Dania Voss Guest Post

When I decided to try my hand at writing a short story, the origin story of Luke Stryker and Abbey Jayne from my debut novel On the Ropes, I didn’t realize what a challenge it would be. I was both excited and nervous to write Off the Hook, When Luke met Abbey.

I was excited because I wanted to offer Off the Hook as a free read to readers, to introduce them to my Windy City Nights series. I was nervous because I had never written a short story before and Luke and Abbey’s origin story took place when they were 18 and 20 years old. They were young adults, not older adults like in the debut novel, which took place ten years later.

I had quite a bit of research to do, as I do for every book I write. For writers, research is one thing we can get mired in that delays us from starting to write. Since Off the Hook was supposed to be short story, I didn’t want to and couldn’t spend too much time doing research, I had to get the story written!

But since the timeline placed their origin story in June of 2007, I had to be historically accurate on several critical things.

The World Series - Luke is a pitcher for his family’s team the Chicago Cobras so I had to research what teams played in the World Series in 2007 and make adjustments for the Cobras to play in the story.

Technology - I researched what the popular laptop models were in 2007, as well as the popular cell phones. The first iPhone came out in 2007, I didn’t know that until I researched it for the story.

Movies – I found out which comedies were out in the summer of 2007 and chose one for Luke and Abbey to watch in the story.

Online Universities – Since Luke was travelling with the team, I had to research which universities were offering online degrees at that time. He couldn’t attend regular classes like everyone else.

Since Abbey was 18 and Luke was 20, it was a challenge trying to get into the mindset of younger adults. Luke was Abbey’s first boyfriend. She hadn’t done much dating before she met him. Luke’s family is wealthy in addition to owning the Chicago Cobras. He’d led a fairly charmed life, even though he’d lost his parents at a young age.

I’m a plotter, not a pantser so as I’ve done with my full length novels, I created an outline for Off the Hook with word count limits for each chapter. In the end, I went over about 2500 words and ended the story with over 18,000 words, but I’m proud with the result of my first short story.

Author Bio

Born in Rome, Italy and settled in the Chicagoland area, Dania Voss is a lover of all things pink and a huge fan of 80's hair bands. She became a romance junkie in her teens. After decades of voracious reading, she published her first romance novel On the Ropes, the prequel in her Windy City Nights series in March of 2018. It was nominated as best Contemporary Romance in the 2018 Evernight Publishing Reader's Choice Awards. 

The Warrior's Whisper was released in September of 2018 and her current romance Hannah's Bliss, with Italian int'l model Luca Pantini on the cover, is the third installment in the series.

Website URL:  www.daniavoss.com

Blog URL:  www.daniavoss.com/blog

Facebook URL:  https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDaniaVoss

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/dania_voss

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/daniavoss/

Pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.com/daniavoss/

Skype:  Rose Hudson (r.mancinelli@outlook.com)

Buy links:

Hannah’s Bliss https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Q7H5LZQ/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Hannah%27s+Bliss&qid=1553813861&s=digital-text&sr=1-1-catcorr

The Warrior’s Whisper https://www.amazon.com/Warriors-Whisper-Windy-City-Nights-ebook/dp/B07H9BVJY3/ref=pd_sim_b2b_1/143-1717913-4733730?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07H9BVJY3&pd_rd_r=abd7c4dd-51ac-11e9-8938-1f91196fa3b4&pd_rd_w=EL91V&pd_rd_wg=BjUOa&pf_rd_p=fe71e35f-78d1-4380-b98e-0549c62f60eb&pf_rd_r=1HCBR895EZBH7KV9D06S&psc=1&refRID=1HCBR895EZBH7KV9D06S

On the Ropes https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BQN46XJ/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

Jacqueline by Jackie Minniti

Genre: Middle Grade, Historical Fiction

Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

For me it is important to provide quality books for my students. My students will have a better grip on life during World War II from reading this book. The story brings the reader in and lets them walk in her shoes. Most of our students have never had to go through anything like this and so it is hard to imagine what life would be like or how they would handle the situation. The book is based on a story the author’s father told her. She was actually named after the Jacqueline in her father’s story. The reader is able to see how Jacqueline and her mother survived after losing her father to the war. This is another resource for students to read to help them understand what it was like for non-Jewish people who had friendships with their Jewish neighbors. This was a time that was dangerous for both Jews and non-Jews alike. Because this is historical fiction, students will be enticed to learn more to distinguish what was fact and what was fiction.  Since I teach a unit with readings about the Holocaust, this is a welcome edition. Well done in writing a book that kids can relate to and adults will enjoy reading.

After You’ve Gone by Kay Kendall

Genre: Adult, Young Adult, Mystery, Suspense

Source: I purchased a copy.

This was a fun book to read. We start with a twenty-three-year-old character named Walter MacGregor, Wallie for short. Walter was named after her father who is a judge in Gunmetal, Texas.  Wallie, whose mother is deceased has been raised by her father with the help of her two aunts. Her favorite thing to do is read Sherlock Holmes books. That is as close as she figures she will ever get to an adventure. When her uncle Rory shows up she is very intrigued. He claims his life is in danger and he needs his brother’s help. There is definitely some contention between Rory and his older brother. It is obvious that Rory, a rum-runner is nothing like her father, the well-spoken judge. However, his lifestyle intrigues her, even if she doesn’t agree with it. There are family secrets, and a stranger watching the house. No one will talk to her about her uncle or why he left so suddenly twenty years before. When Rory is found dead, it is ruled an accident by the sheriff. Wallie doesn’t believe this was an accident. Her perceptive Aunt Ida, knowing her niece won’t let this go, proposes a trip so Wallie’s father can grieve, while secretly helping Wallie find the information she wants. But things are worse than Wallie could imagine. She and her aunt find themselves knee-deep in gangsters and women they would not usually associate with. Throw into this mix two young men who are after Wallie’s heart and you have a charming yet mysterious story that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

I loved this for several reasons. We start off with Wallie writing to her sixteen-year-old granddaughter about Rory. It seems that her granddaughter, Austin Starr is as curious as her grandmother was as a young lady. The time period was one I am not familiar with in books. There seems to have been a lot of research that went into this story to make it accurate. The roaring twenties was a time of prohibition and rum-runners, as well as gangsters. We get an idea through this book what life for a young woman would have been like during that time. Anytime Wallie tries to step out of the acceptable role for women she is treated like she has no brain. She holds out hope for women as they have just won the right to vote. I loved that Wallie assumes she will never marry since she doesn’t want to be reigned in by a man. The story is a remembrance of a time in Wallie’s life that provided the adventure she longed for.

The author does such a wonderful job of putting twists and turns in that I had to sit and read it from cover to cover. I could not go to bed until I had finished it. I truly had no idea who the murderer was or why until near the very end. Well done. I definitely want to read other books in this series as this was a prequel to the Austin Star Mystery series. This is a book for adults, but I would recommend it to young adults because it is a clean read with the occasional swear word.

Kay Kendall is an award-winning author of two historical mysteries. Her second book, RAINY DAY WOMEN (2015), won for best mystery and best book at Killer Nashville in August 2016. It is the second in her Austin Starr mystery series, published by Stairway Press. The first was DESOLATION ROW (2013).

In her previous career, Kay was an award-winning international PR executive, working in the US, Canada, Russia, and Europe. She has graduate degrees in Russian history and was a Woodrow Wilson Scholar at Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. 

Kay and her Canadian husband lives in Houston, Texas. They’ve rescued abandoned pet bunnies for twenty years and currently have three rabbits and a bemused spaniel, Wills.