blerds – Dahlia DeWinters

5 Fandom Friday – Goals for 2017

It’s been a while since I posted a 5 Fandom Friday, but this is as good time as any to get back into the swing of things. Plus, if I type up these goals, I have something to refer back to as the year goes on. While I love some sticky notes, nothing is more permanent than the Internet. Here goes My first goal for the year is to buckle down in the writing game. Due to some bad health news in 2016, I’ve been very spotty with writing and submitting/publishing. In 2017, I plan to: Complete and submit at least three short stories Complete and publish two novels that have been hanging around on my hard drive for at least three years Complete the third book/story in the Tea and Tomahawks series/universe Complete a novella that I started last year. The second goal for the year is to… Continued

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Blogtoberfest – Vampire Sangria

Hello again! So glad to see y’all along with me for the ride of 31 days of Halloween blogging, or, as I call it……BLOGTOBERFEST…….. Today’s recipe is not a mocktail, but a straight up liquor fest. It was a choice between this and chocolate martinis. I chose this because it looks like fruit punch. (What, me drinking? Nah, this is fruit punch.) And I love sangria. You can find the basic recipe here, but I added my own twists. Prep Time: 5 minutes Total Time: 5 minutes Ingredients: 1 (750 ml bottle of red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Rioja reds, Zinfandel, Shiraz) 1 Lemon cut into wedges 1 Orange cut into wedges Strawberry or Kiwi slices 3 Tbsp sugar 2 shots brandy 1 shot gin 2 cups ginger ale or club soda Preparation: Pour wine in the pitcher and squeeze the juice wedges from the lemon and orange into the wine.

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Music Monday: Favorite Frank Sinatra Song Quotes

I’m not sure if I’ve done this before, but I was going through some old playlist and got to remembering. Yes, I love Fuel, The Police, Imagine Dragons, Hozier and some new/old stuff, but some of the time I switch to the old 1940-1960s song book of The Chairman of the Board, Ol’ Blue Eyes himself, Mr. Francis Sinatra. I am from New Jersey, so, yeah, natch, right? As a romance writer, it helps me get in the mood to write love scenes and the interaction of people becoming lovers when I listen to some of the great lyricists of the American Songbook. Those writers had a way of turning a phrase and of creating metaphors and similies that evoke the feeling of love, falling in love and being in love. I wanted to share a few of my faves with you and who better to demonstrate than Sinatra himself?

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Gotham Recap – Viper

Hello! Back again for the next episode of Gotham: Viper. The episode opens with Alfred asking young Bruce to go for a walk. As always, Bruce is concentrating on solving the murders of his parents and cares not for fresh air and sunshine. (I’m wondering, when does this little dude do his lessons? He seems to have an awful lot of free time.) Alfred then asks him what if he never solves the murder of his parents and thus never gets to seek revenge? Bruce has the answer right there and tells him that he doesn’t want revenge, but wants to understand how Gotham works. He wants to know why the mobsters are getting big shares of Arkham and why Wayne enterprises didn’t stop the corruption. Alfred doesn’t think it’s particularly healthy, but Bruce blows him off. Maroni is teed off at the news that he can’t mess with Falcone

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June is National Candy Month

June is National Candy Month. This is a mouth-watering topic if I’ve ever seen one. Yes, I am a grown adult, but there’s something about indulging in childhood candy that sends you back in time. So, grab your Walkman and if you want to go further back, get that Aqua Net hairspray to make those Farrah Fawcett angel wings. Here’s some candy to take you back. When I say candy, I don’t mean the chocolate grown-up chocolate stuff. I’m talking about the brightly-colored, artificially-flavored, red dye #20398 colored candies that left your tongue coated with color and your head buzzing with all the high fructose corn syrup. Lemonheads: Sweet, sour and oh so crunchy. Take these sweet, yellow balls into your mouth and roll them around on your tongue until they dissolve, or if you’re in a hurry, scrape the sour coating off to get to the sweet, hard center.