4**** Star Review - THE MURDER PROSPECT - by Lee Mossel

When Cort Scott gave up his job as a petroleum geologist to become a private investigator in oil field investigations, his first job lands him right in the middle of a murder. The suspects quickly start to mount up - is it Jeff, the family's estranged brother? or someone much more sinister? As Scott continues to investigate, it becomes clear that the investment he was hired to investigate is only the tip of the iceberg, and Scott is left reeling as the investigation hits very close to home.

Mossel tells the story primarily through conversations between his characters. The dialogue is well-written and flows very well. His characters are well-developed with strong voices. I particularly like the character of Gerri, Cort Scott's on-again, off-again girl friend. She is out-spoken and knows what she wants. Also, she and I share the same filing system - file everything under "F" for "file".

Once the story gets going, it moves quickly, with a second murder added to the mix. As Scott continues to investigate, he has to determine if the killings are connected and decide how he's going to approach bringing the killer (or killers) to justice. The Murder Prospect is action packed with one gun-brandishing scene after another as the story reaches it's climax.

I give it a strong 4 stars and recommend it to anyone who enjoys thrillers with both strong male and female characters.

*I received an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. The book is rated "adult" for strong language and violence.

Buy links:

Amazon

Smashwords

About the author:

Lee Mossel was born in Eugene, Oregon, and raised in the small logging and lumber mill town of Noti about twenty miles west. He attended a 1920s vintage; eight grades…eight rooms…elementary school starting first grade at age five. After being “skipped” through the second grade, he entered high school at age 12 and, subsequently the University of Oregon at age 16.

Graduating with bachelors and masters degrees in geology, he spent a thirty-five year career as a petroleum geologist all in Denver. During that period, he worked for several oil companies as well as starting two independent companies. Since retiring, he has served on various boards of director, written numerous op-ed pieces and newspaper columns, given talks on the oil and gas business and generally enjoyed life.

Beginning with The Murder Prospect in 2012; The Talus Slope in 2013, he has begun a career as an author of crime thrillers and mysteries. More Than a 100% Dead is his third Cort Scott novel.

He enjoys world travel, sports, fine wines, good food, and golf…not necessarily in that order. He lives in Parker, Colorado, a place featured in the Cort Scott series.

I'll Love You Forever

I've always loved the poem I'll Love You Forever by Robert Munsch. I made up a tune to sing it to my daughter when she was a baby. My favorite line is "I'll love you for ever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be."

I always knew there had to be more to the story. Check out this article on PopSugar.

http://moms.popsugar.com/Truth-Behind-Love-You-Forever-31923286http://moms.popsugar.com/Truth-Behind-Love-You-Forever-31923286

My Writing Process

The author, Tammie Clarke Gibbs, http://www.featurearticlesforfree.com/ invited me to participate in this blog hop tour and answer these questions about my writing process:

About My Writing Procedure

1. What am I working on? 

I don't have the cover for it, yet, but I'm currently working on the third - and what I hope will be final - book in the Finding My Escape book series. Finding My Escape follows the story of Hannah Jordan who walks in to find her parents brutally murdered. As Hannah's story progresses, she quickly learns that not everything is what it seems. In the third story, she'll come up against one of the biggest challenges she's faced in her life when she has to make a major decision that goes against her deepest desire. I don't want to give too much away, so I'll stop there.

You can read excerpts of the Finding My Escape and Finding My Way Back here.

2. How does my work differ from others in its genre? That's really a loaded question because there's a lot of YA Paranormal out there. I guess my book is a little different in that instead of the characters themselves having supernatural powers, they are drawn into an alternate universe that has supernatural powers. Of course, some of that changes in book 3, when the supernatural powers leak into the real world. But nope. That's all I'm saying about that! 

3. Why do I write what I do? Interestingly, I started writing YA because, at the time, I had an eleven-year-old so in my mind, I've always written for her. Of course, my daughter isn't a huge reader, and to her, I'm just mom so she's usually reading something from one of those other YA authors! (We're often reading the same books.) Now I write YA because it's my absolutely favorite genre. I love writing about young people who are on the cusp of discovering who they are.

4. How does your writing process work? How much time do you have? Seriously, I tend to spend a lot of time in the plotting phase of my writing, but it only takes about two or three months to get the story written. Loose ends make me nervous. I like to have a clear idea of where the story is going and how it's going to end. I find I meander too much if I don't.

I am tagging Lee Mossel Lee@leemossel.com to tell you about his writing process. I'm VERY jealous of Lee at the moment because he just finished his third book, sequel to The Murder Prospect and The Talus Scope. I'm knee deep in The Murder Prospect at the moment, and you can watch for a review in the next few days. I'm expecting a twist.

5***** Star Review - Novel Ideas by J. C. Allen

I love discovering undiscovered stories. I was fortunate enough to be given a copy of J. C. Allen's Novel Ideas recently to review. I have to say, this novel was totally unique in its concept and delivery. And I absolutely loved it! I read the story in two sittings. (I would have finished it in one, but sleep intervened.)

The story takes place in the year 2040. The United States has become a socialistic government in which conformity is legislated and virtually every form of creativity is outlawed. The story opens with a news announcement that Forrest Reed, considered by many in the world to be the last truly original author, has just released his last book. Ever. Reed, an American Ex-patriot, has decided it's time to retire.

Reed lives his life in peaceful seclusion on a man-made island in the middle of the South Pacific. His only live human contact is with the people who bring him his supplies. And he's perfectly content to live like that. His self-imposed seclusion, however, is interrupted by a twelve-year-old girl who literally sails up to his island claiming to be his long-lost granddaughter. Or is she?

Novel Ideas is a story about political unrest in a world where compliance is mandated, virtual reality is preferred to actual human interaction, and originality is persecuted. It's a world where a twelve year old girl can be charged with treason for questioning authority. But the real heart of the story is bridging generational gaps and the power of love. The developing relationship Forrest has with his would-be granddaughter is well-developed and kept me on the edge of my seat. It's also a story about family, lost opportunities, and living without regret. There's even a scene on the pitfalls of under aged drinking that's handled with delicacy and a smidge of humor.

As an aside and completely off the subject of the story - this book made me hungry - literally. Allen's description of Forrest's cooking is to die for. If you can read this book without craving fresh home-cooked vegetables then you've never experienced really good home-cooking.

I highly recommend this book for anyone twelve and up. 

Born and raised in the Charleston, WV area, J.C. Allen started writing as a way to stay connected to his children, to entertain them as they grew.

Having written over 20 novels - ranging from political thrillers to teen fiction - he has four titles published to date: M.O.D., Novel Ideas, and Chronicles of Time: Books One, Two, and Three.

You can find J.C.'s books here on Amazon.

Connect with J.C. on his website: http://jcallenbooks.weebly.com/

5 Star Review from Paranormal Romance Guild

Reviews - Fran Veal - PARANORMAL ROMANCE GUILD



And I've got good news: I'm marking FINDING MY ESCAPE down to 99 cents for a limited time. If you haven't read the book yet, now is a good time to pick up your Kindle copy.



As an added bonus, I've posted a never-before-seen-outside-of-the-book excerpt on my web page Fran Veal, Author.

Just Released: Secrets Abound, My Love by Pamela Foreman

I'm very happy today to be hosting my friend, author Pamela Foreman on Eclectic Musings today. Pamela is the author of the Nebraska Holds series.

Pamela Foreman, Published Author

Genre: Romantic Fiction

SYNOPSIS: When David and Annette join their families and begin one of their own, the couple can’t imagine how their marriage will affect their children, new and old. As parents, they each have high hopes for their children and their marriage, but in only a few short years, the path has gone the way of destruction.

Drugs, alcohol, abuse, loneliness … Secrets hide among the folds of their new lives and David and Annette are faced with the challenge of reconnecting with their children, while learning to be parents all over again.

How will they cope, discovering the hidden secrets? Will their marriage survive or will the threat of losing their children drive them apart? Can they fight adversity and win, or will their marriage be over as quickly as it began? Find out in Secrets Abound, My Love, the third segment in the Nebraska Holds series.

Purchase Link:  Secrets Abound

EXCERPT:

“Oh, Georgia! Lighten up!” Jersey shook her finger at Georgia. Georgia could tell her sister had been drinking not only by her behavior, but Jersey smelled of the beer or liquor. The two girls plus their fellow triplet, Virginia, were barely seventeen, and their step-sister Mallory was still sixteen. The four were about to be seniors in high school and their sibling was already an alcoholic.

Jersey and this male friend of hers both laughed then shushed each other like preschoolers about to get caught in an mischievous act. Georgia didn’t even know his name and didn’t remember ever seeing him before. Georgia rolled her eyes, knowing this was not going to get any better.

“How did he get in here?” Georgia asked. She put her hands on her hips, an action she had observed her mother doing over the past several years as all her older siblings had become teenagers. Georgia knew for a fact this boy did not enter through the front door of their house.

“How else?” Jersey slurred. “The window.”

“The window? We’re on the second floor!” Georgia put her head in her hands, exasperated. She’s been covering for her sister for more than two years now, but she wasn’t sure she could any longer. Jersey seemed to be getting herself deeper and deeper in trouble.

  

Author Bio: Pamela Foreman is a wife of seventeen years to her high school sweetheart and the mother of four children. Having grown up in Texas, Pamela currently lives in central Virginia. Pamela received her master’s degree in accounting from Liberty University and is an avid reader. She enjoys sewing, crocheting, knitting and scrapbooking when she is not involved with her children’s activities and spending time with her husband.

Pamela is the author of the Nebraska Holds series, a series surrounding the lives of David Anderson and Annette Miller, middle-aged adults who have both gone through the sudden deaths of their spouses and each have children to continue to raise. The series currently has three books, You're Right, My Love (December 2011), Not Again, My Love (January 2013) and Secrets Abound, My Love (January 2014).

Author Links:

Website: http://www.pamelaforeman.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pamelaforemanauthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/pamela_foreman

About Me: http://about.me/pamelaforeman

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/pef1996/

Google+: https://plus.google.com/111814691744564977712/posts

GIVEAWAY:

Thanks again for visiting! Be sure to leave a comment below to be entered to win a copy of my book in either print or electronic form.

JUST IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS: COVER REVEAL - BELIEVE IN ME

In the late ‘70s/early-‘80s, Kenny Rogers had a major hit with the song “The Gambler”. I remember that song well, even though I was very young when it first came out. The lines to the chorus are running through my head right now as I type this: “You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away, and know when to run…”

The cover for BELIEVE IN ME was the first one that I ever tried to create for myself. It was good, I thought. Other people said it was nice… But when I compared it to the covers of the bestsellers out there, there was something that was missing. I finally put my finger on what it was – the professional edge.

I’d taken a gamble in developing my own cover, and after a year or so, it became clear that BELIEVE IN ME needed a professional face lift; that is, this became clearer to me once I started working with professional artist Barbara Ivie Green on a cover for another one of my books (my upcoming historical novel, THE FADING SUN).

It was instant, love at first sight. Barbara took my story ideas, and she made my characters come to life right before my eyes. I was amazed and so excited. I couldn’t wait to share this amazing cover with the rest of the world. So, without further ado, here it is.

<Insert cover image here>

BELIEVE IN ME is a sweet romance/Christmas novella that is currently available on Amazon in both paperback  (http://www.amazon.com/Believe-Me-Mishael-Austin-Witty/dp/1478100885/)  and ebook (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008EDNBD8)  form.  

And, as a special bonus, the Kindle price is being lowered to 99 cents for the entire month of November through Cyber Monday, December 2, 2013. Don’t miss this chance to get into the holiday spirit at a greatly reduced rate.

About Mishael Austin Witty

Mishael Austin Witty is a professional editor and the internationally bestselling author of SHADOWS OF THINGS TO COME, a Christian thriller/suspense novel, and BELIEVE IN ME, a sweet contemporary romance/women’s fiction novella. In addition to these books, she has newly released a zombie fairy tale, CAMPANULA, which marks a departure from the usual for her, but it was great fun to write, and she already has plans for another.

She lives in Louisville, KY (where most of the action of CAMPANULA takes place), with her husband, two cats, and two daughters. Connect with her online in the following places:

Website: http://www.wittyonlineeditor.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/MishaelAustinWitty

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/woweditor12

Links to her other books on Amazon:

SHADOWS OF THINGS TO COME http://www.amazon.com/dp/1475146930
CAMPANULA http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DBZ1DF2

Waking Dream Released Today

I'm thrilled to have the privilege of announcing the release of Book 5 in J.J. DiBenedetto's Dream Series. I fell in love with these books when I read Dream Student and immediately downloaded the other three books.  J.J. has an amazing talent, and I strongly endorse each of his books.

Here's a little bit about Waking Dream

"We can hurt each other. Whatever we do to each other in the dream, we’ll do it to ourselves for real…”

When her own dreams are visited by a mysterious woman in a red dress, Sara realizes she has something she never expected: a counterpart, someone outside her family who shares her talent to see other people’s dreams.

When the woman in red keeps showing up in other dreams as well, leaving ruined lives in her wake, Sara knows she has something she never imagined: a nemesis.

Now, Sara must track the woman in red down in the waking world, before she’s forced to fight for her life in her dreams…

“Waking Dream” is the exciting fifth novel in the “Dreams” series.

Excerpt from Waking Dream

As Sara watches herself, she suddenly feels a cold breeze, as though one of the windows was open.  But they’re all closed; there’s nowhere for the breeze to have come from.  And then Sara turns away from herself and her husband and she sees it – sees her.   

    

Only for an instant, and only from the back.  The driver’s door is already open, and a woman – a woman in a red dress, with long black hair falling down just past her shoulders – is out of the car and running away…

***

As my eyes open, I’m looking at the door very intently.  Why?  What am I expecting to see?  It’s still closed, the chair is still wedged there…

It was a car door.  My car door.  I was dreaming, and – she was there.  That woman.  The same one I saw a few months ago in Brian’s dream.  The woman who can do what I can do.  I let myself forget about it.  Brian and I talked about it, and we convinced ourselves that I must have misunderstood what I saw, or something.

Not this time.  I know for sure now.  I felt a draft, as though a window had opened.  Every time Lizzie or my mother came into my dreams, I felt an invisible door opening.  They go through the door, this woman climbs in through the window.  It makes perfect sense.  And she just appeared, the way I – usually – just appear.  And the moment she realized she wasn’t alone in Brian’s dream, she ran for it.

I have to tell Brian.  It’s – God, it has to be someone he knows.  That’s how it works for me.  We have to figure out who, and then – what? 

I don’t have the slightest idea.  

About J.J. DiBenedetto

J.J. (James) DiBenedetto was born in Yonkers, New York. He attended Case Western Reserve University, where as his classmates can attest, he was a complete nerd. Very little has changed since then.

He currently lives in Arlington, Virginia with his beautiful wife and their cat (who has thoroughly trained them both). When he's not writing, James works in the direct marketing field, enjoys the opera, photography and the New York Giants, among other interests.

The "Dreams" series is James' first published work.

You can find J.J.'s books here:

Amazon

EbookOnFire

Smashwords

Dream Series page

Connect with J.J. here:

Facebook

http://www.writingdreams.net

Finding My Way Back Released!

I'm so excited about the release of Finding My Way Back, Book 2 in the Finding My Escape Trilogy.  Writing the sequel has been a lot of fun.  I hope you'll enjoy this excerpt.

Liz knew she needed to tell Hannah soon.  She’d hoped she’d be able to confirm her belief about the island first.  Charles argued that they needed to tell Hannah everything before they excavated.  Just in case.

“All right,” she finally agreed, closing the box and turning the tumblers to lock it.  “We’ll talk to Hannah about it tomorrow.”

As she was turning the last of the tumblers, the doorbell rang, and Charles went to answer it. 

“Yes?” she heard her husband ask.

“Hello, Charles,” a man’s voice spoke.  “Where’s your wife?”

Liz felt her knees grow weak.  The man’s voice was malicious. Cruel. 

Her intuition told her what was happening.  Somehow, the Others had learned what she’d found, and they’d sent someone to get the location. 

She had to hide the box.  She ran out to the garage, looking around frantically, her eyes falling on a spot that might work.  She shoved the box inside, and then ran back in the house to help her husband.  As her foot crossed the threshold of the kitchen, she heard a shot.  She grabbed the door jamb and covered her mouth to stifle the sound of her scream.  She heard a thud.  Charles…

Footsteps headed toward the kitchen, and she looked wildly around the room for any kind of weapon.  The man walked in, brandishing a knife before she could find one.

“Hello, Liz.  I believe you have something I want.”

Liz sank to the floor, her body wracked with sobs.

I’m so sorry, Hannah.

FINDING MY WAY BACK - EXCERPT

I'm about a third of the way through on the edits for Finding My Way Back, the sequel to Finding My Escape.  Now I want to encourage everyone to read book 1 before you get this one.  It should be out in August, barring any set-backs.

Excerpt from Finding My Way Back

I wasn’t sure how I felt about the task I was undertaking or what I expected to get out of it.  Closure, maybe?  No.  After everything I’d been through, closure just didn’t seem adequate.  Maybe I just needed to see.  To be sure that I hadn’t mixed everything up in my dreams.  But closure?  No, definitely not to find closure.

I’d left Aunt Laura back at the hotel, telling her that I just needed some time to myself.  She understood that.  After sitting at my bed side for two weeks in the hospital, she needed some time to herself.  Wow.  Two weeks.  For me, it had seemed much longer.  Between Valeria and my dreams, it had seemed like a year.  But you weren’t supposed to dream when you were in a coma.  Were you?

I parked the car and grabbed the cardboard box that sat on the seat next to me, bracing myself for what I was going to do.  To see.  I slipped out of the car, straightened my dress and began walking across the lawn, inwardly grateful that I’d decided to wear flats instead of heels.  I kept up this inward dialogue...flats vs. heels...as I walked down the path to my destination.  My heart beat faster as I got closer, and my palms began to sweat around the box I was now gripping so tight that my hands began to hurt.

I paused for one brief moment - eyes closed -  breathing a silent prayer.

Then I looked up.

They shared a single monument:

Charles Morgan Jordan, born March 22, 1969

Emily Elizabeth Jordan, born August 18, 1970

One shared date.  The date they died.  Three weeks ago today.  Did they seem less dead because I’d missed the memorial?  No.  I still had violent dreams of the night my parents were murdered. 

In a way, I was glad I had missed the ceremony with its endless line of mourners and their endless barrage of condolences.  As it was, I’d only had to hear “I’m so sorry for your loss” three times:  once, in the hospital after I woke up and the doctor expressed her sympathy, once in the police station when the detectives assigned to my parents case told me how sorry they were, and then at my hotel, when Matt’s parents came by.  At least that one was genuine.

I took the flowers out of the box I carried and spread them across the mounds of dirt.  I wasn’t prepared for the violence of the grief that stabbed my heart repeatedly, assaulting me like some vicious killer.  I felt like I was dying.  Falling to my knees, I crawled to the monument, tracing their names, tears running down my cheeks.  I’m not sure how long I lay there on the dirt before I cried myself to sleep.

I woke up and looked around.  I wasn’t in the cemetery any more.  I was back in Summer Cove in Dave’s Diner.  There weren’t any customers – just Jessie – wiping down the booth where I found myself sitting.

She turned her auburn head toward me and winked.

“It wasn’t a coma, you know.”

“Wh…what did you say?”

She stopped wiping down the table, looked me in the eye, one hand on her hip.

“Your coma.  It wasn’t real.  It was drug induced because of your head injury.”

“O-k-a-y,” I said slowly.  I was trying to wrap my head around being back in Summer Cove again.  Had I been dreaming all along. 

Jessie shook her head and rolled her eyes at me, plopping herself down in the seat across from mine.  “You weren’t always this dense.  Your. Coma. Wasn’t. Real.”  She gestured toward me impatiently, rolling her eyes again, but I couldn’t, for the life of me, figure out what she was trying to get at.

Shaking her head, she leaned across the table and whispered in my ear.  “Maybe Matt’s coma isn’t real either.”

It took several seconds for that to sink in, then a smile spread across my face.  I was just about to thank her when she grabbed my arm, cocked her head to the right, eyes glassy like one of those Stepford wives and said, “You’d better wake up.  You’re asleep in a cemetery and you never know who might be watching.”

Author Appearance - Saturday, July 6!

Hey, everyone!  If you happen to be in Murfreesboro, TN this weekend, I'd like to invite you to come by Hastings Book Store.  I'll be there Saturday from 5 until 9 signing copies of my book, Finding My Escape.  And, if I can get it ready in time, I'll be giving away excerpts to the sequel, Finding My Way Back, which is coming out this summer.  

The address is 1660 Memorial Blvd., Murfreesboro, TN.  I'd love to see you there! 

Finding My Way Back Almost Finished

For those of you who read Finding My Escape, I just wanted to let you know that the sequel, Finding My Way Back is half finished! *Cue applause*  The target deadline for the completion of the first draft is April 24, 2013, my mother's birthday.  Kind of fitting since I finished Finding My Escape on my dad's birthday back in 2011.  Look for an announcement regarding the release date in a couple of weeks.  *Hint: I'm shooting for early summer.

Anyway, for those of you who have been patient enough to hang in there with me, I wanted to thank you.  And if you haven't read it, yet, you can get it for $2.99 at Amazon.com or Smashwords.com.   The third and final segment will (hopefully) be out by the end of the year.

News! News! News!

I have an announcement to make, well a couple actually.  Shh, I'm waiting for the drum rolls. 

Okay, first, I'm hoping to have the sequel to Finding My Escape finished by mid April.  I'm shooting for tax day, April 15.  I don't have a title, yet.  I'm thinking about My Way Out, but I'm not sure how that will work with the story line.  It might be Finding My Way Back, which actually fits better.  I'm looking for beta readers, so if you've read Finding My Escape and want to be one of the first to read the sequel, leave me a comment here.  I'm going to choose one person from the blog to be a beta.

Second, I now have my own web page.  It's a real hard one to remember.  Just http://franveal.com.  Check it out and leave a comment.

Well, I have to get back to writing.

Is It Real or Just a Dream, an Excerpt from Finding My Escape

I've posted the prologue, now here's another taste of Finding My Escape.  I want to give a shout out to Tammie Clark Gibbs for hosting today's excerpt page.  And fans of the book don't have long to wait for not one, but TWO sequels which I hope to have ready this year.  Look for My Way Out this summer.

My nose itched.  Well, it wasn’t exactly an itch, more of a tickle.

“Leave me alone Matt, I’m trying to sleep.”

I brushed my hand across my face.  If Matt didn’t leave me alone, I was going to clobber him.

The tickling continued.

“Matt, I’m warning you!”

I felt the tickle again, which had now become more than just a little irritating.

“That’s it!”  I sat up and looked around.

I was definitely not in my room any more.

It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the brightness of the sun, but my other senses were exploding with sensation.  The combination of salt with something floral assaulted my nose.  Simultaneously, my ears were filled with a familiar roar.  The ocean?  My eyes finally caught up with the rest of me, and my breath came out in a rush.  Josh!

“Hello, beautiful.  About time you woke up.”  Josh leaned back against a rock, a white flower in his hand.

“Were you tickling me with that flower?”

“Guilty.”

“You’re lucky you stopped when you did.  I thought you were someone else.”

“Speaking of which,” he began, “should I be jealous of this ‘Matt’ guy?” His eyes sparkled as if he had some private joke.  He didn’t really seem jealous.

“For your information, Matt is a friend.  A good-but-annoying friend.  Tickling my nose while I try to sleep would be just like him.  You, however, are either just a dream or a figment of my imagination, anyway, so why should it matter?”  I shrugged and looked out at the ocean.  I plastered a pout on my face which I hoped screamed Hayden Panetierre.

“Ouch.  You really know how to hurt a guy.  And after I brought you to one of my favorite places, too," said Josh, holding the flower out as a peace offering.  I pretended to ignore it.

“Okay, so where are we, anyway?” I asked as I took in my surroundings.

Josh leaned over to brush a strand of hair off my face, his hand lingered on my cheek for a second.

“Hmm, so beautiful,” his eyes bore into mine, “but I digress.”  He spread his arms wide.  “This is paradise, or at least the nearest thing to it in this place.  It’s a replica of one of the smaller, less known of the Hawaiian Islands.  Welcome to my world.”

I looked around, and it was amazingly, achingly beautiful.  The water was the clearest blue I’d ever seen, not like some of the Gulf beaches I’d been to.  Part of the beach was shaded by draping palms.  To the left of the beach area was a steep cliff and to the right what appeared to be giant lava rocks.

How could a dream be this vivid?  Maybe there was something to this other world stuff after all.

Best Book on Writing? 2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love

As a mom, wife, business owner, and what was that other one again?...oh yes, writer, I am constantly looking for ways to be more efficient at whatever role I'm working on at the moment.  Since I decided to become a novelist some three years ago, I've read countless books on the structure of writing, how to write with proper grammar, bird by bird, whatever, but I didn't come across anything that really helped me write more efficiently until I came across Rachel Aaron's 2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love (hereafter referred to as 2k to 10k in order to keep me from going bonkers recopying the title over and over).  And to be honest, I didn't stumble across it, it was recommended by my cousin and fellow author, Russell Elledge.

This book was absolutely one of those 'I could have had a V-8' moments for me.  At the time I read 2k to 10k, I was 30,000 words into the sequel to Finding My Escape.  And I'd been about 30,000 words into the sequel of Finding My Escape for almost a year.  I just could not bring myself to finish the book.  After reading 2k to 10k I realized why:  I hated what I was writing.  I was bored with it, and after letting my sister read a few chapters, I learned that what I was basically doing was regurgitating book one.  I loved writing the first book because it was exciting and interesting.  Writing it a second time?  Not so much. 

So I chucked the draft.  All (well almost all) 30,000 words and, following the plan in 2k to 10k, wrote a detailed outline for the new book, taking the story in an entirely new and exciting direction.  Here's the really exciting part.  Are you ready for this?  I wrote over 12,000 words in one week.  And this particular week I picked up a new business client, had double my normal business meetings, took my fifteen year-old to get her learner's permit (and to practice driving, which I managed to do without having a heart attack), participated in a Pinterest Pinning Party (to be blogged about later this week), and had two events at church.  I'm exhausted just writing about it.

Did I mention you can have this little gem for only 99 cents?  Yes, the book is short, but let's face it, with time a factor, I'd rather have a short, succinct book packed with valuable information than read a how-to book that is 300 pages that I'm going to have a hard time getting around to read.

Thinking of trying a new look....

I've been playing around with a lot of fun things lately, including Pinterest so I thought it was probably time I revive the blog and possibly go for a new look.  I'm still learning, so I'm sure it will take some time to get this looking as professional as I'd like, but here it is.

I'm starting with a new picture.  That's actually me on the glass overlook of the Sears Tower.  (Yes, I know it's not the Sears Tower anymore, but the actual name escapes me at the moment.)

So what look do you think works best for a blog?  Simple, elegant? 

I welcome your input!

Finding My Escape to Be Featured on Kindle Nation Daily

I'm very excited to announce that my novel, Finding My Escape is going to be featured February 16 on Kindle Nation Daily! 

As any author will tell you, one of the biggest struggles we have (once the book is written, edited, re-edited, proofread...) is just how to go about marketing that book.  For me, it's been a bit of an enigma.  I think one of the reasons for this is that marketing, like book publishing, is changing almost daily.  What worked last year, when Amanda Hocking and John Locke launched their campaigns, just isn't going to be as successful today.

I stumbled across Kindle Nation Daily quite by accident, and decided to check it out.  I was very impressed with their success stories.  They've actually taken books with rankings of 100,000 and below up in to the top 1000 category.  (See the results here).  So I decided to take a chance with their Special Sponsored Post with Facebook Triple play.

Stay tuned for the results!

Status Update

I'd like to get back to posting regularly on this blog, but to be honest, I've been crazy busy.  Most recently, I've published Finding My Escape in paperback.

Look for a new format for this blog in the next couple of weeks. 

Finding My Escape featured on Indie Publisher

Hey, friends!  I just wanted to let everyone know that Finding My Escape is the featured book on
Indie Publisher.  Check it out!

About Setting Goals (And Meeting Them)

So I've been thinking a lot about goals and what keeps us from reaching them.  I've never been big on setting New Year's Resolutions because (to be honest) I rarely keep them past the end of February.  Okay, okay, past the end of January.  Besides, most NYR are pretty unspecific:  I want to lose weight.  I want to write the breakout novel.  I want to stop spending so much money at Starbucks.  (Okay, that last was a bit of a stretch, but you get the idea.)


Goals, on the other hand, are much more concrete:  I want to lose 20 pounds by losing one pound a week.  I will finish my novel by writing 1000 words a day.  I'll only go to Starbucks once twice four times a week.


I've also been examining what keeps us from following through on our goals.  For me, at least, it's usually one of two things:  laziness or fear.  I don't meet my weight loss goals because I get lazy, stop working out, quit asking for non-fat lattes, and start ordering sweet tea instead of water.


The writing goal is a little more complex.  You see, I want to finish the sequel to Finding My Escape.  I want to make my blog extra pretty, and write an article for it at least two or three times a week.  What stops me here is fear.  What if my writing isn't good enough?  What if no one wants to read it?  What if (gasp) someone actually tells me he/she doesn't like what I've written?  What if I don't like what I've written?  I could go on and on.


Well this year I've decided to face my fears (and stop being lazy).  I set some concrete goals, and I plan to meet each and every one.  And I'm going to write about the journey here.  Eclectically of course.