Did You Get Your Diamonds Yet?

Run on over to CerridwenPress.com to see that TOUGHER THAN DIAMONDS releases today! Yes, there it goes out into the world for strangers to read. It's a little bit like sending your child to kindergarten on the first day. You fully expect the teacher to call you and say he's the most brilliant child they've ever had the privilege to teach. But in your realistic heart of hearts, you know you'll be happy if he just doesn't pick his nose at the lunch table.

So, it's out there today. My Jake and Rebecca for all to see. What's the big deal about this diamond anyway? Well, for one thing it's extremely large. For another, it's been in Rebecca's family for generations. And finally, the man who has it now also has a little unfinished business with both Jake and Rebecca.

So on some level for both of them, it's not about the diamond at all. It's about revenge, and payback. And maybe even redemption.

Find out today at CerridwenPress.com

Just Your Friendly Neighborhood Burglar

Most of the time a book starts with just an image in mind. Maybe it lends itself to a scene. Maybe you aren't even sure what your image means. For me, TOUGHER THAN DIAMONDS began with a burglar.

Now it's no secret among people who know me that Lawrence Block is one of my favorite authors. He is superb at the craft of writing and free with sharing his insights with aspiring writers. I knew him through his fiction column in Writers Digest before I'd ever read the first book about Bernie or Scudder or Keller. But once I started, I ran through each series with a voracious appetitie.

So maybe that's why I had this scene in my head of a woman dressed in black from head to toe sneaking through the backyard to pick the lock on the kitchen door of a large home in an exclusive neighborhood. It's even a diamond that she's after. But that's where the similarity with Block's Bernie ends.

While Bernie picks up loose jewels for a living - and possibly an obsession - my Rebecca's motive is revenge. Never the best reason to do something, really, but who wants to stand between a girl and her diamond?

Does she get the diamond? Does she get caught? And what does Jake have to do with it?

Find out tomorrow on RELEASE DAY for TOUGHER THAN DIAMONDS at CerridwenPress.com.

Have a great day!
(and watch your diamonds!)

Delia

Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend

Well, who doesn't love a little bling-bling? You think Marilyn is the only one who "stands straight at Tiffany's?" No, it's in the female DNA to want the flash and sparkle. One of the many reasons I love this book.

In the spring of 2005, I was recovering from an emotionally trying time in my life. It didn't help any that my Prince was living a thousand miles away. I went to Columbia, Maryland to spend some time with him. While there, I wrote most of TOUGHER THAN DIAMONDS.

Every day after he left for work, I sat at the dining room table listening to one of the local classical radio stations and writing in longhand. If I needed a break, I would take a short walk through the woods to Safeway to get a latte. Starbucks at the grocery store! What will they think of next?

It was a healing time for me. Watching those pages pile up helped tremendously.

Jake and Rebecca have been pretty beat up emotionally themselves. Isn't it amazing the way the mind works? Helping those two navigate themselves to a firmer footing and a happy resolution gave me insights to pull myself out of my own nasty spots.

We're all chasing diamonds of one type or another. I'm lucky that I found mine. Here's to everyone still on their quest. Sometimes the journey is the best part. The destination is just for show. See how Jake and Rebecca handle their quest next Thursday at Cerridwen Press.

Have a great day!
Delia

That's the Power of Love

My first book with Cerridwen Press releases one week from today! This particular book is dear to my heart for a variety of reasons. I'll write more about them in the next few days.

My working title for this book was DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH, which emphasized the quest for the diamond but also alluded to Jake. Yeah, he may appear to be a scruffy loser who may be just a tad too close to his buddy Jack Daniel's. But Rebecca sees the good in him. Not easily certainly, but when was love ever easy? But CP already had a book with that title, so I had to come up with something else. I struggled with it a little bit, trying to think of a way to keep the Diamond reference and still allude to the romance. That's when I came up with TOUGHER THAN DIAMONDS.

Way back in the Eighties, the first romance I ever wrote was about a rock star in seclusion on a small island off the coast of Florida. While this book didn't sell, it got a fair amount of praise from a couple of editors and was the springboard for my first published work with Silhouette. All the time I was writing that rock star hero, I had Huey Lewis in mind. I had pictures of him all over my bulletin board above my desk. SPORTS was hot on the Top Ten and I played it constantly. I even got to see him in concert when he was promoting his next album, FORE. Also, MTV was fairly new at that time, and Huey was all over it, being very easy to look at.

So for Valentine's Day this year, my Prince took me to see Huey Lewis and the News at a local venue. They rocked the house that night! A few weeks prior to the concert, I loaded the player in my car with all of Huey's CDs. I was traveling at a high rate of speed, top down, singing along at the top of my voice to "Power of Love," when I coulda smacked myself upside the head with a two by four.

I hadn't realized why the phrase TOUGHER THAN DIAMONDS had been floating around in my head, but there it was! "Tougher than diamonds, rich like cream."

Well, thanks, Huey. I guess you did finally show up in one of my books after all.

And that's the Power of Love.

Have a great day!
Delia

This is What Heaven Smells Like

There are some undisputably great things about living in Florida -

I have never shoveled snow in my life.
The Annual Pass makes Disney affordable.
No matter where you are, there is a beach in close driving distance.
You can easily pretend to have Jimmy Buffett's lifestyle.

But one of my favorite things is the smell of the orange blossoms. It's a fleeting thing, but one you do not want to miss if you can at all help it. This occurs in March. The citrus trees (of which we have many) are covered in tiny white flowers that release a perfume to rival anything Paris has ever put out. It's sweet without being cloying. Refreshing in the way citrus can be. And absolutley beautiful.

Yesterday, we took a drive down US 27 from I-4 south to Lake Wales, passing historic Bok Tower in the distance. This piece of Florida is known as The Ridge, probably because it's the highest elevation we can claim. And it's less than three hundred feet at its apex. It was a gorgeous day. Bright sunshine. Temperature in the seventies. Of course - look at this blog's picture, for gosh sakes! - we had the top down. The orange blossoms showered us with the sweetest perfume known to man. It was a rare treat, one I look forward to every March.

I know I'm supposed to live my life with words at my disposal, but for this experience, descriptions escape me. It's something that just has to be lived. So next time you're planning your Florida vacation, consider March. Rent a convertible and take that drive through the groves. You won't regret it.

Have a wonderful day!

Delia

Irish Car Bomb!

That's not a weapon, as you might guess. It's a drink. You start with a glass of Guinness. Fill a shot glass with equal parts Jameson and Bailey's. Drop the shot glass into the Guinness. Stir rapidly. Then chug.

Yeah, that's why they call it a Car Bomb. I became acquainted with this delicacy earlier today at Four Green Fields, an authentic Irish pub just on the edge of downtown Tampa. It was the place to be this St. Patrick's Day afternoon. Despite the fact that I stopped hanging out in Irish pubs abou ten years ago, one thing is constant. They still sing those same dozen or so songs. Whiskey in the Jar. Finnegan's Wake. The Wild Rover. Some things never change.

The barmaid's name was Ashley. The lilt of Irish laughter was sweet counterpoint to the rowdy band in the corner. She kept her cool admirably when someone asked for a Corona. "No, sorry, we don't carry that." But when the high-fashion Barbie doll walked in, clearely out of her element, and ordered a Mai Tai, she was helpless. "What's a Mai Tai?"

Which of course begs the question - who orders a Mai Tai in an Irish pub on St. Patrick's Day or any other day of the year?

My Brianna would have been right at home at this great party. The music, the laughter, the Guinness flowing like a babbling brook over green Irish fields. So if you can't go to Ireland, you can always find a corner bar or a good book to replicate the experience for you.

Try BRIANNA'S MAGIC. You'll be glad you did something Irish today.

Erin Go Bragh!!

Know what that means? "Ireland Forever" You should be able to hear it frequently and fervently tomorrow. Green Beer. Shamrocks. Silly hats. Kiss me, I'm Irish. It's that time of year again. Everyone's Irish on St. Patrick's Day.

A few years ago, I had the great good fortune to be in Dublin on March 17. Through a series of wonderful circumstances, I was able to obtain VIP viewing of the parade and an invitation to the Lord Mayor's Ball. You'd think that would be about the most authentic Irish celebration ever, wouldn't you? So did I, but we were wrong.

The parade consisted largely of rowdy groups of Americans from places like Boston and Chicago who had won contests on their local radio station to go to Ireland and be in the parade. It's almost as if someone's marketing department created this parade just for the winners. The Lord Mayor's Ball was elegant with a gourmet dinner and excellent musicians. But again, the attendees were mostly American tourists.

Both of these events were loads of fun, and I'm glad I got the chance to attend. But give me the local pub any time. As our hero, Michael Gallagher, discovers in BRIANNA'S MAGIC, the authentic Irish celebration of St. Patrick's Day is not much different from any other night of the year. The Irish will always find some reason to lift a glass of Guinness.

That trip to Ireland certainly makes my Top Ten list of the best things I've ever done. But the most fun I had there was the day we left the tour group to wander aimlessly through Kenmare. We had a great time climbing over the wall of the old cemetery so we could read the headstones in the drizzling rain. It's the stuff of Irish legend, folks.

It's one of my life goals to get back there. And this time, I might be smart enough to stay!

ERIN GO BRAGH!!

Have a wonderful day,
Delia