At Least I Have My Writing

Life as a writer definitely has ups and downs. But when you're living your dream, it is hard to be down for too long. Right now, I'm working on new projects in the hopes of having a new contract very soon. My next book releases in October...and hopefully there will be more after that.

I'm working on a variety of things right now. Another contemporary romance series, this one set in Memphis. A couple of very southern women's fiction stand alones. Another Amish stand alone. A romantic suspense series. And the list goes on.

I'm plotting and thinking and constantly writing down new ideas. This is part of the process that I really enjoy. Although once I have a new contract, I will enjoy it with a little more security. :)

I'm often asked to give advice for aspiring writers. One of the things I always say is that I think to be good writers, we need to be well read. And as someone who spent the past year and a half on tight deadlines, I'm kind of enjoying getting to read a little bit more. My "to be read" pile grew by leaps and bounds this past year, and I'm trying to work through it.

On my short list though: Love Remains by Kaye Dacus, The Help by Kathryn Stockett, The Passage by Justin Cronin, Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner, and The Devil Amongst the Lawyers by Sharyn McCrumb.

Right now, though, I'm re-reading Eat, Pray, Love before I see the movie. This is one of the few books I've ever actually highlighted passages in. Some favorite quotes:

"I'm lucky that at least I have my writing."

"There are only two questions that human beings have ever fought over, all through history. How much do you love me? and Who's in charge? Everything else is somehow manageable."

“In desperate love, we always invent the characters of our partners, demanding that they be what we need of them, and then feeling devastated when they refuse to perform the role we created in the first place”

"I have fallen in love more times than I care to count with the highest potential of a man, rather than with the man himself, and I have hung on to the relationship for a long time (sometimes far too long) waiting for the man to ascend to his own greatness. Many times in romance I have been a victim of my own optimism."

"Having a baby is like getting a tattoo on your face. You really need to be certain it's what you want before you commit."
 
"...traveling is the great true love of my life."
 
And there are so many more. I highly recommend reading this one! I'm hoping the movie will be just as good, but experience tells me the book will be better. :)
 
How about you? What are you reading these days? Any recommendations?

Becoming a Runner

I'm one of those people--you know the type--who tends to run from conflict. When there are tough things that need to be dealt with, I'd rather ignore them in hopes that they'll go away. In other words, I internalize everything.

This can cause problems sometimes. :)

A few years ago, everyone in my workplace had to take personality tests to find out how we related to one another. My type was "most likely to go postal" because we let things build up and didn't tell people when things bothered us. (don't worry...I don't really think I'm going to be going postal anytime soon!)

But these days, I'm doing a different kind of running. The actual put-on-my-running-shoes-and-go kind of running. And I have a love/hate relationship with it.

I'm about to start my fifth week of training in the couch to 5K program. If it weren't for this program--and the get running iPhone app that I'm using, there is no way I'd have made it this far.

There are days when it is really hard. All I can think about is stopping. But I don't. I keep going, because I know how good it feels when I'm done. There is a very honest kind of satisfaction that comes from completing the training runs.

The 5K I'm training for is coming up in September...but I'm actually going to run in one just for fun in 2 weeks. The Elvis Presley Run, Walk, Rock & Roll that starts and ends at the gates of Graceland. Ha ha! Even if I end up walking more than I run in that one, it's okay. I've heard that some people dress up like Elvis for the race--that's reason enough for me to run--just to see a bunch of Elvis lookalikes running around. Perhaps I can work that into a book somehow...

A Girl and Her Dog

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love my dogs. I won't bore you with the story of how Arnie came to be mine, but I will say that I've been his owner for the past decade. I rescued Buster from the middle of the road when he was a tiny puppy--and my mom raised him for the first three years. He came to live with me and Arnie about a year and a half ago.

But this post is really all about Arnie. He's getting on up there in doggy years--he was grown when I got him, and the best veterinarian guess is that he's about 13. He's begun to slow down these past months and has lost his hearing. He's still active, but he doesn't move as quickly as he used to. I'm trying to prepare myself for life without him, but honestly I have no idea what that looks like.

You see, Arnie has been with me for all of what I consider my "grown up" life. He came to live with me when I still lived in a house with roommates and when I moved out on my own, he went with me. So for as long as I've been "on my own"--Arnie has been by my side. Even in the awful rental house that my mom called the "shack"--the one that only had a tiny wall heater in the front room. During the winter, Arnie and I would curl up on the couch with lots of blankets because the living room was the only room warm enough to sleep in.

We've lived in 7 houses in 3 states. He's seen me through 8 different jobs at 4 different companies--and watched me embark on a career in writing, where I would not name just a dog after him--but an actual character: Park Superintendent Arnie Bramblett in Love is a Battlefield. (My favorite line: "Arnie barked the order like a drill sergeant." ha!)

When I'm upset over any number of things--bad hair days, bad break ups, the occasional bad review--Arnie senses it. He'll come over and rest his head on my leg and look up at me with his big eyes as if to say "Tomorrow will be better." 

When I've sat up all night, writing--trying to meet deadlines, Arnie has sat up too--me in the recliner and him curled up at my feet, refusing to go to bed until I did. Such sweet loyalty.

He's scared away at least 2 intruders over the years.

The 3 times I evacuated from the Gulf Coast because of Hurricanes Ivan, Dennis, and Katrina--Arnie was with me. Each time, traffic was awful and the trip easily took double the time it should have--but Arnie was there to keep me company. 

So as you can imagine, we've been through a lot, he and I. I remember when I moved into my first place without a roommate--and Arnie was such a blessing. I was never scared, never lonely. He's always been content to be wherever I am.

And there you have it. I know I'll deal with it when the time comes. But until then, I'm enjoying every day--every bark, every lick, every time he puts his head in my lap.

How about you? Did you ever have--or do you have a pet that became part of your family?

Dedicated to the One I Love...

I'm working on final edits for my October release, Love is Grand. I know some authors don't enjoy edits, but I do. This is my final chance to make sure I have chosen the right words to tell my story.

And I love this story. For those of you who've read the other books in the Walk in the Park series, you're familiar with Ainsley and everything she's gone through. Here's the tentative back cover copy:

Ainsley Davis had it all. . .

. . .a job she loved

. . .a husband she adored

. . .a baby on the way

But after her husband’s unexpected death, she left her job and retreated to the safety of her parents’ home. Two years later, Ainsley is still there, raising the baby alone and envisioning danger around every corner. When her position as a park ranger at the Grand Canyon reopens, she realizes God may be trying to tell her to return—if she can face the fears that hold her captive.

Fellow ranger Dustin Cooper is thrilled to have his old friend back. But Ainsley isn’t the fearless girl he remembers. Even so, Dustin pushes her to put her trust in God and jump back into her life.

Policeman Jake McGuire fled to the Grand Canyon after an on-the-job mistake. He’s determined to live a stress-free, anonymous life. Until he meets Ainsley. Suddenly he realizes he’d like to be a hero again—if only in her eyes.

Can Ainsley regain her zest for life—despite the risks—and find the right man to walk alongside her? If so, she may be surprised to find that even the second time around, Love is Grand.

Well? What do you think? Sound like a book you want to read? I hope so!

In addition to edits, it's also time to pen the dedication. I find dedicating the book to be very difficult. I read somewhere that a book dedication was kind of like a tattoo--once it was inked, there was no turning back.

So far, I've dedicated books to both of my parents, both sets of grandparents and three of my best friends. I have a couple more days to settle on the dedication for Love is Grand. I have an idea for the dedication, but I'm not sure yet.

How about you? If you wrote a book, who would you dedicate it to?

Letters to Juliet...my own version

At Juliet's tomb in Verona, Italy (I'm back row on the right)

I went to see Letters to Juliet a couple of weeks ago and was hit with nostalgia.

Why? Because once upon a time, I spent three months traveling through Europe. During that time, I visited so many amazing places. One of them...Verona, Italy. And you guessed it, I penned my own letter to Juliet while I was there!

So you can imagine my delight at seeing the movie. I love Italy. Love it. (I secretly consider putting all of my belongings in storage and bumming around Italy--writing, eating yummy food, and talking to cute Italian guys...)

And to get to revisit Verona on the big screen was cool. Honestly...I had all but forgotten writing my own letter to Juliet until I saw the movie. It all came back to me as I watched, and sure enough--when I got home and found the battered journal I filled that summer...

"Saturday, June 14, 1997...I am on a train headed back to Florence via Bologna. We visited Verona today, the city of Romeo and Juliet. We walked to Juliet's tomb from the train station and it was so cool. There were a ton of letters and flowers and we were the only ones there. I wrote a 'Dear Juliet' letter and left it at the tomb. We walked to her house and saw the balcony and her statue..."

I won't bore you with the rest of the entry, but will say that there was a pressed flower stuck in that page that I'd taken from one of the bouquets left at the tomb.

I only have a vague recollection of my letter to Juliet. If I remember correctly, it spoke of true love and soul mates--and was written on a piece of purple notebook paper I borrowed from one of the other girls traveling with me.

Thirteen years have passed since I penned my letter to Juliet. During that time I've had some really bad dates. And some really good ones. Along the way I've met Mr. Almost Right, Mr. WRONG, and Mr. Could Be...If He'd Get His Act Together. (LOL)  But like I told a group of students recently...the path I'm on is the one for me. I look back and those times I thought I was flailing around aimlessly, I was really gathering the experiences that I would someday write about. The experiences that would add up and make me who I am supposed to be.

And I'm thankful that one of those experiences was traveling through Europe and writing a letter to Shakespeare's most famous heroine. :)

Photos of the trip below: (and yes, these are pre-digital camera pictures that I had to scan...so the quality isn't all that great!)

On the train on our way to Verona...yes, that is a Yoda figurine with us. He was sort of our mascot that summer...

Plaque at Juliet's tomb, quoting Shakespeare

Statue of Juliet, outside her house

At Castleveccio in Verona (mentioned in the movie)

And how about you? Have you ever visited a place that later showed up in a movie or in a book? Or is there an experience you wish you could "do over" because it was so cool?

5 Things...and a Giveaway

Signing at LifeWay Christian Store's Fiction Day!

I've been on the road lately, doing lots of book signings and meeting lots of readers! Such fun! Although, I have to admit, several hours at a book signing and by the end I feel like I've been hit by a truck! It's tough for introverts to feign extroversion, even for a few hours! :)

In lieu of a "real" blog post today, I decided to do one of my favorite things. Make a list!

Here are 5 random things you probably didn't know about me...

1. I know how to fire a Civil War era cannon. Seriously.

2. Once when I was in London, a representative from Vidal Sassoon asked me to be a hair model--but I couldn't because I was leaving to come back to the States. She gave me her card and told me if I ever returned to London to give her a call. (I personally think this encounter happened because my hair looked so awful that day that she felt sorry for me...)

3. I hate cottage cheese, olives, and mushrooms. Those are about the only things I absolutely WILL NOT eat.

4. I rarely ever see a movie in the theater. Like I average about 1 per year. Not sure why, exactly. I prefer to just get them on NetFlix. And while some people think dinner and a movie constitutes a good date--I do not. I think that's a dating cop out because of the lack of conversation during a movie. :)

5. I'm a little bit addicted to my iPhone. Especially the "Words with Friends" app--it's like always having someone to play Scrabble with, no matter where you are!

Okay...now for the giveaway portion of this post!

I'm going to give away a copy of my new release, Love is Monumental! To enter, just answer the following question and include your e-mail address so I can contact you if you win. A winner will be chosen randomly on Saturday.

What are you most looking forward to this summer?

I'll answer first. :) I'm most looking forward to having a few lazy summer days at the lake with my family. I missed every trip last year because I was on a couple of tight deadlines. This summer, I can't wait to swim, sit in the sun & read a good book, and eat yummy food from the grill. Perfect summery fun!

Remember--leave your answer by Saturday for your chance to win Love is Monumental!

Love is Monumental has officially released!!

Discover how the Washington Monument attracts more than tourists when a shy park ranger serves as guide to a handsome professor. Love is Monumental is the second installment in the Walk in the Park series.

The official release date of Love is Monumental was May 1, but with all the tornadoes/floods/etc., I'm just now posting about it!

I'm so excited for this book to get into the hands of readers--I love the characters, flaws and all! So far, the book is getting a good response from reviewers too!

I'm hopeful that readers will enjoy a little glimpse at Washington DC and all the monuments along the National Mall. It was fun to pick out interesting bits of information about some of them to include.

I'm scheduled to do a few blog interviews/giveaways over the next few weeks, and one of the questions I often get is about the characters--who would play them if the book were ever (dare to dream) made into a movie.

So here's a sneak peek at my choices for the main characters:

First, park ranger Vickie Harris. Vickie is always well put together. She's a bit of an over-achiever and the epitome of a perfectionist. Her quest for perfection causes trouble in her personal life--because no one can ever live up to her expectations. Despite being a park ranger, Vickie is not very outdoorsy--and knows nothing about sports! She loves fashion and has an affinity for 80's movies. We meet Vickie on the cusp of her thirtieth birthday--an age she's always dreaded. I think Ginnifer Goodwin would be perfect to play Vickie.

Dr. Thatcher Torrey, a college history professor, is in his late thirties. He is a classic workaholic--never giving any thought to his personal life--or lack thereof. Thatcher is content to focus on his classes and spend his weekends tucked away at his fishing cabin. He'd rather be outdoors than anywhere else. Thatcher despises technology--he doesn't own a cell phone and thinks social networking is the downfall of society. His past is a bit of a mystery, but let's just say he's been hurt one too many times and is determined not to let himself become attached to anyone ever again. I'd cast Noah Wyle for the role of Thatcher. I think he can pull off the right mixture of studious and masculine.

Finally, Katherine Wyatt is the third point-of-view character. I suspect the addition of Katherine's point of view will be a surprise to most readers, as they will wonder how Katherine's story connects with the main storyline. Rest assured that she is an important character. Twenty-year-old Katherine deals with her mother's terminal illness for much of the book. She's seeking her place in the world with the unsettling knowledge that soon she'll be facing life alone. I struggled with the right actress to portray Katherine and finally settled on Miley Cyrus.

So there you have it! My cast of characters for Love is Monumental. If you've read the book, I'd love to hear your thoughts on who you would cast! And if you haven't read the book, you can purchase a copy here! (shameless plug, I know, but a writer has to eat...and pay rent...ha!)