Dani Jace's Blog, page 7

Sand and Sin – Weekend Writing Warriors #8Sunday – March 19

Welcome! I’ve been MIA for a few weeks but am glad to be back! Thanks for the “miss you” tweet and encouragement, Charmaine!  If you’re new to Weekend Writing Warriors  #wewriwa, it’s a blog hop where authors share 8-10 sentences of their work.

I’m picking back up with with my steamy release, Sand and Sin. Injured in Afghanistan just before his team is to return home,  Navy SEAL, Jax Taylor, takes leave after being released from the hospital and catches a military hop to Virginia Beach to see a buddy. When Jax arrives, TJ is night training and recommends a local SEAL bar called the Trident. We pick up when Jax arrives and spies a lovely, green-eyed bartender. They match wits and she impresses him by naming his brand of whiskey.

Delighted at winning their little game, she winked and stepped away to fetch his drink. Usually, she went for the rugged variety of handsome, but his straight nose with slightly elevated bridge was sexy as hell. She poured him a double shot over ice and returned, planting it in front of him.

“My buddy, TJ, said y’all have the biggest and best cheeseburgers.”

“You’re Jax?”

“Damn, a psychic bartender, guessed my brand and my name,” he said with a wink.

Eyes as dark blue as a stormy ocean. Lord, she needed to keep her distance with this one. “Actually, I’ve seen the picture he carries of you guys partying after BUD/S graduation. TJ talks about you often, are you here for training?”

Please check out many amazing writers at Weekend Writing Warriors.

Romance Writers Weekly: Location Location Location

This week it’s Location, location location on Romance Writers Weekly blog hop. Carrie Elks wants to know how authors choose the location or setting for books? Do we pick somewhere we’ve already been, or do research creatively, using Google and other methods to find the perfect spot? Hope you’ve visited A.S. Fenichel who’s ahead of me on the hop.

This question is close to my heart as I a have a series entitled Seaside Heat. Growing up as a coastal gal, the beach has always a part of my life and is now part of my author brand.

My husband and I have vacationed on the Outer Banks of North Carolina since we began dating decades ago and before that with our families. In fact, his grandmother taught school in Corolla’s one room school house. OBX, as the Outer Banks is affectionately known, is a second home to us. Should Lady Luck Lottery ever smile upon us, it’ll probably become number one!

Though my books are set on the beaches of North Carolina or Virginia, where I live, my characters do venture to other locales.  In Sand and Sin, the hero is a West Coast SEAL who stops in Virginia Beach before heading home.  I had to research his base in Coronado as I’ve never been to San Diego or California for that matter.

Google Earth is a godsend when it comes to researching a setting.  Writing is faster and easier for me if I personally know the area. With any locale,  I’m careful not to write something that might offend locals.

I believe readers can tell when an author is comfortable and knows the story setting well. I was ecstatic when a reader, who grew up on the Outer Banks and had connections with firefighters and police,  highly praised Hot as Blazes.  She said she felt like she was back home! Written as a “coming home” novel, I couldn’t have asked for a better review.

Bodie Island Lighthouse

Because I know the area, I felt comfortable including landmarks like Hatteras and Bodie Lighthouse,  Jockey’s Ridges and the well known Christmas Shop in Manteo in my stories.  The Casino in Hot as Blazes is named after an iconic night club of yesteryear that hosted famous music acts including, Duke Ellington, Fats Domino, Louis Armstrong, The Platters, Bill Deal, the Rhondels, The Temptations, The Four Tops to name a few.

I’ll admit sometimes it feels confining to always use a setting close to home. Sometimes I wonder if I used more well known beach locales if the stories might attract more readers. Still, I love promoting the Virginia Beach and Norfolk area where I live as well as OBX where I love to vacation.

Let’s see how Jenna Da Sie uncovers settings for her stories.

Chicago Fire meets Baywatch: A Hot as Blazes Review

 

 

This week’s question for the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop is from Kathryn Renard who is ahead of me on this week’s hop “Good reviews, we love them! Bad reviews, we hate them…but some of them are helpful. What was your favorite negative review?”

As for reviews, I usually scan the star ratings for a feel on how the book is doing before delving into comments.  It’s so hard to get reviews on Amazon, especially for newer authors, like me, who don’t have a large reader base. It takes 50 reviews before Amazon promotes a book and includes it in the scrolling feed, Customers Who Bought This Item also Bought.  You can love an author by leaving a review!

Of the couple one star reviews I’ve received, one reader hated my novella, White Doe, and ‘absolutely could not read another page,’ but gave no reason.

The worst review on my recently released SEAL story, Sand and Sin, was on Goodreads and the reader despised the cocky hero and thought he was using the single mom. Well…most SEALs are cocky and my heroine totally knew the conflicts of having a fling with a West Coast frogman when she lived in Virginia Beach. It had a HEA (happy ever after) so maybe the story triggered something in the reader’s past.

Now, for my favorite negative: “Baywatch meets Chicago Fire” by The Book Reading Gals on Amazon. Below the picture is a legible version.

 

“Thoughts: This is typically a book I would love…we have the guy crushing on the girl for years, the girl secretly loves the guy – not to mention hot firefighters! However, there was a bit of a lack of connection for me with this one…I just didn’t feel the emotions between the characters, and that is a big part of the book for me. In addition to that, I had an issue with the maturity level of the characters. For some reason, this one had a little bit of a New Adult vibe to it, and I just couldn’t shake that feeling the whole time I was reading it. I can’t really pinpoint anything in the book that substantiates my feeling regarding that, but just the writing itself sort of read that way and gave me that impression.

When it comes to this title, think Chicago Fire meets Baywatch and that about sums it up. A decent read overall.”

My thoughts: No other reviewer,  my critique group, or beta reader ever said Hot as Blazes read like New Adult story. It’s also four peppers on the heat scale!

On the bright side, I loved their blurb ‘think Chicago Fire meets Baywatch’ and have used it in promo on social media, even though it was probably meant as a slam.

Now on to the witty, S. C. Mitchell,  to see what he as to say about his most negative review. Check out his new book, Pirates of the Dark Nebula.

A Writer’s Journey Writing Conference

Chesapeake Romance Writers is hosting  A Writer’s Journey conference tomorrow, March 5, at the Williamsburg Regional Library.  Seats are still available! $45 at the door and $25 for students with school ID.

Author Cathy Maxwell will speak in the morning and Felicia Mason after lunch.  Agent, Michelle Johnson of Inklings Literary Agency, Dominique Eastwick  and Valerie Mann Decadent of Decadent Publishing will be taking pitches during the day.  Here’s your chance to pitch your novel.

Writers from all genres are invited. For more information:  A Writer’s Journey

Romance Writers Weekly – Flash Fiction

This week on Romance Writers’ Weekly, Tracey Gee  is asking for a Flash Fiction with no set length, but must include: Kevlar, elbow(s), pinking shears, and a copy of The Great Gatsby. For bonus points we can intro w/ a haiku or limerick.  Hope you had a chance to visit Brenda Margriet and read her flash fiction.  Here’s mine:

Blinding sun

Nose to the hot desert sand

Leash jingles and kind words guide

Home awaits us

U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Brian Zamiska, with Delta Company, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, provides security with an Air Force military working dog during a patrol with members of the Afghan Border Police in the Tera Zeyi district, Afghanistan, Jan. 6, 2013. (DoD photo by Spc. Alex Kirk Amen, U.S. Army/Released)

Tyler guided the pinking shears along the pattern outline on the Kevlar fabric. Never had he’d imagined lose an arm at the elbow or become a seamstress of sorts.

He placed the material on the computerized sewing machine and rotated as it bound the edges, finishing a chest plate for a K9 vest. Gratitude to the dog who saved Tyler from being blown into multiple parts made assembly line work gratifying as well as knowing he might help other dogs and their handlers.

Named after the title character in The Great Gatsby novel, Tyler’s retired war dog lay at his feet as he worked. Another perk of his employment. He could only assume whoever named Gatsby had been a lover of the story, but thankfully, unlike his namesake, his Gatsby received a happy ending.

Hop on to author, A.S. Fenichel’s blog to see how she uses pinking shears.

Hot as Blazes for Weekend Writing Warriors #werwriwa

Welcome to my post for Weekend Writing Warriors. This week I’m highlighting ten sentences from my opening scene of Hot as Blazes.  A down and out surfer returns home and runs into her crush from high school. He happens to be her brother’s best friend.

Outside, the shower door slammed and Jo secured her sunglasses heading down the deck stairs. Broad back muscles stretched the Nags Head fire department logo on the man’s shirt as he racked his surfboard.

Behind a pair of wraparound shades, he eyed her and said, “Bobby’s gone for the weekend.”

Her dad had been a captain for Nags Head. “Yeah, I know, how were the waves?”

His smile seemed familiar as he whipped off his shades and closed the distance, shouting, “Jo!”

“Ray?” She nearly toppled from her platform flip-flops as huge biceps wrapped her in a bear hug that left her toes dangling and his touch shot through her veins like straight whiskey.

“Bobby didn’t mention you were coming home, Dahlin’.” His pale

blue eyes held her captive and his southern twang brought her home faster than a jet from LAX.

Speak tags and some creative punctuation used to get this in ten. Hope you’ll check out the fantastic authors on the #wewriwa hop! Thanks for stopping by.  For more of Hot as Blazes, check the excerpt.

Weekend Writing Warriors – A Valentines Day Short

Welcome to my Valentine’s Day post for Weekend Writing Warriors  #wewriwa where authors share 8-10 sentences of their work.

I’m taking a break from, Sand and Sin for a snippet of a Valentine’s Day short. A woman surprises her lawyer fiancé who’s working late on Valentine’s Day and finds a Youtube moment.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, baby!”  The colorful array of Mylar hearts whirled in ahead of Lindy dancing festively.

A feminine screech set Lindy back on her heels. As her field of vision cleared, she spied Brad’s briefs spread on the conference room table. Right next to his tighty-whities lay a pink, lacy bra.

“Well, isn’t this a YouTube moment,” Lindy said with he phone still in video mode.

The woman scampered behind the enormous table like a frightened deer while Brad’s expression morphed from shock to anger. His well-trained tongue failed him, probably in his best interest.

The odd things that flitted thought one’s mind, like too bad helium wasn’t flammable as the flickering candles on the credenza taunted Lindy. Roasted, unfaithful attorney sounded like an excellent Valentine’s entrée

Lindy’s Valentine’s Day doesn’t end on a bad note. Check out the rest of her story, Cupid in Camo.

Also check out the amazing writers at Weekend Writing Warriors.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

 

 

Sand and Sin – Weekend Writing Warriors – February 6

Welcome to my post for Weekend Writing Warriors  #wewriwa where authors share 8-10 sentences of their work.

I’m continuing with an excerpt from my newest release, Sand and Sin. Injured in Afghanistan just before his team is to return home,  Navy SEAL, Jax Taylor takes leave after being released from the hospital and catches a military hop to Virginia Beach to see a buddy. When Jax arrives, TJ is night training and recommends a local SEAL bar called the Trident. We pick up when Jax arrives and spies a lovely, green-eyed bartender. She welcomes him by saying she’s only seen one other man stride into her place with a more pissed-off expression. He retorts with,“Your ex?”

Mr. Dark Blues matched Peri’s sarcasm and the small scar on his chin kept him from appearing too pretty. “Insightful, let me guess…vodka tonic.”

He narrowed his gaze.

“Martini?” she asked smiling and tossed her hair over her shoulder. “You’re too GQ for domestic, Heineken?”

He tightened his jaw.

The pretty boy comment appeared to have struck a nerve. “Whiskey on the rocks?”

Raising a brow, he lifted his chin with swagger.

She slid a cocktail napkin on the bar in front of him and said, “You gotta be a Jack man.”

He grinned, revealing near perfect teeth.

Some creative speech tags that I don’t normally use and joined some sentences to get a good portion of the scene done in ten.

Please check out the amazing writers at Weekend Writing Warriors.

I also hope you’ll take a chance on Sand and Sin.  Available at all major e-book retailers. amazonkindle, Apple, Google, Kobo, Nook

A reader’s honest review is the best thank you an author can receive.

 

Romance Writers Weekly – Celebrity and Character Crushes

This week on Romance Writers Weekly, Kathryn Renard is asking about celebrity crushes. Do authors have them and what makes the person crush worthy. And if we’ve ever crushed on a character we’ve written.  Hope you’ve visited Leslie Hachtel who proceeded me on the hop. She has a new release just out, The Dream Dancer. Love the cover!

Celebrity crushing has been ongoing in my life since the age of seven, starting with Commander Chekov of the USS Enterprise. Stop counting how many years ago that was!

Cataloging through my list of crushes from movies/TV, pop stars, to gods of Rock is surreal. Stories in my head with my favorite characters began as a kid to check boredom, worry, and sometimes loneliness. A coping mechanism that still works today through words on a page.

I’ll admit that a crush on Maximus from Gladiator brought my first novel to life. Beginning as fan fiction, the story turned an epic historical where a Roman Centurion falls for his Tribune’s daughter who happens to be a healer and becomes a surgeon in her father’s legion. The reason I fell for Maximus was that he lived and died by a code. For me, loyalty is at the top of list for character traits. The ability to kick ass is a close second.

As far as crushes on my own characters, Ray Andrews, the hero in my firefighter novel, Hot as Blazes is the largest crush thus far. However, he is literally smoke. I didn’t take him from an actual person, only a sum of parts.

He’s built like an NFL tight end with a handsome mug, but shies from the attention his looks foster. He comes off as a player to the heroine because he’s never been serious with women. He only wants her, but until now a promise kept him from revealing his feelings. He’s a man of few words and speaks through actions.

Now that you know I’m a head case, on to Kathryn Renard who wanted to know our dark secrets.  Yep, I’m heading there now. Maybe she’s a closet Justin Bieber fan! LOL!

 

 

 

Weekend Writing Warriors – Jan 30 – Sand and Sin

Welcome to my post for Weekend Writing Warriors  #wewriwa where authors share 8-10 sentences of their work.

I’m continuing with an excerpt from my newest release, Sand and Sin. Injured in Afghanistan just before his team is to return home,  Navy SEAL, Jax Taylor takes leave after being released from the hospital and catches a military hop to Virginia Beach to see a buddy. When Jax arrives, TJ is night training and recommends a local SEAL bar called the Trident. We pick up when Jax arrives and spies a lovely, green-eyed bartender.

Months without a woman made him a sick bastard. Probably in stark contrast to the public’s standard perception of a SEAL, but they didn’t know or understand a Special Operator’s life and what they did for love of country and their brothers in arms.

For him, the best antidote after a gruesome mission was down-and-gritty sex. Before he readjusted his sour expression, she stepped in front of him. Her lovely gaze branded him with I got your number, sailor. 

****

Peri Halstead approached her newest patron as he saddled up on a bar chair. His steely-eyed glint hinted at danger. Most of the Trident’s patrons did. “Wow, I’ve only seen one other man stride into this place with a more pissed-off expression than yours.”

“Your ex?”

Please check the amazing writers at Weekend Writing Warriors. I also hope you’ll check out Sand and Sin.  Available at all major e-book retailers. amazonkindle, Apple, Google, Kobo, Nook