Inspiration Wall

In the style of Pintrest--which everyone seems to love, but I refuse to join, as I don't need any more excuses to waste time online--I have decided to introduce everyone to my new book with an inspiration wall. All of the following pictures inspired my story in one way or another. Some of them I found while planning, others I came across later, but they all represent some person, place, theme, or object from my new YA romantic fantasy; Emerald Awakening: A Black Iris Novel. I hope you enjoy!

Cliffs of Moher in Ireland

MC's brother

MC's father. Direct result of both Jane Eyre and X-Men First
Class coming out the month I was writing. :)

St. Brigid's Cross

Closest I could find to Alex: main guy.

As for my MC Becca, combine the following two pictures, make her 17, and you'll be pretty close to what I see in my head.

Note: I own none of these pictures, and they were found using Google images. Some of the people pictured are actors, some are models, and some are regular folks. All the images were marked as 'no permissions needed for use', and were available on multiple sites.

And the winners are...

Becky Vandervin & Angela Cook! Since the majority of entrants requested books well under the $15 dollar limit, and because I had to keep you all waiting to find out who won, I decided to choose two winners! Congrats to Becky and Angela, and thanks so much to everyone who entered! Becky and Angela--Facebook me or Tweet me with an address so I can get your new bookage out to you!

Valentine's Day Giveaway!

Happy almost Valentine's Day! In the spirit of all things romantic, I'm holding a romantic novel giveaway! To enter, just comment below with your name and romance novel of your choice ($15.00 max price, and yes, it must be romantic in nature, but can be in any sub-genre, ie: Historical, YA, Suspense, etc.) by Noon central time on Valentine's Day. The winner will be selected via random name choosing hosted by classroomtools.com. Can't you just feel the love already?

Good luck and hearts and chocolates to all!

XOXO!

I have a confession to make...

I am in an abusive relationship with the first few chapters of my WIP right now. We don't understand each other and we are both fighting to have things our own way. Unfortunately, my characters have taken the story's side so I am left a bit outnumbered.

It shouldn't be this hard. I know exactly where the story is going, I know what is going to happen, and everything else that I need to know, except where to start. And that is only a problem because this is book two in a continuing series and I can't decide what or even if I should recap from the first book. Personally, I HATE when books do that, as I never need a recap, and it's impossible to throw little bits of recap into a story without it sounding forced. Or that is to say, I've never read one that wasn't forced sounding. I know that is a personal preference, but I am having a hard time writing something that I think sounds fake and forced, even if it is in fact the correct way to do it.

There is also the issue of having too much information. When I researched how much recapping to do, the general consensus was to tell the reader what they need to know if they didn't read the first book. Problem is, that is WAY too much information! I'm seriously considering going Vampire Academy style and writing a recap of everything important that happened in book one as a prologue. That may seem like the easy way out, but I am banging my head against the wall here, and I can't take yet another fight today:

Characters: You are not seriously going to make us say this stuff, are you?

Me: I have to.

Characters: No you don't, this is stupid. People don't talk this way. They don't discuss past events like a highlight reel.

Me: Just do it, please. It's the way it's supposed to be.

Characters: Nope, not going to happen.

Me: I am in charge here, and you'll do as I say!

Characters: Screw you. No.

Why?

Why 
A Free-form poem by Marian Lee Vere

*Ahem*

Why is the shortest line in the grocery store always the slowest?
Why do the important emails come when you have no way to check for them?
Why--knowing the above--do I stare at my screen waiting for them anyway?
Why will my daughter eat everything off of the floor, but nothing off of her highchair tray?
Why do I buy health food I know I will never eat?
Why do I lie to myself week after week, insisting the cookies in the shopping cart are "for the kids"?
Why must every TV show I like get canceled or loose half their cast right when I decide to like it?
Why do I keep trying to force myself to like the 'classics'? (Sorry Mr. Poe, Mr. Verne, and Mr. Homer, you are not for me.)
Why must the Cadbury Eggs get smaller every year? (I can't be the only one noticing this!)
Why can't I count writing a blog post as writing, so when hubby asks me, "Did you get any writing done today?" I can say, "Yes. Yes, I did."

Go Red!

February 3rd, is National Go Red For Women day, bringing awareness of heart disease--both sickening and killing more than twice the number of women per year than breast cancer, btw--to women(and men) the world over.

In honor of GoRed day, I wanted to share a short story with you.

For those of you who don't know, I have heart disease. I was not born with it, but have had it for over a decade, and had to have a pacemaker implanted when I was 19. My problems started in high school, when I began to pass out cold for no apparent reason 2 - 3 times a day. I was put on medication which helped me get to college, but my problems came back, at which point I had the pacer put in. Since then things have been up and down; recently up, allowing me to work-out and even run (though I still have to walk) half marathons. There are still a number of things I can't do, for instance my husband and I had to leave Florida because the weather was too extreme for me, it takes me forever to get through airport security, and I can't have any more kids. Honestly, I had so many heart issues during my first pregnancy, that they told me not to have my second daughter, but she was something of an accident. :) Sure there are downsides, but in the grand scheme of things I am extremely lucky and blessed to have the life and opportunities that I do.

Heart disease is a serious condition and affects more people than you may realize. Make sure to get your cholesterol checked at least once a year, no matter your age, and make sure your loved ones--especially the women--know to do the same. Don't forget about heart disease simply because it doesn't offer pretty pink merchandise and marketing campaigns.

Okay, enough with the heavy. I hope everyone had a good week, is having a great Friday, and will have super (pun intended) weekend! :)