Thought I’d start out with a bang and the cover of a collection of shorts Harlequin Spice will release next March! Don’t you love it?! That month is shaping up to be another crazy busy one for me. Darkness Burning (the third Dark Realm story from Avon), Texas Men (my next single-author anthology from Kensington) and now Size Matters, will all be out in the same month.

For those of you who talk with me online, you know I’ve been suffering Internet outages since the end of April that left me with intermittant Internet or email capability. Hopefully, yesterday’s repairs did the trick. I’m here for now, anyway!!

As soon as I opened my email yesterday, I found a message from my editor at Kensington asking if I’d like to be in the next multi-author “Cowboy” book (see The Cowboy and Only with a Cowboy to see what I’m talking about). Of course, I couldn’t resist the challenge. So you’ll hear me cursing cowboys for the next three months straight as I finish up Texas Men then plunge right into the cowboy book. Ack! (I act scared, but I actually do better under pressure, so take all my grousing with a grain of salt.)

Lastly, I have an agent. A great one. Don’t want to talk about it too much for fear of attracting negative mojo, but I’m quietly jazzed about the whole thing!

It’s been such a busy month for me. When I look back at my calendar, I’m amazed I accomplished so much.

I finished another story for Ellora’s Cave. I’m still wrapping up edits for the third Dark Realm story. On Monday, I slammed out a short story to submit to a foreign anthology—finished 25 pages and it wasn’t total crap! I attended a Bachelor’s Auction and gained tons of research on that event that will help me with my next project. I tromped through a graveyard with my Arkansas writer friends and came up with some wicked ideas to fill another tale. Oh, and I wrote another chapter to satisfy my MIK fans (or drive them nuttier, depending on how much you love Quentin!).

Thanks to everyone who participated in the blog contest. I do have a winner. Many of your comments on the blog made me smile. And thanks especially to the volunteer readers who helped me shape the short story into something entertaining on Monday. I really needed the support to keep slamming those pages.

Once in a while, I need a challenge like that to blow out the cobwebs and to see something FINISHED. Most projects take a long time of thinking and dreaming, then weeks of writing. That one day marathon left me feeling flushed and victorious!

Back to the contest. First, here are the answers to the questions:

1) What’s the title of my latest release? Royal Bondage (at least on Sunday, it was!)
2) What’s the title of the book I’m giving away in my newsletter “for readers”, one chapter at a time? Knight Dreams
3) In Sin’s Gift, what police substation does the hero’s brother work in? The East Substation
4) In Seduced by Darkness, what waterway jumped it’s banks, flooding a cemetary and freeing a monster? Bayou St. John

The winner of the blog contest will get a tote with a stash of Romantic Times goodies (a couple of books included)! And she is…Stephanie[dragonstar1974@aol.com]! Steph, be sure to send me your snail mail address privately so I can get your package to you! Congratulations!!

| Damned, Delicious and Dangerous is out today! Includes“The Demon Lord’s Cloak”. Bound and naked, Voletta has every reason to fear the mysterious man holding her in his arms. Instead his brooding presence intrigues her, his hard body excites her—and his rough touch arouses her…

Men of darkness, men of passion…trapped by temptation and bound by desire. No woman can refuse their erotic invitation for sexual pleasure…

5 cups from Coffee Time Romance: “…A tale rife with passion, The Demon Lord’s Cloak will leave a reader breathless and counting the hours until their own true loves return. Be prepared for scintillating sex and delectable dialogue, Ms. Devlin writes her own brand of hot happily ever after.”

Tonight, I’ll be at Writerspace’s chat room from 7-9 PM CST, first with the Ellora’s Cave authors, then the After Midnight Authors. Take a look at the line up:

Delilah Devlin will chat about WILD WILD WOMEN OF THE WEST II and ROYAL BONDAGE; Mary Wine will talk about STILL MINE; Patrice Michelle is chatting about SCIONS: INSURRECTION; Shiloh Walker will talk about DRASTIC MEASURES, and Sylvia Day will tell you all about ASK FOR IT!

Don’t miss it! You know we will be there to answer all your questions and there will be some awesome prizes!

Also, I’m extending my blog contest (see details below) until tomorrow, so there is still time to enter!

I’ll be hosting Ellora’s Cave chat loop all day along with Myla Jackson and Shayla Kersten. As always, we will post sexy excerpts from your favorite EC authors and run website scavenger hunts with tons of prizes to give away. I’ll give away a signed copy of Royal Bondage and assorted RT convention “stuff” I still have.

Around 11:00 AM CST, we’ll run to FAR’s chat room (without permission—which makes it way more fun) to have a live chat with anyone who wants to come.

So, if you think you’d like to hang out, just stop on by. Here’s the email addy if you want to join the EC loop: ellorascavechat-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

TODAY’S BLOG CONTEST:

The Prize: I’ll give the winner two books from my RT stash (winner will be given a choice!), plus two sets of Ellora’s Cave playing cards and signed book cover flats.

To Qualify:
1) You must email the answers to the questions here: Email Me!
2) Enter a posting on my blog–any entry that interests you–I will see it!

The Questions:
1) What’s the title of my latest release (EASY)?
2) What’s the title of the book I’m giving away in my newsletter “for readers”, one chapter at a time (EASY)?
3) In Sin’s Gift, what police substation does the hero’s brother work in (HARD)?
4) In Seduced by Darkness, what waterway jumped it’s banks, flooding a cemetary and freeing a monster (HARD)?

I’m feeling tired, grumpy. Certainly don’t want to write. But I’ve watched all my TIVO’d shows and don’t have any Monk, Psych, House, Reaper, or Jimmy Neutron to watch that I haven’t already seen.

I think I’m wanting to get out, take a trip, snap some pics of something that could amuse me. That’s what I get for letting my social calendar fill up over the last few months. I’ve forgotten the joys of living like a hermit. Uh huh, there are too joys!!

Like never having to take a bath just to be polite around others. I prefer to take mine every other day—my hair and skin feel much better, I save water-soap-electricity (so its also good for the environment). But if I’m going to be around anyone else, I don’t want to worry about sniffing pits first. Gawd, can’t believe I just admitted that! Whore baths do just fine when it’s just me and computer.

Or like never hearing the jangle of an alarm clock. I can sleep whenever I’m tired—and if I never look out the windows, I won’t be able to judge when it’s daylight so my body will be totally in control. Heady thought!

The only problem with being a hermit is having to cook. Can’t. Won’t learn. Which means, my mom and daughter still have ways to lure me out of my cave every now and then.

Oh, before I forget as I sit here zoning in front of my screen, I’ll be playing at Ellora’s Cave all day tomorrow and will run a contest from this blog. So, be sure to come back tomorrow!

Thought you might like a peek at the novella I mailed to EC on Tuesday. If you’re not 18–CLOSE YOUR EYES now!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Jane’s Wild Weekend (tentative title)
Copyright 2008 by Delilah Devlin

Jane Emerson parted the blinds to sneak a peek into the yard next door. The lawn mower had finally fallen silent, which meant Bruno Martir had finished with that chore. Soon, he’d be moving along the fence as he turned to the next job.

She’d gotten accustomed to his afternoon habits. Knew he preferred yard work while Cord washed cars in the drive. Cord hadn’t finished working on his SUV, so there was still plenty of time to put her plan into action.

Her gaze slid covetously over Bruno’s lean body. His T-shirt had long ago been stripped away. Grass shavings clung to his broad shoulders and ripped abdomen. Sweat darkened the brown hairs that lightly furred his chest and thick thighs.

She licked her lips, already tasting the salt of his sweat and cum. This was it. One last shot at putting the topping on her vacation. Through with playing coy and dropping increasingly un-subtle hints, she was going for broke. If he didn’t take the bait this time, she’d have to assume she didn’t have the equipment to attract a stud like the fireman next door. Maybe his roommate Cord was more than just his best buddy, which would be a crying damn shame—at least for Jane’s plans.

Grabbing up her boom box and sunscreen, she tightened the belt on her robe and headed down the stairs, not even trying to stem the flow of excitement dampening her short curls. She’d promised herself an elicit adventure. Something to wear like a badge of courage when she finally returned home. She might have been dumped for a fitness instructor, but she was still attractive, still sexy. To prove it to herself today, she’d be shameless.
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