March Into Romance with Harlequin PART 3 ~ DAIRE ST. DENIS ~

Sweet Seduction (Harlequin Blaze)

by Daire St. Denis

All it takes is one sweet taste… 

Daisy Sinclair knows how to make a guy moan with raw pleasure. She should, as owner of the best damn bakery in Chicago. Her cinnamon buns are borderline orgasmic! Of course, standing in front of the city's biggest (and sexy-as-hell) food critic in her skivvies isn't the most professional first impression. Especially when he has a wicked glint in his eye… 

Jamie Forsythe isn't exactly a food critic; his twin brother is. One look at Daisy's mouthwatering curves, and Jamie knows only that he wants to have his cake and Daisy, too. Attraction mixed with deception is a recipe for disaster—the naughtiest, hottest kind imaginable. And there's no way Jamie can resist being sent to bed…with Daisy as dessert!

      Song Playlist: A prepared playlist of songs that embodies the book’s characters and their love story.

Hot Stuff - Donna Summers

Lady in Red – Chris de Burgh,

Stressed Out - Twenty-One Pilots

Theme song from Rocky

In the End – Linkin Park

Sweet Thing - cover by Hozier

Change – Taylor Swift

I Choose You – Sara Bareilles

·         How-to Tips for Aspiring Writers: Tips for those looking to get their work published/break into the industry.

1.      Write – even if it’s only 5/10 minutes per day

2.      Join writing groups

3.      Write

4.      Go to writers conferences, network with writers and industry professionals, pitch

5.      Write

6.      Read books on writing, read books for pleasure, read, read, read

7.      Write

·         Writer’s Space: Photos and a brief description of the place where you do your writing. (See attached)

·         Love Lessons Learned: Real life romance lessons learned from the book.

The biggest obstacle faced by the characters in Sweet Seduction is overcoming a sense of not feeling worthy of love, which I think is a pretty relatable emotion. For the heroine, Daisy, she has always felt unloved by her mother and needed to resolve that relationship in order to move on. For Jamie, he felt responsible for his sister’s death and didn’t feel happiness was possible for him. When faced with the possibility of a meaningful and loving relationship, Jamie and Daisy sabotage things as a form of self-preservation, protecting themselves from repeating whatever injury they suffered in their past.

So, the lesson that Jamie and Daisy learn in the book is that in order to be loved, they have to first forgive themselves, and/or the person who hurt them. In addition, they must be willing to be vulnerable, which is incredibly scary when your psyche warns you that you’ll only be hurt again. However, the characters learn that a willingness to be hurt is the only way to grow and in the end it is so worth it because being with the person you love--cooking together, christening countertops together--is the best thing ever!

·         Movie Star Cast: Assemble a real life cast using movie stars to play your characters, in an on screen adaptation.

Daisy Sinclair – Zooey Deschanel

Jamie Forsythe – Charlie Hunnam

Colin Forsythe (hero’s twin brother) – Charlie Hunnam

Gloria Hurst (the best friend) – Brittany Snow

Cynthia Sinclair (heroine’s mother) – Angelina Jolie

AJ (Cynthia’s boyfriend) – Jon Hamm

Lizzie (crazy coworker) – Lena Dunham

·         FrankenBachelor: Create the bachelor of all bachelors from three famous studs.

David Beckham’s bod and tatts (tasty). Benedict Cumberbatch’s voice (gives me shivers just thinking about him whispering in my ear), Ryan Reynolds personality (perfect mix of playful and sexy, mmmm).

Cinnamon Buns – By Lady Laine and Daire

½ cup warm water                                                                  Butter (room temperature)

1 tbsp yeast                                                                             Brown sugar

1 tsp sugar                                                                               Cinnamon

½ cup butter or margarine (room temperature)                       Pecans (optional)

3 cups warm water

¾ cups white sugar

1 tsp salt

3 eggs beaten

9 cups flour

This is an all-day affair but the results are so worth it!

Turn oven on until cozy warm and then turn it off but keep the light on as it helps to keep the oven warm.

In an x-large bowl, add half a cup of warm water. Sprinkle one tbsp of yeast over the top and sprinkle one tsp of sugar over the top of the yeast. Let the mixture sit for approximately 10 minutes until frothy.

Add ½ cup of butter or margarine (room temp), 3 cups warm water, ¾ cup white sugar, 1 tsp salt and 3 eggs (beaten). Add the 9 cups of flour (3 cups at a time). Use hands by the end. The dough should feel elastic-y and smooth. Rub butter over the dough and put a tea towel over the top and place the bowl in your cozy oven.

·         Let the dough rise until it doubles (approximately 1.5-2 hours).

·         Punch the dough down, spread more butter over the top so it doesn’t dry out and place it back in the oven to rise again. It should take less time the second go around (~ ¾ hours).

·         Punch the dough again.

·         Divide the dough into three pieces. Cover up other two pieces.

·         On floured board, roll out section of dough into a nice thin rectangle (~¼ of an inch).

·         Spread softened butter over the whole rectangle. Cover all in brown sugar (light coating but completely covered). Sprinkle cinnamon liberally over the entire surface. Drizzle corn syrup over top.

·         Once done, roll the dough along the long side of the rectangle. Squeeze the ends.

·         Prepare your pans by greasing all sides and bottom. Sprinkle brown sugar over the surface and drizzle more corn syrup (this creates a caramel coating so that icing is unnecessary). If you want thick buns, use deep pans and place rolls closer together. For shorter buns, use a cookie sheet and place rolls a little farther apart.

·         Slice your roll and place in prepared pans. Let rise ½ hour to ¾ hour in warm oven until ready.

·         Bake at 350 until golden (approx. 20 minutes depending on oven).

·         Once finished. Flip onto parchment and use spatula to scrape gooey caramel over buns.

Enjoy!

Daire’s Work Space

With tons of windows, I love how bright and sunny my office space is. The windows also function as a bulletin board and a place to write encouraging messages to myself so that every time I look up, I’m inspired. From my office, I look out onto a lovely green space where deer wander by on a daily basis. I’ve got my sitting desk straight ahead, and to the right is my standing desk. The room has lots of bookshelves and I use my white board for plotting. Another essential piece of furniture is my red chaise lounge. This is a great place for me to read, to daydream, to work and occasionally to nap (don’t tell!). I also keep workout equipment in my office, mostly for decorative purposes and as toys for my pets J. Behind my chair are cross-country ski poles because when I need a break in the winter, I go skiing right out my back door. Ahh! Love my space!