Julia Devlin

The Real Mason will be released May 9th, by Ellora’s Cave.  I’m super excited about this book. It’s been awhile since I’ve written a BDSM book and I forgot how fun it is to play with the characters and ride that emotional wave of discovery right along with them.

I’m looking forward to the release and I hope you are too.  More to come soon…

Blurb

Anna Smith is shocked when her boyfriend, Mason Bennett, decides to end their relationship out of the blue. It doesn’t make any sense.  Why they had a near perfect date, with near perfect sex just last night.  If Mason thinks he’s going to end their six-month romance with no explanation he’s got another think coming.

Mason has no idea how to explain to the pretty, first-grade teacher he likes to dominate women in the bedroom.  That he’s always dominated women in the bedroom. That is, until she came along.  When she demands answers, Mason does one better and shows her in one kiss exactly what he’s been holding back.

This is one confession Anna could never have predicted.  But she’s up for the challenge and determined to discover the real Mason…

Excerpt

“What are you hiding?”

“Come here,” he said, making room for her on the floor. When she stayed in the chair, motionless, he shook his head as though clearing it. “Please come here.”

“Why?”

He sighed, a deep, mournful sound that clutched at her chest and made her ache. “I’d like to kiss you before you look at me totally different, can I do that?”

He wanted to kiss her? Now, when he was breaking up with her? She searched his expression, trying to catch a glimpse of his secrets. But all she saw was warmth. Mason. The man she loved and who miraculously loved her in return.

She moved to the floor and onto her knees, looking at him expectantly.

Relief softened the corners of his mouth and he reached for her. Hands slid up her back to curl around her neck. “I want something from you but you can say no. Okay?”

“Okay,” she said, wetting her suddenly dry lips with the tip of her tongue.

He smiled, his grip tightening on her neck. “Can I kiss you the way I’ve really wanted to?”

The question confused but something indefinable quickened inside her. A million questions sprang to mind but she didn’t voice them. Questions could wait, while this mysterious kiss couldn’t. “Yes.”

It was all the encouragement he needed.

He didn’t brush his mouth with hers as he’d done in the past. Didn’t tease with the tip of his tongue, waiting for her to open. Didn’t kiss her with that slow, methodical patience she’d grown used to.

The second their mouths met, she knew he was right.

This was nothing like any kiss they’d ever shared.

His lips claimed. Possessed. Slanted over hers and took everything and then some. Stunned, all she could do was clutch his shoulders as a tidal wave of desire swept her away.

She’d always desired him but this, this was something altogether different.

His grip tightened in her hair as he devoured her. And that’s exactly how she felt—devoured, taken, eaten alive. It shocked her. He’d always been so sweet, so gentle, almost asking for permission.

There was no asking now.

His tongue invaded. Captured. Taunted and teased.

She dug her nails into his shoulders and hung on for dear life as her nipples pulled tight, almost painful.

He growled low in his throat. A dark, feral sound that both terrified and excited her. He fisted her hair, a slight pleasure-filled pain prickled at her nape.

Wet, slippery heat dampened her thighs as tingles raced along her spine.

As suddenly as it started, he pulled away. Grasp tight in her hair, he yanked her head back forcing her look at him. This wasn’t gentle Mason. This was the dangerous Mason she’d sensed hints of when they’d met but never materialized. “Now do you see?”

Dizzy with lust, she fought to catch her breath. “No.”

“Damn it, Anna, I don’t want to make love to you,” he said, his voice harsh, unlike anything she’d heard before. “I want to fuck you. Claim you. Possess every inch of your body until it obeys only me.”

Fuck? Claim? Obey? He’d never spoken so crudely. Her belly dipped and her heart pounded.

Before she could speak, he delivered a hard, punishing kiss that was over before it began and made her crave so much more.

“I want to dominate you and I won’t be satisfied with anything less.”

Congratulations to Kat the winner of the Hoppy Easter Blog Hop Contest!

The lucky winner has already been notified and will receive a $20.00 Amazon Gift Card and  her choice of one of my current back list titles.

For those of you who did not win, I want to say thank you so much for participating.  I was honored by the great turn out and LOVED reading all the responses and comments about why Mason broke up with Anna.

And yes, the cover does indeed ROCK!!

I had a great time and thanks again to all of you!  If you still want a chance to win, I’m also participating in the Night Owl Spring Web Hunt that goes until May 18th.

~Julia~

Thanks so much for stopping by for the Easter Blog Hop, I know you’re all busy, but I hope you’ll take time to participate.

I started writing this blog post with this elaborate idea of a contest tying in Easter, resurrection, second chances and my upcoming release The Real Mason, and revelations from you.  But, as I was writing the details and laying it all out, even I was confused. My direction was clear, and did one thing all writers are intimately familiar with– I hit the delete key!

So, I’m going with the KISS (Keep it Simple Stupid) Method.

Here’s how the contest will work:

Check out the Coming Soon section of my website. Link

Then go to the Contact Me section of my website and send me an email telling me why Mason is breaking up with Anna.  Link

You have until April 8th at midnight to enter.

Once the contest closes, I’ll put all the emails in a hat and select the winner at random.

So, what does the winner get? A $20.00 Gift Certificate to Amazon.com and your choice of one of my back list titles.

Looking forward to the responses.

Have a great day, and a very Happy Easter!

Julia

It’s spring… celebrate.

I’m super excited to participate in Night Owl’s Spring Fling Web Hunt that starts April 1st and continues through May 15th.

There are over 75 authors participating and tons of great prizes… I’m offering a $25.00 Gift Certificate to Amazon.com and your choice of back list, so make sure you participate.   Who knows what you’ll win and maybe you’ll discover some great new authors  as well.

Because I love you guys that take time out of your busy days to come visit my website, I’ll give you a head start, read The Burn List’s excerpt to find the answer to my question.

Happy Hunting….

~Julia~

P.S. On April 6th, I’m participating in an Easter blog hop and will be running a contest about my upcoming book The Real Mason so come back and check out the details.

In celebration of my new contract with Ellora’s Cave for The Real Mason I’m throwing an impromtu contest over at Flirty Author Bitches. 

Yes, there will be prizes… and fun. But it only lasts 24 hours so come on over and check it out! 

You’ll also find out about my upcoming realease, which I’m super excited about.

~Julia~

Last week over in the Ellore’s Cave author’s group we had a discussion about iPad apps and the like for writers.  Of course, because I’m a huge techno geek, I abandoned my normal lurker status and jumped into the discussion.  I’ve been using my iPad for writing since it’s release and have found some really great ways to utilize it.  Being the kind sort that I am, I thought I’d share them with you.

Now, I will say, in my opinion nothing takes the place of a my laptop and it’s still my tool of choice when it comes to pounding out words on my manuscript.  However, the one advantage I think the iPad has is (and this might be only my family) when it comes to trying to get some things done with the family, they seemed to have a different tolerance level with the iPad than when I try and bring my laptop in front of the TV.  Once my laptop is brought into the mix it becomes a thing of evil my family must destroy.

So, if you want to get some writing done on your iPad, here’s some apps that I’ve found invaluable and that I use on a daily basis. There are others, but I use these 3 constantly.

I hope you find them helpful.

My Favorite Apps

Thinkbook-  I use this app for plotting and organizing my WIP as well as my future ideas, and blog posts (yes, this section is a bit sparse).  I will admit, at first blush this isn’t the most intuitive app, however once you get over the learning curve I’ve found it really helpful.  You can organize your information in a project plan, outline, notebook, page, or note.  In addition, you can create templates and use them over and over again.  For my longer, single tiles I have a couple of templates set up that help me make sure I deal with all those niggling plot issues without ruining my pantsing nature.  Lastly, there are some very helpful youtube tutoritals that will help you over the hump. You can find Thinkbook at the App Store here.  Bonus: My husband uses this app for his job to track all his projects so it’s great for business as well.

Quickoffice- I’ve tried to use a variety of word processing programs but have found this one to be the most user friendly office compatible program .  I’ve used Pages, but because I’m not on a Mac I just didn’t find it as easy to interface with all my other computer equipment and I didn’t like having to convert back and forth and jump through various other hoops.  To me quick office is the most “wordlike” although it doesn’t have some handy features like word counts.  The other thing I like about this app is that the developers make a lot of updates to the program and seem to listen to users.  At one point there wasn’t a find feature, and there was quite a lot of noise about it, and they were very responsive with a fix.  In addition, it syncs with dropbox, which, with 2 laptops, a desktop, an iPad and iPhone I’d be lost without.  You can find Quickoffice at the App Store here. Bonus: It also comes with excel and PowerPoint if you like that kind of thing.

Dropbox- Yes, most people know about app, but I can’t say enough about how much I love it.  It might be one of my most loved products as it makes my life much easier.  The other thing that I find about Dropbox is almost all apps that allow storage and transfer sync with dropbox.  I’ve used other storage programs in the past and I haven’t looked back since I discovered dropbox. You can find Dropbox at the App store here.

~Julia~

(P.S- I have no affiliation with any of these products and I am not receiving compensation for this post)

Flirty Author Bitches talking about failure and the road to success.  I included some quotes in my blog but here are some other ones I like.

I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.  ~Bill Cosby

Try again.  Fail again.  Fail better.  ~Samuel Beckett

Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat.  ~F. Scott Fitzgerald

It is a mistake to suppose that people succeed through success; they often succeed through failures.  ~Author Unknown

I hope you’ll stop by and leave me a comment.

~Julia

I can’t believe 2011 is over!

Like most everyone I have my list of resolutions and things I want to accomplish in 2012 but instead of giving you that list I’d rather start this new year with the things I’m most grateful for.

My 2012 Gratitude List

1. My health– the last 2 years in a row have ended with people dying unexpectedly and it’s really made me realize how very important health is.  Without it, not much else matters.
2. My husband– After 18 years together he’s still awesome.  I really couldn’t ask for a better husband or a more understanding one. He’s supported every crazy idea I’ve ever had and there’s not many people who would do that.
3. My kids– I have 2 of the best kids out there.  They’re happy, healthy, and teach me new things every day.
4. My mom– She lives next door to me and is my biggest supporter.  She’s been nothing but enthusiastic about my writing, even when I know sometimes she’s um…. surprised… at my subject matter.  She also helps me whenever she can and is the best grandma ever!
5. The rest of my family– No list would be complete without mentioning this crazy bunch.  I love them all and am so thankful to have such a close knit group to call my own.
6. Writing– I spent a lot of years not sure what I wanted to do with my life.  Sure I had a good job, but I wasn’t really fulfilled.  I still don’t really know what made me open that 1st word document 5 years ago and start a story but I’m very grateful I did.
7. My readers– Thank you so much for all the support and kindness you’ve shown my work over the last couple years.  I am truly grateful to you for reading and liking my stories.
8. My BFF’s– I have the best friends a women could ask for.  They are all different from each other, and give me different things, but I couldn’t ask for a more supportive group of women.  It’s nice to be understood.
9. My creativity– I do believe that everyone is creative and I’m so grateful I’ve been able to get in touch with and cultivate mine.
10. My analytical side– I believe that writing is equally creative and analytical. Without this side of my personality I wouldn’t be able to produce polished stories, spot problems areas, develop believable character arcs, fix plot holes, etc.  Being analytical is a much over looked yet equally important component of writing and I’m grateful for my active, logical (albeit sometimes overly) brain.

So there you have it, the things I’m most grateful for… sure there are others, but this is the top ten.  What are you most grateful for going into this upcoming year?

~Julia~  

Thanks to the lightening speed of my editor the fabulous Mary Moran The Burn List will be released on November 25th over at Ellora’s Cave.  Since I’ll be tucked away in the mountains, recovering from too much turkey and a trip to Disney, I’m not sure I’ll have any computer access to do much promotion of the release so I thought I’d give you all a little advance notice.

Lukas Marlow is a gorgeous firefighter.  Abby Simmons is a repressed good girl with a very naughty to-do list.  Together they discover appearances can be deceiving and sometimes love is living right next door.

I loved revisiting this couple. Abby is filled with lots of snark and despite their shy start knows how to give Lukas a run for his money.

I hope they are as fun to read as they are to write.

Check out the excerpt, happy reading!

~Julia~

You’ve done it,  you’ve completed  your manuscript. Written a whole story with an actual beginning, middle, and end. And it feels awesome!  You run around your house bouncing off the walls in happiness, you do some yoga stretches to work the kinks out of your back and neck from sitting hunched over for too long, and rhapsodize about what you’ll do in your free time until the next project grabs you by the neck and won’t let go.   Sound familiar?

Then, reality sets in, writing “The End” is only the first step in getting a completed manuscript of the door, but this is where the real work begins.

And, since I’ve just finished a story, this list is in the forefront of my mind.

So, what needs to be done to get your manuscript out the door and into an editors hands?

1. The dreaded synopsis– I stupidly believed once I was published I’d never have to write one of these again.  I was wrong.  I can’t think of a story I haven’t had to write one for.  So, I guess my best advice is get use to them, they’re hard to shake.
2. The blurb– I could technically wait on writing this, but since I’m already forced to write a synopsis, I just get this little bit of irritation out of the way too.  How can 200 little words be so darn hard to write?
3. My electronic proof– I distinguish this from true editing that is  part of the manuscript writing process.  This it the electronic read though I do when I already have that “I’m happy feeling” and consider myself done with the book.  I usually give myself a few days to a week of time  before I do this read through.  That distance is vital and allows me to see things with fresh eyes. Tip: The more you struggled with a story the longer the time lapse should be to allow for the emotional detachment.
4. Depending on how I’m feeling about the manuscript I may send out to one of my critique partners to read through the story or parts of the story.  I don’t do this all the time, but only if there’s parts of the story niggling at me that I’m worried about.
5. My printed proof– I change the font (believe it or not this helps find spots you’re auto-correcting in your head) and print out the whole story. (Side note: I have a 2 sided printer to be kinder to the environment) Then I comb through one more time.  Doing that final paper read is in my opinion and essential step that’s very tempting to want to skip.  Don’t do it.  Your eye will ALWAYS catch things you’ve missed during your other reads.
6. Make those last changes, check all your formatting, make sure your information is on the manuscript, etc.
7. Send the story.  This last and final step is in some ways the hardest.  It’s the moment you’re most vulnerable and where your baby has left your hands and officially out of your control.

This is my list on the road to producing the most polished manuscript I can.  I hope it helps you, but always remember, like all writing advice, it’s only suggestions.  In the end you have to follow what’s best for you.

Full Disclosure– I’m starting step 3 this morning.  Wish me luck.

~Julia~