The Tragedy of the Broken Coffee Carafe (and the Triumph of the French Press)

I know. I know. I haven't posted since August of last year. I'm so sorry! I have been working full time and in school full time online. Thankfully, I finished my last class February 23rd. I immediately caught a head cold and missed two days of work.

But yesterday was the first Saturday I felt like myself again without homework hanging over my head. I looked at my filthy house and thought, "I'm going to do some real cleaning so this week I can do some real writing after work!" Then I plunged in.

As usual, I started with the bathrooms and kitchen. I tend to feel like even if the rest of the house is cluttered and/or dirty, your kitchen and bathroom take priority for obvious reasons. I got one bathroom clean then launched into the kitchen. Almost done, I made a last minute decision to put the coffee carafe in the dishwasher (finally, it was overdue). I thought to just give it a quick rinse first... and broke it.

I BROKE IT. IN MY OWN SINK. Who does that? Seriously??? Me. That's who.

So this morning, I was forced to pull out the French Press I bought from Amazon as a lightning deal months ago (I am totally the target audience for those sales). Why has no one told me of this before? Why did I let that sit on my kitchen counter for months when I could have been drinking this delicious magic coffee? I can't believe I've been so slack. Y'all, I might not ever go back. Wish me luck!

Who Are These People???

I hear a couple of questions repeatedly:

• Where do you come up with your ideas?
• Are you writing about yourself?

These questions are closely linked so I'll answer them together. Ideas come from all kinds of places. For instance, when my siblings and I got together to remember my mom with dinner on the anniversary of her death, my sister brought the urn with her ashes and plopped it on the table before stating, "I brought Mom." Yeah. That's going in a book. Little things like that happen and get my mind working. With Accidents Happen, I think I passed an accident and thought about a couple meeting through the accident (pretty straightforward). Sometimes, I'll just get an idea while washing my hair. So I can't completely explain that.

As for the second question, my sister has very forcefully accused me of that one. It's not accurate though not completely wrong. With each character, I try to find something in my life to relate to my character so it's easier to believably write the character. For instance, Julian is an author with a day job in Accidents Happen. I am a writer with a day job. The resemblance then starts to veer left. Julian is strong and brave, and I'm pretty weak and cowardly. 

In my next book (I promise, the rewrite is in progress), the main character is Lillie, and she loves to sing. She sings in church and had aspirations to become a professional singer when she was younger. I love to sing, sing in church, and used to have aspirations to become a professional singer. The similarities die there. She is witty, kind, tough. I'm a little slow on the uptake sometimes, mean, and weak.

Seeing a pattern? I pick one or two aspects I can relate to in my characters and then make them flawed yet better. And sometimes those similarities help fuel the ideas for story lines. I hope that makes some sense.

Anyway, as I said before, the next book is in progress. I do have a full-time day job and am in school online full-time as well so I'm trying. I love Lillie and Isaac, so I haven't forgotten them. I hope you will love them as much as I do!

Happy Independence Day!

From my family to yours, have a wonderful and safe 4th of July!

Authors Invade Columbia (and other news)!

Hiya, everyone! I am still alive and kicking even if slowly for a Monday morning. I wanted to share some news with you. I will be attending the Authors Invade Columbia 2018 convention right here in Columbia, South Carolina on November 10th! I will have books for sale and will be available to sign books either bought there or already purchased. Please stop by and say hello. While there, also make sure to check out the other awesome authors present!

For more info, check out the Facebook Event:
Authors Invade Columbia 2018

In other news, life has been super-duper hairy. I know this never happens to anyone else (sarcasm). Unfortunately, Book Two of the Biggest Small Town Ever Series has been delayed. It IS coming, I promise. I will keep everyone updated! Still working on a daggum title for the thing. I've been using a working title for about two years now so I'm struggling to let go of it.

Anyway, here's a funny.

Meet Lillie - Not Graceful, But Likable

Greetings, everyone!

I'm hard at work on Book Two of The Biggest Small Town Ever series. Shooting for a fall release, and have spent most of my "writing" time this morning trying to decide on a title. Mind you, there is a rough draft. I'm in revisions, and I want to share a cover with you, but ummm... Graphic artists kind of need a title to design your cover. Imagine that.

Anyway, in the meantime, I thought maybe you'd like to meet Lillie. Lillie is the main character in Book Two, and she has no idea what life-changing bombshells are headed her way. So I decided to interview her this morning so you could get to know her. I'm lying to her to get her to talk. Don't judge me.


Me: Hi, Lillie. I'm with the Church Choirs of America Journal, and we're interviewing choir members from different churches in the Southeastern area. Your name came up. Mind if I have a few minutes of your time?

Lillie: Not at all! I'm a talker. Ask away.

Me: What got you started singing?

Lillie: Both of my parents were musicians. My mom played the flute, and my dad played the cello - both for the South Carolina Philharmonic so music's in my blood. We spent a lot of time at church so I starting singing with the kids' choir and never stopped.

Me: Do you have a favorite song?

Lillie: That's a tough question. That's like making me choose between my children, if I had any.

Me: Favorite singer, songwriter, or composer?

Lillie: I really love Dennis Bell. I love his film scores. They're just epic. And when he does write a song for a movie, it's so good to sing. It's not church music, though. That might not fit your article.

Me: No worries! Do you have an opportunity to sing music like that often?

Lillie: Not as much now. In high school, I sang with the competition choir and did solo competitions, but now I really just sing with church.

Me: Did you consider performing professionally?

Lillie: I did, but I changed my mind in college and decided to pursue business instead.

Me: That's quite a leap.

Lillie: Well, I wanted to be practical, and I love my job now so I certainly wouldn't change it.

Me: What do you do now?

Lillie: I'm the office manager of an architectural firm downtown.

Me: Columbia has architectural firms?

Lillie: (blinks at me in annoyance) Obviously.

Me: Okay. (clears throat) So any plans to pursue music otherwise?

Lillie: I had been thinking about it, but almost two years ago, I was in a car accident with my parents, and I honestly haven't thought about it since.

Me: I'm sorry to hear that. Do you have any other family?

Lillie: I have an older brother.

Me: Is he in the choir?

Lillie: No. He's an IT geek, who plays the drums. Our neighbors loved our family growing up. (chuckles)

Me: I'm sure. Thanks for your time, Lillie.

Lillie: No problem.


I should note that Lillie then tripped trying to get out her chair, caught herself, and knocked over my drink. That girl is a real klutz, but a lovable klutz. I can't wait for y'all to meet her.

Meet Drake

In my previous post, I introduced you to Julian Fursey, the fiesty writer-turned-rescuer. But what would a good romance be without a good hero?

Drake Salvatore is definitely a good hero. Having joined the Marines right out of high school, he's ready to shift gears and work on his family's vineyard. Even without a career in the Marines, his protective instincts would have kicked in when the woman who pulled him and his brother from a wreck starts receiving creepy calls and emails, but that's not the only reason he spends so much time with Julian. And Julian doesn't seem to mind.

Make sure to meet Drake in Accidents Happen! Be sure to follow me here for more information and giveaways! And don't forget to give my Facebook page a little love!

Greetings!

This post is important. Crazy important. It's my very first blog post. It must be perfect. Funny. Catchy. It needs to hook you in and hold your attention. I must be witty and smart...

Well, maybe I should just tell you about my book instead, and let it do the job. Accidents Happen is the first book in my Biggest Small Town Ever series. Each book will be a standalone book, but intertwined as well so you'll get to see your favorite characters again and again. I love that when I read a series. I hope you'll love it, too!

This book introduces readers to Julian Fursey. I love Julian. She's a writer with a plain ol' day job (I can't relate to that at all - read sarcasm here). She's feisty and funny and tougher than she looks. Her matchmaking mom sometimes hands out her personal information to random men, including one of the men she rescues from a car accident. I love her, too.

Check it out on Amazon. It's coming to other retailers soon. The official release date is 2/14/18, but Amazon liked it so much, they've made it live already! Get your copy! Tell your friends! Let the world know!!!

And thanks for stopping by. Make sure to check in regularly for updates and giveaways.

See ya round!