Mira Lyn Kelly gets the Truth or Dare dish on fellow authors
Mira Lyn Kelly, author of Truth or Dare, joins HEA to dish with some author buds about Truth or Dare games of the past.
Mira: So show of hands — who's played Truth or Dare? Oh yep, you, you, uh huh, I see lots of hands … and, hey, you in the back creeping for the door like you've got something good to hide — I'll totally be plying you with wine in exchange for dish later!
And ooh look, there's Catherine Bybee, New York Times bestselling author of the Weekday Brides series. Hey, girl! Have you played?
Catherine: What self-respecting teenage kid growing up in the U.S. hasn't played Truth or Dare? Before cell phones, we kids spent a lot of time in the same place and actually had to come up with our own entertainment.
Truth or Dare was the game of choice to break the ice between the boys and the girls. Do I remember any particular time I played? No, but I do remember kissing more guys playing that game than at any other time in my junior high school life.
Mira: (Nods, tossing a pinch of Pop Rocks back with a Jolt Cola chaser) I know, right?! I too come from that far away time before cell phones, commonly referred to as "back in the day." And yeah, totally earned my Kissing Bandit badge thanks to good old "Truth or Dare" and some rather spotty chaperoning on the seventh-grade Washington, D.C., trip. Anyhooo …
Well, my goodness, look who else is here. It's the fabulous Jessica Lemmon, author of the Love in the Balance series! What a COMPLETE surprise. How about you, Jessica — any tales from the Truth or Dare vault?
Jessica: When I was 10, I requested my friend to dare me to kiss her brother because I thought he was cute. She did. I kissed him. He was not happy about it.
Mira: (Hugs) I hear you with the whole best-laid-plans business. Once, I was playing with the specific goal of getting dared to kiss this cute boy I'd been crushing hard over for months and instead, someone else dared this NOT cute boy who I generally avoided like the plague to kiss ME, lol. Actually, when I think back, that boy who kissed me had future entrepreneurial billionaire written all over him. I bet he's got a good HEA story … (Note to self: Schedule some QT with Facebook this afternoon.)
Wait, no … WAY. It's RITA-award winner Molly O'Keefe right up front here … what a CRAZY coincidence. So, Molly, how about you? Any Truth or Dare dish to share??
Molly: My first kiss was a product of Truth or Dare!! We were at a church lock-in (where ALL the good stuff happens). I picked Dare when it was my turn, and I kissed a very sweet guy named Brook. No tongue —it was a church lock-in, after all …
Mira: That is … awesome! And totally backs up my theory that the key to successful Truth or Dare play is spotty chaperoning. Though some might argue, equally important is the kind of suspension of responsibility that's only truly achievable through those precious few junior high years. All too soon, we realize there's no free pass when it comes to our actions. Something Tyler and Maggie from Truth or Dare (first in my sexy new Chicago-set Dare to Love series) know all too well — OK, except for that one time when Maggie went all Red Bull on her liquid allergy medicine and tried to — no, no, story for another time. :-)
How about this, since my friends and I've been dishing deets on our Truth or Dare experiences, how about you guys share some of your own? Not gonna lie … the more embarrassing, the better!!
(Hugs) Mira
P.S. Truth or Dare is available now, and here's the blurb:
After her one attempt at commitment ends in the worst kind of betrayal, Maggie Lawson vows that the only people she'll love 'til death do they part will be her friends. Unfortunately that means Maggie letting her bestie rope her into a year-long dating dare: score a new date each month or pay a penalty. Seems doable—until Maggie's date stands her up, leaving only one option: the sexy stud who just moved in upstairs. The problem? He and Maggie can't stop fighting—and that's just the beginning.
His name is Tyler Wells and the last thing he needs is his neighbor distracting him with her girl-next-door smile and sharp tongue. Tyler's in Chicago for one reason: to woo back his selfish ex in order to reclaim the child he once thought was his—and that means keeping Maggie out of his bed. A tall order, since Maggie has become a bigger temptation than he ever expected to face. But before they can even consider leaving the past behind, Maggie and Tyler must accept a brand-new dare: real, forever love.
Find out more about Mira and her books at www.miralynkelly.com.