In the News

Yep, it's official, I'm in the news. My BFF from Jr. High and High School many moons ago, writes for the Newport Beach Independent online. Her latest article is about self-publishing and she told my story. Thanks so much to Edie for her support in not only buying my book, but in helping me promote as well. I love having great friends. Here's the link so you can stop what you're doing and read it immediately! http://www.newportbeachindy.com/2012/07/13/authors-self-publish/

Writer's Block

So... I have writer's block. I guess it was inevitable. I am a writer after all. It's just weird because once I started really working on this first book, the juices kept flowing. I wrote everyday. For hours at a time sometimes. Even if I had to stop to take my kids to the pool or bowling or all the other fun summer stuff we did last year, I was able to come home and pick up where I left off. This summer, not so much. I did write a few more pages the other day. So, I'm at about 101 pages. I have the first five chapters done, but after that, there are just sections that I want to insert somewhere. I'm still totally clueless as to where I even want to go with the story. Plus, I've been trying to promote this first book a little, so it hasn't been a priority. I'm going to try to just sit down today and see what (if anything) comes out. My three youngest kids are at grandma's farm for a couple of days, and Bubba just left for baseball practice with dad, so it's now or never. Well, I'm off.

Book Signing

Looks like I will probably be doing a book signing already. My super fantastic step-mom-in-law talked to her local bookstore, the lady read a little about the book, and is interested in selling some of my books and having me come do a signing. It's a pretty small town, but if they advertise it and I get the word out, it will be really cool. I'm just excited about a little exposure. I'm working on getting into our local Hastings as well. If you haven't bought your copy yet, get it! Don't forget-it's on Amazon in paperback and Kindle, and also available for pre-order on Barnes and Noble's website.

What's in a Name?

So, I thought I would tell you how I picked the names for my book. At first, I named the main character, Madeline, but I decided that I wanted an English or Irish name. I looked up names and found Waverly, which is English. I thought it sounded so pretty, and I really wanted a three syllable name. For Finn, I have always loved that name. It's an Irish name and there's a cool legend about Finn McCool that goes along with the name. Waverly's dad's name kind of just came to me as I was writing. For some reason, I could just hear her mother calling to him, "Frank." Her name, Eveline, I thought was pretty. Finn's dad is Seamus, which is just a really cool name, and his mom is Deirdre. His uncle is Declan, which is another name I've always loved, and the leading guy in "Leap Year." His aunt is Aideen, which I also found beautiful. Kieran's name means "dark one," and when you read the book, you'll find out why that is appropriate. His dad is Darcy, another Irish name. Waverly's best friend, Jessie was also named as I was writing. It just sounded like a best friend name to me. Not sure why. So, other than Waverly being English, and Jessie's name, everyone else has a traditional Irish name. Including last names of course. It was actually a fun part of the process to name all of my characters. And not as stressful as trying to give your child a name.

Follow Me

I'm now on Twitter. I'm attempting to update my Facebook page daily with fun facts, but sometimes it's hard to think of something, so let me know if you have any questions you want answered. Anywho, they upload to Twitter if you'd rather see them that way. It's @MidstofDarkness, and on Facebook it's just the title of the book. I already have 9 followers on Twitter and 36 likes on my Facebook page. Woot! Tell all your friends. I even have a review on Amazon on the Kindle page. I can't figure out how to link the Kindle and the Paperback pages.

Mothers and Daughters

Today my mom got her copy in the mail. I sent it to her as a late birthday present. The surprise was that I dedicated the book to her. She called and as soon as I said hello, she said, "You're not supposed to make your mother cry." I'm glad it touched her. She and I went to Washington state two summers ago to do the whole Twilight tour thing. After a day in Seattle, we drove up to Port Angeles and spent the night, then went to First Beach in La Push, and back over to Forks for the day. We went back to Port Angeles the next day and even had dinner at Bella Italia (which was excellent, but make sure you make a reservation or you'll sit there for an hour picking your nose). We took the ferry over to Victoria, Canada the next morning and spent the day there. Canadians are awesome, eh? It was a great time and fun bonding experience. She's also flown up here to see every Twilight movie with me on opening night. We're kind of Twi-hards, but not too much that it's annoying and weird. So anyway, since my book is about vampires, I thought she would like the dedication. Check out my Facebook page too and get little daily fun facts about the book. Happy reading!

Famous

So today, I sold a book to another mom at swimming lessons. We've talked a little about books before, and today I just so happened to bring my last copy with me. I gave her the ordering info, but she was so excited that she wanted to buy that one and have me sign it. She was like, "I've never known a real life author before." I was really nervous, but I guess if I'm going to try to sell this book for a living, I'm gonna have to get used to talking to people about it. Now, if my readers will give me a few good reviews on Amazon once you read it, that would be awesome. If you think it's the worst book you've ever read, (which you won't because I rock) then keep your opinions to yourself. After you've written your own book and put yourself out there like that, then you can judge me. Also, if you have any questions about the book, the story, how I wrote it, etc., please don't hesitate to ask. I'll do my best to answer them in an individual post.