My dearest Readers,
‘Tis the Season to be giving gifts to those near and dear to our hearts. You fret and you try so hard to make it so very, very special. You put time and effort and thought into it even if you do or don’t have the money. And then there’s your man. Needless to say, men really don’t know how to properly gift give. Yes, yes, some do. But most, I’m finding, don’t. And sadly, I’m living proof of that. No matter if it’s during the holidays or my birthday or an anniversary, I find that my amazingly romantic and wonderful dashing husband whom I write romance books about falls rather….ehm…how shall I put this?…SHORT. For in the end, my husband is really a practical sort of man. He believes in giving gifts I can use. Even if those gifts might offend…

Now if you have that sort of man in your life, I suggest you sign him up for the dog house. Immediately. What, pray tell, is the dog house? Allow me to explain. I am not usually one to go about advertising things (unless it relates to my book, LOL) but I have to say I absolutely am in LOVE with JC Penny’s Dog House Ads. So first, go to this link and watch this 4 minute mini movie. I promise it’ll be the best 4 minutes you ever spent. Click HERE. Once you’re done and you want to put your man into the dog house, below you’ll find a picture of a poloroid man saying PUT SOMEONE IN THE DOGHOUSE. I already put my man in the dog house. ‘Tis my little gift to him this holiday season. Wink and grin. That said, tell me what you thought of the movie and if you ended up putting your man in the dog house.
Cheers and much love during this glorious holiday Season,
Delilah Marvelle

Please raise your hand for me if you grew up on fairy tales. Be it Disney based or Grimm based or Hans Christian Anderson based, they all had one thing in common. No matter how dire the circumstances, love always finds a way. A beautiful sentiment, wouldn’t you say?

Even in my 30′s, I am still in hot pursuit, not of my prince, for I was fortunate to not only find him but keep him, but of trying to come across the ultimate fairy tale. I dream of capturing and writing about the awe and magic of what I once felt as a child. Only from an adult point of view. Which means a very wicked, very warped and very devious point of view. That includes sex. Which I think is something we as adults can relate to so much more than a traditional fairy tale. But here’s a question for you. Should we, as adults, be turning our backs on fairy tales? Before you answer, allow me to throw this at you.

You all remember the Frog Prince Tale, yes? Of course you do. The Princess happens upon a slimy, little frog when she loses her golden ball in a pond. She asks for its help in retrieving it, but alas, the frog refuses to cooperate unless she makes out with him. The Princess is naturally disgusted by his proposition but a golden ball is worth a lot of money. So she compromises herself in the name of said golden ball and kisses him. Then lo and behold! He turns into a gorgeous prince. Ah, yes. If only relationships were really THAT simple.

For a child, the idea of a frog turning into a prince due to a simple kiss is a form of magic that feeds their vivid imagination and allows them to pursue dreams. But for an adult? It’s freakin’ absurd. Which is why it’s no surprise romance novels are scoffed at by our society. They seem unrealistic, too romantic and childish. This day and age, money is what defines success. Not love. The idea of love, romance and family is being assassinated and replaced by CEO businessocracy. Slaving over a business leaves little to no time for love, yet alone family and that’s supposed to be okay. Sadly, due to the hardships in life, we as a society have allowed this warped perspective to take over our lives and in turn have left behind the idea of the fairy tale. We forget that its purpose was to teach us life lessons about life and love. A lesson we all could use. The story of the Frog Prince was told to demonstrate the power of trust and the power of a kiss. That a kiss can cause one to close their eyes one moment and when it was over and the eyes are re-opened, an emotional connection occurs that changes everything. The princess wanted a prince, so she got one. In the most unexpected of places. A lily pond. Something we as cynical adults can learn from.

Now what is fascinating about the Frog Prince Tale is that whoever wrote the story actually knew something that most people didn’t. That a frog CAN turn into a prince. How? There are certain frogs, like the Bufo Marinus, which secrete a toxin that wards off predators and when licked (or kissed as in this case) it causes the burning of one’s skin, the burning of one’s eyes which may or may not lead to hallucinations. So sadly, the heat rising through the body of our princess had nothing to do with passion or love whatsoever. And the prince didn’t actually exist. But the frog did!! How is THAT for a fairy tale? All that really matters, though, in the end, is that she lived happily ever after. Even if it was with a frog.

So my question to you today is this. Do you remember what your favorite fairy tale was and why? And more importantly, do you still believe in happily ever afters or are you one of THOSE? My hope is that regardless of the journey you are on that you try to take the time to relive the magic and awe that love has to offer. Go forth, find that bloody lily pond (or romance novel) and dip your toe into it. Better yet, go skinny dipping. Either way, don’t fall into the conspiracy of trying to kill fairy tales. For in the end, you are only killing your own hopes and dreams of having a happily ever after.

My Dearest Readers,
So about two weeks ago, someone told me that if you can come up with 25 things you are thankful for then you’re pretty happy with your life. And if you can’t…well, I guess your life sucks. There’s a happy thought, eh? Seeing that I’m pretty gosh darn happy with my life I decided to put this thing to the test. And guess what? I was able to come up with 25 things! Whew…glad to know that my life doesn’t suck, LOL. That said, I thought I’d list what I came up with. Mind you, this list is not just the biggie things in life, but the simple things. I hope you’ll post some of the things you’re thankful for. And if you got it in you to post 25 things (and I know you do) I double, triple dare you to post them here. You’d be surprised how much you can find out about a person by their list aside from the whole being happy thing.

So here goes mine (and mind you, this isn’t in order of impotance, so please don’t judge me on that!):
1.)My husband – he’s amazing.
2.)My children – who teach me so many things (including patience…) and allow me to experience the joys and excitement in life through their eyes.
3.)My mother and father in law – for being the sort of parents I wished I had.
4.)My writing – which keeps me sane when everyone else thinks I’m insane…
5.)My agent – who is looking out for my career when I forget to.
6.)My editor – who allow me to write with a freedom I have always dreamed of.
7.)Books – OMGosh, can you imagine life without them?!
8.)Movies – the same OMGosh applies.
9.)Starbucks – oh yeah.
10.) My computer – because I used to have a typewriter back in high school when I first started writing and let me tell you, a typo was HELL.
11.)Chocolate – I want to french kiss whoever came across the cocoa bean.
12.)Cunliary School – because before culinary school it was like I was coloring with a pack of 8 crayons. After culinary school, it was like I was coloring with a pack of 64 crayons. The greatest thing I learned in culinary school? Everything tastes better with Heavy Whipping Cream in it. Seriously. Desserts, sauces, gravies, soups, you name it.
13.)My iphone – dude. Seriously. The BEST THING EVER. I am more organized and have access to my e-mail even when I’m not near a computer.
14.)The fact that I am only 2 sizes larger than before I had my kids. Though how much longer that’ll last…
15.)Smash burgers. There’s a little joint in Portland that serves these things. And let me tell you…there’s nothing like it. It’s a burger with fries smashed into it on a bun. Amazing.
16.)My own health and my family’s – without it, there isn’t much to be thankful for.
17.)That my husband still has his job. With the times being tough, I can’t be more thankful.
18.)The Internet – can you imagine life before blogs, e-mails, and access to the ENTIRE WORLD?
19.)My Honda Odyssey – I never thought I’d be a mini van kinda girl until my butt sat down on the heated seats and my kids could no longer kick the back of my seats because they were WAY back there.
20.)The Mariposa. In Spanish it means butterfly. But I’m not talking about butterflies. I’m talking about the name of my family’s getaway vacation home. You can see 6 mountains from the house, because it’s way up on the edge of a rigde, and there is no noise or light pollution. I feel like Jane Austen up there. Only in Oregon.
21.)That I am published. It took me 11 years to get published and let me tell you, I am so, so, so, thankful to be where I’m at.
22.)RWA and my local Rose City Romance Writers Chapter. Because no one understands writers better than writers.
23.)Makeup. I don’t wear a lot of it to begin with but life without it? Pfff.
24.)Being able to speak another language. Polish is actually my first language and English is my second. It’s really opened up my eyes to the world being able to travel amongst a different culture you really can understand and relate to.
25.)My readers – can I say holy cow? More love, enthusiasm and excitement I couldn’t even begin to give my characters.

And so there it is. THE LIST. Mind you I found I actually could have go on and on, so I’ll take that to me I’m REALLY happy with my life. I look forward to reading your list and with cheers and much love with you a happy day after Thanksgiving!

My Dearest Readers,
With Halloween coming upon us (and with me having two children who remind me every day it is coming upon us) I thought I would take this time to talk about the costumes. I have to say, as a writer of very steamy historical romances, I have to say that even I am absolutely positively SHOCKED at the sexuality being displayed throughout the Halloween stores. Has anyone else noticed this too? Or am I the only one?
When I took my children into a local Halloween warehouse, there were rows and rows of…ehm…what women have above the waist. And then even those male things below the waist. Whatever happened to people wanting to be vampires and ghosts and mummies? Everything has to be so…sexy. Only, they aren’t!!! I am by no means a prude but I have to say when my own 9 year old son grabbed a pair of female breasts off the rack and draped it around himself, yelling, “Look Mom! I have boobs!” I never laughed so hard in complete horror before snatching them off and shoving it between the cracks of two displays. Though I suppose if I was horrified, then what the costume industry was attempting to do in the name of Halloween was accomplished..
That being said, I will leave you with a few costumes you can see while walking down the isle of your local friendly warehouse. Mind you, I chose the tame ones… Oh and please do share you thoughts.



Cheers and much love,
Delilah Marvelle

Behind every book, there is a story.  And needless to say, behind my upcoming debut, MISTRESS OF PLEASURE, which centers around a school that educates men on the topic of love and seduction, there are several.  Because I don’t want to write a book about THE book, I’ve decided to elaborate as simply as I can about the inspiration behind the creation of MISTRESS OF PLEASURE.  That inspiration first coming from my research, when I stumbled upon Ninon de L’Enclos, a French 17th century courtesan.  Truth be told, I find it rather astounding that this fascinating woman somehow disappeared into the shadows of history.  She is but a ghost whenever the topic of courtesans arise.  For we usually hear of the same old, same old courtesans like Kitty Fisher, Cora Pearl or Harriette Wilson.  Let me be the first to tell you, however, that none of these women could possibly rival Ninon de L’Enclos or her life.  But don’t take my word for it.  Research her on your own and come to your conclusion.  Bottom line, Ninon’s thoughts, philosophies, and her approach toward men and sex went beyond anything I have ever seen in a woman of her day.  Much like other courtesans, she kept her bedroom door open to aristocratic men, yes.  But unlike other courtesans, she kept that bedroom door open for more than just sex.  This woman actually held meetings and classes in the confines of her bedchamber where men of all ages would come to visit in order to discuss topics of sex, philosphy and love.  These so-called meetings fascinated me and in turn, began to create the growing threads of what is now Mistress of Pleasure.  The more I researched, the more excited I became.  For there was almost too much to work with.  For instance, Ninon had various lovers, as you might imagine.  But to one lover in particular, she birthed a son.  A son who was raised apart from her to never know who she was due to her being a courtesan.  Then one day, when her son was a grown man, he happened to one day meet Ninon.  And fell madly in love with her.  (And no, I’m not bloody making this up…).  Though she had sworn to never reveal her identity to her son, because his advances were growing more and more passionate and he altogether outright refused to leave her be, she finally told him the truth.  That she was in fact his mother and that was why there would never be a sexual relationship between them.  Her son was so overwhelmed and distraught by the confession, that he left her house and committed suicide by falling onto the blade of his own sword.  Another story, somewhat less morbid, was about one man who begged and begged Ninon to admit him into her bed.  She refused him time and time again and finally told him, “Return when I am eighty.  Then I shall bed you.”  The besotted fool took her words quite literally and arrived on her doorstep many, many years late, when she turned eighty.  Ninon was so amused, she ended up bedding him, after all.  As you can tell by the stories I am selecting, it is the older Ninon that ultimately fascinated me.  Which created a dilemma for my writing.  Because my heroine couldn’t possibly be an elderly lady.  It would never sell.  But then I got to thinking.  What if she were a grandmother of the heroine?  Now THAT had possibilities.  At about the same time I started writing AN IMPROPER EDUCATION (which is what I called it before the publisher changed it), MY grandmother re-appeared in my life.  After 20 years of complete and utter silence.  Which is a whole other story I don’t have time to go into…  Soon, I discovered that the grandmother I never knew was actually an opera singer who had married into American Aristocracy and was living the life of a queen.  My grandmother had an air of royalty to her and was quite beautiful for a woman her age.  She had a heavy accent, walked with a sashay and always used amusing little words that I’d never heard before.  For instance, she referred to sex as “Poom-poom.”  She amused me so much so, that I could not help but morph her and Ninon together to create the fictional character that ultimately became Madame de Maitenon, who is both the creator of the School of Gallantry and the grandmother of my heroine, Maybelle de Maitenon.  And so, I ended up with a story about a retired French courtesan who opens up a school that educates men on the topic of love and seduction, and the granddaughter who is unexpectedly forced to take over the operation of the school and educate all the men.  Even though she has very little personal experience.  Life certainly makes for some interesting fiction.  And I have to say, I’m glad for it.  At least in the case of this book.

Cheers,

Delilah Marvelle

www.DelilahMarvelle.com