Hey all! It’s been awhile since I’ve joined up. Basically a month. And boy did I need it. I haven’t posted on my blog in a month at all, and I needed the break. I was posting almost every single day for something, and trust me, while it’s fun, it’s hard to keep up with that. I’m planning on slowly easing back into it. But for now, I have quite a few announcements to make. A lot can happen in a month.
I had a short story accepted into an anthology. A Blizzard’s Blow, featuring Lollie and Andrea, will be included in the Young Love, Old Hearts anthology put on by Supposed Crimes, LLC. I’m really excited. I absolutely love this short story. A. M. Leibowitz, fellow WIPpeteer and friend, also had a short story accepted into the anthology! w00t! So if you want a review copy, let me know. It releases May 1.
I got my cover in for Memoir in the Making earlier this week. Eeeek! so I shall share it with you all. This one also releases May 1.
Memoir in the Making is my first romance novel, like pure romance, no weird creatures or random dying (okay only maybe a little random dying). I’m nervous and excited about it coming out. So, if you want a review copy of it, let me know.
Here’s the blurb:
Forbidden love is often the most attractive.
The first day of her junior year in college was supposed to go off without a hitch. But when Ainsley Jacobs sat in her memoir class with a professor she’d never had before, her life took an unexpected turn. She couldn’t get her well-dressed professor, Meredith Frenz, out of her head.
Meredith had lived a lonely yet comfortable life for the past fifteen years, and despite flings here and there, she had no desire to jump head first into a relationship, especially one with her student. Despite all her thwarted efforts, Meredith was determined to keep to herself and push Ainsley away.
Anyway…I also have a release on June 1, of Fallen from Grace (Spirit of Grace #2) because YAY! MORE GRACE! Grace through Redemption is currently with beta’s, meaning it’ll hopefully be out late this year or early next year.
I’m writing up short stories to go along with For by Grace. 5 in each bundle and 3 bundles. It’s an interesting experiment for me. I never thought I was very good at short stories and this is kind of proving that. Anyway. I have the first ones already out, the second ones are due on March 22 (and I haven’t even started yet, fast forward to today’s WIPpet), and the third bundle are due the first of May. I might be a bit insane by the time June is over.
I also just got edits back for Quarter Life: Unbound. My vampirey one? Yeah. I’m excited. I have a lot of revising to do, but it gets to see the like of day in October. Faye needs it. lol.
This leads me to WIPpet Wednesday. WIPpet Wednesday is where a bunch of us authorly types gets together, post something from our WIP (Work In Progress) for the rest of the world to see and then we cross pollinate and comment on everything. Each WIPpet has something to do with the date. Although, there is one exception to this rule. If you started something. Which I did, just a few minutes ago.
So you get the first 4 paragraphs of an Amya short story titled “Consult” which is in the second bundle of Amya’s Take-Out called Dignity Lost. P.S. I am never forcing myself to name this many things in one series again. Chapter numbers are fine from here on out.
Amya sat in her office and twiddled her thumbs. It had been an unending line of officers through her door for the past week and the silence was strong, chaotic and exactly what she needed. She lifted her hand and rubbed at the tension in the center of her chest, willing it to go away. Even Reyes being shot hadn’t been this bad. Davidson—that was a completely different story.
It may have easily been her hardest week at work ever, and not because of the topic at hand, but because of the time it took her to do it. It was as if the week suddenly spouted a whole extra hundred hours and she didn’t know where to put them or what to do with them. Sighing and rubbing her eyes, Amya listened to the happenings of her office.
Her secretary was out in the center office working on something. The click, click, click of her ridiculously long acrylic nails against the keyboard were enough to make Amya want to shut the door. Drawing in a deep breath, holding it in her chest, and letting it out slowly, Amya centered herself. She needed to be focused on God, on the next officer who walked through her door and the next moment when she had to once again hear how Davidson’s brains were blasted all over the ceiling of his cruiser.
She shook the image from her mind’s eye and swallowed hard. She’d seen it. Many of the other officers hadn’t. It was just a story passed along like the game telephone and each time someone new told it the story was more garbled, bloodier and worse than before. Amya knew they’d all be affected, but this obsession with the details of Davidson’s death were too much for her to bear.
And there you have it folks. If you’d like to join in WIPpet Wednesday, feel free. We’re open to all! Just make your post and head on over here to link it up to the rest of them.
Ack! I can imagine that would affect Amya for some time!
Congrats on all the progress and the publications! And I’m all for dialing down the social media. I rarely post more than 1-2 times a week, unless it’s a reblog that interests me. That’s a good amount that doesn’t take away too much of my writing time.
Well when I was writing I was able to keep up with the posting. But day job got insane. Last month I only had like 4 days off and this month looks to be a repeat. I can’t wait until I get vacation time
Wow. That last sentence of the second to last paragraph… my chest went tight. Well done. I certainly wouldn’t want to be Amya.
BTW, welcome back and HOLY CARP WHAT A MONTH YOU HAD! !!! Congrats, fist bumps, champagne corks flying.. the whole shebang!
Me either! I mean kinda because I would love to be a police chaplain but I wouldn’t want that image in my head.
Haha thanks! Insanity will ensue.
Well, I certainly think you DESERVE a break! Whoosh!
And poor Amya! What a situation; what a memory to carry.
Right?! This weekend. *crosses fingers*
Yeah. Poor Amya
I’ll cross anything that helps! =)
“It was as if the week suddenly spouted a whole extra hundred hours and she didn’t know where to put them or what to do with them.” Best line. Seriously.
That morbidity really spreads among cops, doesn’t it? It’s a coping mechanism that gets pretty rough on people who aren’t mentally/emotionally bent that way. My dad had some pretty awful jokes. (Of course, he also totally infected my sister and I with his twisted sense of humor.) Poor Amya.
Yeah. It’s a bad sense of humor to have.
You think so? I know it seems cold, but sometimes the choices boil down to laugh or break.
Yeah. I meant to add more to that then hit send too soon then I had board meeting and choir and a walk through of my house.
Anyway. It’s not healthy to cope that way only. And it’s bad to have that sense of humor when in the presence of people who don’t understand it.
Aaaaah. Okay. 🙂 Yeah. it needs to be kept in the circles where it does good rather than damage.
I can see why she’s having a hard time focusing in your WIP! And I love the title of your romance. The cover is great, too! Best wishes and congrats on getting in the anthologies. It’s good to have you back WIPpeting!
Yeah for sure. She’s got a lot on her plate.
It’s good to be back and thanks! There was a lot of debate over the title so thanks
That was intense. I could really feel the weight on her shoulders. How traumatic, too, but to then have to deal with it as a job and not just a personal experience? Rough.
Exactly. She’ll figure it out though I’m sure. =P
Poor Amya, Davidson’s death sounds really gruesome to begin with – and then to have people make it so much worse? Ugh!
Yeah. She needs Grace to show up unexpectedly. Oh! Idea!
Congrats on the anthology! Great description – I could feel the weight of the world on Amya’s shoulders.
Thanks and thanks!
Poor Amya, it sounds messy enough, being one of the ones to see it sounds almost unbearable. I love your description of her week, it sums up that kind of sudden chaos so perfectly.
Congratulations on your publications and progress! That’s a lovely cover too. 🙂