Under Her Spell by Eliza Daly (Guest Post/Giveaway)

Today I would like to give a warm welcome to romance author, Eliza Daly!

My Cameo Appearances in Under Her Spell

I recently discovered Reading Between the Wines when I was following an author’s blog tour. The name of the blog hooked me--wine and reading, two of my favorite things. Wine makes an appearance in almost all my books, including my debut romance novel Under Her Spell. My characters tend to be red wine drinkers and lately they are really into Malbecs. This made me realize that mypersonality and quirks sometimes sneak into a book without me even realizing it. The following are several appearances I made inUnder Her Spell.

I’m an event planner like the book’s heroine Monica. The big difference between our jobs is that I plan corporate events and Monica plans romantic events.I am all-too-familiar with the challenges she faces throughout the book and it was easy to make her suffer, which of course makes her stronger in the end.

The book is set in Milwaukee where I live. I’ve only set two books in Milwaukee.

Monica’s favorite meal is an Italian dish called Capellini Toscana. I read this book numerous times before I realized I’d used my favorite dish from my favorite restaurant, Mimma’s Café. If you are ever in Milwaukee, I highly recommend Mimma’s.

I make several references to Frank Sinatra tunes. This might be because I often listen to Sinatra while writing and his songs subconsciously made their way into the book.

Monica wears a reproduction of the dress Audrey Hepburn wore to the Larrabee garden party in the movie Sabrina. Audrey is the epitome of style and grace and my all-time favorite actress. I also reference Breakfast at Tiffany’sin the book. You’ll find Audrey making cameo appearances in many of my books.

The book’s hero Reed is Irish. In one scene he reminisces about taking his mother to Ireland and singing Irish pub songs. I’ve been tracing my Irish ancestry for five years and have traveled there three times to meet me rellies. I have two pub CDs I sing along to in the privacy of my car.

Monica plans a Packer-themed event. I was born and raised in Wisconsin and my father has season tickets, so I’m a Packer backer.

Monica holds a romantic event at Bastille Days, a French festival that takes place in Milwaukee. I love all things French. I studied at the Sorbonne University in Paris for a semester in college. I speak French, but not very well. I did manage to include a few French phrases in the book.

Monica also holds an event at the Renaissance Faire. I attendthe Faire annually and actually conducted research there for some of the New Age ideas used in the book.

Monica inadvertently helps her cousin cast a negative spell on her cheating hubby. It’s up to the reader’s imagination whether or not the spell holds any real power, or if her husband is merely suffering a run of bad luck. While writing Under Her Spell, I had a good friend going through a nasty separation and I found this plotline very therapeutic. After all, I write fiction to make all my dreams come true.

Is your personality reflected in your job?

Thanks so much Crystal for having me here today and helping me celebrate the release of Under Her Spell. I would like to give away two e-copies of Under Her Spell. To be eligible to win one, please answer the above question or leave an insightful comment on my post. Thank you to everyone who stopped by today. Please check out future stops on my blog tour, ending November 27. I’ll be giving away a variety of gifts.

Book Blurb for Under Her Spell

When a series of failed relationships and business ventures have Monica Jackson doubting her self-worth, she turns to spell casting to attract positive energy and the opportunities needed to achieve her goals.  But can Monica’s belief in spells restore her belief in herself?

Monica creates a spell to find her soul mate, and one to ensure the success of her new romantic event planning company, Enhance Your Romance.  Monica is confident she has found her niche until divorce lawyer Reed Walker opens a practice next door to her office.  The anti-marriage slogan plastered on his office window, and his down-on-love clients, quickly prove detrimental to Monica’s business.  When his arrival appears to trigger a string of bad luck, Monica fears one of her spells sent negative energy into the universe and it has returned to her threefold.  Although Reed is beyond sexy, and she admires his self-confidence, she’ll do whatever it takes to get the universe back on her side, and Reed out of her life. No way is she losing another business.
Reed finds himself attracted to Monica’s beauty and her optimism. His job and his parents’ divorce have made him a pessimist, especially when it comes to love. However, he soon finds that Monica’s pro-love attitude is rubbing off on him, causing him to lose his edge.  If Reed doesn’t distance himself from Monica, he’ll likely destroy his reputation as a pit bull divorce lawyer.
Can Monica and Reed look past what they might be losing to realize the love they have found?

Under Her Spell is available at Amazon,iTunes,Google Play, Kobo, eBooks and Barnes & Noble.

Author Bio

Eliza Daly’s first attempt at creative writing was in fourth grade. She and her friends were huge Charlie’s Angels fans and she would sit in her bedroom at night writing scripts for them to act out at recess the following day. She was Kelly Garrett. Fast forward to the present, she’s still writing stories about beautiful women who always get their men. The journey from fourth grade script writer to published author wasn’t an easy one, but it was always an adventure and the final destination was well worth it.
When Eliza isn’t traveling for her job as an event planner, or tracing her ancestry roots through Ireland, she’s at home in Milwaukee working on her next novel, bouncing ideas off her husband Mark, and her cats Quigley and Frankie.

You can find Eliza on the web at Website, Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

~*GIVEAWAY*~

As Eliza mentioned above, she is giving away an eBook of Under Her Spell to two readers. To enter, just leave a comment on this post answering her question and then fill out the Rafflecopter below. Additional entries are available but not required. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway