TT: Author Spotlight

Hi all, Jane here!

My focus today is on a delightful and wonderful woman, who has actually been part of my writing journey from the beginning; ever since I got serious about being published. I owe so much to her, for being so very supportive, for believing in me, and for being a never ending stream of information and advice.

Let me introduce you now to Daisy Dexter Dobbs, Author and Grand High Exalted Goddess of Make Believe.

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Daisy Dexter Dobbs is the pseudonym for a slightly off-center baby-boomer born in Chicago into a textbook case dysfunctional family. Once she discovered the dual self-protective mechanisms of humor and escaping into a self-created fantasy world, there was no turning back. She was destined to become a writer with an inclination toward humor. Read more about Daisy here. Click on Bio.

Following are questions and answers from Daisy’s Website.

What types of books do you enjoy reading?

I’m an avid reader with a huge, ever-growing TBR pile. I tend to read a lot of nonfiction because I’m a firm believer in the power of the mind-body connection. I enjoy books positive, healing, motivational and inspirational books. I also love to read cookbooks and dream about feeding my face with sumptuous but grossly fattening recipes and never gaining an ounce. As for fiction, while I love reading great romance (especially romantic comedy, time-travels, and paranormal), I’m also a big fan of mystery, horror, mainstream and some fantasy and SF.

Who are your favorite authors?

Far too many to list them all. Some of them include Michael Crichton, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Jeff Strand, Anthony Bourdain, Sandra Hill, Constance O’Day-Flannery, Susan Elizabeth Philips, Jennifer Crusie, Jane Heller, Susan Andersen, and the late Olivia Goldsmith.

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Do you listen to music when you write? If so, what kind?

I love music and play it often–all kinds, depending on my mood. When I’m writing it’s usually instrumentals because singing can interrupt my thought process. Types of music I enjoy are jazz; blues; classic rock; classical; Broadway show tunes; and some rap music. Some performers I enjoy are The Manhattan Transfer; Kurt Elling; Ella Fitzgerald; Dean Martin; Tony Bennett; The Beatles; The Black Eyed Peas; Louis Armstrong; Bobby Darin; John Coltrane; Miles Davis; Gilbert &; Sullivan; Fred Astaire; Aretha Franklin, and many others.

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Have you always wanted to be a writer and artist?

Yes, since my earliest recollection. I was constantly composing elaborate stories for my family and friends even before I’d learned to write. But those colorful crayon scribbles made perfect sense to me. Each story was lavishly illustrated, too. As a kid I thrived on creating my own worlds populated with uniquely quirky characters. I still do!
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Why is most of your fiction humorous?

Aside from the pure delicious enjoyment of a good laugh, I find laughter to be incredibly positive and healing. It’s helped me keep a serious health condition in check, so I’ve experienced its amazing power firsthand. I don’t read books that are downers and I don’t like to watch TV shows or movies that make me feel depressed when they’re over. If I want that I’ll pick up the newspaper or turn on the news. I’m all for the joys of escapism–that’s what I do best as a writer. If my stories add an unexpected zing of laughter to a reader’s day, perhaps brightening their spirits when they most need it, then I feel that I’ve contributed something positive to society in my own small way. The positive effects of laughter really are that important to me.

Do you find it difficult to combine humor with hot sex in your erotic romance books?

No, not really. Sex is fun…and sometimes it’s even funny. I’m a big fan of classic romantic comedy movies–the ones with the unlikely screwball comedy plots–that paired teams like Doris Day and Rock Hudson; Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn; Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers; William Powell and Myrna Loy, and so on. We all know what was really going on with those bantering, love struck couples behind closed doors, right? The erotic romance stories I pen simply forgo the impossibly virginal themes of classic romantic comedy, replacing them with the natural lusty progression of the relationship, instead. In other words…SEX. And lots of it.

Do you write an outline and stick to it when writing your books?

Many writers swear by the wisdom of creating in depth outlines and following them religiously–and I applaud them for their orderly minds and sensible habits–however, it just doesn’t work for me. I write by the seat of my pants. Those pesky characters I create often wake me at 3 a.m. nagging and demanding that I change something in the storyline or insisting that they would never do this-or-that the way I’ve written it. My stories and characters go through so many changes as I write that trying to stick to a preconceived plan would be futile. Laughable, in fact. My minimal organizational skills include jotting down stray bits and pieces of story ideas when they pop into my head (no more than a paragraph) and then briefly referring to my notes before I start writing. The finished book usually ends up quite different from my original idea.

Why do many of your romances feature women who wear a size ten or bigger or who are over the age of thirty?

I write the type of stories that I like to read. One of the things that irks me when I look for a new romance to read is that it’s really difficult to find books about average-sized women who are past thirty. I personally don’t want to read about itsy-bitsy size zero-to-six young things of anywhere between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five. Any woman past her twenties knows darn well that notions of romance, romantic feelings and sex don’t all dry up when she reaches middle-age. On the contrary, that’s when women are just entering the best years of their lives. And the size thing? The emphasis placed on being thin in our society is so detrimental to women, as well as young girls who start on the dieting bandwagon before the age of ten. Trying to fit the ideal image of being as skinny as a lollipop stick with cantaloupe sized breasts is just plain unreal. That can only be achieved through starvation and plastic surgery. That’s insane. There’s nothing wrong with women having some meat and padding on their bones. And there are plenty of men out there who would rather clasp soft round curves than bony protrusions. Angel, the journalist heroine in Just Like a Dame, has strong feelings on this subject.

Do you plan to write sequels or any spin-off books featuring supporting characters?

Yes. I didn’t intend to do this when I first wrote the novels but when readers and reviewers ask often enough for sequels or spin-offs I listen. Accidental Foursome is the stand-alone sequel (you don’t have to read the original book to follow the story) to Polly’s Perilous Pleasures. This is the “George’s story,” the tale of George Kokoris and Helen Krasilkowski. I’ve also had a number of requests for books featuring the other Kokoris brothers, as well as for books featuring Angel’s hunky brothers from Just Like a Dame. And even after the books have gone out of print (currently being rewritten) readers are always asking me about the supporting characters in Jezebel and the Egghead, Shipping Sharon, and Pinch Me. Eventually I’d like to do new stories for all of these characters. UPDATE: Shipping Sharon has been rewritten and released by Ellora’s Cave as Absolutely Not

I’m an aspiring writer. What advice can you give me?

First of all, read. There’s no better schooling for a writer than reading, especially within your chosen genre. Write the best story you can and then polish it until it absolutely shines. This involves brushing up on grammar; learning about proper use of punctuation and dialogue tags; POV; etc. Read your dialogue aloud to see if it sounds real or if it’s stilted. Proof your manuscript twice and then let it go–send it off to an editor or agent. Don’t give anyone the power to snuff out your dream. Steer clear of toxic people–those who are negative, envious, cruel, etc. Don’t let rejection or (later) bad reviews define you as a person. Believe in yourself and never give up. Be nice to the people you meet on the way up because you’ll probably meet the same people on the way down again.

To read more, visit Daisy’s website at www.daisydexterdobbs.com

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Visit Daisy’s blog here
Daisy on MySpace!

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Daisy’s publishers:

Ellora’s Cave

Samhain

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Daisy is also an artist, and she makes incredible ATCs, Artist Trading Cards. I had a post about ATCs a while back.

Below are some of her cards. You can see them all on her website.

An Excerpt from Absolutely Not, Chapter One

Maisy Morganfield advanced closer to the pearly gray casket and peered down. Yup, no doubt about it, it was really her ex-husband stretched out on all that creamy pristine satin. And he was really dead. Well after all, that’s what the obituary in the Chicago Tribune said—Prominent Schaumburg, Illinois real estate broker, John Morganfield, age 40, dies of heart attack—but she had to come to the funeral home and see it with her own eyes.

There he was, rigid and supine and still flaunting that damned arrogant smile. An unwelcome shudder rippled through her body. How in the hell the mortician managed to affix that smile intrigued Maisy enough to want to poke John in the ribs, just to be sure. Judiciously, she overcame the urge. A quick glance to either side ensured no one else was close.

“You robbed me, you sonuvabitch,” Maisy accused under her breath. “You had to die and cheat me out of my moment of glory, my sweet revenge, and I’ll never forgive you for that, you bastard.”

Standing over the bloodless corpse that had once been the man she loved, she tried to feel some emotion, any emotion other than bitterness, anger and loathing. Nothing. It just wasn’t there any more. Not after he’d broken her heart, methodically stomping on it until it became a tattered clump of raw meat.

Success had always been important to him, to the exclusion of most anything else in life. And John Morganfield had scored a palpable victory when he succeeded in obliterating every last ounce of love or compassion Maisy felt for him long ago.

It wasn’t that Maisy was happy to see John dead—well, actually, she had wished him dead more times than she cared to remember. In fact, she’d often fantasized about plotting the perfect murder, killing the bastard off and reveling in a naked dance of joy on his grave. Cringing at the morbid recollection, Maisy bit back the trickle of guilt threatening to surface.

It’s just that, if John had to go and die, couldn’t he have had the decency to wait a little while longer—just long enough for her to exact a teensy bit of well-deserved revenge? Selfish in life, selfish in death, that was John. What a great epitaph. The thought teased Maisy’s lips with a smile, which she immediately expunged, reminding herself that nice ex-wives shouldn’t revel in such nasty thoughts about their dead ex-husbands.

Especially when the ex-wife was standing over her not-so-dearly departed ex’s casket.

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Visit Daisy’s website for tons of excerpts, info, fun stuff, links, ATCs, buy links for her books, and much, much more!

Because I’ve read Daisy’s books, I can highly recommend them. I promise they will bring a smile to even the most gloomy face! And they are hot.

www.daisydexterdobbs.com

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