FOR AUTHORS — REGARDING A RATE CHANGE FOR MY EDITORIAL SERVICES.

I’ve posted the change here on my webpage: https://www.delilahdevlin.com/editorial-services/

My rate has been the same since 2016—and I’ve been told numerous times that I undercharge for this service. So, I’m hiking up my per-word rate.

For those who already have manuscripts with me or are committed to a firm date for the turn-in of your manuscript, I will charge you the old rate for that ms.

For those who decide I’m more than their pocketbook can take, I understand completely if you need to look for another editor. I still think I’m cheap, but I do understand and wish you well.

As I began updating this week’s work plan, as is my custom, I pulled out my favorite tarot deck, shuffled, and asked my question, Am I going to finish this book?

The answer is: It’s all up to me! Of course. No, I didn’t pull The Star or The World, so there will be no shining, triumphant march to the finish. I pulled Temperance.

First, I studied the card. The picture’s pretty, right? A sunny sky, a pretty rainbow, a lovely angel. A lovely setting. But what is she doing? She’s pouring something from one cup to another. Perhaps measuring the liquid as she does.

Temperance, the word, means moderation and self-restraint. So, the cards are telling me, I have to be “measured” in how I approach the work this week. Follow the plan! Don’t expect some surge of inspiration or endless energy to push me toward The End. Take a solid, measured approach. I can live with that. So, back to my plan and figuring out how many pages/chapters I have to write each day until I’m done!

Open Contests

1. SPIDER coming soon, and Saturday Puzzle-Contest! — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. Gabbi Grey: When you miss that one little thing… (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
3. June into July (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Dream Vacation Spot — Win an Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is…Beckie!
*~*~*

Today, already, is hot as hell here in Arkansas (it’s 85 degrees Fahrenheit at 9 AM). The temperature will be over a hundred. We tend to stay indoors when it gets like this, then wander out to the pool when the sun dips below the horizon. The pool is so warm it offers little relief, except for the lovely feeling you get when you’re soaking wet and enter the AC-cooled house. My daughter doesn’t deal well with the heat. She loves winter—sweaters, leggings, and boots. Summer makes her ill. Just sitting outside this morning, talking to me over a cup of coffee, made her nauseous. AND IT’S ONLY THE FIRST DAY OF JULY. I’m down for it. Of course, most of my day is spent in my cool-ish window-less basement office. When I rouse to step outside, I enjoy the bright light and looking at the flowers blooming. My dd would love to mow the lawn, but she pretty much has to do that at dusk or dawn. Like a vampire. LOL. I think today, we’re going to take a break from the heat and head to the indoor flea market. Whee!

So, thinking about summer and lovely things I wish I could do, I searched for a photo of my dream vacation spot. It’s today’s puzzle challenge. Enjoy!

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, let me know if this would be anywhere on your bucket list. If not, what would be?

UPDATE: The winner is…Mary Preston!
*~*~*

June

Work-related:

1. I revised and re-published a story that was originally part of an Entangled anthology, Along Came a Spider on June 27th!
2. I began writing the next Montana Bounty Hunters: We Are Dead Horse, MT — Jackson!
3. I settled on the theme for the next Boys Behaving Badly Anthology — Secret Identities!
4. I completed 3 editing projects for other authors in June.

Health-related:

1. I’ve been swimming almost every day. Sometimes, twice a day.
2. Through medicines and some diet tweaking, I’ve managed to get my blood pressure down. Not enough, and not without an occasional spike, but it’s so much better.

Happiness-related: 

1. I have been working on and making great progress organizing my art room, getting ready for the next push for art shows and reopening my Etsy store.
2. I finished #the100dayproject online art challenge! Here are some of my last pieces I completed in the beginning of June…

 

July

For work-related, I plan:

1. To complete writing and publish Jackson, the next in my Montana Bounty Hunters: Dead Horse, MT series which releases on July 11th!
2. To complete 4 editing projects in July!

For health related, I plan:

1. To swim at least once a day!
2. To resume counting those points for my Weight Watchers diet and hopefully shed at least 5 pounds, remembering, as always: Slow is good!
3. To continue to reduce salt, processed food, and incorporate foods good for blood pressure (spinach, broccoli, bananas, red wine).
4. To begin walking and counting my steps.
5. To do more housework because my art room isn’t finished! Cleaning is exercise, too.

For happiness-related, I plan: 

1. To spend quality time with the family—movie nights, swim-time, making fun meals together!
2. To participate in and complete a free art workshop, the Fodder Challenge 2023!

Contest

Comment on anything you’ve read in this post. Tell me what you’re doing to make yourself happier and healthier. Tell me what you plan to read in July…
Like I said, comment on anything for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

A powerful druis with a thousand-year-old secret. An ancient soul plotting to destroy the barriers between the realms. And a defying love that breaks all the rules.

I can’t help but say–I love that hook. It was probably the easiest part of my book blurb to write, and it encompasses everything this story is, hinting at all the right parts. 

Three Coins From a Dead Man’s Pocket is Book 1 of the Realms of Souls Saga. This fantasy✨ steampunk ⚙️ romance is everything I love in a can’t-put-it-down kind of story:  a damsel to the rescue with a huge 💖(and she can wield a laser whip 😲), a love 📐 in a steampunk world with lots of elemental magic, a little instalove 😍 with an interested suitor who makes her pulse race every time his stormy gray eyes gaze into hers, a glimpse at immortality ☠️ in a complex world 🌍 with an invented religious system, an antagonist who craves power over the realms and doesn’t care how he gets it, and a family uncovered that has their own long-buried secrets…

After that description, how can you not want to read it? 😲

Okay, I hear you asking…but, Myrenne, what is the spice♨️🥵 in this book? Am I going to want to find my SO and, well, you know? 😏

Ahem…how about an excerpt? 

Thorben reached up, brushing a strand of dark hair away from Ava’s face. His fingertips grazed her cheek, cool and rough. Ava’s breath quickened, his caress causing a tidal wave of emotions to rush to the surface. It had been a long time since anyone had touched her in a romantic way. She had had too many responsibilities, too many people depending on her. So, Ava had buried her wants and desires, focusing on who she needed to be; a druis, a niece…a friend. But, being pursued—being desired—for the first time in a long time, made her balk at the position she had allowed herself to be put in.

He leaned forward, his breath cool against her skin, bringing her back to the moment. “Mé talé.” He whispered against her lips. “My treasure.”

Thorben brushed his velvet lips against Ava’s, and she sucked in a quick breath. He paused, waiting. And Ava decided in this moment—this one instance—she was going to claim back something for herself.

Delicately, she pressed her lips against his. He tasted like fresh mint and evening rain. The acceptance of his kiss made him eager, encouraging her to open for him. She allowed him to slide past her lips, exploring her with his cool, firm tongue.

Ava’s fingers tangled themselves in his dark hair and hauled him closer, crushing his mouth to hers. He titled his head, deepening the kiss, his fingers dancing along her ribcage.  His thick tongue swept inside her, along her lips, over her teeth, diving back inside for more. He moaned as her tongue parried his, back and forth, licking at the edges of his lips and planting soft kisses on his mouth.

Thorben’s hands circled her waist, pulling her onto his lap. He was desperately passionate, as if he were hungry for a person’s touch as much as she was. It made her want him more. She broke away from his kiss, pulling his shirt over his head and tossing it to the side. His smooth chest gently shimmered in the evening light, and she again wondered at his heritage.

Catching her wrists, he pressed her palms to his bare chest, his thumbs lightly stroking the backside of her hands. His skin was cool to the touch. He breathed hard, his eyes dancing with lightning. A shaky hand brushed against Ava’s cheek.

“Thorben, are you alright?”

 “Don’t stop,” he whispered, his voice dark agony. “Please.” 

*~*~*

This is not, of course, the spiciest🥵 scene in the book–nope, not by a long shot. But, I can’t give all the goods away at first, now can I? 😏

If I’ve got you hooked and you are burning with curiosity to read Three Coins, let me first say…YAY! Secondly, how would you like to be a beta reader🤔? 

I’m doing one last beta reading session beginning July 1, 2023! If you don’t know what beta reading is, it’s a group of people who get to read books📚 before they are officially published. Beta readers are there for the author to offer feedback, ask questions, and tell their opinions on the characters and plot, helping the author make the book the best it can be! 

Want to Beta read and get your eyes 👀on it before anyone else? Sign up HERE.

You can also read the ENTIRE blurb AND be the first to know when my book releases by joining my email list HERE. 

If you are curious about how I began my writing journey (It’s an interesting story, actually) you can read my first guest blog on Delilah’s page HERE.

The next stop for Realms of Souls info is my Facebook group. I’ll have announcements for release date, merch, contests, freebies, and other thoughts about characters that I have no idea what to do with. And, occasionally, I feel the urge to make a video. You can hear my ramblings first hand if you follow me on TikTok. 

Thanks to Delilah for having me on her blog and I can’t wait until I can announce a release date this fall! 

~May your soul fly freely.
Myrenne

[Play the music while you read!] It’s my birthday today! I’m the big 6-5! I’m officially “elderly” now! My daughter is in denial. I’m excited. I’m old enough for Medicare now. Not that I need it because I have my military retirement with Tricare. Important stuff when you get old though.

What else can I celebrate? I’m 65! When I was a teen, I didn’t expect to live past 21—I was a bit of a wild child. So, I always thought any day over 21 was just “gravy.” And while some bemoan the milestones, I’ve never worried. I hit 30 and thought, “awesome!” 50—the same. 60—I had a lovely birthday party with both my parents still there to celebrate. Now, at 65, I’d love to have them here, but life’s a journey, and I’m not going to bemoan the fact I’m 65 and still fabulous!

I decided to take a picture to prove it. I sent my selfie to my dd and said, “What do you think?” She immediately sent the 14-year-old to snap a picture with her iPhone. So, I’m assuming she wasn’t impressed. This is what she sent back to me.

 

Huh. She thought I needed a filter—and wondered why I didn’t bother with makeup other than a swipe of lipstick. I guess she was right. My sunburned nose and forehead made both look shiny and really big. Still, I don’t look like a wrinkled old woman just yet. Well, there are some wrinkles. Here’s the original, what do you think?

I still have less forehead wrinkles than someone I won’t name because she’s pissed looking at me every day. My eyebrows and eyelashes aren’t blond anymore. Or gray. They’re translucent—which is why you can’t see them! Still, I don’t feel a day over 40. Actually, I don’t feel old. Period. Although, sometimes, when my hands hurt after a day at the keyboard… I just call that a workout. They’re supposed to be sore.

They threw me a party last night. It was nice to have the fam around, plus a couple of their friends. We ate finger foods and pie. No candles, because we didn’t want to burn the house down. Today, I’m back at the keyboard because that’s what I do. Who I am.

So, tell me: Have any of your milestones been downers for you?

Are you looking for a sexy, suspenseful read? A 45-minute punch of SEAL yumminess? Well, I have just the story for you!

Along Came a Spider started out as a novella in the Men in Uniform anthology published by Entangled, but I recently got the rights back. So, I re-edited it, had my sister make me a gorgeous cover, and now, here it is! If you’ve never read it, or if you want to read it again, here’s your chance. And as a plus, it’s FREE for the next little while in Kindle Unlimited!

Along Came a Spider

All this SEAL wants is time alone to recharge after a grueling mission, but what he gets is caught in the crossfire of passion and danger.

After Spider follows a fellow SEAL’s advice to take some downtime and try fishing to get over his restlessness after back-to-back missions, he finds himself even more irritated until his fishing lure gets caught in the bushes, and while trying to free it, he notices men armed with tactical equipment moving through the forest. Curiosity piqued, he follows and is just in time to prevent the men from harming a lone female camper.

Jessie Tamberlin hoped to hide out in the woods until after her wedding to a billionaire, following her discovery that he is an illegal arms dealer. However, she knows secrets he’s determined to keep silent; he’s never going to let her go. When she finds an ally in the woods, who helps her escape, she has to make an on-the-spot decision to trust him.

Together, they work to stay one step ahead of her ex-fiancé while trying to ignore their growing attraction for each other.

Get your copy here!
FREE in Kindle Unlimited!