Filla is a nymph used to the raucous ways of a Dionysian festival and allows a handsome newcomer, Marsyas, to strip her down for a passionate interlude while tied to a tree. After time spent alone, together, she knows little about him beyond the physical. However, her feelings for him are growing until he brings her back for the next festival, and suddenly she’s not sure of anything.

Love is found in the most unlikely places, but will it last?

eBook now available at All Romance.

Tilly Greene
WARNING! Red hot romances ahead!
www.tillygreene.com

ARe Cafe│Hot Thoughts Blog│Facebook│Twitter

I am slammed this morning—the six-year old is getting Citizen of the Month at her school and there’s going to be a special breakfast. Funny, considering she was kicked out of pre-school for misbehavior and spent three weekends in the high school detention center as a kindergartener for fighting. I’m not missing the breakfast!

So there will be no winner announced in the Mermaid contest this AM. I want to have the next prize ready to go and I have to look through a ton of entries here and Facebook. What I’m taking a helluva long way around saying is that you have one more shot at winning!

Post a comment here, or on Access Romance where I had to dash out another blog! So TWO more chances to win.

And as a side note, Her Soul to Keep is now ready for you to order! Be sure that if you do buy it, that you take a moment to tag, like and review it! I’d be forever grateful!

You can buy it at the following sites:
Buy at Amazon.com
Buy at Barnes & Noble
Buy at All Romance eBooks
Buy at Smashwords

Turn Around, I Forgot The Pig: Superstitions, Charms,
and How We Trick Ourselves Into Writing

by Michelle Moore and S. Reesa Herberth

Michelle

While I doubt that any of us are as bad as professional sports players (I, for one, have never worn the same underwear for a week!), we writers have our quirks. Quirks, idiosyncrasies, traditions… superstitions. Okay, we don’t really like to call them superstitions. That makes us sound so, well, superstitious. But I suspect everyone has some sort of a process they go through to get ready to write.

Like me, for an example. Before I settle in for an evening of productivity, I slip into a gold lame tuxedo jacket, braid some chameleon tails (naturally lost, of course) in my hair, and peddle a unicycle around the dining room table. Okay, not really. But there was a time when I couldn’t write a word without a bowl of Crunchy M&Ms at my side. Imagine my dismay and horror when Mars discontinued them. It wasn’t pretty.

Now that I have two novels under my belt, what’s my course of action? Am I as shortsighted in my choices? Well, as long as Starbucks stays solvent, I should be okay. Five days a week, I pack up my purple Dell mini, my purple thumb drive, my “Working Writer’s Daily Planner” and my little stuffed guinea pig and head to the neighborhood Starbucks. I do not leave without the pig. Let me repeat. Do. Not. Forget. The. Pig.

There are two acceptable tables, the preferred one is next to the mug display. The computer goes in the middle of the table, the planner goes on the window ledge, and the pig goes on the right hand side of the computer, sitting on top of my phone. Centered on top of my phone. I order the same drink, grande Java Chip Frappacino with four pumps peppermint and six scoops chips, and that goes on the left hand side of the computer on a napkin. Then and only then am I ready to write.

I’m insecure and I need some validation. Surely I’m not the only person out there with so many, err, issues. Help Michelle feel better about herself. Share some craziness. (Talking about yourself in the third person is not a requirement.)

—

Reesa

It only stands to reason that since Michelle and I write the same stories, and work at the same time, we’d have similar writing jinxes. I don’t -need- a grande skim caramel macchiato to write, but I’m not saying I’d ever turn one down. As outlined above, I clearly have to jockey for space on the table, but I’ve been known to bring my own little touchstones with me, namely a squishy pineapple stress toy that feels nice and bumpy in my hand when I need a moment of clarity.
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UPDATE! Her Soul to Keep is available now on both
Smashwords and All Romance Ebooks!

I’m extending the Mermaid Journal contest through Thursday, because 1) I want to finish packaging previous winners’ gifts for mailing, and 2) I want to begin a contest to help get the word out regarding Her Soul to Keep. I’ll be uploading the story to Kindle, Smashwords, Nook and All Romance today. Hopefully by Thursday, I’ll be able to point you to the book.

In the meantime, here’s an excerpt. Enjoy!

Minutes later, they arrived hand-in-hand and winded at her front door.

Viper cut a quick glance around them, straining for the crunch of footsteps and the beat of a telltale heart. No one lingered in the shadows around them.

Specters from his other life hadn’t followed him here.

Earlier, before he’d stalked her, he’d been careful not to lead anyone else to her door. He’d scrubbed the scent of blood, booze, and cigarettes from his skin and hair, and dressed in freshly laundered clothing. He’d laid down a trail in the opposite direction from her house and backtracked.

No one would ever connect her to him. No one could ever know how precious she was. The seamy underbelly of the dark world he moved inside would never touch her.

He’d sacrificed everything to make sure of that.

Her keys jangled as she clumsily fit one into the lock. “Don’t be expecting too much. I didn’t know I’d bring company back with me tonight.”

The door swung open, and she stepped inside.

Viper followed on her heels, not letting her put space between them. His hands gripped the sides of her hips, and he pushed her deeper inside before kicking the door closed behind them.

Then he pulled her backward, wrapping both arms around her waist and gliding his lips along the top of her shoulder and up her neck, finding the pulse thrumming just beneath the skin.

Her head fell against his shoulder, and his teeth began the slow slide downward. He jerked back his head, trying to get control of himself.

She drew deep, rasping breaths into her lungs. “What’s wrong? Why did you stop?”
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Do you agree? This was the first draft the designer gave me. “Let me know what you don’t like,” she’d said in the email. There wasn’t one thing I didn’t like. The cover captures the tone of the story perfectly. I’m sharing it today to let you know that tomorrow, I’ll be working on uploading the book to Amazon, Nook, All Romance and Smashwords. It will likely take a day or two for the story to be live, but what better things do you have to do than hit the refresh key? 😆

One night of pleasure…

His name is Viper—a dark mysterious enigma who rules the seedy, dangerous vampiric underworld. For one night, he will escape his murky prison and tempt an innocent.

…can last a lifetime…

Beautiful Mariah haunts him. Lures him from his den with a glimpse of his past. One she doesn’t remember. This night, he’ll be her dream lover. He’ll seduce her, make her fall in love with him—then leave her. Again.

One night of pleasure is all they must know.

Read an excerpt

Just a few announcements…

Today is THE LAST DAY to enter the Mermaid Journal contest. See last Tuesday’s posting for a picture of the pretty prize!

I’m also blogging at Everything Erotic today. I posted a very long, juicy scene. You won’t want to miss it!

Tonight, I’ll be in live chats at Writerspace. Join me, along with other authors from Ellora’s Cave at 8 PM EST. Then stick around to talk with authors from After Midnight Fantasies at 9 PM EST. Here’s the URL for the chat room: Writerspace Chat Room

Remember! Post a comment and be entered in the Mermaid Journal contest! ~DD

Short but Sexy

The short story is under-rated. When it’s good, it’s really good. A short story can pull you into its world within the first few lines, thrust you through intense drama and then surprise you at the end.

Examples of some hit short stories include Stephen King’s, The Stand, and 1408, both of which were made into hugely successful movies, and Edgar Allen Poe’s, The Pit and the Pendulum.

These days everything seems to want to be long. It’s as if some writers are in competition with each other, trying to see who can write the longest manuscript. But bigger doesn’t always mean better.

As author Mark Twain once famously wrote to his friend, ‘I would have written a shorter letter, but I didn’t have the time.’

In many ways, writing a short story is harder than writing a novel. There isn’t the opportunity to hope the reader falls in love with the characters within a few chapters. Instead, the character must be big enough to be believed in and adored within a few paragraphs. The story needs to have a plot and the characters need to have a past, but this information needs to be filtered in and not simply dumped in one big heap.

Writing erotic short stories is sometimes even harder than writing non-erotic stories. Of course, the sex is important. It has to be smoking hot and it needs to happen within a few pages. However, this doesn’t mean that the story itself should be lost, or that the characters have any less depth or background.

Generally my short stories start with a situation: a woman gets into difficulties while out for a swim in a rough ocean, a man returns to his parents home to find the girl next door is no longer a little girl, a business man is accosted by a hot air hostess while on a long haul flight. Once I’ve got the situation sorted out, then the characters start to build in my mind. I ask myself who they are, what are their likes and dislikes—their favourite foods and music—how do they like to dress? Then I start to look into their past. What has happened in their past to get them into their present situation?

I like to end my stories with a happy-ever-after or a happy-for-now ending, but my favourite type of ending is a twist, something even I didn’t see coming.

The great thing about a short story is that it has such immediate gratification, both for the writer and the reader. There isn’t the six months writing the first draft, followed by another six months of revisions, then another six months of submitting before you even hear something. Writing short stories are fun, and getting the acceptances are even better.

So get writing everyone. Craft your short stories with the love you give your novels, but remember if less has ever been more, it is certainly true in a short!

Author Bio:

M.K. Elliott is the author of the bestselling short story collection, Rescued. A British author, she was born in Devon, England, where she now lives with her husband, two young daughters, a crazy Spanish rescue dog and four hens. Though she has a degree in Zoology, her true love has always been writing and she now works as a full time author. M.K. writes everything from contemporary romance to steaming hot erotica, and her love of travel and adventure is her main influence in her stories.

Rescued is available to buy from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. If you would like to know more about M.K. then please visit her Facebook Page. Her short stories also appear in the Kindle blog and eBooks, Everything Erotic.