Finally

I am finally unblocked from writing Changed! I think I had enough of a break from this story and that Natasha has finally accepted her fate. I have been trying to start this story for months now, only to get blocked and hate what was written. If I can't get through it, I can't expect anyone else to either. Last night I was able to write four pages. This is epic for what has been previously done. We are starting in a whole new way, attacking the issues from a different angle and finally, finally enjoying the ride.
Tonight is my Friday. I hope to write on my whole five days off and make some serious headway into Changed. Zombie War is entering the editing stage, of which I am seriously excited for. It is so much different than my (adult) paranormal romance series; it was a joy to see that I am capable of venturing out of the sensuality that so many have told me they love from me.
What a positive, wonderful night it was to finally rejoin Natasha on her journey. I hope others enjoy her story as much as I do.
Happy Monday and Happy Reading!

Something rare- a review. :)

An Apple for Zoe: The Forsaken by Thomas Amo

Intense.
*Warning, there may be spoilers*
I started this book not having a clue as to what it was about. (I like to do that on occasion, makes things interesting;)) Anyway, I had a bit of a problem keeping all the characters in order in the beginning. I don't know if it was just lots of people, or a few people known by different monikers, or the fact that I was reading it at work and having to get up every 5 minutes to check on my peeps, but it was a bit tangled for me for a minute. The story started out intense, then moved so quickly, that I didn't want to stop to figure out where everyone was placed; I didn't want to miss what was happening. Just as you think the characters are at a point where they can rest, adjust and think about the next step, something else happens.
It was exciting, edge-of my seat, stressfully intense. I can't wait until the sequel!

Excitement

I am very excited today! Choice received its first review!! YEA! To view it go to www.ekfamilybooks.blogspot.com/
As well as receiving awesome news like this, I am also very excited to note that I picked up my proof of Choice in the mail last night! I have to tweak some things on it, but hopefully in the next two weeks it will be available on paperback!!! I am beyond excited about this!

I am very thankful to those that do an honest review of my book(s). I am a very new writer. Sometimes the things that are in my head are not as clearly depicted on paper, or sometimes reiterated too much on paper as to be annoying. I take constructive criticism to heart, both good and bad. I am not naive enough to believe that what I write is going to be perfect, or that everyone is going to like it. I do think that everyone has room for improvement, and it's silly to ignore completely the suggestions of others.

I am very pleased with the review from K.
Good things are happening, and will hopefully continue on this path.
Happy reading!

Spring!

Yeah!!! It's Spring!!! I cannot wait for it to stop snowing so that I can go out and enjoy the flowers, animals, and SUNSHINE!!! We barely received any snow during winter, so of course we are getting it now when it is supposed to be nice. grr. I love Spring, Summer and early Fall. I am a warm weather girl, and cannot wait till it gets warm enough to go motorcycle riding.
I'm still working on the final chapter and edits for Zombie Wars; and am still stuck. I don't have any idea why anymore, but there it is. I think the cover looks great, and have been in an angry zombie mood for the past few days; yet have not been able to think of a single thing. Hopefully the next few days will bring some sort of inspiration to me.
Happy Spring to all!

Realization

Some days I wake up and realize that I am a naive, gullible, optimistic moron; while other days make me feel jaded and old. Today is a jaded and old day, while yesterday was a moronic day. I always seem to hope for the best in people and get crushed when they prove to be the assholes that they have always been. I have yet to figure out why I do this. I thought that with age came knowledge, insight, some type of freakin intelligence, but I guess it just depends on the day. Chalk it up to a learning experience and never do it again, I suppose. Ah, well.
Happy St. Patty's Day to all!

excited

I am super excited today! I signed up for Createspace and sent off another formatted copy of Choice. This is an amazing website that was actually very easy to use. I'm currently awaiting my proof in the mail. It will be so surreal to actually see my first book in print, I don't even know what to do with myself!  I can't wait to be able to share my novel with those who have not latched onto the eReader fad. YEA!

still off

Let me start out by saying, that while I enjoyed the easy read of the Twilight saga, I am not a fan. I love the genera, but just wasn't the gigantic fan that so many are. That being said, I took my husband to see Red Riding Hood, thinking "Awesome, a werewolf movie; this is gonna be GREAT."(I LOVE shifters!!) It reminded me of Twilight, without the vampires. The main male lead even had messy hair like Edward. I was extremely disappointed. Granted, it was an entertaining, fun movie; just felt like an old played-out plot. The whole teenage angst with the love triangle just is crap to me. Maybe I am just out of the teenage loop, or just having an off month, but I was just eh about the whole thing.
That seemed to be the theme to my weekend: high expectations, low results. I did have a few positive things occur though.
1. I think I have the cover for Zombie War: The Beginning. It is strange and creepy, just like I wanted it. My sister says that the zombie on the cover looks like her friend's husband. Not quite the response I was looking for, but......
2. I went to an Unnamed Writer's group that was encouraging. I was informed of a way to create an actual paperback book for my books, and how to do it. I am beyond excited and am working on getting Choice in paperback. While I was doing my formatting, I realized that Choice is 302 pages long. I had no idea it was so long. It was only 189 in my word doc, so I am beyond thrilled.
3. I feel like I am finally getting a hang of the whole publishing/formatting/editing thing. I still have a long way to go, but I'm getting there. I am trying not to berate myself for not blogging, fbing, and twittering as much as I would like, but to enjoy the process. I am super excited about my followers, and hope that some part of my journey into the writing process is helpful to at least someone. (Also, I hope you like my books as much as I do!) ;)
Happy Reading!

In a rut

It has been a while since I posted here and I suppose I should say something. Truth is I am totally and completely in a rut. I have not been able to type out the last chapter of Zombies and am stuck on what to do for the cover. I think I am obsessing about that and it is halting the creative flow. Anyway, I have been unable to write anything of substance for a week. I am frustrated and want things to flow again.
Maybe I will sit and paint tomorrow after Red Riding Hood. Get something down on the canvas to see if that is what I was looking for, create something, even if it sucks. I can always do another.
I unfortunately won't be doing any painting now; I had a horrible, yet entertaining night at work last night and just want sleep. I hope to be out of this mental block and still publish Zombie War by the end of the month. Keep your fingers crossed!

busy

I've been working on Zombie Wars; and I have to tell you, I love it. It is exciting, gross, and really gory. I have also been getting very helpful feedback for the writing, as well as for the blog. I am working on all of these things while still trying valiantly to maintain some semblance of a life. I am still not willing to let go of that yet. ;)
I also decided that I needed to do something drastic. So.... I donated my hair to locks of love. I still have some atop my head, but a whole foot is gone. I feel naked. It is the shortest my hair has ever been. I feel a wonderful sense of contentment, that while I feel weird, at least there will be a child out there who can feel a bit better about themselves.
Now back to the murderous crazed zombies. ;)
Happy Reading!

writing with Damian

The other day I was writing a very suspenseful scene, where the two main characters are walking through an abandoned (maybe) house to claim it as their own, when I realized it was getting dark and difficult to concentrate on my computer screen as it was the only light in the room. I got up to flick on the light and get a  drink of water. I have dark blue carpet, and my hallway is always dark- even during the day. I opened my office door, clicking on the light as I started to leave and suddenly my black cat, Damian, thundered past me in the hallway! He scared the absolute crap out of me. It was awesome, and I had to call my sister. 

I am now fighting a lovely head cold and can't seem to form a coherent thought. Goodnight.

Zombiezzz

I love this short book. I know I should because I'm the one writing it, but I honestly love it. The gore is just what I have needed lately, and I love the escape and release I have by writing and editing it. So much fun! I sent it to my sister to read (she's my editor), and she couldn't get past the second page. She made her husband read it, to see if it tamed any, and he told her that she could probably read the second chapter, but that was it. I have thought about taming it many times since then, but can't bring myself to eliminate any of it. I just like it too much. Two more chapters to bring it to a nice close and I'm done. I will have to do my edits myself <eeek!> and hope for the best! My goal is to have it written by this weekend, and available by next weekend. We shall see......

surreal

I am so exited today! People are buying Choice that I don't know, (I don't get a list of who purchases it, I just get a number of book sales and my friends tell me if and when they have gotten it, and the number of sales is more than the number of friends and family that have gotten it!) I have started my author's blog/webpage thingy, I am learning how to market and have been starting to network. I am really starting to feel like an actual AUTHOR! This is exactly what I want, and yet it is terrifying. I almost feel as if I am living someone else's life right now and that they are allowing me a small glimpse into the intricacies of what being a responsible, hard-working, self-employed author is all about. It is so much more complex, interesting, and difficult than anything else I have ever done in my life. I love it. The thrill of not knowing what is going to happen next, and how am I going to reach that next hurdle, is almost as nauseating as it is exciting. I think I was almost this nervous the first time I rode my motorcycle. I hope that like it has with my bike, this still holds joy for me, but calms down in its nerve-wracking intensity.
I feel as if I am almost finished with the Zombie short, and hope to have it available mid-March. We shall see. All the other things involved in selling books are occupying more of my time than I thought they would, but I am trying. I have to sleep now as I feel like I am getting loopy. I wish you all Happy reading!

Aha!

I have officially discovered book bloggers and am very excited! Yea! Zombie War is coming along great; I have to say I am definitely enjoying the change of pace from the romance to the gore. I did decide on elaborating on the graphic details, and hope that everyone ends up enjoying it just as much as I am. (and by enjoying it I really mean you read it and go ewwww) :) Off to work I go now, oh the joy. Happy Reading!

Zombie War

Oh. My. Lord. I started the day out without a clue as to where to begin. It is snowing, and while I know we desperately need it, I detest the snow. I have to run errands today, and have other things that sound a lot more fun than trying to get this story to flow. Instead of wallowing in all the things that I had to do today, I sat down and wrote. I vowed that I would write for at least an hour, and no matter how bad, I would at least get something down on paper. I can always fix it later. I just needed something.
I am now applauding that decision. While it took a minute to get it started, I have just written one of the goriest scenes I have ever read. I am not sure at this point wether to keep it, elaborate on it, or delete it completely. It is disturbing. The fact that it came from my head makes me want to hug someone and be told that I am not as disturbed as I feel right now.

zombies

It's time to start back up with the writing. I have placed everything on hold to promote and publish Choice, then my gramps died, and now I have to get back to the actual writing part of this process. The part that I actually enjoy. I have been tinkering on some of the books, but haven't seriously sat down and concentrated solely on one book. Zombie War: The Beginning is my short story. At least it is starting out to be a short story. We will see where Sarah, the main character, takes us. Right now we are both leaning more toward a short story. Hopefully it will be finished, complete with edits, by July. That's my goal.
After Zombie War comes out, I am hoping to have some type of inspiration for Changed. For some reason I am totally and completely blocked for the second installment of the Origin's series. Grr. It will get there.

Loss & Remembrance

My gramps died on Sunday night. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather & great-grandfather. He was the perfect example of a retired military "Man's man." They really just don't make them like that anymore.
We got together as a family to remember the good times with gramps, and while I couldn't be there physically, I was via phone and spirit. It is hard when so many miles separate those you love so dearly.
My husband and I had a day for each other today where we cuddled and held on tightly to the gift of each other today. It was a great day to add to our memories, and one that I will cherish.
I hope you go and hug your family today. You never know how many tomorrows you have.

A Glimpse

Life can be so cruel sometimes. I have been preparing for a great week, and by all accounts should have accomplished just that. I relaxed all weekend with my husband, finished all my to-do's for Choice, went on an epic motorcycle ride, cuddled with my kitties, and had a (rare) wonderful night at work last night. Oh yah, and Fatburger is opening this week in a town very close to me, so Bry (my husband) and I are finally going to have good cheeseburgers. I am very excited about all of this.
Unfortunately, it is all now shadowed by the fact that my grandfather is in his last hours of life. I have worked as a hospice CNA for a few years, and my aunt, who is an RN, is taking care of him. She told me his symptoms today, and we are both convinced that he has hours, not days to live. That is, if you call gasping for breath, living. I am very upset by this news as I thought for sure I would have a few more months to try and see him before he left this world. I want to be there with my family, to love and support them, especially my gram. She and grampa just celebrated their 60 some odd wedding anniversary, and I don't know what she is going to do now. I want to give her a hug and an excuse to do all the baking that she loves but I can't, because I have to work and they live across the country. Life can be so cruel sometimes.

The bike

I absolutely love riding my motorcycle and think that everyone should at least learn to ride one. It is an experience that is so unbelievable, awesome, and completely unexplainable completely. Maybe one day I will try to verbalize this experience...
Today we took a nice long ride up and down a mountain. It was chilly and absolutely beautiful. We had just finished lunch and were on our way home when a heard of wild mustangs galloped toward us. They came within twenty feet of running over my husband when they made a quick right and galloped next to us for about five seconds. It was beautiful. Completely something out of a storybook or in some sappy movie. Absolutely completely breathtaking.

smashwords.com

I really wish I would have found this website way earlier as they have a link to a free book called Smashwords Style Guide by Mark Coker that is simply amazing.
Every place I have looked for formatting questions has been like reading Greek, but more irritating. I have changed the formatting on the book about 10 times to try and get it to look good on various e-Readers. The last time I was so frustrated I cussed out my computer and everyone around me for about three hours and said simply that I give up and hopefully people won't mind if it has a few oddities.
SSG walks you through the entire formatting so that it looks decent as an eBook. For those of you that purchased Choice already, I do apologize for any weird font, and for those who were waiting to get it, yea! You get the updated one. (content is EXACTLY the same, just better format) I really really wish I would have found this before I started this publishing fiasco. I had never thought myself as computer illiterate, but after attempting to publish in various vendors.... wow.
Anyway, Choice should now be available for every type of eReader created thanks to Smashwords.com in the next two days.
I'm going to ride my motorcycle now. Happy Reading! :)

I couldn't think of a title today. Guess it is just one of those days. I made my first ham today for the family. It rocked. Didn't do anything new for the books today, but I still have to get the formatting corrected for Smashwords. Hopefully I will have that done this weekend. I'm freezing right now and going to bed. Have a great weekend! :)