(Click the picture above to pre-order this charity anthology for just $0.99!)

Hello !

I don't actually have a bucket list, do you?

Seven years ago I kind of had a list of things I'd like to do before I die. I'd made the list as an exercise in a course I'd taken in my thirties. One of the things on that list was to go skydiving.

It wasn't an active or pressing dream of mine ... it was just something I thought would be fun and, having to think of 100 fun things to do before I die, it made the list.

Well, on my fiftieth birthday, my sweet son, who was nineteen and working a minimum wage job, presented me with a gift that cost him a whole week of pay—sky diving with him—and two trained sky divers, of course!

It was exhilarating and I'm so glad I did it.

I've long since lost that bucket list and have never created a new one. I'd be hard-pressed to think of ten things I'd like to do before my ashes scattered, let alone 100. And that makes me happy, actually.

November 22, 2013

November 22, 2013 might not look like a special date, but it had significance to my mother and father since it was the fiftieth anniversary of their first date.

If you're an American (or a global citizen and a history buff) you might recognize that date as also being the fiftieth anniversary of the day JFK was shot and killed.

Mom, an American, and Dad, a Canadian attending college in New Hampshire, were at a bar when news broke about the shooting. In romance-writing land that is one helluva first date. Definitely one worthy of telling your grandchildren about!

And November 22, 2013 is also the date that I put on a white wedding dress, Dave put himself into a tux and we tied the knot ... in fact, several knots since we got married in a hand-fasting ritual.

I'd never intended to remarry. I was happy living in sin. But Dad had an item on his bucket list that he'd wanted to fulfill for as long as I could remember.

He wanted to perform a marriage ceremony as an officiant.

My parents had three kids, and all of us have been married, but none had a traditional wedding, so Mom and Dad had never attended one of their own kids' weddings. Dad never got to be the officiant that he wanted to be.

On November 19th, 2023 I had no plans to be getting married on the 22nd. But, with Mom and Dad visiting from Quebec, my brother living with me, and my sister offering to host an early Thanksgiving dinner at her home in Washington state, I made a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Dave, aka Mr. Bloom, had proposed with his mother's engagement ring several years earlier. I'd accepted and worn the ring, but never agreed to a date and never planned to—which he knew! But since his mother had passed away, he now had her wedding ring, too. All we needed on short notice was a wedding dress and a cake.

At our local thrift store, I found a wedding dress so perfect it actually made me excited to wear white! And it cost less than the dry cleaning rush job I had done the morning of the afternoon of the special day!

The cake was made by a friend who was a huge fan of the Great British Bake Off! She was game for the challenge and did an incredible job, topping what was a perfect wedding cake with a beautiful fondant flower that I still have.

I wrote vows that were interactive so each person in our small family could participate in the event. And Dad officiated.

The reason it had become important to me to help Dad fulfill that wish was because he was dying and there were so many things he'd hoped to do that he wasn't going to get to in the next few months.

Although Dave and I don't have a legal document that declares us tied, he's referred to me as his wife since that day. And I call him husband because ... why not? Dave and I had our own first date in November 2006 (the most memorable part of that lunch was how terrible the sushi was!) and neither of us has plans to first date another person, so I'm confident that Dad's one time officiating can be declared a success.

A few more first dates for you

NEW RELEASE!

Someone sent Kara's husband a naughty Christmas card with an invitation to meet under the mistletoe at his annual company holiday party. Kara knows she can trust Colt, but what if?

That nagging feeling like she shouldn't ignore the invite won't let her rest. Determined to find out if Colt is being unfaithful, Kara decides to test him with a visit to the party incognito.

Who is that mistletoe vixen?

And what is she to Colt?

$0.99 NEW RELEASE

SHORT READ

After escaping from her abusive ex-boyfriend, Alicia Monsey returns to her hometown to get her life back together. What she doesn’t expect is to bump into Howie Holland, an old classmate who knew about her ugly past and who is now her new boss. Alicia can’t help but notice that there is nothing boyish about Howie anymore. He has grown into a handsome man, one she couldn’t get out of her mind.

Howie Holland never expected that Alicia Monsey, the teenage girl who’d been mean to everyone back in high school, would walk into his office in search of a job. At first glance, Howie realizes that she is no longer that teenager, but a grown woman with curves that could lead anyone to sin.

Ignoring her ugly past, Howie gives her the job and treats her like an old friend. Things are soon looking up for Alicia, and some of her shine returns. But the happiness fades when her ex turns up, ready to drag her back to the hell she’s just escaped. Howie steps in to save her and sweeps her off her feet with his kindness. He soon realizes he has fallen in love with the woman. But is she ready for another relationship after the hell she has been through?

$0.99 SHORT READ

FREE BOOK!

Annika Martin is one of my favorite romantic comedy authors and this whole series is fabulous!

When my manager assigns me the task of finding a new wake up call service for our CEO, I think, how hard can this be?

Answer: practically impossible.

No wake-up call company in the world will take him on as a client. They’ve all had enough of his surly personality.

So in an effort not to lose my job, I secretly start making the calls myself, every day at 4:30 am sharp. OMG yes you read that right—four freaking thirty in the morning.

Confession: I’m not the nicest wake-up-call girl at that hour. Hello! Who wakes up before the roosters are even crowing? Luckily he doesn’t seem to mind my get-your-ass-out-of-bed attitude.

Day by day we’re becoming closer, and the calls start turning hot, like pay-by-the-minute hot and oh-so-wild. Snuggled under the covers with the moonlight streaming in the windows, we divulge our secrets to each other, but the one thing that he can never find out is that the sexy vixen who wakes him up every morning is just the lowly assistant who wears frumpy dresses. I can only imagine his disappointment.

Now he wants to take me out on a date and he’s scouring Manhattan to find me. He’s an overachieving billionaire bent on a mission. How much longer can I keep up this charade?

FREE BOOK!

Over to you!

If you celebrated this past week with family and friends and far too much food, send me pix! This Canadian is envious of all the pies that have been tasted!

If, like me, this past week was just another week for you, send a picture of something from a normal day ... the view from a window, a happy pet, the book you're reading ...

Or tell me a story about a memorable first date. Or a bucket list item you've either checked off or still have on your list.

It may take me a few days, but I reply to every email I get.

love & all the memories kind of stuff,

Danika

PS — If you have one dollar left over from your Black Friday shopping, I'd be so grateful if you'd drop it into the fundraising bucket to benefit the National Network of Abortion Funds.

In return, you'll get an anthology with stories by all these fabulous authors:

Liz Alden, Danika Bloom, Lainey Davis, Karen Grey, Tinia Montford, Alexa Rivers, S.E. Rose, Marie Tuhart, Kathy L Wheeler, Sara Whitney, & Addie Woolridge.

Pre-order RESOLVE: A New Year’s Anthology for Choice today! It's available at all ebook retailers.