What Memorial Day means to Desert Breeze Author K Dawn Byrd

Memorial Day is the United States holiday that commemorates the men and women who have died while in the military. WWII is near and dear to my heart because my grandfather fought for our country in this war. I am honored that he served, but also humbled. You see, he suffered from what they called "shell shock" and what we call PTSD for the rest of his life. He served, but it cost him and his immediate family dearly. Do we stop to think about how much those who have served have truly paid?

I enjoyed writing Queen of Hearts, the WWII era romantic suspense novel that released in April. My heroine, Daphne Dean, comes from a very patriotic family. So much so that she refuses to take her ex-boyfriend back when he becomes a draft dodger and a seller of black market goods. She could have taken advantage of the goods he sold. Heaven knows, she loves shoes, but she refuses to do so, knowing full well that items were rationed because the supplies were needed for soldiers.



Daphne, like most others, is tired of rationing and would like more meat, butter, and cheese. At one point, she's envious of a group of elderly women who have stockings, which are in short supply because the material is needed to manufacture parachutes. When the items are offered to her later by her ex-boyfriend, she voices her displeasure with him for racketeering.

This Memorial Day will be even more special to me after writing Queen of Hearts and becoming familiar with what people sacrificed in order to bring our boys home safely during WWII. I'd like to send out a personal "thank you" to everyone who has ever served or who is serving our wonderful country today. We are free because of you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart and may God bless you always.

"Queen of Hearts" is available at the Desert Breeze Website, Amazon for Kindle, All Romance Books and Books on Board.

Featured Author Interview - K Dawn Byrd in character as "Daphne Dean" from Queen of Hearts

We're here today with Daphne Dean, the main character from Queen of Hearts. It's set in the 1940's during World War II and Daphne's here to tell us a little bit more of the story.

STEPH: Welcome, Daphne :)

DAPHNE: Thank you. It's great to be here.

STEPH: Daphne, how did you get involved in spying for the OSS?

DAPHNE: My boss, Tom, asked me to join the O.S.S. It seemed exciting at the time. My grand-mother was a spy during WWI and the idea made me feel closer to her. Plus, I was afraid that my job might be at stake if I didn't.



STEPH: Is there someone who has been a big influence on your life?

DAPHNE: The person who has been the biggest influence on my life is my friend, Anya. She was my grand-mother's best friend and my nanny when I was a child. She's been with me my entire life.



STEPH: How did you get into reporting? What do you love about it?

DAPHNE: I've always had an eye for mystery. Reporting is my dream job because it allows me to be a snoop, but in a good way. I love everything about it, especially the freedom it offers. Since taking the job, I'm no longer stuck in the copy room at a desk all day.



STEPH: What are your thoughts on the War? What do you have to ration?

I'll be glad when the war is over and they boys are home safely. The war has taught us many things in America, including how to conserve. It seems like almost everything is rationed. Certain days are "meatless" in restaurants. Coffee, butter, and sugar are been rationed. I really miss buying new shoes and stockings, but will do without all these things just to have the boys home.



STEPH: Have you gone to a movie lately? Who is your favorite star? Douglas Fairbanks? Cary Grant?

DAPHNE: I don't have much time for movies because I work long hours helping out in other departments at the paper if needed. I give it my all, hoping that I'll get to keep my job when the boys come home.



STEPH: Tell me one thing about Kenneth you miss.

DAPHNE: He has the most amazing sapphire blue eyes that it's easy to get lost in. Even more than that, I miss his arms around me.



STEPH: Tell me one thing about Vito you like.

DAPHNE: There are so many things I love about Vito. He's handsome, respectful, and he's a Christian who has had to choose between his faith and his wealthy mob family. Who do you think he chose?

STEPH: Thanks for being here today, Daphne. It was fun getting to know more about you and what it was like during World War II.

*****

You can find K Dawn Byrd's book at the Desert Breeze Website, All Romance Books, and Amazon for Kindle

Desert Breeze author K Dawn Byrd pops in to talk about her upcoming release, Queen of Hearts

Today we welcome K Dawn Byrd with us, who has a release in April, "Queen of Hearts."

STEPH: Can you tell us a little about "Queen of Hearts"

K DAWN: Daphne Dean is proud to be serving her country stateside during WWII as a reporter and an Office of Strategic Services operative. When the photograph she takes of the crowd at a murder scene places her on the mob's hit list, she's forced into hiding in a vacant mental asylum in the middle of nowhere with terrifying secrets of its own.

Daphne believed herself to still be in love with her ex-fiancée, Kenneth, until she spends several days locked away in the asylum with Vito, the mob boss' son. Can she put the terrifying events that occurred there behind her and allow herself to pursue a relationship with Vito? Or, will she return to Kenneth who has turned his back on his country by becoming a draft dodger and a black market racketeer? One thing's for sure, it won't matter if she can't escape the mental institution alive.


STEPH - The story is set in the United States during World War II. What kind of research did you have to do?

K DAWN: Actually, I didn't have to do much research at all. I've been a WWII buff for years and have read many WWII books. I like stories about what happened to real people back in the day. I found it very interesting to see how the war changed our country and the people who lived here.

STEPH - Where did you get the inspiration for your story?

K DAWN: Like I said, I'm a WWII buff and I thought it would be fun to write a WWII story. At the time I was plotting (October 2009), I e-mailed Gail Delaney, who is the CEO of Desert Breeze Publishing, and asked her if she had a need for a historical. I had already sold a contemporary romantic suspense to them with an August 2010 release date. She held an April release date for Queen of Hearts. All I had to do was write it and hold my breath until I heard back from her to find out if she liked it. Lucky for me, she did.

STEPH - Do you cast your characters? If so who plays Daphne? (I'm thinking actress Jennifer Ferrin) Vito? Kenneth?

K DAWN: I consider my husband to be a very handsome man. I normally start a novel picturing my hubby as the hero. This makes it much easier for me to keep up with what my hero looks like as I write. Okay, I admit it...I'm a sucker for black-haired, green eyed men! I then search through magazines until I find photos of the other characters and keep them close by while I write.


STEPH - Will Daphne get the OSS training she needs?

K DAWN: Daphne never receives the OSS training and believes herself to be the most inept spy ever. She's understandably frustrated when thrown into the midst of delivering messages to other spies with no knowledge of what she's doing. For example, she meets Scarlet (British secret intelligence) at an officer's club and when Scarlet holds out her hand, Daphne shakes it. Scarlet then rakes her over the coals, informing her that she was supposed to have passed the message at the point.

STEPH - Was this the story that came out of NaNoWriMo 2009? How was that experience?

K DAWN: Queen of Hearts was my NaNoWriMo project. It was a challenge to write 50,000 words in 30 days, but I did it. I had no choice if I wanted to meet the Desert Breeze deadline. It was due on my editors desk January 1. That gave me the moth of November to write and December to edit. The NaNoWriMo experience was wonderful. It's changed the way I write forever. I now give myself permission to write a terrible first draft. Before NaNo, I was very particular about the first draft and it took me forever to write it. I believe that the way I write now allows me to write the story much quicker.

Book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grqPjGvfRa0
Blog: www.kdawnbyrd.blogspot.com

THanks so much for being with us here, K Dawn!
Smiles
Steph

Desert Breeze Authors tackle NaNoWriMo!

Each November is known in the writing community as "National Novel Writing Month" or "NaNoWriMo." It's a month of flurry and increased activity. The goal of NaNoWriMo? To write a 50,000 word novel in a month. It's a daunting challenge, trust me. This month, 3 Desert Breeze Authors tackled it - K Dawn Bird, Me (Hehe, Stephanie Burkhart) and Chrystal Kincaid. Chrystal, can you weigh in and let us know how it went?

K Dawn Bird worked on her novel, "Queen of Hearts."

Queen of Hearts will be my first historical. There's a lot at stake with this novel because Desert Breeze Publishing is holding an April 2010 release date for it. That said, even though NaNoWrimo's final word count goal is 50,000, mine is 65,000. The heroine in Queen of Hearts is a newspaper reporter who becomes a member of the O.S.S. (spies).

K Dawn came in as a winner at 51,766 words. Congrats to you!!
Here's her NaNoWriMo page if you want to visit:
http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/525296



Stephanie Burkhart worked on her novel, "The Count's Lair."

Can a man haunted by an ancient curse fall in love? That’s what Count Anton Varga dares to explore when he meets beautiful and talented Lady Amelia Andrássy. Anton rediscovers Amelia in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, giving a concert and he hungers to pursue her, only he has a secret which he fears she will not accept. With the help and support of his friend and servant, Georg, Anton decides to win Amelia’s heart. Will the journey bring him the love he’s hungered for, or will it tear his heart apart?

The Count's Lair is second in "The Hungarian Moon" series and will be published by Desert Breeze in a future date.

Stephanie came in as a winner at 50,291. Congrats!
Here's her NaNoWriMo page if you want to visit:
http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/526402


Congrats to everyone who tackled NaNoWriMo. If you'd like to sign in and tell us about your experience this year, we'd love to hear it. I can tell you, I was prepared. I'd done a lot of preliminary work before I began. I did my character bios, maps, and outlines before I started. I tried to do a steady 2K words a day and most of the time, I managed it. That proved the challenge especially with a 7 and a 3 year old in the house. I still had to work 8 hours a day, do the dishes and wash the laundry. Not an easy feat!

Smiles
Steph