Rocking Bloggers – Dellani Oakes Edition

Many thanks to Tracey L. Clark for adding me to her 15 Rocking Bloggers list. I’ve enjoyed getting to know her via our posts and comments here on Word Press. We struck up a conversation and have been communicating ever since.

Here Are The Rules For This Award:

* Display the award certificate on your website.

* Announce your win with a post, and link to whomever presented your award.

* Present 15 awards to deserving bloggers.

* Drop them a comment to tip them off after you’ve linked them in the post.

* Post 7 interesting things about yourself.

Now the fun part! Seven facts about me. This may take a little doing, because I don’t want to share things I’ve already shared. I’m not a world traveler, though I have been all over the United States, so I guess I’ll start there.

First fact: I am the daughter of an English professor and a school teacher. While my father was getting his education, and his first jobs, we moved a lot. By the time I was 9, we had moved 7 times. In comparison with some military families, this is no big thing, but for a kid who didn’t acclimate well, it was somewhat traumatic. We started in Tennessee, moved to Ohio, then Massachusetts, Texas and Nebraska. I picked up accents from everywhere we lived, so by the time we got to Nebraska, people said they couldn’t understand me. I did my best, as I grew older, to rid myself of any telling accent. I will, however, sound Southern when I talk to Southerners.

Speaking of Southerners, fun fact #2: My mother, sister and I each married Southern men. Not so strange for my sister and me, I suppose, but our mother is from Cleveland, Ohio and happened to meet our father in the Harlan, Kentucky bus station when they were both there seeing friends off. I met my Alabama born husband when I was living in Mississippi, going to college. (That was after move #11. I’ve moved 19 times—so far)

My third fact: I live about a mile from the beach (as the crow flies) but because of the lack of bridges, I have to drive 30 minutes to get to the beach—not that I go often. A few years ago, I developed migraines that are brought on by glare and bright sunshine, so the beach and I don’t get along well anymore. Despite that, Florida has become my home and many of my novels are set here, including The Ninja Tattoo, Undiscovered and Conduct Unbecoming.

 

Fourth Fact: Western Nebraska is still very much a part of me, though I haven’t been there since 1989. My formative years were spent in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, about 30 miles from the Wyoming border. I’ve set several books there, one of which is published. Under the Western Sky, is set in 1976 and allowed me to reminisce about a simpler time.

Fact #5: I love animals, but have developed asthmatic bronchitis and can’t be around anything with fur or feathers. Cats are especially bad, but dogs are awful too. And don’t get me started on birds! In fact, I can’t comfortably be around people wearing cologne, perfume or any kind of hair products, so I don’t hug people unless I know I can wash soon after. I had a doctor tell me “You’re allergic to Florida.” Since other places are no better, and some are much worse, I stay here.

Sixth Fact: This is something that many people know, but it bears repeating. I write—a lot. I have 8 books published, with my ninth coming out in late October. I write mostly romantic suspense and have finished 75 novels and novellas. I also have 47 unfinished, but I am working away at them. I set myself a goal to finish at least one of my languishing works per month this year. I have done pretty well. I finished 4 in July alone and haven’t missed a month, except for March.

 

Final Fact: I have four fantastic children, 3 boys and a girl. They have been a source of inspiration and entertainment for many years. When I wrote my historical novel, Indian Summer, I patterned the main character after my daughter. The character is 15 and, by the society at the time, has become of marriageable age. She gets herself tangled in a conspiracy where she has witnessed a British spy plotting to overtake the town of St. Augustine. Some readers questioned her ability to cope at that age, but I thought about my own daughter at 15 and knew that Gabriella had what it took to overcome the odds—and boy does she!

 

 

 

 

Now for the hard part. I know so many amazing authors, and I tend to always choose the same few to participate in these things. I will be gradually adding to this list as I get more confirmations. Meanwhile, enjoy the writing of my good friends.

JD Holiday

Marta Moran Bishop

J. Conrad Guest

Barbara Ehrentreau