Welcome Guest Blogger and Debut Author Cynthia D'Alba!

Hi everyone! I'm so excited to introduce my friend Cynthia D'Alba to everyone here at Killer Fiction. Cyndi and I met six years ago at a conference in Florida and have been meeting up at conferences ever since--she's one of my all-time favorite people. Please make her feel welcome, she's such a doll, I knew she'd fit right in! I can't wait to read Texas Two Step so I'm off to preorder it right now.



This post is proudly a stop on the TEXAS TWO STEP Blog Tour. For a complete listing of all stops on this tour, please visit here. All contests are for U.S. residents only unless otherwise noted. Comments left on this blog will be counted toward the Texas Two Step Faithful Follower Gift Certificate. To see a complete listing of Blog Tour Prizes, click here. Be sure to check out the freebies. Yours for the asking as long as they last.

Thanks and BIG HUGS to Robin Kaye for hosting me today. I met Robin way back in 2006 when we were both unpublished. Since that time, I’ve watched Robin become a major contemporary author and I get to say…I knew her when! ☺ Thanks Robin.



Today marks the seven-day countdown to the release of my debut, Texas Two Step. If this is the first time you’ve stumbled across my OMG-I-HAVE-A-BOOK-BEING-PUBLISHED tour, I’m glad to see you! For the past week, I’ve been posting installments of Texas Two Step-The Prequel. In today’s episode we continue The First Date. Click here if you want to read today’s episode and for links to earlier installments.

Mitch and Olivia (my hero and heroine from Texas Two Step) meet and date during college so I thought today we should talk about college dating. It can be brutal, can’t it?

When I was a freshman at the University of Arkansas, all the girls were required to live in dorms and could not pledge sororities until their sophomore year. Freshman guys could pledge fraternities, so there was no lack of fraternity parties to attend and lots of pledges needing dates. The freshman class came from all over the state. Sure, some people knew others in the class but mostly we were strangers to each other. Honestly I didn’t make that many friends in classes I took. I was pre-nursing so classes with guys were limited. When it came to dating, blind dates were commonplace. But remember, we didn’t know each other so how did we link up for the date?

The dorm I lived in was four stories. Guys weren’t allowed in our rooms except for certain times of the day or week. (I don’t remember the criteria that governed boys in our rooms but yes, it was a long time ago!) When a guy came to pick up his date, he would call her room to tell her he was downstairs. Since the vast majority of these dates were for frat parties, the lobby would be packed with guys picking up dates. But remember, lots of these were blind dates. We didn’t have a clue what the date looked like. So you’d hear lots of clothes descriptions. “I’m wearing a yellow shirt and a pair of khaki pants”, then the girl would describe what she was wearing, “I’m in a denim skirt and tan top.” So when she hit the lobby, she’d be searching for a yellow shirt and khaki while he was looking for a girl in a tan top and jean skirt. They’d connect and off they’d go.

However, it was not unheard of for the guy to lie about what he was wearing. He wasn’t in a yellow shirt and khaki pants but he knew what she wore to look for her. Why would they do this? Can you guess? The guy was checking her out FIRST. If she wasn’t to his liking, he wouldn’t “claim” his date and could sneak out the door! Seriously. Here’s this girl wandering around looking for a guy in an outfit that didn’t exist. Horrors!
Luckily this never happened to me. But I know plenty of guys who used this ruse to slip out on a date. Cads, don’t you think?

So what was the worst date you went on or heard about? Make us laugh. Or Cringe. Or go hunt up some guy from college who left you standing in the lobby as he sneaked out.

Today’s TTS Blog Tour Prize
Many guest bloggers can offer a copy of a backlist book to be given away as a potential prize for a blog commenter. As a debut author, I don’t have a backlist. But I do have some awesome author friends who have stepped forward and offered one of their books as a prize.


Today’s TTS Blog Tour Author Sponsor is Indie Press Author Margery Scott. Margery is offering her book, Devil’s Harvest, to one lucky person who leaves a comment. To find out more about today’s Blog Tour Sponsor, you can visit her Website, Twitter or Facebook.


To learn more about me check out these links:

Website , Facebook, Twitter, Group Blog, and Personal Blog
And if those aren’t enough, sign up for inside scoops and special contests by receiving the newsletter I share with my blog buddies.

Remember! Leave a comment for a chance to win Margery’s books!

Texas Two Step is available for preordering at Samhain, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.

I will be forever in your debt if you would buy it!

Tomorrow, I’ll be at Romance University talking about finding names for your characters. The Prequel will continue on Thursday. Thanks for reading and leaving a comment.