Music

Music is a pretty big part of my life. I love listening to it and I love singing it (as long as it's just my kids around). But I can't listen to music while I write. Not-physically typing away at my keyboard-write. But we authors all know the writing happens in our heads long before we sit down. Most of my story writing happens while I'm doing those menial chores like dishes or laundry. I put on my head phones and listen to whatever music is going to help me work out plot ideas or emotions my characters should be feeling. You know, mood music.

So with this new book I'm having a little trouble with the music aspect. It's taken me quite a while to figure out what kind of music my MC would listen to. And I'm not all that happy with what I came up with. Because she listens to Rock.

Me? I like Dashboard Confessional, Matt Nathanson (acoustic stuff), Ingrid Michaelson, and Regina Spektor. All very mellow stuff. In my early days, you know before kids and husband days, I was known to enjoy a bit of alternative here and there. When I get a wild hair I'll still listen to Eve 6. Mind you I bought the edited, no bad words versions.

This Rock stuff is all new to me. I can only handle a few songs at a time. So my question is, how far do you go to get into your character's head? How can you make your reader connect to someone you haven't even connected with? And am I totally crazy for worrying so much about this?

If you have thoughts or suggestions I'd love to hear them. Especially if you want to give me any advice on good Rock songs that aren't too crazy. ;)

P.S. Thanks to all those who entered the giveaway and congrats to zeezee22!

Book Review: Clarity

While on vacation I had a day where I didn't feel so great. So, while everyone was enjoying swimming, Lego Land, or the beach, I was cuddled under a blanket reading. Which isn't a bad way spend vacation as far as I'm concerned. And Kim Harrington's Clarity was a great vacation read.

It's fast paced so I read it one day. I like those kinds of books.

However, I only gave it three stars on goodreads. And here's why. It started out good enough. It was almost like Medium and Veronica Mars wrapped into one book. I love both those shows, so I'm thinking it's gonna be great. Unfortunately, it didn't work out as well as either of those shows. For some reason the author felt the need to describe exactly what every person was wearing every time they entered the scene. Except Gabriel. First it was, holy cow he has a hot body, and then enter description of what he's wearing. It was very distracting. I wish she would have focused more on the mystery.

This may sound like a little thing to most of you, but it sure bugged the heck out of me. I wanted more emotion and less attire.

That alone would have earned it four stars, but I took another one off for cheesy dialogue.

I really wanted to like it, and if you're looking for a quick read and like to know exactly what everyone is wearing, then give it a shot. The plot moved nicely and I didn't want to put it down. She left it open for a sequel, and I'm tempted to read it. I guess that says something.

Back to life, Back to reality

I am back from vacation and excited to get back to writing again. I purposely left my junk drive at home so I woulnd't even think about writing. Which was good. It left me to day dream and work out a lot of details. Unfortunately, those details weren't about book two.

Lets face it people, book two is being forced. I mean, I haven't even thought of a name for it. How good can it be? I'm taking a break and worki

ng on something I'm actually excited about.

And with all those pesky details worked out in this l

ittle brain of mine, I really am VERY excited about this one. But all I can tell you about it for now is that my inspiration will come from watching Buffy again. Could this be why I'm so excited? Perhaps. I really miss her.

One more thing. There are no demons.

Enough about that! California was a lot of fun. We

went to Legoland but we only have two girls. Very easily scared girls, so we didn't ride a lot of the rides that didn't involve sitting in a boat and looking at stuff. But they had fun all the same.

The beach was their favorite. And I think it was

mine too. I know it was my hubby's. He's like a fish. Isn't he hot?

p.s. Don't forget to enter for your chance to win the protector's eye charm! (if you want to)

Get used to disappointment

I feel like I've set this really great New Years resolution and kept it for 11 months then gave in to that stupid chocolate bar in the 12th month. Ya, I know, I suck.

I didn't reach my goal. Book two is not finished. Not even close. But really, it wasn't all my fault. I mean, I had a sick kid, and family to converse with and friends to meet. Not to mention Nichole and Bryshen have stopped talking to me. What's up with that? Don't they know I'm trying to finish their story?

I know, I know, it's nothing but excuses. Honestly I have no idea

when I'll get this book finished. It seems that time is being sucked from me a little more everyday.

However, as a way to make it up to you, I've decided to do another giveaway. Two actually. One for books. I've decided to giveaway two books on goodreads so if you haven't had a chance to pick it up yet, you can enter there. I'll have a widget on my blog as soon as it's approved by goodreads.

But! What about my loving and adoring fans who have already received a copy of

my book? Well, in honor of my birthday next month I'll be hosting a giveaway on my blog. One lucky winner will receive the same kind of charm the protector's wear. Closer to what Bryshen gives Nichole. I've lucked out and they already make them. Cuz, you know, I didn't invent the eye.

Since I blog so sporadically, I think my followers only follow sporadically, so I'll be mentioning this a lot between now and when I pick the winner, which will be August 14th. YAY!

See sometimes I'm cool.

Miles to go before I sleep

Well, if you all are expecting an apology from me for not posting in such a long time–too bad. I think I said in an earlier post I have no idea what I'm doing here. Networking I guess. You know what I've discovered? I don't know how to network. I've signed up for all these blogs, which I read gladly everyday, but I never leave comments. Could it be that I–a writer-don't have anything to say? Hmmm...

I'd love to tell you all that I'm wrapping up book two of Akasha (which still has no name. Any suggestions out there?), but I'm not. There's still a lot of story left to tell and I'm closing in on my deadline. Which is July 15th BTW.

I did an outline of the rest of the story the other day. I thought that would help me move it along. But by the time I finished the first chapter I had outlined I had already gotten so far off, the rest of it was useless. I just don't think me and outlining works. Does it with anyone?

The good news is that I'm going away for like a week and a half to a house with no cable, and more important for me, no netflix. This equals no distractions. Or at least fewer distractions.

Still have kids. They still have to eat and want me to play with them when we go on vacation. Weird huh?

Mission: Impossible

Last week was one of those weeks you survive rather than live through for me. Nothing really major happened, just a lot of little things I won't bore you with. But lots of little things build up, and add sick kids, then getting sick yourself, and well, you have one heck of a lousy week.

I didn't hardly write at all. I didn't hardly think about my book at all. Needless to say I'm a bit behind.

So, I'm feeling pretty down about myself, how I'm behind and all, and then I read an interview with Elana Johnson about her book being released this month, POSSESSION. I discover that Elana wrote her 90,000 word ms in 17 days. No, you didn't read that wrong, 17 days! Is that even possible? Obviously she spent the next SEVERAL months revising, but seriously, I don't know how that's done!

I guess I could sit around and mope about how I'm so behind and I'll never get that much work done in such a short amount of time, or I could use it to challenge myself. I'm not going to go all crazy and say I'll finish my current ms in 17 days. With two kids who need my attention that's just not possible. But I can finish it by next month. Ehem...the end of next month. We leave on vacation next month and I'd really like to have this done by then. To be able to go on vacation and not bring Nichole or Bryshen's issues with me. That means a lot of work on my part, but I think I can really do it if I try. And give up t.v.

Guess I better put watching Buffy for the eleventh time on hold...

Book signing!

Last night was my first book signing! It was pretty cool. I knew I was going to embarrass myself somehow and thankfully got that out of the way right off the bat by giving a lady the wrong change. At least she didn't laugh at me. (Not to my face anyway).

I gave a little presentation about my book and touched on e-publishing a bit. Overall I think it went well considering I don't like public speaking and

when I get nervous my jaw shakes. (seriously what's up with that? I have to clench it to keep it from shaking and then I talk funny!)

A lady approached me to say she had a friend who wants me to do a book signing in Clifton. Which is another small town (I think even smaller than Safford), but it's still cool. I'm good with the small town scene!

The people who had read my book already were very generous with the compliments. Which totally made my night! Hopefully they tell their friends the same things.

I wish someone would have told me I was covering Nichole's mouth. ;)

Once upon a time

I used to play guitar. Not well, just messing around mainly, but I really liked it. I even named my guitar Mr. Pluckey. You know, because you pluck the strings. ;) Before I wrote novels I wrote songs. They're easier since they're, you know, way shorter. Before I got married I wrote a song about the lines guys use when they break up with you. It'd make a good country song.

Back on point–When I got married I kinda stopped playing. My husband is way good and I guess I kept comparing myself to him. Lame, I know, but I did. Tonight we played guitars together for the first time in ages. There's this song I am in love with and I'd love to say it's about Bryshen and Nichole, but it isn't. I've had this other story brewing in my head for a while and this song fits it pretty well. My hubby helped me figure out the chords since the tab they have for it is totally wrong.

Take a listen if you like. Don't worry, it's not me playing. But just to warn you, the story in my head isn't a happy one.

Book 2

I shot my mouth off a little prematurely. I told several people that book 2 was finished and I was in the editing stage, and was hopeful to release it by the end of the year. Which at the time was true. The thing about the editing stage is that you get to go back and "fix" everything you don't like about it's current condition. And it just so happened that there were a lot of things I didn't like about it.

I spent about two months editing (and by editing what I really mean is re-writing, because that's basically what I did). But all the little fixes still didn't fix it. It makes me want to cry, really. I had it all planned out. Book 1-Nichole, Book 2-Bryshen, Book 3-Connor. (Ya, he's new, but you'll like him). Apparently, I can't write boys. The harder I tried, the worse it got.

I decided to scrap everything I had and try again through Nichole's pov again. Seriously, I want to cry. I sent the first 7000 words to my sister (also my crit partner), and we both agreed it was way better. Book 2 will have to be completely re-written. I'm a little excited about that. (Even though I still want to cry a little) I want to make sure I release the best writing I can do, not just that will work, writing.

I doubt it will be ready by the end of the year. Most of editing is putting it away for weeks or months so you can look at it objectively with fresh eyes. Plus life has gotten pretty busy around here. I have committed to writing 7000 words a week. Some weeks there will be more (I'm hoping), but I'm sure my sister will hold me to it.

It'll get done. Nichole's story isn't finished yet.

She is Alive!

(This is a re-post. I came on to comment on someone's comment and the page wasn't there. So if you see this twice, sorry.)

Ya, I've been gone for a bit. Not physically, but you know...not here, on the blog, here. So if you've gotten the feeling I've been avoiding you, you're right.

If I may be truthful for a moment, I'm not a big fan of blogging. I have NO IDEA what to blog about. Seriously, there are only so many things I can post about my book before people start rolling their eyes. And, let's face it, I'm no writing expert. What advice could I possibly give that would help anyone. But this is supposed to be a writing blog right?

I started thinking, maybe I should write about other stuff. You know me stuff. Likes and dislikes. But, remember I'm being totally honest and baring my soul here right now, I've been afraid to do that. What if they all laugh at me? What if they all think I'm looney? Ya, I'm pretty self conscious that way. And a bit egotistical to think others would care that much, right?

This is all going somewhere I swear it. The thing is, if you knew me in real life, I'm a bit feisty and opinionated (my sisters and husband can attest to that). I tone it down in public because I'm afraid people won't like me because of it. Seriously, I'm a total nerd.

I guess what I'm saying, is that if there's any place I should feel comfortable being myself, it's on my blog, so I'm going to try and just blog about whatever I might be thinking/feeling/wondering about that day.

So, here's your first peek into my life. I cannot wait-CANNOT WAIT until my kids go to bed tonight so I can cuddle up on the couch and watch the season finale of Vampire Diaries. I know I'll be frustrated because they always leave on a cliff hanger-and I'll scream "why do they do this to me!" But even so, I'm excited.

*takes deep breath*

There. That felt good.

FFF: The Guitar

When I started writing Akasha my husband asked if the main love interest could be based (somewhat) after him. He doesn't look anything like a Romanian/Indian though, so that didn't work. But we compromised.

There are signs of him everywhere. Joshua is patterned after him quite a bit, (I have a thing for curly blonds with blue eyes). He named Captain Reg after one of his World of Warcraft characters and I also gave him frizzy hair in honor of my hubby, (His hair can get quite fuzzy when we go to the beach).

But my favorite thing, is that Bryshen plays guitar. My husband is an amazing guitar player. When we were dating he talked about how he could play guitar but I thought it was just one of those things guys say to impress you. I wasn't impressed until I heard him.

Totally melted.

Have I mentioned I love acoustic guitar?

Part of me wishes I could have expounded on Bryshen's playing a bit more. After all it's only mentioned in the one chapter. It just wasn't important to the story though, just one of those things that makes Bryshen him.

At least now someone knows why.

The Dead-Tossed Waves

I don't do scary. I don't watch horror films and I hate blood and gore. But I LOVE THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH series! I finally got around to reading THE DEAD-TOSSED WAVES and finished it last night. I'm not sure why I waited so long to read it. It's just been sitting on my shelf this whole time, but I'm glad I finally did.

Carrie Ryan is an amazing writer. She knows exactly how long to build the suspense, dragging it out just to that point before you think you might go insane. I seriously felt like I was gripping the book through most of it.

LOVED IT!

Now, to get my hands on a copy of THE DARK AND HOLLOW PLACES...

Author Night

My author night has officially been set up for May 25th at 6 p.m. in the Phelps Dodge room of the public library. I am both very excited (because more people will be aware of Akasha) and very nervous (I'm supposed to give a 20 minute presentation). I have a little over a month to get it together though so that's good. Of course I also have a month to make myself so nervous about it I throw up a few times.

The good thing is there will be another author there with me. I've heard she also doesn't like to speak so she was more than happy to share the night with me.

So if you live in the Safford area (and I'm aware not many people do), come and see me. And if you don't then you can contribute by telling me what I'm supposed to talk about for 20 minutes. Any ideas of what people might want to know about?

Fun Fact Friday

The tune to the music box came to be about two years after my sister drew the picture of Nichole, and about five years before I finally wrote her story. When I wrote the words to it they were from Nichole's point of view, wishing she could see her mother again.

Of course hardly anything turned out the way I imagined it way back then. Personally I think it turned out much better.

The music box melody

The art of art

I've had people say to me: I can't believe you wrote a book. It hurts my head just thinking about it. Which I totally get. On one hand, if you know me at all, I'm not that great of a story teller. Mostly because when I'm around people who aren't my immediate family I clam up and stammer over every word. It's embarrassing so I just don't do it. But the whole thing about their head hurting-I get.

If you've read previous posts you know my sister painted the cover of Akasha. In fact one of her pencil sketches started this whole writing thing for me. She is a very talented artist. And when I really look at the things she's painted (or sketched), it hurts my head thinking of how she does it. I watched her do a charcoal sketch one time. Her hand was moving all over the place, not really finishing anything the first time around. After a few minutes I kept thinking, how is she going to make this into anything?

Then she went back over different features. The hair, eyes, then maybe the lips again, back to the eyes, until before you knew it, the picture was complete. I was seriously amazed.

So this post is to you Hollie!

If you'd like to see more of her work here is her website. Just to warn you though, she's not all serious witches and orphans. ;)

Fun Fact Friday

I did not forget about fun fact friday. But since I just spent the day finishing City of Fallen Angels, (which if you haven't started reading I say to you...really?) I've decided to make that my fun fact. I'm a big fan of Cassandra Clare and she managed to pull off book four in a major way. So good!

If you know me at all you've probably guessed that one of the main reasons I picked up City of Bones was because it said on the cover-fans of Buffy would fall for the series. That and my sister-in-law told me I had to read them, using the Buffy thing as a way to pique my interest. I admit I was hesitant to read it because I thought it would be a rip off. I'm mean it's demon slaying right? So not a rip-off! She made it her very own.

And her own is very awesome!

Some good news

I finally built up the nerve to call the lady from the library about doing an author night. She was so nice! Which made me happy because I've explained before how I've had to talk to not nice people. (Or people just having a bad day)

She's setting me up for the end of May and is hoping to get another author or two the same night, which can I just say, phew! I know I made this decision to self publish which means I have to do all my own promoting and all, but it's hard and I don't enjoy doing it. I like sitting at home watching tv or reading, not talking to a room of people about my book.

I'm very excited though. This is good exposure for this small town. And right now getting my name out there is the most important thing. Right?

Fun Fact Friday

While I was writing Akasha I listened to Stolen by Dashboard Confessional about a million times. I have so many scenes placed within the song I wish I could show it to everyone else. So go tell your friends to buy my book so it can become popular enough to make a movie out of so I can show you the montage I have in my head. Okay? :)

Stolen-Dashboard Confessional

Waiting on Wednesday: City of Fallen Angels

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

I have mentioned before that I love the Mortal Instrument Series. In fact the last Waiting on Wednesday was for the prequel series The Infernal Devices book 2. But Cassandra Clare has continued her MI series which makes me grin pretty cheesy. The fourth book, City of Fallen Angels comes out on Tuesday and yes my copy is pre-ordered. I haven't been setting too much time aside to read these days since I'm in editing mode, but I'm telling you right now, I don't care what happens next Tuesday after 3 p.m. (when my mail is delivered) nothing is getting done because I will be sitting on the couch reading till my eyes bug out of my head. Or the book is finished. Whichever comes first.

Fun Fact Friday

I did very little research for Akasha because I wanted it to mainly be my world. There were a few things I looked in to. Like the dancing. I watched a few videos on youtube of gypsy dancing but none came close as to how this one got to me. I think it's just beautiful!

My husband laughs at the kid singing, but to tell you the truth I kinda like it. Anyway, here's the inspiration for Chapter 10.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCunGo798_c

What I've learned from watching Buffy....

In writing that is.

In the second season in one of the extra features, Joss Whedon (Buffy creator and writing mastermind) was shooting a scene that wasn't working. He said the characters just couldn't get it right, it didn't feel right to him, it just wasn't working. Then it clicked. "We're filming this in the wrong setting."

I had a similar epiphany the other day. See my beta (who also happens to be my sister) sent back a chapter and pretty much ripped it a part. I told her to of course, because I knew it wasn't working but I couldn't figure out why. She pointed out the why and a few more things along with it. But then it clicked.

"I'm writing it in the wrong setting!"

I love when things come to me like that rather than after I've re-written something a million times. (Yes I'm talking to you first three chapters of Akasha!)

Fun Fact Friday

I'm sure I'm not the only author to daydream about their book becoming a movie. And when you think like that sooner or later you're going to start coming up with actors to play your characters. I haven't done research or anything so I only know of two characters.

First, I would love, LOVE, for Dianna Agron to play Adala. She has that sweet, soft voice I imagine Adala having. Plus, she looks like her to me.

Second, I've always seen Anna Kendrick as Gretchen. I know she has a very small part in Akasha, but you'll see a lot more of her in the sequel.

Anyone out there have their own ideas of who should be Akasha the movie?

The e-book era

I'm happy to announce that I have officially sold 100 books! WooHoo!! 100 books in 20 days isn't bad and I hope the number continues to climb. And just so you know I'm totally serious about using this book mainly just to get my name out there I'm going to tell you that I've only earned about $25 out of that hundred. Good thing I went into this knowing I wasn't going to make much, huh?

Anyway, I do want to give a shout out to Karly Kirkpatrick. When I first decided to e-publish I started doing some research on the net and found her website. She talks all about her "Adventures in e-publishing" and it really helped me realize what I was getting myself into. She has a book out called Into the Shadows. I haven't read it yet, but I plan to. Her book is sold on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Smashwords for $2.99 per e-book. She also has a paperback for $11.

If you're into e-publishing I recommend her site. Thanks Karly!

Paivi Anderson has it all—friends, a spot on the varsity basketball team, wonderful parents, and quite possibly, her first boyfriend. It was everything a freshman in high school could ask for. Her perfect life begins to crumble when she discovers her name on a list distributed by a power-hungry presidential candidate. How could anyone think of Paivi as an Enemy of the State? Could it be because of her special powers? No one was supposed to know about them, but the mysterious messages in her tater tots say otherwise. In INTO THE SHADOWS, Paivi quickly learns who her friends are and is forced into a reality she didn’t see coming.

Fun Fact Friday

I've decided to start a new thing on this blog called fun fact friday. Friday mornings are always crazy here because I have to go grocery shopping. Not my favorite thing in the world and therefore it takes me forever to do it.

So I decided if I had something really quick I might be better at writing on here more often.

Every friday I'll give a little fact about either me, my book Akasha, or tiny bits of info on book number 2 (which I still haven't really figured out a name for).

Today's fun fact is on Bryshen. I originally had him as Brishen. For some reason I saw it with the long I and therefore called him Bryshen for several months before I heard someone else call him Brishen. He had become too real to me by then and there was no way I was going to change his name so I changed the spelling.

Character

I am a very character-driven reader. I don't know if that's actually a real term, but I'm using it. What it means to me is that if I don't care for the characters, if they aren't alive for me, then I usually don't enjoy the story. They have to be identifiable in some way, but that doesn't necessarily mean I have to be like them in some way.

Let's take Scarlett O'hara for instance. She's not sweet or nice. I've never lived on a cotton farm (though I am surrounded by them), and I've never had men fawning all over me. But she was a very real character and the main reason I loved Gone With the Wind so much.

I tell you this so you understand my dilemma. I introduce a few new characters in Akasha book 2. Two of which came to me like I already knew them. The third however is being very stubborn. I just can't get a handle on her. It's very frustrating.

I'm almost to the point where I just want to cut her out, but she's important to the story.

So what do I do at this point? Well, while writing Akasha I had to write several scenes from Bryshen's point of view so I could get a better handle on him and how he'd react to a certain situation. I suppose that's what I'm in for today. Because until I figure this girl out, this story isn't going anywhere.

(cue loud groan)

Moving onward

So now that Akasha is up and running I've been able to take a few deep breaths this week. In between freaking out because I had to actually ask people if they wanted to carry my book, that is. (BTW Akasha is now at the Safford public library and the Safford High School library.)

It's time for me to return to writing again, though. Or editing. I'm hoping to get some writing in on the side. If I ever learn how to manage my time properly. I've had a couple of people ask me about a sequel to Akasha, so I'll let you know now, yes there is. I have already written it, and am diving into the "funness" that is editing. It's tedious and time consuming, but in some ways my favorite part. You start with something that is all right at it's best. And then you play with it until it's something you smile to yourself about. I love watching a story transform.

Those who read both the second draft and the hundredth of Akasha should know what I mean.

My hope is to get book 2 (tentatively named Itara) on sale by the end of the year. So if you feel the need, send me a line to make sure I'm working on it. I'm easily distracted.

Pounding the Pavement

Two weeks ago I left a proof copy of my book with the only bookstore here in Safford. They are literally my only chance of getting my book into a physical store. So you can imagine how frustrating it has been for me to have to wait two weeks to hear back from them.

Unfortunately, I'll have to wait even longer. When I went in to check on it with them I was treated so rudely I almost wanted to yell back at them and leave, my book in hand, and never return. But I've come to know the owners somewhat over the last few years I've been here. As I said before, they are the only bookstore. They aren't rude people. At all. So I swallowed my first reaction and said I'd check back in a couple of weeks.

I wonder what happened to make them act the way they did? Was it a previous customer and I just had the pleasure of getting dumped on? Are they under so much stress that I was the straw that broke the camels back? It really doesn't matter at this point, I guess I'm just saying it sucks.

And if this is what it's always like pounding the pavement, I'm going to have to grow even tougher skin.

Hope I don't turn calloused.

I'm published!!

Wait. I can't breathe. It must be from all the screaming. Nathalene can you hear me?

The kindle edition is .99 and you can purchase that here.

The paperback edition is $7 and you can purchase that here.

I'm so happy, I think I'll do the dance of joy!

And the winners are...

Jill

Mike and Shayla

And Rollinsja

Congrats!! I really hope you enjoy reading it!

Love is in the air

Being valentines day and all it would feel strange not to talk about romantic books. Especially since that's the main thing I like to read. Not romance genre of course, (I like my romance clean, thank you). There's a lot of buzz about how Stephenie Meyer redefined the YA genre. You can't pick up a YA book anymore without there being romance. Which is just fine by me. (I'd like the YA novel about witches with romance on the side please).

But romance has been around long before Edward's sparkle made us all sigh. Those lovable hunks just happened to be older. Hello, Mr. Darcy! Which makes me wonder, does it just seem like there's more romance in YA? Or is there really? I'm not the best judge since I wasn't romance driven in high school.

So what do you think? Do you have to have romance for the book to be good? Is it a major plus? Or do you just wish YA could get back to the casual boyfriend/girlfriend mentioning of the past?

Literary Heroes

I thought I was a pretty decent reader before I started branching into the world of blogs. I've been known to read two, sometimes three books a month. Hey, I thought that was doing good. But I've found sites of people who read a whole lot more than I do. I mean a whole lot more. Kathy over at I am a reader not a writer has read something like 30 books since Jan. 1st! (She's a great reviewer if you're wondering if a certain book is worth your time).

In all my reading I've discovered some truly great books. Some are great because of the characters (The Gurnsey Litereary and Potato Peel Pie Society), some are great because of the story (Mortal Instrument series, Book of a Thousand Days), and some are great because of the writing (The Book Thief).

But it's rare I love a book because of all of the above. That title is reserved for none other than Harry Potter. (I wonder how many of you have rolled your eyes at that). I understand witches and wizards aren't everyone's fancy, but there is no denying that J.K. Rowling can write. I mean write! She created a whole different world with dozens of characters. But I loved every single one of them for the part they played. Even Dolores Umbridge. She had so much detail you couldn't help but believe you were living among them.

As a writer I hope to always better myself. That the next story is better than the last. At the very least in my writing technique. But with a writer like Rowling out there, the bar is pretty high. That's why she's my literary hero.

Who's yours?

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event on breaking the spine. It's a way of letting others know what book we can't wait to read and wish the release date would hurry up and get here already!!

So my Waiting on Wednesday book is The Clockwork Prince, the second book in Cassandra Clare's Infernal Devices series. And it doesn't come out until September!! For any of you who love paranormal romance, (or is it Fantasy?) and have not read The Clockwork Angel I'm telling you, do it now. Or maybe wait until August so you don't have to wait so long for the sequel. It doesn't end with everything wrapped up all nice and neat with a pretty bow. Not at all. It just ends. Why did she do this to me?

As you know I am a huge fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Clare's books mimic that in a way-but not to the point where you want to roll your eyes and say, she just stole that. It's just similar. Plus the Infernal devices books take place in victorian era London. Seriously, it's like she crawled inside my brain and wrote the book for me!!

So that's the book I am impatiently waiting for.

What about you?

Drawing date extended!!

If any of you out there are still following I bet you're sitting around saying, Hey, she said she was going to have a drawing yesterday. What's up with that?

I blame it all on my naivety. I thought once I got everything formatted I was good to go. Unfortunately, that's not how it works. I had to order a proof to look over before I can sell it. It should be here on Thursday and once I look it over (and it looks good), I'll be able to go forward. The thing is, if it isn't all right, it could be another two weeks before I get another proof. So here's how I'm going to do it.

The drawing will now be held on Feb 17th!

Sorry for the delay!

Book vs. Movie

There are very few book-made-to movies that I like the movie better than the book. Pride and Prejudice is one of them. But only the one with Keira Knightly in it. Count of Monte Cristo is another. But that might just be because I couldn't get through the book. TOO. MANY. WORDS.

I am going to add another one to my list now. Charlie St. Cloud.

This doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the book. That's not true at all. It was well written and I'm glad I read it. And just because I liked the movie better doesn't mean I'll watch it over and over again even though the ending was totally cheesy and I'm known to love the cheese.

It's because the main issue I had with the book, is no longer an issue in the movie. It's the whole love thing. I love love. I know love. I'm married to my love. Love I get. And no matter how cheesy the movie (or how much I love the cheese), I hate when they fall in love after the first date. It doesn't happen people. That's not love!

So there you have it. If you have what I call the cinderella complex, then by all means, love the book. But for me, it should be a gradual thing. And my love stories need a bit more substance.

Oops

I knew I was going to jinks myself. Due to illness and formatting issues it will still be a couple of days before Akasha is released. However, I have submitted it to Amazon and as soon as they give me a thumbs up the paperback edition will be available for purchase. YAY!

Until then, here's another quote from the book:

The sound of your heart beating is a sound you are so used to you never hear it anymore. It's a sound from birth, from before birth, so much a part of us we never think of it. I had never listened to the sound of my beating heart, thumping as it pulsated blood to my veins and circulating life through my body. I had never noticed it.

Until it was no longer there.

Almost time

It looks like things are progressing a lot faster than I thought they would. Part of me wants to hide this information under a rock, because once I say it, it's out there.

I think Akasha will be ready for purchase by tomorrow! Holy cow! I'm kinda freaking out here a little.

I'll let you know as soon as it's ready. Gosh, I hope someone buys it.

Wish me luck!

By the way, if you've stopped by the blog and haven't signed up to follow, do so. (only if you want to though, no pressure.) All followers (except those who have asked not to participate), will be entered into a drawing to receive a free copy of Akasha. Drawing will be held on FEB 7.

Oh, and one more thing. TELL YOUR FRIENDS!

Quote from Akasha

There is a certain peace that comes from being alone. A clarity you can't find when anyone else is around, no matter how much you love them. It was at this point; standing alone in the woods halfway between Joshua and Bryshen—who I had been and who I was to become—that clarity found me.

Buffy

It has been pointed out to me that I have failed to mention who Buffy is and why I would want to write about her. Well, let me tell you. Buffy is the COOLEST HERO EVER!

My all time favorite TV series is Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And before anyone rolls their eyes, I'd like to point out that Buffy came way before Twilight. She's one of those rare heroes that don't seem to exist in TV or movies these days. She's real.

No, I'm not delusional, (about this anyway). What I mean is, she makes mistakes. Sometimes her friends have to come along, pick her back up, call her out on her bad decisions, maybe force themselves into her dreams to wake her up, (love that episode!), you get the picture. She battles demons on a daily basis with the coolest moves I've ever seen. She sacrifices her life, yes even literally, to save the world.

COOLEST HERO EVER!

In the end she knows what she has to do. Make good triumph over evil. She might not win every battle, but she always wins the war.

Check another one off the list!

I finished making my "last" edit today! Woohoo!! I can't believe I still found as many mistakes as I did this time. Seriously, no wonder books still have errors in them. Authors, editors, I no longer judge you!

I originally hoped to be able to get Akasha out to the public by March 1st, but I'm thinking it will be more like February 15th. Possibly sooner. Tomorrow I start formatting, which I hear is a bear to do, but I've done before (kind of) so I hope it goes fast.

I'm getting so excited!

The new cover

I printed Akasha out a while back as a way for my family to read it. It wasn't really supposed to go beyond them so I wanted a cover I liked. I put my order in to my sister and she (of course) totally got what I saw in my head. I loved it! I still do.

But as it has since been pointed out to me, it looks like it's a romance novel. And although Akasha is quite romantic (if I may say so myself) it's in no way genre romance.

I talked to several people about the new cover. What it should entail, what they wanted, what they thought it needed to cover, (no pun intended).

I took the ideas of several people and gave them to my sister. She is, in every sense of the word, an artist!

So, ladies and gentlemen, this is my new cover.

Pretty cool, huh?

Write what you love

I'm sure everyone has heard the phrase write what you know. For me, I live by write what you love. I have read Akasha more times than I can keep track of. I'm going through it 'one last time' to make sure it's as polished as can be before publishing it. I'm half way through, I know what's going to happen, I know how it all ends, and yet I still get excited. Isn't that silly?

Even if nothing ever comes of it, I know I wrote a book I'm proud of, and love.

And if you don't love it, how can you expect anyone else to?

The journey

I finished my first novel on May 25th, 2009. I remember the date because it was Memorial day. After typing the last word I stared at the screen for a few minutes digesting the fact that I had finally done it. The book had been in my head for over five years at that point, and the characters were so real I could tell you that I talk to them still, (except that would be embarrassing so I won't).

Now, after a year and a half, 19 rejections and 6 no responses, I have made a decision. One we are taught to fear in the publishing world. A decision I won't be able to take back once I see it through.

I'm going to self publish.

E-publish to be exact. I don't know how things will go, but as my sister has told me, first about querying and now about this, I won't know if it works unless I try. I've played the publishing game for a year now. It's like playing the lottery. You have to have a certain amount of luck to win-I don't care what they say. And I have very little luck. At least this way it's in my hands. If it fails it is because of me, (or my writing). There is no one to pin the blame on.

So here I go. I'll use this blog to track my progress incase anyone else is thinking of doing the same thing. I'll tell you all about what I wish I would have done differently. ;)

I'll also talk about books.

And writing.

And sometimes Buffy.