One down, another begun

Summer is certainly full of lazy days, and I'm afraid that I've been afflicted big-time, even though I hate the muggy, hot weather. I long for the shorter, crisper days of fall, full of apple picking (with lots of apple treats afterwards) and carving pumpkins... Alas, only a few more weeks :)

But, summer this year brought a great treat with it -- I've completed my second full-length novel, Arcane. And, it's awesome. Weighing in at a lean, strong 70,000 words, it's full of adventure, mayhem, magic, chaos -- and yes, it is a kissing book.

Can you say, 'Reason to celebrate?' :)

Here's the back-page preview:

"Drew Morgan is just a normal girl, really. She shyly lusts after her downstairs neighbor, Nick, and enjoys quiet nights at home with her ancient cat. Except for her vivid fuchsia eyes, Drew’s life in Boston couldn’t be more mundane … Until a glowing stranger shows up in her living room and pulls Drew into Enna, a separate realm of existence ruled by the flow of magical energy called arcana. Her gorgeous neighbor Nick – a caustic spy for the Enna resistance – and his band of magical rebels fight against a chaotic regime hell-bent on rebooting the Arcanic Conductor and taking control.
Could normal Drew be the legendary prophet meant to restore the flow of arcana to Enna, or has there been a huge mistake? Drew’s vivid eyes are the key to finding the three shards of a broken medallion hidden in places only she can see. Family secrets are revealed, and new love blooms amid the desolation of Enna’s industrial decay, dangerous wilderness and fairy-tale castles. Drew must unlock her hidden arcana if she wants to restore Enna – or risk the realm falling under the rule of an evil chaos god working behind the scenes. A frenzied race to the Arcanic Conductor is eclipsed only by a climactic love scene between Drew and Nick – but nothing ever ends up the way it seems, especially when the whim of the gods is involved."

Sound interesting? Hopefully! Keep your fingers crossed and I promise to personally sign a copy for all of you when the book hits shelves :)

Moving forward, as is always the case, I've begun work on my third novel, tentatively titled GLOW.

This one is going to be a bit different (re: challenging) for me in that it's mostly a love story with a fierce paranormal twist.

Sundae de Silva's life is being lived for her. She's got a great job, great friends and a great home... but something is missing. When she stumbled into a Fenway bar to escape a rainstorm, little did she know the key to unlocking her future lay inside the lime green eyes of Brendan, bartender and superhero.

But Brendan's not a superhero. He's much more vivid and full of life than a silly drawing -- and the secret identity he's hiding has a much broader impact on humanity than anyone can guess.

Ehhhh not a great way of saying it, but I don't want to give anything away until the precise moment! :)

So, I'm having another writer's issue that I'd like some help with: I'm lost in the middle. I've got a killer beginning and a shocking, awesome end, and I know the climax of the story and the back story ... I've got everything I need to start ... except a clue what's going to happen in the middle.

Perhaps this is how you write a love story. Relationships aren't planned, thus a fictional relationship can't be planned either. I don't know what Brendan will say until he says it, and I don't know Sundae's reactions until she makes them. So perhaps this feeling of meandering is a byproduct of the type of story I'm writing.

I'm currently in the midst of writing chapter 2, and the story is yanking me along for the ride. I guess I can see it as my own writing adventure that I honestly don't know what's going to happen the next time I open up my file and start typing!

In other news ...

My writing group is going wonderfully! I highly (and with a humble head shake) advise any new or old writer to join one -- it's so supportive and the ideas that are tossed to and fro make for the most inspirational evenings!

I've finally got a web developer/designer ready to tackle my site, so hopefully I'll have more on that later...

My home office is in the works! As a brilliant friend of mine pointed out, creativity needs a home. And a home office filled with only the things that you love is the perfect place! I'll post pics once it's in good working order :)

Until next time, my friends, keep moving forward!

This is where it all started ...

Looking back on this time in my life, I have a feeling I will always say, 'This is where is all started...'

Let's catch you all up, shall I?

A few weeks ago, I walked into Barnes and Noble to get a computer programming book for my husband. I had a few minutes, so I browsed the shelves, wishing I would see my name mixed in among the multitude of authors. Then a flyer caught my eye: 'Deep Thoughts Writers Group -- first meeting this Wednesday night."

Well, I thought, here is my chance. As long as the people are nice and not judgemental, this might be an interesting thing to try.

Looking back, I should bite my metaphoric tongue -- it turns out, these people are incredible, and not just because they are good writers. But more on that later.

So, after changing around my child shift a little, I showed up in the cafe a few minutes early -- completely skeptical but willing to be open-minded.

I won't go into the minutiae of the meeting, but Greg and Brian were so sweet and genuine that I immediately accepted their invitation to join the full version of the same writers group in Milford (apparently, the BnN one was a satellite group). Plus, that same night, I overcame a small 2-week stint of writers' block by forging ahead in Chapter 12.

So, this past Friday, I packed up the shiny new laptop with its screen-saver bubbles and headed to the strip-mall bookstore in Milford.

And, there I met my friends.

I don't mean that in the sense I have no friends -- I mean it in the sense that writers need to be with other writers, and that there was an immediate kinship among the others at the meeting. Even in the world of editors, there is nothing quite like sitting down with real, talented (and real talented) fiction writers and discussing pop culture, debating the merits of one popular author over another, nit-picking sci-fi movies with fevered enthusiasm and sharing blueberry pie.

I mean, really ... how envious are you of this? I am green, and I was there!

Needless to say, this was intensely satisfying, not to mention that the writing that came out of it. The idea that you can relax your mind in a state of creative bliss while in the company of others on the same wavelength is incredible, let alone becoming the living embodiment of it. I *highly* recommend this ... but I can't guarantee your local writers group will be quite as awesome as mine. I'm really just that lucky.

On the actual writing front, there is not much to report. As I mentioned, I had a two-week block in my writing due mostly to the fact that no one was reading my chapters behind me. I love you all, but when there is no one to make happy with my writing but me, there really isn't an impetus to make the story go farther than my own head. I mean, I know how it ends and the twists and turns, but if no one else cares ...

But, thanks to Deep Thought (the group) and to a new resolve by my husband to read paper chapters (bound at work) in bed at night, I can feel the fire again under my bum.

And these will help keep me moving forward. Because, in every great career, there is a single point where everything has to start, where the ball towards fame starts rolling. And, for me, I think it's finally got a little push.