Following Your Dreams Guest Blog with Danica Winters

Following Your Dreams
I come from a conservative background, where being different was something frowned upon and ridiculed.  In my schools, I wasn’t unpopular, but I stuck out.  I was a bit of a tom-boy, the product of two older and somewhat-mischievous brothers.  To be honest, I liked to be just a tad bit off normal—though my inner-voice always pushed me to ‘fit-in’.  When I moved out of my childhood home at eighteen, I left some of my tom-boy ways behind and met the world and college head-on.  I quickly learned that I had accomplished my goal to be ‘normal’ and now instead of blending in, I stuck out against the dread-headed, unshaven, and often pink-haired comrades that meandered around my college’s campus.  I secretly envied their ability to walk with their heads held high as the non-college attendees stared and whispered.  How could they break from the normal and not get tired of the strange looks and judgments made by outsiders?
My parents pressured me to get a ‘real’ degree, and in hindsight I would have been better off following their advice.  Instead, I followed my heart and studied Anthropology with an emphasis in Archeology.  It could have been the pink-haired culture that surrounded me, but I desperately wanted to understand what made people tick throughout history—why some chose to conform while others broke away from the ‘norm.’
In the final years of getting my degree, I did something I had vowed I would never do, I fell in love, and was given a ring by the man of my dreams.  He treated me better than I had ever been treated and loved the fact that I could one day wear cowboy boots and the next a cocktail dress.  He helped me understand that normal isn’t really normal, there is something in each of us that makes us a little bit different—and he embraced (and still embraces) my differences. 
With his constant support, I graduated college, but found myself at an impasse—stay with him, but give up traveling around the world in the name of Archeology, or move to the Southwest, get my Graduate degree and hope that someday I could find a job.  
I chose him, and I know I made the right choice.  It has brought me a different future from that which I had envisioned at eighteen, but it also brought me what my heart truly desired—family, stability, a sense of normalcy, love, fulfillment, and it also brought me an unexpected path—writing paranormal romance. 
Writing has brought me everything I had wanted when I had gone to school, adventure, travel, and I get to think about what makes people do and say the things they do.  It’s a study of interpersonal communications, history, culture, economics—it’s everything and anything that I wish to incorporate into my work.  One day I can be a paraplegic, dealing with the pitfalls of living in a wheelchair and the next, I’m a Veela in search of revenge. 
Most importantly I have followed my heart.  I’ve come to embrace and be proud of the fact that I’m anything but normal.  I’m me.

Curse of the WolfBy Danica Winters
Blurb:
For cursed, shape-shifting Veela, Gloriana, following her heart and giving her body to sexy, tortured werewolf Alexander means one thing-he will die and it will again be her fault.
Once only a man, Alexander finds himself scarred by the memories of his former life and the deceptions and lies that surround him. When a glimmer of light breaks the madness, he must let go of his misguided preconceptions and the hatred that consumes him.
On a mission for blood, they find unity in their desire for revenge, but are driven apart by their pasts. Traveling the darkest paths and fighting the very people they think they can trust, they draw closer to one another's hearts and further into danger.
Will the curse prove to be unstoppable... or is there hope in forbidden love?
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Curse-of-the-Wolf-ebook/dp/B0082209H2/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_3
          Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/curse-of-the-wolf-danica-winters/1110736449?ean=2940014410502
          Ravenous Romance: http://www.ravenousromance.com/fantastica/curse-of-the-wolf.php
          Bookstrand: http://www.bookstrand.com/curse-of-the-wolf
          (and will soon be available in over 10 other locations)

Author Bio:
Danica Winters is an Amazon best-selling romance author based in Montana. She is known for writing award-winning books that grip readers with their ability to drive emotion through suspense and often a touch of magic. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, Montana Romance Writers, and Greater Seattle Romance Writers. She is a contributor to magazines, websites, and news organizations. She enjoys spending time with friends and family, the outdoors, and the bliss brought by the printed word.
Social Media Links:
Website: www.DanicaWinters.net
Blog: www.DanicaWinters.net/blog
Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/DanicaWinters
Twitter: www.Twitter.com/DanicaWinters
Pinterest: www.Pinterest.com/MsDanicaWinters
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5764273.Danica_Winters
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Danica-Winters/e/B006GDN8GI/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1




Also by Danica Winters

The Devil’s Angel (Short story):
Blurb:
Even though Sarah Dawes is only dressed like an angel, acting like a saint isn't easy. Especially not at her sex toy company's Halloween party, where hedonistic desire is the name of the game and the Devil is her partner.

Playing with dangerous pleasures, she follows him to Hell, where he shows her he is more than the monster society has deemed him, and he offers her a chance to become his queen. Should she stay at his side, where her days will be filled with pain, but her nights with pleasure? Or, should she return to earth and the dream of a man who may or may not even know her last name?
Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/The-Devils-Angel-ebook/dp/B007RZJF3E/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1336784542&sr=8-2
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-devils-angel-danica-winters/1110162483?ean=2940014509640
Silver Publishing: https://spsilverpublishing.com/product_book_info/new-release-c-1/products_id/771/?zenid=0e68a633f40824a828ca99c4d445298c
Bookstrand: http://www.bookstrand.com/the-devils-angel


A Christmas Miracle (BTGN Holiday Short Story Award-winner):         
Blurb:
Christie has defined herself by her wheelchair and has created a world filled with ‘I can’t’.  When she meets her marathon running, salsa dancing neighbor, Marcus, he tries to show her that there is more to life than self-imposed limits and other peoples’ judgments.
Will Christie open her heart and her mind to her sexy neighbor, or will the pain of her past keep her a prisoner in her own life?
Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/A-Christmas-Miracle-ebook/dp/B006FNIYFO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336784568&sr=8-1
Barnes and Noble: (Currently off of B&N for KDP Promotion, but will return to B&N after 90 days after publisher’s promotion)  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/danica-winters?keyword=danica+winters&store=allproducts
Books To Go Now: http://www.bookstogonow.com/achristmasmiracle.html