My writing career so far

Being an author is a 2nd career for me (starting the fall of 1998) and every few years I like to look back at my writing accomplishments. This helps me focus on what I still need and/or want to do in the future.

Here's where I am so far - Several short stories and articles published, 14 novels written, 11 of those published (some are now 2nd editions), book 12 about to be published, book 13 set for publication next year, and a previously published book scheduled for a 2nd edition release. Not to mention the countless hours of marketing, speaking engagements, interviews, and book signings. And I can't forget the notebooks full of rejection letters. Those are accomplishments, too.

The perfectionist type A personality in me wanted to achieve a lot more in that time, but the realist in me has to remember this is a tough business and I have accomplished quite a lot. Now, if I can just get that movie deal... ;)

www.danadaviswriting.com

Desert Magick book 5 is now on sale!

Desert Magick: Haboob (Bk 5) ebook is on sale! $1.98 for a limited time only at SynergEbooks Publishing. Various formats available.

http://www.synergebooks.com/ebook_haboob.html

Facebook and twitter and blogs, oh my...

Keeping up with multiple blogs and social networks is time-consuming but a necessary evil for authors. I have different followers on each so I’m trying to find a way to connect everything. Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads are connected so that’s a bonus. But I’m trying to figure out a way to connect my blogs to each other. 

Meniere's Disease - Have you heard of it?

When I was first diagnosed with Meniere's Disease back in 2003, there was so little information available. It took several years to get the diagnosis because doctors had never heard of it. It wasn't until I went to an ENT for tinnitus (ear noise) that I finally got a battery of tests to rule out other causes like MS and brain tumors. Yeah, that was fun. Fast forward to 2016 - I'm thrilled to see various websites and Facebook pages that are trying to bring more awareness of this awful and debilitating disease to the public eye. It's not a disease that kills, but there were times that I just wanted to die while having an attack.

Suicide rates are very high for Meniere's sufferers, so having support can make all the difference. Thankfully, I have a loving and supportive husband who helped get me through those dark early days. After all these years dealing with it, I know that each vertigo attack will eventually pass and I have learned to ride them out. I don't always ride quietly but I realize now that there is nothing I can do to stop them.

If you've never heard of Meniere's, please educate yourself. You never know when a friend or family member might develop it. Here's a brief explanation by the Mayo Clinic http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/menieres-disease/basics/definition/con-20028251

Show us the old dogs!

Two years ago, we walked into a local shelter and saw many people leaving with puppies. When an attendant asked if she could help us, I said, "Show us the oldest dogs you have." That seemed to perk her up and she began our tour. I would have loved to rescue all of them but we could only take home one.

We ended up with this sassy senior, who just celebrated her 2nd Gotcha Day. Little Miss Sophie is now between 10-14 years old. When she came to us, she had kennel cough and bad teeth and needed surgery. Today, she's a happy little dog who loves walkies, car rides, snuggles, and treats. We're so glad we can make her final years happy and comfortable.

Teadai Prophecies trailer is live!

The Teadai Prophecies trailer is live! Enjoy and feel free to share.

https://youtu.be/exoFja_gfeY

Desert Magick series trailer

The Desert Magick series trailer is up and running. Enjoy and feel free to share! https://youtu.be/i8VgolNT7Vw

I never had a single childhood home

As we get older, hubs and I find ourselves nostalgic for our youth, when we felt like we could do anything and had our whole lives ahead of us. Not that we'd want to be poor students working minimum wage jobs again, but something about mid-life makes youth very appealing.

I never had a single childhood home because my parents moved around when I was a kid. The closest thing I had was the house they bought when I was 10 years old, after we moved to different state than the one I was born in. I spent 8 years in that house, the longest I lived anyplace as a kid, so I do have quite a few memories. My beloved childhood dog died there and I still miss him. I still dream about him and the big backyard I adored, though not as often as I used to. My parents sold that house soon after I moved out way back in the 1980s, and I haven't seen the inside of it since. I was a little upset when they sold it, but that feeling soon passed. The outside has changed so much that I drove right past it the last time I was on that street.

My husband had a different childhood experience. He was lucky enough to be born here in Los Angeles and live in the same house from birth to college. We met during our college years and celebrated many more holidays and birthdays in that home with his family. His parents finally sold the house a couple of years ago and, other than a new paint job, it looks exactly like it did the first time I ever saw it. In fact, it hasn't changed much since he was a baby and we have photos that prove it.

Hubby and I met while working at a long-gone bookstore here in Los Angeles and had our first date at the movie theaters in that mall. The mall was remodeled and none of the original stores survived, but at least the building is still there. And we shop at some of the new stores so it's still like reliving our youth whenever we go there, even if it has changed a lot. Many of our dates took place at various L.A. icons, like Griffith Observatory and the history museum, which are still standing and look very much the same as they did all those years ago. He proposed to me on a boulder overlooking the beach. Surprisingly, that very boulder is still in the exact same place and we visit it once in a while, taking ourselves down memory lane, while enjoying the amazing ocean view. 

Several years after we were married, hubs and I moved to Arizona and built a brand new house there that we lived in for almost 14 years. It was very hard selling that house when we decided to move back home to Los Angeles. We made a lot of happy memories there and still miss it sometimes. I never realized how attached I had gotten and I grieved that home for quite a while. We've been back in L.A. for 4 years and now own a house within walking distance of hubby's childhood place. We rescued a senior dog and have begin making new memories in this home with her. Who knows if we'll still be in this house in our elder years, but even if we move again, memories of this wood and stucco building we now call home will always be with us.

Famous cousins!

You may know from previous posts that I have direct lineage to several royal families, but did you also know I have some interesting distant cousins in my tree? Example: Elizabeth Victoria Montgomery (aka Samantha Stephens) is my 15th cousin 4 times removed. We're both distant cousins to Elizabeth Andrew Borden (aka Lizzie Borden), whom Liz Montgomery played in a 1970s movie. Feel free to visit my Extras page for more cool and/or freaky relatives in my family tree. 

http://www.danadaviswriting.com/Extras.html

Top 100 Genealogy Websites of 2013

I’m a genealogy nerd and have been tracing my family tree for the past 14 years. I descend from many interesting people, including kings and queens, and I am so grateful for internet sites like these.

http://www.genealogyintime.com/articles/top-100-genealogy-websites-of-2016-page01.html

Happy St Paddy's Day!

Happy St Paddy's Day! Writers wear many hats and one of mine is that of family genealogist. Several years ago I located the cemetery of my great-great-great grandparents and 3 of their children in County Derry, Ireland.

Strange week of events

It's been a strange week. My father-in-law passed away last Thursday, so we were busy with those arrangements. Our senior dog was ill and on daily meds at the same time. Thankfully, she's doing well now. Then hubs and I had our 25th wedding anniversary two days ago. Talk about a mixed bag of emotions. I think at this point, we're both thankful for our work distractions, and hubby seems to be handling it okay. I think it helps that his father's death wasn't totally unexpected so we had made peace with the idea. But every year for the past 9 years, someone in our family has died, and several of them were young people, which is even harder. Hopefully, the rest of this year will be uneventful. 

Kindle sale one week only!

Award-winning teen Kindle novel, The Mask of Tamirella, is on sale for 99 cents. One week only! Also available in paperback.

http://www.amazon.com/Mask-Tamirella-Dana-Davis-ebook/dp/B00IXQMZRO/

First time in paperback!

First time in paperback! Quest for Freedom teen sci-fi adventure at Amazon. Coming soon to Kindle and Barnes and Noble. 

http://www.amazon.com/Quest-Freedom-Dana-Davis/dp/1523959339/

A name isn't just a name...

Though I descend from the Tudor and Plantagenet houses (really), my name is very common, so it's understandable when people on Goodreads and other book sites accidentally tag me as an author of a book that isn't mine. It's frustrating because I have to constantly check my book lists and fix those mistakes or message the admin to fix them, but I understand the mix ups. However, the news I got today about my name is the polar opposite of frustrating. My niece is having her first child and he will have my middle name as his middle name. Yippee!

This is especially touching to me for two reasons. One is that my sibs were named after my parents and I wasn't named after anyone in the family. And two is because no one has ever named a baby after me. And we have a large extended family. As the family genealogy detective, I see babies on our tree that were named after parents, grands, aunties and uncles in every generation. I will finally be part of this legacy and I'm looking forward to meeting my little namesake when he arrives.

Nag, nag, nag...

He-who-shall-not-be-named (I've been married to him for 25 years) promised to change the smoke alarm batteries by New Year's Day and I promised not to nag him about it. Last night we were snug in our bed when a loud beep roused us, followed a few seconds by another, then another. He-who-shall-not-be-named had forgotten about the batteries. 30 minutes later, we were still trying to coax a confused and trembling dog out from under our bed and into her own. When midnight rolled around, he-who-shall-not-be-named and trembling dog were fast asleep, and I was still wide awake. Next year, I'm nagging.

Happy New Year!

The new year is upon us. I have many plans for 2016, both personal and in my writing career, so please stay tuned for news updates. I am also the family tree detective and plan to continue my genealogy research. Below is a postcard sent to one of my ancestors, circa 1910.

Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays!

Happy Solstice, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Years from Los Angeles! Be excellent to each other and if you're traveling, be safe. If you need last minute gifts, please consider eBooks from danadaviswriting.com

Holiday Kindle Book Specials!

Hello, readers! I hope everyone here in the states had a nice Thanksgiving.

I just wanted to let you know about two holiday specials my publisher is running. The following Kindle books are on sale for 99 cents now through December.

Desert Magick: Superstitions (Bk 1) - Award-winning paranormal fantasy
http://www.amazon.com/Desert-Magick-Superstitions-Dana-Davis-ebook/dp/B004X2WZX6/

Deadly Fate: Book One of the Teadai Prophecies - fantasy
http://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Fate-Book-Teadai-Prophecies-ebook/dp/B002SB8S6M/

Feel free to share this sale information with family and friends, and have a wonderful holiday season!

My personal "blessing in disguise"

People often ask how I started writing novels. In a way, I was pushed into it by devastating loss that ended up being a “blessing in disguise” –  I use that term because I think it applies to my story.

Years ago, I was teaching tap, jazz, acrobatics and theatre classes at a local dance studio to supplement my acting income. During that time, I had a problem with one of my knees that required surgery. I would be out on short-term disability for 2 weeks then back teaching, with one of my teen students as an assistant until my knee completely healed. Two days before I was to return, the studio owner informed me that she was moving to a new location and couldn’t accommodate any of my classes. My classes were popular and some of her largest, so it just didn’t make sense to me. I pressured her until she finally admitted that her insurance company thought I was a liability and they wanted me gone. I tried to reason with her but she said she already assigned my students to other teachers. Did you make that “whaaaat?” face? Well, I sure did.

Yes, I could have taken her to court, but I had just 2 days to find work before my disability ran out, so I let it go and moved on. Unfortunately, I didn’t find another job in time to save our townhome and we lost it to foreclosure. My acting career wasn’t doing very well at this time, either, and I was devastated about all the loss. But I was raised with “the show must go on” attitude so I cried and pushed on like a good little performer. We found an apartment in a much better location than our townhome. I found another teaching job and continued auditioning and performing but I just didn’t enjoy it. In fact, I was downright miserable. Something I had done my entire life and now I wanted out.

I faked enjoying my work for two more years until hubs got his MBA and a raise. He was now making enough money that I didn’t need to work 2 jobs any longer and he encouraged me to go back to school. I loved writing so I chose that major, and I loved being a student again and felt like I had gotten a new chance at life. I was happy again. I have been writing novels for 17 years now and I absolutely love it. As of today, I have published 12 books and am currently editing another for publication. And to think that it all started with a dance director who saw me as a nothing more than a liability for her studio. If I ever see her again, I’ll be sure and thank her.