Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Oops...and YAY

Today turned out to be kind of a wash. After I sent the kids to school and Bryan off to his new job (who, seriously, gets a job after being in town 2 days?), I went back to bed. Slept till noon. Had lunch while watching last night's Castle. Showered. Did all that email and socializing stuff. Honestly, by the time I sat down to write it was 20 min till the kids get home. Bah.

So I'm putting up my post rather than waiting till later. I'll write a little tonight when I have a minute. I did want to share some news, something I've been anxiously sitting on for a little while now.

My sis, Mel Chesley, got her publishing contract today!!!!! Dontcha love the look of her blog? I totally do. Whenever I go there it always reminds me of those pirate stories I'm waiting to write/rewrite. Sigh.

I'm so happy for her. So incredibly excited! Can't wait to put her book, alphabetically of course, on the shelf next to mine!

Way to go, Mel!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Life Edit

Occasionally a writer has to eat her words, and even those words aren't terribly tasty. A few weeks ago I told you all about The Price of Love, my "perfect for Halloween" story I planned to launch as an e-book last week. Lacking the huge fanfare and announcement that it's actually for sale now, I'm sure you've guessed where this is heading.

I got into the story to edit it, and found it needs SO much more work than I first thought. My initial fondness for the story had made me blind to how much I have grown as a writer since. And, so far, only one scene has been rewritten. Oddly it's a really critical scene near the end of the story.

Now, I'll let you in on what's going to happen from here. I'm going to work on this story off and on in my "free" time and get it nicely polished for NEXT Halloween. I may release it before then, if I'm really happy with it, but I doubt sales will be that good until the creepy season hits again.

I'm sorry to have disappointed you. Trust me, I'm disappointed too. But, sometimes, we just can't have what we want.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

My review: The Armor of Light by Karen E. Hoover


I reviewed the book HERE on Mormon Mommy Writers Friday. Today I'm going to explore the book in more depth, so I'll dispense with the description. You can already tell by the cover it's going to be cool. Click HERE for the complete cover blurb.

I love this series. I'm going to tell you up front I would pit Karen's Wolfchild Saga against any bestselling fantasy series out there. If she keeps writing like this, she's going to be absolutely huge (fame-wise). And, having TRISTI PINKSTON for an editor can't hurt. ;)

In The Sapphire Flute, you met three primary characters--Ember, Kayla and C'Tan. Ember and Kayla are our protagonists; C'Tan the antagonist. In The Armor of Light, we get to learn more about these characters as their adventures continue and the dangers heighten.

What I'm loving is how each character grows. The girls are really coming into their own, while C'Tan is becoming an even more complex villain than we first saw. You know me; I have a documented weakness for complex villains. Click HERE if you don't believe me.

The magic woven throughout the story is believable, without being convenient. In fact, some things happen that the characters find downright inconvenient at the time. Ember makes a few new friends, and Kayla really comes into her own. I love the power and strength Kayla manifests by the end of the book.

The short is that these are characters you will love, and continue to love. Karen does a great job of finishing the story while leaving us longing to read more. I can't wait to see what's going to happen in book 3.