Dani Jace's Blog, page 2
February 23, 2019
Winter Destination
Winter Destination
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Romance Writers Weekly authors are picking a winter destination. If you could pick one place to stay the winter, other than home, where would it be and why?
I’d love to winter in a tropical place. As a beach lover,
Hawaii is on my bucket list. If a first
class flight came my way, it’d be awesome to stay over winter. Besides the
beach, there are lush forests, mountains and volcanos. It looks like my type of
paradise. If it wasn’t for the eighteen hour flight and cost, I’d have already
gone. Now that my son is grown, he says
he’ll take me. Hubs has never been a traveler.
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I’m not into the fancy hotel scene but want to take a naturalist type of stay. Slow life’s pace down and stay at a hotel off the beaten path or maybe rent one of the second houses residents build on their properties to help with expenses. A sunny beach, bed and shower would be about all I need.
Some facts about my winter utopia.
Hawaii became a state in 1959 (the year of my birth) No bikini for me when I make it there LOL!
It is the only state in the USA that doesn’t have a straight line in its border
Mt. Kilauea is the most active volcano in the world. The big island grows by forty-two acres a year.
It is the only state that honors a monarch. They celebrate King Kamehameha on June 11. He is known for uniting the islands.
My favorite movies based in Hawaii:
Aloha – A quirky film with Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone,
Rachel McAdams and John Krasinski. It’s an old love story turned anew with satellite
espionage at Christmas time.
Battleship – Action
packed save the world from aliens with transformer type ships. Screw-up, bad
boy Taylor Kitsch is the hero
Blue Crush – Surfer girl makes it big and wins the guy!
Until I can make Hawaii my winter destination, I’ll have to visit through movies and Nat Geo specials! Hope you have already visited the lovely Leslie Hachtel and now on to A.S. Fenichel.
January 8, 2019
Realistic Resolutions
Happy New Year! This week, the Romance Writers Weekly crew are asked by Brenda Margriet, “This is the time of year to set goals. But I think it is important make sure those goals are realistic and achievable, or all we do is set ourselves up for failure. What achievable goals are you setting for yourself this year?”
Happy New Year! This week, the Romance Writers Weekly crew are asked by Brenda Margriet, “This is the time of year to set goals. But I think it is important make sure those goals are realistic and achievable, or all we do is set ourselves up for failure. What achievable goals are you setting for yourself this year?”
New Year’s resolutions never really work for me. Realistic goals…maybe. As an author, I’ve never set out to write X number of novels in a year. With a full time job, and royalty payments at 35¢ on a dollar, it’s not worth the stress. I’d have to sell almost 2K books to even cover a ticket to the Romance Writers National Conference!
The last couple of years I’ve struggled with that aspect of being a writer in a unlimited sea of authors. Getting a review is like pulling teeth, even when you give books away.
It seems there are more authors than readers these days. My son was an avid reader until a smart phone offered instantaneous gratification. I am by no means immune to its spellbinding allure. Whatever your interests are, cute animal videos, football, politics, etc., all are just a click away and down the rabbit hole you go.
My goal this year will be to write for personal pleasure and hopefully finish a couple of works in progress. I also want to avoid the time suck of social media, except for staying on the grid as an author.
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Oh, and as always, I want to lose forty pounds LOL! Hope you’ve already visited the lovely, Leslie Hachtel and now head on over
Brenda Margriet. Have a beachin 2019!
December 4, 2018
No Baking Awards
This week on Romance Writers Weekly,
Brenda Margriet mentions that she doesn’t bake much, except during Christmas. She asks RWW authors to share our favorite holiday treat recipe!
I’m not much of a baker even at Christmas! I tend to stick to “almost home” treats like peanut butter cookies baked in a mini muffin tin and then push a Reese Cup into the center when they come out of the oven. Last year our son want to make Fireball Fudge (pictured above). It was pretty, but not to my taste. I liked the caramel glazed Jack Daniels cupcakes we tried the year before. (below)
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If I’m pulling down the mixer, my favorite dessert to make for Christmas, birthdays or any time is Kuhlua Cake. A recipe given to my by my mother-in-law. I’ll be baking a cake this week for our office Holiday party.
[image error]Picture this with cream cheese frosting
Kuhlula Cake
1 Devil’s Food Cake Mix
1 Kuhlua Liqueur
4 eggs
6 oz Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips1 c Sour Cream3/4 c Oil
Mix all ingredients and pour into floured 12″ tube pan. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes. Cool in pan for 30 minutes.
Cream Cheese Frosting
1 Stick butter
1 8oz pkg Cream cheese1 lb Confectionery sugar
Cream cheese and butter into bowl until softened and then slowly add sugar. Beat until creamy and frost cake.
I hope you’ve already checked out Leslie Hachtel’s favorite holiday treat. Next, follow me to recipe Jenna Da Sie’s recipe.
November 20, 2018
Grateful in 2018
This week on Romance Writers Weekly, Leslie Hachtel wants to know what we are most grateful for this this Thanksgiving. Hope you’ve already visited A.S. Fenichel.
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This has been a year of changes…
In February, one of my supervisors suddenly passed away. I’d worked for her for over ten years. The shock resonated with one of my other supervisors who then decided to retire. Meanwhile, in March, my son entered our city’s fire academy. Excited and proud as I was for him, it was another adjustment tempered with stress and worry for him to do well and complete the grueling seven month process.
Fortune smiled in July when the supervisors, I’d lost were replaced with outstanding people with a great work ethic. With luck it will remain so and I’ll be with them until it’s time for the big “R” (retirement).
By the end of August my son had completed the academy and was in the process of taking final state and national tests. I thought I’d been handling life’s changes well enough when my body gave a wake up call. Nothing life threatening, but an annoying and mentally challenging condition…tinnitus. The ringing in my ears came out of nowhere.
As a writer, I plunged down a rabbit hole researching this condition. Bewildered and despondent by the multitude of issues possible for causing this condition and a less than optimistic cure, my heart sank.
The picture brighten when my hearing test came back in the normal range. 
October 30, 2018
A Halloween Post: Spooky and Unexplained Events
[image error]Since we’re one day away from Halloween, the Romance Writers Weekly crew have been asked about spooky and unexplained events. Have you ever seen a ghost or witnessed something paranormal? Received a sign from a loved one in the hereafter? If not, share the oddest thing that’s ever happened to you that you can’t explain.
Although, I love paranormal movies and books, I don’t seek out the[image error] other side. It’s the old “be careful what you seek” mentality. I do, however, believe my late father contacted me on two occasions after his passing. I’ve also been witness to a couple of events where a friend’s daughter reached out to her.
We stay on the same street on the Outer Banks each year on vacation and have come to know and love four families. Our children have grown up together. One couple lost their daughter to cancer back in January 2011. That summer on the beach, on Heather’s birthday, she sent word while we were [image error]all on the beach. Doesn’t get anymore dramitic than saying, “Hi” than in the clouds. Luckily, I had my camera in my bag. Never have I seen clouds in letters! It was the most amazing moment. Heather’s mother told us many other signs she’d received from her daughter since her passing.
As for me, my sign came as I drove home after my father had died in 2008. Here’s an excerpt from a short I wrote to always remember the details:
In the predawn light, I left for my house to gather some things for the long day lay ahead. As I shifted the truck into reverse, tears welled and spilled down my cheeks. “Just let me know you are okay, Dad,” I pleaded.
About to cross the railroad tracks almost home, a large bird shot out from the brush in front of the vehicle and then back across just as quickly, disappearing into the oblivion. I gasped, recognizing it was a dove, a symbol of peace. He was at peace. The site of the incident felt as relevant as the type of bird, but I couldn’t grasp the significance at the time.
A few weeks later, I sat under the Crepe Myrtles during lunch break attempting to read, with little success. I gave into my rambling thoughts, allowing the nature around me to guide them. The sights and sounds of the warm June day reminded me of summer visits to Dad’s home place in South Carolina. It was like home to me as well, the farmhouse, pasture of horses and the long sandy driveway that I loved to run down barefooted.
And then I cam to me…Across the road from his childhood home was a railroad track! The dove had appeared before me at the instant I crossed the tracks close to my own home! It could have been any species of bird at any point on the trip home… I now understood. He was at peace and he was home!
Lighthearted in revelation, I sat there with tears of joy in my eyes. Suddenly, a beautiful red cardinal lighted on the limb of the tree above me, so close, I could have touched him. He cocked his head sweetly, stared down at me and serenaded me with a sweet song…Yeah, Dad’s okay!
Not having read this in years, I’d forgotten some of the details which make it even more compelling now.
I hope you’ll hop over to visit Brenda Margriet and if you’ve haven’t visited Leslie Hachtel please go back and check out her post for this week.
Happy Halloween
Dani
October 23, 2018
Favorite Villains
This week, I asked the Romance Writers Weekly crew about [image error]bad guys and girls. Villains: Literary, TV/Movie or even real life – Who do you love as a villain and why. Who do you despise and why?
To me a villain and an anti-hero are a hairsbreadth from one another. On that note, my favorite anti-hero is Jax Teller of SOA (Sons of Anarchy. He doesn’t want to be [image error]bad but lifestyle keeps forcing his hand. As hard as he tries, he can never escape the MC (motorcycle club) culture as well as how he was raised. On the true villain side, Hannibal Lector from Silence of the lambs, is my top lister. He’s a genius and so smooth as he compels victims into his web. If he wasn’t a killer, he’d make an awesome business man. His wit and draws people to him like a moth to a flame. (Pun intended if you know the story!) Yeah, he’s a schizoid, but you’d never know until he has you for dinner!
A villain I despise is The Joker in the movie, the Dark Knight. The late Heath Ledger did such a great job playing bat shit crazy I never finished watching the film. Jonathan Randall from Outlander is another type of evil character that shakes my core. He’s a masochist that should have been castrated without anesthesia.
It’s not unlike me to stop watching a show or movie because a villain[image error] did something so reprehensible it killed my interest in the story. In The Shield, Vic Mackey killed a brother cop in the first episode. I flipped the channel and never looked back. When the bitch queen in Game of Thrones shoved the little boy off the ledge, I shoved her and the show off my DVR recording list. Too evil and vile too early and you risk losing me as a viewer or reader. Obviously, these acts didn’t detour most as these shows went on to be mega hits.
Villains and villainesses need to be multi-layered with a compelling motive in order for me to pull for them. Years ago, I read Master of the Game by Sidney Sheldon (what a writer!) Kate Blackwell screwed everyone over to get to continue her family line the but the way Sheldon wrote her, you might not like her, but you understood her compulsion. Now let’s find out the lovely Leslie Hachtel’s least favorite baddies. And if you haven’t already visited historical author, A.S. Fenichel , on the hop, please check out her post.
October 2, 2018
Crafting Over the Years
[image error]Fall is the season for craft fairs. Do you do any crafting, if so what? If not, what’s the favorite thing that you’ve purchased at a craft fair or a county fair? I’ve asked mainly because I want to see how “crafty” RWW authors are beyond the written word.
I was a crafter before a writer, unless you count the elementary years, where my joy of story telling began. Over the years, I’ve attended many a craft show. I’m old enough to remember when “country décor” became popular in the early eighties. Being different (I almost never follow trends), I wanted a Southwest theme for my den, almost a decade before the style became popular. [image error]Southwest items were difficult to find so I made deco when possible. Ceramic studios were ahead of the time for Southwest items and I fired a steer head skull pictured here. Later, I hankered for a Victorian themed Christmas tree. The ornaments were so expensive, I handmade most. Once the writing bug struck again, my crafting became limited to swag items for promotion. I made some key chains using my logo as well as stamping some coasters.
On occasion, I till visit some of the local high school craft shows, where I enjoying seeing what new and innovative things crafters have made. I love my grape vine pumpkin a found a couple of years ago as a local show. Now on[image error] to the incredible Brenda Margriet. If you haven’t already visited the lovely Jenna Da Sie please check out her crafty post!
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August 21, 2018
Love Letters: A lost art?
[image error]The question on RWW this week is one I asked our authors. Love Letters: Have you received any or written any? Has any of your characters written or received any? Share if you dare or make up one to a special someone.
In this modern day of social media, love letters seem to be on [image error]the route to extinction like the dinosaurs. I met my future husband before he was due to leave town on a two week training with his employer. This was back in the day before cell phones or e-mail. Below is a copy of the snail mail letter I received while he was gone. It’s the closest thing to a love letter I’ve ever received. The year and his name were omitted to protect the innocent.
July 31, 2018
What’s Your Must See 2018 Summer Movie?
[image error]This week on RWW, Jenna Da Sie asks, “Have you seen any good movies this summer? Write a review of one you saw. If you haven’t seen one, tell which one you want to see.” Hope you’ve already visited Leslie Hachtel.
This is up my ally. I love movies! I’ve been an action movie junkie since a double feature Bond flick at the age of ten. More recently I’ve become a Marvel fan in part thanks to the heroes portrayal by the hunkiest actors in Hollywood.
Back to Jenna’s question of the summer movie I most want to see…Summer is flying by and I’ve only seen Deadpool 2 in May. It had some surprises, some sad and some happy. I love Ryan Reynolds in a comedic role. Deadpool’s raunchy, humor, puns and innuendos fulfills my sarcastic side.
[image error]On a a humanistic note, I’m also a dog lover and I want to see Alpha. Who was the first human to befriend canine ancestors? Loyalty knows now bounds with now thousands of years connection. It will probably make me cry like most dog movies, but I’ll endure.
Back to the action must haves… Mission Impossible. I need to see Tom Cruise jumping the building where he breaks his leg and continues to finish the scene. That’s giving your all. And as a special forces fan, I want to see him doing a real Halo jump. Respect.
I could go on, but let’s hear Brenda Margriet’s must see summer flicks!
July 3, 2018
Independence Day Celebrations
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This is 4th of July week for those in the US, but most countries have an Independence Day or similar celebration. What was your tradition growing up? Fireworks? Trip to the beach? Cookout? As an adult, what’s your favorite Independence Day activity or what would you love to do? Hope you’ve already visited A.S. Fenichel on this week’s RWW Blog hop.
When I was a kid, we were usually visiting relatives in South Carolina during July 4. Can you say watermelon… I can but don’t like it. Yes, I’ve been told I’m weird. My cousin’s birthday is around this time and she’d always ask for a red velvet cake. Now that was better than fireworks for me.
