Destiny Bound

Destiny Bound should be coming soon. The cover is done, the book is done, but still in the hot little hands of some beta readers. I would like to have it out in the early fall. So far, my readers have commented that though they love my first series, this book is their favorite. I'm not sure why, but I loved writing it more too. I will always love Waverly and Finn and definitely Ireland, but this one was fun. This time, I used French and Italian names. Maybe I was born in the wrong country, but I love other names and languages so much more than our own. I have always loved the name, Nick (maybe because it's the shortened version of my name that my family uses?), so my male lead is Nico and goes by Nick most of the time. Sofia is our leading lady, with Nathalie as her BFF. The witches and werewolves are a combination of French and Italian families. I don't explain why or when their families came to America. I didn't really think it was relevant to the story, but in my mind, as I was writing, I could hear Sofia's parents' thick Italian accents. All of the kids in the book were born in America though. 

Anywho, I did a smidgen of research for this one. Mostly witchy stuff-like spells and rituals. Aspen Springs, Arizona where they live, is roughly based on Flagstaff, Arizona. The apartment complex mentioned is an actual place I found online. This book is slightly more PG-13 than the last two. Still no premarital sex because I just don't believe in that, but some hot and heavy make out sessions happen, along with the words, "Damn" and "Hell" one or two times. I use some Italian and French in the book. My BFF from high school was born in Italy and I have verified all of the Italian with her because let's face it, the internet might not always be accurate on how to translate an exact sentence. Especially because occasionally in other languages, things don't directly translate into English. I didn't find it necessary to put any kind of dictionary in the book. Most of the time, I have Sofia repeat back to Nick in English whatever he has said in Italian. Everywhere else, you should be able to understand from the context. I'm really excited about this book and will keep you updated on its release date.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CKG3F6I

Here it is! It's finally done and available on Kindle. It will available on paperback within the next week or two. I sure hope you enjoy the sequel. It stressed me out quite a bit to try and live up to the expectations. I wanted it to be as good as the first one. I have no idea how authors can write 7 books in one series!
Happy reading!

It's Done!

Hooray! It's finally done. Return is finished and I have gone through my first edit. I am sending it out to my beta readers today and hope to have a release date before Mother's Day! I know you're squealing in anticipation with me! This was a hard road. I didn't feel like book one was the end of Finn and Waverly's story, but it was difficult to figure out what was in store for them. I am excited about their journey and hope you will be too. Jessie plays a big part of this story as well. You will be excited for her. I keep using the word, "excited," but I am!! And this is a great book for your guy friends too. There's plenty of surfing and gory fighting! I love it. It makes me smile to be graphic and gross.

Anywho, I had a reader already go through Destiny Bound, and once I'm done with another edit of that, I hope to release it as well. I want your opinion. Would you like to see it out right after Return, or would you prefer to wait awhile. I don't want to flood everyone with both books if they aren't ready. Opinions?

Destiny Bound

So, I know this is a blog for my first novel, but since my third novel is complete, I couldn't resist looking for a cover photo for it because I plan to publish it after my sequel Return to Darkness. And by the way, things are progressing slowly but surely with the sequel. I'm more than halfway through. I have the beginning, ending, and some bits in the middle. It's a matter of connecting them together now. Easier said than done.

So, here's a preview of the cover for Destiny Bound. It still has the istock logo on it because I haven't bought it yet. I wanted to be sure that it would work out. But what do you think? I love it. I love the font too. The font name is hysterical-bleeding cowboys. Not sure that's what a bleeding cowboy would look like, but it's great nonetheless.

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.

Destiny Bound

Well, I did it. I finished writing Destiny Bound yesterday. I have to say that I'm pretty impressed with myself for writing a book in two weeks. Of course, it's just a first draft, but it's an entire book. I've lost two pounds sitting in this office chair in my cave, eating nothing but Sno Balls, M &M's, and other such crap. One doesn't have time for real food or bathroom breaks when the inspiration hits. Okay, so I did stop to go to the bathroom and make dinner once or twice. But my family are troopers having "whatever you want night" for dinner way too many nights in a row. And of course, the few loads of laundry that actually got done, are still sitting in the basket-clean, but not folded. Hey, if you need something, go dig for it yourself.
I decided I will set it aside for now so that I can go back to Return. My goal is to have it ready to print in the Spring. I'm more than halfway through with it, but I had to set it aside because I was so frustrated with how to begin the story. It has an ending, some stuff in the middle, and the first six chapters. But after some of the feedback I got about how to start a sequel, I thought I should take another look at it.
Well, here's the deal. No, I am not trying to copy other writers, but I do look to other books I've read for reference on how their sequels start. And guess what? They're not all the same. Some pretty much pick up right after the last sentence of the previous book. Some jump ahead a few weeks (which is what mine does), and throw in a few flashbacks of something important that took place in between the last sentence and the first sentence of this new book. So, as helpful as advice can be sometimes, I've decided to write my book the way I want to. Because guess what? If you read number one, you'll probably read number two to see what happens next. Whether I pick up with the last sentence or jump three weeks into their new life together.
I've never been one to care what others thought of me, until I started getting older. For some reason, I sometimes feel like I need the approval of others. But I feel like I'm starting to reconnect with the old me. I mean I didn't completely disappear. I've remained my sarcastic, cynical self, but there have just been certain things that I'm afraid I'll be judged on.
But guess what? Screw you. I didn't start writing In the Midst of Darkness because I was determined to be the next Stephanie Meyer. I didn't even sit down one day and say, "Hey, I'm gonna write a book." I saw a post on Facebook that gave me the first line of the book. It wasn't even going to be a book. I just thought, "Hey, that'd be a cool first line of a story." So my story turned into a book. I published it because my friends and family wanted to read it. And when I got to the last line, I thought, "Oh crap, this is really long, but I don't think this is the end of their story." So, here I am struggling with the sequel. And now, I'm going to write it how I want to write it. I know I'm never going to make money doing this-even though that would be my ultimate dream. But it's something I love. I didn't realize how much I loved it until I really started doing it. And maybe there are even more stories in my head, floating around, waiting to be pulled out.
For now, I'm going to write it the way I want to write it. If you don't like it, oh well, too bad so sad for you.

New Ideas

Well, I'm officially taking a break from Return to Darkness. I got so frustrated with some of the comments on how I should start it, how slow it was, etc. It made me feel like I have to completely write a new first chapter and make chapter 1 now chapter 2. The somewhat good news is that it's already more than halfway written. Though, I'll have to go through the whole editing process before it can be released.

Since I'm taking a break from it, I've been working on a new story. During the Story a Day challenge in May, I started a new story with werewolves and witches. No vamps this time. I wrote two chapters, though I only labeled them as part 1 and part 2 because I only thought it would be a short story. But, when I got frustrated with Return, I thought, "Hey, maybe I should work on that story. It might be fun." Well, I just picked up where I left off, and I've been writing non-stop for days. Okay, I've stopped to see my family every so often. But... I have 204 pages written. So, it seems as if there is another published book in my future. It's weird because during book 1, I figured that was all I would ever write. Then I got to what is now the ending of that book, and thought, "This story isn't over yet. I guess I'll have to finish it in a sequel." But again, I thought that was it. But it was weird. I was in the car one day and the first line of this new story popped into my head. I thought I better write it down when I got home, and then I had a few ideas for it.

The main characters are Nick, a werewolf, and Sofia, a witch. They're sworn enemies, but when Nick transfers to Mason High halfway through Senior year, something strange pulls them to each other. Hopefully, you'll want to find out what that is and why it's happening.

Okay, I can't resist. Here's a little taste of what's coming:

“You’re sure it’s his?” I wanted to be sure, otherwise this was a complete waste of time.

“Yeah, Sof. It’s his,” he said, taking Nat’s hand in his. Even though they weren’t linked to me, they could share their combined power with me to add to the strength of the spell.

I lit the candle and placed it on the floor in front of me. I took one of the three pieces of cord lying on the floor and tied it around the base of the candle. Then I chanted,

                        By three and nine your power I bind.

                        By Moon and Sun my will be done.

I took the next piece of cord and tied it around the middle of the candle, and continued my chant.

                        Sky and Sea, keep harm from Nico,

                        Cord go ‘round, power be bound.

I tied the third cord around the candle’s base, and said,

                        Light revealed,

                        Now be sealed.

I blew out the candle, and spoke the final line of the spell,

                        So mote it be.

So what do you think? And for all of you waiting for Return, I promise to start working on it again soon.

Cheers