February 2018

Book Rec: From Lukov with Love

/ Book Rec, Reading

I am the ultimate fair weather sports fan. I watch one football game a year, become a hardcore soccer fan once every four years, and only notice gymnastics and figure skating when the Olympics roll around.

Well, in case you were living under a rock, the Olympics did roll around this year, and I watched far more figure skating than I probably needed to, but I loved every second of it.

So that got me thinking about figure skating romance books. There had to be some, right? I briefly considered writing one before I remembered that I didn’t write contemporary or really know anything about figure skating.

Luckily, a kind soul on Twitter pointed me to From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata. …

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All the Edits

/ Writing

On Friday, I heard back from my editor about Polaris Rising. She requested a minor edit to a scene, but overall, she liked the new ending, which is a huge relief. Yay!

I also got initial feedback from my agent about The Queen’s Gambit, and it’s going to be a far more substantial edit than one scene, so I did what any self-respecting workaholic would do.

I took the weekend off. …

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The Queen’s Gambit: What’s Next?

/ Author News, Serial Fiction, Writing

Part of the serial story The Queen’s Gambit

Thank you so much to everyone who joined me on this journey. As a new author, I didn’t know what to expect, but you all have been amazing. I loved reading your comments as the story unfolded. :)

Thank you once again to my volunteer betas: Regina Brandt, Alex Curran, Julie Ferm, Amanda Larson, and Liv W. These brave souls helped make the final chapters stronger, and I appreciate their help so, so much.

So, what’s next? Now the novella will go through several rounds of edits to polish it from rough draft to final draft. After that, it will be posted up as an e-novella at your favorite retailers. …

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I Survived the Half Marathon!

/ Fitness, Life

Today was the half marathon I’ve been (sort of) training for. It’s not my first half, so my training maybe wasn’t as good as it should have been, but I finished it!

My stretch goal was to finish in less than three hours and I came in at 2:57:47. I just squeaked under the line. :)

Also, I sort of forgot that racing involves getting up at the crack of dawn. Hello, 5:20 AM, it’s been a while. I ran with two friends and it wasn’t too bad until we hit mile ten or so. After that, it was a slog to the end.

Me with my finisher medal But look at this shiny, shiny medal! Yay!

Now I plan to take over the couch and spend the day watching the Olympics and doing nothing more strenuous than changing channels or flipping pages in a book. :)

TQG Book Cover Ideas

/ Writing

Love it or hate it, we all occasionally judge books by their covers. A great cover can cause me to click through and read a blurb I otherwise wouldn’t, while a terrible cover will most likely make me chuckle and move on.

And while I don’t care about bad covers for my favorite authors (because they’re already my favorites), new authors don’t always get that grace.

Now I’m a new author. I need to tempt people into checking out the blurb and giving me a shot, which means I need a decent cover. …

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