Raining Down Redemption is officially under contract with my publisher!

My publisher accepted Raining Down Redemption which means it's coming soon! I can't wait for you all to read Jordan and Reggie's story and hope you love it as much as I loved writing it!

The image above is not the cover, just something that fits the mood of the book. As soon as I have any other updates for you, I'll post them here!

Thanks for reading,
~BK

Teaser Tuesday

I'm finished drafting Raining Down Redemption and I feel like sharing a little teaser from the first chapter. Granted, things can change in the editing/publishing process, but who doesn't like a little preview of what's to come?

So, without further pause, here is a tidbit of Chapter One from Raining Down Redemption.

CHAPTER ONE

Jordan

The energy in this arena is electric—it makes the blood in my veins pound to the rhythmic chanting of the awaiting crowd. They call my name alternating with our latest hit single, the one I wrote for Jemma. God I miss that girl. We take the stage, the fans scream, lights flash a bright white and rain down scorching heat making me remember just how hot the Phoenix summer heat can be. Except it’s the middle of January. We run through our set list and almost two hours later I’m drenched in sweat, my clothes stick to every inch of my body but it’s over.

White Shadow’s Recovery Tour is over.

Our PR rep suggested the title since I finally chose to stay clean twenty months ago, and in truth, the band needed something to promote change. It’s been a bumpy road, but it feels incredible. I can’t believe after almost eight years, I’ve completed fourteen months of shows without drugs or alcohol. That had never happened before I met Jemma.

Backstage, all six of us hug, slap shoulders and can’t contain our smiles. A successful concert will do that to you—bring out the most girlish feelings in the manliest of men. I’ve put these guys—my friends—through hell over the years, but with this tour fences have been mended and we’re stronger than ever.

“Food?” Carson, our keyboardist suggests. It’s tradition now that I’m clean. We find an all-night diner, talk about the show and stuff our bellies. Tonight is no exception. Except we’re back home in Phoenix and there is only one place we all want to go: Eggseptional. Best pancakes in the state of Arizona and after a show like the one we just killed, we jump in the van and take off towards the hole-in-the-wall diner on Fifteenth not discussing the matter further.

The six of us spill out of the van and trudge through the almost empty parking lot. The diner looks the same, tucked into a corner of an old black and white brick building with the 1950s neon diner waitress flashing above the entrance. Once inside, the air is thick with old grease and the salty scent of bacon and I feel at home. The guys and I used to come here all throughout high school and up until we scored our record deal.

We slide into a large booth near the back and study the menu even though I’m pretty sure we all know what we want. You come here three times a week for three years you get to know the menu fairly intimately.

“Yep, buttermilk pancakes and the Rocky Mountain scramble are calling my name,” Drake says as he rubs his belly. “What are y’all having?” The guys mumble their responses as Grant glances up and blows out a low whistle.

“Look at those legs,” he says with his eyes nearly popping out of his skull. “Damn, I’d like to…” The waitress turns and my brain stutters, like it has trouble keeping pace with my racing heart. “Holy shit, is that Reggie?” Grant clears his throat as he glances to me. “Shit, man. I didn’t know. Sorry.”

I wave him off and inhale a huge gulp of air that catches in my throat. “It’s fine, bro.” I cough and pound my chest with my fist. “We haven’t seen each other since graduation.”

“You two were inseparable though.”

“That was a hell of a long time ago.” The years between us have been really good to her; she’s filled out looking more like a woman than a teenager. When she glances to our table she stops dead in her tracks, her smile fades, eyes widen and her knuckles grip the pitcher of water she’s holding. Her long brown hair is tied at the base of her neck, her cheeks carry a hint of rose pink and her lips, God I can still remember how they feel—how they taste. She slightly shakes her head side to side as if chasing away a memory. Her slender hand tucks a stray hair behind her ear and lingers on her jaw as she makes her way to our table.

The simple gesture, so familiar shakes me to my core and I feel like I’m eighteen again sitting with Reggie behind the football field bleachers. We’re holding hands and talking about the future. Mine hopefully included a record deal, hers less in the limelight, but she wanted to be a teacher. My hands grip the fabric of her jeans at her hips as I pull her between my legs. She practically purrs at my touch and when our lips crush together all coherent thought is lost. She tastes like spearmint and summer heat and when her hands trail down my arms stopping at the top of my thighs I declare it time to head back to my place. My girl is too good to take behind the football field.

Eight years ago it was like Reggie was built just for me—we fit together perfectly—like two puzzle pieces coming together. It killed me when she let me go shortly after graduation. Looking back now, I understand why she did and I’m glad for it. It would not have been fair to her having me gone, high and screwing any girl that came my way. Some times I wonder how I’m still alive after all the shit I’ve done.

***

Did you like it? Do you want more? I can't wait to share it all with you! (where is the thumbs up emoticon when you need it?)

Teasers from RAINING DOWN REDEMPTION <-----

Teasers, that's what I'm posting today. Because. TEASERS! I'm working hard on finishing up Jordan's story in RAINING DOWN REDEMPTION and let me tell you, this book is SO GOOD! I can say that because I'm writing it. But it's okay to agree with me.

I'm currently writing chapter 27 and it's a good one. Jordan has some profound thoughts running through his mind and I wanted to share a couple. I hope you enjoy them!

That's it for now :)

It's here! RAINING DOWN RULES is out - and a giveaway!

WHERE CAN I BUY THE BOOK?

  

It's really hard to believe that what I once thought would NEVER happen (and by never, I mean seriously, NEVER) has actually happened! You see, when I stopped reading in 3rd grade it was because my school was forcing it down our little third grade throats and I hated it so much I started lying about what I had read. Or in all honesty, what I hadn't read. I can remember about 5 books that I picked up and read before I turned twenty (though I really wish I could remember the name of one specific book I read as a young kid...turning to Google to find it). Anyway, because I stopped reading, I never thought I would someday write a book, let alone have it published.

That all changed about six years ago when a friend of mine suggested I read The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale. I didn't know books like that existed. It BLEW MY MIND. I loved it and have since read it three more times.

Shannon Hale unknowingly caused my newly found love hunger for reading. These days, I read an average of 10 books a month, though in January it was 16. I really hope this doesn't negatively affect my children...Perhaps it will some day fuel their love for reading.

Fast forward to three years ago (actually, almost 4 years now) and I've started my gazillionth book but something is different about this one. This one has me so fired up I start and finish it in 30 days ending with 82,000 words. The words kept pouring out of me and I couldn't stop them. That story was The Phoenix (which is out on submissions right now), and I have since re-written the story because I knew it needed work. Now, I love it even more!

There is so much that inspires me to write, but most of it stems from the feelings I receive when listening to music. Often times an image will pop into my brain that leads to a character's name or an event that happens in that character's life. Then, their story begins to unfold as write. This is what happened in the case of RAINING DOWN RULES. An image of a young woman driving down a darkened street one night popped into my head, followed by her seeing a man stumbling down the street. As she drew closer, she realized it was the lead singer of her favorite rock band.

That was it. That was the image I saw and from there I asked myself what would happen to these two seemingly different people? Would they fall in love? What had happened in the girl's life making her who she is today? Why is the rock star an addict? These are just a few of the questions I asked myself as I sat down to write their story.

I loved writing Jemma and Jordan's story, but like all lives in progress, other events occur throwing the characters for a loop. Insert Vic, the fireman. He was a surprise and a good one at that.

I hope you enjoy RAINING DOWN RULES as much as I enjoyed writing it and look forward to Jordan's story of finding love in RAINING DOWN REDEMPTION coming later this summer.

Oh, and because I think you should win a $20 Amazon gift card, here's a little giveaway for you!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Where I'm at in the publishing process, pt. 2

 I thought it might be fun to do some documenting of my publishing experience.  Now that it has been two weeks since I signed my contract with Limitless Publishing some fun things are in the works!

Let's recap:

Sept. 10 - received a partial request from Limitless
Sept. 14 - received a full manuscript request from Limitless
Sept. 20 - received an offer of a contract to publish Chasing Forever
Sept. 24 - received contract
Sept. 28 - signed contract and became part of the Limitless Publishing Team
Oct. 1 - received a cover questionnaire, book blurb sample request and synopsis request
Oct. 6 - a new title has been given!

So here we are, Oct. 9th and folks, a change in your novel's title during publishing is inevitable and mine is no exception.  Remember the list from last week?

1. Seeking Forever
2. Finding Forever
3. Grasping Eternity
4. Chasing Eternity
5. Rules of the Heart
6. Searching for Forever
7. Beautiful Forever
8. Raining Down Rules
9. A Chance At Forever
10. The Beat of My Heart

Well, which one did you like?  The publisher and I both agreed and have decided upon one of the ten listed above ^^^.  Here is where I'd love to insert a drum roll, with sound effects of course.
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I think it's a perfect title as the novel takes place in the Spring—hence the rain—and Jemma has her set of rules she's created to protect herself, yet she finds them crumbling around her—so the rain is bringing down the rules.  I'm super excited to see my cover when it's ready and even more excited to reveal it to all of you.

Let the game of patience begin...well, at least let it continue!

PS - use #RDRNovel on Twitter for sneak peaks and updates of Raining Down Rules.

Current play list

I listen to music while I write, I have too.  A lot of what inspires me is the feeling I get from the music itself or perhaps even the lyrics.  If there is a television on in the background it's like a succubus taking the creativity from my soul and I can't hardly get any words on the screen.  And for someone who writes, you can imagine how distractions like that can be detrimental.

With my current WIP (work in progress), I've been accumulating songs that give me all the feels for Lee and Cassie's story.  The list is not yet complete, but I felt like sharing what is currently inspiring me.  Each linked song is a YouTube video, not all of them are official, unfortunately.

“Little Do You Know” – Alex & Sierra

“White Blank Page” – Mumford & Sons

“Glory Box” – Portishead

“Saturn” – Sleeping At Last

“The Rocky Road to Dublin” – The High Kings

“Holding Out For a Hero” – Ella Mae Bowen

“Give Me Love” – Alex & Sierra

“Awake My Soul” – Mumford & Sons

“Come With Me Now” – The Kongos

“Just Breathe” – Pearl Jam

“Sad Song” – We The Kings

Enjoy these songs/videos - I hope you like them as much as I do.

~PS - I'm sure I'll be adding a few more as time goes by.

Juggling editing and writing

I'm often bombarded by characters or story lines and find myself jumping projects quite a bit.  However, over the past nine months, I've worked hard on focusing on just one novel at a time.  Has it been easy?  No.  There are a few things I've noticed which creep their way in trying to distract me, and now that I know what they are, I know to avoid them.  Sort of.  Hey, I'm doing my best.

But, here I am finished with, let's call it Project K (since I have a bunch of projects before this one), and working on editing.  Let me tell, editing is So. Much. Fun.  Please tell me you can sense the sarcasm...Yes?  Anyway, now that I'm editing Project K, my son keeps bugging me to finish Project I, which I will do...when I feel inspired.  But in the meantime, I wrote a tiny little blurp for a contest and I would love to work on that one, Project J.  Of course then there is Project L which I posted here on the blog a couple days ago.

Project L is what a REALLY want to be working on - because the story is there and ready to be written.  The characters keep pestering me to write them and so I'm finding it hard to juggle the editing, which I NEED to finish and the writing, which I WANT to do.

So how do you choose?  Do I have to choose?

I don't think so.

I've decided that while I want to write (and will) on Project L, I'm going to set an editing timer and do at least two 30 minute to 1 hour editing sprints each day until I finish it.  Which, in the grand scheme of things, shouldn't take me too long since I'm 2/3rds of the way finished with round 1 edits.

So, wish me luck.  I'm going to need it.

New Project in the planning stages

I'm a sucker for matching actors/actresses to characters in my novels because it helps me really hone in on their physical descriptions. It's also fun to imagine those actors/actresses actually playing the characters. So, now that Chasing Forever is in it's editing phase, I'm ready to start planning out my next project! Yay!

Honestly, I don't have much "story" to go on yet, but the characters have been popping into my head lately and I wanted to share them with you.

First, is the leading man in the story. He's quiet and reflective, deeply passionate about his younger brother's success in the world even at the expense of his own possible failures. He's more interested in living in the moment than planning for his own future. He doesn't do relationships, he thinks they're messy and doomed to fail anyway.  At this given moment, he is nameless in this new story, but I'm sure it will come to me soon.

Jai Courtney (Terminator Genesis Jai Courtney, not Divergent Jai Courtney)




The leading lady is in a way opposite of our leading man. She's a planner, scheduler and likes things in a precise way. She's not afraid to go after what she wants when it comes to jobs or schooling.  She expects perfection in everything she does as well as those around her. 

Britt Roberston (The Longest Ride not Tomorrowland)





The younger brother is a senior in high school with excellent grades.  He's smart, amazingly athletic with a full scholarship for soccer.

Phillip Phillips (see, him and Jai Courtney could actually be real brothers)



The friends, what is a novel without it's supporting characters?  Well, these are the people who help our main characters get through the book.

Maia Mitchell


Chris Egan


The brother's girlfriend is clingy and doesn't want him to go off to college and leave her.

Elle Fanning


Alright - that's where I'm at right now with the planning, I have a long way to go, but it's a start.

This week in Twitter Contests

Oh man, this week has been crazy for me!  Which is a good thing, I promise.  It started on Saturday when my oldest son turned 8 and was baptized!  On the same day I took part in #CPMatch on twitter.  CPMatch is where you post a quick tidbit about your book and see if anyone else in Twitterland, who also has a finished manuscript, wants to become a critique partner.  Well, I ended up with two and both their books are so great so far!

Then fast forward to Wednesday.  Wednesday was holy-hecka crazy.  Two Twitter contests and I took part in both.  The first was #Pitch2Pub and then later in the day was #NewAgent.  Whew!

#Pitch2Pub required you to create a 140-character pitch to give to 27 publishers.  If they liked your pitch they would favorite it and then you submit your book to them.  Well, I had 6 publishers give my pitch a favorite.  SIX!

Here is my pitch:

20y/o fix everything Jemma takes in substance abusing rock star crush then finds love in the one guy she never coming. #Pit2Pub #NA #CON #R

Let me tell you, summing up your novel in 140-characters is NOT easy.  I wrote at least a dozen before settling on the one above.  I'm still researching the publishers and will be submitting my manuscript to at least two of them soon.

And back to #NewAgent.  So this contest is a little more intense.  It's a mentoring contest with published authors and new agents in the industry.  It sounds like an amazing opportunity and I hope I get selected.  For #NewAgent you submit the meat of your query letter and the first 250 words to the host and then the mentors read through them and select the ones they are considering mentoring.  They had over 250 entries, so my competition is fierce!

Here is what I submitted:

Title: Chasing Forever
Word count: 71,000
Genre: NA Contemporary Romance

Query:

Twenty-year-old Jemma Bowers always dreamt of marrying a rock star and when the rocker of her dreams ends up in her care she begins to feel she’s bitten off more than she can chew. Sex, drugs and rock-n-roll don’t have a place among the rules she’s created to avoid heartbreak.

Troubled by the death of her mother and then her father’s abandonment at an early age, not to mention a traumatic miscarriage at seventeen, Jemma finds herself caught between rock star, Jordan Capshaw, her teenage fantasy crush and the real-life affections of someone she never saw coming. A budding relationship with Vic Harper, a swoon-worthy firefighter from her past, and the failing health of the one person Jemma could always count on, just may be the driving force to push Jemma to break the rules she created three years ago in order to protect her heart.

CHASING FOREVER, is a new adult contemporary romance novel complete at 71,000 words, and is told from two points of view about a girl who tries to hard to keep her distance in order to save herself from heartbreak and a rock star determined to prove his father wrong.

First 250 Words:

I haven’t kissed anyone in over a thousand days, so when my date, Cody, leans in for the customary end-of-the-first-date-kiss, I step away, bringing my fist to my mouth and pretend to cough.

“Sorry,” I say, quickly trying to come up with a valid excuse as to why I dodged his kiss.

“I’ve been fighting a cold or something for a couple days.” Lame? Yes. Effective? Apparently. He backs away, shoves his hands in the pockets of his khaki Dockers and clears his throat.

“Alright, well…goodnight. I’ll call you.” He walks away from the door to my dorm and I have the distinct feeling I’ll never hear from him again; so much for Trish’s attempt to have me break my no dating rule.

“How’d it go?” Trish asks eagerly as she looks up from painting her toenails an obnoxious hot pink color. She’s wearing a thin-strapped pink camisole and matching pink shorts. Her silky black hair spills over her bronzed shoulders and not for the first time, do I wish I had her body. Instead, I’m stuck with my five foot four inch frame with subtle curves. I’m stacked well for my size, but if I had Trish’s height I might feel more comfortable in my skin.

I plop down on my bed, which sits across from hers, sigh and pull my pillow over my head. “It was fine until the end and I pretended I was coming down with something so he wouldn’t kiss me.” I cringe as I await her reaction.

Round 1 edits under way

Ahh editing, the joy of every writer.  Can you sense my enthusiasm?  Round 1 will likely take me a couple days and then its off to a few beta readers.  And then more edits, yay.

But the good news here, is the first draft is finishes which means it's one step closer to publishcation!

And the end is near

So the title has grown on me and Jemma, Jordan and Vic's story is coming to a close.  I'm so excited to be finishing up this novel though I can admit, I'm not looking forward to the editing phase.  Writing a novel is almost like adding another child to your family - a part of you feels very maternal about the whole thing.  The great thing about that is novels don't eat!

So what's next?  As I mentioned, editing Chasing Forever.  Then I will finish up Terry Tarantula and possibly do some more drawings so it can be ready for pitching in August to agents.  And finally, I have a story in the plotting stages that I'm anxious to start writing, but will hold off until Terry is finished.

Wow - I didn't realize...

...that it had been so long since my last post!  Man does that make me feel guilty.  I have some updates for you all, which to some may seem insignificant, but to me they are pretty cool.

1 - I won a couple writing contests on Figment.com - wahoo!!  Here are the links to the stories:

Surfaced

Wishing World

The prizes for these were a copy of Waterfall by Lauren Kate and a Figment.com prize pack.

2 - I've pushed through my writing slump and have written 40,000 words in my New Adult novel (here)!  I've just finished chapter 30 and forsee about another 10 chapters until the first draft is completed.

3 - My 1-more-day-left-of-2nd-grade son is struggling to find something he wants to read about for school.  So he and I came up with a book idea that I have started writing called Terry Tarantula and the Jewel Thief (see more here).  He is super excited about this book and reminds me almost every day to finish writing it - I'm 4 chapters into it with 6 left to write!

Here is my cover mock-up of the book:

 

And that just about wraps up my updates.  I'm excited about the progress I've made on both of these writing projects and hope I can keep updating here more frequently.  But, with summer vacation only 1 day away, I'm not promising anything...though I'd like to :)

I am Twitter...pated?

I'm kind of loving Twitter...

...Which could be a problem...

I watched a webinar this afternoon with Barry Cunningham of Chicken House (publisher of JK Rowling's Harry Potter) and the author of Breaking Butterflies by M. Anjelais which was hosted by the great people of NaNoWriMo.  It was fun and informative!

But the best part of the webinar is that M. Anjelais offered to answer questions on Twitter after the webinar.  So naturally I followed her and then answered one of her tweets:

@anjelais "PEOPLE PEOPLE PEOPLE. I would like to know what all writers out there are currently working on. Tell me about your current ventures!"

So here is the *Twitter Pitch* of my current work in progress:

@writerkristie "Relationship-scarred fangirl breaks all her own rules as she becomes the muse of her substance abusing rocker crush. NA Contemp"

And guess what?!?  M. Anjelais responded by favoriting my tweet as well as gave me a very nice response:

@anjelais "Would definitely read this! Breaking rules and substance abuse are themes that I like seeing explored in fiction."

Obviously I am stoked that my *pitch* was received well, but that she liked the sounds of my novel too!  Gives me the oomph to get the story of Jemma and Jordan on paper so that others can one day read it.

Thanks M. Anjelais for being kind - it means a lot to us little people :)  Now go and buy her book!

clicking on the photo will take you to Amazon where you can happily purchase a copy!

"The closest he will ever come to happiness is when he's hurting her. Will she let him? A beautiful and twisted story of first love and innocence lost -- written when the author was just eighteen.

Sphinxie and Cadence. Promised to each other in childhood. Drawn together again as teens. Sphinxie is sweet, compassionate, and plain. Cadence is brilliant, charismatic. Damaged. And diseased. When they were kids, he scarred her with a knife. Now, as his illness progresses, he becomes increasingly demanding. She wants to be loyal -- but fears for her life. Only the ultimate sacrifice will give this love an ending."

On revisions and rewriting

I have had my novel, The Phoenix, completed for almost two years now and after much deliberation and two rounds of edits, I've decided it needs to be rewritten.

Ummm...

Rewriting a novel is not exactly what I thought I would ever do, but I love the story so much I know it will be even better after this rewrite.

This is not an official cover, just an artsy one I created using Photoshop.  The artwork I used is not my own.

I feel like whenever I create a book cover it turns out looking like a cover for a romance novel...

So anyway, I've just rewritten up to chapter 9 and have decided to go the alternating point of view style.  I think it gives the reader a better sense of who my main characters are.  Its been a challenge doing this because my original writing was only from one person's point of view, so going back through and adding in the male character's voice has been fun, yet challenging.

Here is a snippet of Chapter 1:

DANE

     I always reek of smoke afterward. The kind of smoke that carries the scent of burnt hair and flesh, a raging inferno so hot nothing in its path can survive. Yet, I always do. None the worse for ware, however. Once, I even played with the raging flames, made them dance along my neon red fingertips, the tendrils wrapped around my skin like silk. It was beautiful, and didn’t even hurt.

     Luckily, the field I’m standing in is damp and green with new spring growth; this burning didn’t have anything to grab hold of. As if I need another fire on my conscious. I can’t see any houses around, just tall pine trees, match sticks really. My clothes have all burned away and the cool spring air is doing nothing for my self-confidence. I shake my leg, and the fireproof box I have chained to my ankle rattles at my feet. Everything I need to start fresh is in there: a change of clothes, my wallet with a fair amount of cash and my driver’s license, though I’ve been on the move so much its outdated.

     I shrug on a fresh shirt and the cool cotton fabric slides down my chest like feathers. As I’m buttoning my jeans a low rumble on pavement catches my ear. There must be a road nearby. The tall grass whips at my jeans as I sprint toward the sound of the oncoming vehicle. I can see it clearly now from behind this barbed wire fence, a beat up older Chevy model truck with two-tone blue paint; its hideous, but it will do for now. Carefully I bend the middle wire down so I can climb through the gaping jaws of the piercing fence and I tumble awkwardly down the sloped ground below coming to a rolling stop at the edge of the road.

     Screeching tires and burning rubber fill my ears and nose. I roll out of the way just seconds before the truck can plow over me. The driver’s door flies open when the truck comes to a jerky stop and a girl jumps out. She runs over to me spewing out questions and worried sobs.

     “Oh my gosh! Are you hurt?” Her hands clasp around my elbow. “Of course you’re hurt, you’re bleeding.” She rotates my elbow around to find the source of the blood; her face twists in confusion. “Wait, there’s not even a scratch. But where did the blood come from?” She drops my arm and backs away from me; fear filling her navy blue eyes.

     My head is throbbing as it always does when my body heals itself. “I’m sure it was just a scratch,” I say. “You probably just missed it.” My stomach growls fiercely and my headache turns to lightheadedness. “I need food. Take me to get some food.” The girl backs away from me moving closer to her truck. She doesn’t trust me, and why should she? “Please?” I ask. It’s against my better nature to be kind, but I try anyway.

-----------------------

Hope you like it!  I have about 20 more chapters to go before it's finished and then a few more rounds of edits.  Maybe I'll be done by Christmas...maybe?

Writing challenge

In addition to being a part of the online community at Figment.com, I'm part of the FNTW (Figment's Next Top Writer) summer camp.  It's fun - you should try it.

Anyway, within the summer camp there are miscellaneous challenges for your "house" (imagine Harry Potter houses; Gryffendor, Hufflepuff, etc.).  Here is a prompt for the current challenge for the summer camp:

Write a short story that involves all of your house mates. You must mention the mascot of your house and incorporate it into your story's plot somehow.  Word count minimum: 200 words Word count maximum: 999 words

Here is my submission:

Three days is always too long; and I would know.  Mom and dad are running around the house, like scenes in a movie on fast forward.  Two suitcases and a small travel bag later, they are hugging and kissing me goodbye and out the door all before I have time to breathe.  The house already feels empty; eerily quiet and immediately the chills set in.

I can do this.  I haveto.

I push the linen drapes away from the window, press my fingers against the cool glass and watch as my parents drive away to God knows where.  My breath leaves a foggy haze on the glass and suddenly I feel like I'm six-years-old and want to draw goofy pictures in the fog with my trembling fingers.  I really need to pull myself together.  I've done this dozens of times; I'm not sure why I'm kind of freaking out right now.

My cell vibrates in my back pocket and I stifle a scream.

iiLov3Yuhh!!  C ya in English :( 

Its Sierra, my best friend.  I send her a quick text back, shoulder my backpack and flick the light switch off.  The living room darkens and the shadows spread over the furniture like monsters waiting for me to turn my back so they can attack.  I've never been happier to get to school.

My car purrs to life, and I blare the radio when a song by one of my favorite singers, Sarah Ashlee, comes on.  I can't help but sing to the lyrics even though my voice cracks when I try and stretch to the high notes.  By the time park at school I only have five minutes to get to class.

It’s a foggy, gray type of day with a chilling breeze and I make a run for the two-story brick building.  The less time I have to spend in this gray wind the better.  The green tiled halls are nearly empty except for a few remaining students who don't care if they are late to class.  I drop my backpack in my locker, grab my English notebook and run for class, sliding into the room just as the last bell rings.

"Perfect timing," my teacher Melanie Camacho says as she taps a pen on the palm of her hand.  "I was hoping to have a volunteer this morning."  She smiles and the red heat of embarrassment rises to my cheeks.  "Why don’t you read your essay for us."

I stand at the door with my mouth hanging open; classy, I know.  "Here, in front of the whole class?" I ask.  Ms. Camacho nods and sits down on her squeaky wooden chair.  I lay my book on her desk and pull out my essay and begin reading.

"The life of Kiamesha Sims by B.K. Rivers," my voice cracks.  "Kaimesha Sims was a child prodigy in the psychic community..." When I finish my essay the whole class actually looks like they enjoyed my writing, even Ellie Williams, who is a talented writer.

"Great job," Sierra says as I take my seat next to her.  "I never knew how much you really believed in all that psychic stuff."  I nod and will my burning cheeks to go back to normal.  "Hey," she whispers, "do you have a copy of J.C. Marie's new book, Shackled that I can borrow?

"Sure," I say.  "It's really good!  Come over after school and I'll give it to you."  I’m not going to pass up an opportunity to have Sierra come over especially given how freaked out I was in my own house this morning.

The final bell rings at 3:15, and I am more than ready to go home.  I pass Lexus Ladelle on the way to my car and my heart drops in my chest; I miss my friend.  She joined the cheer leading squad with Sarah Rose and dropped me the second she made the team.  I wave hello as I walk by and she turns away ignoring me.

I take it back; I don't miss that wench at all.

Sierra trails behind me in her beat up Honda Civic and parks next to me in my driveway.  "Thanks for coming home with me," I say as we climb the front steps.

"Where did your parents go this time?" Sierra asks.  I shrug my shoulders as the keys turns in the lock.  The room is dark and as I turn on the lights I see the whole house has been ransacked.  "Holy sh..."  The door falls off it's hinges and lands with a crash on the floor.  Furniture is torn apart, turned upside down, glass is shattered all over the floor.  The television has been knocked to the ground; pages from books litter the room and framed photos of our family lay broken in pieces.  "I’m calling the cops," Sierra says as her elbow locks around mine.

We sit on the cold steps outside until a black and white cop car pulls up and two officers exit the car.  "Miss Rivers?" the woman asks.  I look up and give her a faint smile.  "I'm officer Alexis Duong, this is my partner office Brent Davis."  We spent the next two hours filling out reports and going through the house looking for things that may have been stolen.  Funny thing is, nothing is missing.

"These things happen," officer Duong says as she prepares to leave.  "Do you have somewhere to stay tonight?"

"She's coming home with me," Sierra says quickly.  I nod and watch numbly as the officers drive away.  "What do you think they were looking for?"

"I don't know.  I need to call my parents."  I dial my mom's cell and get a quick busy signal and then dial again.  "What's the really fast busy signal mean?"

"Um, I think that means the number has been disconnected or something."  I dial my dad's cell and get the same fast busy signal.  "Something's wrong Sierra; both my parent's phones aren't working."

Nathan Bransford's First Paragraph Challenge

I'm not sure how many times I've mentioned Nathan Bransford, but here I am going to do it again.  For any aspiring writers out there, his website is full of incredible advice/tips/helps and an active forum filled with other fellow writers.  You DO NOT want to skip over his blog.  He is a former literary agent turned author that dishes out writerly advice to any who will listen - and I suggest you listen...or read...or, well, you get it!

Yesterday morning, he posted a contest and of course I entered.  It it his 5th Sort-of-Annual Stupendously Ultimate First Paragraph Challenge!   Here's the lowdown:

You can submit one time (seriously, only once), the first paragraph of any of your current works in progress.

Here's what you can win:

• The Ultimate Grand Prize: A partial manuscript read by Nathan's agent, Catherine Drayton of Inkwell - how awesome is that?!?!

• All the finalists will win a query critique by Nathan - that in of itself is awesome!

• All the USA finalists will win an Autographed copy of Nathan's newest installment in the Jacob Wonderbar series!

All the prizes are wonderful and certainly extremely generous, thanks to Nathan and his agent, Ms. Drayton.

My entry was for A Horse Named Penelope and after reading through my first paragraph, I realized I needed to make it more interesting.  Ha!  Nothing like a contest to get you to rework your novel.  Here is the first paragraph that I entered:

When I look in my mirror, I see a girl of flesh and bone. She may not be a beauty queen, but her features are not plain or disfigured. Why is it no one else can see me? I walk by the same students I’ve gone to school with my whole life and not one of them bats an eye. Even the school bus driver misses me every morning – he doesn’t see me either, which means I have to huff it on foot to make it to homeroom on time.

The entries close on Thursday at 7pm - so wish me luck!  Oh, and feel free to enter if you want a chance at any of the prizes mentioned above!!

Sticking to an outline

When I decided to try and taken on Nano this past November I figured my best chance to finish the 50,000 words in the allotted time, was to create a basic outline.  Being a pantser, I gave it my best shot and actually came up with something fairly respectable - in my opinion.

I knew how I wanted the story to begin and I knew how I wanted it to end - and that I wanted to have horses involved somehow.  What I didn't know was how I wanted to get from beginning to end - typical pantser style.  The outline I created was scarcely what I would call detailed, but it was just enough to give me the jump that I needed.

Here is a brief example of my outline:

Chapter 1 - Natalie devises a way to kill herself
Chapter 2 - Natalie attempts to kill herself
Chapter 3 - Natalie wakes up in a hospital and is given her treatment options.

I created 24 chapters to help guide me on my writing path for this novel.  Obviously, I didn't finish Nano (boo) but I was well on my way.  Using my outline, I've noticed how much easier it is to find my way through the story.  I'm still pantsing it for the most part as in even though I know what is supposed to happen within the chapter, I don't know who the players will be and how they will help move the chapter forward.

I've had to rearrange a couple chapters, add some and change the direction of a couple others, but for the most part, the outline has really helped to keep me focused on where the novel will go.  I think after I finish "Penelope," and I'm on to my next novel, I will once again use an outline similar to this.

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

So last week, my blogging buddy tagged me in a blog hop post and what's a person to do?  Play along, of course!  So here is a link to Sarah's blog post in which she was also tagged.

Let's just get right to it:

1 - What is the working title of your book?

A Horse Named Penelope

2 - Where did the idea come from for the book?

I was brainstorming for 2012's NaNoWriMo at a writer's conference just before Nano and there was this idea forming in the back of my mind.  I had intended on going into Nano writing a Middle Grade book about a boy who lost something at school and accidentally came across a little red door that leads him to other historical era's.  But to me the title of the book (The Little Red Door) sounded more like a Young Adult contemporary novel and I felt it needed to have something to do with drug abuse of some kind.  I know - weird, but I gave it some thought and it developed into the story that it is now.  And I have to say -- I LOVE it.

3 - What genre does your book fall under?

Young Adult Contemporary

4 - Which actors would you choose to to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I haven't thought much about this yet, which is odd because when I write, a lot of times I end up writing what something looks like in my head.  Like the way a scene comes across on a movie screen - I see it in my head and then I write it.  Suffice it to say, my characters are pretty faceless in my head.

But - if I had to pick the perfect Natalie, someone who is pretty without trying too hard, short, and complex, she could definitely be played by: Emmy Rossum



As for Gabe, he's a little harder to pinpoint.  I'm in a weird actor/fan place as I don't necessarily think the younglings out there can fit the bill.  In my perfect world, my Gabe would be: Matt Bomer.



5 - What is a one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Is it bad that I haven't written one yet?  Oh well, here is the "book jacket" description of Penelope:

Natalie Miller has felt invisible to everyone around her ever since she can remember, even her own parents don't seem to notice her. In a desperate cry for love and attention, she does the one thing she thinks will end her misery: commit suicide. But she can't even get that right.

With the advice and recommendations of the hospital doctors, Natalie is sent to an Equine Rehab Camp to recover from her "accident" as her parents call it. Camp life is dreadful and group is even worse - but Natalie doesn't mind the horses. With the help of a horse named Penelope and a boy named Gabe, Natalie learns to love herself and to treasure the life that is hers.

6 - Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I plan on submitting my writings to agents - no matter what novel it is.  I feel that agents are there to help you get the best deal that work for you and, honestly, the self-pub route just confuses me.

7 - How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Well, seeing as how this novel is not yet finished, I'd say so far, 4 months.  I did some very BASIC planning at the end of October, wrote like mad in November (then got sick because of being pregnant), took December off and am now getting back into writing.  I think I'll have the first draft finished by the end of February - which would make the start to finish writing this book about 4 months.

8 - What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Okay, another odd answer.  Truth time.  I'm not much of a contemporary novel reader.  I've read a few Jodi Piccult novels which were okay for me, but not exciting.  I prefer to read Young Adult fantasy or dystopian or light sci-fi - and you don't find many books out there in those genres dealing with suicide.

9 - Who or what inspired you to write this book?

It's hard to say really what inspired me to write Penelope.  It's funny really, because when I'm working on a book there's this nagging feeling I get that tells me the story needs to be told.  I feel like my characters have something to say and something to learn and by writing it down I feel like I've accomplished something.

10 - What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?

I think the main thing about this book is that it's not depressing.  Suicide in itself is so heavy, but this book remains positive and my character Natalie grows so much as a person throughout the story.  She finds confidence, friendship, love and the relationships with her parents and peers becomes something she loves.

And there's a horse - who doesn't love a horse?!?

Tagged

Cheri Miklich

RULES:
Answer these ten questions about your current WIP on your blog.
Tag (up to) five other writers/bloggers with their links so we can hop over and meet them.

NaNoWriMo: Writing Over the Weekend

Four days into Nano and 7018 words into the project, I see how helpful a chapter breakdown can be.  When I attended the Story 101 workshop a week ago, one of the three presenters gave us a handy tool for planning a writing project.

At first I was like: this is cool, maybe I'll use it one day.  And then I was like: this is COOL!  I'm going to try to use it for Nano.  And I have been.  And let me tell you, it's making the project stay on task and helps me know where the story is supposed to go.

Of course, being a pantser at heart, when I looked at the chapter breakdown, I had to logically think about what would happen to someone after they attempted suicide.  Obviously there would be a hospital involved, and then treatment afterwards.  I've done a fair amount of research on how people who have attempted suicide feel when they find out they were unsuccessful, so including this into Natalie's character has been an interesting challenge.

My original chapter breakdown had 24 chapters listed, but I'm guessing there will be handful more than that when it's all said and done as chapters 2&3 have both ended up being 2 chapters each.  But, I'm still on track with the basic outline. Yay!

So far, Nano has been fun and challenging and I'm proud of myself for meeting or exceeding the daily word count goal.

NaNoWriMo: Day 2

The closing of day 2 brings on a total word count of 4344 - and my main character (MC) has just died...or so she had hoped!  I do hope I do her story justice, and I hope you end up loving her as much as I do.