Target date has come

Today is the day that I had planned to have my first draft completed; however, I am still 20,000 words short of reaching my goal. I don't know what's happened really. These last couple of weeks have been absolutely crazy. I've been sick. My kids have been sick. Work. Errands. Life in general has gotten in the way of me finishing on time. Because I want to finish the first draft of this book, I am giving myself another 30 days. Things around here are seeming to calm down somewhat and spring time is coming, which means the kids will be able to play outside more, giving me more quiet time to write.

Hopefully, within the next 30 days I will be able to finish the first draft and start on the second. I'm not giving up on this.

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

I finished this book a few days ago but I've been so busy I haven't had a chance to post about it until now.

About the book:

The rules are breaking one by one....

Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries.

Rule #2: Don't speak to them.

Rule #1: Don't ever attract their attention.

Aislinn has always seen faeries and carefully hid her Sight from their cruelty. But now the rules that have kept her safe aren't working anymore, and everything is on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; her life; everything.

With her one true love by her side, Aislinn has been chosen to face the ultimate trial. If she succeeds, the full force of Summer will be unleashed. If she fails, she will suffer the piercing cold of Winter forever.

About the author:

Although I was voted “most likely to end up in jail” in high school, I decided to get an M.A. and teach Lit and Gender Studies to college students across the country. Along the way, I’ve been unable to resist trying new things—including working an archeological dig, slinging drinks at a biker bar, and getting fabulous tattoos.
I call all of this “research” for my writing. To fill my craving for new experiences, I’ve lived in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Southern California, and I plan to keep roaming with my family as widely and as often as possible. This year, I think, I’m living in Virginia.

Please visit me on the web at www.melissa-marr.com and help feed my addiction to meeting interesting people. 

My thoughts on the book:

It took awhile for me to get into the book, but once I did, I was drawn in. I had to keep reading to find out what fate Aislinn would end up with. The faeries in this book aren't your typical faeries. They're mean and they're cruel and they're kick ass. All in all, the book was very well written and the characters were well developed, but the book was a little slow to start, at least in my opinion. I will, at some point soon, read the sequel and other books written by Melissa Marr.

Reading now: The Shifter by Janice Hardy

My deadline for finishing my first draft is rapidly approaching and I still have 20,000 words left to write. If all goes as plans, I will still finish by the 20th as I plan to do a lot of writing between loads of laundry this weekend. This last week was unexpectedly busy. I felt like I was hardly home and when I was home, I was working my day job or taking care of other necessary things. This next week will be a much slower week for me thankfully.

Have a great weekend!

The Hollow by Jessica Verday

I bought a Kindle because I have no place left to store any books, and the first book I read on it was The Hollow by Jessica Verday.  I bought this book yesterday afternoon and finished it last night. Here's a little about the book (taken from Amazon):

When Abbey's best friend, Kristen, vanishes at the bridge near Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, everyone else is all too quick to accept that Kristen is dead?and rumors fly that her death was no accident. Abbey goes through the motions of mourning her best friend, but privately, she refuses to believe that Kristen is really gone. Then she meets Caspian, the gorgeous and mysterious boy who shows up out of nowhere at Kristen's funeral, and keeps reappearing in Abbey's life. Caspian clearly has secrets of his own, but he's the only person who makes Abbey feel normal again...but also special.


Just when Abbey starts to feel that she might survive all this, she learns a secret that makes her question everything she thought she knew about her best friend. How could Kristen have kept silent about so much? And could this secret have led to her death? As Abbey struggles to understand Kristen's betrayal, she uncovers a frightening truth that nearly unravels her—one that will challenge her emerging love for Caspian, as well as her own sanity. 

About the author, Jessica Verday (taken from Amazon):

Jessica Verday wrote the first draft of her debut novel, The Hollow, by hand, using thirteen spiral-bound notebooks and fifteen black pens. She likes: things that smell nice, rainy nights, old books, cemeteries, Johnny Cash, zombie movies, L.J. Smith books, abandoned buildings, trains, and snow. She is currently hand-writing the continuation of Abbey and Caspian's story from her home in Goodlettsville, Tennessee.  Find out more at jessicaverday.com.


My thoughts on the book:

I really liked this book. I couldn't put it down, obviously, because I finished it in just a few hours, but there was one thing that bothered me about the book. The secret that Abbey learns about Kristen didn't really have a conclusion to it. I finished the book a little disappointed that more information wasn't given about the secret. Other than that, the book was wonderful. I loved the setting of the book and how Jessica Verday described everything with such detail that it felt like I was standing right there with Abbey. And the revelations at the end of the book were unexpected and interesting. All in all, it was a very good read.

Next up to read on my Kindle:  Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

Sickness = No Muse

I started to get sick yesterday and couldn't sit in front of my computer for too long without getting dizzy and feeling weak so I didn't get much writing done and got absolutely no work done for my day job. Today I don't feel quite so dizzy and weak, but I'm still feeling awful and I want to write but nothing is coming to me. I have 21 days until my goal deadline so I have plenty of time to write the last 20,000 words, but I feel guilty when I skip writing for a day or two. I think this sickness has sucked all of my creativity right out of my brain. Hopefully tomorrow it'll come back to me so I can knock out a good chunk of the remaining words needed to finish my book.

Twice as Hot by Gena Showalter

Gena Showalter is one of my all-time favorite authors. Her books are hot and sexy and every time I finish reading one I find myself salivating for another. Twice as Hot is (as the title describes) the super hot sequel to Playing with Fire. If you haven't read either of these books I highly recommend them! (as I do ALL of Gena's books!)

About the book (taken from Amazon):

Belle Jamison is finally starting to feel like a normal girl again. Her job as a paranormal investigator is going well, she's learned to control her supernatural abilities (mostly) and she's just gotten engaged to Rome Masters, the ultra-sexy operative who once tried to neutralize her!

But planning a wedding is never easy, especially when the bride keeps accidentally torching her dress, the groom returns from a dangerous mission with selective memory loss and the man responsible now wants Belle for himself. With Rome's ex determined to win him back and a new band of supervillains on the horizon, it will take all Belle's powers—plus a little help from her trusty empath sidekick—to save the day, salvage the wedding and prove that true love really does conquer all. 

About Gena (also taken from Amazon):


Gena Showalter sold her first book at the age of 27 and now, four years later, is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thirteen books, with eleven more on the way in a thrilling blend of genres: breathtaking paranormal and contemporary romances, cutting edge young adult novels, and stunning urban fantasy. 
Her novels have appeared in Cosmopolitan Magazine, MTV, Seventeen Magazine, and have been translated in French, Italian and Korean.  The critics have called her books "sizzling page-turners" and "utterly spellbinding stories", while Showalter herself has been called ?a star on the rise?. 

For more info on Gena and her books visit her website

Writing Contests

Obviously, I'm not at the point yet where I will be entering any writing contests, but since, at some point, I would like to enter one (or two or three), I'd like to know how beneficial they are to a writer. Besides the fact that entering writing contests could give you the chance to have your work read by editors and, therefore, possibly get you a partial or even a full request for your manuscript, how do they help further your writing career?

I've read on several agents' blogs that if you include the fact that you won so-and-so contest in your query letter it does nothing to sway their decision one way or the other about you or your manuscript, and that a lot of agents just plain don't care if you've won contests before, so how do they really help you? Do you get detailed comments on your contest entry about your writing or do you just get a standard form rejection? How do they work? Which contests are the best to enter if you're writing YA books? Should you wait to enter contests until your manuscript is polished and as perfect as it's going to get, or is it okay to enter before that point (but not before you have a completed manuscript) in the hopes of getting comments and critiques about what you could do differently?

Like many other areas of writing and publishing, this is something I'm going to have to do some research on. However, if anyone can answer some of these questions for me, it would save me the confusion of reading varying information about the subject elsewhere.

On another note, I have surpassed the 50% point of my first draft. My words remaining total is now less than my words written total. I am struggling a bit with where to go with this last half of my book, but I'm getting there I guess. I'm still within my finishing goal date so I must be doing better than I think. At least, I hope so.

Wish by Alexandra Bullen

I recently won a copy of Alexandra Bullen's debut novel Wish on this blog. It came in the mail Friday and I immediately started reading it. I couldn't put it down. I finished it in just under a day. Here's a little bit about the book:

For broken-hearted Olivia Larsen, nothing can change the fact that her twin sister, Violet, is gone... until a mysterious, beautiful gown arrives on her doorstep. The dress doesn't just look magical; it is magical. It has the power to grant her one wish, and the only thing Olivia wants is her sister back.

With Violet again by her side, both girls get a second chance at life. And as the sisters soon discover, they have two more dresses-and two more wishes left. But magic can't solve everything, and Olivia is forced to confront her ghosts to learn how to laugh, love, and live again.

WISH asks the question: If you could have anything, what would you wish for?

I loved this book. The characters are believable and the story is one many teenagers can relate to in one way or another. Violet helps Olivia to see that she can live life and have fun and that she doesn't need magic to make that happen. It is a sweet story about learning to let go and move on, about first-loves, friendships, and family.

I recommend this book to anyone looking for a sweet read.

Visit The Official Wish Site to find out more about Alexandra Bullen, Wish, and for a chance to win $1000.