Destiny Booze

Destiny Booze is one of my favorite authors, not just for her writing style, but for her outlook on life. Booze, author of Altered Beginnings, The Curse of a Mind, and Predetermined Endings, began her career as a newspaper journalist, but her passion for writing started years before. Her destiny started when her mother named her after a character in a romance novel. Growing up in a campground managed by her parents, Booze developed a wonderful imagination that would carry her through writing career. She is published through Whimsical Publications.

Although she tried a variety of jobs, nothing felt right. Writing developed into more than a hobby. It became her way of exploring herself and the world around her. Writing helped her find her confidence and satisfied an unattainable itch. She took a job as a journalist and worked on several manuscripts. After many rejections, Booze finally opened that all important letter from a publisher. Instead of a rejection, it was an offer with a contract. Destiny finally found her destiny. “I know it’s what I’m meant to do. It feels right” (Booze, 2010).

Booze is influenced by Tami Hoag and Dean Koontz. She has read both extensively and combined their writing styles to form her own unique voice in her romance thrillers. She is influenced by the way Koontz develops action and movement. Her favorite works by Koontz are  Phantoms, The Bad Place, Dragon Tears,  and Icebound. Booze is also influenced by Tami Hoag’s romantic elements. She loves the way Hoag builds suspense into her stories. Her favorites by Hoag are Lucky’s Lady, Night Sins and A Thin Dark Line. Booze considers herself a hopeless romantic. She wants the happily-ever-after.

Booze’s favorite character in her own stories is Garrett in The Curse of a Mind. He was originally supposed to be a sideline character with a very small role, but he took over during the writing process and stole a few scenes for himself. The story is a romantic thriller where the killer uses techlepathy, a combination of technology and telepathy, to read all the character’s minds. He cannot read Garrett’s mind, however, because he is autistic. Booze says that writing from this point-of-view was challenging but also rewarding.

For Booze, the hardest part of writing a book is sticking with it through completion. It requires the discipline to continue even when the work loses momentum and you tire of the characters. The next most difficult part is having the confidence to put your work out there. When you do, you lay a lot of who you are on the line. Writing for a lot of people is personal so they take rejection personally. Booze reads reviews of her own work because she wants to know what readers like and don’t like about the story. She states, “I want to be the best writer I can be and the readers are the ultimate judge of that. Of course, I’m no fool. Personal taste plays a big part in reading and I can’t please everyone, but listening to constructive criticism, can only help”. Booze realizes that not everyone is going to fall in love with her hard work.

Booze is working on her next project which is due out in November. Accelerating Circumstances is the third book in her Outer Banks Suspense Series. The book is about seventeen-year-old Jenny who can read people’s minds. When she stumbles onto her mother’s murder scene, she can feel the presence of the intruder who entered her house. No one believes her when she tries to tell them that she can feel the killer’s rage saturated within the walls. Jenny is arrested for the murder though the case lacks evidence. Growing up under a cloud of suspicion, Jenny vows to find justice for her mother. Now an FBI agent, she will let nothing stand in her way of finding the truth even if those who stand in her way are her partner, William, and town bad boy, Nate. The time has come to set things right.

You can find Booze’s books at Barnes&Noble, Amazon, Books-A-Million, Whimsical Publications, Smashwords, and Omnilit. You can also follow Booze on Twitter, Facebook, her website, and at her blog. 

Destiny Booze has an important message for her fans.

“First and foremost, I truly hope that you read my books and I hope you love them. Writing and storytelling is a passion and a calling in my life. It’s something I love to do and want to do, but also something I am compelled to do. I encourage anyone with that same ambition — that burn or desire in your gut — to do what your heart leads you to do, no matter what that might be. I believe more than anything else that dreams are meant to be chased with reckless abandon. Don’t just imagine what you can be. Go out there and make it happen! Make-believe is more than a child’s game! I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you! Thank you for reading my books! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”