Natasha Deen Author of What Happens In Vegas Guest Post

Please help me welcome Natasha to Dollycas's Thoughts.

I am at a little disadvantage because this book is only available as an e-book and all my regular followers know I have not taken the giant leap to purchase an e-reader yet.

When this book/author tour date was offered to me it sounded like a book my followers would enjoy and didn't want to decline just because I haven't moved on with new technology.

So first there is a little bit about the book and it is followed by Natasha's post.

Book Details: 

Genre:Adult Romantic Suspense 

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press 

Publication Date: August 2011 

Synopsis: 

It’s not that Binda Morningstar’s an idiot—the girl’s got more degrees than a thermometer—but there’s something about a crisis that makes her lose her mind…and accidentally injure anyone within a ten foot radius. But if she’s going to rescue her boss from a cursed jewel, she’s going to have to keep it together. Unfortunately for her, the cop on the case, Corin Hawthorne, has her losing her mind and her heart…and if he gets anymore drool worthy, she’s going to lose her inhibitions, too. To save her boss and win her man, she’s got to outrun a mobster, outwit the YIFFS at a sex fetish convention, and outthink an ex-wife—and she’s got to do it all without breaking an arm or inadvertently hitting anyone with pepper spray…it’s all got Binda hoping that what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

Welcome Natasha!

****************************************

Hi Lori, thanks for inviting me here today!

Filling the Gaps 

One of the questions authors are frequently asked is about their writing voice and why they write the stories they do. This is the best way I can answer that query:

I was driving to Bragg Creek when a rock hit my windshield. These cracks are never good even at the best of times, let alone when I’m driving 110 km/hour down a highway and heading to a town so small the gas stations shut down at nine in the evening. So, I stopped the car, pulled out a sticker, stuck it on the chip, and hoped that it would protect the windshield from cracking.

No such luck.

I hit a rainstorm that washes away the sticker. Another hundred kilometers while I pray that the semi’s rocky gift will only cost me $45 in repairs and I hit a sunny patch. Another sticker, another hopeful prayer.

This one lasts until I get to Bragg Creek, and it holds me through the week until I can head home and get to a chip repair shop.

But the entire thing started me thinking about the chips and cracks in our lives, and how important it is to fill them in. Our perspective on life, really, is like a windshield. Through its transparent protection, we see the world around us. When that shield is cracked or muddy, it’s harder to see where we’re going.

That’s why it’s so important to take time to repair ourselves, to give our souls and spirits a moment of gooey wonderfulness that fills in the stresses and strains of everyday life, and strengthens us for the road trip ahead.

Life can be a series of rock chips thrown at us—the belligerent boss, the un-supportive spouse. It can even be the lovely things—planning a wedding, having a baby—it’s wonderful, but it’s stress and long term, stress wears down the body.

The funny thing is that even taking time to rejuvenate ourselves can be stressful. Where do we find that moment? How are we going to justify a three-day vacation when the project is going sideways?

The trick is to take our lead from the simple rock chip. In other words, do little things—trivial, fun things—to make the day brighter.

Some days, when I feel like I’ve worked hard enough, I spend the day in my pyjamas. Other days, it’s not making my bed or having an extra piece of chocolate. Really, it’s about doing the tiny thing for yourself, taking a breath in the hectic moment, and reminding yourself of the sun and light in the world. Some days, it works.

Other days, it’s like my trip to Bragg Creek: seeing the sticker wash off and hoping for a break in the rain so I can try again to fix the chip.

It’s also why I write the stories I write. Life is hard and it’s unfair, and those stories need to be told. But for me, as a reader and a writer, I figure I spend enough of my real life seeing how callous the world can be. When I write, it’s purely entertainment. And since every writer initially writes for themselves (we are, after all, our first audience), I want to make myself (and my readers) laugh.

Laughter is powerful—it massages your internal organs, it repairs your immune system, and it relieves stress. So, when I draft a story, it needs to be funny because I want my reader to feel better. I want to give him or her a break in the day—a side trip to fantasy, where no matter how hard things get, there’s always a happy ending.

I love spending my time thinking of crazy situations, lovable and likable characters, all the ways life can go wrong, and all the ways it can go right, again.

Truly, when I’m reading about a mother abusing her child, a man who kills for a pair of shoes, when I see oil spills and dying animals, those are the cracks in my windshield. Those are the things that can obscure my vision about the other part of life—the man who stops to help a stranger on the street, the child who launches a movement because she doesn’t want to grow up in a world without trees.

My writing is about filling that crack, pushing the soft and gooey into the splintered fragments, and helping to repair an internal chip. Comedy is how I fill the gap, for readers and for myself, and it’s what keeps me going down the road at 110 km/hour, heading to the small place where they may close the gas stations at nine in the evening, but they have trees and mountains, and that’s okay with me.

When Natasha was little, there was only one thing she wanted to be: a superhero. Unfortunately, being a klutz isn’t a super-power. She turned to writing because it allows her to be anything she wants, including a caped crusader. When not writing, she is an instructor and editor. Visit her at www.natashadeen.com, and hang out with her on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.

~Natasha

A Little Bit About Natasha

When I was little, there was only one thing I wanted to be: a superhero. But there came a day when my dreams were broken, and that was the day I realized that being a klutz was not, in fact, a super power, and my super weakness for anything bright and shiny meant a magpie with self-control could easily defeat me in a battle of wills. I turned to writing as a way to sharpen my mental super-hero skills. I don’t get to orbit the earth in a space station (and thank God, because I get sick on merry go round), but I do get to say things like: “Stand aside! This is a job for Writing Girl!!”

*******************************************

I hope you enjoyed this post.  When you read this book please stop back here and share your thoughts.   I will publish them in a special post.

Your Escape With A Good Book Travel Agent