Doing my part...

So I've been going through my Goodreads book list and reprimanding myself for not leaving reviews for every book. I'll admit when I first joined Goodreads I was shy about leaving a review. I felt like my opinion was too...green. I felt like leaving a review was a big responsibility. I wanted to make the author happy, I didn't want to disappoint any future readers and I wanted to sound like I knew what I was talking about! Yep, I was being my people-pleasing self. So, finally a few months ago I decided to write my first review. I spent a good 40 minutes on it! I typed, read it, re-read it, deleted, wrote some more, edited some more and finally I was satisfied. The author read my review and liked it. It was all the validation I needed and the boost I needed to get over my (silly) insecurities and start posting more reviews. Now I've decided I should go back and leave a review for all the books I've read, it's only fair, right? Well that's a very long list so I should go now. I hope this post pushes you to leave comments and reviews as often as you can, it really does help the author and future readers. AND don't worry about what you have to say, it's your opinion, your right to say exactly how you felt about the book :)

Still in Chapter 8...

I am my own worst critic. I did not meet my deadline. Not even close. I have no good explanations for this other than I allowed myself to become distracted by life and reading (so much reading), but mostly by edits. On a scale from 1-10 rating my interest in anything I'm rarely ever in the middle, I either love or loathe something and tolerate everything else. When it comes to reading I'm at a 10.999999. I LOVE to read. So I can easily be consumed by a great book to where it consumes every free moment I get. My hope for my book with all of my heart is that when I finally put it out there it will have a similar effect on readers. I want Mary's story to distract and consume because it's that good.  

We learn something new every day. I am a firm believer in this, sometimes knowledge is stumbled upon and you say 'huh, I never knew that' or 'good to know' and other times we have to actively educate ourselves. I did this. Instead of just allowing myself to get lost in the books I was reading I weighed the pros and cons of each story. Why did I like this book better than that one? They're both entertaining, but what's in this book that's missing from that book? I took what I found and applied it to my story. I realized if my book were a soup it was surely missing some meat! So I've been going back in to other chapters and adding more scenes, more sentences using as many senses I could without overdoing it. I want my readers to be transported and experience everything the characters experience.

Let the chips fall where they may. I am half way through the chapter, but once again I'm at a crossroads with where I want the characters to go. When I sit back and think about this constant battle I wonder am I trying to force the story in one direction? From the beginning I've had a vision of how the story would start, progress and eventually end, so why the struggle? I'm too focused on what I want the end result to be (readers loving Unexpectedly On Purpose and begging for more) and less focused on allowing the story to flow freely from my imagination the way it did when I started the writing. I'm a people-pleaser by nature and I have to consciously fight this every day, especially where my writing is concerned.

Writing is supposed to be everything that makes an author feel good. It shouldn't ever feel like work. I know all of this and as much as I want to end this post like a perfectly formulated happy ending I can't. Not if I'm being honest. Instead I'll put on my feel good music, light a cinnamon scented candle, write and rewrite if necessary and hope for the best. :)

Chapter 7 complete, Finally!

I'm officially out of chapter 7 and into chapter 8, woo-hoo! I probably shouldn't say 'officially' since I always go back and make edits. I'm a bit of a perfectionist and although this is great for quality it definitely has it's downfalls. For one nothing is ever good enough or just right and if I don't give myself a deadline the process could go on forever! So with that being said from this point on I will put deadlines on my chapters. This literally has me squirming in my seat just typing this, but I have to crack the whip on myself! So chapter 8's deadline is...drum roll please...May 30th. Three weeks to write it and hopefully be happy with it.Wish me luck! :)

The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines

The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I need a minute to breathe and maybe to fan myself! This was definitely a story I didn't expect. The premise is nothing new, but the character (the very sexy) Beau is someone to fall into lust with! I can't believe I'm admitting that in public, but I feel a lot better knowing I'm not the only one. I read many reviews from other readers on Goodreads.com about how much they were kicking themselves for waiting so long to read the book and after reading it myself I joined in on the kicking! If I didn't have to take breaks in my reading for work and sleep I would have finished it sooner! I loved the beginning with the buildup to Beau and Ash's summer together and the twist delivered toward the end I just didn't see that coming until Beau's mom started speaking! I was thoroughly pleased with the ending, thank you Abbi Glines for that! I don't want to over-hype the book, but if you're a hopeless romantic always in love with the bad boy then you won't be disappointed.

The story follows Ash, the quintessential preacher's daughter-good girl do very bad things with her boyfriend's cousin. Ash (Ashton), Sawyer and Beau have been the best of friends since childhood, but things change when the boys fall in love with Ash as she turns into a beautiful young teen. Sawyer, the all-American, good-boy and town prince seizes the moment at 14 and asks Ash out leaving Beau, the town bad-boy, to pine for her from a distance. They're 17 and Sawyer is off on an outdoor family trip for the summer leaving behind Ash and Beau to rekindle their friendship. They fire up more than a friendship when both can't keep their hands off each other. The time spent together has Ash and Beau falling more in love with each other with every touch, kiss and steamy encounter, but can they continue to follow their hearts when it means they'll have to break Sawyer's heart? You'll have to read it to find out :)




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Writer's block!

I'm on chapter 7, or rather I should say I've been on chapter 7 for about 2 weeks now and I'm stuck! I know where I want this chapter to go, but I just can't find the right flow :(

So what do I do when I'm at a standstill? I read! I just finished Clarity, book #2 in the Cursed Series by Claire Farrell and it was exactly what I needed! The stories in this series are fantastic!

In book one Verity, Perdy has been having dreams about the same thing for months now, dark chocolate brown eyes. The connection she feels to the owner of these eyes is unexplainable. After getting her father and gran to ease up on the rules a bit she's ready to see what life will be like. In walks the boy of her dreams, literally! Nathan and his dark brown eyes. She's seen those eyes, she knows them well and that unexplainable connection is definitely there, but is it there for him? One minute she's sure he does and then next he's running off with the school's #1 mean girl. After a night at a house party Nathan walks Perdy home and their lives are changed forever when a wolf attacks them. Of course that's not just any wolf, that's a werewolf and as it turns out Nathan and his family are a whole pack of werewolves! Get lost in an enrapturing tale of werewolves, a gypsy curse and young love.

Okay now I have to go get lost in chapter 7!

The plot I'm currently stirring...

Unexpectedly-on-Purpose

Set in Phoenix, AZ, Mary is a married, 28 year old wedding photographer who thinks she can live with the safe life she secured seven years ago when she married strait-laced, boy next door, Alex. What she didn't plan on was how lonely the safe side of the road can be. When she meets the new sexy, British photographer her boss just hired to be her partner Mary struggles with doing the right thing and doing what feels so right.

Along with her two best friends, Sarah, her rock and Jane, her voice of reason whether she wants it or not and a nosey "Miss Busy Body" Mary's roller-coaster journey is sometimes comical, touching, heart-wrenching and definitely salacious!


More to come...