I know there's a lot of talk out there about what is portrayed on our social media accounts versus the reality of our lives. Chances are if you only know or see what I post on social media you aren’t getting the full picture. There is ALWAYS a story behind everything that happens and most of that story is a struggle. Nothing comes easy and we are all working our tails off whether it looks like we are or not.
A good example is the photos above. Our kids were not having it with the camera. Eventually we got a picture we liked (the 3rd one) but it was an adventure to get there. My husband got his hair pulled by our daughter while our son was inadvertently choking me as he dropped down behind me. We laughed it off but we also admitted how frustrating it was. This is just a small example in the grand scheme of our lives. But generally you don’t see the behind the scenes view of what goes into something like a photoshoot or writing a book. Sure, I could post those pictures but it would be pretty weird. I mean, how interesting could it be to have a picture of a dark room with a single book light illuminating my manuscript as everyone around me slept? Sure, I could make it more interesting by using some crazy photographer tricks but there I am again presenting an illusion of what it means to be writing late at night. It goes from the reality where I’m skipping sleep and have dark bags under my eyes to a magical moment where my fingers flow as I edit or type. Trust me, writing is enjoyable but there have been more than a few nights where my eyes were sagging versus nights where it looked like I was on some magical adventure. My point in all this is that when you are scrolling through facebook or Instagram remember there is always a story behind the story. An unknown struggle or an invisible foe. I know it’s easy to compare our lives and say that this person is doing better than me but the reality might be that they are barely holding their head above water. It may be that they are treading everyday just to stay afloat. Thanks for reading and have a great rest of the week!
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I don't know about you but it's been busy times around here so I apologize for missing last week's blog post. With one kiddo in school and another in her toddler years there is never a dull moment here. Nevertheless, I have made some progress on the Rocky Falls series and have great news...if you follow me on social media you've already seen that Falls on Fire is coming out November 22nd, 2020. On top of that ARC copy sign up and distribution begins on November 6th, 2020.
I absolutely can't wait to share the story of Mark and Angie and their journey through friends, feelings, and fire. I had so much fun writing their story and hope that you all have just as much fun reading it. More good news on the Rocky Falls front...I completed the first draft of a special Rocky Falls novella that will take a look at two characters from Falls on Fire and how they met. I'm a long way from done with Rocky Falls and have more ideas on the horizon but for now I have three manuscripts that need editing so I will probably be working furiously with my red pen for at least the next few weeks. If you haven't heard yet, as a special treat I will be sharing some more good news for Rocky Falls book one on Halloween day. So follow me on social media to hear the scoop. If you would like to see what new books I'm currently reading or have read follow me on Goodreads (link above). I also want to add that if you read Rocky Falls and liked it I would appreciate greatly if you could leave a review on Amazon. Reviews help authors get the exposure they need to find the readers they are looking for and helps readers determine whether an author is worth investing in or not. A review goes a long way in helping an author. As always thank you for following me on this wonderful journey and I look forward to hearing your feedback. Some say a romance either needs to be classified as sweet or steamy, but not both. I’m here to tell you that I like painting in the grey area where a story can be sweet as sugar and hot as hell. I write romantic suspense. That means my main story is the two characters and their way to love but I also have some criminal element they are dealing with. In doing this we get an inside look into high emotions and adrenaline rushes that can lead to steamy sessions up against the nearest wall or flat surface. However, I also classify my story as sweet because my stories have an element of trust and intimacy beyond the bedroom. There is a tender swipe of a hand brushing the fallen hair away. There is whispered promises. There is cooking together, sharing dessert, and other sweet moments. It’s sweet romance mixed with steamy scenes. That’s why I call my romance sweet and steamy despite the controversy over the classification. Of course it’s art and art is subjective, right?!
Keep your eyes peeled for some new Rocky Falls news. Looking for more romance, Falls on Fire cover, blurb, and release date coming soon! Thanks for stopping by and I will be here again next week! Have a great rest of the week! The story of blurb writing. It’s not easy. Not only do you have to fit 15 chapters into 3 paragraphs but you have to do it in a way that intrigues your audience. In fact, you get 2 lines to wow someone so they will keep reading your blurb and hopefully want to read your book. Two lines. That’s all. Talk about pressure. Sure, there’s that smug part of you that says I wrote a book, this will be a breeze. It’s not. The realistic side of you says this is perhaps more challenging because you aren’t sure what to highlight in the first two lines.
But that’s not all. There are so many things that need to be included. Your two characters for example. What would a summary be without your main characters. Maybe the setting. Perhaps, for my story anyway, the suspense side of my story. For Rocky Falls, a serial killer was hunting in the woods but that won’t be the case for every book. And last but certainly not least, you need to highlight the budding relationship between the two main characters. Maybe even say what’s keeping them apart. Maybe I’ll just tell you about my main man Mark. Cover boy of the fireman’s charity calendar. Or the independent woman who won’t give him the time of day. She has secrets lurking in her past and he has a strong desire to satisfy her every need. Hmm…I guess we will see what I can come up with soon. If you’ve been following me, you saw that I will have some coming news on book 2 very soon. I’m currently working hard to make sure you don’t have to wait long for all the new stuff to come. Including a full blurb, a cover reveal, and an upcoming release date. Stay tuned for my book two update. And before I go, I would like to say thank you to everyone who bought a copy of Rocky Falls, those of you who reviewed it on Amazon, and those of you who are excited for the book 2 release. As always thank you for following me and showing your appreciated support. I will see you again next week! We all have our stories that we gravitate towards or seek out when we are in the mood to read. I think this is especially true with romance readers. You either have an author, genre, subgenre, or romance trope that you can't resist.
I tend to lean more towards romance stories with the suspense element. I like mystery stories, but I need the love story intertwined in there. As far as romance tropes, I'll read just about all of them. And if you're a writer, you know that each trope has it's upside. An excellent example of this is the friends to lovers or second-chance at romance trope. It implies that there's already a connection or a history that will move the story. It makes you curious about these two people and what happened in their past. I also like a good story about the fake relationship or a case where the characters are stuck together. This trope is fun because the characters can't avoid letting their true colors shine through. And that is where real love shines. In the moments where they are genuinely themselves. Though each trope has benefits, they also have their challenges. How can this couple overcome their past hurts, or why didn't these two explore a relationship sooner if they'd both been in love with each other since day one? Needless to say, there are many romance tropes, and I can't wait to explore them all while I entice you with my many story ideas. Comment with your favorite trope, and I will see about writing a new story with all your favorites. As always, thanks for following my story, and I will see you next week! I want to start by saying a huge thank you to everyone who took the time to review my book! Without you I wouldn't be able to keep writing stories. Which brings me to my blog for today...the importance of leaving a review.
One of the biggest ways you can help a writer is by reviewing their work. The more reviews an author receives the more attention their book gets. This gets that author exposure they need to be successful especially indie authors like myself. So basically if you like an author and want to see more of their work make sure you tell them that in the review. It doesn't matter if your review is short and sweet or long and detailed, I can guarantee the author will appreciate hearing your feedback. Now I know what you're probably thinking...I'm just saying this to further my book agenda. Well, sure, I would very much like everyone who reads my book to review it but that's not why I'm telling you this today. I have been an avid reader for most of my life and never knew how important reviews were for authors. Not until recently. So even if you don't read my book or review it, I want you to know how important this is to the process. If you like an author and want to see more of them, show them your support by reaching out and reviewing their book. As always I appreciate you all taking the time to read my work whether it be my book, my blog, or my social media posts. I couldn't be an author without you. Thanks and I will see you again next week! "Where do you get all these ideas?" I've been asked this question over and over again. I have so many story ideas that it will be quite awhile before I run out, if ever. So where do I get my inspiration for the stories I write? Well, the short answer is everywhere!
The long answer is that I get each idea from a different place, thing, person, phrase, or picture. For example, Rocky Falls was inspired by my love of hiking. I thought to myself, I haven't read a lot of books out there that involved hiking or being stuck in the woods (I'm sure there are plenty of them, I just haven't read many). I wanted a story where circumstances were less than ideal. Enter Mason and Jules and their complicated history. Then I had to put them in a situation where they needed each other. As far as inspiration for the killer...it was more a matter of thinking about a killer that would work with my environment and story. What killer would be in the woods of Rocky Falls? A hunter who is only satisfied by the thrill of hunting people. Then you adapt backstories for all your characters which guide what they will do given their circumstances. Once all that is figured out, it's just a matter of putting it together. In that particular story, it was an interest of mine that fueled my passionate story but I've had many book ideas that were ignited by just a picture or something someone said. My daughter asked me to put her cowgirl boots on for her one day and I got an idea for a great story that will hopefully make it to page very soon. Another incident I saw a picture of lights on the water and it made me come up with yet another story idea (oddly not one involving lights or water). As far as my upcoming assassin series...book one was inspired by an idea my husband pitched me for a short story. He gave me the idea and I expanded it. Even though he'd meant for it to be a short story I laughed and said heck no, that deserves a full on book. That particular story is currently on the editing block. I need to bump up the word count and a refine the rough edges but I'm hoping to share it with you all sometime next year. Fingers crossed. I love hearing from all of you and encourage you to comment or message me if there is something you would like to see on my blog. I am always open to ideas that inspire or entertain you all. As always, thank you bunches for your continued support. I apologize my blog post is coming a day late (my son started online kindergarten yesterday). I look forward to hearing from you all and I will talk at you again next week! I know with my book releasing in a couple of days I should probably be talking about that or promoting it in some way, but I'm not going to. Not today. Instead I'm going to talk about role models. I just had a conversation with someone close to me on this idea of role models and it really got me thinking about what makes a role model.
In all honesty, based on my experience, I feel like you don't choose whether you're a role model. The position kind of gets thrust upon you. People choose whether or not to follow your lead or whether you're a person worth setting an example or not. The only thing you can do is hope to be a good example. The reason I want to talk about this today is that it's a driving force for me. It's what keeps me pushing myself to be better, do better. I don't need to be perfect, that's an insane goal. I don't need to be the best at everything because I'm not an expert in all fields. What I want to convey is that one, I'm okay with not being the best as long as I worked hard and tried my best. And two, it's okay to fail at something but don't let that failure make you feel like giving up. So I desperately hope that if anyone out there has chosen me to be their role model they see behind the curtain and into my life. They see that I put in the hard work to get where I am. I hope they see that not everything is easy and that's okay. Sometimes you have to get through tough struggles to be rewarded with your achievements. I hope that anyone who has chosen me as a role model knows that they are capable of achieving their goals too. We all are. With the right mindset and hard work, it's amazing what can be accomplished. So I challenge you to take a look at your actions and ask yourself "If a young, impressionable mind was following me, am I setting the best example I can?" because you never know who has chosen you as their role model. And now, because the book release is just around the corner I have to say it...if romantic suspense interests you, Rocky Falls is just what you need and hey it's coming out September 6th, 2020! Okay, so I had to slip a little promo in there. Thank you all for your continued support and have a great rest of the week! With the release of Rocky Falls only one week away I decided to re-share the prologue with you all. Enjoy!
Prologue Rocky Falls, WA – High School Graduation Day “Jules, I have to tell you something, and I’m worried you’re going to hate me when you hear it.” Mason was avoiding eye contact with her as they sat on the dock overlooking the lake. Even though night had fallen, she’d half expected Mason to find some sneaky, clever way to get her in the water. It had become a bit of a game for them every time they met up at the dock, but tonight was different. Mason was different. She lifted her head from his shoulder to look over at his defined face that was half-lit by the moon. “Don’t be ridiculous. We’re friends. I could never hate you. Now just tell me what’s going on.” She’s been in love with him for most of their six-year-long friendship. Of course, he would never know that little fact, no sense in ruining a good thing by confessing her unrequited feelings. The muscles in his shoulders tensed, and his forehead creased as he continued, “You know I’ve been trying to find a way to honor my grandfather’s memory…Well, I decided the best way to do that is to join the Army as he did.” His fidgeting fingers finally halted as he dropped that emotional grenade on her. It took every bit of strength she had to keep the tears from falling as they pooled in her blue eyes. After a few moments of silence, she finally found her voice. “Okay…Well, I can help you do some research. We can find the best way to handle this. We can talk to some other people who have joined, so you know what to expect. I can go to the recruiting office with you tomorrow if you’d like.” She worried her quick speech, and the quiver in her voice gave away her unease. She tended to ramble when she was upset or nervous, and tonight, she was both. He put his hand on her leg to calm her words. His back straightened as he appeared to be summoning up the courage to tell her more. “I’ve already talked to a recruiter. I signed on, and I’m leaving tomorrow for boot camp.” She jerked as if she’d gotten slapped across the face. Trying desperately to process what was going on, she couldn’t stop shaking her head. Her long, chocolate strands started to fall from her messy bun as she tried to grasp what he was telling her. He was leaving. It was like her dad all over again. Maybe worse. “I don’t understand why you hid this from me. All those summer adventures we planned together. The things we were going to do before starting college and the whole time you were secretly planning to be gone. I feel like such an idiot.” The tears spilled over and started to slide silently down her reddened cheeks. It was time to leave before she said or did something stupid. She couldn’t handle the betrayal she felt or the abandonment that was rearing its ugly head. She brushed his hand off her leg. Then she started to rise, but like the clumsy fool she is, the lace of her dress caught on a piece of the dock, and her forward motion threw her off balance. She felt Mason grab for her, but it was too late. She plunged into the cool abyss. Before she could gain her equilibrium, she felt his strong arms band around her and pull her up. When they surfaced, she tried to push away from him, but he had a vise-like grip on her. “I know how to swim, Mason. Just let me go and leave me alone. I clearly don’t matter to you.” “You know that’s not true. I know what you’re thinking, Jules. I know you better than anyone, and you need to know this is not like when your father left. I will come back, and I will always be there when you need me.” The rasp in his voice made her stop struggling long enough to look up at his tortured expression. She knew him well enough to know that he was hurting too. When she stopped fighting, he loosened his grip but didn’t let go completely. She could feel his hand drifting over her curves as his gaze swept across her face. When their eyes met, it was unlike any time before. It was as if their souls were connecting. She felt complete. His hand continued its exploration up her side to her soft cheek. She couldn’t help but lean into the sweet, warm caress and to savor the gentle touch as he brushed the fallen, wet strands of hair aside. She had always longed for this moment with Mason. She just never expected it to happen like this. Jules held on tight to his shoulders as she heard him whisper so softly that she thought she might have imagined the words, “I’m sorry, Jules. You deserve better.” At his admission, she thought he would pull away. Instead, he dragged her flush against his lean body and brought his lips down to take possession of hers. The first touch of their lips was a spark of electricity that turned into a tidal wave of heat. She felt the kiss through her entire body. They connected in a way they never had before. For those of you who have been following me, or my blog, you already know that Rocky Falls is where my first book series takes place. You also know that this place doesn't exist in the traditional manner of you being able to physically go there. Though if I was successful in my writing, you can visualize the splendor it holds in the pages of my book.
This place, however, is inspired by a variety of locations near and dear to me. Though a fair share of the town's characteristics are only in my imagination. For example, the hiking and outdoor area are reminiscent of the Snoqulamie area and Mt Rainier area. However, the Main Street shopping is much like that of a typical small town though no town in particular was forefront in my mind when I built this place. I liked the idea of working in a small town environment despite it's restraints. Maybe some would see it as a tad Hallmark but I like the closeness of the community. It brings its challenges sure, but that's part of the fun. Like how is a killer hunting in the woods of Rocky Falls without anyone being the wiser? Well, find out in September. I also want to point out that some may be surprised to find that my book is set in Washington and there's no rain. I did this on purpose. I feel like Washington state has a reputation, and although we get our fair share of rain here, in the heart of summer we can also count on seeing those sunny days. Now, that being said, I also want to assure you that not all Rocky Falls books will be set in summer. In fact book three will give you a clear idea of fall in Washington state and the rain that comes with it. And who knows, maybe winter in Rocky Falls will be a fun adventure to pursue. Skiing anyone??? There's endless possibilities! Before I go, I want to encourage you all to follow me on Facebook or Instagram! I have some very exciting news coming this week and I wouldn't want you to miss out! Thank you for your continued support! |