Amarillo By Morning

This week has just been totally awesome. I feel like me again and I've been able to fully focus on my writing and, once again, I'm so happy that things are back to normal!

For reference, I'm writing this post on Wednesday night to auto post tomorrow morning.

So, I had a moment today. It's one of those moments that every writer loves to have. It's when inspiration gets behind you and just launches you forward. The story grabs you, takes hold of you and starts running away while you're furiously typing as fast as you can, doing everything you can to keep up. You're nothing but a spec of dust in the face of a hurricane. The story has control.

And you type, and you type, and you type.

And an hour and 3k words later, you look up to face reality and wonder what the hell just happened.

It. Is. Magical.

Now, this was not my first moment and I love it every time it happens, (the feeling is indescribable) but this time it was so important because of the surrounding circumstances.

I've been trying to tie Amarillo to Boulder City now for two months. For those of you that have been with me since the very very beginning, who actually downloaded my NaNoWriMo manuscript from Smashwords last November, knows that Amarillo simply didn't exist in my first draft. It was only a vague idea that never got written. When I made the decision to flesh out the world, Amarillo was back in.

And then I got stuck.

The original plan for Amarillo was only supposed to cover two scenes but, as I wrote, the story began to demand more time. Things went into flux and I had to rewrite scenes and perspectives, and now I'm looking at two full chapters for Amarillo. These are not stretched-out filler scenes, mind you, but action-packed adventures.

This morning I started the last Amarillo scene, thinking it would just be a hop, skip and a jump to Boulder City. I've had a foggy vision of how this would play out in my head for a while now, so figured I would get it over with fast and continue with the editing process.

And then things... happened...

I was mid sentence, trying to figure out my wording, when I thought to myself... What if? and BAM! The scene unfolded in my brain as the fog cleared and I went into a daze. An hour later it was like I woke up from a dream. Just a few more shots fired and Amarillo is complete... And it's not even Friday yet!

I just can't wait to see what the weekend brings!

Oh, and just as a reminder, that first deleted scene for Amarillo will be posted next Thursday! It's purely optional if you want to read it. The scene will be accurate to the story line, just in a different perspective than what will actually be published.

Have a wonderful, wonderful weekend!

Ready Player One - By Ernest Cline

Yay! Happy Tuesday! So glad to be back and ready to write. Once again I apologize for how brief my last update was, so I am hoping that this makes up for it.

I do want to mention again how I rate my reviews. I really don't care about the occasional typos or grammatical errors every now and then. We all have them, so that is no reason to knock a star off a rating. If the errors are every other sentence, then it might be a problem but, otherwise, I tend to overlook those.

Also, if I choose to read a book outside my typical genre, I'm not going to knock a book because a horror was too horrific, or a romance was too heavy on the romance. That's not being fair to the author. It seems that this should go without saying but I still see this very thing happening in reviews quite often. I don't understand why people do this. Just seems so silly and only hurts the author.

Ready Player One
By Ernest Cline

Now on to the review!

I actually read Ready Player One last month, or... June. I forgot it's already August. I just lost so much time last month due to vacation, Tradeshow, and getting sick. It was a crazy July. I'm glad things look to be getting back to normal.

Again, the review.

When I first started reading Ready Player One, I was so sure that it was going to get a 5 star rating from me. The book started off excellent, had an excellent premise, was written from a gamer's perspective for a gamer, was full of wonderful 80's references and I absolutely loved it.

However, it wasn't without it's flaws and I ended up only giving the book 4 stars. The issue that I struggled with was the massive information dumps. There were parts where the pace of the book was slowed down to a crawl while we got some 80s history, but I was really craving some action by that point.

Aside from that, it was wonderful. The book is set in a dystopia world where people plug in to a virtual reality called the OASIS on a daily basis to work, go to school and, of course, have fun. The main character gets involved in the game of a lifetime that's centered around finding the Easter egg of all Easter eggs. It was a great ride.

I was not aware of this when I was reading the book but there are Easter eggs within the book for the reader to find. I didn't even pick up on them. I do know that Will Wheaton voiced the audio book and I'm seriously considering buying it from Audible. Maybe I can catch some of those Easter eggs while I listen.

So there is the review that I've needed to write for a while. The next one will probably be on The Companions since that released today and I'm going to battle my reading addition just to get my word count in.

Ahh, it's so good to be back!

Rough Weekend

The post today is going to be fairly short. A viscous stomach virus has been making its rounds through the house this past week and I am completely drained. I hate those!

R.A. Salvatore's first book in his newest trilogy is being released next Tuesday and I am super excited. I will probably have The Companions purchased before I even get out of bed that morning.

I know this post is so lacking but it's difficult to even set at the computer right now. I'll make up for it next week, I promise!

A New Version

Sheesh, is it Thursday again already? Time is just flying by.

This week has been very productive on all fronts. I got in some much needed edits for After - Part One and they should be available now on Amazon and Smashwords. If you downloaded from Nook or Sony, it may take a little longer for the updated version to be sent out from Smashwords but there really aren't a lot of changes. Mostly just typos and grammatical errors...

Oh, and that one HUGE continuity error... Sometimes it sucks writing in the present when the future scenes are still wispy ghosts not quite fully formed in your head. I hate the fact that it slipped by. It wasn't an error during the first writing but things do change.

If anyone would like to read it, just update to the new version. I believe both Amazon and Smashwords have this functionality but I can't speak for Nook or Sony. I did briefly consider posting the text here but decided against it. Spoilers, ya know? It's in Chapter 5, Scene 1. If you don't want to update and wade through all the chapters, you can always drop me an email at drjpublishing@gmail.com and I'd be happy to send you the single scene. It really isn't that big of a deal but it does effect a scene I'm currently writing in Dreamland.

I guess that's my big news for the week. I have submitted the deleted chapter to my beta reader (that's just a fancy title for my darling husband) for final edits. Expect that to go live on my blog on August 15th. The Prologue and real Chapter 1 are also ready for the final edits but I'm holding on to those until I have a bit more to go with it.

I also finished up my Facebook timeline artwork yesterday and I have to say I am very pleased as to how it turned out. Feel free to hop on over and take a gander. Oh, and toss me a 'like' if you haven't yet. I sure appreciate it.

What... to blatant? I know, I'm shameless. :)

https://www.facebook.com/DRJohnsonwriter

I'm still exhausted from the rush of last week and trying to cram everything into what few hours I have to myself. I can't wait to relax! Everyone have a safe and happy weekend and I'll be back on Tuesday with another review!

Resurgence, by Johi Jenkins

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I hope everyone's week has started off well.

I have two books I need to review. Ready Player One that I finished a few weeks ago and Resurgence that I just finished yesterday. I decided to go with what was fresh in my brain (I'm sure the post title gave that away) and I'll catch Ready Player One next week.

So, on to the good stuff.

Resurgence, by Johi Jenkins

Resurgence is the first novel by Johi Jenkins and right up my alley for my monthly indie-book pick. First off, it was not what I expected at all when I first cracked open the ole' kindle. Perhaps it was the cover that had me thinking of something more seraphic but that's my own fault. I am a total sucker for angel books but we'll break into that some other time.

I guess I should start off by saying how I felt when I read the final words. The book kinda blew my mind.

I'm normal not very indulgent in the romance genre so this was a very nice change of pace. The epic love shared between Brielle and James was wonderful to read about. The connection they have with each other is very strong (that's putting it mildly) and pretty much leaves the reader basking in the glow of their love.

But is it just a love story? No, and this is where the 5 stars come in. I've never come across a book with this type of premise before and I found it very intriguing and engaging. As you know from my previous reviews, I generally don't like stories surrounding time travel due to all the plot holes, but the time travel concept in this book was an amazing theory and I enjoyed reading about it as the mystery surrounding it unfolded. The reveal at the end was simply beautiful.

Supernatural powers manifested throughout the book and the reader gets to see through the eyes of Brielle as she first figures out she has abilities, then how she deals with it as she is able to control them as they get stronger.

I thought the side characters were well written and very defined, and the main plot came around full circle to be resolved nicely at the end. I would definitely like to see a second book set in this world because I just wasn't ready to let it go.

So if you love a good romance to go along with your paranormal fix, I recommend giving this book a shot. As of this review, Johi currently has it on sale for $.99. Well worth it.

Johi Jenkins has her own blog. You can find her here.

**From information on Johi's blog, she will be revealing a new cover for Resurgence soon. This post will be updated at that time.

Social Media

First, I need to vent a little. It's Hell Week at work, (otherwise known as the annual Tradeshow week) and I have been run ragged to the point of dissolving into a puddle of goo as soon as I get home. My brain has been total mush, so I am very sad to report that no real progress has been made on the rewrites since Monday.

However, up to that point, things were going spectacular! I have Chapter 1 (both of them) in the mostly done pile and that's no small feat. My plan is to get a few edits in tomorrow and Friday, then really make up some time this weekend. I'm waiting to hit that point of revelation where everything falls into place. That still might be just a little bit down the road.

Okay, so here it is.

Social Media

It really took me awhile to warm up to the idea of trying to juggle 3 social media sites as well as write/edit my book AND work that full-time desk job, but now I think I'm ready to give it that ole college try. I know how important it is to get myself out there so I can spread the word for The Phoenix Curse and I love the interaction that I have with my readers. So this is my goal. Opening up more avenues for you guys to find, follow and, most importantly, talk to me! I read every comment and email I've gotten and I respond to all, so don't be shy!

I'm ready to unveil my bright, shiny and new Facebook page right here.

Facebook.com/DRJohnsonwriter

Also, if you're more of a twitter follower, then here ya go.

Follow @Twitter

My twitter page has been running for a while although it might be a tad neglected. Honestly, most of my updates come in blog form (right here!) but I will probably start to utilize them both more often. I am, as always, excited to take another step in my journey and very glad to have you all with me!

One last thing before I shut down for the night. I know I've been needing to do this for a few months but just haven't forced myself to make a plan. However, since I have my new outlets of Facebook and Twitter, I'm going to implement a blog schedule in hopes to make it easier for all of us.

Regular status updates will now come on Thursdays. This will be all the juicy TPC info, along with any other project I'll be working on.

Reviews will be posted on Tuesdays when I have one. And I have one, I just haven't had time to write it yet. I need to get to it before I finish the book I'm currently reading. I didn't think I would get so behind!

OH!! And one FINAL FINAL thing, (I promise this is it, for real this time,) I have a decent sized conjunctivitis cyst on my right eye. Yup, nice little souvenir I picked up from that wonderful vacation during the 4th. It's rather irritating, so off to the Dr I went. The plan is to have it scraped (shudder) on Tuesday. I will be a one-eyed pirate for the rest of the day, so it's not ALL bad. I'm interested to see how much editing I can get done though!

Alright, there's my spiel for the week! Have a fabtastic weekend!

Stuttering

Obligatory vacation picture.

So vacation was a much needed break from regular life. I was super happy to get home though. I think everyone knows that feeling. I jumped right back into the rewrites the night I got home. It felt like I was so far behind!

An interesting thing about being away from the actual writing for a while is I had time to think about the story; the character interaction, the scenes, the plot, the intricacies. It helps to let everything dance and mesh around in my head for awhile because I came back with a solid plan to fix some of the things I thought were wrong.

Like Chapter 1.

I realized this one vacation night while I was tossing and turning in my unfamiliar hotel bed. The story line of chapter 1 isn't wrong and I was VERY happy with everything I had written which is what made the decision to do a rewrite so hard. The idea had been gnawing on me for a while actually. I tried to avoid it but the eventuality of it finally settled in and I accepted it's fate.

The problem was simple. Chapter 1 was written from Ali's eyes when it needed to be from Joss's.

Since I've been back, I've been furiously correcting this and I'm almost caught back up just after a couple days. Rewriting a scene from a different POV wasn't actually that hard and I found it to be a good exercise. It's been fun drawing sharp lines between the different ways Ali and Joss see, feel and interact with the world around them. It's just another learning experience in my writing journey.

Now, the interesting news I promised. Hopefully everyone will find this exciting.

I can't bring myself to trash Ali's chapter. I know I can't put it in the book, it no longer has a place there, but I can't let it go. I will continue to edit it, and will post it on the website as a prelude to the release of After - Part Two. 

Perhaps that will smooth over those that weren't such a fan of the cliffhanger ending of Part One. My daughter falls in that group. She texted me as soon as she was done reading and was quite unhappy with me, to which I cackled with glee. My goal was to make the reader feel for the characters and leave them wanting more. Mission accomplished, at least where she was concerned.

However, if I didn't get this part quite correct, I apologize. I will make a solid attempt in the future to avoid leaving my precious characters in dire straights. Sometimes the story does what the story wills, though. I'm just the goofball with the pen in my hand.

Back Home

I am back home and glad to be able to get back to work! It may sound odd but I have missed the writing. Feels so good to have the creative juices flowing and be productive again!

This is just a short hello. I'll get a full post up by Thursday with some interesting news. Until then, trust that I firmly have the editing pen in my hand to make sure I get Part Two out on time!

On Vacation

So, as you may have guessed by now, I did not get a chance to get a post in before leaving town. After a fun filled day of shows at Seaworld, I'm taking a break to get in a quick update.

I did get some work done on After - Part Two last week that I'm very happy with. Still working on outlines for Dreamland and will be working on that pretty hardcore during Camp NaNoWriMo.

Such a brief update, but I'm on my phone! Now it's time to head to the beach. Will post once I get home and settled!

Welcome to Summer!

I hope everyone has a wonderful summer planned! I just hope we aren't looking at TOO many 100+ days here in North Texas. It can get hot, hot, hot down here!

The rewrites on After - Part Two are coming along nicely. I'm focusing on getting the Amarillo chapters done by this week so my hereos can move on to Boulder City. Amarillo was a last minute idea, and I HATE last minute ideas. This is where plot holes and continuity errors live. I really have to let an idea float around in my head for a while, give me time to really get it formulated and solid before it goes down on paper. I started Amarillo on faith that something would come to me over time and eventually it did, but it took too long! I was starting to get worried.

During that time while I was waiting on Amarillo, I jotted down a short story which I'm now working on the finishing touches to get it into a paranormal/horror anthology. This is exciting! I'll keep everyone updated on that as well as this new project progresses.

On the reading front, I have a sad story. I picked up the next book on my to read list, read the 100 pages that I normally do and was irritated the entire time. I just couldn't finish it. I hardly ever abandon a book but I was having a terrible time getting into this one. The book had some pretty decent reviews, but I guess it just wasn't for me. There are WAY too many books out there for me to read, I just don't have the time to dedicate to something I'm struggling with.

I joined a book club, so I'll be reading Ready Player One next week. This one looks pretty good!

Vacation starts next Friday, so I can't wait! I'll try to get a quick update in before we head off to the beach.

Forever Road, By Catie Rhodes

First off, happy fathers day to all those wonderful dads out there! We just got back from an excellent lunch and I am STUFFED!

Now, before I start the review, I want to say just how much I love reading indie books. They follow a different format, a different set of rules (or no rules at all!) than what we've come to expect from a traditional publisher. Sometimes, it's a very refreshing change of pace.

Most of the indie books I have picked up lately have been backed by a handful of very good reviews. Now here is my request on behalf of all the indie authors out there. If you read a book that you like/love, PLEASE post a review. You have no idea how much this means to them/us.

Generally when I read a book, if the story hasn't gripped me by about 100 pages in, I start to lose interest. I find it a chore to finish, if I finish at all.

Forever Road,
by Catie Rhodes

I was thrilled to find that was far from the case with Forever Road. This book pretty much had its claws in me right off the bat. The story is told from the first person perspective of Peri Jean Mace, a tom-boy who has had a rough life and just so happens to be able to see ghosts. She is an excellent character that I genuinely like and believe in.

I do love supernatural/paranormal stories, which is what caught my eye about the book. The interesting thing, though, was that it didn't revolve around the spiritual world 100%. The mystery in the book was so well played out, there were times I would totally forget I was reading a paranormal book. I was just so enthralled by what was going to happen next and the who-dun-it aspect that I forgot about the ghosts!

Along with Peri, there is a great background cast to flesh out the world. The book is full of very lively and believable characters. It's action packed and heartfelt. By the end, I had laughed and cried, and now I can't wait for the next installment.

Catie has a very unique writing style, and I got a kick out of her expressions several times throughout the book. If you like ghosts stories or a good mystery, I 100% recommend this book. I save my 5 star reviews for the books I really love, and this one gets a full 5 stars!

Catie Rhodes has her own blog and webpage. You can find here here.

~ ~ ~ ~

Also, if you have been waiting for After - Part 1 to become a free download on Amazon, I am happy to report that you can grab it anytime now! I fully intend to always offer the first installment of The Phoenix Curse for free, and I'm pacing the releases so that I can keep ahead on the writing front as much as possible. 

So far, so good! Enjoy what's left of the weekend!

Spectacular Week!

Happy weekend everyone!

I just wanted to drop a short note to let all my fans know how phenomenal this week has been. The response I've gotten from the release of After - Part 1 has far exceeded any of my expectations and I am truly overwhelmed.

A big THANK YOU to everyone already out there, and a warm welcome to all the new visitors. You are all amazing. I just don't have enough words to express how thankful I am right now for all of you.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

Busy!

So things have been quite hectic lately with the start of summer break. I am counting down the days until vacation!

Here's a quick update.

I've started reading Forever Road by Catie Rhodes, and I'm really enjoying it so far. I'm parceling it out a chapter at a time, so the reading is slow for right now, but expect a review here in a little bit. I'm also working on the rewrites for Part 2 of After and am so far pretty happy with the progress.

NaNoWriMo is organizing writing camps for July. There is still a word count goal, but unlike the 50k words in November, you can set this one to whatever you feel is attainable. I'm thinking about signing up and adding 25k words to Dreamland. It's not a bad goal considering the other projects I'm working on.

If any of you out there reading this has ever dreamed of writing, I urge you to give this a shot! Don't worry, no one will have access to your story, so no one will be able to read it. It's yours and yours alone, and you can write about what ever you want! They have a fantastic support network that has answers to any question you might have.

Stop by and have a look if it's something you think you might be interested in. Camp NaNoWriMo.

Choices - A Time Travel Novella, By Cate Dean

After the rush of excitement of finally publishing my first book, I decided to sit down and curl up with a story I could get absorbed in. I picked up Choices - a Time Travel Novella, by Cate Dean.

I love the cover art.

I first discovered Cate Dean while reading Tales From The Mist. The Messenger was one of her short stories published within the anthology, and it was a gripping tale that stuck with me. Although I enjoyed Choices, I think I still like The Messenger better.

That being said, Choices was exactly what I wanted to read. I've never much cared for stories with time travel, but this one didn't dwell on the intricacies that generally revolve around the subject, so likewise wasn't bogged down by loop holes that come with it. Instead, we jumped right into the action, following our damaged heroine, Maura, as her journey was forced upon her.

I know some reviewers have said that they wished to have more detail in this story, and wished it was longer, but I think it worked okay as is. It's true, there isn't a lot of detail or back-story when you get started, but by the end, Cate has sprinkled all the answers through-out the book by our insight into Maura's thoughts, and nearly everything we original questioned has been answered.

There is A LOT of action packed into this little book, and sometimes I found myself wincing at Maura's pain and rubbing my own leg. It was a very fast ride, and a worthwhile read if this is the type of book you go for. As I said before, this generally isn't the genre I'm inclined to read, and it will not linger with me as The Messenger did, but I still enjoyed it.

~ ~ ~ ~

Now, on to The Phoenix Curse news. I guess I'm a glutton for punishment, but the second I got everything wrapped up with the publication, I was ready to jump right into Part Two. Crazy! I had to force myself to get some other things done!

I've finally found the need to add 'tabs' to my blog. If you'll notice the 'Books' tab has a link to all the places that you can find Part One, and I have declared that Part Two will be available in the fall. Also, I have been working on the cover art for Part Two. This is exactly what I envisioned in my mind, and I'm pretty much blown away that I was able to actually get that out of my brain and into Paint.net. I'm still working on the brightness levels so you can tell what you're looking at in the thumbnail, but I really dig what it looks like when the picture is blown up! I'll probably still work on it a bit more before I'm ready to publish, but here is the preliminary artwork.

Now that I'll soon by diving into the Part Two edits, I ALSO have all of Part One of Dreamland fully
outlined, and am once again pleased with the story progression.

For those of you that have been following along, and read my acknowledgements in Part One, then you all already know how big a part my husband has played in this. Even though he is my beta-reader and editor, he still refuses to let me spoil him! So he's reading the story for the first time as he edits, and he's urging me to get my rewrites done so he knows what happens! This is great incentive for me to keep trudging on.

For all my fans out there, thank you so much for the wonderful, encouraging comments. Those, too, mean so much to me! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

The Phoenix Curse: After - Part One

Drumroll please!

After - Part 1

It is done. Many tears of joy were shed this day.

Without further ado, I give you part 1 of After, book 1 in The Phoenix Curse.

I actually uploaded last night, and was VERY happy to see Part 1 was already accepted into the premium catalog this morning. This means that the book will be going out to iTunes and Barnes and Noble in about two weeks.

I am still working on getting everything ready for upload on Amazon, for those of you that prefer the kindle. The formatting for Amazon is a total bear! Smashwords was incredibly easy compared to this! I figure it will still be a few days before the book is ready to upload.

Now that I know more about Amazon, I have decided to hold off a bit to enroll Part 1 in the KDP Select program, if I ever enroll it at all. I did find out I have to list it at .99 cents, and eventually Amazon will lower the price to match the free cost I have listed on Smashwords, but I have no idea how long that will take.

All that aside, I am very excited! I hope everyone enjoys the novella as much as I enjoyed writing it. I am eager to get to work on the rewrites for Part 2, and I'll be getting back to dedicating one night a week to Dreamland.

For those of you that have been with me from the beginning, I'm sorry you'll still have to wait a little bit longer for some story progression, but I do think the changes I made to Part 1 is worth a reread.

Thank you all!

The Last Threshold, By R. A. Salvatore

Before I get into the 'review', a quick, happy update on After. All rewrites are now done! I am just going through one final read through as I format to fit the Smashwords specifications, and then Part 1 will be uploaded!

I am also working on the cover for CreateSpace and formatting for Amazon. I DO plan to enroll in the KDP program with Amazon, which means I will have to remove the Part 1 novella from Smashwords. If Smashwords is your preferred reading format, I apologize for the move, but I feel this is best for me at this time, and the marketing the KDP program can give me. All I can say is grab the format from Smashwords as quickly as possible.

Also, the book will be a free download while on Smashwords, as well as after I move it to Amazon.

I did suffer a minor hiccup Friday night, which perturbed me to the point that I shut off my computer and picked up a book. A small storm was blowing through, and we suffered a brown out after I had been working on my 'From the Author' for about an hour. Yes, I have my auto-save set up, and this is normally why I use Yarny or Evernote to write with, but I had JUST copied out of Notepad to clear formatting, and pasted it into Word.

*FLASH* Aanndd, it's gone.

I know it's not the worst thing that could have happened. I've lost full chapters before, but for anyone that's written anything, it's still very annoying. Especially since I've been chewing on my author's note for quite awhile now. The funny thing is, I know no one ever reads those! So, with an eye-roll to that minor annoyance, I move on.

My Copy

That night, I picked up The Last Threshold, the 4th and last book in R. A. Salvatore's Neverwinter Saga. I was only a quarter way into the book since I had been reading it on the plane the week before, but as soon as I got into it, I did what I normally do when I read books. I couldn't put it down and I finished it yesterday afternoon.

And when I say I can't put these books down, it is quite literal. Even though I have a signed copy from Salvatore himself, that precious copy is put away in a safe place, and I was reading it on my kindle app on my phone. So I'm reading it as I'm walking around the house, walking to the car, and in the passenger seat as my husband drives. This quirk I have annoys him, but he tolerates it. After all... it's Drizzt Do'Urden we're talking about here.

It will be difficult for me to review this book for those unfamiliar with the series. Salvatore has written quite a few books in the Forgotten Realms D&D world, and I have to look at is as just one part of the whole.

Is it the best book he's ever written? No.
Is it a must read for the Drizzt fans out there? Yes, yes, yes, absolutely yes!

The relationship I have with this series of books is quite unique for me and any other book series I've ever read. To keep it short, my husband was the one who introduced me to the books shortly after we had gotten together. During road trips, we would take turns reading the books to each other, and then would discuss them at length afterwards. Our shared love for the books brought me closer to the characters.

At first, my husband was several books ahead of me in the series, so when I finished the Ghost King, I couldn't let him know. I was devastated and wasn't able to talk about it for a few days. Now I have finished The Last Threshold before him, in fact we were pulling into a parking space yesterday to pick up our pizza when I finished the last word.

I clicked off the phone and threw it into my lap.

He turned to me, saying something about the pizza, saw the tears and just turned to get out of the car. I heard him say "crap" as he shut the door.

Based on my reaction, he is now scared to read the book. Now I have no one to talk to about it! I'm sure he'll pick it up soon. He's still helping me with the final edits on After, so I'll give him a pass on The Last Threshold for awhile.

I do need to update my Shelfari, but here are the books I have in line to read next.

Choices - A Time Travel Novella, by Cate Dean
Forever Road, by Catie Rhodes
Breaking The Devil's Heart, by H.A. Goodman

And I eventually plan to get around to reading the Dead series by TW Brown. I have read his Zomblog series, and really enjoyed it. I just fear that as soon as I start a series, I'm going to get lost in it for weeks and nothing productive will get done!

My next post should be the announcement that After - Part 1  is live on Smashwords. Not long to wait now!

Lil'Bit

Woohoo!

Time to take a short break from the furious editing pace I've set lately. Need to make sure I finish on time to
release Part 1 at the first of June as promised. Things are going well! I've rewritten then ending of Part 1, and
now just have two scenes left to fill in and edit. Then it's time for one last re-read. Woohoo!

Also, another little bright point of interest, I am over 13,000 words into Dreamland. Not bad for a book I'm not dedicating any serious time for! I have shelved my work on Book 2, though, at least until I finish the edits for Part 1 of After.

Now for a little story. This actually revolves around something that happened to me yesterday morning, but first I need to flashback to about 18 years ago.

My friend and I were out driving down a stretch of not-so-busy highway when I see what I think is a paper bag being thrown out of the window of the car in front of us. It's just a brown blur, and I really didn't think anything of it, except my friend gasps and stops the car in the dead center of the highway.

It wasn't a bag that was thrown out of the window, but a kitten.

Now, I'm not going to go into what a despicable person it was that did this. That's not what this story is about, but to this day I still remain horrified at the act of cruelty I witnessed.

So, we're stopped in the middle of the highway. The car behind us stops to check on us, not sure what had happened, and the Good Samaritan thought we might need help. My friend explains, and he fetches the kitten. Amazingly enough, it's still alive, although it's pretty much petrified from terror and pain.

I held the little thing on it's back in my cupped hands. The only thing he moved was his eyes. He was alert, and obviously panicked. He had bitten through his tongue and had a few other minor injuries, but the worst was his right shoulder. It was pretty much shattered and completely useless.

It was late in the evening already, and I lived very very far from civilization. This was before cell phones, kiddos, so I actually had to get back to my house before I could start calling any local vets. That also meant pulling out the old yellow pages. Remember those?

Not actual pic of Lil'Bit

Anyway, we had no luck finding someone that could help the poor thing until the next morning. I patched him up as best I could for the night, making a little splint and harness for his injured leg that secured it to his chest. We were't even sure if he'd live long enough to make it to the vet. He managed to surprise us, and was actually moving around the next morning a little bit.

Then the vet recommended we put him to sleep.

Really? Not acceptable. If I had been able to get a second opinion, I would have, but our options were very limited due to how rural our area was. So I nursed him back to health on my own, and he made a miraculous recovery. His shoulder never healed properly though, so he never regained the use of his front right paw, but he managed to get around just fine.

He was very feral though, and never got over his ordeal. I had two other cats at the time, and he wouldn't get near either one of them. The only person he would tolerate was me, and that was only on his terms. One day, he got out of the house, and that was the last time I ever got close to him. I saw him occasional, and always set food out for him, but he was no longer under my protection.

When it came time to move back to civilization, I couldn't catch him. I hope he lived a happy life up there in the wilderness. I had always called him Lil'Bit.

Flash forward to yesterday morning.

I was driving to work, and had glanced at my radio for a sec. When I looked back up, I saw the car in front of me swerve and a brown flash of fur flying through the air. It looked like the car could have possibly clipped him, or maybe he had just jumped out of fright, but it was a fuzzy little kitten. It hit the ground and darted off the road into the field. I slowed down and tried to spot him, but he had already disappeared in the grass. I hope the little guy was all right.

Then, at the next light, I pull up behind the little mini cooper that had almost hit him, and this is the kicker.

The personal license plate was "L'Bit."

So, there's my little story of cosmic coincidence. I can only hope for happy endings in this story; that Lil'Bit lived a long, happy life in the woods, and the little kitten from yesterday morning is fine and has learned his
lesson about roads. I thought the story worthy enough to share.

Now it's time to enjoy the weekend now, everyone! I'll have my nose to the grindstone again soon enough. I may not update much while I'm working on the last finishing touches, but the timeline is still looking good!

Get ready, everyone!!

Back Home!

Sorry for the lack of updates this past week, but I was on a business trip out in CA. First time I've ever been over by the LA area, but unfortunately my time was pretty much monopolized by day job stuff, and I didn't get to see any sites.

I also only got to spend a small amount of time on editing, but I still managed to get through a good chunk.

I am totally exhausted, and was super happy I got to sleep in my own bed last night. It feels so good to be home!

Going to recoup a little bit today, and then get back to it. It's still looking like I'll be able to hit the timeline.

Shara and the Haunted Village, by Jeffery Getzin

I just finished this little novella last night and have to say it was an enjoyable read. I give this book a solid 3 1/2 stars.

Shara and the Haunted Village

The reasons I liked it;

• It's a quick read with a nice fast paced adventure.
• It's very reminiscent of a D&D scenario campaign. I've read a lot of D&D books and I enjoy them, although I know not everyone does. To me, it always feels like you're part of the adventure.
• The story had a nice, neat ending - the kind of ending you would expect for a story like this, and I found it gratifying and clever.
• The demon gets a full 5 stars, and she's reason enough to read the book if you enjoy a good fantasy novel. IMO, she was the star of the show.

The reason this book didn't get a higher rating.

• There were some scenes/errors in the book that pulled me out of the story, making it hard to get 100% absorbed.
• The main male lead reminded me of a certain rogue leader of Bregan D'aearth, and he never really broke out as his own character until towards the very end. (Edit: See Jeffery's comment below! Very interesting.)

Now, the issues that pulled me out of the story I believe could be fixed with a bit more polishing. That would make this a stellar fantasy read that I would recommend to anyone. As it stands now, I know some people don't have a high tolerance for these types of errors, and I would be afraid to recommend this and then have the reader be turned off from the author. 

That being said, is this book worth polishing when the author could be working on new novels? I would say no, it's fine the way it stands now, and precious time could be devoted to writing new adventures. 

As for myself, I would gladly pick up another book from this author, particularly one that would revolve around Shara again. I could see her going on another adventure, one even further from home, and she has a ton of potential character growth.

Jeffery Getzin has his own webpage. You can find him here.

~ ~ ~ ~

NOW, on to a little Dreamland blurb. I know I skipped writing last week in favor of a much needed break, but I picked it up again this week and I got to finally introduce two main characters for book 2 to Joss. It's so exciting and I loved finally seeing them take shape in the words. They're exactly who I had rumbling around in my mind for these past few months.

Editing is also still going well. No hiccups or delays to report there. Nothing exciting either! Editing is so hard, but I'm done whining about it for the night. I'm satisfied with what I accomplished today, and I'm ready to start the weekend. Yay!

My Little Rose

Silence And Sound

My darling daughter has just had her first poem published. She's ecstatic, and I am one proud mama. It was published in the school news paper, but still, she has the bragging rights! She got published before I did!

She was also quite indignant about the editorial liberties they took with her poem. I do have to admit, they changed it up for the worse. I'm not sure who made that decision, but it is what it is. I helped her get her original published on WattPad, so she's been passing around that link to her friends.

         But wait! There's more!

The Reason Why

We've finally got a lot of the kinks worked out on her other story. It's something she calls... Creepy Pasta. I had to wiki that to figure out what it is. Apparently it's the in thing for kids right now. For those that don't want to click the link, it's just short horror stories based on urban legends. I've actually listened to a few that are narrated on YouTube, and some aren't bad.

The story she wrote a few weeks back, this Creepy Pasta thing, is also posted on WattPad. Any review I give on this is completely biased  so I will abstain. I know this isn't the perfectly written story, but she's making the effort and learning in the process! I am so very proud of her.

So that has been an exciting couple of days for both of us. I am also pleased to announce that editing seems to be going so much more smoothly now. I don't know what happened. Either I've figured something out, or I'm looking at it through rose-colored glasses and you're going to get a steaming pile of poo! Ahh, let's all hope that's not the case.

Anyway, I'm finally prepared to lay out a VERY tentititive deadline as to when the polished copy of After - Part 1 will be up on Smashwords. My target right now is before June, so I'm just going to say June 1st, just to be on the safe side.

~deep breath~

Okay, I said it! I can do this, right? Oh boy...

Tales From The Mist

Here is the brief review, as promised.

Just a little note for your information. When I write reviews, I will do my best to avoid spoilers. I know spoilers are probably not too likely to happen with a book full of short stories, but there are a few other books that I'm planning on reviewing here in a few.

Tales From The Mist is definitely worth buying. I love just being able to get a quick story in every now and then, and most of the stories in the book delivered. Some are chilling, some are sad, and there's a few twists in there as well. I feel safe to say that there's a little bit of something in here for everyone.

Also, if you want to support the indie community, this is a great purchase. I generally buy a couple indie books a month, although I have to confess I haven't had a chance to read them all, but they are all on my list of things to do! I know the reviews are just as important as the purchases.

Yesterday, I only got a little bit of editing done, although I spent a lot of time on the book cover. I'm currently working on the Smashwords dimensions, and my aim is to make something that can convert to Amazon pretty fluidly. I wasn't aware that this was going to be so tedious! I'll probably get to spend a little more time with the cover today and will upload it as soon as it's done. It's very tedious work for someone who's a novice at graphic design.

I had originally planned on hiring someone to do it for me. Give some support to the indie cover artists (They need love too!) but I actually love doing this type of stuff. I wanted to try my hand at it and see how it turned out. Plus, it's relaxing in its own way. I nice break from the editing I'm struggling with.

Speaking of creating things, I bought a little do-it-yourself shelve/bench for my little boy. Now his toys have a REAL home! He was very curious, and sat close by me as I built it for him. He was also very excited when he figured out his toys can go in the little blue boxes, and he helped me transfer them all from his old bin. Here's the finished result.

Yay! I finished something!

Alright guys. That's all for today. Time to enjoy what's left of the weekend!

Good Day

First off, I'm testing this new email feature. I may have to go back and edit the formatting to clean it up some, but thought it might come in handy if I ever had a few spare moments to blog when I was at an internet accessible computer that for some reason has Blogger blocked. I couldn't think of where that place might be, though. ~innocent smile~

So, you may have noticed, these past few days, I've been making some adjustments to the interface here. I like the new logo at the top, but still not sure what else I want to do. I guess the old adage, keep it simple stupid, does just fine.

I am also really happy with the amount of editing I've been able to get done. I did get the first part of Chapter 1 rewritten, and blended in now. If I could edit like this every day, I'd be done in no time! Unfortunately  I don't see that happening, though. We will always have good days and bad days. Editing is no exception.

I really miss reading. I normally read quite a bit, and have actually read a few books over this past year, despite writing a whole novel. I have stayed away from picking up a new book though, because I know as soon as I do, I will get all obsessive compulsive with it and won't get anything else done until I finish the book.

But I really want to read something!! 

So, to compensate some, I bought a book full of short stories in the horror genre. It's called Tales From The Mist. I read the first story while waiting at my Dr's appointment yesterday. It was okay. I'll update my Shelfari with a full review once I'm done reading. It had some pretty decent reviews, so I'm hoping this will quench my thirst, so to speak.

I will update again soon!

A Game of Rewrites

Ugh.

That about sums up my feelings from the past few days. I've been working pretty diligently on editing, although I did take the day off on Sunday. That was my Dreamland day, anyway.

I feel pretty good about what I was able to accomplish yesterday, although in the big scope of things, I'm still not pleased with my pacing on the editing. It's a learning process, I know, I just wish I could go a bit faster. I will continue to work on it and improve the best I can.

Right now, I'd like to discuss one of my favorite authors. Mr. George R. R. Martin. I know the man is the IN thing right now because of the HBO show, Game of Thrones, and that thrills me to no end, but I was a fan of his writing before the show was even a thing. My husband and I have both read A Song of Ice and Fire and we are eagerly awaiting the Winds of Winter.

I think Mr. Martin is a genius. Beyond the fact that my husband and I were able to share the story with each other, the books have also inspired many conversations and lengthy discussions. A Storm of Swords is one of my all time favorite books, so you can imagine how excited I am for this season of A Game of Thrones.

The episode that aired last Sunday night featured a scene that I was eagerly awaiting from the very first announcement of the show, and it did not disappoint. It was wonderfully done, and not only am I happy about that, I am also very gratified.

I highly recommend both the books and the show.

Now, that being said, I'm off to rewrite Chapter 1.

In Rememberance

This is a terribly sad week for American History.

Due to the tragic events that have been happening in Boston, I'll make this brief.

18 years ago, at 9:01am, I was just driving into Oklahoma City when the fertilizer bomb went off.

"We come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever. May all who leave here know the impact of violence.
May this memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope and serenity."

For Boston

I hate the tragedies and I hate the pain. I hate the fact that these bombs in Boston won't be the last senseless attack we'll see and be forced to experience.

How one person, or a small group of people, can have such a huge impact on so many people by committing such a terrible act leads us all down the path to wonder why?

The 'whys' might matter later, they might not. The fact remains that there are wounds here now that will never heal, and those that live through this have had their lives changed forever. Whether they crumple into maddening sorrow, or have the strength to carry on, their lives will never be the same.

To those out there that have been injured, lost loved ones, lost their own lives, you have my tears. I can think of no words that could come from a stranger that would bring you comfort, but every part of me wishes I could send you what strength I have as I sit here and stare at the news reports so far away. You have, in a word, my condolences. I know that's not enough.

And to those of you that rushed into the chaos, the ones that helped the injured, the ones offering rides, and even opening your homes to strangers. Even the ones helping coordinate things online to open another avenue to find help, or even locate loved ones.

Thank you.

You are truly heroes. Its this show of humanity from hundreds of people on this dark day that overshadows the act of one psychopath. This is how we know these assholes, try as they might, can't win. The humanity we share still manages to shine through.

Never lose site of that.

Today I Learned...

I guess it's been more over the past week that I figured this out, but editing is all kinds of boring. At least from my very short experience with it. Writing is much more fun! I have set aside a couple hours a day to edit and work on my rewrites. Even though I'm not bouncing off the walls while I'm doing it, I'm still keeping up a steady pace.

I am also quite pleased with what I've already got polished up as the 'final final' draft. THAT is something that is very exciting and terrifying at the same time. The more of these scenes and chapters I get behind me, the closer I am to releasing this to the public. That next step is looming on the horizon as a manifestation of all my fears and doubts, staring down at me with judgmental eyes and waiting for me to break.

But I can't break. I've put too much work into this to leave it unfinished now.

And there's just so much more rattling around in my head I need to get out.

The last thing I want to do is disappoint the few of you that have been following me. I just hope I can deliver a story that you can enjoy.

Once again, I wish I could give you a timeline for when I expect to be done on the editing, but I've found that my progression is varying from day to day. Some days I can run through a scene easily, then others I can get lost in rewrites and end up adding to the editing pile instead of taking away. So... sorry about that.

As far as my one day a week rule for Book 2, that's going awesome. I'm already halfway through chapter two.

So there's my almost weekly update. Enjoy your weekend everyone!

A New Journey

I feel very honored to be writing this little introduction, not to mention, extremely proud.

My daughter has finished a short story that will debut on WattPad by the end of this week. I am in full fledged editing mode, so I've moved her story to the top of the After pile. I apologize for the delay this will cause, but I can't say that I'm feeling that sorry!

See, I made this deal with her. Whatever she would write and finish, I would edit. Last night she sat down, and in an hour and 1/2, she wrote a short story from start to finish. It came in at just a little over 2200 words, and she typed every bit of it by hunt and peck. I was very impressed!

I hope she never loses that spark, and I will do what I can to fan those flames.

I am so very very proud of her.

Aside from that tangent, here's my thoughts on my editing of After thus far. I have to say that this is very easy and extremely hard, all at once! I'm taking my time, and my husband is proof-reading everything to catch the little things I STILL manage to miss. I will say I am happy with what I already have finished and in the ~DONE~ pile.

Part 1 will be getting a few scenes added in to flesh out the world a bit more, so I've decided to post that on Smashwords once I've finished the editing process. If you've been following along with me, I recommend a reread once it's up. There will be quite a few changes from the first draft that's available now!

To make sure I don't lose the connection I have with my characters, I have dedicated one night a week to working on book 2, Dreamland. I have come so far in my ideas from where I first started, it amazes me. I am looking forward to really digging in and writing about what life is like in this new post-apocalyptic world.

So that's my little weekly update. This editing thing just doesn't seem to have as many breakout WOW moments to post about... At least not yet. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Victory

The day after achieving one of my biggest goals, and all I can say is I'm still exhausted. Yesterday was not only the completion of the first draft of my first full length novel, but I also blasted through my word count record for one day, and left my old record eating dust.

My previous record stood at around 4k, and that was from the closing days of my first NaNoWriMo when I was exuberant at the fact I was going to finish my goal on time.

Yesterday, I ended the day with a whopping 6885 words, and it was absolutely amazing. The words were just flowing, and I never hit a point where I was sitting there going... "What now?" I just knew what was going to happen.

There was a moment where I finished a paragraph and sat back and just stared at my screen. I was so nervous, I actually ran my hands through my hair and squeezed my palms against my temples and thought... Am I really about to write this? This is the end. The end is starting right now.

And now the editing begins in earnest.

Since I have never done this before, I have no time line to lay out other than I will be trying to get this done and available on Smashwords ASAP.

I am very excited and pleased right now. And did I mention exhausted?

Exhausted...

Done

At 12:47am on 3/25/13, I finished my first book at a little over 130k words.

I can't find the words to express how I feel right now, other than I know I'm exhausted. You will get a full update tomorrow, but for right now.... Sleep.

Ground Zero

I don't know what's going on right now, but this house has been riddled by sickness since last Friday.

The toddler started it, throwing up at his sitters. Then once I got home Friday night, (after getting a good amount of writing done, thank goodness) it started for me. Oh, it was so bad. Lasted for me all night Friday night, then again Saturday afternoon. Once the puking stopped, the congestion/sinus infection set it. REALLY? So I wasn't eating normal again until Wednesday.

And that was just me.

My husband and Mother-in-Law (she's visiting) have been dealing with the same thing all week. It just catches hold and lingers.

Oh, and my son puked on me yesterday. Thanks little boy. I appreciate that.

So if the zombie invasion is starting, it's right here, right now, and I'm not making it out of this. This is ground zero.

So, as one would imagine, I haven't gotten much writing done all week. I DID manage to finish up Chapter 19, and break some ground on chapter 20 before I gave in to the sickness. I did go back and get some edits done, but just didn't feel like writing new stuff. Chapter 20 is going to be a big chapter, and I've replayed the scene in my head over and over and over again. I'm hoping it's not as difficult to get down on paper as the Joss/Becky scenes were. I should have the whole first draft done by next weekend.

Very exciting!

Oh, and I'm no longer sharing a spoon with the toddler. As easy as it is when dinner time rolls around, I have been sick 4 times in the past month. Just ugh...

Senses

Well, not sure why I want to say this here, but since I mentioned it before, you're going to get the update on my LASIK surgery.

Everything's going great with that. I still have minor double vision in my right eye, as well as dry-eye, but I'm aware I'm still very early in my healing process. I may have to have an enhancement surgery on my right eye later if that doesn't clear up, but I'm still okay with it even being the way it is now... The results of the procedure are wonderful and mind boggling.

That being said, I would like to talk about my new unaided 20/20 vision, or more to the point the effects that they're having on me.

I can't shut down.

So I'm 36, and I started wearing glasses when I was 8, and contacts when I was 12. I had a -8 in my right eye, and -7 in my left. If your don't know how bad that is, it means you simple can not function outside of your comfort zone, and even barely inside your comfort zone, without glasses/contacts. As anyone can imagine, this has been nothing short of a pain in the ass for the better part of my life. I never slept in my contacts, so I spent the night blind.

I spent the night blind for over half my life.

I never understood what that actually meant to me until now. Despite my lack of sight being a severe hindrance, (and 100% guaranteed death in a zombie apocalypse) this was part of me, a part of my consciousness that my sub-consciousness associate(d) with ... ME.

Even though I hated it, this FUZZY vision was a tangible thing to my mind. Fuzzy vision is simply a lack of clear vision, as much as cold is simply the absence of heat. When it's a sweltering 110 degrees in the Metroplex, you miss the cold... And I miss.. my fuzzy vision? Can I say that? It took me a month to even realize that was a possibility, because having clear sight is such a blessing, I didn't dare say anything against it.

But today, I have come down with another stupid cold, and I finally realized why I couldn't relax. Whenever I would get sick prior to my LASIK surgery, one of my therapeutic feel-better home-remedies was to take out my contacts and literally lose one of my senses. For some reason, that helped me shut out the world, and it would help with the discomfort. Keep in mind, I always blamed my contacts for making me feel just a smidge more uncomfortable during my time of whinyness, and sought whatever comfort whereever I could find it. Never once did it dawn on me that I was actually finding the comfort in my fuzzy sight.

Now that I realize this, I'm sure I'll get over it soon. After all, it's only been a month. My mind was just totally blown when I finally figured out why I couldn't get to sleep at night, and why I've felt extra uncomfortable all day today.

Also, for those of you that wish for good eyesight and are considering LASIK, I urge you to do it. Like I said before, it's wonderful, and in no way is this a complaint. I was just having issues getting my mind wrapped around the fact that being blind was actually useful to me for something.

Now, onto the book topic, everything is still going great. I am over halfway through chapter 19, and I figure 20 will be a rush that just spews out in a couple days. I figure I will get most of it done this weekend, AND I have a great map laid out for the re-writes that I'm gaining more and more confidence in. Things will be a' changing, and I'll be able to address some ideas that never quite sat well with me from day one.

I've also done research on having someone work up a good-looking book-cover for me. Hopefully it turns out nice. I'll be keeping the same concept of what I originally worked up, but I have a few additions in mind.

It's been a very lazy lazy day. I can't wait until I get my energy back!

And then....

I was going through some of my older posts and found it quite amusing that I thought I would be done by now. This being my first real book, I just had absolutely nothing to go on for that estimate. At least I wasn't THAT far off.

I finished Chapter 17 on Sunday, and things are wrapping up and falling into place. I expect there will be only two more big chapters, (I'm not counting any epilogue in this, nor do I have one planned at the moment) and then the edits and rewrites will begin. Wee!

Now, I will admit that I have done SOME editing when I've run into a brick wall and needed to get my thoughts back together. I will also admit that there are some scenes written already for Book 2 and even Book 3. It's the rewrites that scare me. I have no idea what to expect as far as how long this will take, or how difficult it will be. I will keep plodding along though, and get one quick edit on the whole thing to catch any outlandishly glaring mistakes, then I'll update the manuscript on Smashwords. The book will remain a free download until after I get around to finishing my big edit and I'm fully satisfied that I have crossed all my T's and dotted all my I's.

AND THEN....

I have no idea what I'm going to do after that... Sorry. Whatever I decide, I'll keep recording my journey here so everyone can keep tabs.

An Unnamed Trilogy

I am very happy to report 2 very exciting things.

First, I had LASIK eye surgery last Saturday, and things are now WONDERFUL! I have suffered from severe myopia for most of my life, and to be able to wake up and see is absolutely amazing.

However, this did slow down my writing for a couple days, hopefully understandably so. I do believe I have found a way to catch up though. I have a trial of a voice-to-text program that allowed me to get 3000 words down on Sunday night in about an hour. It's incredible! I'm not sure how well this is going to help, because I spent all day yesterday editing those 3000 words, but hey, it's something!

My second bit of exciting news it that my "Unnamed Trilogy" now has a name. After months of scribbled on napkins, deliberation, and drawing names from the proverbial hat, I am very, very happy to unveil the name of my very first trilogy as; (drumroll please!)

The Phoenix Curse

I really do hope you found that as exciting as I did. There is just a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction once things are decided upon and finalized. It's just one thing less to worry about, and now I can focus on finishing these last few chapters.

Ali needs me now, so expect another update soon. 

That February Goal

That original goal of being completely done by February really crept up on me. For the longest time, it had just been a far off date, like a light glowing at the end of a very long tunnel. Now it's right around the corner and I'm facing the fact that I am just not going to be done.

When the idea of After originally started to form in my mind, I only had two scenes planned out. Joss wasn't even a POV. Hell, Joss didn't even exist when I first clawed my way into Ali's mind and started putting her story into words.

Two scenes were all I had. The birth of an idea.

100k words in, and neither one of those scenes have been written yet.

I would guestimate I still have a good 30k words to get us to the end of this book. I've been taking it slow, maybe a little too slow, after finishing Part 2. It's clear I need to pick up the pace again.

So here goes. I plan to put out a minimum of 2k words a day until I can wrap this baby up, and give it a name. Then I'll be starting the long editing process that I hope will go smoother than I'm imagining. I've never done this before, and I have to admit I'm feeling a little overwhelmed right now. I think this post is mostly a shove to get me motivated again, and push past my fears.

Wish me luck.

Resolutions

Resolutions. We all have them right? At least most of us have made one at some point in our life. They're almost always pretty generic. Loose weight, get healthy, stop drinking coffee/alcohol, stop smoking, stop secretly listening to Justin Bieber in your room while crying and eating waffles and ice cream. Pretty mundane stuff.

Last year I made three resolutions, but I prefer to think of them as challenges. They were exactly that. Challenges for myself. Nothing TOO difficult, so it wasn't like I was trying to reach unattainable goals that I would end up failing miserably. Nothing like giving up video games, or reading War and Peace. I went with something a little more reasonable.

Read Java for Dummies - This should have been the easiest one to do, yet I failed at it. My drive started pretty good, but then other shiny baubles popped up that I longed to pursue, and the book ended up collecting dust in my Kindle library. As the end of the year approached, I could have easily picked it up again and finished in a couple days, but I knew I wouldn't retain/learn anything. What would be the point of the challenge had I done that? I chalked it up as a loss and moved on.

Generic/obligatory Weight Loss - I succeeded in this. Yay me! I lost 20 lbs, and kept 15 of it off. I am also not finished with this, and it will reappear in my 2013 list of challenges.

Write 6 Chapters in a book. Any book. Just write, dammit! - This was the one I feared, and figured I would fail at most miserably. As the year was drawing into the last quarter, all I had been able to write was one measly little scene in January. I was about to write this challenge off as a bust but, in October, I stumbled upon something that I'm going to chalk up as 'life changing.' NaNoWriMo.org. It stands for National Novel Writing Month. I will leave that story for another time, but without this great group of people, I would not have even started what I considered to be one of the greatest accomplishments of my life.

And this is only the beginning.

So here I will 'pen' my list of reasonable challenges for 2013. I truly intend to meet all of these.

Generic/obligatory Weight Loss -  Sorry, but it had to be said.

Finish writing a novel - I will succeed in this. After is so close to being finished, it would be a crime to stop now. This journey that I am going on with Ali and Joss has been amazing. Not only will After be finished before the end of the year, but I also plan to have the 2nd book in the series ready to publish as well. Working title for book 2 is Haven. I can't convey how exciting this has been for me.

Run a 5k - Was that me? Did I just type that? Crap. This year, this is the one that scares me. Here is my motivation for this. Run for your lives. It looks to be great fun, how could I pass this up? I figure I'm going to end up zombie chow, but what a fun way to go.

I believe this one is a given so I won't enter it in bold, but I will complete the NaNoWriMo challenge again this year. I already have a couple ideas for a brand new novel to start on during November. Wouldn't it be perfect if I'm ready to start book 3 in the After series?

So there you have it. My goals for 2013. This is going to be a very exciting year.

Halfway through...

the month.

Can't say that I'm halfway through Part 3 yet, although the writing is still going well. I pulled a couple mini marathons with my daughter this weekend to help us both focus on our writing. It worked pretty well. She got two short chapters finished, and I am now well underway into Chapter 14. Anything it takes to keep that focus!

I do have big plans for this last half of the book. Really excited to get this thing done and get it out there for everyone!

And, with that I leave you with a comment from Tarter on the best part of the Golden Globes.  I will say that when the camera landed on Tommy's face, it was the one point during the night that all of us watching busted out into uproarious laughter.

He was totally about to go Tommy Lee Jones on Will Ferrell's ass.

Thank you Mr. Jones. You still remain one of my favorites actors.

Part 2

Very excited to post that I have finished Part 2 in book 1!  Feels like a great accomplishment.  Looks like I'm on schedule to finish Part 3 by the end of January and start the editing process in February.

I didn't get to work on the book as much as I would have liked this month, so that did put me a little behind schedule.  Hopefully the first month of 2013 will go much smoother, and have less unforeseen life obstacles 

Thank you to those that are starting to follow the blog.  It's hard to get these things off the ground, so I appreciate the words of encouragement.

And last, but not least!

Be very safe tonight, and have a wonderful and Happy New Year!

Seasons Greetings and Stuff

Just wanted to wish everyone well today!  I know it's a little late, but I've been doing stuff today.  All kinds of fun stuff.  Stuff that filled all my time from the moment I got up today until now.  Stuff.

Stuff. Stuff. Stuff.

Oh... you want details?

Okay, I was procrastinating.  I spent way too much time browsing all my funny sites, and little time doing anything productive.  I am still working through this horrible cold that turned into a respiratory infection, (cue coughing up a lung) but I HAVE been writing some.  Chapter 12 is coming along nicely, and I do expect to finish that this week now that all the big holiday stuff has died down.

I will leave it at that since it's late and I do have to work tomorrow.  I just wanted to make sure to get a little update in there while I'm still trying to get this blog off the ground, and I missed my scheduled weekend posting.

What Didn't Happen

So, the optimistic plans that I made at 8:05 am this past Saturday morning failed to come to fruition.  Instead, my exuberant feelings for completing the epic finish of Part 2 of After turned into a stuffy nose, sore throat, and just a general feeling of craptasticness all over my body.

And at 9 pm tonight, I am still not on the upswing yet.

I suffered through the dreaded 'day job' today, but over the past three days have manged to only get a little over 800 words down.  It's been disappointing to say the least.  I just haven't felt like tolerating that blank white screen staring at me expectantly, waiting for me to get my mind in gear and the 'creative juices' flowing.    Instead all I got was sinus drainage and a headache.  I guess SOME juices were flowing, just not the right ones.  Yeah, I'll give you a second to marinate on that image.

Kleenex anyone?

I was, however, able to at least fill my time with something productive.  I was able to get caught up on most of the TV shows that I had fallen behind on during NaNoWriMo.  So that means my wonderful husband had to suffer through episode after episode of Supernatural, Vampire Diaries, and Glee.  (Don't judge my guilty pleasures.)

Thank you for tolerating my emotionally stunted fifteen year old mind, Husband.  At least you can be assured I will always laugh at every "That's What She Said" joke.

Also on a positive note, sometimes the story-line and characters benefit from a little time dancing around in the ol' noggin, but that also means Chapter 10 and 11 will be facing a little bit (huge bit) of an overhaul.  I'll catch that on the edit.

So I'm sure I'll have the energy to pound this out soon.  I just need a little recovery time.

Oops

Chapter 11 is done, however I am not sure if Part 2 is done.  Perhaps just one more chapter.

I have also started to roughly develop some of the characters that will be introduced in Book 2, and can't wait to see what happens when Ali finally meets up with them.  Now if only I can get the last half of After done before the first of the year!  It's looking like I will easily be able to hit my goal of 100k words for book one.  Yay!

Weekend Update

Excited to say that chapter 10 of After is now finished.  One more chapter should wrap up Part 2 of the book.  Everything is still on schedule!

Taking a little break this weekend, and will pickup the writing on Monday.