Dana Marie Bell wrote her first short story when she was thirteen years old. She attended the High School for Creative and Performing Arts for creative writing, where freedom of expression was the order of the day. When her parents moved out of the city and placed her in a Catholic high school for her senior year she tried desperately to get away, but the nuns held fast, and she graduated with honors despite herself.
Dana has lived primarily in the Northeast (Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, to be precise), with a brief stint on the US Virgin Island of St. Croix. She lives with her soul-mate and husband Dusty, their two maniacal children, an evil ice-cream stealing cat and a bull terrier that thinks it’s a Pekinese.
Her next book Very Much Alive comes out this month.
You can learn more about Dana at:
www.danamariebell.com
http://danamariebell.blogspot.com
The Top Three Things Readers May Not Know About Me
1. I’m a caffeine addict who can’t drink coffee. Yup, that’s right. All those times you see me moaning about how my brain doesn’t boot up in the morning without caffeine, I’m sitting there sipping either Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi or Bigelow’s Spiced Chai tea with non-dairy creamer and Splenda. For some reason, coffee upsets my stomach for days, so I just avoid the stuff now. Don’t ask me why soda doesn’t do the same thing. I’m just weird that way.
2. I play MMORPG’s. I can almost here the “Whu? What is that?” Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games, or MMORPG’s. The best known: World of Warcraft, which my husband Dusty and I just recently started playing. We’ve played Everquest, Everquest II, City of Heroes/Villians (which we still play), and Tabula Rasa (which we will miss, since we enjoyed it and it’s going away). It’s something we both like doing, alone, together and grouping with friends.
3. My luscious red hair color is fake. Yup, I worship at the shrine of Ms. Clairol. All it took was a few gray hairs and I was off browsing the Health and Beauty aisle with a panicked look and a big hat on my head.
Actually, I’ve been dying my hair red since I was sixteen (pre-grays, of course), with one brief, horrendous momentary lapse into black when I was a senior in high school. (Those photos are hidden. Don’t go looking. It was goth/beatnik/emo at its worst. I even wrote bad poetry.) I think my natural color is brown, but it’s been so long since I’ve seen it that I’m no longer sure.
Read about Dana Marie Bell’s book Cat of a Different Color at Samhain’s Website and let us know who Sheri is on the run from. Come back and post your answer to be eligible to win the book.
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Rhonda
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 12:41 pm:
Answer: a big bad wolf—an ex who won’t take no for an answer.
Hi Dana, I’m a caffeine addict too. Normally I don’t drink coffee either. Usually it is Diet Dew for me.
Dana Marie Bell
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 12:55 pm:
Dusty used to be addicted to LiveWire, the orange flavor? Then we got a dentist’s bill of over a thousand dollars. He switched to Diet Sunkist after that. =)
K. Nelson
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 1:10 pm:
I am tee totally with you on both the caffeine addiction and the no coffee rule! I’m a Pepsi gal, too.
That is one hot cat on your cover, grrrr….
Here’s my question for you: What does your family think about the hot sex scenes you write?
Trivia Answer: a big, bad wolf (and ex who won’t take no for an answer). Geez, she’s got one of these, too?
molli
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 1:12 pm:
*hugs her Dana* I’ll drink all that coffe FOR you.
With real sugar..for some reason Splenda makes me ill.
Natasha A.
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 1:15 pm:
Ah, black. Yes, I did that once. It was horrid. I can go a VERY dark brown, but not black. I have you on my to buy list Dana. I just need my hubby to give me permission to buy some books!
LOL Ah, book budget, how I despise you!
To answer your question: She is on the run from a big bad wolf
Maria Lokken
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 1:22 pm:
Hi Dana –
Clairol and I have been best friends for years. I went pre-maturely gray at the age of 20. I thought it was sexy until I saw myself in a family video and for a moment actually wondered “Who’s that old lady?” I made a trip to the drug store quick, fast and in a hurry.
pambook
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 1:26 pm:
Sheri’s running from her x, a big, bad wolf. Hi Dana, I like cat shifters, and have The Wallflower on my Kindle to read this week.
I get my caffeine kick from Coke most of the day, but sure do love my coffee, too, especially in the morning. Dunkin’ Donuts is my favorite. Too bad it bothers you. Aside from the caffeine, more for the flavor, have you tried decaf? I had problems with coffee upsetting my stomach just before I found out I needed my gall bladder out after an attack, and someone else who it upset told me to try decaf, and that I was able to drink fine. Once I got rid of the rotten gall bladder, no problem with the coffee and caffeine anymore.
pambook
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 1:28 pm:
BTW, Dana, you mean you never get to the point of roots showing so you can remember what your natural hair color is? LOL
DarleneW
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 1:28 pm:
Answer She’s on the run from a big bad wolf—an ex who won’t take no for an answer.
How is a Catholic that writes Erotica recieved? Makes me think of a prostitute nun… no distrespect intended for the Sisters of Mercy who where incharge at my school…lol I found erotica 2 months ago and I am cautiously inttrigued. I definately like this lates book and do plan to buy the series.
Dana Marie Bell
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 1:30 pm:
@ K Nelson: My husband LOVES my sexy scenes. My father knows what I write but won’t read it (and, frankly, I’m happy with that, because, ew), my mom skips “those” parts and my grandmother (go Memom!) reads stuff that’s hotter than what I write. =)
@ Molli: Just remember the squirrel from Hoodwinked. I still giggle when the wolf hands the squirrel espresso.
@Natasha A.: The black started as an accident. I picked up a medium ash brown and it just turned black on me. But at the time I thought it was great. Gah. What was I thinking?
@ Maria L: I freak when my roots grow in a bit and I see silver hairs poking out of my scalp. Someday I might go gray, since they’re the RIGHT kind of grays, thank God. But not today, lol!
Liz Craven
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 1:40 pm:
Hi Dana! I had no idea you were a WoW addict. Ditto. My main character has leveled at 70 (I still haven’t bought the latest expansion pack), and my second character is level 44. Do you and your husband have separate accounts or do you have to arm wrestle for the rights to play?
Am not going to answer, because I’ve read the entire series (and laughed my patootie off)!
Natasha A.
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 1:47 pm:
I think I would LOVE WoW, but I refuse to pay a monthly fee….
And yeah, the Black for me wasn’t an accident. lol
Cathy M
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 1:50 pm:
Sheri is running from her x-a big bad wolf
Dana Marie Bell
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 1:55 pm:
@Liz: We have separate accounts, and separate computers. Long ago I named his computer Bertha, because the other woman really should have a name. Recently he’s been muttering about naming my computer Sven.
We’ve only been playing WoW for a week. We’re both level 15 with our mains, and I’ve got a solo at 16th (he was leveling his CoH character at the time).
@Natasha: I look at it this way. a) It’s cheaper than going to the movies; b) I get to spend time with my husband in something we both enjoy; c) My friends also play, so I plug in Ventrilo, a voice over internet program and chat for free while we play; and d) There’s something intensely satisfying about blowing the crap out of a bad guy when you’ve had a lousy day. >:D
My favorite gaming quote: “So let me get this straight… you want me to kill the little guys, kill the big guys, crowd control those I can’t, buff the team, debuff the boss, keep myself alive, AND keep you alive… all while waving a stick and dressed in a towel?”
Natasha A.
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 2:00 pm:
When you both play…do you have to have two accounts? Do you have to pay for 2 monthly fees?
Dana Marie Bell
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 2:04 pm:
Yup, we do, but it’s only $30 a month. Lower than the price of eating out for one meal at Friendly’s with our kids. =)
cyclops8
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 2:47 pm:
Hi Dana,
Congrats on the upcoming release of “Very Much Alive.”
Sheri is on the run from a big bad wolf—an ex who won’t take no for an answer.
Dana Marie Bell
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 2:54 pm:
Thanks, Cyclops! It’s my first menage story,so I’m looking forward to seeing what people think of it. =)
Karin
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 2:55 pm:
Hi Dana!
My sister is a bit like you in dying her hair. She started during her freshman year of high school and has had many different colors since, including having her hair dyed to match her natural hair color growing in when she tried a horrible blonde shade. As long as it works for you, which it appears to do, I say have fun with it.
Sheri is on the run from a big bad wolf—an ex who won’t take no for an answer.
Lisa F.
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 2:57 pm:
I’ve colored my hair since in my mid-twenties. Mainly because of premature gray! Sheri is on the run from her ex – a big bad wolf!
Dana Marie Bell
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 3:00 pm:
I’ve thought of dyeing my hair blonde. I even went so far as to put a blonde wig on. Dusty screamed like a little girl and ripped it off my head.
I don’t think he wants me to go blonde.
Sandie
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 3:10 pm:
Hi Dana! Three interesting things, but I already knew about you and coffee. We discussed it once since I am very allergic to it but not to coke of pepsi. I’m not entering your contest since I am all up to date with your fantastic books.
I will recommend that anyone who hasn’t read Cat of A Different Color jump on this chance at winning your enthralling, hot, and sexy story.
Sandie
Natasha A.
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 3:16 pm:
LOL I tried blonde too. I went orange. It was VERY bad. Worse than the black I think. lol
Dana Marie Bell
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 3:46 pm:
Oh, I think I did orange right before my black phase. I think it started out as Loreal’s Lightest Auburn, though.
Fedora
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 3:55 pm:
Hi, Dana! I haven’t tried dying my hair yet, although it seems like a fun way to change things up a little! It’s not as easy when your natural color is dark though, and I’m a little afraid of how involved the process seems to be… oh well! Sheri sounds like she’s got a little in common with Little Red Riding Hood, on the run from the big bad wolf
Dana Marie Bell
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 4:04 pm:
My natural hair was… is? Dark, but I’ve dyed it for so long that it’s kind of.. forgotten. Mostly.
I started out with something close to my natural color, I remember that much. Reddish brown, so it wouldn’t be startling, then slowly began experimenting. Now I like to keep it obviously red or burgundy, depending on my mood.
Jen White
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 4:38 pm:
Okay, this book is on my wishlist at MBaM so yay and she is running from her ex the big bad wolf….too bad she can’t just huff and puff and blow him away, eh?
And I love coffee but I have been cutting back because I think it is starting to hate me.
I pay homage to the hair car isle as well…..but cinnamon stick is my color.
Dana Marie Bell
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 4:38 pm:
@Pambook: Ack, I missed your posts, lol! Yeah, I have decaf in the house, but it still seems to upset my stomach. I drink the tea because it helps settle my stomach, and the soda is for… pretty much every other hour of the day.
And every time I see my roots I see more silver hairs. On goes the hat, and I’m off to Health and Beauty.
Karin
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 4:59 pm:
The most I’ve done with my hair has been to let my brother and sister talk me into letting them put blonde streaks in my hair and then my cousin decided she wanted to add some red streaks as well. Since I have natural blonde and red highlights that come out when I’m in the sun often enough, it looked okay. But, I let them all grow out and haven’t done anything with my hair in about 6 years, except get it trimmed. I have been toying with the idea of trying auburn, though…
Dana Marie Bell
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 5:17 pm:
Jen, I’ve been thinking of trying Hot Tamale. Not sure if it’s too light a shade for me or not. And Karin? Red can be hard to get out of your hair once it’s in, so I’d talk to a professional before you dye it. Luckily my sister’s a hairdresser, so I can her for all my hair boo-boos.
Dana Marie Bell
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 5:32 pm:
Wait. I can CALL her for all my hair boo-boos.
Me writer. Make good English. Yeesh.
Marisa
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 6:03 pm:
Hi Dana- it’s so good to have you here today.
I too went to a performing arts high school, the one in NYC, I can’t imagine what it was like for you to attend a creative school and then have to spend you last year in Catholic School. Must have been some good research for your writing – perhaps?
MMORPG’s sounds like too much fun. do you get story ideas from role playing?
Dana Marie Bell
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 6:16 pm:
That last year in Catholic school was… argh. Restrictive. I was used to seeing people walk around with chains and mohawks talking to girls dressed like Molly Ringwald and getting along just fine. So yeah, it was something of a culture shock.
The MMORPG’s I play are mostly fantasy, but they do tend to give me some ideas when it comes to writing paranormals. I just have to, um, tweak them a bit.
Liz Craven
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 6:18 pm:
Talk about hair trouble. I’m a natural blonde (though I have black eyebrows. It looks weird and I’ve had hairdressers insist I can’t actually be blonde), and I have the worst time with “surprise” hair colorings. If I go swimming a few times, I wind up with green hair, and if I use shampoo or conditioner with sunscreen, my hair turns orange. And for the record, they don’t always say “sunscreen” on the front of the bottles.
Karen
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 6:43 pm:
Dana, I just love your books. I made the tragic error of coloring my blonde hair black several years ago. What was I thinking? I had to have by hair stripped and then re-colored. I chose red for awhile because the stripped blonde/black thing was pretty scary. I’ve learned my lesson.
Chris
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 6:47 pm:
*feels very sad that Dana can’t drink coffee and thinks longingly of soy mochas*
She has a big bad ex-wolf boyfriend (and Pack) after her!
Dana Marie Bell
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 7:47 pm:
I tried a few times to go back to what I thought was my natural color, but the red always bled through. I was told I had a few choices: have someone strip my hair and recolor it (blech, for long, thin hair that damages easily); dye it repeatedly with an “ash” tone, which frankly makes me look like a walking corpse and doesn’t work anyway; shave my head and learn to embrace wigs; or pick a new shade of red! WHEE!
I chose option number four. And while it might be fun to visit with your sister while getting your hair done, it’s not so much fun when you accidentally tick her off and she whacks you with a hairbrush.
Kim S.
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 9:02 pm:
My caffeine fix is not coffee either, it runs right through me!! I get my fix with my regular Pepsi!! Been that way longer than I care to think.
I was born a bright red head, then it deepened to a dark auburn. Now…since the kids….it’s changed to a brownish auburn and there is more and more gray. So I got me some Clairol too!! Now it’s back to my normal color before the kids!! LOL
And please people….if you haven’t read Dana’s Puma series……GET IT!!! They are such GREAT books!! I so have me a little crush on Max!! hehehe
Love ‘em, love ‘em, LOVE ‘em Dana!! Thank You!!
annalisa
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 9:16 pm:
Hi Dana! I used to color my hair years ago when it was still mostly dark brown. It started turning grey in my early thirties. My hair is long, thick and grows really fast and I got tired of coloring it because after a week I would have what my kids call “a skunk stripe” down the middle of my head. I was afraid of dyeing it too much and having it fall out. My hubby told me he liked it natural so I finally just let it all grow out. It mostly silver now with some dark brown underneath.
Answer: She’s on the run from a big bad wolf—an ex boyfriend who won’t take no for an answer.
Lynda
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 9:18 pm:
She’s on the run from a big bad wolf—an ex who won’t take no for an answer.
I love shifter books so this series is high on my to buy list!
I’m trying to reduce the amount of Coke I drink and am another Clairol girl.
Dana Marie Bell
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 9:24 pm:
Every time I think I should just let it grow out those darn silver roots get to me. Maybe some day I’ll let it grow out, or cut it short or something.
The two characters I would love to meet in real life? Probably Adrian of Cat and Logan of Very Much Alive.
Dana Marie Bell
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 10:48 pm:
Natasha A? You’ve won the copy of Cat of a Different Color! *Blows party horn and tosses sparkly confetti.*
Please send your preferred email address to alphamail@romancenovel.tv. They will send all the winners to Angie on Friday. And congratulations!
Karin
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 10:54 pm:
Congratulations, Natasha A!
pambook
on Feb 6th, 2009
@ 12:19 am:
Congrats, Natasha!
dd03
on Feb 6th, 2009
@ 4:01 am:
Answer: her ex, the big bad wolf
Pamk
on Feb 6th, 2009
@ 10:39 am:
love your puma books and she on the run from her big bad wolf of an ex. There are a few more adjective I could have called him lol.