Haunted Hotel by Tia Dani

As a writer sometimes you need to get away and re-charge your brain.  The best way we found to light a fire under our dormant muse is to hang out with like-minded friends, brainstorming, eating chocolate, and drinking wine.  We do this several times a year by going on a weekend retreat at a fun place in our state.  And nothing is more fun for us than staying in a hotel that is supposedly haunted.  For us half the fun is delving into ghost lore and learning the story behind the haunting then exaggerate it to another level.

A couple of years ago a group of our writer friends reserved the entire third floor of the Jerome Grand Hotel. Jerome AZ is an old mining town set on the side of a mile-high mountain now mostly home to artists who sell their work in the local shops. Originally the Grand Hotel was the United Verde Hospital, but as mine operations phased out the hospital closed and remained vacant until the building was turned into the Jerome Grand Hotel. Local legend tells the story of a lady who roams the building looking for her daughter who died at birth.

"What makes the Jerome Grand Hotel a worthwhile place to stay, is the fact that this is probably one of the most active haunted locations in the world," according to www.ghostlyfavorites.com 

As we checked into the hotel we were told stories of strange noises coming from empty rooms such as coughing, labored breathing, and even voices.  We were told not to be surprised if the lights or TV's turned on and off by themselves.  Spines tingled in anticipation of a ghostly encounter as we made our way toward our rooms.  The first night, several of the girls reported strange sensations and several said they felt cold spots in the hallway but nothing unusual happened to us…yet. 

On Saturday night, the Jerome Grand took our group on a fun ghost hunt where we got some great orb pictures.  We didn't see any ghosts while on the tour, but some creepy events happened to us after we went to bed.  Our room phone rang at midnight waking us up, but when answered, no one was there. The ringing phone was a bit spooky, but the scariest of all was the feeling of panic Bev aka/Dani had as unseen hands tugged on her body as if trying to scoot her off the mattress.  Since the hotel was once a hospital could it have been a nurse trying to move a patient?  Convincing ourselves it was only a dream, we tried to go back to sleep, until Chris aka/Tia screamed that someone had yanked her hair.  After that happened neither of us slept until the sun came up.

When we all met up for breakfast Kathy Twohawks complained that someone or something had pinched her hard during the night. She rolled up her sleeve and showed us the beginning of a large bruise on her arm.

Were all these incidents real or just active imaginations of creative romance writers?  A personal experience can either change your mind or reinforce your belief in paranormal activity.  We believe there are things that can't be explained.  And, besides, who doesn't love a good ghost story?

Our next book has a couple who are trapped in time by an evil shape-shifter. We're finishing up the last chapter as we write this blog. Meanwhile check out our latest release, Time's Enduring Love. It's a time travel set in Kansas during 1866. We think you will enjoy reading it and we promise that you won't be scared.

Happy Halloween,

Tia Dani

http://bookswelove.net/tiadani.php

Using a Pen Name

As promised we are giving our friends and readers a chance to get to know us a little better. The second question that pops up after why write as a team is "Why write under a pen name?"

Using a Pen/ Pseudonym is a personal decision. There are many reasons to use one. For us the decision was made because at the time we still had plans to publish stories on our own and when we did we would use our real names. Plus the first story we published was erotic and we were a bit self-conscious about how our families might react when they found out.

After our second book was contracted and became successful, we made the decision to put all our future work fully under Tia Dani. We registered the trade name and formed a partnership.  From that time on we looked at our writing as a business and Tia Dani was our business name.

How we came up with the name Tia Dani is interesting as well. We thought long and hard on a name to use first, Bev came up with the suggestion to put our 'middle' names together.  That didn't work because Christine doesn't have a middle name. However Christine really liked the name KrisTia. She used it for a while but eventually shortened it to Tia.

Bev's middle name is Ann.  Tia Ann didn't quite have the ring we wanted. So we decided to go to the mall, walk around, and brainstorm.  While running through a few names to go with Tia (not to mention trying on so many pairs of shoes our feet hurt, spraying ourselves with various types of perfume making us smell like a bordello, and…of course…sampling assorted chocolates and caramel corn) the name Dani was thrown in the mix. We both loved it. Bev likes being called Dani. It fits her. So Tia Dani was created. It was later we realized that Tia Dani in Spanish means Aunt Dani. But we don't care, it's a pretty name and seems to be well liked. So far, no one has asked whose aunt we are.

As most of you know writers are generally a shy group. This is why a pen name has worked well for us. Not that we are shy in front of others but using our pen name makes it easier and a little more fun. It's kinda like acting. When we give a workshop as Tia Dani, we like to role play. It takes away the Christine and Bev thinks, to Tia Dani says…

Anyway, that's our pen name story and we're sticking with it.

A second thing we thought about is several of our friends use a pen name to keep their writing identity secret from employers of their day jobs. It might work but it's not that easy to remain anonymous. Publishers are required to report to the IRS (via Form 1099) of payments made to writers, which means they need your real name along with your social security number.

Well…that was fun reliving our beginnings, but now we need to get back to work. We are wrapping up our next story, a paranormal set in the northern part of AZ. We have shape-shifters, ancient legends, apache warriors, magic, and reincarnation. And always a little romance. We hope reading Call down the Darkness will bring you as much joy as we have had in writing it.

See you next month,

Tia Dani

Authors of, Time's Enduring Love.

5 Stars for Times Enduring Love

Rating: 

Manic Readers Reviews

Reviewer: Alberta 

Review:

Libby, a doctor, and her dad are sucked into a time warp where they end up far from the 21st century, back in the 1880s, pioneering. There, Libby falls n love, but it seems like they are not the only time travelers. Others have come this way before, as well as travelling into the future. Now they must decide which era they want to be in, and which people they are going to take back to another time.

I love time travel books, and I loved Time’s Enduring Love too. I especially like it when someone in the past manages to get a message to someone in the future, as happens in this book. If you like time travel romances, you will love this one. Lots of twists and turns, and I think this is the best Tia Dani story yet.

Maybe a continuation of this story could end up in a Christmas anthology some time, because we didn’t get to see how they all celebrated Christmas in this one, which I think would make a great plot.

                     Time's Enduring Love 

by Tia Dani
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Haunted Retreat

As a writer sometimes you just need to get away and re-charge your brain cells.  The best way we light a fire under our dormant muse is to hang out with like-minded friends, brainstorming, eating chocolate and drinking wine.  We do this several times a year by going on a weekend retreat at a fun place in our state.  And nowhere is more fun to us than staying in a hotel that is supposedly haunted.  For us as writers the fun of delving into ghost lore comes from learning the story behind the haunting and then exaggerating it to another level.

We blogged about this retreat once before, but today we were reminded about how much fun we'd had and how we need to do it again.  maybe this post will bring back all the memories and get us motivated. 

In the spirit of Halloween, here's our ghost story.

 

One of our favorite places to visit is Jerome, AZ.  Jerome is an old mining town set on the side of a mile-high mountain.  The timeworn, crumbling buildings are now home to mostly artists who sell their work in the shops lining the main street.  Jerome is a wonderful little town to purchase gifts of sparkly jewelry, scented candles, lovely paintings and beautiful handmade clothing.  And when you get hungry you must stop in the Haunted Hamburger for lunch, but be sure to save room for dinner.  The Asylum, the dining room in the Jerome Grand Hotel features mouth-watering entrees and a great wine list.  Besides, you never know who might drop in to say ‘hello’ while you’re dining there.  Local legend tells the story of a lady who roams the building looking for her daughter who died at birth.

A couple of years ago during October a group from our local RWA chapter reserved the entire third floor of the Jerome Grand Hotel, which sits on top of the mountain.  This Spanish mission style building, constructed in 1926, started out as the United Verde Hospital.  In 1930, it was known as the most modern and well equipped hospital in Arizona and possibly the Western States.  In 1950 as the mine operation was being phased out, the hospital was closed and the building remained vacant for 44 years.  In 1994 the building was sold and the new owners turned it into the Jerome Grand Hotel.

When the hotel doors were opened in 1997, the haunting began.

“What makes the Jerome Grand Hotel a worthwhile place to stay, is the fact that this is probably one of the most active haunted locations in the world,” according to www.ghostlyfavorites.com.

As we checked into the hotel we were told stories of strange noises coming from empty rooms such as coughing, labored breathing, and even voices.  We were told not to be surprised if the lights or TV's turned on and off by themselves.  As we made our way toward our room, our spines tingled in anticipation of a ghostly encounter.  Several in our party felt cold spots in the hallway and there were reports of strange sensations. 

On Saturday night, the Jerome Grand took our group on a fun ghost hunt where we got some great orb pictures.  We didn’t see any ghosts while on the tour, but some creepy events happened to us after we went to bed.  Our room phone rang at midnight waking us up, but when answered, no one was there. The ringing phone was a bit spooky, but the scariest of all was the feeling of panic Bev aka/Dani had as unseen hands tugged on her body as if trying to scoot her off the mattress.  Since this hotel was once a hospital could it have been a nurse trying to move a patient?  Convincing ourselves this was only a dream we tried to go back to sleep, until Chris aka/Tia screamed that someone had yanked her hair.  After that happened neither of us slept until the sun came up.

Was all this real or just active imaginations of creative romance writers?   A personal experience can either change your mind or reinforce your belief in paranormal activity.  We believe there are things that can't be explained.  And, besides, who doesn’t love a good ghost story?

Our next story will have a ghost in it. We're finishing up the last chapter as we write this blog. Meanwhile check out our latest release, Time's Enduring Love. It's a time travel set in Kansas during 1866. We think you will enjoy reading it and we promise that you won't be scared.

Happy Halloween,

Tia Dani

http://bookswelove.net/tiadani.php

Time's Enduring Love by Tia Dani

Time's Enduring Love

Libby Strammon believed her life was on track. A young woman of the tumultuous 1960's, she worked hard to fulfill her dream of becoming a doctor so she could open a practice in the small Kansas farming community where she was raised. But when a perilous storm sweeps her back a hundred years into the past she is forced to rely on her instincts while navigating the changed world that a hundred years difference has wrought.

Kansas Volunteer, Lieutenant Matthew Dome's magnetic attraction to the slightly odd woman who appeared out of nowhere wars with past promises made—promises he'd failed to keep. He yearns to have the fascinating spitfire by his side, but can't let go of the past and his guilt long enough to convince himself she belongs in his life.

When circumstances send Libby and Matthew into danger, and a buried secret is revealed, Libby races against time to choose between returning to the 20th century she is familiar with or remain with Matthew who loves her but failed her once before?

http://www.amazon.com/Times-Enduring-Love-ebook/dp/B00EVXABV0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1378345765&sr=8-2&keywords=Time%27s+Enduring+love


We hope you enjoy reading our latest release.  As you know we write in various genres, but it seems like time travel/paranormal and fantasy is our favorite.
We've been thinking about promo ideas so if any of you readers have an idea about what you'd like to see from us, please let us know.  Tia (Chris) makes some lovely jewelry and greeting cards.  We will be having some contests very soon and we're happy to offer either as gifts.

Check back often because we are planning some fun events.

Have a great week,
Tia Dani

Tia Dani is a multi-published writing team made up of good friends, Christine E Jones (Tia) and Beverly (Dani) Petrone. Together they create endearing and realistic characters, humorous dialogue, and unusual settings, and, best of all…they’re having the time of their lives.

Find us at Amazon, The Wild Rose Press, Breathless Press, and Books We Love