Fast and Furious!

That’s how I like my dialogue–fast and furious! From Amazon Prime’s Fleabag (with undying ADORATION of Phoebe Waller-Bridge) to Netflix’s Workin’ Moms and Catherine Reitman, I am head-over-heels for tap-dance dialogue and the heroines who spew it.

And, I’m thrilled to report that my Maui Murder Mystery, Haole Wood, made the cut in this delightful video book review: one of 9 witty romance novels with sharp dialogue and clever characters! 

Please take a look at this lovely–very fun video–and discover your next thrill!

Thank you!

With awestruck appreciation and admiration to the talented Wiki.ezvid.com!

❤️

Winner — National Indie Excellence Award (Chick Lit, 2014)

Winner — San Diego Book Awards, (Romance, 2013) 

Finalist — Next Generation Indie Book Awards 

Nominee – Readers’ Choice Awards, Books and Pals

“Fans of Marian Keyes and Cecelia Ahern will delight in Dee DeTarsio’s sparkling prose and lively dialogue. Filled with love, loss, betrayal, and challenges that force her characters to find their place in the universe, Dee’s books laugh at the sadness of life.”

                  All My Restless Life to Live

A Soap Opera writer unravels a mystery from her dead dad’s computer in a divinely funny journey . . .

Life is a soap opera, especially for Elle Miller, who writes for one. (Ellen dropped the “n” in her name in hopes of finding a better ending for herself.) When her laptop crashes, she borrows her recently deceased dad’s computer and gets way more than she bargained for.

Elle unravels mysterious communications from his computer, while her mom decides to give Internet dating a try. As Elle tries to save her career at I’d Rather Be Loved with a storyline featuring a trip through Atlantis, she takes a trip to the Emmys, and finds herself in the middle of a romance between a real doctor and a hunk who just plays one on TV. Friends, family, and clues from “the other side” all help Elle figure out the difference between living the good life . . . and living a good life.

“Dee DeTarsio is easily the next Sophie Kinsella. Her writing is fast-paced, hilarious, and engaging. I loved The Scent of Jade and am hopelessly heels-over-head for The Kitchen Shrink.” —Chick Lit & Wine

Haole Wood

Haole Wood is a 2013 Next Generation Indie Book Awards finalist, and, a winner in The San Diego Book and Writing Awards.
When San Diego weathercaster, Jaswinder Park, is mysteriously summoned to the island of Maui in Hawaii to help her grandmother, she ends up losing her job. This fair-haired, light-skinned foreigner, called haole by the natives, decides to stay in Maui for a couple of days until she can figure out what to do with her life. She realizes that her quick trip to Maui may not be all she’s hoping for when:

• She has to bail her Hawaiian/Korean grandmother out of jail for possession of pakalolo.
• The only thing she can understand her grandmother say is: “Not that.”
• She can’t decide which hurts worse, her sunburn, hangover, or memories of the night before.
• She’s labeled the “Liquor Licker” on the front page of the Maui News in a photo that shows her doing a shot of tequila with a hunky Hawaiian who’s been found dead.
• It seems she’s had orgasms that have lasted longer than her career.
• She scrapes the bottom of the barrel to find her guardian angel.

Beautiful fabric found in her grandmother’s closet unfolds a future for Jaswinder as she designs sensuous silky wraps called sunshminas that provide sun protection. She tries for a Hollywood connection, but her company, Haole Wood, has some growing pains. From trying to find a killer, to selling her sunshminas, to lusting after Dr. Jac, the island dermatologist, to trying to ignore her so-called guardian angel, can Jaswinder learn to embrace the island way of life? Aloha!

The Scent of Jade “Romancing The Stone” meets “Survivor” — Julie Fraser is the least adventurous person she knows…until she hops on a plane to surprise her husband who’s on a business trip in Costa Rica. Reeling from the discovery that her husband isn’t who she thought he was, she embarks on an unexpected rainforest adventure that leaves her not knowing where to turn, literally, or whom to trust. She knew she should have stayed home! Can a monkey, a Latin hunk, and a mysterious ‘love potion’ help Julie on her mission to find and forgive her husband? The Scent of Jade was a finalist in The San Diego Book and Writing Awards.

The Kitchen Shrink If your lifeʼs a mess, your house could probably use a makeover, too! Welcome to the behind-the-scenes world of reality TV in The Kitchen Shrink, for the ultimate life and home makeover. Unable to squirm out of this “it will be fun” opportunity, Lisby tries to juggle her upstairs-behind-the-scenes-life with her downstairs-in-front-of-the-camera persona, where everything she says and does can and will be used against her. Hopefully, the show doesn’t find out about her fling with that hunky carpenter. Or that she and her friend smoked hootch she found in her daughter’s room. Lisby cannot believe what a freak show her life has become. At least no one knows about her crush on Sam, Sam, the Cameraman . . . Lisby tries to find her way as the TV cameras capture her every move, zooming in on drama with her kids, her ex, her mom and her best friend. Stay tuned for Lisby’s extreme close-up as she becomes a jilted laughingstock on national TV. All is lost . . . or is it?   The Kitchen Shrink was a finalist in The San Diego Book and Writing Awards.

Ros

Ros is dedicated to that smart, funny, sad, put-upon, brave part of your soul that makes this world a brighter place. Women’s fiction with a twist . . . think Starman meets ET . . .

When a plane crashed behind Micki Cramer’s house, in San Diego, California, she kept waiting for the sirens and rescue team to show up. As the first responder, it was up to her to tug on the arm that was waving out of the broken wreckage. Holding her breath against the choking smoke, she managed to get the pilot out and carry him to safety into her backyard. He wasn’t that heavy; he was about the size of her 10-year-old nephew, who did play a lot of video games and ate nothing but Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, but still. As it turns out, he wasn’t a guy after all.

Ros, the pilot, was on a mission to find her missing brother who had crash-landed at Roswell, New Mexico in 1947. Seems she was a bad driver, too, missing her target by nearly a thousand miles and more than half a century.

If Ros can teach Micki how to use eleven percent of her brain, how can Micki help Ros?

‘Til Somebody Loves You – Romantic Comedy

When a copywriter for a Chicago ad agency has to promote a new celebrity fragrance, she’s convinced its secret ingredient is the key to her happily-ever-after! MaryBeth Winters weaves advertising slogans with sweet dreams about her office crush, Dean Dineno. Adventures along the way help her discover how much fun it is to be a damsel in distress—who can also save the day! Novella with a new look! Young Adult/New Adult — Mature Subject Matter!