authro – Page 2

Off-Time – Crochet Edition

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — Loose fitting hat

So, some of you may be sitting there RIGHT NOW wondering….what the heck does Dahlia do when she’s not writing up those great stories of hers? Well, dear readers of this blog, I’ll tell ya….in pictures.

I’m a crochet fanatic. I like to knit, but crochet is my thing, if you know what I’m saying. It’s faster, to me, and you can get a lot of projects done quickly. I do like the smooth lay of knitting, but….I sacrifice style for speed.

: Pink Hat, of course!

So whenever I’m trying to work out some plot twists or am simply taking a break from the keyboard, this is what I’m usually doing. If I’m quick, I can whip out a hat in 30 minutes. The scrunchie takes longer because I’m using a smaller needle.

All in all, it’s fun, mindless,and the family gets a lot of warm stuff out of it to boot.

Till next time!

Music Monday

Hey, I haven’t been very musical in a while, so I decided to sit down with some hours of Monday left to go and make it a musical one. I don’t have a lot to chat about today…so listen to the music, turn up the speakers and DANCE!

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1nua7_the-time-jungle-love-morris-day_music

Sexual Harrassment and Racism…in a Romance?

Do Sexual Harassment and Racism Belong in Fiction?

Sexual harassment and racism…pretty taboo topics, right? That’s why I chose to tackle
them. I don’t like to read, nor do I like to write mindless entertainment. Most readers
nowadays want a fluffy romance with minor complications and a HEA. While I do
concede to Happy Ever Afters, I make sure it’s a rocky road to get there.

You will find sexual harassment and racism both in Afterburn. Having been an aircraft
mechanic for eleven years, I was dying to write about a woman grease monkey. Nobody
else is!

And let me tell you something about harassment…it’s ugly, but it’s there. Sexual
harassment happens to women in male-dominated professions on an everyday basis.
So, it’s an issue in Afterburn. It’s a fact of life and fiction isn’t real if it doesn’t portray
real life.

Racism: Another ugly, but sadly, real life issue. Even in 2013, it’s there. I’m sure many
of you have worked side by side with someone for years…never thought of the person
as a racist and suddenly one day you get to talking about some married couple who
happens to be interracial…and they say those horrible, offensive words, “I’d never let my
daughter marry a….”

That moment you realize you’ve been working with a bigot? Yea. I’ve had those and it
totally changes how I see the person in front of me.

These issues exist and they need to be eliminated. In a perfect world, we’d never have
these problems. Women would go to work not worrying about who is going to smack her
rear and make an inappropriate comment. And couples with different skin tones would
never get looked at funny.

So, Afterburn isn’t a piece of fluff. I lay it out there. It’s life.

Blurb:

The love between them burns hot, but their relationship won’t stay fueled if they
can’t beat the obstacles in their way. Besides breaking the fraternization rules,
Grant and Crystal have the difference of race between them…but can they prove to
the rest of the world, and to each other, that love is color blind?

Afterburn is about overcoming one’s past, not judging others, learning to forgive,
and what it’s like to be a woman in a “man’s world.”

Buy on Amazon

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Tara Chevrestt is a deaf woman, former aviation mechanic, writer, and an editor. She is

most passionate about planes, motorcycles, dogs, and above all, reading. That led to her love of

writing. Between her writing and her editing, which allows her to be home with her little canine

kids, she believes she has the greatest job in the world. She is very happily married.

Her theme is Strong is Sexy. She shares a website with her naughty pen name:

http://tarachevrestt.weebly.com/index.html and they have a Facebook page: https://

www.facebook.com/pages/Tara-Chevrestt-Sonia-Hightower/218383211513877.

Creative Sparks

I decided to try something different for my blog, focus less on the specific craft of writing and spend some time talking about the entire creative process. I realized that creativity doesn’t start and stop when I type up my stories.

It’s no accident that crafting, writing, singing and other creative arts are often found in one person. I grew up on a

steady diet of broomstick crochet, macramé, knitting, crocheting, tatting, embroidery, piano lessons, vocal lessons and the like. I love to read and I do love to write. The only thing that I didn’t do much with was drawing/painting. I can draw a tree and that’s about it.

Sparking creativity is a must if one wants to write and write well. In former blog posts, you’ll see that I don’t believe in writer’s block. Why should I believe in something that blocks my creative flow? Why should I admit to the existence of something that prevents me from putting my stories on paper? Instead, I use triggers to spark my creative side.

How do I do this? It’s simple. Observe the creative works of others. Sometimes I watch something completely mindless on television before I work. Sometimes I look at paintings. Sometimes I reread a favorite book and/or watch a favorite movie and find things there that I never saw before.

For example, I’ve seen Shadow of a Doubt with Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotten what seems like a million times. I watched it again last night and realized that the screenwriter gives us a reason why Joseph Cotton is the killer he is. Apparently, he was in a bicycle accident when he was six or seven years old and hit his head. After that, his sister said something about ‘ever since then, he’s been getting into trouble’ or something like that.

I thought it was an interesting detail that I’d missed the first few times I’d screened the movie. That could be enough to start a germinating character in the back of your mind.

Sparking your creative fires can be as simple as perusing a photography coffee table book or watching a children’s show. Try it. Find out what works for you.

Love in the Land of the Lakes

The Midwest Fiction Writers, a local chapter for the Romance Writers of America, pulled together 17 writers who each submitted a short story for a fundraiser.

Roughing It or Luxury

Jody Vitek

Roadside Love, in the MFW anthology Love in the Land of Lakes, is a short story I wrote based on annual vacations I take with my family and in-laws to northern Minnesota. What’s there not to love but a cabin in the woods? Well that depends on who you ask.

My husband does’nt like to rough it, so our cabin in the woods is at a resort. Our cabin is a three-story duplex house with running water, air-conditioning and heating, marble countertops, a television and all the other comforts of home. It’s far from roughing it—It’s a house. But it’s a vacation away from home.

Our cabin is lakeside and nightly we receive the most beautiful sunsets. There’s a beautiful sandy beach that reaches into the lake waters for swimming and playing. We’re surrounded by tall pines, oak, birch, and the list of tree variety goes on. There are walking and biking trails, including the Paul Bunyan Trail. Not to mention the great small town shops for you to spend your money.

The unfortunate side to having all of this luxury, is you don’t get to escape from the reality of the real world. We all bring our laptops, iPads, iPhones, iPods, you name it, all electronic devices are with us. We even bring extra TVs with DVD players. To me it’s sad we don’t go on this vacation to escape and yet, I admit I bring my laptop and the other above listed evil techno gadgets.

The resort and surrounding locals have wireless Internet, so we can hook-up and connect with the world. It’s not the greatest wireless but there’s wireless. We check our email and Facebook accounts, you name it we’re all plugged in. Being a part of this guilty party, I use my time to go to a quiet place, whether it be the beach by the lake, on a lounge chair by the pool; yes, there’s a heated pool, I sit and work on my writing.

Growing up, I was in the Girl Scouts and roughing it was in a tent, in a sleeping bag, on the ground. My parents would take us on camping trips too. I sometimes miss the roughing it when we’re at the cabin, the daily smell of a campfire where we would cook our meals and boil water to wash dishes. My husband would call me crazy because of this, but I have wonderful memories as a child and camping in the ‘wild.’

What are your thoughts about resorts and all the technology and luxuries they offer? Do you like the luxuries and prefer them, or do you prefer roughing it and leaving the luxuries behind? I’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment with your email for a chance to win an e-copy of my debut book Florida Heat.

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Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes, and just as many love stories. Love in the Land of Lakes brings you seventeen of these stories, from two childhood sweethearts connecting on the end of a dock on a warm summer’s evening, to a city boy’s chaotic weekend at his girlfriend’s primitive cabin. We bring you the story of a savvy horse who leads her owner to love in post–Civil War farm country, and the haunting romance of an ageless gambler who inhabits a historic riverboat and charms the boat’s new owner.

A kaleidoscope of sunshine, snowstorms, and thunderstorms grace our contemporary, mystery, historical, and paranormal stories as the authors of Midwest Fiction Writers spin lovely romances that will send you drifting into happily ever afters.

Click here to see where the authors are stopping to blog and chat with you the reader.

 Our Stories:

Laura Breck

Bobbers ‘N Bait – The evocative marketing gimmick at the new bait store in town has the fishing outfitter all hot and bothered.

Rhonda Brutt

A Cut Above the Rest – Rachel knew that a simple haircut had the power to change someone’s life. What she wasn’t counting on though, was how it would change hers.

Amy Hahn

Lira & Gavril – A dilapidated riverboat brings together a passionate historic preservationist and a man who called it home during the Victorian era.

Rosemary Heim

Lake Dreams – Olivia had her life all planned out. All except for that one impulsive night with her childhood crush. Can he convince her the result is worth the risk?

Ann Hinnenkamp

Hook, Line and Stinker – An LA makeover artist comes home to Minnesota and must use all her skills to tame a wild man.

Kathy Johnson

Snowbound – Caught in a snowstorm, the last person she expects to need her help is the man she loved but lost to someone else.

Rose Marie Meuwissen

Dancing in the Moonlight – Anna Thorstad never imagined reopening her parents’ lake cabin would also open her heart to love again.

Barbara Mills

Hooked – An avid outdoorswoman takes her city born and raised boyfriend for a chaotic weekend at her family’s primitive cabin on the lake.

J.S. Overmier

Henrietta’s Man – A savvy horse carries her Civil War-torn soldier north in search of healing and a future.

Jana Otto

Coming Home – A young widow’s faith and courage are tested when she falls in love with her husband’s best friend.

Michel Prince

Her Stranger – Each night a stranger comes to Rachel’s cabin door. What is it that makes her fall into his arms?

Mary Schenten

Lake Secrets – A weekend getaway at the scene of the crime has Elly struggling to keep a secret from her best friend.

Susan Sey

Unwrapped – Movie star Sloan Leighton sells love; she doesn’t believe in it. Then one frozen midnight on the shores of Lake Superior, everything changes.

Joel Skelton

The Bouncing Bobber – Will a budding romance, sidetracked by youth and ambition, be what it takes to lure Jacob and Nate back into love’s net?

Lizbeth Selvig

What’s Up Dock? – Sophie’s handsome new neighbor is burying body bags in his garden. But he’s afraid of raccoons—how could he be a killer?

Naomi Stone

Wind from the Lake – Wishing on a star? Alien contact? When childhood friends Connie and Hank meet again, they don’t need to believe in anything but each other.

Jody Vitek

Roadside Catch – She swore off relationships with doctors, until one finds her injured on the roadside and has her rethinking the possibilities.

Purchase on Amazon, Smashwords, and AllRomanceebooks