DAKOTA CASSIDY IN THE HOUSE! MEOW!

Meow! My guest today is the incomparable author of the "Accidental" series, DAKOTA CASSIDY!

for those readers not familiar with Dakota, here's a bit about her, taken from her website:

Dakota Cassidy lives for a good laugh in life and in her writing. In fact, she almost loves a good giggle as much as she loves hair products and that's saying something.

Her goals in life are simple, (like really simple): banish the color yellow forever, create world peace via hot rollers and Aqua Net; and finally, nab every tiara in the land by competing in the Miss USA, Miss Universe, and Miss World pageants, then sweeping them in a stunning trifecta of much duct tape and Vaseline usage, all in just under one week. Oh, and write really fun books!

Dakota lives in Texas with her two sons, her mother, more cats and dogs than the local animal shelter and has a husband who puts the heroes in her books to shame.

And now....Dakota in my hotseat!

R: Meow, welcome Dakota

D: Thanks, ROCCO.

R: Tell us a bit about yourself, and how you became interested in writing?

D: Writing was a total accident for me. I’d been reviewing books for an online review site and had an idea one day. That “idea” turned into THIS. LOLLOL!

R: if you weren’t a writer, what would you be doing?

D: Hoarding animals. Seriously, I love animals and if I could devote 24/7 to them, and didn’t have to pay the mortgage, I’d be on an ep of Hoarders.

R: What advice would you give new writers just starting out?

D: Ignore the minutia. Forget all the rules about what’s right and what’s wrong. Forget the stuff that all the experts say you absolutely must do when creating an MS and just write. Fear not, you’ll figure out all those grammatical and mechanical details as you go. I’m not saying they aren’t important, because they really are. But I’ve found it can really thwart your creativity if you don’t just create the story of your dreams and worry about all the tech stuff later. Find someone who knows how to show you all about adverbs and character motivation, but find them AFTER you’ve written the story.

R: In today’s changing publishing environment, how important do you feel social media is and why?

D: Oh, for me it’s incredibly important. I love Facebook and Twitter, and they keep me in constant touch with readers—that’s awesome. It’s been invaluable in my career because I love being able to chat w/folks. It’s also a terrific tool for promotion. And where else can you watch an episode of The Real Housewives Of New Jersey with five million other people? Love it!

R: What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?

D:Get married at 18. No. Don’t say it. You can’t say anything I haven’t already said to myself. LOLLOL!

R: What one thing would your readers be surprised to learn about you?

D: I don’t think anything would surprise my readers because going back to that social media thing—there isn’t much I haven’t shared with them at this point. Though, maybe they’d be surprised to learn that I hate makeup. Love the way it looks, HATE the way it feels on my face. So I only wear it like once a week.

R: Are there any writers  in particular that have influenced your style of writing?

D: No doubt, Nina Bangs and Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Both a little nutty and completely willing to go “there.” By “there” I mean to just over the line of outrageous J

R: Which of your “accidental” series is your favorite and why?

D: Can’t choose, they’re like children and I love them all, but I will admit to a certain freeing quality when writing the character Nina. She’s uncensored, and that’s badass to write.

R: Tell us a bit about your upcoming release, THE ACCIDENTAL GENIE.  What inspired that book?

D: I love genies, and I loved I Dream Of Jeannie, so to have the op to write one, and make up my own rules, was awesome. I’m not sure what inspired the book other than the usual, “Wouldn’t it be funny IF” theory I write most of my books with.

R: What would you do if you ever found a real genie in a bottle? What would your three wishes be?

D: Oh, hell no. I’m not making any wishes—not if all the mythology I’ve read is true. Those genies are some crazy sons o’ bitches! So I’ll stick to the no wish policy. But if it were more like Aladdin wishes, I’d wish for all the homeless pets in the world to have a forever home, real blonde hair instead of my fake, have-to-hit- the-salon-every-few-weeks blonde, and that my son’s are always capable, strong, and well taken care of J

R: Do you have plans for any more “accidental” books?

D: Well, I always have plans… LOLLOL! It just depends on whether my editor is on board the “Plan Train.”

R: Where can our readers find out more about you and your works?

D: You can hit my two Facebook pages—I have a fan and profile page, and I’m on Twitter, too. I’m all up in social networking’s face!

R: Now, Just for Fun:

D: Night or Day?  . Night

Dog or Cat? (answer carefully)  Both. Reptiles, too.

Beach or Pool?   Damn. Both.

Steak or salad?  Sigh. Steak.

Favorite Drink?  Pepsi.

Favorite Book?  The Stand.

Favorite TV Series?  Can’t choose, but Hart Of Dixie has me in total love right now.

Favorite Movie?  Again, wishy-washy here—can’t choose. LOL! But I loved Dodge Ball!

R: Finish this sentence:  If I could meet anyone in the world, past or present, it would be

D: my Dad. I really miss him J___________________

Thanks for a great interview, Dakota!

Folks to keep up with all the latest on Dakota and her newest releases, follow the below links:

Facebook fan page--https://www.facebook.com/DakotaCassidyFanPage

Facebook profile page--https://www.facebook.com/DakotaCassidy

Twitter--https://twitter.com/DakotaCassidy

Website—www.dakotacassidy.com

And now our giveaway: Dakota will be giving away a DIGITAL ARC of “The Accidental Genie!" To enter:
Just leave a comment below with your email address (comments without email addresses will be disqualified, sorry L)  For extra entries you can:

Friend moi or the Human, Toni LoTempio, on Facebook

Follow me on twitter @RoccoBlogger

Follow Dakota on twitter

Like Dakota's fb page, or if you are already a friend, mention that

Tweet, FB or blog about this interview and contest (gets you 3 extra entries).

The contest is open to US residents only and closes midnight, September 16 – winner announced September 17!

And...the winners of our Rebecca Hale giveaway are: Orlando Kat and CarmyBabe 43!  Watch for our email with the details on claiming your prize!

Get crackin’!

On Deck:  Angie Fox and Penny Warner

Stay tuned.  Meow!


ROCCO
INCREDIBLE BLOGGING CAT