Psst! Yesterday’s winner is at the bottom of this post!

What an appropriate title! Did Lauren curse us? This morning, the snow is still deep enough to warrant UGGs. Not that I have any ambitions beyond snuggling deeper into my Snuggie and watching cartoons with the kids. Maybe I’ll find my ambition again after a round of Fairy Odd Parents. 😀

“…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!

The shot went wild, but the horse gave a high-pitched whinny and reared, dumping the woman to the ground before bolting.

Drake threw down his rifle, swearing silently as he clomped on unwieldy snowshoes toward the figure lying like a spill of red paint against a white canvas. Her fur-lined scarlet cloak fanned around her slender body. He knelt in its folds to reach for the woman who had yet to open her eyes.
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If you post a comment today, you’ll be in the running
for a free download of this book!

I chose this excerpt today because Moses Brown’s on my mind. You see, he didn’t get a happy ending in Uncovering Navarro, and I think he needs one. In fact, I’m writing his story right now. And you won’t have to wait months and months to read it. But more about that another day. Enjoy this glimpse of Moses and his FB. Then be sure to comment so that you’re entered to win!

“UNCOVERING NAVARRO is an action packed, fast paced, scorching, erotic thriller. With delicious love scenes, wry humor and non-stop thrills, UNCOVERING NAVARRO is a guaranteed page turner that’ll delight the reader.”
5 Drops of Blood, Vampire-Erotica.net

”I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys stories of vampires and things that go bump in the night. UNCOVERING NAVARRO is an extraordinary read by an extraordinary author.”
5 Cups, Coffee Time Romance

Sidney Coffey, Seattle ‘s “News at Nine” girl, uncovers the scoop of a lifetime and her ticket into “serious journalism”. The only problem is — without proof, no one’s going to believe the victims of recent gang killings are in fact “undead” and vampires!

With her gut telling her there’s an even bigger story lurking beneath the surface, she decides to beard a reclusive vampire master in his den for an interview. But meeting the master only complicates things. For a woman with a voracious sexual appetite, the tall, dark and gloomy vamp proves an irresistible challenge.

When a reporter trespasses on his estate, Navarro is at first amused, then annoyed that the little baggage is close to putting together the pieces of a dangerous plot involving an old enemy and a group of murdered geneticists. To keep her safe, Navarro issues an invitation he won’t let her refuse.

“Sid, get that cute, little tail of yours behind the yellow tape, now!” Moses Brown bit back a grin at the look of pure irritation that crossed Sidney P. Coffey’s face.

“Hi there, Moses. Long time, no see.” She ducked back under the crime scene tape and turned, taking a moment to pull the white cuffs of her shirt from below the edges of her leather jacket.

She was stalling. Moses could almost see the gears turning over in her head. The woman didn’t know when to give up.

When she glanced his way, a smile was plastered on her face. “By the way, congratulations on the promotion, detective. The new suit makes your shoulders look even broader.”

His gaze narrowed. The only time she wasted a second on small talk was when she wanted something—bad. “Sid, you’re not gettin’ inside that house.”
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Here’s something we haven’t done in a while. A question. Just for us. And purely for our own pleasure.

What thought or sentiment would you like to have copied
and put into one million fortune cookies?

My personal favorite would be, “You snooze, you lose.” What’s yours? Doesn’t have to be cute or clever. Fortune cookie sayings rarely are. 🙂

I’d been itching to write a wedding story for awhile, but I couldn’t write about the bride and groom—they’re already at their happy-ever-after. The Nora Roberts bride books were intriguing, but I didn’t want to go to that level of research.

Then I went to a wedding in the Hill Country. It was a gorgeous setting, a limestone and glass building, an open floor plan, a gorgeous patio on the cliffs overlooking the Pedernales River. Perfect for my story.

And I watched a bridesmaid and a groomsman make eyes at each other. There was the story. Why should the bride and groom have all the fun? That it turned out to be erotic was just a bonus as Eric and Haven rediscovered the passion they’d found when they met at the bride and groom’s engagement party.

In my story, I added hotel rooms for the wedding party to slip in and out of, and lengthened the wedding to a weekend-long event to give my hero and heroine lots of time to sneak around.

Do you like wedding stories? What are some of your favorites?

Two Step Temptation is available from Samhain Publishing for $1.75 this week!

What Goes On Behind Closed Doors?

By Donna Alward

A big huge Thank You to Delilah for hosting me today! It’s kind of a special day. I have a print release from Samhain Publishing that hits shelves today and anytime a book releases it’s a reason to celebrate, I think!

SOLD TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER evolved from a simple idea: what if a wife bought her husband off a bachelor auction block? The first question of course is…why is a married man in a bachelor auction? Turns out the answer that came back to me was that the marriage wasn’t exactly a functioning relationship. In fact, the moment the heroine sees him on the stage is the first time she’s clapped eyes on him since right after their wedding. Over a decade earlier.

Most of my published works are written for Harlequin Romance, and as such the bedroom door is closed. Sometimes stuff happens behind those closed doors, and sometimes not. I’m okay with that—the emotional journey is always first and foremost after all! But every now and again I like to write a little hotter. Sometimes I write those “closed door” scenes just for me. They don’t make it into the book, but I know what’s happened. And knowing the details, I know exactly what the consequences—emotional and otherwise—will be for the characters.

I have more latitude with my Samhain books, and I really enjoyed letting loose with this story. Dev is pretty darn sexy, and Ella would rather forget just how spectacular the fireworks are between them. But of course, she can’t! And I let the door stay wide open for those scenes. It was pretty fun, actually, and I ended up being quite happy with the results. One reader reviewed the book and commented that, “A reader would expect this book to be ‘hot’ and it really is. What I didn’t expect was for the ‘hot’ scenes to be so well integrated into the plot that the story would not have moved forward without them. How, when, where, and why the hero and heroine make love is woven seamlessly into the plot.”

I’ve got an excerpt for you—more of a teaser of what’s to come, really. It’s the first night Ella and Dev have seen each other since she left him, and they’ve toasted their troubles with a good amount of bourbon…

He tried to turn her and steer her to the bedroom. Good Lord, she was going to have a head on her in the morning. He hadn’t meant for her to get this tipsy. Of course, she was a little bit of a thing. Compact, a bundle of energy and passion. Her breast grazed his hand and he gritted his teeth. If she hated him now, she’d really despise him in the morning if they slept together. Almost as much as he’d hate himself. He was in control. It was time she knew that. If she thought she’d get what she came for easily, she had another thing coming.

He’d take what he wanted first.

“Dev?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re so tall. You know that, right?”

He smiled. She could make it so hard to hate her, especially when she used that soft, slightly plaintive tone like she had to have it or she’d just die. “Yeah, rumor has it.”

“No, I mean really tall. Tall like women like their men to be tall. So that we have to tip our head back and look way up.” She sighed, her sex-kitten eyelids drifting half-shut. “Sexy tall.”

“Shut up, Ell.” A muscle ticked in his jaw and in another strategic location. If she kept looking at him that way he was going to find it very difficult to put her in bed and walk away. But he’d be damned if he’d give in to her tonight. No matter what it cost him.

They took two steps.

“Dev?”

He sighed.

“Yes, Ell?”

She gripped his other arm so she was facing him, looking up at him with her dark eyes and lips red and slightly puffy, ripe to be kissed. He swallowed, hard. God, how he’d loved her.

She did it then, standing up on her tiptoes, melding her mouth to his, the flavor of the bourbon seducing them tongue-to-tongue. His mouth opened in an instinctive reaction to feeling hers on it. He lifted one hand and cupped her head, sending the prim twist askew, hairpins dropping to the floor. Her breasts were firm against his chest and she let go briefly to tug at the hem of his T-shirt.

“Take this off,” she murmured, pulling the hem up over his abs. “Not in front of the bar. Not for Katie McGrew.” She said the other woman’s name with just enough venom for Dev to enjoy the surprising fact she was jealous. “Take it off for me.”

For her. The words fired him up and he reached behind his head, grabbing at the collar and pulling it over in one swift movement. This much. He’d allow this much. He’d let her get a good hard reminder of what she’d thrown away. But no more. They didn’t dare go any further.

Her fingers trailed down over his skin, the sensitive skin of his ribs, down his shoulder and to his elbow. “Mmm.”

He slid his hand over her blouse, allowing himself one gratifying handful as he kissed her fully. Despite the Jim Beam or the years that had passed, her taste was as familiar to him as the smell of sweetgrass. Ella. His Ella. He kept his mouth fused to hers as he blindly undid the buttons of her blouse, filling his hands with her breasts once the fabric fell away. Her hand slid around to cup his bottom through his jeans.

A murmur sounded deep in her throat and he knew he had to stop, reminded himself that sex right now would only make things worse. He couldn’t afford to spend Saturday dealing with post-coital fallout. She’d blame him for…what? There would be something, he was sure, and it would be all his fault and none of hers. No, tonight he’d leave her wanting more. He was the one with the self-control here. He’d get her to damn near ache for him, the way he’d ached for her for months after she’d abandoned him. And then maybe he’d sign her precious papers. After his lawyer’d looked at them. His terms, he reminded himself. She owed him that.

It took all his resolve, but he backed away, leaving her standing stunned and utterly beautiful.

“Go to bed, Ella.” He pushed her towards the single bedroom. “If you don’t, you’ll hate yourself in the morning far worse than you hate me right now.”

She turned and stared up at him with dazed, hurt eyes. He couldn’t bear for her to argue, so he walked out into the cool September air, letting the screen door slap behind him.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Thanks for sharing today with me! You can catch up with me at my site, or on twitter—@DonnaAlward.

I was not a ball of fire this month.

Yeah, way more than a sane human ought to consider doing in one month, but I always like to shoot high! 😉

The winner of the $25.00 gift certificate is posted at the end of this blog!

This is kind of a random blog today. For my own sake, I NEED to do a Report Card so that you can all scold me, and I can get mad at myself and get to work! On the other hand, I’ve been gone so long that I’ve missed making a few little announcements. So read on!

Real quick recap. I wrote 3 pages this last week. 3 FREAKING PAGES. Nuff said? 3 FREAKING pages a week will get you a book in a FREAKING decade. So puh-lease, tell me how lazy I am. Or better yet, how you’re waiting anxiously for the next story. I need to picture your grasping hands reaching through the monitor to wring my neck if I don’t get to work.

So, on to other more interesting things…

I have a newish interview up at Coffee Time Romance. Check it out if you’d like to know a little more about what was in my crazy head when I wrote Darkness Captured! Interview at Coffee Time Romance

Thought you might like a sneak peek at a book that’s coming out in July 2011. I have a short story in this compilation, entitled Hot Out Here.

Twenty-five unashamedly modern romances with a strong erotic element aimed at the women’s market. Twenty-five unashamedly modern short romances which don’t shy away at the bedroom door from the crème de la crème of contemporary romance writers, including Lilith Saintcrow, Louisa Burton, Anna Windsor, Susan Sizemore, Michelle M. Pillow, Rebecca York, Charlotte Stein, Shiloh Walker, Victoria Janssen, Saskia Walker and Cathy Clamp.

This is writing which is more direct, less euphemistic, and frankly accepting of sexuality – fiercely hot stories of flesh and blood and feelings which will entrance and beguile romance readers.

Here’s a little snippet!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Beads of condensation, glittering jewel-like in the sputtering candlelight, ran in rivulets down the sides of Jason’s ice-cold beer.

Detail I shouldn’t have been able to note, given the fact I wasn’t anywhere near him.

As I lowered my nephew’s toy binoculars, I reflected that I had indeed sunk to a new low. You see, my bedroom window conveniently overlooked Jason and Robert’s fenced backyard. A fact that never registered with the previous tenants, but one that proved too delicious to ignore after the arrival of the handsome duo.

I began a furtive surveillance at once. One that had me cringing in embarrassment each time I greeted them in passing and feeling even more ashamed when we struck up a friendship.
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