Only In My Dreams
Ribbon Ridge, #1
Darcy Burke
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Avon Impulse
Date of Publication: February 17th, 2015
Number of pages: 272
Excerpt:Fed up with her self-imposed single life, successful event planner Sara Archer heads to a bar for a night of dancing … and bumps into Dylan Wescott, the high school crush she hasn’t seen in years. A little harmless flirting leads to a hot, completely uncharacteristic one-night stand; but when she wakes up alone, Sara knows her life is too complicated for a relationship and there can’t be a repeat.
Dylan, a divorced, ex-military construction contractor, limits himself to casual flings—his failed marriage proves he’s better off alone anyway—but he can’t stop dreaming about Sara. And when his firm is hired to oversee the renovation project run by the Archer siblings, Dylan and Sara are unable to resist their explosive chemistry.
But when their secret affair grows beyond “friends with benefits” and neither is willing to admit they want more, family drama and emotional scars may ruin their chance at a love they believed was only in their dreams.
Dylan came outside. “Sara, you’re here.”Interview:
“You doubted I’d come?”
“Nope, just glad to see you.” Was he? Her stomach did a silly little flip. “Come with me, I have some stuff for you.” He passed by her on the way to his truck.
Sara turned to follow him. “What sort of stuff?”
“Work stuff.” He opened the passenger side door and withdrew something then turned around. “Work hat, gloves, and goggles.”
She couldn’t help but giggle. “They’re pink. Even the goggles.”
He held them out. “Of course.”
She took the hard hat, which held the gloves and goggles in the bowl. “You just happened to have these lying around? I can’t imagine you in a pink hat. Or gloves. Or goggles.”
He gave her a mock horrified look. “I prefer something in mauve.”
She laughed outright. “Do you even know what mauve is?” She’d overseen dozens of weddings and wished she had a dollar for every groom who hadn’t the faintest idea what the wedding colors were. They were just “blue” or “purple” instead of cerulean or lavender.
He exhaled as he closed the door of his truck. “You caught me. I don’t know mauve from puce. Is puce actually a color? If it is, it must be ugly because, well, just, puce. What kind of word is that?” His pale gray-green eyes twinkled in the morning light.
“I agree it’s a gross-sounding word. And you’re right, it’s an ugly color. It’s reddish brownish purple. It’s actually the French word for flea and got its name from the bloodstains left by flea droppings on linen.”
His jaw dropped. “That’s disgusting.”
“Completely.”
He chuckled. “Why do you even know that?”
With a shrug, she extracted the gloves and goggles from the hat, then set the pink plastic bowl on her head. “Hopelessly addicted to Wikipedia and other sources of useless information.”
Nodding, he led her toward the house. “Good to know. Next time I need to learn about bug dung, I’ll know who to ask. Come on, I’ll introduce you to the crew.”
Today, we welcome Darcy Burke to Musings and Ramblings. Let's all give a big Geeky welcome!
Helloooo! So happy to be here. Thank you for having me. ☺
Let's start with some writer specific questions before moving into the fun stuff. That way everyone can really get to know the person behind the writer. We will finish things off with a round of Think Fast. Ready for the interrogation to begin?
Consider my loins girded.
Writing Specific
Is your writing style more plotter or pantser?I wish I knew, lol. It’s honestly different with every book. I’m probably a plantser, but I veer toward plotting more than pantsing. Pantsing usually gets me into trouble when it comes time to edit. I often use a plotting board with sticky notes. I loooooove me some sticky notes and have been known to stop in random stores in the office supplies aisle just to see if they have a color that isn’t in my supply. More colors=more better. LOL! There can never be too many sticky notes!
When is your favorite time/place to write? Do you write structured or patchworked?
I have a great office with a big monitor and a lousy mouse, which deters me from writing there. I should just buy a new mouse, but I haven’t gotten around to it. Plus, my desk gets messy (I pay bills there and every piece of paper that enters our house, save kids’ homework/projects, seems to inevitably end up there), which sends me running from the room. That means I end up writing on the couch, on my bed, in my daughter’s bean bag chair... you get the picture. I like to have structure. I yearn for structure. But I have two kids, three cats, and a husband. Structure is not my friend. Structure, why won’t you be my friend? Well, probably because you have two kids, three cats and a husband... *grin*
How involved are you with Social Media and self-promotion?
Social media and I have a love-hate relationship, like most people I suspect. I wish I was better at Twitter, but I spend far too much time composing tweets and often delete them because I’m not satisfied. I don’t know how other writers do it! I self-promote as much as possible, but I’m not necessarily good at it. I have a really hard time blowing my own horn—about anything. Not a good trait when you’re trying to get people to buy your books! On that note: BUY MY BOOKS! ;) I know the feeling! It's hard to limit myself to only 140 characters and still make sense.
Tell us something about yourself that's not in your bio.
I know way too much about television, even shows I don’t watch (and I don’t watch a lot), thanks to my addiction to tvline.com and ew.com. I’ve watched every single episode of every season of Survivor except the very first episode, the latter half of Heroes vs. Villains because it pissed me off, and a few episodes from the last season because I was buried under deadlines. And I have ZERO desire to be on the show. If I could be on a reality show, I’d choose The Amazing Race, but even then I’m not sure I could do it. So much flying and I get airsick sometimes, blerg. Plus, the whole life-on-display thing. Not sure I have the stomach for that! I have never been a reality tv person myself. I don't think I have ever seen even one episode of Survivor!
How did you choose the genres you write in?
Historical is definitely my first love. I’ve been a history geek for as long as I can remember and my degree is in history. I actually never imagined I’d write outside that genre, but I got the idea for the Ribbon Ridge series a couple of years ago and just fell in love with it. Writing contemporary has been so much fun and now I have even more ideas I’d like to explore. I’m not sure I can give up writing historical, but I’ll definitely be writing more contemporary!
Fun Stuff
What was the last movie/concert/show that you saw?Last move: Live. Die. Repeat. It was actually called The Edge of Tomorrow when it was first released and Live. Die. Repeat. was the tagline. However, the marketing dept. got smart and realized the tag line was a much better title and switched it around when they released the DVD. Great movie even though it stars Tom Cruise (I’ve never been a big fan). I actually really liked him in it! Last concert: Dave Matthews Band in August. We see DMB every year, multiple times. Except last year when we saw them only once. That made me sad. Last show I saw was The Book of Mormon when it came through town. I thought my husband was going to die laughing. I watched that movie in spite of Tom Cruise as well.
If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?
In the words of Cher, “If I could turn back time...” Except I wouldn’t give it to anyone but me so I could do all the things that need to be done. ☺ More Time is a common theme on this question. It sounds like we could all use a few more hours in every day.
If you could have dinner with anyone, past or present, fictional or real, who would it be and why?
My dad. He passed away when I was sixteen and I’d like to have an adult conversation with him. Awww!
What would we find in your refrigerator right now?
Cheese (seriously, if I’m out of cheese, I feel naked), milk (if I’m out of milk, my kids would riot), and at least three bottles of expired salad dressing (who doesn’t have that???). No lactose intolerance allowed in your house! LOL
If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?
“You Left Your Socks on the Stairs” because it seems like I say that a lot. There is a title that sounds like there is a story behind it.
Think Fast
Elvis or Sinatra? SinatraAM or PM? PM
Italian or Chinese? Italian
Coffee or Tea? Tea
Cake or Pie? Pie
Thanks for coming by and spending some time with us. Any final words of wisdom to pass along?
Wisdom? I’m not sure I know what that is, but life is short. Really, really short. Do what you love and love what you do. Every.Single.Day.
Giveaway:
$25.00 eGift Card to Choice Retailer or Custom Pint Glasses with Winery Name
A native Oregonian, Darcy lives on the edge of wine country with her guitar-strumming husband, their two hilarious kids-who each seem to have inherited the writing gene in some form-and two Bengal cats. In her "spare" time Darcy is a serial volunteer enrolled in a 12-step program where one learns to say "no," but she keeps having to start over. Her happy places are Disneyland and Labor Day weekend at the Gorge.
To connect with the author online:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
I don't drink wine.
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