Playlist

I had a new playlist for Destiny Bound. I absolutely can't write without music. It totally gives me inspiration. This time around, I actually have songs for different scenes in the book. It's kinda weird, but it plays out like the soundtrack for the movie inside my head while I'm writing. Here's a few. I'll give you bonus points if you know any of the artists. No cheating by googling.

-Possibility

-Titanium

-Too Close

-Trouble

-Cosmic Love

-Time After Time

-Open Your Eyes

-Roslyn

-Let’s Get Lost

-Meet Me on the Equinox

-Heavy in Your Arms

-Decode

-My Love

-Turning Page

-Up All Nigh

-Love Will Take You

Make your own playlist and follow the inspiration it gives you.

Progress

Well, sweet success. While the boys were gone, I made it to page 124. The story is forming in my head now. It's still all a mish mosh, except for the first five chapters. But, at some point, it will make a cohesive story. The only sounds this weekend were the clicking of the keys on the laptop and my muse music. This time around it's been changing. During my first book, I had a playlist that included Flogging Molly and the New Moon soundtrack. (I know, kinda cheesy, but it has some great depressing love songs). This time around,, I discovered Pandora radio. So, it was the Twilight station (Again, I know, cheesy) to begin with. Now, it's been the techno station a lot. This has nothing to do with my story, but I really love techno. Occasionally, I'll switch over to the Alex Clare station. So, not really much of a theme this time. But, hey, whatever works, right?

Ahh, Silence

Well, my fabulous husband decided to take the boys camping tonight. I was thrilled of course. I don't have any girls, so it's just me all night and most of the day tomorrow. I've been writing since they left. The inspiration hit and I don't have anything but my music to listen to. No "Mom, can I play on the iPad?," or "What's for dinner?" or "Can we go to the pool?" It's so much easier to write when I don't have to worry about taking care of anyone but myself. No wonder Amanda Hocking can write for twelve hours a day. Don't get me wrong, I love those little guys, but it's nice to have a break. It's been awhile since they've all been gone overnight. And it just warms my heart when my four year old yells, "I love you, Mom! I miss you, Mom!" at the top of his lungs as I pull out of the driveway to go to the post office while they get ready to leave. Anyway, I'm already to page 118. I love writing! I always wanted to write a book, but never had any ideas and never thought I could. But, here I am, with one book down and one to go. And maybe, just maybe, more ideas will come after that. I would love not to be a one hit wonder. Happy weekend!

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.

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.

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.