Guest Author Delilah Devlin..........

Today I am honored to have Delilah Devlin as my Guest Author who has been kind enough to answer a few questions and talk a little about her latest release in the Captured Soul's Series, Captured Souls: Stone's Embrace.

This is the second book in the series actually and what an captivating and erotic tale it is. A long time fan of Delilah's I was trilled with so many releases this year from her. A true fan's fantasy not to have to wait so long in between releases dates! Delilah has lived a pretty adventurous life through her many jobs her life in serving in the Army and through her travels, bringing all those experiences into her writing that we all love so much. STONE'S EMBRACE was a home run for me and lead my straight to Samhain's Publishing to the other two books in the series, Dominique's Release by Kimberly Kaye Terry and Demon Lover by Vivi Anna. If you haven't read this series yet you are surely missing out, so run your fingers on over your keyboard and head to Samhain's, you won't be sorry!

If you haven't read my review you can click HERE to read it.

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I am a fly on your wall today, what would I see in the day of Delilah?

You’d be a very bored fly. After I rise in the morning, I update my blog and then head to the pool for an hour. The rest of the morning and early afternoon are my prime writing hours. I have a set page count I have to meet, and I don’t stop until I reach it. After that, I do some promotional work and site visits. Evenings are spent watching my TIVO’d shows (all are within genres I write) or reading research books.

If someone were writing a story about Delilah, what type of character would describe you?
Pre-writer days, you’d have a character who was a cross between Private Benjamin and Carrie from Sex in the City. I was a bit of a wild child, ready for an adventure and always winding up with more than I bargained for. These days the adventures take place mostly in my imagination. I really need to get out more!

Are any of your personality and life experiences in your writing? You love to travel and explore, did experiences/influences from those travels help make into your writing, especially Captive Souls: Stone’s Embrace?
My experiences with men, and I “dated” a lot, are all there in the relationships between my heroes and heroines for anyone to read. Some of the places I’ve traveled or lived are featured too. I haven’t been to Hades yet, but I have met men very like my gargoyle and Hades himself. I was always drawn to stoic, brave, and dominant men.

Has your love for mythology inspired this latest story of a gargoyle, angels and demons?

Oh yeah! Many of my stories are based on characters or legends I’ve read. I used research into Sumerian myths and Jewish folklore for my Dark Realm series. For Stone’s Embrace, I went straight to classic Greek mythology. Hades, the Fates, Charon—they are all favorite entities of mine.

Can you tell us a little about your newest release Captive Souls: Stone’s Embrace?

Here’s the blurb and the link. You can read an excerpt on my site to get a feel for the story. Link to Stone's Embrace

Lust trapped them in darkness…only love can free them…

Petra Pedersen has lived as a recluse all her life thanks to a genetic double whammy—a strange deformity and a shameful power inherited from the father she will never know. The power to incite lust in men and women with just a touch.

Exploring the garden of the mansion she’s just inherited, she comes across a fascinating stone gargoyle whose raw, passionate expression draws her to caress its broad chest. Her imagination follows her fluttering fingers. As she closes her eyes and gives herself up to the arousal, something shifts beneath her touch.

Long ago, failure to stop a demon battle trapped Octavius in a prison of stone. Freed by the woman’s incendiary touch, he doesn’t hesitate to unleash his pent-up rage and desire in a blistering fury. Yet once the haze of lust clears, he discovers he isn’t really free after all.

They are both trapped in another realm where he must choose between his last chance for redemption or returning Petra home…
Warning: Sex with inanimate objects, lusty m/m/f ménages with gods...it’s all good when the reward is freedom.

When naming your characters, do you give any thought to the actual meaning?
Not always. When I write a historical novel, I look for names common in the timeframe, then check their meaning to ensure they fit the character I have in mind. In most of my paranormal’s I check for ethnically correct names and check meanings too. The contemps, not so much. I just look for names that feel right when I describe the characters.

What influences your heroes?

Do you mean my choice of heroes? Like I said before, I love strong men, capable of killing another with his hands, able to protect the people he loves. It’s usually the “warrior” archetype, because those are the men I’ve known. I spent years in the Army, so I know them very well. They don’t fall in love at the drop of a hat. They’re very sexually driven. Lust will morph to love without them realizing it until it’s almost too late. Then they’ll go balls to the wall to capture a woman’s heart.

If you could be any fictional character for a day, who would you be? It can be one of yours or any other author's.
I would be Chessa Tomas from Seduced by Darkness. She’s sharp, edgy, competent and kick ass. She’s also a little brittle, but she’s got baggage and it only makes her stronger and more interesting. Plus she knows exactly what she wants from a man.

For you, what is the hardest part of writing a novel? Concept, Characterization, Plotting, Writing the story, Synopsis/Query letter writing, etc.
Ugh! It depends on where I am in a story. If I’m starting, I’ll say it’s writing that first sentence, because I want it to leap off the page. If I’m past the third chapter and entering the danger zone (the saggy middle), I’ll say it’s the entire middle of the book because I didn’t plot it well enough to know what’s going to happen next. Or I plotted it, and now the story is taking over and I’m afraid of where it’s leading me. Synopses are evil, but for some stories they come very quickly. Some can be like pulling teeth. PAINFUL. Characterization usually isn’t an issue. These people speak to me, make love to me, tell me funny things about themselves, so I really do know them and their issues. Sometimes, I do struggle with making a character I love more palatable to a reader, because I like flawed, misogynistic men.

What books do you enjoy reading? Who are your MUST HAVE authors?Must haves?

I don’t have any recent must-reads. I have comfort re-read authors like Johanna Lindsey, Linda Howard, and Amanda Quick. When I do pick up a new book, it’s because something about the blurb on the back captured me. More often than not, it will be something sensual, something about the hero that makes me want to discover what kind of man he is

What was the first romance book you read and how did it effect you?
I couldn’t tell you, because I snuck my mother’s Harlequins from a very young age. I can tell you the first author who made me crave a sexier book was Johanna Lindsey. In particular, her Warrior’s Woman. Too, there was Julie Garwood’s Rebellious Desire that inspired me to write the kind of heroes I love.

If you were not writing, what would you be doing?
I’d be a war correspondent.

If you could work with any author who would it be?

I’d love to work on a series or anthology with Angela Knight or Linnea Sinclair.

If you could ask readers any one question, what would it be?
I always ask readers what sort of stories are they dying to read but can’t find enough of. Sometimes, their answers inspire me to try something new.

Don't forget that Delilah has released this month TEMPTED BY A COWBOY anthology as well as a SPICE BRIEF, EYE OF THE STORM to be released on August 1st