This release from Pocket Books and Ellora’s Cave includes my novella, Arctic Dragon. Follow the link for a glimpse at my erotic fairy tale!

5 Fallen Angels & Recommended Read from Fallen Angels 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…”

Just a quick notice!

Royal Bondage, which includes my story, Arctic Dragon, is being released today.

Here’s a short excerpt to whet your appetite!

*~*~*~*

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.

He ran his hands over her body, checking for broken limbs, cursing himself for a horndog for noting generous curves beneath her dark gold gown. But it had been a long time since soft curves had yielded beneath his palms. Not much in the way of padded layers of clothing protected her from his inspection, just the soft fabric. What in hell was she doing wearing a costume in the wilderness in winter, even one made of heavy velvet?

Finally, she stirred, moaning softly.

He sat back on his haunches, noticing at last the luster of her mink brown hair and brows and the thick lashes that fanned the rims of her delicate eyelids. They fluttered then lifted, revealing gold-flecked brown eyes.

Struck by her beauty, he stared. Her eyes were wide set and large; her nose elegant and straight. The shape of her face was slightly triangular with a small chin that took no attention away from the sweet curves of her soft, plump mouth.

“Who are you?” she asked, with a voice as light and sweet as the bells he thought he’d heard before.

He shook his head to clear away his lustful thoughts. “The idiot who nearly shot you,” he said, his own voice thick and rusty from disuse. He cleared his throat. “Can you move? Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine, I think.”

“What the hell were you doing out here?”

She gave him a distracted frown. “Riding.” Then rising on her elbows, she glanced around her, blinking. “My horse, Windancer…”

“He bolted when I fired.”

Her confused stare returned to him. “He’s gone?” Her eyes widened until the white surrounded the brown iris. “We must find him.”

No “I must find him”. She’d included him, without even wondering if it was wise.

Snow had begun to fall again—thick, fat flakes that swirled in the rising wind, a blast of arctic chill. Knowing it was the wrong thing to do, but seeing no other choice, he said, “I’ll look for him after the snowfall ends. We need to get you inside.”

Oh hell. He’d have to take her to his place. Something he’d sworn he’d never do. She might not be any safer there. He’d lived alone too long. With her lush beauty, she was too much of a temptation.

Her mouth opened, but then closed, her lips forming a thin line. “I have to find my horse. I can’t stay here,” she said, casting a wild glance around them.

“In a few minutes, we won’t see more than a few feet in front of us. A storm’s coming in.”

“You don’t understand—”

Although, it was the last thing he should do, he held out his hand. “Come. We’ll talk later. After I get you out of the cold.”

I hopped over to Erin the Innocent’s blog and found this fun little challenge.

She found it on A Day In the Life of An Ambulance Driver’s blog. I’ve since bookmarked his site because he made me giggle with his version of this challenge!

The rules of the challenge go like this:

1. Find the nearest book of 123 pages or more. No cheating!
2. Turn to page 123.
3. Find the first five sentences.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five other bloggers.

The book I chose was Baddest Bad Boys, featuring Shannon McKenna, E.C. Sheedy and Cate Noble.

Her laughter redoubled. “So I won’t have panty lines, you puritanical lunk. Are you going to get on with it, or what?”

Okay, hmmm…Now, I need to start the book from the beginning and see what that’s all about!

I’m tagging Myla Jackson, Cathryn Fox, Shayla Kersten, Charlene Teglia, and Lisa Renee Jones.

Post your own three sentences here if you like!

You’d think having three books out in the same month might motivate me. Ha!

I’ve let my Internet/email/(and now) satellite TV issues distract me. And of course there are my two new toys—my ultra-compact little ASUS ePC (7″ screen, wireless, pretty celery green!) and new Canon Elph camera (SD1100 in metallic brown)—to play with.

I wanted more portable technology for a couple of reasons. I’d love to find someplace, not my office, to work in every now and then just to change it up. Also, I wanted a camera small enough I would be encouraged to keep it in my purse—not just for Blog pics, but I’m thinking of trying my hand at some freelance photojournalism and I want pics to help me develop new story ideas.

And did I mention my daughter’s pregnant? That’s been weighing on my mind. Yes, I’m excited. Another munchkin for the 3 1/2-year-old to torment. The technology will help me be a more flexible babysitter. Gawd, did I just say that? Have to watch that impulse or I’ll be buried in diapers.

So what should I be working on? I have edits of the next Dark Realm story and a quickie I’d like to finish up for The Cave. Better get my page counters ready—and you be sure to nag me too!

Last, here’s the cover for the November book. Got a great quality jpeg for it today, so now I have to start thinking about promo materials—another tangent for me to follow!

I’m still having Internet issues, so seeing as it’s working right now, I have to jump in and say something!

The big news in the Devlin household is that my daughter is expecting. Since she just quit her job a few days ago to look for something a little more flexible so that she can attend school, we are all reeling a bit. Happy news for daddy, but us girls are already worrying about how to organize for the arrival later this year. And yes, I am the Guiness World Record holder for youngest grandmama (I go by Nina, not G-ma!).

If you didn’t know it already, PURPLE PANTIES is out! I received a package with my author’s copies today, and it’s gorgeous!! Can’t wait to read all the other wicked entries.

I visited a psychic today. She was soooo good. Had me nailed inside five minutes—long life, aura of success around me—oh yeah, she’s good! Well, she did say first that she saw me sitting in front a mass of papers with ideas scribbled all over them (how did she see my desk?!). She said I don’t spend enough on promo—people have to find me before they will love me. Point taken. Of course, I didn’t mention that I write until after she said all this. What gave me away? The nubby fingernails? The aura of stress? The glassy, dreamy expression?

Cinch to say I’ll be seeing her before my next book releases.

Y’all have a great day. I hope I’ll be back tomorrow to chat—kinda depends on whether Hughes.net gets their shit together. Don’t they know I live and die by the Internet?

Obsessed for Zane is complete!

I’ve been offline for a while. It’s very weird actually. First, my satellite/email provider did a system upgrade that crashed everything for several days (April 26)—so no way to get online, get on the web, send an email…

Then, the telephones in the house crapped out. Both lines. So, I was completely cut off.

It turned out to be exactly what I needed to plow through the final chapters of OBSESSED. I finished it on the 29th and shipped it, then waited for everything to come back up.

First, the email day before yesterday. Today, the Internet and the telephone. I caught up on plans and brushed off old projects while I was incommunicado, and to tell the truth, didn’t go as nuts as I thought I would.

So, I have lots to catch up on. Photos to upload from RT; news about a Bachelor’s Auction I attended Saturday night (I bought a judge)! But for now, I’m just glad to say hello and thanks for all the posts.

The winner of the RT prize pack of cool “stuff” is…Carol Woodruff! Congrats and send me a message at delilahdevlin@hughes.net!

My entry is short, but it’s a new venture into erotica! With my galpals Kimberly Kaye Terry and Allison Hobbs also featured in this volume, this anthology is destined to be a bestseller!

Written by women from all over the world, here is a new level of lesbian erotica, compiled by Zane, that promises the most exciting and steamy reading experience possible. These stories move beyond race, age, and all walks of life, including long-hidden passions, secret rendezvous with strangers, and May-December romances.