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Cynthia D’Alba started writing on a challenge from her husband in 2006 and discovered having imaginary sex with lots of hunky men was fun. She started entering and finaling in contests with a book entitled, The Sand Castle Trilogy: Sand Stalker in 2007. That book is figuratively under the bed at the moment.
She started writing paranormals and got solid rejections all around. However, one editor at Samhain told her that she liked her voice (but hated the story submitted) and to send her something else, so she did.
Her first book, Texas Two Step, released in 2012, was a Samhain Publishing best seller. The book in the Texas Montgomery Mavericks series, Texas Tango, will be released in November 2013.
She has stories in two anthologies to be released this year…Smoking Hot Firemen released July 16, 2013 and the Mammoth Book of Medical Romance sometime this fall.
She has a Bachelor Degree in Nursing, a Master Degree in Business Administration, a Master Degree Curriculum and Instruction and a Doctorate in Higher Education Administration. She has taught many adult classes on the university level as well as online classes for aspiring authors.
She is currently working of book 3 of the Texas Montgomery Mavericks, working title Texas Twist.
Reviewed by Natasha Jackson for Readers' Favorite
Things between Mitch and Olivia are complicated, in fact have always been complicated. In Cynthia D’Alba’s Texas Two Step we learn that Mitch and Olivia used to date and were madly in love, until Mitch’s brother James died tragically, leaving behind his pregnant socialite wife. So Mitch does what any good family man would do; he marries her, much to the chagrin to his newly ex-girlfriend Olivia, who has also recently learned she is carrying Mitch’s child. Fast forward six years and Olivia and Mitch are reunited for a wedding and things get a little hot. So D’Alba takes readers on a wild journey of love rediscovered, trust lost and earned, and family reconnected.
While Texas Two Step may not be a completely unique western love story it is filled with characters that are easy to love and root for, along with the must-have hated villain, in this case villainess Joanna. Mitch and Olivia have made mistakes, and we see them go through the stages of grief for what they lost—-Mitch and years with his child and Olivia with the love she could have had—-and finally come to terms with what is right instead of who is right. Cynthia D’Alba created a community of fun characters like the spunky Magda, the too adorable Adam, quiet but strong Hobbs and we can’t forget Sylvia Landry, the wise mother to all.
Texas Two Step is well-written with strong characters able to stand out in a rather formulaic story. D’Alba does a fantastic bringing the hopes and fears, strengths and weaknesses of Mitch and Olivia to the surface without hitting the reader over the head with them. You understand their reluctance, but you secretly hope they do what you want them to. A great story is about more than the main characters; and the secondary characters in this story feel like family instead of characters on a page.
This was a thoroughly enjoyable read filled with drama, romance, sensuality and a splash of humor.
