Still in the Works!

I know that I haven't posted much about Madison 2 lately, and I deeply apologize for the delay.  I just finished my first set of revisions on a YA novel I wrote, and it's taken precedence lately.  I will say that Madison 2 is still definitely in the works, and I hope to publish it soon, maybe within the next month.  I will do my best to get it published for you, and thank you so much for your patience and understanding!

<3 <3 <3

61,000 Words and Other Stuff

The book is still progressing better than I could have hoped.  My target is still around 90,000 words, and I hope to expand more sections of story, and add a few more twists to the plot.

This weekend was a little bit of a challenge, because I met up with some family.  It was nice, and they asked how my writing was going.  I felt bad, because I won't tell them my pen name.  The Madison series of books have some grown-up type content in them, and I would prefer that my family didn't read those stories.  I feel like I may have hurt some of their feelings.  One even said 'well if you wrote it, it can't be that bad'.  Unfortunately though, it has more adult content than I would like them to know I write about.

The good thing is that the book I'm currently working on can be read be most any age, as there is no bad language or sexual content.  I'm looking forward to sharing this story with them.

Thank you again readers for waiting patiently for Madison 2.  I'm still waiting to get my edits back from two people, so I have no set timeline for its release.

<3 <3 <3

55k and Counting!

So I've hit 55,000 words, and I feel like when I hit 60,000 it will all be downhill from there.  I was finally able to write a section that I'd come up with a few weeks ago, but hadn't written enough story yet to reach the point where I could add it.  I'm very much hoping to come up with a couple more clever ideas to go along with it, but the first idea was challenging enough to come up with in the first place.  I just hope that this book is truly as good as I feel it is. :-)  <3

50,000 WORDS!!!

Just this morning I hit 50,000 words, and I'm so excited about it.  The story is coming along so much better than I could have hoped.  I'm back into a writing groove, and I came up with a really cool idea for something that the main character will have to deal with.  I've written down notes about it so that I don't forget.

I'm seriously considering publishing this new book under my real name, so that friends and family can enjoy it too.  It's hard to decide, because I use this pen name to retain my anonymity.  I have no idea how big my new book will be, but if it's as big as hope it is, and think it could be, people could possibly recognize my name.  I could always come up with a new pen name, but I don't know what I would use if I did.

45,000 Words!!! Also, My Late Laptop.

So my laptop died, and I replaced it with a Chromebook.  What's that you say, a Chromebook won't work for my needs!  Yes, well, I have installed Ubuntu on it, and OpenOffice, and FireFox, so I can do everything now I could do on my old laptop, only faster!!!  The only thing I don't like about it is the touchpad.  Thankfully, writing doesn't require too much touchpadding.  And, I got the new lappy-toppy for the reasonable price of $200!!!  Also, even though it has a small hard drive (16GB), for my needs it's totally adequate.  I picked it because the drive is an SSD drive, and it takes all of 2 seconds for my laptop to boot up.  *Does happy dance!*

Anyway, so I moved the book I'm writing over to the new laptop.  On the old one, with formatting and such, it said it was about 130 pages.  Now that I've moved it over, it says it's 157 pages.  So I can't really give good page counts.  The good news is that I'm trying to make this book about the size that Hunger Games was, which was 99,000 words.  So I'm nearly halfway there!  I just hope I can keep writing quality story, and come up with interesting things for people to read.  I'm going back through the start and revising up to a point, at which point I'll be adding more story.  Hopefully that goes well.

Love you readers!!! <3 <3 <3

Madison: Shattered Wings Edits Nearly Done!!!

So I just finished making the changes that my editor and fans have suggested!!!  I've sent it back to my editor to get her take and final sign-off on it!  I am so excited to get this book into your hands, thank you so much for your patience!!!  I wanted to thank everyone involved with the making of this book, and guaranteed the next book will come out much quicker than the last one!!! <3 <3 <3

Oh, and in case you're wondering, I'm still working on the first book of my epic trilogy.  I plan to come back and write a third book in the Madison series, but it may be a while before it happens.  I'm already 120 pages in on the first epic trilogy book after nearly a month-and-a-half, so I should be able to finish it in only a few more months, or so I hope!!!

Thank you again readers, you are what makes writing worthwhile!!! <3

Blog Blog Blog, All Day Long, Gonna Blog Blog Blog While I Sing My Song

So I've reached 119 pages, which I'm feeling pretty good about!  I was worried that I'd get stuck in my writing, and it seemed like I started to, so I jumped to a different section, and it seems to have helped a lot.  I've never written a story out of order the way I am on this book, and I just have to hope that I can find and fix any continuity issues that may come up.  I'm going to have to re-write some sections, because of things I'm adding in.  But I'm still loving the writing process.  Last night I was able to write while sitting on my balcony, and I got a little sun.  Nice to be able to do that. :-)

And again, I love all you readers out there!!! <3 <3 <3

Would You Believe Me If I Said I'd Written 111 pages?

Yup, I'm still making amazing progress on my current book!  I've been hoping to hit near 300 pages, and it seems like a reasonable pace, because at 100 pages I did a word count, and it was at 35,000 words.  Apparently Hunger Games had a count of 99,000 words.  I will say that my book in general isn't much like Hunger Games, but I definitely want the same kind of feel to it.  I can't stress enough how I don't want my book to be like any other book.  If it isn't original, and doesn't bring something new to the genre then what's the point?

Also, the more I write, the more things seem to fall into place on their own.  Some decisions I made early on in the story have large impacts later, and make the direction of the story that much more interesting.  Most of them seem like I'd really planned them out completely ahead of time.  Some of them I have, but some seem to have fallen into place.  Maybe they were subconscious decisions.

Even Better, 98 Pages!!!

Okay, so I sent the first 90 pages to my editor, and she said that the first 50 pages were perfect, but that the next 40 pages were enough story for the whole rest of the book.  She also said that page 90 was a good place to end the first book.  So I've decided to try and turn the second 40 pages into 250 pages, because my goal is to have about a 300 page book when it's finished.  The nice thing is that I had 2 pages that basically condensed a month's worth of days, and I can make things happen there.  Also, I'm adding more back story, explaining things better, and I've added another character.  I should be able to make it happen, but it will take some doing.  And I'm not going to just write filler, I'm going to make sure that what I add is quality, makes sense within the confines of the story, and is interesting to the reader.  I'm not going to cut corners or settle! <3

89 Pages!!!

So I am totally rocking on this new book.  I'm really happy with how it's turning out!  And this weekend I added 15 more pages to the story.  I have a few concerns with my last thirty or so pages, because I'm not sure if I should be going as in-depth as I am with what is transpiring.  I'm having my editor take a look at it to see if it's the wrong direction to take the book in.  I want the book to create real feelings and emotions for the reader, and be as true to real life as possible, but I still want it to be an enjoyable read.  I don't want readers to be so emotionally drained that they aren't enjoying the experience.  It's a fine line to walk, and I hope that I'm walking it well.

I'm also very excited about certain aspects of the story.  Things that if I read them in a book would make me really intrigued.  I'm trying to make it as interesting of a read as possible, so that you, the readers fall in love not only with the characters, but the story itself.  I want it intricate, interesting, and something that draws you in.

63 Pages and Counting

So I'm finally on a roll with what I'm writing.  I've written some very pivotal chapters, and it all seems to be coming together better than I could have hoped.  I even set myself up for something awesome to happen a little later in the book, that ties back to an earlier portion, and I hadn't even planned it.  Almost everything I write, I write for a reason.  This just happened to set things up perfectly without having to consciously think about it.  I am so loving this book, and these characters, and I can't wait to see how the first book ends. :-D

50 Pages!!!

So this weekend I got a bit of writing done, and the weather was perfect for it.  I was able to sit out on my balcony and write while enjoying beautiful blue skies and sun.  And to top it off, I've already hit page 50 in my newest novel!  I am so incredibly excited about this book, because I know what kind of potential it has.  I'm going to keep focusing on the quality of it, even if the writing process takes me longer, because it's worth it to get it right.

In the meantime, I hope to get the sequel to Madison published soon, and I'm just waiting on a review from someone whose opinion I trust before I do my final edits and share it with the masses.  I've received very positive feedback on it, and people are saying that it's even better than the first!

<3

42 Is The New 350

So I'm now on page 42 in my new book.  For some reason, that accomplishment feels almost as good as finishing one of my other novels.  It seems like it's taking me longer to write the book in the time that I'm spending, but I'm more excited about this book than anything I've written before, so I'm writing more often, and focusing more on it.  So at the pace I'm currently writing at, it may only take me five or six months to write, instead of the normal year it takes me to put out a book!  Hopefully, if my weekends open up some, I'll be able to make that time frame even shorter!  Anyway, I'm so excited to share this book with you, and I'm excited by the directions it's taking.  <3

36 Pages and Counting!!!

So I'm 36 pages into the first book of my epic trilogy, and it's going much, much better than I could have hoped.  I will probably need to go back and flesh out the story more, because my first drafts have a tendency to be very direct and to-the-point.  I want what I write about to not only be clever and entertaining, but I want it to transport you to a different place.  I want you to be able to see in your mind's eye what I have seen as I've written it.  I will also be employing a lot of people in the review process, as I want this book to be as absolutely perfect as possible before I publish it.  I really feel that this could be a NY Times Bestseller, and the key to my writing full-time!

Lunchtime Progress!!!

I'm now part way through writing page 24, and I am so loving this book!  I was worried that I wouldn't be able to put enough clever ideas in the book to make it interesting, but I'm surprising myself with what I've come up with.  I do have a number of elements I want to have in the book, things that will truly make the story feel epic, but I didn't expect the story to be coming together so successfully!  I'm also very glad that I didn't try to write this trilogy as a completely new author, because I've learned a lot from my first few books!

Thank you again readers, I love you all!!! <3

21 Pages!!!

I am now 21 pages into the first book of my epic trilogy!  It's slow going, but it's worth it.  I'm planning on spending money on a professional cover.  I think it's worth it.  I just hope I can find someone who does an amazing job, and I can still afford them!

Anyway, I hope everyone reading this is doing amazing! <3 <3 <3

Progress

The new book is coming along very, very well.  I showed the first nine pages to someone I trust, and they didn't have any suggestions on improvements, other than she thought I should change the first name of the main character.  I explained how it fit in with the other names, but she still thought it didn't sound quite right.  Anyway, the person I showed it to is normally very good at telling me what does and doesn't work, when there's spelling, grammar, etc. errors, so I took it as a very good sign that she didn't really have anything for me to change, other than the main character's name.  Of course, it's just the first nine pages, so I'll have to wait and see if she has more changes to come.  But for now, I'm excited to be writing this book, and ultimately the ensuing trilogy that will come from it!

I can't wait to share the new series with you once I've written it! <3

Inspiration!

So, instead of trying to come up with some amazing idea, I started writing.  I'm letting the story tell me where to go, which seems to be when I do my best writing.  Thankfully, it's working out, although I will say it's taken me nearly 3 hours to write 1 1/4 pages.  What's making it so slow is the process of coming up with all the initial ideas, and then staying true to them.  I'm also spending time making sure that the writing flows well.  I want this to be a masterpiece, so I'm putting everything I have into it.  I just hope you, the readers, enjoy it! <3

My Next Book

I'm still waiting on feedback about my most recent novel, the sequel to 'Madison', so I'm trying to keep myself busy in the meantime.  I really want my next book/series to be an epic trilogy, something that I would personally love to read, and I want it to be original.  I don't want to rehash stories that people have already told.  I'm looking to find my inspiration, and I just haven't found it yet.  I was thinking about trying my hand at Sci-Fi, but I don't want to write a book series too similar to the Ender's Game books.  I also don't want to rehash Hunger Games, or Twilight, or Fifty Shades of Grey, or The Lord of the Rings, or any other epic trilogy that has done extremely well.  I want to write something new, and intelligent, and enjoyable for anyone that might read it.

COVER REVEAL FOR WHITE OPS: SHADES OF GRAY

If you remember, or maybe you hadn't heard, I published my first book 'Madison' under two titles, 'Madison' and 'White Ops'.  The reason I did this was that I believed the story would resonate with both male and female readers.  I created two separate covers, but they were in every other way the same book.  I'm going to continue that tradition, and also publish the sequel to 'Madison' under the title 'White Ops: Shades of Gray'.

Now before you ask if it's a reference to '50 Shades of Grey', no it is not.  The reason for the title is two-fold.  First, I wanted a title that had color in it, going with the White theme.  The second reason is that there's moral ambiguity in the story, running throughout.  Taylor is faced with some very tough decisions, and has to do things he find immoral in order to save the day.  It made too much sense not to use.

So without further ado, here's the cover:

Anyway, I hope you love the cover!!! <3 <3 <3

COVER REVEAL FOR MADISON: SHATTERED WINGS!!!

So I just put the finishing touches on the cover for Madison: Shattered Wings!!!  I hope you love it!!! <3 <3 <3

I Invented Something!!!

Okay, so I love string cheese!  It's fun to pull apart, and you can eat a little or a lot at a time, and it's great!  But no one sells a meat product that works the same way.  So I had the idea of using slices of chicken breast, since when you pull it apart, it does the same thing!  Coming to a market near you, STRING CHICKEN!!!  Nom nom nom!!! <3

A Little More Editing Feedback

So I talked with the first person who responded with feedback on the sequel to Madison, titled 'Madison: Shattered Wings', and she said she actually liked the sequel better than the first.  HUGE PRAISE, especially from her!!!  The other thing is that my self-editing must be getting better, because she didn't have any grammar, spelling or punctuation fixes for me to make.  Wicked awesome!!! <3

So excited to finally get this book out!  Now I need a cover!

More Awesome Feedback, and My Thoughts on Writing a New Epic Trilogy!

One of my favorite readers, Gary Powers, has been gracious enough to review the sequel to Madison, which I've so far titled 'Madison: Shattered Wings, and send feedback before it's published,'.  He said that so far it's as good as the first book, and he's really enjoying it!  So far people reviewing it seem to really be loving it, so I'm super excited to finally get it out there!

As for direction, I'm considering writing a new epic trilogy, but I need to figure out exactly what theme I'll go with.  It seems like a lot of really popular genres right now are saturated with good stories.  It seems like the vampire well has run dry for the most part, same with zombies.  Werewolves seem to be the new thing right now, but they probably won't last as long as vampires have, just because they aren't as inherently sexy as creatures.  Like, who wants a lover whose super power is getting really hairy and peeing on fire hydrants?  No thanks!

I loved Hunger Games, and I'd like to write something just as amazing, but I don't want it to merely be a re-hashing of Hunger Games.  I also loved Ender's Game, but it didn't translate perfectly into a movie.  They got some of the relationship stuff between him and Petra wrong, and I didn't think it had the emotional impact of the book because they didn't take it far enough.  Lord of the Rings was awesome, but I also don't want to just make a copy of that, nor do I want to copy Harry Potter, which I also loved.

So my hope is that I can find some inspiration.  I know I have a truly epic trilogy in me, I know how to write it and make it something special, but I need a starting point.  I need an underlying theme to tie all of it together.  Hopefully I can think of something soon, because I'd love to start writing again!

First Feedback!!!

So one of my editors has already gotten back to me with some cursory feedback.  They loved the ending, so that's awesome!!!  It was actually the part I was most worried about, so the sequel should be as good as the first, if not better!  <3 <3 <3

Finished My Edits!!!

So this weekend I finished my edits for the sequel to Madison, which I'm titling "Madison: Shattered Wings".  I've sent it off to a handful of people I trust and respect to give me feedback on it!  Now comes the hard part: waiting.  Waiting is definitely my least fun activity, especially in a public place like at a bus stop, at the DMV, etc.  At least places like Disneyland are nice enough to keep you entertained while you're in line.  Imagine how much nicer the DMV would be if they had stuff to read, or TV, or something like that.

Anyway, I'm very excited to get feedback back, and I'll let you know when I have a solid release date!  Love you all!!! <3 <3 <3

Nearly There!!! 227 pages!!!

So I'm 227 pages into my 251 pages of edits, and I very much hope to be finished tonight!  Soon I'll start work on the cover for the sequel, as I eagerly await feedback from my amazing readers!  Thank you again everyone for doing that, I appreciate it so much!!! <3 <3 <3  In the meantime, I have a few copies of Madison on the way to my place, and I'll hopefully be starting a few contests for signed copies!  Stay tuned to find out how you can win one!!! <3 <3 <3

Super Lucky!!!

So this morning I was very fortunate, because I decided to back up my working copy of the sequel to Madison by emailing it to myself.  It was the first time I'd done that since I began this recent round of edits, and I was on page 195 of 251.  Ten minutes later, as I was working on it, my laptop shut down, and corrupted the file.  I was able to download from my email the most recent copy, and only lost 2 pages of edits instead of 197.  So my personal angel must be smiling down on me today!

As soon as I get to 251, I'm sending it out to a select group of editors to get their take on the story.  I hope people like it as well as they enjoyed the first one! <3

160 and Counting!!!

I'm on page 160 of 251 with my most recent round of edits, and then I will send copies to a select group of people to get their feelings on it.  I'm going way out on a limb with this one, and I hope that it's just as good as the first book, but in a completely different way.  Thanks everyone for the love and support you've shown, and thank you for your patience!  I want to make sure that this story is as good as I can make it, while still staying as close to my vision as possible.  A lot of people outside of writing don't realize how hard it is to stay true to yourself and your ideas while still keeping readers happy.  Not everyone agrees on how a story should progress, especially when people fall in love with characters.  You hate to see them in pain, you hate to see them dealing with real hardships, because you feel those emotions as if you were going through them yourself.  So please, readers, know that when I take chances with characters, it's for a good reason, and it's always thought out.  My decisions are never whims.  I just hope that even when you follow my characters through those challenges, that you realize there will be a light at the end of the tunnel, some hope to be had.  Not all is lost.

Trudge!!!

So the holidays were awesome, and I got a lot of really great things, spent time with friends and family, and ate too much.  The good news is that I'm back on editing the sequel to 'Madison', and I'm already halfway done!  So that's cause for celebration!  I hope two get it finished in the next few weeks then work on the cover.  I actually really enjoy doing my own covers.  One of my two majors in college when I started was art.  It's a passion that I don't spend a lot of time doing anymore, with my day job, and spending time writing.  I have to say, I enjoy writing more, but I love them in different ways.  I think the reason why I enjoy writing, is because it's a constantly creative process.  When I'm drawing or painting, there's definitely a lot of creativity involved at the beginning of the project, but once you actually start executing, it's mostly skill at that point.  Drawing lines, painting brush strokes takes talent, and I haven't honed my skills as much as I would like.  Can I do a very good job at times?  Sure!  But I don't like losing that creative steam.  I suppose with writing some of that happens to a point, when you're editing your work.  It's a bit more arduous, and less fun in general (at least for me.)  There are a lot of people that enjoy editing, and I applaud them, because it's not an easy thing to be good at, and it takes a rare talent and mindset to enjoy it.  So editors, thank you for being you! <3

Anyway, I love you all, and I hope the holidays were amazing for you! <3 <3 <3