As promised, Update #4

Hello my friends!

I hope your weekend was good. To start your new week, I'm so excited to catch you up on my writing progress this week. I hit 40, 754 words this week!! Anyone want to take a guess how many words I'll end up with? My hunch, somewhere near 47,000 but we'll see. So, one of the most common questions after someone reads one of my books is, where did you come up with the idea for (insert book here) Today, I'm give you the skinny on what prompted Five Days Five Kisses. It'll will be fun and then if you read the book, you'll know all the secrets about Maya, Liberty and most importantly, Nikola and what started it all. 

The concept of Five Days Five Kisses began over two years ago.  I was on my way up to sixth grade science camp with the entire sixth grade but was particularly responsible for my daughter and her two besties Lizzy and Kali. Around the same time, I'd been cooking up some new characters. 

Watching my daughter with her two best friends got me to thinking about how our friends, especially our best  friends make our lives both better and sometimes not so great.

That's how the characters of Nikola, Liberty, and Maya came into existence. Each girl was distinctly different and lovable in their own unique way just like my daughter'ss two best friends. Our first night at camp, we all went back to our cabins to sleep. My daughter and her friends, plus another four girls nervously climbed in bed. For some of them, this was their first time away from home. Plus, the woods were full of terrifying noises and even more heinous, six grade boys that were sneaking out of their cabins and terrorizing the girls' cabins. I had to do something to soothe the fettered nerves of the girl so I decided to tell a story. It couldn't be a scary one. It had to make the girls laugh and most importantly, it had to have an awe moment. Girls, you know what I'm talking about.  Boy kisses girl in a tender and unexpected way. We all say, awe, because we think it  is soooo cute.

 
 Anyway, I had each girl lay down and tuck themselves into their covers. Using the characters that I'd been creating for a few days I  began to tell a story of three best friends, one of which gets dumped on graduation day and the other two girls come up with a crazy five day plan to help her get over the guy who dumped her. As I wove my tale the girls became quiet but attentive. Soon they were leaning over their beds listening to every words. When I got to the end of my story, I heard not just one but several awes and at least one, that's so cute. At that moment, I knew I had a story worth writing. Two years later and with lots of adjustments and details added Five Days, Five Kisses is almost complete.

Oh and my daughter and her friends, they are firmly in the throes of young teen crushes and girl drama. Sigh...Until next time.  

As promised, Update # 3

Hi all! I'm finding Sunday is a better day to write my updates so here it is. This week was a busy one for me. My favorite cousin and her family came to visit, but amazingly I did get some writing done. I've officially reached 39,201 words on the Five Days Five Kisses project. I figure I have about three more chapters to write to be done with the rough draft, which is AWESOME!

Also, I have to tell you about a happy moment with my paranormal series, The Secret Keeper series. Book 1, The Secret Keeper was nominated and won first place in two categories by the Paranormal Romance Guild! That was such a fun surprise. If you want to read the review it was given, here's the link.    Paranormal Romance Guild



For today's update, I'm going to tell you about another one of the characters named Liberty and even some secret information about her that you'll only learn in her own book(imagined, but not written yet). Here are ten things about Liberty that will make you fall in love with her character.

1. Liberty is Nikola and Maya's best friend. Oh yeah, they are triple trouble.
2. She was named Liberty because her father was a new Senator in the United States Congress when she was born.
3. She was student body president in High School. Do you see a pattern:)
4. She's got kind-of kinky/curly hair that she always fights and lots of lovely freckles.
Here's a pic of what the three girls together might look like. Which one do you think might be Liberty?

5. She has a tendency to say whatever she is thinking.
6. Once she sets her mind to something, nothing gets in her way, not even her two best friends.

7. She drives like a maniac, all the time!
8. She dreams of being the first woman president of the United States.
9. While most people her age don't "get her" Adult just love her.
10. Sometimes she feels left out because Nikola and Maya were friends first and this means that she's left out of some inside jokes and history.


So there it is. My goal. Next update, I'll be done with my rough draft and diving into making this fun Rom-com a fantastic story that you'll love!

Thanks for stopping by.

As promised...update #2 Valentines edition

It's here, the holiday you either love or hate, Valentines Day. Me, I'm kind of indifferent, with my built in sweetheart of 23 years. He is an amazing man and I'm lucky to have him by my side.

But....today we're not checking in on my life. I'm here to give you a progress report on the upcoming books. I've just hit 36,000 of about 50,000 which is AWESOME! Today, in honor of the holiday of LOVE I'm going to tell you a little about Nikola and her first love, Malan. Last update, I posted pics of Lake Hubert where Nikola grew up and Malan spent every summer in the house next door to Nikola's place. Here's a picture of what Nikola might look like as she's starting college.

Nikola is an only child and is grows very close to Malan over the years...although they have their share of scuffles. They always seem to be competing for something,who can swim the furthest, who can catch the biggest fish. Once Nikola tricks Malan into thinking there is flesh-eating guppies in the lake. Boy is he made when he figures out the truth.

 Malan has a sister and sees Nikola almost like family until...Okay I can't tell you what happened. But, Five Days, Five Kisses will give all the delicious, sweet details. Here's a picture of what Malan might look like. It's funny they are both blond but the only blond characters in the book.

Yeah, I could stare  at him all day too. I hate to leave you with bad news, but here it is.  Something terrible happens in Nikola's family and she is forced to leave her idyllic childhood home forever and say goodby to Malan, likely to never see him again. 

Here's a little excerpt from their goodbye scene.

“Malan,” I called out. “Don’t you want to say goodbye?”

I held my breath. One, two, three, I counted. Finally, he turned and looked at me. It was far enough away that I couldn’t see the deep crease in his forehead and the corners of his lips turned down, but I knew what his face looked like when he was upset. I knew every angle of his jawline and the way his hair curled on the ends when it was wet.    I swallowed. My heart began to race. How could I leave him without saying goodbye? I couldn’t.

Without another thought, I dropped my phone on the dock and jumped into the lake. 

I hope your Valentines Day is good! Until the next update, thanks for stopping by.

As promised...update #1

Hey everyone! As promised, I'm here to update you on my latest projects. I'm excited to give you a sneak peek at some of the characters and story behind my new ROM-COM series. Book 1, Five days, Five Kisses, due out later this year!
Today, you're going to be the first to hear about the setting for 5 Days, 5 Kisses.

This super- fun romance takes place mostly in my home state of Arizona, but there are conversations and flashbacks that are set on an Idyllic lake in the great state of Minnesota. The lake is called Lake Hubert and I spent several of my childhood summers on these sandy shores.

Imagine water so deep blue that it looks black at certain times of the day. Surrounding the water is trees, thick Forrest-like trees nestled almost up to the water's line like fortification from the world beyond the lake's borders. Woven into the greenery is cottages and houses of all shapes and sizes, some deep in the woods, but most built as close to the water as possible. It is a lovely place and a perfect setting for Nikola and the handsome next door neighbor that came to his lake house every summer.

From my childhood, I remember the screened porch that wrapped the entire backside of my grandparent's house. This let you sleep to the gentle lapping of the lake water without being accosted by mosquitoes.  On that porch was a bed that literally hung from the ceiling on sturdy chains. When you moved the bed would swing ever so slightly making you feel like you were on a boat.  This same bed and porch are in 5 days, 5 Kisses but I won't tell you what part of the story. You'll have to discover that for yourself:)

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Finally, imagine sunsets so magnificent that the sky looked like it was on fire and the water below burned as well. 

This is where Nikola, one of the main characters, grew up and tragically was forced to leave when her parents divorced.

So there it is, one of the places you'll read about in 5 Days, 5 Kisses. Until the next update, may you always be kissed by someone you love and...thanks for stopping by!