I’ve had my head down the past couple of months writing like there’s no tomorrow. Finished book three in the Dark Realm series, now I’ve moved on and am deep into a cowboy trilogy that’s going really well. Guess I missed my men in Stetsons!

Then I open up the email and discover that INTO THE DARKNESS won the 2007 Reviewer’s Choice Award from eCata’s Single Title review site! Just in time to help settle my nerves about the upcoming release of book two — SEDUCED BY DARKNESS

All’s well in my world today. Huge thanks to the ladies at SingleTitles.com!

Dear Reader!

Did I mention how much I hate shopping? To ease the pain this year, I made a careful list of all the Christmas presents I had to purchase and completed all my shopping in one fell swoop — dragging my darling daughter around the mall until both of us were ready to strangle Santa and his helpers and roast the reindeer’s chestnuts over an open fire. But I’m done! Now, I’ll procrastinate until late Christmas Eve before I start wrapping them all, and instead, go hunting for gift bags to save the bother. Bah, humbug! I don’t get people (my daughter) who love the whole process. All I could think the whole day long was how many pages I could have written. I’m such a Scrooge. Okay, that was really just for fun. I promise I will love opening presents with the family on the day and will eat too much, vow to start my diet the very next day, and not think about writing for maybe the morning, anyway.

December’s been nuts. I’m almost done with book three in The Dark Realm series, tentatively entitled DARKNESS RISING. I finished my next paranormal for Ellora’s Cave, called SIN’S GIFT. If you liked the My Immortal Knight series, I think you’re going to love this one too! It’s an urban fantasy with two San Antonio cops as the protagonists. I’ll let you know as soon as I find out when they plan to release it.

And speaking of the Knights, I hate to disappoint you, but I didn’t have time to work on the next installment. However, I do have a consolation treat for you. I received the rights back to a short story I wrote in 2005, a Medieval vampire tale called DARKEST KNIGHT. I’m including a link to the complete story in my newsletter. I hope you will enjoy it and not be too disappointed that I’ve left you hanging once again concerning Quentin’s fate at the hands of Kamaria! Next month, I promise to pick right up where we left off — with Quentin entering Darcy’s dark dream world.

Some good news. My Quickie, MAKING THE MADAM, has been picked up by Ellora’s Cave for inclusion in the first of the Cavemen anthologies for next year! It will be released in March 2008.

Dear Reader!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We had a nice gathering at the Devlin home. My nephew came down from Iowa with his new family. My daughter, my parents and I ate until Mom and I decided it’s definitely time to start that New Year’s diet early! Now that the excessive feasting is over, I’m starting to dread the countdown to Christmas. Don’t get me wrong. I love to give and get gifts, but I HATE the shopping. I’d like to do a lot of it online, but I’m not very inspired when I have to know ahead of time what everyone wants in order to search for it. I think I need to wander around a store or two to get some ideas before I make those purchases with a click of my mouse.

In the meantime, I’ve been busy finishing up book three in THE DARK REALM series, tentatively entitled DARKNESS RISING. I’ve also been putting the finishing touches on my next paranormal for Ellora’s Cave, called SIN’S GIFT. If you liked the My Immortal Knight series, I think you’re going to love this one too! It’s dark urban fantasy with two San Antonio cops as the protagonists. Next month, I start work on my Western for Kensington.

Some good news. I sold a short story which will be featured in Zane’s PURPLE PANTIES anthology, which will be released in May 2008. The story’s a definite departure for me — straight contemporary and a lesbian theme. There is another erotica project in the works with Zane, but I won’t let the cat out of the bag until the contracts are signed!

Dear Reader!

Happy Halloween! Not that I have time to celebrate, and living in the back of the beyond now, I don’t even pass out candy to the children. Ah well. Guess I’ll spend the holiday doing what I love most — torturing my characters. Bwahaha!

Like Quentin Albermarle, for one. I have to admit. I was taken aback at the number of readers who wrote me fiercely angry that I’ve been treating their favorite “Knight” so badly in MIK-7: KNIGHT DREAM. I took their comments into consideration-then couldn’t help myself. Writing without an editor or publisher’s intrusion is very freeing. See what nastiness I’ve been up to in the latest installment (sign-up for the newsletter to read this free treat)!

I’ve been busy writing book three in the Dark Realm series for Avon, which I’m tentatively calling DARKNESS RISING. The story is coming along, but I worry that I love how imperfect my characters are a little too much. Some are hedonistic, some terribly selfish. But every one of the heroes is someone I’d die to meet in a dark alley some night when the moon is full and lust is in the air. Guess I’ll keep writing it like I am. Maybe someone else will enjoy it just as much as me. I’m giving SEDUCED BY DARKNESS (book two) a final read for the galley proof at the moment and I really, really think you’re gonna love it!

My “dance card” is quickly filling up with projects for the New Year. A few months ago, I whined about not having any contracts lined up and now I have enough to keep me going through next summer, but I’m never satisfied. I worked on putting two proposals together this weekend with a couple of writer friends. I’ll let you know what comes of it. In the meantime, that’s as much as I’ll say because I don’t want to jinx the deal!

Some really good news for those of you who thought you’d have to wait until SEDUCED BY DARKNESS (26 February 2008) to come out before seeing anything new. I’m pleased to announce that Ellora’s Cave has accepted two new books from me. One’s a quickie entitled MAKING THE MADAM. I’m including an excerpt below for your enjoyment. Please keep in mind that the excerpt is unedited and any errors you find are entirely my fault! I don’t have a release date yet, but will let you know as soon as I do.

The second story is a dark urban fantasy story that should appeal to the My Immortal Knight fans. As soon as that deal’s a little more solid, I’ll let you know more!

Hey there, everyone!

First, I’m including a picture from the booksigning I participated in Detroit last month. I had a blast, met some really interesting people, and signed a lot of books! I’m here with Allyson James and Jory Strong – that’s me on the right! Thanks to Melissa Bliss at Paperbacks ‘n’ Things for arranging it!

From Left To Right: Allyson James, Jory Strong, Delilah Devlin

I’ve been a very busy girl. I completed a novella for the next collection of ALLURING TALES: HOT SUMMER NIGHTS, which will be a 2008 release by Avon RED. My story is a steamy little number about a woman who is busted for skinny-dipping by the man she’s lusted after since high school. I also finished a Quickie for Ellora’s Cave, which doesn’t have a title yet, but which my editor accepted happily! Yay! It’s a Western about a man who undertakes to teach the “ropes” to the new owner of a brothel in a rough little Colorado town.

| So with those two short projects out of the way I’m busy shaping the first hundred pages of my next Dark Realm tale for Avon. I really, really love new beginnings, but they also scare me spitless! I have to get it right-have to suck you into my world in a few pages and keep you hanging so you aren’t tempted to close the book and forget about it. I’ll let you know how the writing goes.

One more thing, I had some good news last week I’d like to share. Pocket Books and Ellora’s Cave have entered a new agreement to publish thirteen collections of popular EC novellas. Two of my stories, ARCTIC DRAGON and RIDE A COWBOY, are among the stories selected for the special print deal. The books will be released in 2008. I’ll let you know more as the details come.

DEAR READERS,

I know it’s been forever since I sent you a letter. I haven’t forgotten you – oh no. I’ve been going through some changes lately. Life-altering ones – No! Not menopause, not yet. I’ve moved. From Texas to Arkansas. Might as well have been Mars to Venus, the scenery’s so different. I went from rocky, dry creeks, buffalo grass and wide open skies to dense pine forest that shuts out the stars. So dense I feel surrounded, even though I’m miles from a town and have a hundred acres around me.

Why the drastic change? So I can write full-time. That’s right. No day job. All the bills paid by my creativity. That’s very, very scary. Like walking a high wire without a rope. But necessary now that I have so much to do. Let me tell you what’s been happening!

First, Avon signed me for two more books in the Dark Realm series that I began with INTO THE DARKNESS (Avon RED, April 2007) and will continue with SEDUCED BY DARKNESS (Avon RED, February 26, 2008). Then just last week, Kensington offered me a two-book deal to write two single-author anthologies set in Texas! And do you think they’d let me write them after I delivered my books to Avon? Huh! I’ll be writing them in parallel. So, no breaks. No vacations. No sitting and day-dreaming. No part-time jobs. I have to write full-throtttle, pedal-to-the metal for the next several months.

In the meantime, I have some short stories already out and coming out. Read more about them here, then go support a starving artist and get your copy! I also promised you the continuation of the My Immortal Knights series – just sign up to my newsletter list and you will get to read it, one installment at a time, every month. So stick around!

One last thing. I love to reward loyalty, so every month I’ll choose one newsletter subscriber to win a signed copy of one of my books and a gift card.