Happy Wednesday All, Surprise! I'm actually posting BEFORE the end of the month! Imagine that. 😊 I think my part of Texas is confused about what season it is. We were having some cooler temperatures and then all of a sudden it decided to go up again. Now, that's relatively normal in a sense for us, but what is curious is that the tree in my backyard decided it wasn't winter, but FALL! All these colored leaves are covering my backyard. I looked around and thought "Guess the plants and trees are confused as to what season it is. Can't blame them since the weather is, too!" December is quieter so far than September through November were and I am NOT complaining about that. In September, my father suffered a bad fall and consequently there was a whole lot of stress. October saw my folks move out of their home of over 30 years into Assisted Living. When November came along, me and my family had a stomach bug. The very beginnings of December was the tail-end of m...

  Happy June Everyone! I hope your May went well. My husband had to take 4 trips up to Springdale, Arkansas to clean out and sell his father's house, so that was a lot. He's fine now and the papers to sell the house have been signed, so that's good. I've recently pulled up an unfinished manuscript of mine and have been reading through the 80 or 82 pages of what I had already written. I've edited what I've read so far for a preliminary edit, and think there might be something here. We'll see. There are some new releases that have piqued my interest. I don't normally pick up mid-grade novels (although, I have read several over the course of my life) but my author friend, Tom Phillips has his debut coming out on June 7th, so I've been watching the countdown with great interest. Another author friend of mine, Cheyanne Young has a new contemporary YA, releasing, too. Plus, there always seems to be more novels releasing, too. I'm sometimes slow to ge...

  Happy January and Happy New Year 2022 one and all! There have been many times that I've said this, and I expect many times to say it again: my observation is that every year brings both good and bad. Some years there's more good, some more bad, some in the middle. I don't know what 2022 will be, but I continue to look for blessings. One of the blessings of 2021, was in spite of Snowmeggeddon (or, rather, because of it) back in February, I got a new kitchen. Now, a storm with broken pipes is not the way I'd PREFER to have gotten this kitchen, but I love it. So, even though the storm sucked and being out of my house for 4 1/2 months wasn't always easy, I got this brand new kitchen that is so much more me and my family than what we moved into when we first got the house. In August, I got a non-displaced fracture in my shoulder. Yeah, I hadn't known silly detergent had spilled and I wasn't looking to perfect my detergent-skating abilities (or, in this case, in...

  Happy Wednesday & Happy December! I hope December 2021 finds all of you well. I can't believe we're already nearing the end of 2021. It feels like the year just started yesterday or something. Who participated in NaNoWriMo2021? I didn't. I don't really do NaNo, but I fully support those who do. If you did participate, I wish you a great word count! If NaNoWriMo something that works for you as an author and/or you enjoy it, then I say go for it! I know people who do Camp NaNoWriMo or other NaNo-like events and they say they actually help them with their writing. Every author is different, so you have to find a process/technique that works for you. I'm working on getting into the Christmas spirit. We're in the process of putting up the tree (have to fix something on the lights so the ornaments aren't on there, yet). I've been playing Christmas Carols and I've almost completed my Christmas shopping. My biggest concern with the cooler weather isn...

  Happy Wednesday All, I can barely believe it's July already! Hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July American Independence Day. We didn't do very much for it, which was okay. There were plenty of people around us shooting off fireworks for 2 days (late into the night, too). After Texas "Snowmeggeddon" displaced us from our house from February 15th to late June, we're back in our house and things are fixed. We're unpacking boxes from things we had to box up while the contractors were here putting our house back together. We had 2 pipes burst--one in the kitchen, the other around the garage. My kitchen looks so different, but I love how it turned out. We were glad that insurance covered so much of it. While our house was getting help, we lived at my parents' house. We were lucky they're still living in the two-story I spent a lot of my growing-up years in. Except, my old room is now my dad's office so there is no sign of the pink walls anymore. Al...

  Happy Wednesday All, I can't believe it's already May! April got away from me and I didn't get to post any other blog posts besides the initial April one. Yikes, I'm sorry! Life continues to be crazy on my end. Our house is much closer to being ready (we have a great contractor!) and we have hopes of being back in our home not next week, but the week after. We'll see. Our contractor is industrious and efficient. He keeps us in the loop and gets things moving. We've been grateful to have someone reliable after the water remission people weren't the most communicative (which is a big reason why it's taking us so long to get back into our house). This weekend is my and my husband's anniversary (I don't give out details on how long we've been married--my husband likes a lot of privacy, so other than a few pictures on here and Facebook, you won't hear a whole lot about him). We've been together for over 10 years, though, and I feel a sen...

  Happy Wednesday! It's April 2021, if you can believe it! I went on a sort of hiatus from blogging because of Texas's "Snowmeggeden" in February. Our house suffered 2 broken pipes and is currently unlivable while we undergo demolition (of moldy/totaled out/drenched) wall, appliances, etc. in our kitchen (one pipe burst in our garage and the other in our kitchen). We also need to replace the carpeting in 2 rooms because of water damage. So we're living at my parents' house while all this is going on and hoping that it finishes, soon. Meanwhile, I continue to conduct The Author Encounter business with my business partner, Nan, and there are many things happening with that. Nan has done a ton of work on the website and continues to work on ways of making the website better and more user-friendly. We filed our LLC after having a "soft-opening" for a year in 2020. You check out everything on the website . My publisher added an addendum (per my request) t...

Happy Wednesday Everyone! I've been trying to update this blog at least once a month--sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I don't have a consistent schedule set up, so I guess at the end of every month, come check-in and see if I've put up a new post. So, now for my news updates: The Author Encounter website has been up and running for a while now. Authors, readers, agents, editors, vendors, etc. can join. If you're interested, but want more information than what's on the website, you can contact the company via email . We're on the LAST day of the Kindle giveaway. You can join by going to The Author Encounter giveaway page and entering. No purchase necessary. The audiobook narrator of Divine Love , Chris J. Hudson, and I will be running an online workshop on September 4th for members (so there...

Happy Wednesday Everyone, Renovations to the blog and my website are still in line to be done but have been put on hold for a short bit because the consultant and I have joined forces to start a company geared toward authors and readers. The Author Encounter's mission statement is "Bringing authors and fans together" and that's just what we're working toward. We have an event scheduled for Saturday, August 1, 2020 called Books & Beauty. I'll be there with my amazingly talented audiobook narrator, Chris Hudson. Headlining the event is author Kerrelyn Sparks who not only did an amazing job with Paranormal Romance with her Love At Stake series, but she's got her Embraced beings in her Fantasy Romance series and a brand new one that will be showcased at Books & Beauty called How To Love Your Elf . It's going to be for people ages 21 and up because it's at a Wine bar. All the information is on The Author Encounter's website. Other tha...

Happy Wednesday All, I'm trying to figure out a blogging schedule. It's not something I've had for a while, yet, but I'm thinking about it. Maybe once a week would work best for me. So, I'll try that and let you know if that changes. Under my other pen name I did a 5 Fun Facts about myself that you may and or may not know, I think I'll do something similar here with a YA twist. 5 Favorite YA Reads (aside from my work) I'll Always Recommend (In NO particular order): Ashes On The Waves by Mary Lindsey. I'm not an Edgar Allen Poe fan. I think he's depressing. But, Mary's novel is beautiful, poignant, and well written. It's just a gorgeous book (as far as I'm concerned, and like I said, I'm no EAP fan, even though I recognize he was a talented writer). So, definitely has to be on this list. Pushing The Limits by Katie McGarry. I've had the privilege of watching this author's banner fly and her popularity rise. The firs...

Happy Wednesday Everyone, Right now, my schedule for posting on here is inconsistent. I haven't figured out a good schedule, yet, so, please, bear with me. I'm also considering what topics to cover, so it might be awhile before I have another post up here. I hope everyone is having a good Spring so far. It was pretty muggy on Tuesday, but that's Texas for you. Humidity can be thick and oppressive. I prefer cooler weather--although not snow or ice. I like 40-65 degree Fahrenheit with sunshine. I like snuggling under warm blankets with a hot drink and a good book (or movie or show!)  Two weeks ago I was suffering horrible allergies, and also dealing with migraines. I'm doing a little better now, but I'm not a big fan of spring for that reason--although I do like some of the spring styles. Summer will be hotter. It's barely April and I'm all ready for Fall and Winter again. I know that the places that have gotten a lot of snow are ready for the warmer...

Happy Wednesday Everyone, Wow! Can you believe it? It's release day for Perfect Love ! Perfect Love follows after the events in the first 3 books of the Immortal Dreams series ( Divine Love, Astral Love, Immortal Love ) and picks up several years after Immortal Love. Perfect Love is Hailey, Laney's best friend's story. When I wrote the first 3 books I didn't think about Hailey's story until Immortal Love . It was then I thought, "Hmm. I don't know. I might write Hailey's story. Some time. I better give myself a jumping off point." That's where her letter to Laney near the end of the novel comes in. I needed a place for Hailey's story to start. I thought some people might pick up on it, but I didn't think it would be a big deal. Imagine my surprise when nearly every reader asked me:  "Is Hailey an Immortal? Are you going to write her story, too?" I had toyed with the idea of writing Hailey's story, but I wa...

Happy Wednesday All, Wow, I can't believe that Perfect Love 's release is NEXT WEEK! It's incredible. Two years ago, I wasn't even sure this novel would Book One Where you first meet Hailey! become a reality, but here we are! Book Two Where you first meet Arion! (who is in PERFECT LOVE) As I've mentioned before, there is a little something at the end of the story. It's meant to be a gift to my readers. Something fun, kind of a "thank you" for being so loyal and enthusiastic. Part of the reason Hailey's story became a reality is because you, my darling Immortal readers, asked me about her. I hadn't thought there would be so much interest, but I kept getting asked. I had wanted to write it, but I was afraid I couldn't. I left myself the opening at the end of Immortal Love just in case. So between the fact that I wanted to write her story and there was so much interest in it, it became a reality. So thank you, darling readers. T...

Happy Wednesday All, As the time draws closer, I'm working on the edits from my publisher and getting ready for the big day... RELEASE DAY for Perfect Love . In preparation for the June 2017 release, here are 5 things you should know about Perfect Love : 1. It takes place years after the events at the end of Immortal Love . 2.  Hailey and Arion are the main point-of-view characters. 3.  Laney and Jason make cameos. 4.  There is a special surprise at the end of the story. (No, I'm not dropping any hints). 5.  I don't know whether or not it's the last book in the Immortal Dreams series. I haven't decided, yet. So, I've left myself an opening in case I continue the series. I'll let you, the reader, see if you can figure out the opening...you probably will...a lot of readers figured out Hailey's story was next. I'm sure you readers figure out the room I left myself in this one. (And no, this isn't the surprise, the surprise is somet...

Happy Wednesday Everybody, Wow...I have been really neglecting the blog! Last post was in February about Nationals. I'm all signed up and everything to go there. I'm looking forward to it. I've never gone to the National conference, even though I've been a member since about 2009. I got my first round publisher edits for Perfect Love , the next book in my Immortal Dreams series. For the readers who have been asking, yes, this is Hailey's story. Hailey and Arion's story, I should say. You meet Arion very briefly in Astral Love , but he'll be more prominent in this one. Will there be more books after Perfect Love ? I don't know, you'll have to wait and see. However...there is a little surprise for my readers after the end of Perfect Love . I won't tell you what (because it's a surprise). The f irst round publisher edits got turned in on Sunday (April 9th) which was later than I intended, but at least they're turned in. I'm still w...

Happy Wednesday, Thursday, or whenever you read this, darling readers! IMMORTAL DREAMS basket (bag of goodies) I donated for the conference raffle Things have been super busy in the Averie Household (although, when are they not?) And also busy in my writing life, too. This past weekend, I attended the Northwest Houston chapter of Romance Writers of America (NWHRWA--which I am a member of this chapter) Lone Star Writer's Conference. The conference consisted of being broken up into 2 parts, a morning speaker and an afternoon speaker. ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE & LION basket I donated for the raffle Kerrelyn Sparks speaking at the 2016 Lone Star Writer's Conference In the morning we had the incredibly talented, NY Times Bestseller, Kerrelyn Sparks (of the Love At Stake series fame). Kerrelyn is someone I know personally and haven't seen in more than a year, so it was great to see her again, catch up, and hear what she had to say. She talked about differe...

Happy Wednesday All, We're almost done with August, in fact, September starts tomorrow. Writers have until September 23rd to register for the Northwest Houston RWA Lone Star Writer's Conference . All writers, of all genres are welcome. We open up the conference to all writers of all genres, so take advantage of that. Morning Speaker will be NY Times Bestseller, Kerrelyn Sparks. The afternoon speaker is going to be Sandra Beckwith from Buildbookbuzz.com. We'll have raffle baskets to raffle off, there will be pitch sessions going on, and more.  Some writers have said they couldn't make this year. Very well, if you, a writer, can't make it this year, then put us down for next year. Generally we have the Conference the first Saturday in October. That's the date it's been ever since I started going to the conference back in 2009. So see, the time of year hasn't changed, just when the first Saturday of October is changes (some years it's not the 1st ...

Happy Wednesday All, Well, I'm back on antibiotics with ear infection issues, again. Fun times in the Averie household, but oh well. It's August, and a part of me can't believe we're already facing Fall again, and another part of me says it can't get here fast enough. I'm not a fan of snow and ice, but I do like cooler temperatures and the heat is oppressive. I mean granted, it's been hotter here than it has been, but it's still plenty hot. My WIP (Work In Progress) is with my proofreader and I'm looking forward to sending it to my publisher. In some ways I can't believe I'm already here again, in others it feels like it's taken me forever. But it's nice to have another novel written and going through the process. Of course, I'm working on the next story and that's going okay so far. We'll see what happens. Registration is still going on for the NWHRWA's Lone Star Writer's Conference. It looks like it...