“If something isn’t working, if you have a story that you’ve built and it’s blocked and you can’t figure it out, take your favorite scene, or your very best idea or set-piece, and cut it. It’s brutal, but sometimes inevitable.”
-Joss Whedon
Month: August 2016
West Chester Library Signing!
This Saturday I had my first signing at West Chester Library! It was so surreal sitting at my table and having folks at the library come up and view me as an author. I’ve sold my books alongside my tea at many events in the past, but this was the first time I was standalone as an author, which was unnerving to say the least. But I also have the best friends and family in the world, and they came out full force to support me. Honestly, it was one of those moments that if in the future I’m feeling truly alone, I’ll be able to recall the way my heart leapt at each person to peek in through those library doors to see me. I can’t quite express the gratitude welling in my heart at that outpouring of support, but I hope they all know it made an indelible mark on me. So, so much love for my wonderful readers and wonderful friends!
Weekly Word Count #64
Word Count: 10,265
What story I’m working on: I FINISHED Rising for Autumn, and now it’s with my betas!!!!
What I’m editing/marketing: Editing away at Captivating Melody, and preparing for my first author signing at West Chester Public Library!
Line of the week:
“He poured all of the elation that raced through him into that kiss, because chained or free, he’d choose her every time. ” (This happened after a super intense moment in the book and it still gives me shivers)
Writing Inspiration Wednesdays
“Great is the art of beginning, but greater is the art of ending.”
–Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Indie Recs: Play Dirty
I still have to catch up, but I can’t recommend enough LP Maxa’s The Devil’s Share series. I found Play Dirty more addictive than the first book, and it did a great job setting up Jacks story as well. If you want a great contemporary romance novel, you’ll breeze through these books!
As bassist of the Devil’s Share, Smith James revels in being the ultimate bad boy, until he meets a good girl…who likes it dirty.
PILLS. PAIN. LOSS. LOVE.
Smith James doesn’t need drugs. He just likes them a whole lot. And as bassist for the Devil’s Share, they are easy to come by. So are the women. With a steady supply of both he doesn’t have to think too hard about his past. But when a beautiful physician’s assistant joins the tour, Smith can’t help but want…more.
After watching her high school boyfriend OD, there is no way Dylan Lawson is going to fall for a rock star with a tenuous hold on sobriety, no matter how sexy his New Orleans drawl. She’s been hired to do one job: monitor the health of the lead singer’s girlfriend and her unborn baby. But once Smith flashes that sweet, vulnerable smile, Dylan can’t help but want…more.
And more is what they’ll get. Love on tour is never simple, and with a music festival in Smith’s hometown, a place he’s avoided for years, near his illiterate, abusive, meth-addled father, Smith is one bad night away from a relapse. But with her heart already lost, Dylan is willing to do whatever is necessary to save him—even play a little dirty.
Indie Recs: Hampire
You got it right, a book called Hampire. And it’s as hilarious as you think it’s going to be. Lana Moon somehow weaves her brand of sassy dialogue with a cute romance in a really fun story. The pacing was fast, the characters interesting and fleshed out, but also dealing with very relatable young adult issues. Altogether, it was a blast.
Sarah Smith’s week has taken a strange turn. After spending months in the hospital, she tries to resume her life…only to discover that high school is over and all her friends have future plans. Except her. Sarah hopes her luck has finally changed after taking a job at the mysterious local museum. But when she saves a starving hamster, her whole world is suddenly turned upside down. …Because the hamster she saves is no ordinary pet, but a dark creature capable of changing his form. And what he wants are two things: Sarah. And blood. For he is HAMPIRE.
Indie Recs: Graveyard Games
This was my first foray into Brantwijn Serrah, and I definitely enjoyed! It’s a short but sexy vampire story, and if you’re a fan of vamps, Graveyard Games will hit the mark.
Kylie’s always believed something inside her was missing. Lonely, longing restlessness drives her out into the city every night, searching for the unseen treasure to make her feel. But a stranger awaits her in the underground club known as the Graveyard…a dangerous and sensual and unreal beauty, offering a promise beyond Kylie’s wildest desires.
Indie Recs: October Syndrome
One thing Lana Moon has a fantastic grasp on is YA dialogue. She writes incredibly realistic YA characters, and October Syndrome is proof of this. Combine that with a haunted house investigation, and I’m sold. This was a blast of a book with a really sweet romance that I enjoyed, combined with wonderful, spooky elements. Don’t miss out!
Book One of the October Series kicks off with Catch and Todd Thornwacker taking on their first ghost hunting adventure!
Aided by friends Sully Chambers and Naomi Prentiss, the foursome quickly realize they may have bitten off more than they can chew inside the former residence of an infamous murderer.
Teen angst, unrequited love, and ghostly bites await the team in OCTOBER SYNDROME!
Indie Recs: When Dark Falls
I had stumbled on When Dark Falls by Pippa Jay, and thoroughly enjoyed this superhero read. The worldbuilding is top notch imaginative, and I loved the way the mystery of the story unwound while the romance built. It’s definitely a stand out scifi romance book and well worth your time.
In a city where Dark Technologies Inc. now runs the show, Kadie Williams has more immediate concerns than the fall of Blaze, their guardian superhero. Almost every morning for the last few months she’s woken up with cuts and bruises on her body, and no idea how she got them. There are no nightmares. No evidence that she sleepwalks, or any sign of a break in. And nothing to tell her who’s been cleaning up after her. As just one of thousands of civilians conscripted to slave away in the labs of Professor Dark, she knew there’d be trouble ahead. But she never expected it to be so bad, or so personal.
Desperate for answers, Kadie looks to the new defender of the night, the only person who can hinder the total domination of Professor Dark—Nocturnelle. The mysterious vigilante superhero came from nowhere with her cybernetic sidekick Shadow, set on putting an end to the brutality of Dark’s regime. But as his laboratories work on a new secret super-weapon, Nocturnelle and Shadow may not be enough to save Nephopolis…or to save Kadie either.
Indie Recs: Play Nice
If you’re in the mood for a rockstar romance, LP Maxa is your girl. In her book Play Nice, we’re introduced to the band the Devil’s Share and holy hell, what a fun group they are! The group is memorable, the story engaging, and the romance hot, so it was definitely a read I ended up breezing through and wanting more. Luckily, there IS more…
Rock a stadium. Bang a chick. Repeat. As lead singer of The Devil’s Share, Dash Conner could get anything or anyone he wanted—until he met Lexi Grant.
MONEY. FAME. WHISKEY. SEX.
For Dash Conner, lead singer of The Devil’s Share, everything he wanted was his for the asking. Whiskey. Drugs. Money. Sex. But not Lexi Grant. For the first time since he picked up a guitar, a girl was actually demanding he woo her. For a chance with her, Dash would do that and more.
Lexi Grant was no groupie. Just because the biggest rock star in the world smiled at her didn’t mean she had to fall into bed with him—but it was going to be awfully hard to resist that impish smile and those tatted abs. Surely one night of fun wouldn’t hurt anyone.
Unless that night ends with a broken condom.
For Lexi and Dash, that’s just the beginning. Add an overly affectionate pit bull, a missing guitarist, a house full of sorority girls, a junkie ex-bandmate and an extreme aversion to Jäger, and it’s either a recipe for disaster or true love.
