2019, Events, Writing, & More, Oh Wow...

Happy Friday Everyone!

Well, we've made it to February 2019! January was super busy with researching some stuff and working away on a new novel. The novel is about 20,000-30,000 away from my target word count. My assistant, Roxanne, is eagerly awaiting the day I finish this novel because the snippets I've sent her aren't enough--she wants to know everything about this story. This story has been fun to write, although, like every story it's had its ups and downs and days where I just wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it.

News of imprints of publishers closing down has caused some difficulties for some friends/colleagues of mine, which makes me sad for them because that's a tough thing to go through. I wish them all the best and pray for them.

Talk of Romance Writers of America Nationals in New York City (July) is going on and I'm waiting to see if me and my narrator, the supremely talented, Christopher Hudson (who you can find on Twitter, now) will join the ranks of speakers for this year's conference. I don't know when we'll know, but I've been told it'll be before RWA opens up for registration this month.

Roxanne and I have been gearing up for BrazCon 2019. I was invited to make a return appearance for this year. I'll be another panel and I have limited copies of my all my books in paperback to sell. I also have brand-new swag and should be getting my newly-designed bookmarks soon, too.

Now that I've gotten my news out of the way, let me tell you what's really on my mind for this blog post and it's Mary Lindsey's YA novel, Haven.

It took me a while to get through this one not because of any flaws with the story, but because I was very distracted and have had a lot going on. But I finally finished it yesterday and I really enjoyed it.

Haven is a story that Mary Lindsey describes at author events as a book her editor really wanted her to write and one she wasn't sure whether or not would work. Let me tell you, it not only works, it's another example of her skill as a wordsmith.

We follow Rain (Aaron Ryland) on his journey from the streets of Houston, Texas to some itty bitty town full of secrets. Those secrets pertain to Weavers (witches/magic) and Watchers (werewolves).

Rain becomes enamored with the feisty alpha female, Freddie, and it sends him down a path of danger, suspense, conspiracies, and murder.

Mary has successfully taken the paranormal world of magic and werewolves and woven a tale that fans of Teen Wolf and YA Paranormal stories will likely enjoy.

From what I understand, there is talk of a sequel and I definitely will want to read that one!

To get your hands on Haven, check out Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

I'm not sure what I'll be reading next. My TBR (To Be Read) stack currently has several 1-2 chapter preview stories, and about 18 novels and 1 non-fiction. So, yeah, it's a lot and this doesn't even include what I have on my E-reader waiting for me!

What are you reading these days? How has your 2019 been so far?

Just A Little Over A Month...

Happy Tuesday All,

Summer is in full force in Texas. Heat and humidity...and lots of it! The Averies are trying not to melt and Averie Cat loves to sun himself on the window sill or lay on my bed where the sunlight peeks in during the afternoon. Currently as I write this he's laid out sleeping. 

Romance Writers of America's National Conference (aka "Nationals") is coming up in a little over a month (July 18-21) and I'm excited. I've never been to Colorado before, and I hear it's really beautiful. I'm also thrilled to be able to see friends I haven't seen in a while, meeting new people, including trying to meet up with Syrie James, whose Nocturne I have loved (I'm totally fan-girling about that). I'm going to be rooming with Belle Ami, whom I've enjoyed getting to know.

I didn't final in the RWA Ritas, but that's okay. I'm still going to the ceremony because it's such an incredible celebration and let's face it, I love glitz and glamour. (I even requested sparkly make up from my make up consultant, so there you have it). I'm a glamour girl on a non-glamorous budget, but hey, save up money, find deals, and off you go, right? The sparkle doesn't have to be real diamonds, it just has to be something you like.

The rest of the Averie Clan will be holding down things at home while I'm off hanging out with the rest of Nationals' attendees.

As to writing...well, that's been slow. There is a lot on my mind lately and so sitting down to write has been a toughie and when I do sit down and write I feel blank. So, I'm working on that.

My parents will be celebrating fifty-two years of marriage this weekend, which is exciting for me because they are a fabulous example of love, marriage, and commitment. I'm so happy for them and for the fact that I have the privilege of being one of their children.

I'm trying to remember the name of the book I laughed all the way through reading. So, while I'm thinking about that, why don't you tell me about a book that made you laugh?

Have A Tremendously Terrific Tuesday!

Excitement Building...

Happy Monday All,

Like I've said before, my posting on here is inconsistent. Blog topics are hard to come up with and my life is full of being mom, wife, and writer. But enough of excuses!

I'm gearing up for RWA Nationals 2018. I think I've been gearing up for it since Nationals ended last year. I can't help it. I had such a blast in Florida, I'm looking forward to what Colorado will bring.

I'm also excited to see some friends I haven't seen in a long time. Particularly one who was a year behind me in high school. We hung out in the same social group and had one class together my Junior year. She's a sweetheart and I've missed her. We're going to get manicures and hang out. I think it's going to be a ton of fun!

Nationals is a great way for authors (particularly Romance authors) to get together, find out what's new in the publishing world, and network. Publishers, agents, and other industry professionals come from all over as well. It's a HUGE event (I've heard numbers upwards of 2,000 people in attendance). 

Also, I've never been to Colorado. I've been a lot of places in the mainland of USA, but not there. So that will be interesting, too.

Unfortunately all this doesn't happen until July, so I've got to wait a little longer. But, it's nice to have something to look forward to doing. It's fun to feel the anticipation building as we get closer and closer. I can hardly wait!

What do you have to look forward to doing?

Have A Marvelously Magical Monday!

Back & So Much To Tell...

Happy Monday Everyone!

Sorry I've been MIA for so long. A ton of things have been going on:

For one thing, I attended my first Romance Writers of America National Conference (RWA Nationals) in Orlando, Florida in July. While there, I got to go to Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom (my very first time going to Disney World and my first time going to Nationals since I joined RWA in 2009).

Nationals was an amazing experience. Normally I'm nervous when going to conferences, but for the first time, I wasn't. I'm not sure why. Maybe I had a lot of people praying for me, and sending me positive thoughts. Maybe I went in with the right attitude. Either way, or both, I am not sorry one bit that I went!

Arriving!

We--that is, the whole Averie clan--arrived in Orlando, Florida on Tuesday, July 25th. Everything went smoothly with getting our luggage, and despite a little issue at the rental car place, that even went smoothly.

Then came trying to find the hotel. Our GPS kept sending us in a circle, and we didn't quite understand the directions people gave us. It took circling the same

area FOUR TIMES before we managed to figure out what to do. And then, came finding the hotel itself. We got lost and had to call the hotel twice. So needless to say, either know your way around, have a reliable map or really good GPS. We finally managed to get to the hotel.

Raspberry Sorbet
Lemonade Smoothie
I had with dinner (yum!)

We got to our room without a hitch (and the hotel staff were super-nice). Soon after, we found a place to get dinner and felt much better afterwards. The Disney Boardwalk was just a short walk away, so we decided to go explore it. 

Juggler we saw while on the Disney Boardwalk

Disney Boardwalk was all lit up at night. It was so pretty!

I had my nails done before I left for Nationals. On my left thumb 

Right thumb with purple/pink
butterfly wings

Left thumb with blue
butterfly wings

was half a blue butterfly, and on my right half a purplish-pink one. The blue one represents my deceased friend, Sarah. Blue was her favorite color and butterflies were special to her. The other one represents my writing. On my business cards I have a purplish-pink butterfly. When I put the two thumbs together it made a whole butterfly. I don't have that on my nails anymore, but it was nice for Nationals...until I fell and broke the purple one! But oh well. I was okay. Mostly just embarrassed, but I can laugh about it, now.

Together the thumbs made a pretty butterfly

I have a ton of other pictures, so I'll have to do a whole series of blog posts because there is so much to tell and show you.

August isn't as busy despite Offspring being back and school and some of the other activities we have going on. They're doing well, and enjoyed going to Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Magic Kingdom. They also went to Legoland, which also looked like fun, but Real Life Hero (my husband) said Legoland was even hotter than Disney World. But our Offspring enjoyed it, so I call it a win.

I'm working on Book 5 in the Immortal Dreams series and some other thing that's been playing in my head for a long time now. I hope everyone who is reading Book 4, Perfect Love, is enjoying it. I've already had some readers say that they thought it was my best work so far, which made my day.

I'll do more posts talking about Nationals and my visit to the Magic Kingdom, but for now, let me assure you, I had a fantastic time. :-)

What's been going on with you? What are you reading? Have you had a good summer?

Have A Marvelously Magical Monday!