Wanna know what makes me cry? The old Hallmark commercials for sure. But I received something last night that hit me right at my core. I’m a storyteller. It’s what I do, but it’s also what I am. I work damn hard. Sure, I get to wear jammies and sweats and my office is just feet away from where I sleep. That doesn’t sound so tough, right? Well, sometimes it really is. When I wrote Ravished by a Viking, there were so many factors I didn’t have control over. The cover—I mean, what’s with the kilt? The print run. It’s not nearly large enough to impress. My publisher’s support. Well, since I’m new to Berkley, I’m kinda on my own. What I did have control over was the story. And it came straight from my heart. Back to what I received last night…

I opened my email to my first review. What touched me was that the reviewer knew what I accomplished was damn hard. And she got it. All of it. I’m including the whole review here, but it’s posted on her website too, Alien Places.

Ravished by a Viking

a novel by Delilah Devlin
Reviewed by Masha Holl

Clash of cultures, clash of myths, clash of powerful personalities: it should be easy to review Ravished by a Viking, a novel of erotic science fiction by Delilah Devlin. After all, how many authors can bring out on paper the excitement and more-than-willing suspension of disbelief that old fashioned adventure stories once brought us?

A kidnapped brother. A battle of wills between a ship’s captain and a planetary warlord. On one side, human colonists toughened by the harsh environment they’ve mastered, and who still praise and reward sheer physical strength. On the other, a galactic empire used to relying on the power of energy weapons and science.

And in the middle, our heroes. Men, women, wills and desires. Dagr, Clan-leader of the Wolfskins, who only looks like an unpolished barbarian. And Honora Turgay, who loses her ship to the Viking leader, but never surrenders her determination.

Ravished by a Viking is a myth come to life, but it’s also the story of two people: adventure, passion, discovery, transformation. All of Delilah’s scenes burn with energy, whether she writes believable, exciting, and heart-pounding action scenes, or scorching, breath-stealing, and enviable sexual encounters.

Yes, it should be easy to review one of Delilah Devlin’s stories, because each one of them delivers the promise of a great read, abundant humor, and larger-than-life characters. Delilah is a born storyteller, and knows how to build the tension on all levels, entwining sensual conquest with a growing friendship between the main characters, slowly turning what could become redundant sniping into clever flirting. And most importantly, she always surprises the reader – and sometimes the characters themselves.

But a reviewer should also announce to the reader what to expect beyond the open cover. Is it a romance? Of course, and I’ll say no more. But that would leave out the cleverly built and logical world of space-travel and alien societies her characters inhabit.

Is is science fiction? Of course. We have space-travel and ancient civilizations and the kind of questions science-fiction authors like to ask. But that would leave out the intense relationships between the characters.

Is it erotica? Oh yes, with scenes as hot and intense as Delilah can write, as charged emotionally as they are physically, it has to be. But that would leave out the character development and the world building and the tight plotting.

Yes, it was hard to write a review of Ravished by a Viking when the story speaks for itself you’re ready to re-read rather than write about it. But if I didn’t, you wouldn’t hear about it, and you’d miss a wonderful, action-packed, emotional roller-coaster of a read.

Psst! Today’s the last day to enter the Cat Tails Poll #3 contest! See Saturday’s post for details!

I know you have those books on your keeper shelf. The ones whose heroes make you hot and purr every time you open the pages and sink into that man. From my keeper shelf there are two heroes I most love.

First, there’s Wolf from Makenzie’s Mountain by Linda Howard. He’s so primal, so intense I melt from the very first line of the story—“He needed a woman. Bad.” He’s native american with a dark mysterious past. And yet he has a son he’s fiercely protective of. Yum!

Then there’s Challen-Ly-San-ter from Johanna Lindsey’s Warrior Woman—Seven feet of studliness and an other world male. So you know the author had license to make him the biggest, the baddest and the sexiest man alive.

Then there are the heroes I’ve personally written. Of my own heroes, whom you might already have read from my books, I would have been most attracted to the following:

Gunnar from Darkness Captured. I love smoldering intensity and a man’s man. Gunnar will save his princess or die. And once he has her, he’s not going to let her say no. Grrrrr….add a little fur (he is a werewolf) and there’s nothing sexier—to me.

Ezra Kinzie from Four Sworn and Breaking Leather. He’s built like a god (I like them big and burly). And his focus is homed with precision on his woman. The fact he’s got to be in charge of every sexual encounter is a huge plus.

You haven’t had a chance to read Ravished by a Viking yet, but my Viking king Dagr, the leader of the Wolfskin clan, would sit well on this list. Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll introduce you to Dagr and his universe. I think you’ll fall in love. In the meantime…

Tell me which heroes you’ve written or read you’d most like to do. (They don’t have to be mine. I’m a reader too and am always looking for suggestions!)

Don’t forget! There’s still time to enter your vote on the final Cat Tails poll and win an e-gift certificate! See Saturday’s entry!

What a week! If you haven’t checked out my bog in a while there’s a lot happening. THREE CONTESTS are running right now. Be sure to enter them all. I really appreciate all your help getting the word out about my upcoming print release Ravished by a Viking. I want this book to do well because I would like to continue to write about my Vikings in space. Sounds like a strange concept, but just wait until you read the first book. I really think you’ll be hooked!

This week I finally finished the novella for the Harlequin Bite. The Warrior will be out in June 2011 and is part of the Time Raiders series. I had a terrible time writing that story because I was so burned out with the other two December 1st deadline books (Enslaved by a Viking and Girls Who Bite), but the two extra weeks it took to finish the Bite were well worth it.

In addition, I started a new short novella—a straight to Kindle project. It’s a western, so those of you who love the cowboys won’t have to wait terribly long to see it.

This week is of course the rush to Christmas. I still have a few gifts to buy, but I’m almost there. My sister’s family will be visiting for the holiday. We’ll have a full house, and knowing my sister, we’ll be huddling at the kitchen table brainstorming new projects for the new year.

I’ll be starting my countdown to my two January 4th releases this week. Both Ravished by a Viking and True Heart are set to debut on the same day. Of course, I will have to throw most of my effort toward the Berkley print book. My hope is that you will want them both, but Ravished just has to be a success. It’s my first book for Berkley and I want to write so many more for the publisher. Anything you can do to talk it up to get the pre-orders looking good would be very appreciated. Writing’s hard enough. Selling just isn’t in my skill set. That’s why I have to rely on word-of-mouth. If you love the book and tell someone else about it, then hopefully sales will generate. That sounds crass, but it’s the absolute truth that the first book out the chute will determine my fate. I put my heart and soul into the story. I wrote the kind of hero I fantasize about. I told a rousing tale filled with sex and danger and glittering new worlds. You’ll just have to see. 😉

**Winner announcement at the bottom of this post!**

I’ll be in Little Rock all day Saturday to attend a holiday party with members of my RWA chapter, so I might not get a chance to respond to you all until this evening. Enjoy! ~DD

In December 4th’s blog, I asked three questions I needed answered by you before I could continue writing my free, serialized story, Bad Moon Rising.

Poll #2 is now closed. The answer to the question concerning why Mason didn’t want to participate in The Prowl is:

Mason detests The Prowl and wants to wait for his True Mate.

So now we have the last question. It requires a little set up…

DiDi’s back at her aunt’s place, but she’s curious about the rest of the property. She hadn’t realized the dock existed that extends over the river where she and Mason last had sex before he took her there. Now, she finds a little flat-bottomed boat at the end of the dock and decides to head across the river/bayou to see what’s on the other side.

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I’m offering a $10.00 Amazon.com eCertificate as an incentive to get you to vote. I’d like all the answers to the polls nailed by Tuesday AM. Be sure to POST A COMMENT after you vote so I know who to enter in the contest.

The winner of Cat Tails Poll #2 is…Diane (Thursday’s comment #26)!
Diane, congratulations and email me!

Today’s the last day to enter! AND you can enter again! Just Tweet, Facebook, or blog about this book and send me the link!

So this is the thing I need your help with. I’d like to get this widget spread as far and wide as I can. Read the contest instructions. There are TWO! Your suggestions regarding how to proliferate this over the web for the next three weeks would be appreciated!

**Winner announcement at the bottom of this post!**

In December 4th’s blog, I asked three questions I needed answered by you before I could continue writing my free, serialized story, Bad Moon Rising. Poll #1 is now closed. This is your definition of what The Prowl is:

“The Prowl” is when members of the clan mate, and if a human is caught within their territory, they may be hunted and mated, by force if necessary

We still have two more questions to go.

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I’m offering a $10.00 Amazon.com eCertificate as an incentive to get you to vote. I’d like all the answers to the polls nailed by early next week. Be sure to POST A COMMENT after you vote so I know who to enter in the contest.

The winner of Cat Tails Poll #1 is…Loretta! Loretta, congratulations and email me!

Psst! You still have time to vote on Monday’s poll and enter the contest for the Amazon e-gift. I’ll close it tomorrow. ~DD

I’m honored, Delilah, to be guest blogging for you again today.

With the holiday season upon us, I started thinking about some of how my characters would celebrate Christmas. My heroine in ADDING HEAT, Giselle Sheridan, would be most likely to celebrate and decorate the way I do.

Giselle is a widow in her 40s who struggles to keep her late husband’s landscape business running and her two sons in college. She’s gutsy and determined and open to having a man in her life again, if only she had the time to search for one. So I gave her an early gift — a cougar cub of her very own.

She met CPA Conlan Trowbridge during the busiest season for them both—the week before the income tax deadline of April 15. But of course they find a way to get together.

Both Con and Giselle grew up in a semi-rural area in Pennsylvania and have traditional values. It’s important for them to have family gathered together during the holidays.

Much like in my own household, they will use traditional, indigenous decorations—fresh pine and spruce boughs and cones, holly, pyracantha and juniper berries, osage oranges and other natural elements gleaned from the acreage surrounding her home and business.

Because Giselle is in the landscaping business, their Christmas tree will, of course, be a live conifer, balled in burlap and resting in an old galvanized tub. They’ll plant the tree in the spring as a memento of their first holiday together. And I can see them starting a tradition that my own family has followed—each year giving one special ornament to the other.

Our tree was always decorated with wooden nutcrackers, hand-crocheted snowflakes, a few precious heirlooms of colored glass, sterling silver stars inscribed with meaningful dates. There’s a guy on skis, a wheelbarrow, a crocheted angel atop the tree, a needlepointed truck (yes, I actually designed and made it!). One year I received a set of Russian matryoshka dolls nested one inside the other. I treasure the tinkling glass wedding bells on a silver ribbon. We found a wooden farm couple: a man holding a rake and a woman with a pail. A replica of a steam engine and coal tender. Musical instruments. And more, but you get the idea.

Back to Giselle and Con, they aren’t always traditional, especially in the romance department *big grin*. Here’s the blurb for ADDING HEAT, a stand-alone story in the Cougar Challenge series from Ellora’s Cave.

Encouraged by friends she met at RomantiCon, widowed landscape contractor Giselle Sheridan decides she’s finally ready to take the cougar challenge and explore sex with a younger man. Except she’s too busy during planting season to go on the prowl.

CPA Conlan Trowbridge is battling the IRS deadline for his clients, but when Giselle saunters into his office with a tax question, all he can think of is sex. She’s all luscious curves and smoldering brown eyes, and he doesn’t care if she’s a dozen years older, she’s a wet dream come true.

Oh yeah, they’re both ready for some hot and heavy sex—in the tub, parking lots, their offices—anywhere and everywhere. But Giselle is afraid her age will eventually bother Con, and her longtime foreman also has designs on her, in more ways than one. When Giselle faces some hard decisions, will she ultimately be able to keep the heat?

Who is Cris Anson?

An older woman who still wants romance in her life. After my husband died in 2005, it took me a long time to come out of my grief. Because my marriage was long and happy, I wouldn’t say no to another love interest in my life. So I find myself writing cougar stories (although readers probably wouldn’t want to read about heroines as old as I am LOL). I’ve also written the four-book DANCE series for Ellora’s Cave as well as several novellas and Quickies.

Read excerpts of my books at www.crisanson.com

Find the entire Cougar Challenge series here: Cougar Challenge