April 11th, 2020

Welcome to the Campfire. One of my favorite things to do is sit around the fire. Whether it’s away in a campground or at home in front the chiminea, some of the best conversations I’ve ever had, have been with a cozy flame, and sparks drifting up into the night sky to join the stars. In these days of isolation, distancing, and worry, give yourself a break.  Whether you’re city or country. Whether you camp or are an indoor kinda person. Join me and my guest around our virtual campfire.
Take a minute. Deep breath in, hold, release. Now do it again, but this time imagine the smell of wood from the campfire. Hear the crackle and watch the sparks float up. Can you smell that? Someone is cooking and it's your favorite thing. Maybe barbecue ribs or aromatic onions and garlic. Marshmallows and chocolate. The people a the next camper are listening respectfully to some classic rock. Kids on bikes ride past laughing. Are you there yet? Good.

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Please help me welcome DARCY CARSON to the Campfire. Darcy is a fellow Wild Rose Press author and I'm excited to have her. She writes about one of my favorite kind of fantasy creature, dragons. May I offer you a beverage?
My go-to drink is water, then diet soda.

I have water in the water cooler. Tell us have you ever camped, or as I call what I do, Glamp. If so, tent, trailer, RV?
As a kid, we always camped in a tent.
Where?
All over Washington state. that’s what people did for vacations when i was a kid.
I know quite a few people for there. It's a beautiful state. Did you like it? 
Heck no! rattlesnakes, sand in my food, and almost being blown off a cliff sort of ruined the idea of camping being fun. The being blown off a cliff was probably the worst two hours of my life. The rangers kept the park open and watched the car’s head lights weave along the mountain side. They expected to recover the bodies the next morning. I shudder just thinking about that trip.
Oh boy, not fun. We're glad you survived. Tell us about your latest project. What’s the title and genre?
I’m working on the third book in the dragons’ return series, entitled She wakes the night that I’ll be submitting to my publisher in the next week or so. it’s a paranormal romance, and there is a big, bad black dragon.
I  love dragons and follow your Facebook Dragon information. Do you have a tagline?
Not really. but let’s see if i can come up with one right here and now…Once a tree, now a healer, Trell Langois has no intention of staying in one place.
Good job! I like it. Taglines blurbs and synopsis' are some of the hardest things to write. How long did it take you from conception to publication?
That depends on the story. mine run between 80-90k and take six months to a year to write.
Darcy, I have a myriad of projects at various stages of development, how about you? Anything you’re itching to get to?
We’re writers. ideas are always popping into our heads. I'm also writing historical romance fiction. I have one out about Ireland in the 1660s. I’m working on a regency and two anthologies.
Wow, busy lady. Are there any mentors, authors, or books, other than yours, you would like to give a shout-out to?
Probably the people who deserve a shout-out is my critique group and critique partner. They’ve stood by me and put up with the bad writing for years. so to: Lisa Wanttaja, Melanie Macdonald, Marcella Burnard, Lynn Price, Deeanna Galbraith, Melinda Rucker Haynes and Pam Binder.
Hooray for critique partners and group. What does literary success look like to you?
Being able to have my books published.
 
Life Hacks for Authors.
My favorite tip is never give up. Persistence pays off. And don’t be afraid to cut during the editing process.
 
Now the fun questions pick 5 or if you like more but no more than 7.

1. If they made a movie about your life, what would the title be and who would play you? The pit bull with lipstick
2. Do you have a special object like a piece of jewelry or keepsake of some sort? Can you tell us what makes it special to you? I’m a jewelry nut. They’re all precious to me.
3. Favorite childhood book? Or writing that inspired you to become an author. Stranger in a strange land
4. Worst household chore? Cleaning the house. The whole dang house.
5. Would you rather have unlimited international first-class tickets or never have to pay for food at restaurants? First-class travel tickets for life.
6. Did you ever win something? What? I always win drawings. Scares some of my friends. I pick out what I want and it just happens.
7. Most campers play board games. What games do you like? Cribbage.
8. What subjects should be taught in school, but aren’t? Cursive writing.

Darcy, thank you for joining me today at the campfire. Please leave us with some links and maybe a bit about your book.

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​Warrior woman, Becca d’Firn, has a problem. People in her village are dying from a mysterious plague. She needs a wizard to save them. Cress, a wizard, has a quandary of his own—he needs to free his sister from a thousand year old spell. Becca doesn’t trust men, but what choice does she have? She knows nothing about the art of healing or dragons the size of fireflies.

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Purchase on Amazon

​Darcy is an award winning author, who was a born reader. Having a mother who worked in a library helped. She didn’t know that there were fines attached to books she kept reading over and over for decades. She won The Emerald City Keeper award for romantic comedy. She penned five novellas with Amazon’s Kindle Worlds the first one winning Rivers of Ink first place. She has been nominated for numerous RWA chapter writing contests, winning and placing in several. She went on to self-publish a paranormal romance, MAGIC IN THE AIR, set in Seattle about the magic police. She is currently writing for The Wild Rose Press. Her first book, HE WALKS IN DREAMS, is a fantasy romance and the first in the Dragons Return series. WOMAN IN THE WOODS is the second book in the series. Dragons come naturally to Darcy as she had a childhood friend named Pepper-Piper, who was a dragon. She also writes historical romance.
Prior to publishing, Darcy worked for a major airline manufacturer as an executive secretary. But don’t ask to identity an airplane. They all look the same to her. Darcy’s hobbies include jewelry making. Stringing beads is very relaxing, zen-like. No thought required. She loves reading, traveling, shopping and going to the casino to give her money away.  She lives in Renton with her husband, Bill, and a pampered prince of poodle named Bandit.
Website: https://darcycarsonbooks.com/ 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/@carson_darcy 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DarcyCarson

This weeks recipe is for one of my most requested. Ribs. Low and slow.
This never fails me except to run out. It's easy but does take ahead of time thought.
Whatever your favorite ribs are. I tend to get what's on sale
Pat dry your rib. Then I rub them with grape seed oil. Season them liberally with Montreal Steak Seasoning. Cover with plastic and put in the fridge with weight on top. I like to do this overnight
To cook them. I sear the ribs over a high heat on the BBQ. Get them a little brown but be careful not to cook them. No you have a choice. They do well in a dutch oven, wrapped in foil over the fire, or even wrapped and leave them on the grill. Turn the heat way down. Around 300 degrees. Check them in about 3 hours. They want to fall off the bone.