KATHY IVAN SHARES LOSING CASSIE AND A TIP

By Guest Kathy Ivan

Well, hello again.  The lovely ladies here at Smart Girls Read Romance asked me to come back and talk a little about my latest release, Losing Cassie.  It is available for individual sale but it's also included in a new box set, 9 Ways To Fall In Love, which releases on September 1^st for the awesome price of $0.99. 

LOSING CASSIE is book #2 in the Destiny's Desire series.   When I finished the first story, a novella called SECOND CHANCES, I knew Jake would be the hero of book #2.  He grabbed me by the heartstrings and wouldn't let go.  (In book #1 Jake gets a letter and it mentions a woman named Cassandra.  That's all we know about her, her name in a letter and how just seeing her name makes Jake feel.)

Now my brain immediately says . . . Okay, who is Cassandra?  What's her connection with Jake?  From that moment the idea for Jake and Cassie's story started coming to life. 

My writing method is a bit of a what if or why process.  I'll usually start with a character or an incident that evokes a question.  What if Jake goes to Destiny's Desire? Another question, why aren't Jake and Cassie together?   What problem is strong enough to tear them apart and keep them apart years later? 

Want to know the answers.  Well, you'll have to read LOSING CASSIE to find out.  J 

EXCERPT FROM LOSING CASSIE by Kathy Ivan

Why had Chase sent that letter?  

Jake could go for days at a time now without thinking about Cassandra and everything he'd lost when she disappeared.  Seven years and everything still felt the same.  The same loneliness, the overwhelming knowledge some important piece of his soul was missing.  Why did the mention of her name bring everything pouring back, pulling the scab off a never healing wound?

         Glancing around, he surveyed the destruction he'd wrought throughout the master bathroom suite.  Bathtub smashed.  Walls ripped completely back to the studs.  The double sinks and vanity lay in pieces amidst the carnage.  The only thing unbroken was the huge mirror that used to hang above the sinks.  Still whole and unscratched, Jake's image stared back at him, mocking the calm façade reflected back at him.

         Disgusted, he moved the mirror outside the bathroom door, leaned it against an intact wall, went back and packed away all his tools, shut off the lights, and locked the house up tight. 

         Anxious to get home, he drove the short distance back to his condo in Denver, grabbed a shower and made a couple of calls.  He knew Ryan would cover his shifts, his buddy still owed him from Christmas. 

         Jake couldn't think of one good reason, at least a valid one, but his decision was made. 

Watch out Quinton Chase.  I'm tired of being your frigging puppet.  Think you can pull my strings, mention Cassie's name and I'll come running?  You better have a hell of a good explanation for resurrecting her memory after all these years. 

Destiny's Desire Lodge, here I come. 

Thanks for letting me visit with you again. 

Readers can find LOSING CASSIE at

http://www.amazon.com/Losing-Cassie-Destinys-Desire-ebook/dp/B00EMMQXOE/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1377874812&sr=1-1&keywords=kathy+Ivan

and in the NINE WAYS TO FALL IN LOVE BOX SET on Amazon at

http://www.amazon.com/Ways-To-Fall-Love-ebook/dp/B00ERAREBW/ref=sr_1_11?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1377740637&sr=1-11&keywords=caroline+clemmons

The Ghosts Behind Light Paranormal Romance Novel Somewhere My Love

"The story will draw a reader in and will not let go until the very last page. It is a novel that will live in the hearts of its readers for a very long time." A Night Owl Top Pick: 

Virginia has more ghost stories than any other state in the Union, umpteen volumes of them. Not because Virginians have a more fertile imagination,(although we may) but sadly because the Old Dominion has seen more bloody battles over the centuries than any other. Think back, Jamestown (founded 1607) was the site of the oldest successful English settlement and its history is a violent one. And on we go to the many heart-rending wars fought with the usurped Indians, a number of them waged on Virginia soil. March on to the Revolution; anyone heard of Yorktown, to name just one famous battle? And let’s not forget that horrific most uncivil of wars, much of it fought in, you guessed it, Virginia.

This multitude of hauntings doesn’t only feature soldiers caught in an endless fray who haven’t gotten word the war’s over, although there are legions of tales that do and entire companies of ghosts said to battle on. Many tales center on the myriad of people, great and small, who dwelt in our richly historic state. The old Virginia homes and plantations have accumulated a wealth of such stories.

It was while touring some of these English styled manor homes with my dear mother that the kernel of a story first came to me for Somewhere My Love (Somewhere in Time Series). Added to this meld of vintage Virginia is my own heritage. On my father’s side, I descend from old Southern gentry, impoverished after the Civil War, Great Depression, and other misfortunes, including the untimely death of my brilliant grandfather. But the gracious Georgian home his ancestor built (circa 1816) still stands in the countryside near historic Staunton. My Christmas novella, Somewhere the Bells Ring (Somewhere in Time Series), was inspired by this wonderful old home. (*Image below of me on old steps I used to wander)   

Since childhood, I felt the family home place was haunted and wove stories through my fevered mind, along with my continual search for Narnia which entailed frequent treks into the old wardrobe. But I digress. Frequently. The magnificent ancestral portraits in my family and on display in other Virginia homes held me transfixed, wondering. And it was just such a portrait of a striking dark-haired gentleman who embedded himself in my thoughts. Who was he? Why did he die so young? That other painting of the fair young lady…did she love him?

Often, the guides at these old homes are brimming with tales. But other times we are left to wonder, and ask ourselves are these folk who’ve gone before us truly gone, or do some still have unfinished business in this realm? And what of the young lovers whose time was tragically cut short, do they somehow find a way? Love conquers all, and so I answer ‘yes.’

Blurb For Somewhere My Love:

Fated lovers have a rare chance to reclaim the love cruelly denied them in the past, but can they grasp this brief window in time before it's too late?

Two hundred years ago Captain Cole Wentworth, the master of an elegant Virginian home, was murdered in his chamber where his portrait still hangs. Presently the estate is a family owned museum run by Will Wentworth, a man so uncannily identical to his ancestor that spirit-sensitive tour guide Julia Morrow has trouble recognizing Cole and Will as separate. As Julia begins to remember the events of Cole's death, she must convince Will that history is repeating, and this time he has the starring role in the tragedy. The blade is about to fall.~

"As I read Somewhere My Love, I recalled the feelings I experienced the first time I read Daphne DuMaurier's Rebecca long ago. Using the same deliciously eerie elements similar to that gothic romance, Beth Trissel has captured the haunting dangers, thrilling suspense and innocent passions that evoke the same tingly anticipation and heartfelt romance I so enjoyed then, and still do now." ~joysann for Publisher's Weekly

***Somewhere My Love is one of the novels included in the exciting new box set with nine romances by nine super authors, Nine Ways to Fall in Love--on sale now for only .99 at Amazon!

My Eager Tale of Two Cities by Vonnie Davis

I’ve got the suitcase open and a pile of clothes lying next to it. Every other day—okay, every day—I enter the spare bedroom to finger over them or add to the pile. My eagerness is rising. We leave for Paris and Berlin in fifteen days.

This will be my second trip to both cities. Each has her own energy and identity. Paris is like a fashion model, strutting her beauty and daring anyone not to adore her. The City of Lights sparkles day and night.

 

 

Berlin, having undergone a huge rebuilding after WWII, is more youthful and less status conscious. She shows little concern for the graffiti--or street art, as the Berliners call it--decorating her buildings, bridges and sidewalks, and in fact wears them like a badge of honor. The city takes pride in her speedy mass transit system and technological advances.

If it’s modern, Berlin loves it.

 

While Paris worships her history and preens her beauty.

 

Paris is my husband’s second home. He’s lived there twice, writing at sidewalk cafés and absorbing French culture. Soon we’ll be living like the French in a Left Bank apartment for two weeks. Then we’ll fly to Berlin to visit my step-son and his Berliner wife for a week. Needless to say, Calvin is very eager to spend some time with his only child. Kelly designs and maintains websites for the Bayer Corporation.

 

While my head will be on a swivel, taking in all the glorious sights, I’ll be researching some details for a couple books—historical and contemporary.  There's nothing like sitting at sidewalk cafés, watching streams of humanity pass by. Museums are great places to reach the creative and historical parts of our souls. At night, we'll return to our little apartment to cook dinner--we're both diabetics--and write notes from all we discovered during our daily walks down narrow and windy streets once traveled by chariots.

This is a picture of our living room in our little pad near the Sorbonne University in the part of Paris known as the Latin Quarter. Centuries ago, students spoke only Latin on these streets as they discussed literature, art and politics. Today, burdened by backpacks and carrying instruments, you can still find them in cafés and brasseries discussing these same age-old topics.

 

Located just a few blocks from our apartment is rue Moufftard, location of the oldest outdoor market in Paris once operated by monks. The French display fresh produce as if they were works of art. And don't even get me started on the pastries. I may have to forget I'm diabetic a time or two.

As you can guess, this is a trip we've been planning for a long time. I thank you for allowing me to bend your ear with all these little details. Writers love visiting where they plan to set their books. It's an important part of presenting you with stories full of accurate details and flavor.

Memories of our trip there five years ago anchor my romantic suspense series set in Paris. The Red Hand Conspiracy series involves two American sisters, French counterterrorism agents and a world-wide terrorist group called The Red Hand. Filled with suspense, sparked with passion and tempered with humor, you'll love your time in Paris as you read these two books.

Winner of the HOLT Medallion Award of Merit in two categories. Best Romantic Suspense and Best Book by a Virginia author.

http://www.amazon.com/Mona-Lisas-Room-ebook/dp/B00A553HLY/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1377490279&sr=1-1&keywords=mona+lisa%27s+room

 

Book two of The Red Hand Conspiracy.  http://www.amazon.com/Rain-Love-Song-Conspiracy-ebook/dp/B00BK9QV3K/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1

Please visit me at www.vonniedavis.com

 

 

 

WHAT IS THAT MESSAGE ON MY COMPUTER SCREEN AND WHO PUT IT THERE?

Technology is a mystery to me. How in the world did some guy go from static electricity to a power grid?  I'm always amazed when I read about our ancient ancestors looking up at the sky and discovering the vernal equinox or whatever.  Left up to me, we would still be living in caves hiding from a solar eclipse.

I'm probably a secret Luddite. You know, they were the ones who pitched a fit when the industrial revolution changed the slow paced world forever.

Don't get me wrong, I love my TV, Kindle Fire, car and a/c.  I don't love my computer or cell phone. Well, I love them when they work properly. A glitch, power outage or mystery error reports make me want to take a hammer and beat them into tiny little pieces.

My friends will tell you that I'm usually the last one to upgrade any tech gadget.  I also believe any person born after 1990 is graced with a technology gene. Hand them any tablet or Iphone and you have an instant expert. They also understand Tech gibberish.

When answering machines came out, my family gave me one for Christmas since I was the last person in America without one. As for the new cell phones, my friends roll their eyes when they see my pitiful little phone.  Hey, it makes and receives calls! That works for me.

My cell phone is an old fashioned, simple Nokia. I think it has texting capabilities.  If it does, I've never used it.  It's so small, my thumbs wouldn't fit anyway.

Messages pop up on my computer all the time.  I have no idea what they mean.  Internet Explorer and I have an on-going feud. Who is behind all these mystery notices anyway? Why do they hate me?

Am I the only one stuck in tech limbo?

ARE YOU A ROMANTIC?

By Guest Author, Mary Adair

I confess I am a romantic. I do not believe that romance is an extravagant story or account that has no basis in fact. A story can be written in such a way as to be totally unbelievable…and I love those stories too. But as for romance, I think romance is the best part of mankind. It sees what is possible and gives us the courage to reach out. It gives us empathy. It gives us the strength to forgive and to encourage others.

I don’t see romance as only soft. I see it as strong, forgiving, and hopeful. I see it as morality and the strength to live by it. Kinda sounds like love, doesn't it.

Do I sound like a romantic?  Not only am I a romantic, I strive toward that goal.

The first romance novel I ever read was THE WOLF AND THE DOVE by Kathleen Woodiwiss. I was hooked! I loved the characters, the setting, the time in history, her style of writing, just everything about the story.

I enjoy writing stories that are set in our past and are as historically correct to the time period as I can get. I don’t want my story to be unbelievable, I want it to be moving and inspiring.

Don't you love a strong male character that is not afraid to admit what he feels, at least to himself? I do and I also enjoy strong female characters. Never have I believed women to be weak.

When someone reads one of my books I want them to feel the romance and the adventure and to love the story as much as I did when I wrote it. We see so much sadness in the world today. Actually, I think there has always been sadness in the world. It is encouraging to read a story that reminds us there is goodness and love and yes…romance to be experienced.

Are you a romantic, too?

ROMANCES BY MARY ADAIR

PASSION'S VISION begins the Passion series in the Cherokee lands of the Carolinas. James Fitzgerald, an English spy masquerading as a trader, encounters a strong and beautiful Cherokee woman, New Moon. sister of the chief. Her visions have prophesied James's arrival and that they will be linked, but she intends to resist him. A white man killed her beloved husband. But she and James must combine their efforts to defeat their foes. 

In the second generation, heroine Golden Dawn has inherited her mother's ability to see the future through visions. She sails from the Carolinas to London to save the life of her true love, Raven Cloud. While heading the London office of James Fitzgerald's shipping company, Raven's secret mission is to locate the man who fathered him then abandoned his mother. But danger threatens to end the lives of Dawn and Raven unless they capture other villains.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mary Adair

Mary Adair is the Amazon bestselling author of Native American novels PASSION'S VISION and PASSION'S PRICE, the first two books of her Passion series. Her books offer adventure, a twist of humor, and romance. She and her husband live in Southeastern Oklahoma with a menagerie of pets that include chickens, donkeys, cats, and dogs. Lean more about her from her website at www.maryadair.com and at her blog http://authormaryadair.blogspot.com

Series - Why We Love Them

 

I think a lot of readers, when they pick up a book and enjoy the story, want it to continue. Also, we writers might not want to stop writing about those characters, towns or other worlds we've created. That’s why Series are so popular in today’s market. I used to only read Single Titles. Way back when, a well-known author would put out a book once a year and I’d read it no matter what the subject. I read Julie Garwood for years, when she wrote a contemporary, I read that as well. I liked reading Single Titles written by great authors.

It wasn’t until I began considering Indie publishing that I gave serious thought to writing a Series. I labored long and hard about what readers wanted to read. It was only after I realized I’d moved to reading more Series myself that I settled on writing one. I think the reason is it’s very easy for a reader to slip back into that small town, the other world, and go along with a particular group of people.

This is especially true with Paranormal and Fantasy. By the time an author builds that world, and creates those characters, we’re entrenched in the whole idea. We look forward to seeing who steps on stage in the next book, how the other characters will interact and we always love when our favorite character make a reappearance. So, as readers, we like what’s familiar.

So, how bold does a reader need to be to try a new Series? According to those I spoke to at conferences, it’s sometimes the cover, sometimes the genre, but most often it’s what other people are saying about the Series. I think the best way to reach an audience is to tell people you meet about a great book you’ve recently read, or are reading. Those are the first I check out.

I hope you'll check out my Falcon Securities Series.

What are you reading? I’m reading Gena Showalter’s Lords of the Underworld Series. 

 

 

Coming September 15th

Write On!

 

Location, Location, Location

 

Finding a location in which to plop our characters has tremendous bearing on the story, but can be a bit of a dilemma for the author. Several elements come into play and must be considered. For instance what is the time period? Is the story a historical, contemporary, or futuristic? Is the story a time travel or paranormal?

I decided early on and stated on my blog that all my stories would take place in my native state of Texas. This worked for me because first and foremost I'm comfortable writing about Texas and would need little additional research. Next, the state has any terrain I might need for any time period and with its multiple areas to choose from, each story can be unique unto itself.

When it came time to choose an area in which to base my Texas Code Series, the natural choice for me was right here in North Central Texas. The history of the Bennings and McTiernans started back in 1859 when Ian Benning and Dermot McTiernan came from Ireland with its political unrest to start their lives anew in Texas with the land grant amended in 1850. The Texas Emigration and Land Company offered 160 acres to single men, plus a free cabin, seed, and musket balls.

 

North Central Texas Land - Peters Colony

 

 

The two men received their land located north of Dallas in the originally named Peters Colony. Each generation will have a chance to tell their stories in and around the fictitious town of McTiernan, along with the ever changing landscape that will either be a blessing or a challenge all the way to present day when the first novel, CODE OF HONOR, takes place.

 

El Paso, far west Texas, a beautiful area of desert and Mountains, is the location of, Book Two, CODE OF CONSCIENCE. CODE OF JUSTICE, Book Three, is set in Dallas, back in North Central Texas, and Book Four, CODE OF LAW, may be in the lush land of The Hill Country.

 

 El Paso, Texas and the Franklin Mountains

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                        Dallas, Texas, City Skyline

Two other areas of this great state range from the mountains of Big Bend, to the coast at Galveston. 

 Big Bend National Park

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Galveston, Texas

 

Anyway, you see what I mean about the choice of location. My stories could be located anywhere in our beautiful country. The details might change depending which area is chosen and that has the potential to redirect a storyline. My choice was logical for me and I hope resonates well with you the reader.

 

Thank you for visiting with Smart Girls Read Romance today. I hope you'll leave a comment to tell me your thoughts on this subject. Love hearing from you!

Carra

 

 CODE OF HONOR can be found on Amazon for kindle and print at http://tinyurl.com/muln4r9

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Is A Kiss Just A Kiss? by Joan Reeves

Is a kiss just a kiss? That's what Herman Hupfeld wrote in the song, As Time Goes By, better known as the love song from the movie Casablanca.

I've blogged before about kisses because a kiss is significant. To borrow part of something Mae West once said, it too is "an emotion in motion."

A kiss is magical, and a first kiss is something more. Something very special because of what it means emotionally, but also because of what it means physiologically.

In 1971, Desmond Morris published a ground-breaking book, Intimate Behavior: A Zoologist's Classic Study of Human Intimacy. In his book, he doesn't talk about the magic of a kiss. Instead, he talks about the 12 steps of human intimacy, of which The Kiss is just one step.

Human Intimacy

Morris begins with Step 1: Eye To Body – visually sizing up a potential mate – and ends with Step 12: Genital To Genital Contact – which you probably don't need defined.

Step 7 in Morris's study of intimate behavior is Mouth To Mouth – Kissing. In most romance novels, that first kiss is a seminal event in the growing relationship between heroine and hero. By the first kiss, the couple in question are acting on their desire, and they're curious as to how that kiss will make them feel. Will it knock their socks off or put the damper on their growing desire?

Romance Novel First Kiss

Obviously, much depends on that kiss. If it increases their desire, which it should, then they face the problem of backing away from each other if there are circumstances that keep them apart. Of course, they may, for their own reasons, disavow the effects of the kiss. After all, a romance is all about overcoming obstacles to achieve a worthy goal – each other.

I tend to believe that a kiss, especially a first kiss, is pure magic. Hollywood pays a lot of attention to the first kiss in romantic movies. I pay a lot of attention to the first kiss in the romance novels I write.

Here's an excerpt – the first kiss – from my latest contemporary romance, SCENTS and SENSUALITY, available at most ebook sellers.

Scents and Sensuality Excerpt, The Kiss

Was it really all right to be herself with him? To show her true personality? "Nicole said men prefer women who aren't so serious. She said men like women who are sexy and flirty. I'm not like that. I'm serious and thoughtful and introverted. And shy."

She was shy? Oddly, Harrison liked that. Most of the women he'd had in his bed didn't know the meaning of the word shy. He'd never had a woman hesitate to tell him in detail what to do, where to touch, how to touch, and when to touch as she pursued her own orgasm. As if he were so unskilled that he didn't know anything about women.

"I really don't know much about pop culture and clubbing and all the stuff that Nicole knows," Amanda said.

"Your friend doesn't know what she's talking about," Harrison said. He stopped moving. Now they weren't dancing. They were just swaying in time to the music. "There's nothing wrong with the real you, sweetheart."

With that one sentence, he had her. She could smell him, and his scent was strong. Musky. Maybe it was just physiology, she thought, with the tiny part of her brain that still worked. Something about her female pheromone receptors went bonkers when he was near. He'd said sweetheart. Amanda didn't know if it was what he'd said or the endearment that warmed her so completely.

In a voice so intense that it made gooseflesh break out on her arms, he said, "You don't have to pretend to be someone you're not. I like you just the way you are."

The song stopped. Still they swayed, cheek to cheek, breast to chest, heat to heat. The song started again.

"You're beautiful," he whispered against her cheek. "And you're incredibly sexy without playing silly games. You're sexy without even trying. And I want you."

His words wove a spell around her lonely heart. "I want you too," she confessed.

Harrison smiled and nuzzled the tender flesh of her neck where her pulse throbbed.

In a voice so soft that he had to strain to hear, Amanda said, "You don't have to say that...that I'm sexy. I...I won't change my mind about...about...you know." She fell silent.

Harrison pulled away from her a little so he could look at her, gauge her reactions. "Are you trying to say you won't change your mind about having a raging affair with me?"

Amanda took a deep breath and exhaled. She met his eyes directly. "Despite what you say, I know I'm not sexy. I just want to be honest with you. It's important to me to be honest. I don't like lies. They just cause problems. So here's the bald truth. I'm a flop with men, and I was desperate for a date for my cousin's wedding. Nicole helped me hook you. She tutored me on how to be a hot babe because that's what men want."

Harrison found it hard to accept that she believed all that. "That's a hell of a lot of honesty."

His comment was like the release gate on a dam. A flood of words poured out of Amanda. "I don't want you to be confused by Nicole's tricks and think I'm something I'm not. Even though I'm more than willing to...you know...have that raging affair with you."

Amanda spoke faster to get all the words out before she lost her courage. "I was just pretending. So you may not really want me now that you know the truth. I'm not a sexy hot babe, and you don't have to tell me I am just to--"

Harrison's mouth swooped down and captured hers, shutting off the frantic torrent of words. Amanda was frozen for a split second, then the feel of his mouth on hers broke through the paralysis. His lips were warm. They pressed against hers, teasing, shaping hers. The tip of his tongue licked, demanded entrance. She sighed, and his tongue plunged into her mouth. She forgot that she didn't know much about kissing. She welcomed him. She pressed her body as tightly as possible to his and couldn't hold back the moan that rose to her lips.

Win A Copy of Scents and Sensuality

Make a comment and be entered to win a $5.00 Starbucks Gift Card and a Smashwords Coupon for a free copy of Scents and Sensuality. Just leave your email address where I can contact you if you win and make arrangements for delivery of your prizes.

(Don't leave your email addy as a hot link or the web crawlers will grab it and you'll be spammed within an inch of your cyber life. Do it this way: YourName at Domain dot com.)

Bottom Line

I hope you'll enjoy watching Amanda and Harrison navigate all the steps of intimacy in a book that's sassy, sexy, and funny.

Joan Reeves is a mild-mannered reporter for the Daily Planet who – no, wait, that's someone else. Seriously? Okay, if we must be serious. Joan Reeves is a multi-published author. Her books are available in ebook, audio, and print editions from all major retailers. Joan's Motto: "It's never too late to live happily ever after."

Find Joan Online: Blog * Website * About Me * Facebook * Google+ * Pinterest * Twitter * YouTube

"Always Leave 'Em Laughing"

I don’t know who originally said that and I couldn’t find a precise answer to the question on Google. In any event, today, I’m talking about humor and the Dixie Cash books, co-written by me and my sister. We’re soon to release an audio version of OUR RED HOT ROMANCE IS LEAVING ME BLUE.

From the beginning, humor and laughter have been the goal of the Dixie Cash books. And from what we’ve heard from readers, most people think the adventures of Debbie Sue Overstreet and Edwina Perkins-Martin (the Domestic Equalizers) are hilarious. Redneck humor, to be sure, but nevertheless, funny.

Tomboy Debbie Sue is a former ProRodeo barrel racer. When her life and her career went to hell, she became a hairdresser. Doesn't everybody? In her first divorce from her present husband, she won an ancient gas station she couldn’t sell and had to think of something to do with the old building, so she turned it into a beauty salon. A perfectly logical solution to the problem. 

Debbie Sue is also frustrated detective who wants to be taken seriously, but she’s often thwarted in that effort by her husband, James Russell Overstreet, Jr. He's a  crime-fighting real Texas Ranger who *is* taken seriously. 

Her former lover, Quint Matthews, who still contends for her affections even though she’s married, is a former ProRodeo and PBA bull-riding champion with an ego as big as Texas, who is now a wealthy rodeo stock contractor. 

All of this causes Debbie Sue endless frustration and copious conflicts.

Debbie Sue’s partner, Edwina, is a career hairdresser with multiple husbands and kids, who considers herself glamourous, dresses to the extreme in sixties and seventies fashions, wears rhinestone be-decked cat-eye glasses, delivers sage advice and mostly wants to have a good time. Her husband is 6’6” and weighs 275 pounds. He’s a retired US Navy SEAL who now owns his own big rig and trucks from coast to coast. Edwina likes to boast that he liberated Kuwait and knows three hundred ways to kill you quietly.

Doubting they are qualified to take on true crime fighting, Debbie Sue and Edwina, through their private investigative agency, the Domestic Equalizers, try to confine their detective work to following cheating spouses and significant others and Edwina does a little matchmaking on the side. “Don’t get mad; get even” is their motto. Unfortunately, real crime always finds them.

And that’s the foundation from where we started the Domestic Equalizers series.

So where does humor originate? Most experts agree that it originates in “truth.” Truth-based humor is laced with cynicism and irony. Jay Leno. Jimmy Kimmel. Larry the Cable Guy presents corny, but truth-based humor. Dennis Miller is on the other end of the spectrum. Intellectual humor for the informed, but truth-based, nevertheless. George Carlin used to be one of my favorites. One of the most cynical human beings ever, his humor was the ultimate in organic humor.

In terms of TV shows, “Two and a Half Men” has to be one of the funniest shows to make it to TV lately. You might not be a Charlie Sheen fan, which I’m not; and you might not like the blatant immorality portrayed on that show, which I don’t. But you have to admit that when Charlie Sheet was in it, it was funny. The irony derived from a kid living with a libertine uncle and an inveterate fumbler father constantly but unsuccessfully looking to get laid was too delicious not to be humorous.

The old Mary Tyler Moore show with its cast of off-the-wall characters was one of the funniest shows on TV. A character in that show was Chuckles the Clown.  In polls of the funniest particular scenes, the funeral of Chuckles is always listed near the top. There’s a short list of people and shows that were truly funny—Carol Burnet, Tim Conway and Harvey Korman in The Carol Burnet Show, Lucille Ball in I Love Lucy. If you examine these shows, you will see that even Lucy and Ethel’s crazy antics were humor from the gut.  

So getting back to the Dixie Cash books. Raw, truth-based humor and a subtle, cynical observation of our fellow man. If you want a good laugh, maybe you should get acquainted with Debbie Sue and Edwina. You could start by listening to OUR RED HOT ROMANCE IS LEAVING ME BLUE. It will soon be out through www.audible.com.

And hopefully, before the end of the year, we'll self-publish and release a new Dixie Cash extravaganza in print. It's a story about a man and his dog. And a parrot.

 

www.annajeffrey.com

www.annajeffreyauthor.wordpress.com