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Dahlia DeWinters - Author

Quirky Heroines, Happy Endings

Featured Author – Melissa Blue

Luscious Literaries welcomes Melissa Blue!

Out of your published stories, which character is your favorite?

Sebastian from Weekend Lover and Down With Cupid. My reason for that is that I’ve finally had a character who probably uses the f-bomb more
than me. Love.

How do you come up with the titles of your books?

Out of the ether. It’s usually before I write the story because I suck at titles. If I try to give a book a name after I’ve written it, I end
up with stuff like See Megan Run. Lol The original title for that book was Overworked and Underlaid. My publisher at the time wanted me to
change it. Soo…yeah.

What are some of the challenges you’ve faced as a writer?

This probably sounds obvious, but writing is the biggest challenge.There are either more ideas than I have the time to write. Or no
ideas. Or wanting to write better with each book, but feeling like I can’t reach that goal. Not finding but making the time to write.
Writing is the only thing I can control. The rest just gives me a headache. When things aren’t going well with my writing there’s
nothing to fall back on.

Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

My answer changes depending on my mood or what I’m reading. Today my favorite author is Jim Butcher. He writes paranormal private eye
detective mysteries. I love the main character. He toes the line of anti-hero. Butcher as an author steps up not only the stories and
characters, but his writing. I admire the hell out of that. Plus, I can read his work and not put on my internal editor hat.

Do you have a favorite out of the books you have written?

I have a top three: How Much You Want to Bet?, See Lynne Chased and Down With Cupid.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

Nora Roberts. She doesn’t use or take any excuses. Things get done. I want to be that writer and I’ve strived to be just that for the past
two years. I have to say, I’ve gotten a lot done and my career has gotten better.

What’s your favorite scary movie?

Hitchcock’s Psycho. I still get the heebie jeebies when I think about the cleanup scene. You can see anything, not really. But it’s the cold
way he cleans up the “mess” that forces me to have the lights on.

What’s the first costume you remember wearing as a child?

I had to be in kindergarten or the first grade, but I was clown. I remember this because I cried long and hard about having to be a one. I wanted to be a ballerina or anything else besides a clown. I had the paint on my face. The nose. The wig. Lol I hated it.

Favorite Halloween candy?

I like this candy because it just feels like Halloween. It’s the hard, big pink bubblegum that can rip out a molar. Comes in a big ol’ bag with Tootsie Rolls. Love it. I will sit and try to break my jaw in half chewing it. I have it every year, but I promise to stop if and when I actually pull out a tooth with that stuff.

If you could dress up as anyone for Halloween, who would it be?

A Go-Go dancer. I have a fascination with boots so I think it would
marry the two things I love: Halloween and Boots.

Thank you for visiting with us Melissa!

Blurb:

Two months have passed since Nicole Harrison’s weekend of forbidden pleasure. It should have been more than enough time for Nicole
to forget Sebastian’s charming smiles and wicked kisses. Except, during those nights together, she managed to leave behind her driven
lifestyle as a publicist and took what she wanted, experiencing freedom and the wild abandon of their reckless agreement of no last
names, no shared details. And the woman she was with him is the hardest part to erase from her memory.

Unfortunately, one detail was tantamount—Sebastian Clark is a publicist and now he’s gunning for her job.

Sebastian never allows himself to get tangled in knots by a woman, and, yet, he can’t stop dreaming about Nicole’s silky thighs and ripe
lips, how she’d shuddered under his touch. He doesn’t need a woman who is more of a shark than he when it comes to PR, except he’s seen
every, single soft inch of her. Now they’ll have to work side by side and somehow ignore what feels like unfinished business.

Will the weekend they spent together turn out to be more than they could have ever imagined, or will past hurts and career ambitions
stand in their way? Only Cupid knows…

Excerpt:

“You’re cocky.”

“You should know.” His voice had gone husky without provocation.

Her teeth sank into the side of her mouth, pursing full lips. She straightened. “I do. Never doubt that.” She made a sound full of
contemplation. “Your confidence will be your Achilles’ heel. You think because you know something, you know everything.”

“I’m not new at this.”

“No, you’re not. At least not from the way you conducted yourself. But that doesn’t mean you can’t learn more tricks of the trade. ”

He hoped, like hell, they had stopped talking about the client. Then common sense prevailed and shot down the idea. He and Nicole had to
work closely together. What happened once could never happen again. The only reason he had the urge to play this game was to prove himself
to Anna and her publicity manager. Nothing else. Nothing more.

“I could say the same.”

A smile, slow and seductive, curved her lips. “What’s the prize?”

“A coveted contact.” He had more than a few she’d salivate over, and after seeing her schmooze Jeremiah, he knew she had a few he’d want.

“Then you’re on, Sebastian. May the best publicist win.”

You can pick up Down With Cupid at these retailers:

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, ARe and Kobo


Filed Under: Uncategorized

Blogtoberfest – Halloween Cat Craft

I have three little ones.  In an alternate life, I was a teacher.  I can sense when it’s time to put away the books and the science experiments and take out the construction paper, pipe cleaners and the googly eyes.

Crafts are a stress reliever.  Coloring, cutting, pasting and putting things together can be a welcome respite from sweating over a keyboard.  Especially where googly eyes are involved.

I couldn’t do this any better than this blogger, so here is a link to her page:

Halloween Cat Craft

http://jennwa.blogspot.com/2008/09/halloween-paper-plate-crafts-black-cat.html

 


Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged: dahlia dewinters, fall harvest, halloween, Halloween craft, Halloween for kids, Halloween fun

Evernight Blog Hop – Happy Birthday!

Welcome to the Evernight Publishing birthday blog hop!

Evernight Publishing opened its doors two years ago. In those two years we’ve signed over one hundred and sixty authors and published over three hundred books. From paranormal to contemporary, we’ve had more best sellers than we can count and made thousands of people smile, sigh and gasp. So, as a thank you to all our readers and everyone who has supported us, we’re holding this blog hop and we have a whole lot of prizes to offer you.

Here’s how it works… the more blogs you hop to (shown below) the more chance you have of winning prizes. Each author on the hop is offering a prize and Evernight is offering the following grand prizes, a Kindle, a $100 Amazon gift certificate, two Evernight swag bags (which includes a tote, a tee, vouchers, a mug and other coolness) and a personalized Facebook banner. To be in with a chance of winning the author prize simply follow the blog you’re visiting and leave a comment which includes your email address. Each entry on each blog is then counted towards the grand prize draw. The more entries you have, the better your chance of winning a grand prize! You also get extra points for liking the Evernight Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/#!/evernightpublishing. Just make sure you let us know in the comments that you’ve done so.

Good luck and happy hopping!

 

I’ll be giving away a copy of my book Kitty Wishes, the story of a woman who woke up….as a cat.

Blurb:

Curses, spells, fairy tales…no thanks! Sakaria Thorpe prefers the reality of running a café over the nonsense of make believe. But is it really make believe?

When she finds herself cursed to be a shapeshifting cat, she becomes a believer. Good thing she’s able to fit shapeshifting into her schedule. Life’s fine until she discovers she will be cursed to be a cat forever if she doesn’t find a man to break the spell by midnight on Halloween.

Desmond Fields sticks to routines and cold hard facts. He falls for the beautiful but quirky Sakaria the minute he sees her behind the counter.

Now Sakaria must convince Des of the improbable, that the woman he’s falling for needs him to recognize her inner feline in order to break the spell. Time’s running out and Sakaria is getting desperate…will true love save the day?

 

Hop around to my other Evernight Author friends and see the cool books they’re offering.

Remember the more blogs you hop to and comment on,  the more chance you have of winning prizes. I am offering a copy of “Kitty Wishes” and Evernight is offering: a

  • Kindle

  • $100 Amazon gift certificate

  • two (2) Evernight swag bags (which includes a tote, a tee, vouchers, a mug and other coolness)

  • a personalized Facebook banner.

Leave your comment below to be entered and good luck!


Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged: blog hop, dahlia dewinters, evernight publishing, kitty wishes

Blogtoberfest – Maple Cinnamon Spider Webs

Total Time:  40 min  Prep:  10 min
Cook: 30 min  Yield:  about 30 webs

Ingredients

  • Vegetable oil, for frying
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon fine salt
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup, plus 1/4 cup for brushing
  • 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • Jelly spiders, orange or black nonpareils, for garnish, optional

Directions

Pour enough oil in a large skillet so it’s about 1 inch deep. Heat oil over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers between 280 to 300 degree F.

Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center; add the milk, egg, and 1 tablespoon maple syrup. Whisk the dry and wet ingredients together until smooth.

Transfer batter into a large size pastry bag with a # 3 or 4 open tip. Carefully squeeze batter in a circular pattern and then back and forth into the oil, to make a free form spider web-like design, about 3 to 4 inches in diameter. Cook until bottoms are golden, about 2 minutes. Using tongs or slotted spoon, turn fritters over and cook until golden on other side, about 1 minute more. Transfer the fritters to paper towels to drain briefly. Brush lightly with maple syrup and dust with confectioners’ sugar. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve warm or at room temperature alone or with the garnishes.

Copyright 2008 Television Food Network, G.P. All rights reserved

*You may use a zip bag instead of a pastry bag.  Snip a corner to the appropriate size and you’re good.

Courtesy of the Food Network


Filed Under: Blogtoberfest, Uncategorized Tagged: dahlia dewinters, fall harvest, funnel cake, halloween, halloween dessert, Halloween party food, halloween recipe

Blogtoberfest- Scary Movies – The Shining

I’ll be honest, I saw the movie “The Shining” before I read the book.  Saw it on channel seven, ABC’s channel here in the New York area.  I’m not sure how old I was, but I must have been in high school because the movie was in the theatre in 1980.

That movie frightens me to this day, even when they show it on the Arts and Entertainment channel.  I’m not sure if

The Overlook Hotel (Timberline Lodge).

I’ve ever seen the theatrical version and I’m not sure I want to.

The whole idea of being snowbound and trapped while the “strongest” of your party goes slowly mad and there’s nothing you can do about it is frightening enough.  The fact that the HOTEL itself is making it impossible for you to escape from him is even scarier.

The scene that scared me the most was not the famous and too-often-quoted “Here’s Johnny!” scene, but it’s the scene where Jack is menacing Wendy on the stairs and says:

Wendy Torrance: Please! Don’t hurt me!
Jack Torrance: I’m not gonna hurt you.
Wendy Torrance: Stay away from me!
Jack Torrance: Wendy? Darling? Light, of my life. I’m not gonna hurt ya. You didn’t let me finish my sentence. I said, I’m not gonna hurt ya. I’m just going to bash your brains in.
[Wendy gasps]
Jack Torrance: Gonna bash ’em right the fuck in! ha ha ha

 

[amazon-product align=”left”]B000UJCALI[/amazon-product]

The miniseries remake with Steven Weber (from the show WINGS of all places) didn’t half faze me.  I mean, this is the dude from Wings against Jack Nicholson for heaven’s sake.  It’s a no brainer.

The movie was made in 1980, but I’ll say SPOILER ALERT anyway.

The Shining is an example of chillingly great horror movie.  The final shot of Jack Nicholson frozen in the hedge maze…that haunted me for quite a few nights after that!

 

So what’s YOU’RE favorite scary movie????

 

 

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Filed Under: Blogtoberfest, Uncategorized

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