Dani Jace's Blog, page 4
August 22, 2017
Would You Rather?
[image error]This week on Romance Writers Weekly, Brenda Margriet asks authors, Would You Rather:
Be invisible or read minds? I’d go crazy hearing others thoughts [image error]whether about me or not. Being invisible would be more fun. Probably could make money as a private eye. 
May 23, 2017
Romance Writers Weekly: To Journal or not “Dear Diary”
[image error]This week on Romance Writers Weekly, A.S. Fenichel wants to know who keeps a journal. Why? Why not? What kind of things to you write: personal, writerly, vague or stream of consciousness? If you want to share a journal entry, we’d love to know your innermost thoughts.
[image error]During my teens, I religiously kept a journal or “diary” as they were called when T-Rex roamed the earth. Never too fancy about it, an unpretentious spiral notebook served for my mental meanderings and daily activities. Not too long ago, I read some of them and met the person I used to be. Thankfully, I’ve matured and learned a few things.
Later on, a full-time job then a family pushed my logging of life into the abyss. After personal computers became a home standard, (yes I learned to type on a typewriter – GASP), I began to journal again, but entries were sporadic. I’ve always used pen in hand as a catharsis and wrote many stories during my elementary years.
Now, I tend to write “shorts” instead of a daily or weekly diary. Usually it’s when I’m dealing with something in life, that I can’t get a handle on. I’ll sit down to the computer or whip out a spiral notebook. Last fall I wrote about selling the family home left to my sibling and me. It was an emotionally draining time for several reasons, but also an unexpected final goodbye to my parents.
Also, the past couple of summers I’ve kept a daily record of my family’s beach vacation as it seems to be over in a flash. I want to remember each day. Wish I’d kept a log of our trips over the years… it’d certainly have some great book material.
Here’s something I’ll share from last December during Christmas vacation when my son and I went to see the Star Wars movie – Rogue One. Be aware, there’s spoiler in case you haven’t seen the flick.
December 27, 2016. Got up a little late and started laundry then tided the house. By time Hunter returned from gym, we rushed to Cinema Café to see Star Wars – Rogue One. He’d had seen it the day but wanted to take Mom. He’d reserved the seats and everything. I went in knowing Carrie Fisher had a heart attack last Friday before Christmas. The last scene in the movie shows her (younger self) receiving the plans for the Death Star the rebels had stolen and she says, “Now we have hope.”
The credits begin to roll and a woman in the balcony shouts, “Carrie Fisher is dead. May the force be with her.” I swear I almost broke down in tears. The timing literally caught me off guard. Hunter was furious with her. He’d seen the breaking news on the phone when he’d gone to the restroom but didn’t want to spoil the ending by telling me.
I had a drink when I got home and then proceeded to feel like crap.
Now let’s see if Leslie Hachtel keeps a journal and is willing to share a sample. If you haven’t visited A.S. Fenichel please check her her post on keeping journal.
May 9, 2017
Flash Fiction: Yellow House – Romance Writers Weekly
[image error]It’s flash fiction week on the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop and I’m loving it! Hope you’ve already visited A.S. Fenichel who posed this week’s prompt beginning with the opening line:
Nothing more than a yellow house on the edge of town, but her emotions[image error] jumbled whenever she drove by.
The small cottage sat across the road from the beach house where Jo Mercer grew up. Always in a bit of disrepair, the buttery stucco one story had been a cheap rental for vacationers in season.
Jo never forgot the day her Dad marched over with her brother and she in tow to help a young woman and her son unload a multitude of belongings from a banana colored station wagon. As a county firefighter, their Dad had always helped everyone without devised intention, but she’d clung to hope he’d eventually be interested in finding her and Bobby a new mother.
The woman had smiled and waved at their approach, her saffron colored scarf fluttering in the spring breeze. The sandy haired boy had just taken a box inside and returned from house as their parents made introductions. His ice blue eyes had narrowed a bit and concerned etched his brows. Instantly, she knew and connected with the pain of being abandoned by parent.
Like Dad, Bobby had never met a stranger and stepped up to the boy. “Hi, I’m Bobby and this is my sister Jo.”
“Ray,” he’d replied, extending a hand to her and then her brother. Such an unlikely gesture for a boy who turned out to be only three years older than she.
“Do you like to surf?” She’d asked hoping have Bobby and she might cultivate a friend longer than the weekly vacationers.
“I’d like to learn.”
Struck by his gentle smile and mesmerizing gaze, her eight year old heart fluttered. For a self-professed tomboy the moment took her by surprise.
“We’ll help you get these boxes inside and then hit high tide.” Bobby had leaned into back of the open station wagon and grabbed a box. She had followed suit and soon they were on boards riding waves for the next ten years.
She’d kept her feeling for him buried deep, becoming his surf buddy but nothing more. He’d move out of the little buttercream cottage after he’d graduated high school and then left for Iraq after she jetted to California on a surfing scholarship.
No other boy or man had ever compared to Ray. They’d stayed in touch, but it’d been five years since she’d laid eyes on him. Returning to her home town with dreams of what might have been or what might could be, she slowed her truck and felt the tug of her heart at the sight of the little yellow cottage.
[image error]I created this little short as a backstory to intro my novel, Hot as Blazes which takes place in the seaside town of Nags Head. where there quite a few yellow houses.
Please check out Leslie Hachtel following me on the hop this week. Hope you’ll check out her story for the yellow house. I love it when we do flash fiction!
April 25, 2017
My Favorite Place: Outer Banks of North Carolina aka OBX
This week’s question for Romance Writers Weekly authors is from A.S. Fenichel. “Where is your favorite place in the world and why? Share some pictures if you can. Does this place wind up in your books?”
[image error]Hope you’ve already visited Jenna Da Sie who is ahead of me on the hop.
Fortunately, my favorite happy place is nearby. Only seventy miles south of home lies the Outer Banks, affectionately known as OBX. The beautiful and serene string of barrier islands, begins at the southeastern coast of Virginia and and continues along North Carolina. The two hundred miles of islands are linked to multiple Sounds that receive water from the Atlantic. The Outer Banks has been my vacation spot and weekend getaway since I was a teen. Although the various small towns have boomed over the last four decades, hosting millions of visitors a year, the Outer Banks will always be my favorite place in the world as well as my home away from home. With a small lottery win, I’d make it my retirement home!
I based my novel, Hot as Blazes, in the town of Nags Head, where we[image error] stay during summer vacation. I love the rangy dunes on the less commercial beaches of the area. From your quiet beach house getaway you can drive five minutes up the road and have a choice of a smorgasbord of restaurants and shopping experiences.
Over the years, we’ve stayed on the same street as have many other families who have become our beach family. The kids have grown up together and I wouldn’t be surprised if the tradition continues when they have families of their own.
My love of the Outer Banks, it has become part of my author brand, prompting my Seaside Heat Romance series. Hope you’ll check out Leslie Hachtel’s favorite place. Here’s some pics of my favorite place, OBX.
March 28, 2017
5 Things I Can’t Live Without – Romance Writers Weekly
[image error]On this week’s Romance Writers Weekly blog hop, A.S. Fenichel wants to know… What can’t you live without? Tell us five things you can’t do without. It can be coffee from your favorite shop or a pink tee-shirt. Whatever it is, tell us about it and why you can’t go on without it. Hope you’ve stopped by Carrie Elks before visiting me.
Aside from the basic necessities, like food, water, shelter and the convenience of modern medicine and transportation, here’s my top five comforts of life in no particular order:
Pets – Our dog is a member of the family and the baby. Over the[image error] years kitties and doggies have come and gone but are never forgotten. I kiss our beautiful, rescue, Leo, when I leave for work and hug him when I get home.
Music – Soothes my internal savage beast and awakens my muse. Such a wondrous thing. Here lately, I’ve been listening to binaural beats which are supposed to help sync your brain and help with memory, healing, etc. We’ll see about the one for weight loss…
Electronics – I am a techie chick courtesy of my geeky older brother. I’m not sure which I could do without, TV, computer or internet. All are windows to other worlds and I’m addicted to all of them.
Hot Shower – Therapeutic and meditative, I look forward to stepping under the hot mist to wash away the day’s wear and tear and ready me for the land of nod.
Coffee – The aroma. The warmth. It’s the liquid that drives me to my feet to leave my comfy bed.
On that note, lets see S.C. Mitchell’s gotta have list. Please visit all the wonderful authors on this week’s hop.
March 14, 2017
How I Chose My Pen Name: Romance Writers Weekly
[image error]This week on Romance Writers Weekly blog hop, Leslie Hachtel wants to know if we have a pen name and how we picked it. Hope you have visited Leslie as she is ahead of me on the hop.
For me, as a not the life of the party writer, I always knew I’d have a pen name. I went through a couple, evening set up a website for one, before I was published. At first, I used part of my real last name and part of my son’s first name. In the end, I wanted something short and more catchy but still not showing up on Google.
I’ve always liked strong female names that can be used by either gender. My real name is feminine, and not so much me, so I chose Dani, in honor of my maternal grandfather who passed on my first birthday.
As a lover of “J” names, I had a cat named Jasper and a dog named Jake. If I’d had another son, I would have probably named him Jace so I chose it as the last name for my pseudonym.
Thus the birth of Dani Jace. She loves writing romances about flip-flop casual heroines that have a tough streak but manage to melt the hearts of the hard working heroes they fall in love with.
Now on to A.S. Fenichel to see how she arrived at her pen name.
Hope you’ll check out my newest release, Legend’s Promise now[image error] available at all major e-book sellers.
February 22, 2017
A Mid-Winter Healing – Carolyn Spear
[image error]Today I’m spotlighting Mid-Winter Healing, a Wiccan Haus novel by my RWA chapter mate and friend, Carolyn Spear with co-authors Sara Daniel and Leigh Daley.
Wiccan Haus is a shared world paranormal romance series from Decadent Publishing.
Alina Argal hopes to mix in a little pleasure when she visits her childhood friend, Sarka Rowan, at Wiccan Haus. She badly needs a boost to her battered ego following a humiliating breakup of her arranged engagement to Thad Yates, the eldest son of one of the most powerful magical families. A little R and R at the lighthouse should help her get her feet back under her. The last person she expects to find sharing the small lightkeeper’s house with is Thad’s brother Sean.
Long the black sheep of the family for being born without magic, Sean Yates has always gone his own way. A former Army infantry officer, he now suffers a slight limp and PTSD. His one desire is to win Alina’s love now that his brother is out of the picture. But is he really?
Will Alina open herself to the one brother she needs and deserves or marry for duty?
Excerpt:
Alone in the lightkeeper’s quarters, Alina immediately kicked off her shoes. Ahh, so much better! Hiking up her skirt, she found the garter tabs and undid them. The silk stockings slid down a few inches. She rolled them down and threw them next to the heels. The garter belt had to go, so she reached around under the skirt, the cool air inside the house chilling her exposed legs. The damn thing hooked in the back, so it was difficult to hold up the skirt and manipulate the fasteners. Impatient to get the torture device off, she yanked it around to better get the job done.
“Finally!”
After a deep breath, then another, it was time for the wool dress. With both arms over her shoulders, she only managed to lower the zipper one inch. Switching to one arm twisted behind her back, she still could not budge it farther. Was it stuck?
She turned, much like a dog chasing its tail, trying to reach a bit further. Maybe after a glass of wine….
“Can I help you with that?”
She started, adrenaline sending an electric shock through her arms, tingling her fingers. Her heart skipped a beat before she took a deep breath and turned.
A man with an insolent smile tilting his firm lips leaned against the doorway into the kitchen. With a trimmed beard a shade lighter than his mahogany shoulder-length hair, he seemed unsurprised by her presence.
She wished she could say the same. What was he doing there? Was he there to guilt her into the same decision as her family? The last person she’d expected to find at the lighthouse was her ex-fiancé’s brother.
Carolyn Spear writes paranormal and contemporary romance. As a kid, she dreamed of being Samantha and Jeannie. You can find her at http://www.carolynspearromance.com/ and on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CarolynSpearAuthor/
February 7, 2017
A Valentines Flash Fiction: Cupid in Camo
[image error]For this week’s Romance Writers Weekly blog hop, S. C. Mitchell wants us to set a romantic scene in anticipation of Valentine’s Day. Hope you’ve already visited A.S. Fenichel and will check out Jenna Da Sie afterwards. Here’s a short story I wrote a couple of years ago.
Cupid in Camo
Lindy maneuvered the enormous bouquet of red and silver, heart-shaped balloons from her old station wagon. Wouldn’t her serious, hard-working fiancé be surprised? They’d planned to meet for dinner after he’d finished some paperwork at the office. Six months ago she would have never imagined making floral deliveries. That was before the cable company farmed out their customer service techs to another country.
Skipping the elevator, she popped up two flights of stairs eager to see him.[image error] The firm had already ended their business day, but the suite remained unlocked. Only a single lamp lit the reception area. She skipped down the hall with the balloons bouncing against the walls and her head. Quietly, she turned the door knob to Brad’s office. Hmm … no one there.
Occasionally, he laid out his briefs on the conference room table. Setting her phone to record, she rounded the corner for the meeting room and burst through the door. “Happy Valentine’s Day, baby!” The colorful array of Mylar whirled in ahead of her.
A feminine screech set Lindy back on her heels. The woman scampered behind the enormous table like a frightened deer.
On the conference table, right next to his tighty-whities briefs lay a haply discarded pink bra. Like a Master Card commercial, his expression was priceless.
“Well, isn’t this a YouTube moment.” Lindy squinted while her phone recorded him gaping like a wide mouth bass.
Brad’s expression morphed from shock to anger, but his well-trained tongue failed him. Probably in his best interest.
The odd things that flitted thought one’s mind at such a moment, like too bad helium wasn’t flammable. The flickering candles on the credenza taunted her. Roasted, unfaithful attorney sounded like an excellent Valentine’s entrée.
“Be sure to check your ratings,” Lindy said in disgust. She’d never uploaded a video to the internet, but then the naked couple in front of the lens didn’t know her intent. She spun about dragging the bouquet of hearts with her. Anger and hurt heated her veins as she fled. Her brother, Dan, never liked Brad. Guess a good man could spot a lousy one easily. She’d certainly respect his opinion of men from now on.
With tearing flowing, Lindy shot from the office building. What she’d give for her brother’s broad shoulder right now, but her aching heart was nothing compared to his daily strife of surviving in Afghanistan.
Back inside her rusted ride, she drove for home. Each mile closer, the more she detested the balloons and what they represented. A radio commercial advertising Valentine’s Day gave her an idea and she turned at the next light.
Inside the mall, she found a card shop bustling with customers in search of last minute Valentine cards and gifts. She stood near the entrance waiting for opportunity to turn her lemon of a day into lemonade. As patrons exited she pulled lose a balloon. “For your Valentine.”
Ten minutes later and many hearts lighter, her outlook had shifted. At least she hadn’t already married the cheating loser. She’d made it to her apartment door and struck the key when her cell phone buzzed. The ass hat better not be calling her. A local number displayed on the screen. It wasn’t Dan’s. “Hello?” she answered hesitantly.
“Lindy?” a man’s deep voice replied.
“Yes.”
“This is Conner. I’m a friend of Dan’s…”
“Oh God…” Her heart leaped to her throat.
“He’s fine. I didn’t mean to scare you. Sorry. I just arrived stateside and he asked me to get in touch with you. His unit is out of communication for the next few days.”
“I understand.” It meant they were on some mission and he couldn’t call her. Since eighth grade when she’d been dumped by a boy the day before Valentine’s Day, Dan had always given her a silly card and some trinket or candy.
“I apologize for it being so late, but my plane was delayed. How’s your Valentine’s Day?”
“Great!” She swallowed hard over the lie. “Thanks for taking the time to call for my brother. You’re on your way home?”
“To the base, but I promised Dan I would deliver his gift for you. If you’re going to be home, I can drop it by in the next few minutes”
“Just walking in the door.” Lindy rattled off her address. Her brother had mentioned Conner occasionally in his e-mails, but he’d never mentioned his buddy was stationed locally. Conner had impeccable timing after her shitty day. Maybe he could redeem her current opinion of the male species.
She downed a glass of wine while she waited. Poor guy was probably going to be late to his Valentine while fulfilling his promise to Dan. A car engine snapped her to attention. Lindy opened her apartment door. A tall, sandy-haired soldier stepped from a taxi carrying a bouquet of heart-shaped balloons. It was all she could do not to laugh.
He strode up. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Lindy.”
His broad shoulders filled out his military camouflage blouse nicely and his stunning blue eyes seemed happier to see her than her ex-fiancé ever had. Imagine what he’d done for his Valentine.
“From Dan,” he said handing her the curling streamers. “He asked me to give you this, also.” He branded her cheek with a kiss that made her toes tingle.
“Aww…thanks. Nice to meet you Conner. Won’t you please come in for a few minutes, and tell me how Dan is doing?” She expected him to decline.
“Sure.” He retrieved his bag from the waiting taxi then followed her inside.
Lindy’s intense attraction to Conner threw her off kilter. She’d never been a love at first sight type of girl. She swore she’d been shot with a lusty arrow from some little winged cherub. She motioned for him to the sofa. “I’m having some wine. Would you like some, or maybe a beer?”
“Haven’t had either in months. A beer sounds like heaven.” He smiled, set his gear down then sat on the sofa.
After refilling her glass, Lindy returned with a brew in hand and sat next to the man who had thirty pounds of brawn on her sibling. “Please tell me how my big brother is really doing. His too pleasant e-mails leave me wondering.”
She hung onto his every word about their daily lives in the military. Conner didn’t reveal any of the dangers of their job, but amused her with funny stories. It seemed Dan and he were the jokesters in their unit.
He finished the last of his beer and she glanced at the balloons tied to the kitchen chair. The irony of the day bordered on karma. “Conner, you made this Valentine’s Day very special.” She touched his shoulder, noting hard muscle beneath his uniform.
His cheeks reddened as he gave her a bashful smile and stood. “It was great to finally meet you. You’re as sweet as Dan said.”
She cleared her throat. “I miss him.”
“He said he’d be back in time for your wedding.” He glanced to the ring on her wrong hand and cocked his head.
She sighed. “He doesn’t know, but I called off the wedding. Today in fact. Dan was right about Brad.”
“I’m sorry.” He took her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.
“It’s for the best.” She was angry at being so gullible, but deep down there was relief. “So, how long before you have to go back?”
His eyes brightened. “My tour is done.” Then he scrubbed his beard stubble. He’d probably been traveling close to twenty-four hours to get home.
She wished she could get to know more about this man her brother was so close to. “Good for you. And I bet you need to get to your Valentine and I’m holding you up.
“No Valentine at the moment.” He grabbed his gear bag.
Will you be staying in the area? I’m sure Dan will want to catch up when he gets home.” She hoped to see more of him.
“I’ll be staying on base until I can rent a place.” He gazed about her living room. “Do you know of any vacancies in this complex? It’s close and would save on gas.”
Lindy steeled her resolve and went for it. “Well, since my tour of engagement ended abruptly, I’m going to need to get a roommate. You interested?” A man she’d just met, but she trusted her brother’s judgment completely.
Conner broke into a wide grin and dropped his duffel. “Even better…How about I treat you to dinner? It still is Valentine’s Day.”
“And you must be a cupid?” She winked.
He slipped his brawny arm through hers. “Bet you never thought you’d meet one in camo.”
No, but if she was lucky, she might get a glimpse of one without them…
THANKS TO ALL THE CUPIDS IN UNIFORM
KEEPING OUR COUNTRY SAFE !
January 24, 2017
Romance Writers Weekly “Would you Rather?”
[image error]
Today on the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop, Jenna DaSie asks, “Would you rather?”
[image error]1) Would you rather go way back in time and meet your ancestors Pre 1800’s or go way into the future and meet your great grandchildren Post 2200?
Knowing something about my ancestry, I’d rather go to the future. Will my decedents still be on Earth or will space travel have evolved to take us to other realms. On the dark side, they might be living a Terminator Salvation existence. Judging from the way people have been acting in the last few years it’ll be a John Conner world and I don’t believe it will be the machines’ fault, but a breakdown in civilized society as a whole.
2) Would you rather have no internet or no cell phone? Can’t live without the ability to research at home as well as Amazon deliveries.
3) Would you rather talk like Yoda or breathe like Darth Vador? I’m claustrophobic so Yoda, but I do love Darth’s cape.
[image error]NASA image
4) Would you rather have the ability to fly or read minds? Fly Me to the Moon, baby!
5) Would you rather have mermaids be real or unicorns be real? You’d think mermaid since I love the beach. However it’d be the coolest to ride a unicorn along the beach. Even more cool, to fly on a Pegasus.
That’s all for me. Hope you’ve visited Brenda Margriet and will next check out Fiona Riplee to see what they’d rather…
If you’re looking for a novel to warm you up this winter, my beach[image error] read, Hot as Blazes is currently on sale for $.99
December 24, 2016
Christmas Serenity
Serenity is often found in the the moments. Merry Christmas to my readers and friends!
[image error]Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse
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[image error]Porch Christmas Tree at Winter Lights
[image error]Reindeer at Elizabethan Gardens
[image error]Elizabeth II at Manteo Waterfront
[image error]Angel Tree
