October 2011 -

Worry Revisited

October 31, 2011Written by Dara

Image copyright 123rf.com

In celebration of Shel Silverstein’s newest release Every Thing On It I thought I’d take out and dust off this poem I wrote back in 2006. It was inspired by Silverstein’s Whatif poem. I wrote it early in my career and made some tweaks to update it a bit, but overall not much has changed.

I called it Worry because that’s something that writers do well.

Worry: A Writer’s Whatif

Before I sit down at my desk

My heart starts racing in my chest

Some whatifs begin to dance in my ears

And their questions reveal all my fears:

Whatif I can’t finish my next book?

Whatif no reader will give it a look?

Uncategorized writing

Interview with Writer/Cover Artist Kimberly Van Meter

October 26, 2011Written by Dara

Don’t judge a book by its cover, the old saying goes, but of course we all do. Attractive book covers help sell books. I’ve had the privilege of working with and interviewing many cover artists over the years, however, I was especially thrilled to have the chance to talk to Kimberly Van Meter who’s the designer of my upcoming re-release GAINING INTEREST and upcoming new release THE DAUGHTERS OF WINSTON BARNETT plus a host of others.

You can read her interview here.

You can find out more about her here.

Interviews cover art, interview

Comments Off

October 24, 2011Written by Dara

I didn’t want to have to do this, but I have no choice. I’m turning off the ‘comments’ feature. Unfortunately, I’m being slammed by spam comments. They’re clogging up my inbox and I have better things to do with my time than review and delete a bunch of ‘cyber junk.’

Hopefully in the future I’ll get it under control but for now you can reach me through email or post on Facebook.

Now back to the regularly scheduled program.

Uncategorized

New Cover for GAINING INTEREST

October 21, 2011Written by Dara

Ta da! Here’s the new cover for GAINING INTEREST. I’ve finished reading the proofs so now the book is in production. I hope to have the eBook version available by the end of October (the first week of November the latest). And yes Cassie and Drake from TABLE FOR TWO make an appearance in this one.

Here’s the book’s description:

Aspiring lingerie designer Adriana Travers has a weakness for bad boys—not practical, plodding men like her financial advisor Eric Henson. She’s only interested in him handling her financial affairs. Affairs of the heart, however, are completely off limits.

Eric Henson agrees. Women like Adriana are not in his plan. After spending years working his way up the business ladder, he wants to marry a woman who will keep him on the right path—not prove a distraction. But one night changes everything.

Books cover art

5 Tips to a Model Life

October 18, 2011Written by Dara

Do you want to know how to feel fabulous every day? How to turn heads in an instant? How to stand out without doing anything? I can show you how. If you’ve read my latest release ALL I WANT IS YOU or TAMING MARIELLA you know that the heroines (Monica and Mariella respectively) were models. I felt comfortable writing these characters because I used some of my background to shape them. I grew up around models and got to see them as ordinary people. One of my aunts worked in a modeling agency, another family friend has a niece who’s now an international model. I’ve met print models and hand models and I learned from all of them. You can too. You don’t have to model to live a life where you’re complimented, admired, and treated well.

Here are five tips:

Only wear clothes that make you feel good. A person who feels good about themselves glows. They have an ‘air’ a ‘charisma’. Get rid of clothes that are too tight or too big or just don’t fit right. I don’t care who bought it for you, if you feel awful in it, don’t wear it. How you feel will show. If you like polka dots wear them! Wear the colors that make you feel alive.