Why I'm failing...

Okay… Maybe I’m being a little over dramatic, but I don’t think I’m entirely wrong.

I have been publishing books for over 6 years and while I understand that every author’s journey is different, and we all measure success differently, for me, personally, I am not satisfied with where I am after so much time and so many books published.

Does that mean I’m a failure?

No. I do not consider myself a failure because I’m still going. I believe as long as I never quit, I will always have the opportunity to succeed by my definition.

What is my definition of success?

Well… Ultimately, I would love to be a full time author. Be able to quit my day job and be comfortable living off my author salary. However, if that isn’t possible, because of the everchanging landscape of the world and value of the dollar, I also see success in an active community. A group of readers who love my writing and enjoy talking with me about it.

I have found a small amount of success in this. I have readers who regularly reply to my newsletters and participate in my Facebook group, and those who occasionally chat with me on my Patreon. And even more rarely, I get the occasional comment on my blog posts. I really can’t tell you how much these interactions mean to me. On days when I feel like giving up, and I see someone has liked or commented on something I posted, I smile and keep going.

So why is it that I’m still dissatisfied?

Unfortunately, I have to admit, it’s all my fault. Just look at the state of my publications. They’re about as predictable as the weather.

This is where I’m failing.

I’ve failed to give you a publication schedule that you can rely on. I write so many different genres, that you never know what you’re going to get from me next. And I’ll start a series, publish the first book or two, get distracted, and not come back to that series for months or even years! I can imagine how frustrating this is for you but trust me, it’s frustrating for me too!

What am I doing to fix it?

I don’t know… I make plans all the time. I promise myself I’ll finish writing a series before I start releasing it. My patience just won’t allow me to sit on a book for that long. I’m too excited to share with you what I’ve written. I’ve tried sticking to one genre. But my brain doesn’t live in one world. It loves exploring the real world, fantasy, and sci-fi. I can’t control that. I suppose I could start new pen names for each genre. But I barely have time to manage one, let alone three or more.

So, what now?

I guess I just keep writing and publishing, and hoping that my audience finds me. An audience as scatterbrained as I am. LOL

In case you’re the scatterbrained reader I’m looking for, here is what you’ll get from me over the next year:

AWAKENED - Post-apocalyptic, MMF A/?/O alien omegaverse romance novel. The second full book in the KNOT MY EARTH series. Releasing before the end of the year. Preorder available!

FASTER THAN LIGHT series - Short, cottagecore, alien romance with omegaverse vibes:

ONCE AND FLORAL WITH THE ALIEN BILLIONAIRE - Preorder available, Releases July 21,2025

GOT IT MAID WITH THE ALIEN BILLIONAIRE - Preorder available, Release date TBA

BAKING LOVE WITH THE ALIEN BILLIONAIRE - Preorder available, Release date TBA

HITCHING A BRIDE WITH THE ALIEN BILLIONAIRE - Preorder available, Release date TBA

You’re in for a lot of aliens but I’m also preparing to write a romantasy series that will be Gift of the Magi meets The Princess Bride but make it dark! Also, for fans of ACOTAR and SIX OF CROWS.

There are half a dozen other WIPs on my list too. I’d love to write the sequel to CALL OF BOOTY and another shifter romance in the SOUL THREAD series. I also have a sequel to RUNNING INTO TROUBLE I’ve been working on for a few years that I’d love to get back to.

Seriously, I love to write but I don’t like sticking to one genre or one series or even one world. My brain just doesn’t work that way and I think that’s why I feel like I’m spinning in circles looking for my readers. Because I am spinning. Genre to genre and no one can grab ahold of me.

The problem is, I don’t think I’ll ever stop spinning.

So, this is me. Spinning around the failure drain but never submitting to going down.

Who’s up for spinning with me?!

Alien post-apocalyptic mf omegaverse romance short prequel story!

CLAIMED is available for purchase on Amazon or Free when you sign up for my newsletter!

A post-apocalyptic Earth. A woman who welcomes the alien invasion. An alien determined to claim her.

Willow

I would rather die at the hands of the aliens who land in my cornfield than suffer another day in this post-apocalyptic wasteland.

When the eight-foot wall of purple muscle drags me into my house and marks me as his mate, I discover he’s offering me something better than death, the opportunity to be his omega.

Should I take his offer or jump into the alien dating pool feet first to find a better match?

Strykr

As agreed upon many years ago, when Earth called for help, Thro answered.

While it was a tragedy for the people of Earth, the devastating virus that prompted their distress call could not have come too soon.

The Throkyn nearly extinct, we gathered what was left of our pack and traveled across space and time to the only planet we knew housed compatible omegas to save our kind.

I never dreamed I’d find my omega the moment we arrived.

Willow does not know what it means to be the pack leader’s omega. After all, she only learned of alien life a moment ago.

There is fear in her eyes but also an abundance of love in her heart.

I can only hope she will set aside her fear and allow our hearts and souls to become one.

Claimed is a short story (5500 words) and a prequel to the Knot My Earth series. Intended for adult readers. Implied HEA. This couple will appear in future books.

Writing: Monthly update for April 2021

HAPPY MAY!

Hello friends!

It's official! Spring has sprung! We have a garden! Well... Actually, my husband has garden. I don't dare touch it because I have the blackest thumb ever. I killed a cactus, for cryin' out loud!

But I love flowers! I wish so much I could keep them alive. I'd have every color of Gerber daises, ranunculus, and 4 O'clocks. They're so pretty ♥

BULLET JOURNAL SPREADS!
Speaking of flowers... Check out my May bujo spread! I think this one is my favorite, so far, this year.

I'll fill out my mood tracker with different color petals depending on my mood that day.

How was your April?

💕Anastasia

COVER REVEAL

It's here! Feast your eyes on our cover for Heating Up the Holidays: A Year of Steamy Celebrations! Like this cover, this anthology is going to be !!

Heat up your holidays! Join us for a year of steamy celebrations and go home on New Year's Eve, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, 4th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas with seven different, sexy book boyfriends.

This anthology of steamy contemporary stories is packed with your favorite tropes.
Age gap with older woman, younger man
Brother's best friend
Fake relationship
Roommates to lovers
Friends to lovers
Enemies to lovers
And, of course, happily-ever-afters for all!

Heating Up the Holidays will be available for a limited time! Don't miss the party! Pre-order your ebook today! → https://books2read.com/u/49le1X

Add to your Goodreads TBR → https://bit.ly/3q5Ery5

Follow the authors on Instagram: @gemmasmithwrites @authoraschuh @anastasiaaustinauthor @hattielouwriter @heatherblair.author @mindymckinleyromance @authorbreehowland

Read in April:

I've been trying to keep up with my friend, Mimi's new releases. These 60-ish page stories are so much fun and super hot! As long as she keeps writing them, I'm gonna keep reading!

What did you read in April? Find any new favorites?

Currently Reading:

Started both of these but haven't finished them yet. At Last made me cry already and Mark of the Dragon is fun but it's also a little bit of market research. *wink wink* More about that in the next section ;)

Current Romance WIPs:

Love on Blake and Main (Love on Main, #2, Workplace romance) - We're almost there! ARC's are out and release day is in 2 WEEKS! I can't wait for you all to read Blake and Parker's story!

BLAKE'S PRE-ORDER IS AVAILABLE NOW! - https://books2read.com/u/bojDK9

Love on Oliver and Main (Love on Main, #3, Age Gap) - I'm chipping away at this one! Loving Oliver and Blue's chemistry. They're trying so hard to just be friends but it's not working out so well. LOL

The HookApp (Kindle Vella romance) - In April, Amazon announced a new platform called Vella. It's, basically, a competitor to sites like Wattpad and Radish. Intended for serial stories or stories released chapter by chapter. However, I'm going to do it a little differently.

If you've been following me for a while, you're probably familiar with my Meet Cute Monthly. One of my MCM's was about a couple who met through a dating app called HookApp. Much like my MCM, I'm going to release a short story, 5K words or less, to Kindle Vella about couples who meet through this app or this app in some way affects their relationship. Not sure how often the stories will be released but I've already written the first. It's the rest of Kyle and Nicole's date from the November 2020 Meet Cute. It's super steamy and so much fun!

This platform is not yet available to readers. Amazon hasn't announced an official release date. I'll keep you posted!

Skin and Scale (Paranormal dragon shifter romance/erotica) - This is something I've been throwing around for a LONG time but now, I'm actually drafting it. I'm not very far into the first one but I know it's going to be short. I also know it's going to be menage, MFM. I’ve also started a MeWe group for the pen name I’ll be publishing these books under, Staci Embers. Join Staci’s Haven here! https://mewe.com/join/stacishaven

Lucky One (Heating Up the Holidays anthology St. Patrick's Day romance) - This guy needs to move up my list of priorities! I'm thinking I need to make a point to write one scene a week on it. Love the characters, I just have so many irons on the fire right now, I've fallen behind on it.

Heat up your holidays! Join us for a year of steamy celebrations and go home on New Year's Eve, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, 4th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas with seven different, sexy book boyfriends.

This anthology of steamy contemporary stories is packed with your favorite tropes.
Age gap with older woman, younger man
Brother's best friend
Fake relationship
Roommates to lovers
Friends to lovers
Enemies to lovers
And, of course, happily ever afters for all!

Heating Up the Holidays will be available for a limited time! Don't miss the party! Pre-order your ebook today! → https://books2read.com/u/49le1X

Add to your Goodreads TBR → https://bit.ly/3q5Ery5

Join our Street Team and apply to review and ARC! → https://forms.gle/kEyNMv7skEZQzEGs8

Follow the authors:
https://gemmasmithwrites.com/connect
www.adriannaschuh.com
https://www.theanastasiaaustin.com/newsletter
https://www.facebook.com/hattie.lou.90
https://heatherblairauthor.blog/
https://www.mindymckinley.com
https://www.instagram.com/authorbreehowland/

Publishing news:

So... I’ve been busy since redesigning the ebook covers for my Fate series, I’ve been chipping away at the paperbacks! All the covers are done and this is the first proof copy I ordered needs some adjustments but I flipping love it!

Not sure when I’ll hit publish on all the new covers but if you need to finish out your set of the current paperback covers, do it soon! And stay tuned to find out when these babies will be available

Fake to Fate paperback- https://www.amazon.com/dp/1091548714

Word Count:

Look at all the pretty colors! So many different writing projects going! I love them all so much and wish I had more time for them.

Look at all the pretty colors! So many different writing projects going! I love them all so much and wish I had more time for them.

Binge my books!

Sharing is Caring

PROMO ENDS May 29th

PROMOS END May 31st

The End

Thanks for reading! Keep moving forward!

Join me on Facebook! ♥ And MeWe!

Writing: Monthly update for January 2021

Happy February

Hello friends!

It's my birthday month! I'll be celebrating 39 years on the 27th! Hopefully, if I'm allowed a cheat day on my birthday, I'll be celebrating with chocolate cake with dark chocolate frosting and vanilla ice cream. I love mashing it all together and making chocolate cake ice cream! It's SO good!

How was your January?!
We went to the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri as a sort of mini vacation. Stayed at the cutest little motel. But I think they sold my phone number. Ever since we got back, I get half a dozen or more spam calls a day. UGH!

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We finished watching How I Met Your Mother! I still hate the ending but I forgot how amazing the music in that show is. I've been listening through it while I write!

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Oh! And thanks to How I Met Your Mother and, apparently, every cooking channel on YouTube, I started hardcore craving spaghetti and meatballs.

We drastically changed our diet last summer though, cut out all simple sugars and simple carbs. Black bean spaghetti just wouldn't kick the craving. My sweet husband, who loves to cook, allowed us a cheat day to get it out of my system. Look at this beautiful plate of pasta! He's the freaking best!

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I put off creating my February bullet journal spread until the last minute. Still turned out pretty good, I think! For my mood tracker, I'll draw a new conversation heart every day and color it according to my mood. Forgot to add my key before taking the picture. WHOOPS!

Tell me, how was your February?

💕Anastasia

Read in January:

Totally meant to read more in January. Instead, I read one new book and reread a favorite. LOL Gravity was a good taboo menage with a HEA with one guy. 

Credence is as amazing as I remembered. ♥

What did you read in January? Find any new favorites?

Currently Reading:

These two are on my TBR for this month!

Current Romance WIPs:

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Call of Booty (Saturday Morning Serial, #2) - I typed "The End" on this one! Still need to revise it but that shouldn't take more than a couple of days. It's a shorter story. Roughly 70 pages. More about it's release and cover reveal in the Publishing News section below! 

FYI, those blue triangles with the exclamation points in the picture? Those are the steamy scenes! The red flags are the scenes when the chemistry boils to the surface but they don't follow through.😘

About the story:
A Best Friend's Brother Romcom
(Other tropes you'll love: Friends to lovers, fake dating, roommates to lovers)
  
Josh is starting his dream job as a game developer but his apartment isn't going to be ready for a couple of weeks. In the meantime, he's staying with his sister and her best friend, Gwen. The girl he's had a crush on since they were kids. Gwen needs to get an overzealous co-worker off her back. When Josh volunteers to be her fake boyfriend at her company picnic, things get a little too real.

This story is connected to the Fate series! Katie, from Fighting Fate, is Josh's supervisor at Asteroid Studios. She and Isaac make an appearance.

This is a steamy, 18+ read with a happily ever after!

Love on Blake and Main (Love on Main, #2, Fixer-upper) - I've written more but somehow I'm still only about halfway through the first full draft of this one. Now that I'm done with CALL OF BOOTY, I can focus on this. Goal is to get it done before the end of February to gear up for an April release!

Publishing news:

LUKE AND HALEY ARE LIVE!

"This was a fantastic read that I enjoyed! It had a great balance of romance, hot sexy times, and swoon worthy moments. Simply put, this was just a great book to curl up with! I loved Luke and Haley and can't wait to see what's next for this series.

Definitely check out Luke and Main! You'll be glad you did! " - The Romance Reader Gal review (@the_romance_reader_gal on Instagram)

READ FOR F*R*E*E WITH Kindle Unlimited - https://books2read.com/u/bzg2Lj

BLURB:

There’s always been a place for her in the back of my mind. My first crush. The one woman no other will ever live up to, because no relationship will be as good as the one I lived out in my head, with her.

Haley Reed doesn't know I've been in love with her from the moment I saw her. I was the new kid. A lowly freshman that never had a chance at catching the attention of the senior head cheerleader. Now, the owner of the local cafe, my chances aren't much better with the billionaire’s ex-wife.

Having the odds against me is a good excuse not to go after her. However, our meddling friends disagree. Despite their best efforts to push us together, it’s not until we're alone, in the middle of nowhere, that everything changes.

Drunk and frisky, Haley confesses to having dirty dreams about me and tries to make one come true. I stop it before it goes too far but now that I know how she feels, I don’t know how much longer I can keep my distance.

It turns out, a little distance (and some flirty texting turned sexting) is what we needed to bring us together.

How ironic that a text message is all it takes to tear us apart.

This is a steamy, adult read. Contains swearing, some other woman drama but no cheating and a HEA with no cliffhanger! Read all the way to the end for a bonus scene that bridges Luke's book with Blake's!


LOVE ON LUKE AND MAIN (universal link) -> https://books2read.com/u/bzg2Lj
Amazon.com US -> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RZFD36K

Add the series to your Goodreads TBR today!
Love on Luke and Main ➜ https://bit.ly/3m04Yvw
Love on Blake and Main ➜ https://bit.ly/33cq3LR
Love on Oliver and Main ➜ https://bit.ly/2UX3PJ7
Love on Apollo and Main ➜ https://bit.ly/2IWmgeS

Newsletter Exclusive Announcement:

The Saturday Morning Serial will return on Saturday, February 6th, 2021 with CALL OF BOOTY.

Check out that cover! I spent the better part of a day putting it together and am thrilled with how it turned out! I even made it my phone wallpaper 🤣

LAST CALL FOR RUNNING INTO TROUBLE
With the start of the new edition of the Saturday Morning Serial, comes the end of the last edition.

The download for RUNNING INTO TROUBLE will expire on Monday, March 1st, 2021. You have all of February to get it for F*R*E*E before I publish it on Amazon in March!

SIGN UP TODAY!

Word Count:

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My goal for 2021 is to be consistent. Starting with writing at least 500 words every day. I think I averaged that in January!

Binge my books!

The first full novel in the LOVE ON MAIN series is Live!
"Small town matchmaking shenanigans, which cracked me up. Slow burn, but when these two finally give in...whew. A sweet epilogue and a hea. Next book please. #SubtleLikeAMackTruck" - BookSnobSue Review
Link to Amazon listing

Reunited is a standalone prequel novella to the Love on Main series!
Link to Amazon listing

After you read Fake to Fate, download this box set and read the rest of the Fate series!
Link to box set

Sharing is Caring

PROMOS END FEBRUARY 28th

The End

Thanks for reading! Keep moving forward!

If you'd like to chat with me, please join my Facebook reader group! I would love to see you there♥

If you'd like to chat with me, please join my Facebook reader group! I would love to see you there♥

Writing: Monthly update for November 2020

Hello friends!

Who else is ready to put 2020 behind them? *raises hand* But first, Christmas! We still haven't put our tree up. Kind of hesitant. Our kitty Harper likes to destroy things. lol And because she's my hubby's little princess, she gets away with it. xD

Not much happened in November. We consumed a TON of media and started our yearly play-through of Grand Theft Auto 5! The story is so freaking good and part of me wants to write some fanfic about the strip club, Vanilla Unicorn, the guys use to plan "the big one!"

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Just to let you know how big of a fan I and my husband are of this game. I made this from the cover of my book REUNITED after my husband saw it over my shoulder and said it looked like a GTA5 loading screen. LOL I think I was channeling it at the time because we had either just finished or were coming to the end of our play-through when I designed that cover.

If any of you have any connections with Rockstar games, tell them we need a publishing imprint for romance books based on this game called Grand Theft Auto: Erotica LOL (All credit for that title goes to my husband. He's REALLY good at titles!)

My design, left. Actual GTA5 loading screen, right.

How was your November? Watch any good movies? Are you ready for the holiday? Or leaving your shopping to the last second like me? lol

💕Anastasia

READ IN NOVEMBER:

Kingdom of Flesh and Fire and Truth or Dare are the only books I didn't finish yet.  The rest of them, I read and loved. Jessa Kane remains the top of my to-do list. But I also really want to finish Kingdom of Flesh and Fire! 

What did you read in November? Find any new favorites?

Currently Reading:

I'm sure I'll read other things but I'd like to finish this in December!

Current Romance WIPs:

I'm focusing on getting Love on Main ready for its 2021 release. Also, working on keeping up with delivering the Saturday Morning Serial. 

Love on Luke and Main (Love on Main, #1, Unrequited love) - Sent a copy to my beta readers! Already go some feedback and it's good! Here's what one of them had to say:

"So excited for this series! ... I really liked the characters and it had everything you want. Drama. Friendships. Relationships. Hot men. Lol!" - Lindsy F.

Love on Blake and Main (Love on Main, #2, Roommates) - I finished a SUPER rough draft of this. Blake and Parker are so cute! You're going to love watching Parker, the little pixie, tame big bad Blake.

Love on Oliver and Main (Love on Main, #3, Age gap) - This is roughly outlined. I'm still trying to figure out Oliver and Blue's journey. 

Call of Booty (Saturday Morning Serial, #2) - My husband came up with that genius title! lol As you can probably guess, this will be about a gamer. Here's a little blurb about what you have to look forward to after the conclusion of Running Into Trouble! 

Josh is starting his dream job as a game developer but his apartment isn't going to be ready for a couple of weeks. In the meantime, he's staying with his sister and her best friend, Gwen. The girl he's had a crush on since they were kids. Gwen needs to get an overzealous co-worker off her back. When Josh volunteers to be her fake boyfriend at her company picnic, things get a little too real.

This story is connected to the Fate series! Katie, from Fighting Fate, is Josh's supervisor at Asteroid Studios. She and Isaac will make an appearance. Make sure you subscribe to my newsletter to receive this story first and for free! (It will be published to Amazon eventually.)

Publishing news:

In case you missed the announcement email, there is a release date for LOVE ON LUKE AND MAIN!
JANUARY 19TH, 2021!

Cover Reveal will be January 5, 2021! So be looking for that email!

Add the series to your Goodreads TBR today!
Love on Luke and Main ➜ https://bit.ly/3m04Yvw
Love on Blake and Main ➜ https://bit.ly/33cq3LR
Love on Oliver and Main ➜ https://bit.ly/2UX3PJ7
Love on Apollo and Main ➜ https://bit.ly/2IWmgeS

FATE SERIES BOX SET:

Treat yourself this holiday season! You deserve it!
$0.99USD or read now with your Kindle Unlimited subscription!

NEWSLETTER EXCLUSIVE CONTENT:

Things are heating up between Danny and Riley in the Saturday Morning Serial, RUNNING INTO TROUBLE. There's a pottery wheel scene coming up that puts Ghost to shame!

The Meet Cute Monthly for December will be Christmas themed! MacKenzie (from Running Into Trouble) comes home to the new family her mother eloped into without telling her. Things are already tense but get even more so when she meets her new stepbrother and his adorable six-year-old son, Henley.

Sign up before December 21, 2020 to receive this Meet Cute!

Word Count:

I worked on so much in November I had to add another color to my chart! Love seeing the productivity represented like this. Keeps me motivated!

I worked on so much in November I had to add another color to my chart! Love seeing the productivity represented like this. Keeps me motivated!

Sharing is caring!

Click this image to see a list of free books from this Bookfunnel promotion!

Click this image to see a list of free books from this Bookfunnel promotion!

HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY TO FORCING FATE!

Thank you to everyone who helped make this book happen. My loving husband, my good friend Bree, my wonderful mother in law, my ARC reviewers, all the members of HRWC (my writing group on Facebook.) And thanks, of course, goes to you, the reader! I’m so thrilled and blessed to have an audience of such amazing and supportive people.

Thank you! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!!! ♥

Cece wants control of her family's business. Evan doesn’t want anything to do with it. They're perfect for each other. Except she’s not sure she can trust him and he’s too scared to get close enough to prove she can.

Tropes you can look forward to:

  • Enemies to lovers

  • Marriage of convenience

  • Short tempered Alpha

  • Virgin heroine

Available in Kindle Unlimited

Bookbub 

Goodreads

Come on over to my Facebook page to enter a few release day giveaways!

Happy first book and publishing birthday!

🎂Happy first book birthday, Fake to Fate!! 🎂

One year ago today, I published my first book! Can you believe it?! I can't 🤣

In February of 2019, I got a wild hair to try out self publishing. I was frustrated with trying to find an agent to get traditionally published. Simply, lacking the patience it requires to break into the traditional publishing world. But this is the one time my impatience paid off. After drafting Fake to Fate in less than a month, then releasing it in less than three, I fell in love with the process.

One year and four published books later, I'm hooked. This is my life now and forever. And in addition to the unwavering support from my wonderful husband, that's, in large part thanks to you, the readers! Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing and sharing and all those things!

It's been an incredible first year and I hope you like what I have in store for you in the next year. More fluff, more steam, and soon, magic! ;)

If you like fantasy in your romance, stick around! I've got what you need, coming soon(ish)! 😘

http://mybook.to/FaketoFate

Hit top 100 on Amazon! (Comedy)

AHHHHH!!!!! I reached top 100 in the comedy category!!! OMG!!!! Over Ellen! lol

Don’t know how long it will last but I’ll enjoy every second of it! Just look at that little orange flag!

Seriously, though. This is really encouraging. I needed this today. I've been feeling really crappy (probably the post-holiday blues is all) but this... Just that little bit of validation that I'm on the right track gives me so much hope for my future writing career. Because it will be a career.

Remember this year's motto. Make it happen!

Oh, yes. I most certainly will!

Thank you all for your support. Wouldn't be here without you!

Trevor, my wonderful hubby, keep pushing me. It's working! I love you!

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Writing: Monthly update for November





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Annnddd... we have another cat. We think she was dumped outside of town. She followed my husband home from a city council meeting. We called around and found out she'd been hanging out at city hall for several days. No one was looking for her and the shelters were all full. The snow and freezing weather was coming, so we took her in. Meet Harper! She's about 5 months old now and about 5.5 pounds. And a real stinker! We love her so much!




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She's getting along great with our nearly 3 year old Cricket...





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And the cantankerous 10 year old Caillou wishes the youngsters would leave him alone!





November didn't slow down after the cat drama.

Thanksgiving festivities kicked my butt! Hopefully all of you in the states are recovering better than I did. 

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December 1st, we put up our little Christmas tree. We have two cats who haven't yet experienced Christmas. So, we thought we'd use the little tree to train them. Already found ornaments on the floor and little Harper is a chewer. lol Here it is all lit up!


Now for the writing...

Current Romance WIPs:

FACING FATE - After last month's drama, I'm happy to announce this is ready for revisions! I'll be getting to it soon but I would first like to finish drafting the book I'm currently writing. More about that below. 

INFINITELY ENDLESS (aka Plus One) - The (VERY) rough draft of this is done! It will need a lot of revisions. I'm not sure if I will do this one after FACING FATE or wait because it is so rough. That's what happens when I take long breaks in my drafting process rather than writing straight through.

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RUNNING INTO TROUBLE (an age gap romance) - Started drafting this toward the end of the month. I flipping love it! Daniel and Riley are quickly becoming my favorite characters. I'm roughly a quarter of the way through the rough draft. Hoping to finish it before Christmas!

Here's a little blurb: He’s trying so hard not to get involved with a woman half his age but when all she wants to do is help make his father-daughter dinner the best it can be, how can he say no?!

Word Counts:

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November was better! Though, can you see the impact Thanksgiving had on me? lol

Total for the month was 20,667! Not NaNoWriMo but still a solid month!




Publishing News:

Nothing to report. I'm hoping to publish FACING FATE in late January/early February. Will keep you updated!

Read in November:

Warning I wish I'd had: Sweet Liar is NOT a standalone. It's a part 1 of 2. Literally only the first half of the story. I was quite upset when I finished and found this out.

Magnificent Bastard is a lot of fun though. :D





Thanks for reading. Keep moving forward!

Buy the first two books in the FATE series today!

Thank you!

Writing: Monthly update for October

Current Romance WIPs:

FACING FATE - Oh, the drama... So, this book had been moving at a snail's pace even though the word count kept rising. I mean, just look at my word count tracker for October! It wasn't until October 30th that I realized why I couldn't find the end of this book.

I'd already passed it.
Here's what I posted in one of my writing groups after it happened...

"I wanted to scream last night but was in a library. Don't think they would have appreciated it. So, I've been frustrated with how long my current WIP is taking to finish. Turns out, I blew past the ending! UGH!!!!!

I sat down last night and wrote a sort of synopsis for the book, ignoring the fact I'd already written most of it. I allowed myself to let things happen that felt right, whether they existed in the book already or not and to come out in whatever order they flowed naturally. Doing this, I discovered I was chasing the wrong ending, things were happening out of order, and I'm missing some key character and plot moments. 😭😭😭

On the upside, I've already written the climax of the story. So, to "finish" the book, I just need to back up and write the resolution.

Downside, this thing is going to need some serious revisions and I'm probably going to lose several thousand words in the process."

As of, November 2nd, I'm done drafting FACING FATE! And now I'm going to take a break from it for a couple of weeks.

INFINITELY ENDLESS (aka Plus One) - This is what I'm drafting while I take a break from FACING FATE. It's coming along nicely! Hoping to finish it this time around.

Word Counts:

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Got a lot of words written in October, but didn't make a whole lot of progress. UGH!

November will be better!




Publishing News:

Nothing to report!

Read in October:

FYI: Most of these are short reads. Just Roommates is the only full novel on the list. A couple are more like teasers, which I didn't know going into them (Rock Hard, Snowed in with the Ranger, and Lightning Strikes)






Thanks for reading. Keep moving forward!

Buy the first two books in the FATE series today!

Thank you!

Writing: Monthly update for August

FaketoFate_MarketFighting Fate 3D paperback
After my Mini Cooper, Benny pooped out and one of the places I tried to purchase a new car from tried to screw me over lying about the title not being a prior salvage and swindling me out of a $100.00 to hold the car, I finally have a cute new car with hardly any miles that runs great! Everyone? Meet Nermal! IMG_1831IMG_1832IMG_1833
Yes, she's purple! Grape metallic ice to be specific. QOTD: Have any of you had a bad experience with a car dealership or salesman?

Current Romance WIPs:
FIGHTING FATE - It's alive!!! And doing well! Thank you for all your support. If you've read it, I hope you loved Katie and Isaac's story. If you haven't, I hope you give them a chance. They are such a sweet couple. Get your copy today!
Love it or hate it, please rate it♥

FACING FATE or ARRANGING FATE [Title might change] - Book 3 in the Fate series! This book decided to give me some trouble. To be fair, it was mostly my fault. When I started writing Jake and Amber's story, I completely forgot to ask them what they wanted from each other. So there I was, 33K words in, not even close to the middle of the book, and their relationship was going nowhere!  After going back and asking the question, I have reoutlined, organized, and now these two are ready to turn up the heat!

PLUS ONE - On the back burner.

SECOND CHANCE - On the back burner.

Romantic Fantasy WIP - Considering picking this up after Jake's story is finished. It's an old story I'm resurrecting and making romance a huge part of the plot. I have two words for you... MATING BONDS!

Word Counts:
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Previously, on Word Counts... "God willing and the creek don't rise, I'll have a first draft [Jake's story] done at the end of September!" HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Yeah... that didn't happen. It's extra funny because we got SO much rain in September, the creek did actually rise! lol Even though I didn't finish Jake's story, I did write on FOUR different projects. Most of those words were for the outlines of two projects and the other was a short film script but words are words! It's all progress!


Publishing News:
With the release of FIGHTING FATE on September 17th, I also saw a boost in sales for FAKE TO FATE! Such a nice surprise!

Also, that boost put FAKE TO FATE in the top 200's of the comedy category! Image may contain: text

Read in September:

Found (Brides of the Kindred, #4)Revealed (Brides of the Kindred, #5)Pursued (Brides of the Kindred, #6)Fighting Fate (Fate, #2)Most Irresistible Guy (Most Valuable Playboy, #0.5)

Thanks for reading. Keep moving forward!

Buy the first two books in the FATE series today! Thank you!
FaketoFate_MarketFighting Fate 3D paperback

Fighting Fate is LIVE!

Read Fighting Fate today!

mybook.to/FightingFateEbook


I can't tell you how grateful I am for the support I've gotten from family, friends, and you, the readers, while getting this book ready for you all to read. And I can't wait to hear what you all think of Katie and Isaac's story.

In this book you’ll find...

  • A woman afraid to commit.

  • A playboy looking for something new.

  • Spring break fling.

  • Stranded in a frat house.

  • Low angst.

  • High sexual tension.

  • Super steamy scenes.


FIGHTING FATE ebook will be 0.99 USD until the end of September! Always free with Kindle Unlimited subscriptions!

SYNOPSIS

Katie has everything planned out; school, career, social life. And she isn't going to let anything get in her way. Until she repeatedly crosses paths with poster-child frat boy, Isaac Johnson.

She hesitates when all he wants is a hook up. She pushes him away when he shows signs of wanting more. Then she's torn, when she finds him all alone and sick as a dog after his frat brothers abandon him for spring break.

Katie should leave. Stick to her plan. Finish the project that could make or break her college career.
But she can't leave him like this--to fend for himself when he can barely breathe--or ignore the connection building between them. The one she's not sure she can fight anymore.