Everything I need to know about Facebook I learned in Kindergarten.


Share everything.
Especially that time your cat’s hairball looked like the Heisman trophy.

Play fair.
Use your brain. Not that Scrabble Word Finder.

Don't hit people.
Or tag them when they look hideous.

Put things back where you found them.
Unfriend. It exists for a reason.

Clean up your own mess.
Delete. It exists for a reason.

Don't take things that aren't yours.
Unless sharing something makes you look hipper and more irreverent than you already are.

Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
Unless you’re not.

Wash your hands before you eat.
Totally your call.

Flush.
It exists for a reason.

Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
So are wine, cheese fries and truffle oil. I swear.

Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
This one is just stupid.

Take a nap every afternoon.
It gives everyone else a break from your incessant stream of consciousness.

When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.
Since you’re always at your computer, this really doesn’t apply.

Wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
This one is just stupid.

Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.
Not on Farmville they don’t.

And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.
The second biggest was LIKE.


Are you trendy?


  



What makes something a trend? It's no secret that retailers and designers glom on to what's popular and create their own version of what's trending to appease fashionistas. Are readers treated the same way when when it comes to books?

As I’ve been finishing up my third novel, Finding Bliss, I’ve been interested in what’s trending in books these days…and does it really matter?

I looked up a few articles online, because I wanted to see what people had predicted for 2012, and if they were right. Here’s one I found from Bookmark Radio:

“The most popular book categories for 2012 will include Mystery Thrillers, Economics, Political Biography and Alternative Health. But Self-Help/Psychology will loom as the most popular category as many of us try to stay grounded after having been uncorked by the sustained recession!”

Well, I’m not sure they were entirely spot on, but who could have predicted the success of Fifty Shades and friends. Oh my!

Here are Amazon’s top ten best sellers for 2012:

Fifty Shades Freed: by E.L. James
Gone Girl: by Gillian Flynn
Fifty Shades Trilogy: by E.L. James
Bared to You: by Sylvia Day
No Easy Day: Kevin Maurer, Mark Owen
The Marriage Bargain: Jennifer Probst
Reflected in You: Sylvia Day
The Racketeer: John Grisham
Defending Jacob: William Landay
The Innocent: David Baldacci

In a Huffington Post article about the above list, Amazon.com's editorial director, Sara Nelson made the following statement: 

“This was truly the year of the billionaire bad boy in romance—Amazon readers just couldn’t get enough of the genre.”

So, does that mean readers have had enough of him now? Will the vampire resurface and claim his throne as king of romance? These are things I think about; although they don’t necessarily mean I should change what I do. I write contemporary romance/women’s fiction. My books are character driven, and (hopefully) relatable when it comes to relationships both romantic and familial. I write with a sense of wit, and tend to use a lot of dialogue in my scenes because I love writing dialogue.
Should it matter to me that erotica and mysteries are the most popular recent genres? Should I abandon what I’m doing and write outside of my comfort zone? Uh, no. I enjoy reading erotica, but if I attempted to write one of those love scenes, my inexperience in that arena (the writing, of course) would be painfully obvious.

That being said, I would LOVE to write a mystery. I’m a long time fan of James Patterson, John Grisham and Ann Rule. Being able to craft a psychological thriller would be immensely rewarding. One day maybe…

So, with that being said, I’d be interested in hearing your opinions. What sort of books do you read? Do you read outside of your normal genre just because a book is popular? I know I do. I guarantee you I would’ve never picked up The Hunger Games had it not been such a chart topper. There’s nothing about the description of that book that interested me in the least, but I ended up reading the trilogy and thoroughly enjoying the ride.

And as an author, do you write what’s trending? Does it matter to you? Do you write what you enjoy reading? Or do you approach your craft differently altogether?

Please share your thoughts!


A new book from Cari Kamm!

I'm so thrilled to host the gorgeous Cari Kamm on my blog today and celebrate the release of her new novel, For Internal Use Only.

Want to WIN A COPY??!! 
Of course you do. When you get to the bottom of the post, leave your email in the comment section and a winner will be selected at random

Here's a little bit about the book...

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Chloe Kassidy has just been accepted into one of Manhattan’s most exclusive art exhibits, Love Through Light. However, with her singular dedication to her career, she soon realizes that in sacrificing her personal life, she has never been in love. A hopeless romantic who is terrified of heartbreak, Chloe begins to enlist the help of her circle of friends to learn about love through their very different stories and experiences.



In Chloe’s emotional rollercoaster to having the greatest love story ever told, she’ll learn that like her photography she must use the negatives in life to develop and prove that she’s a strong woman who found her way to love through light.



Cari has been generous enough to provide a peek into the book. In this excerpt, Chloe is anxiously awaiting for the envelope to arrive that contains her destiny.


 
Chapter 2

My love for photography had led me down an unimaginable career path. Most currently, it led me to anxiously sitting on a stoop outside the New York City mid-rise building that contained my overpriced one-room apartment. I closed my eyes, allowing the morning light to calm me while I took in the delightful bird chirps and excruciating taxi beeps of the East Village, ignoring the slight smell of urine that accosted my senses.

I started my afternoon again with stalking. I eagerly awaited the mailman’s arrival between 1:06 and 1:13 p.m., while he transported paper fate, sporting his pale blue polyester trousers, tucked in long-sleeve shirt pressed, and Converse sneakers.

We lived and loved through technology, so I was frustrated that my fate was arriving via snail mail and the timing matched every part of the description. Technology was the trusted source of banking transactions, meeting your husband, ordering your groceries, making restaurant reservations and even spying on your pets through a kennel cam while sunburning on a beach. But today, this life-altering letter crawled its way to me by a government official, a man I rarely saw, and never exchanged words with. I was waiting to hear if my dream would come true, and dreading it would never be.

 “Good afternoon,” I said, with a smile, merely able to stare at the navy stripe that lined his pant leg. The clock showed that it was 1:11 p.m. I made a wish.

“What a surprise,” he muttered, while he manhandled the heavy stack wrapped with a thick, green rubber band and passed by me. I studied him meticulously stocking the empty boxes, one by one, approaching my slot.

“Do you mind if I just grab the mail for three-C, please?” I interrupted.

“If that’s what it’ll take,” he moaned.

Between my J. Crew catalogue and my electric bill was a fancy rectangle of heavy stock ivory paper with gold trim. I squeezed the four-by-six response card. Contained in this saliva-sealed envelope were the words that would inevitably change my life. The weight of those words was heavy in my fingers and I was hesitant to open it. Without the answer the card contained, I still was able to hold onto hope.

 My destiny was in my lap with the warmth of the sun counteracting the fresh chill October presented while I flipped from sweating to freezing like an on/off switch. I reassured myself it was only rejection. I had my health and photography. Whether it was amateur or professional, it was still my first love. Even if it was a two-letter response, I would remember my love for art, and how every time I shot I searched for the immense beauty that existed within the balance, tone, and temperature of my tiny frame. Having an image worth a thousand words was never my intention. I wanted to capture one word to describe each photograph. One word can define everything, love being a true example. There is something compelling about visualizing a picture and capturing it. There is nothing compelling about the words, We regret to inform you.

My fingers trembled and taking a couple photographs would be soothing. Photography to me was the perfect cocktail: one part heart, one part head, a dose of imagination, with a splash of patience.

The tearing of the envelope felt like scratches on my heart. I proceeded with caution, hoping this document wouldn’t be only a keepsake to remind me what if.

Inch by inch, I slid out the card to reveal the twelve-point Apple Chancery font and held it to the light, observing the maker’s name in the watermark. Rubbing my index finger over the engraved symbol, I was impressed. The brand, Smythson of Bond Street stationery, supplied paper to the British royal family. I was holding the same stationery as the Queen.

________________________

Dear Miss Kassidy,

We write to inform you of your acceptance into the exclusive Bruce Smith Gallery as part of our exhibit for emerging artists, hosted by curator Grayson Gates. You will be receiving your review and luncheon date via e-mail. Please be prepared to present your theme for the Love Through Light exhibit within the deadline. You will be required to exhibit three pieces.

Opening Night & Reception

Friday, February 7, 8:00 p.m.

Bruce Smith Gallery

504 West 22nd Street

________________________

I read your acceptance at least ten times, intoxicated with excitement and then Love Through Light offered a swift sobering sense of reality. I began to panic. I couldn’t deny the exhibit theme made me uncomfortable.

The Love Through Light exhibit was inspired by the word photography itself and its Greek meaning, writing with light. As the emerging artists in Grayson Gates’s exhibit, we were to create stories of love. Instead of ink, we would be writing with our three photographs.

 I composed a text to Stephanie, Kate, and Emma, my inner circle. I’m in!

Our bonds from beginnings to endings were unbendable. Each our own elements, but together our friendship made a rare metal.





Cari Kamm has worked in the beauty industry for over a decade, building brands, working behind the scenes, and even selling her own skin care line. She has a master’s in clinical nutrition from New York University. Kamm currently works in corporate social media management with clients in the beauty, fashion, and restaurant industries. Living in New York City with her mutt Schumtz, Kamm loves finding inspiration in the most unexpected places, being a novelist, and convincing her boyfriend that ordering takeout and making dinner reservations are equal to cooking. More information can be found on her website, CariKamm.com. To check out the book trailer, click here: http://tinyurl.com/bdr7bfn.

FOLLOW CARI LIKE A LOST PUPPY HERE: Facebook | Twitter

Leave your email in the comments section on this post to enter to win a Kindle copy of this fabulous new book!

 

 

 


 

Get Your Heart On this Valentine's Day for $.99!

Since everyone's favorite holiday is upon us, I thought I'd put my heart-adorned covers to good use (along with my retail marketing background) and have a SALE!

This Valentine's Day, kindle copies of both Kat Fight and One Pink Line will be $0.99. That's two books for less than two dollars. This way you can gift one to a friend instead of a lame greeting card (how generous of you)!

Each only $.99 - and only through Valentine's Day


Please help spread the LOVE and have a hearty holiday - xoxoxoxo

-Dina


Book Giveaway 2/12/13

I'm annoyed with Facebook because they want me to pay for people to see my posts. Well, that's not going to happen.

So, I'm going to start doing my weekly book giveaway's on my blog each week.

Today's giveaway is Captive in the Dark by CJ Roberts. This is Kindle copy only.

Captive in the Dark (The Dark Duet: Book 1)

This book is erotica. It is disturbing. It is fabulous.


To Enter:
1. You must FOLLOW this blog where it says JOIN THIS SITE on the right >>>>
2. You must leave your email in a comment
3. Easy right?