How I got (back) to the Brook

November 24, 2015November 24, 20155 Comments

These are very, very, VERY general directions, you understand. Also, this trip will take years. Decades, even. But it’s totally worth it – even the bad parts. And oddly enough, this is something I’d been thinking a little bit about already, as one of the many people I spoke with last night at my book signing asked if I’d been anywhere else, aside from my hometown and my adopted hometown.

So, kind woman, if you’re reading this, I hope you enjoy the book you bought from me and I hope this answers your question. 🙂

1. Start at the Grundy Hospital. Cry, scream, bawl, but also be cute enough to make those two big people take you home with them. They look nice.

2. Follow the big people to Reinbeck. Grow up a little, gain a sister, make some friends.

3. Refuse to leave home when the rest of the family wants you to go with them after the woman dies. Insist on staying with the man who brought you home from the hospital. Make more friends, who help you out when things get tough (and they get tough a lot). Never give up.

map

4. Go
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Secretary Daydreams

November 19, 2015November 20, 20154 Comments

Today’s challenge was to recreate a day – or, more challenging yet, an hour – in the life of, well, anyone, I suppose. I took the opportunity to write another short story. Below you’ll find an hour in the life of Abby Dunleavy, bored secretary. I hope it’s entertaining. 🙂

Skiing is great fun, if you know what you’re doing. I, of course, had no idea what I was doing, and was positive that the bunny hill I was careening wildly down was really a black diamond.

“Snowplow! Snowplow!” my best friend Janey yelled.

My head snapped left, then right, then dead ahead. “Where?!”

The bottom of the hill was rapidly approaching, as was the parking lot.

But the phone rang before I could crash into a parked car. I snatched the receiver out of the cradle before the first ring had finished and sighed. “Arnold Rowan and Scates, this is Abby. May I help you?”

I half listened as…

The Runaway Princess

November 18, 2015November 17, 2015Leave a comment

Adrina begged every deity she could think of to keep her safe as the storm raged outside. She prayed that the waves would not find her, but her pleas fell on deaf ears. The gods stood watch as the waves crashed against her door, one after another, seeking her in every nook and cranny till they found her at last. When she could fight them no longer, the waves dragged her away, sobbing, and back to the sea she went, back to her father the king, back to her home and the punishment she knew awaited.

If we were having coffee…

November 16, 20156 Comments

coffee …I’d tell you how much I’m looking forward to having a day off. Not that it will happen any time in the near future, but hey – a girl can dream.

…I’d tell you that I’ve only got twenty pages left of The Price of Mercy to rewrite. I can’t believe I’m so close to being done with this draft. Now if only I weren’t taking half-hour lunch breaks the next two weeks… 🙂

…I’d tell you that it truly boggles my mind to think that Thanksgiving is only a week and a half away. Wasn’t it just January last week? Where has 2015 gone?

…I’d tell you that I need a nap. Badly. Anyone know where I can get the time for that? 😀

…I’d ask how things are going with you. After all, it’s probably been way too long since the last time we caught up.

What about you – if we were having coffee, what would you have to talk about? Tell me below!

The Party

November 13, 2015November 14, 20152 Comments

Today’s challenge was one of observation, of interaction. But I chose to write about a lack of interaction, and I hope you enjoy it.

It was supposed to have been a party. All the usual trappings were present: food, friends, music, gifts. But no one was dancing; no one was eating. The gifts sat unopened on a table, ignored by their recipient and forgotten by the guests.

The music was too loud for the room and it hurt my ears. It didn’t need to be so loud; no one was talking. I found it odd that amid a sea of people I could feel so completely and utterly alone, like a star in the sky, one of many, yet completely solitary.

Every hand, every eye in the room, was glued to a screen, transfixed by the glow, and it would take an act of God to separate them.

Have you ever been in a similar situation? How did you react?

If I had more time…

November 12, 201516 Comments

…I would actually get some writing done. 🙂

…I would even get those bookmarks designed that I need for next week.

…I would probably get my office completely organised.

…I would train myself to stop spelling things the British way.

…I would perfect my photography skills.

…I would brush up on the flute.

…I would learn to speak Spanish fluently (cuz I’ve forgotten most of what I knew).

…I would read all the books I own from cover to cover at least once (but probably more).

…I would travel.

…I would finish that degree I started thirteen years ago.

…I would take up piano.

And if I sat here thinking for long enough, I’m sure I could double the length of this list. 🙂 How about you – what would you do, if only you had the time?

Bound by Prophecy now available!

November 12, 2015November 12, 20151 Comment

Today I’m excited to share the book release of a fellow Iowan! Read on to get the scoop on Bound by Prophecy, available now on Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, and Goodreads!

About Bound by Prophecy

Amelia Bradbury is finally free from Queen Julia and Cresthaven, but she isn’t safe yet. The Keeper power runs rampant inside her and it will take an ultimate act of selflessness to contain the darkness that threatens Amelia’s sanity and the future of the Immortal race.

Aidan Montgomery refuses to give up on Amelia. Once she’s rescued from the Keeper’s hold, he intends to prove his love is more than a side effect of the prophecy, even if doing so leads him away from his pack and on a journey that will irrevocably change them both.

When the past and the present collide…

Writing is hard, yo

November 10, 2015November 9, 201510 Comments

So I saw this on Twitter, thanks to today’s Writing 101 assignment post:

“Why is writing so much harder for me than it is for everybody else?” — every novelist ever, secretly to themselves, all the time

— Lev Grossman (@leverus) April 28, 2015

And I have to say that it’s like Mr. Grossman was reading my mind when he wrote it. Sometimes it’s really nice to know that you’re not as alone as you feel, especially when your favorite pastime is a solitary one. I’m terrible about comparing myself to other writers – for the most part, I come away from books feeling that other authors are much better/faster/more talented than I am and that I’ll never reach the heights I aspire to.

Then I read something like this, or I listen to songs like “Keep On Movin’,” and I feel a little bit better. I just hope the feeling will fade as time goes by (and hopefully, as contracts come my way).

What about you – do you have a passion that this tweet could describe? Tell me what you’re passionate about in the comments!

A lovely little space

November 9, 201511 Comments

Lunch breaks are best when spent writing. 😉

Much about the way I write has changed considerably over the years. When I was a teenager, I often wrote with my friends (several of whom also enjoyed writing), and we wrote anytime, anywhere. I wrote stories during free time in class, at lunch, during pickleball tournaments, and at home after school. Often in the summers, I’d stay up half the night working on a story. Whether with music and conversation or without, in the living room or my bedroom, my ideas flowed freely.

Hot tea makes great writing fuel, especially in the winter.

In my twenties, it was much the same. I had a small office space, but it shared room with my washer, dryer, deep freeze, and litterboxes. With four cats and one litterbox, you can bet it wasn’t long before I needed to take a little writing break, so back to the living room I went.

My twenties actually saw the greatest upheaval

Making a difference

November 6, 2015November 9, 20153 Comments

Just because you can’t see how far your reach spreads doesn’t mean you make no difference. –J.C. Rutledge

But wouldn’t it be great if we really could see how far our reach spreads? Because I’m an overly morbid worrywart type, I often wonder about the kind of legacy I’ll leave one day. I think I think about it so much because my mom died so young, and I’ve always assumed (don’t ask me why) that the same fate waits for me.

Happily, fate seems to have other plans in store for me, because I’m still here, creating worlds and refereeing my kids. I’m so very grateful I have the chance to watch them grow up, and I can’t wait to see what kind of people they’ll become.