It Was A Dark And Stormy Night by Tia Dani

                                                          Call Down the Darkness

"Hey, Tia. We need to get back on track. We missed our July blog at Inside Book We Love."

"Oh, dear." Tia frowned. "I remember writing something about our dads."

Dani nodded: "Yes, that was for Father's Day."

"Oh-oh." Tia glanced at her blank monitor. "I think we're really behind."

"Ya, think?" Dani said in her usual snarky tone that generally sent Tia off into a peal of laughter.

(Laughter echoed around Tia's office for several minutes.)

"Seriously, Dani. We really need to come up with a blog topic."

"Definitely. Okay, let's do it. And here's a vow we can take." Dani held up her hand. "We, Tia Dani, are committed to blog faithfully, whether it be raining, sleeting, snowing—"

"Wait! Wait..." Tia turned to look at her. "We live in Arizona and its August. I doubt we'll have to deal with sleet or snow. Actually, I'd love some rain, but really, when have we had to battle with the elements instead of writing?"

Dani let out a long sigh. "I don't care then. What do you want our vow to be?"
"Hmm...Okay. How about this? We commit faithfully to blog regularly whether there are persnickety Internet problems—"

"Persnickety?" Dani laughed. "Now that's a word one doesn't hear every day."

"Hush, now. I'm thinking." Tia drummed her fingers next to her keyboard. "Besides, I like persnickety...it has character. So, don't interrupt me. I've got more to add to this vow."

Dani waved her hand. "Add away, dear Tia."

Tia began to type furiously. "Whether there be persnickety Internet problems, cranky computers and—"

Brrrring, brringgg

Dani jumped up. "Hold that thought. Gotta answer my phone. Hello?"

Oh, great. Tia thought. This will take a while. Every time I get a great idea, her phone has to ring. "I'm going to the bathroom."

(Ten minutes later Tia is rummaging through her cupboard for something to snack on.)

Entering the kitchen, Dani shoved the phone into her back pocket. "So, what were we saying?"

"I forgot. Here, you want some potato chips?" Tia tossed a freshly opened bag onto the kitchen counter. "I'm hungry."

"Of course. You have to ask?" Dani dipped her hand into the bag and pulled a handful of chips. "You know...I had an idea for a story last night. You want to hear about it?"

"Sure." Tia scooted out one of the bar stools and hopped onto it.

Dani grabbed the other stool. "It's another paranormal. But nothing like we normally write?"

"Really?" Tia looked at her with eyebrows raised. "Since when have we ever done anything normal?"

"That's true. Every story we come up with has a tendency to take on its own life." Dani reached for another round of chips. "Anyway, here's the idea. Three women own a book store and the hero comes in as an author, who's researching werewolf stories."

"Why?" Tia munched several chips at once.

"Why what?"

"Why three women? Which one of them is going to be the heroine?"

"I don't care." Dani brushed potato chip crumbs from the front of her black T-shirt. "Besides, what does it matter who's to be the heroine? I'm just telling you my idea for a story. We can iron out the fine details later."

Tia shook her head. "I don't know. What about the hero? Why did he come to that particular book store? You know the rule. In romantic fiction, coincidences aren't supposed to just happen."

"Tia!" Another long drawn out sigh followed Dani's exclamation. "Turn off that analytical brain of yours and just listen to me. I'm telling you my idea, not the whole bloody story."

"bloody…oooh…that's right. How awesome. A bloody werewolf story. I like that.

Okay...so…there's three women and one man, right?"

"Right. We start out with this spooky prologue. Up at the lake. A dark night."

"Which lake?" Tia stopped munching and looked at Dani curiously. "Where's the story supposed to take place?"

"Who cares, right now? Anyway, there's a full moon—"

"I hate to say this, but if there's a full moon, it won't be a dark night."

"Fine. Then it was a dark and stormy night."

(Both break out laughing.)

"I like the full moon idea, Dani. We'll stick with that."

Dani shifted on the bar stool. "Are you ready to listen now? It's a really great idea."

"Fire away."

"Here goes. Back to wherever we were."

"It was a dark and—"

"Forget that. We're back at the lake and the moon was full."

Tia suddenly laughed and potato chips flew everywhere. "Sounds like a song. Stagger Lee, right?"

"Right...but I believe the moon was yellow."

In typical fashion, Tia cleared her throat and started singing. "The night was clear, and the moon was yellow..."

Together they finished the last line. "And the leaves came tumblin' down..."

(This time they both broke out in hysterical laughter.)

Tia fanned her face and took a deep breath. "I almost inhaled a chip after that one."

(Five minute break here while they drink iced tea and talk about nothing in particular.)

Dani suddenly remembers why she was there for the day. "Let's return to my story."

"Right. So what else happens?"

"It's a werewolf story, but comes with a catch."

"Oooooookay?" Tia gave her friend a doubtful look, thinking there were all kinds of "catches", but knew she had to hear Dani out. In other words...KEEP HER MOUTH SHUT!

"And, here's the deal. Our werewolf is really a–"

Woof. Whine…woof...whimper.

"Dang it." Tia hopped off the bar stool. "Why does this always happen when we start to roll on something? Now, the double D's have to go outside." (The double D's are Tia's two Dachshund pups. Diva and Darcy.)

"No problem. I'll tell you the rest of the story while we're outdoors with them."

Fifteen minutes later—after both puppies who "really" had to go, and then greet their favorite mailman with a thousand doggie licks, Tia and Dani are back in the office in front of the computer.

"You know, Dani. Your idea has a great premise. I think we should run with it. I'm going to put the major plot points down." She looked at her computer screen. "Omigosh! I forgot we were doing this earlier."

Dani groaned. "Oh shoot! That's right. We were going to come up with something for a blog."

Tia flexed her fingers over her keyboard and grinned. "Don't worry. I think I have just the title for it."

IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT....

And, this is really a glimpse at how we work together. You don't have to worry, we won't write a story with the title, It Was a Dark and Stormy Night. However, we do have a new book just released from Books We Love. Call Down the Darkness   It has Apache legends, past life regressions, a evil shape-shifter, and some passionate romance.
  

To find out more about the writing team Tia Dani and our books visit us at:

 http://bookswelove.com/authors/tia-dani/

 https://tiadaniauthor.wordpress.com/

 https://www.facebook.com/tiadani.author

Tia Dani is the writing team made up of good friends, Christine Eaton Jones and Beverly Petrone. Together they create endearing and realistic characters, humorous dialogue, and unusual settings.

I Dare You. I Double-Dog Dare You! by Tia Dani

Time's Enduring Love, our historical time-travel is a 

Books We Love 2014 best seller.

http://amzn.com/B00EVXABV0

The fact we've been writing together for a very long time still amazes us how well we work together. The reason? There's a strong bond of trust between us and, as we've always said, "Our friendship is imperative", beyond any other emotion or personal quirks.

What's one of those quirks, you ask?

Well, we're a bit competitive.

Pushing our limits has become a challenge. For example, we are "dogged" determined to dig deeper and deeper into our current story in progress. Which makes it kind of difficult since, at the moment, we're working on two stories at once. One is a paranormal and the other a futuristic. Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum. Have we mentioned before we're eclectic? Yep, it keeps things interesting for us.

Anyway, back to our competition. We call it our Double-dog Dare. Here's what happens.

An initial story gets written.

So far, we're good with what's on the pages, but it really needs to zing.

Tia, ever thirsty for drama and spine-tingling action, takes off and inserts all kinds of spooky, weird, unusual, and not your run-in-the-mill happenings. "Hmmm," she chortles and rubs her hands. "What disaster can be added to intensify the story?"

Dani, however, forever the romantic, plunges into the protagonists' love quandary. How she can push the boundaries and build their relationships. She loves to dream about how passionate our hero and heroine can have it and build the sexual tension. She smiles and asks…"What incredibly sweet or spicy thing can I do to them before disaster strikes?" With that, she blissfully types away.

Dani calls this the fun stuff. Tia calls it the gooey, hooey stuff. Uh-oh, our personalities are showing.

Working together and daring each other to push harder is how we create realistic characters, strong emotion, and a story line that keeps our readers entertained all the way until the end.

Take for example our paranormal story we're working on right now. The story involves quite a bit of Apache Indian culture and Arizona history. The story didn't start out that way. It originally started with the hero and heroine meeting on a guest ranch in northern Arizona. 

Okay, simple, but not exactly a hand wringer.

Then we into competition mode. And one chapter developed into another.

The hero and heroine soon find themselves drawn into a battle of metaphysical beliefs. Two Apache lovers have been trapped in time by a shape-shifter's curse. The lovers? Well, Dani won that round…lots and lots of emotional and physical love scenes.

Once Tia gives in to Dani, she insists there has to be a twist. Ensnared within her own spell, a jealous Apache woman vows that no one will ever free her captives.

Sounding stronger…BUT…the bar has to be raised higher. Tia pushes for the past-life regressions to be dangerous and scary. Dani agrees, but insists the heroine and hero must find themselves strongly bound together through time and other lives.

Kinda of a draw wouldn't you say? Round one to Tia. Round two to Dani. Round three. A mutual agreement: The love between the hero and heroine must be strong enough break the curse cast by the evil one.

To find out how it happens...you'll have to read the book.

One more thing though.

Before this book is ready to send to our publisher, we have one more step to achieve. Make sure our historic storyline stayed believable all the way through. So, off we went the world acclaimed Heard Museum in Phoenix for research. It ended up being a wonderful adventure. Not only did we discover some Apache objects to enhance our story, we also learned that many of the incidents we wrote were darn near spot on. (Spine tingling and lifting neck hairs hit us both.)

Some of the Native American jewlery on display at the Heard Museum.

 Apache wedding dress.

Navajo blanket robes. The Apache traded for goods and would very likely have blankets like these.

Apache footwear on display.

It was a perfect day to enjoy lunch on the patio and make some notes. We have learned the hard way...write it down while fresh in our minds.

We also enjoyed a glass of Twisted Cedar Native American Wine. http://heard.org/

Final round to the competition? To our powerful channeled spirits who helped us become one with the book.

As far as the futuristic…that's an article for another time…After we manage to say farewell to our Apache spirit guides and attempt to contact our space-aged, highly-advanced guardians for more help. Won't that be fun?


To find out more about the writing team Tia Dani and our books visit us at:
http://bookswelove.com/authors/dani-tia/  
http://tiadanismusings.blogspot.com/

Twitter:   https://twitter.com/TiaDani 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tiadani.author

Bio: 
Tia Dani is the multi-published writing team made up of good friends Christine Eaton Jones and Beverly Petrone. Together they create endearing and realistic characters, humorous dialogue, and unusual settings. And…best of all…they’re having the time of their lives.

Storytelling has been a passion for Christine (Tia) since childhood when she regularly enthralled the neighborhood children with make-believe fairy tales and wild adventures.

Always the lover of a good romance, Beverly's (Dani) goal is for you to step into the shoes of her heroine, fall head-over-heels in love with her hero, and most of all believe in the magic of love.

Tia Dani happily calls Arizona home where they play in the sunshine and dance in the twilight of the beautiful Sonoran desert.  

All in a Day's Work Or How to Make Good Use of a Distraction by Tia Dani

Since there are two of us, wouldn't you think we could finish a book in record time? Sure, we both have busy lives. We have husbands, kids, grandkids, housework, other careers and hobbies (well, Tia has hobbies, Dani just plays) but that's another blog for a later time. Like we said, we are both fully committed to our writing.  So what happens that we can't seem, to finish a project?

Life happens. Not always in a mundane way.

Take the other day for example. Our plan was to meet up at Tia's house and not leave until we had completed the next phase of editing our work in progress. Which, by the way, it is going to be an awesome blend of the present and past, with elements of paranormal, regression, and plenty of romance. But when Dani pulled into Tia's driveway she was met with a frantic Tia waving her arms. She needed help with an unexpected emergency.

The emergency was a baby bird that had fallen from its palm tree nest near the front of Tia's house. Tia was certain it was an owl and we needed to find a rescue place quick. Someone needed to come get the bird before it died. She had already called two places who both told her they don't take in raptor species. Raptors?!? Aren't they supposed to be those honking, huge birds during the dinosaur age?

We made several more calls to animal shelters and finally were directed to a place that would take in raptors. Only problem, they didn't pick up. We had to deliver.

Twenty minutes later we had packed the back seat of Dani's car with the make shift cage, which was really a crate with a lid over the top to hold the tiny ball of white feathers. Off we went with the directions programed into the GPS system. It took us almost 45 minutes on the freeway to the exit we needed to take us north to Cave Creek and the bird hospital.

At this point, we should let you know Dani is not really fond of birds. Not that she doesn't like them, it's just she's sorta afraid of them.

When she called her husband to let him know where she was headed he said, "You are what?"

"Rescuing a bird."

"That's what I thought you said. You have a bird in your car?"

"Yes. We are saving his life."

"Ooookay. Good luck"

Meanwhile Tia is yelping and leaning over the seat, trying to keep the tiny owl from squeezing through the holes in the grate and jumping out of the box. Miniature fuzzy feathers are flying everywhere. With all the commotion we missed the turn off and had to do a U-turn and go back to where the GPS was insisting we should go in the first place. It was a winding dirt road with large pot holes. We bounced along making the odd turns, when told by the voice that seemed quite sure of where we were going. Us not so much.

In the distance we saw a sign and perched on top was a metal hawk with the large wings spread wide. WILD AT HEART. Yep, we had reached our destination. 

Relieved we pulled in and parked. Not only had we arrived safe and sound, our little owl was still alive. Tia retrieved her precious cargo from the back seat. Dani stayed a safe distance away.

Off we went to find a doctor.

We were greeted immediately and our little guy was taken to be examined.

After a thorough examination we were assured he would be fine. He was wrapped in a warm blanket and placed into an incubator where he would be watched for several days. Then they broke the news to Tia that her baby was not an owl but actually a falcon.

"What!" Tia exclaimed. "It must be an owl. He's so small and his feathers are white. And just look at his cute little face. He must be an owl?"

The examining veterinarian assured Tia her bird was definitely a falcon.

While we were in the critical-care room, a landscaper from the near-by golf course brought in a severely injured hawk.
We were allowed to stay and watch as they examined him, feed him an antibiotic stuffed into a dead baby mouse. (Here's where Tia nearly lost it…Abandoned baby bird fine. Poor dead baby mouse…ugh.)

Who knew?

Once our sweet raptor was snuggled in and sleeping, we were invited to look around at all the wild raptor birds they had in their outside sanctuary. We could stay as long as we wanted. Tia immediately took advantage of their generous offer and pulled along the reluctant Dani outside to see the many different kind of birds.

It was a wonderful day of adventure. Needless to say we didn't get any writing done that day, but we did help save a life.

Which is okay because there's always tomorrow.

And who knows, our little adventure might just end up in a book someday.

Wild At Heart is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to the conservation and preservation of Arizona's native birds of prey. http://wildatheartraptors.org/

To find out more about the writing team Tia Dani and our books visit us at: 

http://bookswelove.com/authors/tia-dani/
https://tiadaniauthor.wordpress.com/

Time's Enduring Love, our historical time-travel is a Books We Love Best Seller.
To purchase click this link.
http://amzn.com/B00EVXABV0

Play Day by Tia Dani

 Yesterday Tia and Dani (us) decided to take a day off from writing and play. We enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Olive Garden and sipped on the wine of the day. We can still taste the sparkling wine, it was so good–name of the wine unfortunately forgotten.

 It was about then we noticed that one of Tia's false eyelashes was coming loose. This was her first attempt to wear them and she seemed to really be having issues. Dani, being the eyelash expert that she is, suggested it might be a good idea for her to buy another pair and instantly decided a trip to the closest Wal-Mart should be the next stop. Besides she wanted to drive her new car. (More on this subject at a later date.)

 Once at Wal-Mart, as we entered the store, the wonderful aroma of cinnamon surrounded us with heady delight. The spicy smell was awesome and all thoughts of eyelashes went on hold as we searched the area for the smell, sniffing up and down the aisles. We finally found the source–in a bin high up on a wall above our heads. Cinnamon pine cones galore. You know the ones, they are around every holiday, bundled in a mesh wrapper and fills the house with glorious cinnamon?

We had to have them, or a candle, or at least something that would give off the cinnamon fragrance. That sent us on another search – find the perfect cinnamon gift for ourselves. Besides, we decided, there is so much that makes fall such a wonderful time. Cooler days, spectacular colors, hearty soups, crusty breads, and pumpkin pie. We've gained weight just thinking about what is to come.

 Yes, we did remember the eyelashes after Tia discovered a 20 dollar bill in the pocket of her jeans. What an unexpected find. Now she had money to get her eyelashes PLUS something cinnamon. We both decided on cinnamon sticks.

It was a good day of shopping.

Since we're talking about shopping. It's time to think about all the grocery shopping to be done for Thanksgiving. We came across this recipe for the yummy Tiramisu we enjoyed today. We're gonna give it a try.

This is a copycat recipe from the book, America's Most Wanted Recipes, by Ron Douglas. We're going to make it and see if it tastes like the one we had for dessert.

                   

                 Olive Garden Tiramisu

1 store-bought 10 to12 inch sponge cake (about 3 inches high)

11/2 tablespoons brewed strong brewed coffee (or instant espresso)

11/2 tablespoons brandy or rum

11/2 pounds cream cheese or mascarpone cheese, softened

1 to 11/2 cups superfine or confectioners' sugar

Unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

1.   Cut across the middle of the sponge cake, forming 2 layers, each about 1 ½ inches high.

2.     Blend the coffee and brandy. Sprinkle enough of the mixture over the bottom half of the cake to flavor it strongly. Don't moisten the cake too much, or it may collapse on serving.

3.     Beat the cheese and 1 cup of the sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved and the cheese is light and spreadable. Test for sweetness during beating, adding more sugar if needed.

4.     Spread the cut surface of the bottom layer with half of the cheese mixture.

5.     Replace the second layer and top with the remaining cheese mixture.

6.     Sprinkle the top liberally with sifted cocoa.

7.     Refrigerate the cake for at least 2 hours before cutting and serving.

               Makes one 10 to 12 inch 2 layer cake  

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Enjoy your family and remember every opportunity that comes your way can bring exciting blessings.

Find Tia Dani's Time Travel romance at  http://bookswelove.net/tiadani.php

Sharing the Dream – by Tia Dani

As part of the "Inside Books We Love" blog, we hope to create interesting information that isn't full of self-promo, but will give our readers a chance to know who we really are. They'll discover how we work and play, learn how we struggle with balancing our everyday lives, how we draw our stories out of our heads, then finish them into a well-loved published book. And we do it all without losing our precious friendship.

Who are we?

First and foremost we are a dedicated writing team who loves playing with words, creating "What Ifs", and are following a shared dream.

We are wives, moms, and grandmas.

We didn't start out to be a writing team, but the process evolved over time during our friendship. We met in 2002 at a local RWA chapter and after several years passed we wrote and submitted a short story together just to have some fun. To our delight the story sold. From then on we kicked our writing into high gear and found a way to stick to a writing schedule, plus stay motivated to complete and submit a full manuscript. Also we decided working together might be a fun way to learn all the technology of submitting and editing online. We don't know about you, but we find it more fun when you work with a buddy.

While having all this fun we discovered something else about ourselves. We have this unique quality of being more than friends sharing common interests. We understand each other. We think alike, and often finish each other's sentences without missing a beat. Yet, we still maintain our individuality. It's these differences which makes our writing strong. Beverly (who writes as Dani) has the uncanny ability to bring out the perfect "What If?" scenarios that can make a great story tick. Christine (Tia of our team) excels in arranging all those "What Ifs" into a semblance of order. Tia calls it stacking the dominoes, (Future workshop).

Writing stories together is more than just being co-authors for us. Team writing, as with any type of business partnership, takes a lot of trust in each other and a strong commitment to the partnership. It's hard work, but for us, we couldn't imagine doing it any other way.

 Our latest book, Time's Enduring Love, is a time travel published with BWL.

 Time's Enduring Love

By Tia Dani

Libby Strammon believed her life was on track. A young woman of the tumultuous 1960's, she worked hard to fulfill her dream of becoming a doctor so she could open a practice in the small Kansas farming community where she was raised. But when a perilous storm sweeps her back a hundred years into the past she is forced to rely on her instincts while navigating the changed world that a hundred years difference has wrought.

Kansas Volunteer, Lieutenant Matthew Dome's magnetic attraction to the slightly odd woman who appeared out of nowhere wars with past promises made—promises he'd failed to keep. He yearns to have the fascinating spitfire by his side, but can't let go of the past and his guilt long enough to convince himself she belongs in his life.

When circumstances send Libby and Matthew into danger, and a buried secret is revealed, Libby races against time to choose between returning to the 20th century she is familiar with or remain with Matthew who loves her but failed her once before?

"I was excited to read a novel from two authors I consider friends/mentor, both exceptional women in their own right have together created a novel worth the read! Quick paced, delightful banter, enjoyable characters, and an entertaining plot. Absolutely loved it. I couldn't stop reading it until I was done completely. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys romance with historical background settings. Can't wait to read their next novel." ~A.S. Johnson, author~ Amazon, 5 Stars

If you're interested in learning more about Tia Dani, please visit our website and friend us on Facebook.

Thanks for stopping by,

Tia Dani

www.TiaDani.com

http://bookswelove.net/tiadani.php

https://www.facebook.com/tiadani.author