Looking Back on 2020....

Hmm... Well, this was certainly "A Year" wasn't it? Between politics, the pandemic, and the rollercoaster that is publishing, 2020 has not been a great year on a global scale. While I, too, had to deal with all of this stuff in my everyday life, I had an overall amazing year! And I'm reluctant to even type that because I know for so many, this year was truly awful. But because it's been so awful, I'm not going to feel bad about my accomplishments. If anything, we need more reasons to celebrate this year, so buckle in and let's take a look back on the year to see what I accomplished, what I didn't, and what big changes I faced in 2020.

My original 2020 goals included: 

(1) FINISH BOOKS 1 & 2 OF THE GEORGIA CORBINS SERIES

These books... I both love and hate them. LOL. They are very near to my heart, but I'm still really struggling with what direction to take them, so while I thought about them quite a bit this past year, I didn't actually open the docs and work on them. But that's okay. Maybe next year. 

(2) WRITE BOOKS 2 & 3 OF MY YA PARANORMAL ROMANCE SERIES

Bahahahahaha! Wow, has so much happened with this series! Originally, it was only supposed to be three books. That turned into four. Then six... All of which are now written. Four are now available for sale with the final two up for pre-order. 

(3) RESURRECT MY PEN NAME

For those who don't know, I write steamy New Adult and adult books under the name Lexi Lawton. After a surprising (and wonderful) email from my publisher, I found out they are re-investing in my books with some new marketing efforts, and I couldn't be more excited! So, I've revamped Lexi's website and social media, and I'm actively working on some new stuff for her. In the meantime, if you want to stay up-to-date, you can follow her (me) on social media: newsletter / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads / Amazon / AllAuthor / Bookbub. 

(4) OFFICIALLY LAUNCH FIRECHICKEN PRESS, LLC

I didn't just launch this with one book as I'd originally wanted to--I launched it with the entire Cursed Series! And I did so several months earlier than I'd expected, too, so that's been fun. 

(5) KEEP ON EDITING

I'm still with Anaiah, and I've still been editing. I don't foresee this changing any time soon. I also managed to snag a couple new freelance clients. 

(6) FIND MY PASSION

My official word and state of mind going into 2020 was passion. I wanted to find that spark again, to fall in love with writing and editing and life in general, and despite everything, I did. I'm exactly where I've always wanted to be in terms of loving what I do, and this is probably the best thing to have come out of 2020.

While I kicked butt with my goals this past year, so much more has happened that I never expected or planned for, so here's the quick rundown: 

Professionally: 

• I wrote a total of 680,227 words (!!!) That's the most I've ever written. 
• I blogged a total of 19,393 words.
• I released 6 books: Warped Remains, Perfectly Imperfect, Eternal Curse, Eternal Choice, Eternal Bond, and Eternal Love.
• I wrote approximately 5k of a spinoff from The Cursed Series.
• I rewrote the ending to Lexi's 3rd book (Resisting Ryder) and submitted it to the publisher for consideration. 
• I've re-signed with my former agent, Dawn Dowdle of Blue Ridge Literary Agency!! 
• I dove headfirst into self-publishing. 
• My book, Perfectly Imperfect, released as an audio book! And I've since started moving The Cursed Series into audio, too. 
• For Anaiah, I edited 8 full length novels and 5 novellas. 
• I freelance edited 6 manuscripts.
• I had professional author photos taken--finally! It's only been 10 years. LOL. 

Personally:

• I went on my dream vacation--A Caribbean cruise with my BFF, Emily!
• I survived an ongoing global pandemic without getting sick. Well, not any sicker than usual, anyway.
• Despite the gym closing, I managed to continuing working out on a regular basis -- thanks to my wonderful husband investing in an elliptical for me. 
• I maintained my weight loss from last year! In fact, I even managed to drop another couple of pounds. 
• Caught up on lots more TV... I finished the final season of The 100 (severely disappointed) then began a rewatch but stopped midway through season 4. I made it through every single episode of Supernatural, and then watched the finale with my daughter (when we both cried our eyes out). I watched the only season of V-Wars, Daybreakers, and The Society. Oh, and I watched Shadowhunters, too!
• My daughter is on track to graduate from high school early, and I've gone on a couple of college tours with her. I'm beyond excited that she's been accepted to her top choice. 
• My son, who does not do well with online learning, passed all of his classes this first semester, and he's on track to graduate next year, too!
• My other daughter got a new kitten. 
• Two of my girls have gotten first jobs this year--one at Subway and the other at Little Ceasers. 
• We got a new puppy on Christmas eve. Her name is Maggie May, and she's absolutely adorable.

I even managed to read a lot more this year than I normally do: 

• City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass, and City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
• Kissing the Wrong Twin by Christina Herrara
• Risen by Cole Gibsen
• Crave and Crush by Tracy Wolff
• Twin Souls by K.A. Poe
• Flight by Alyssa Rose Ivy
• Fading by Cindy Cipriano
• The Immortal Mark, The Immortal Truth, and The Immortal Bond by Amy Sparling
• Vampire Crush by A.M. Robinson
• The Vampire's Promise by Caroline B. Cooney
• Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer
• Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare
• Hex by Thomas Olde Huevelt
• Uncomfortable and Unavoidable by Nessa Page
• A Cowboy's Pride and Winning the Cowboy's Heart by Karen Rock
• The Country Vet by Eleanor Jones

Overall, it's been a pretty great year for me professionally, and I'm excited to see what I can accomplish in 2021. Stay tuned for my official goals post :-) In the meantime, tell me in the comments what YOU did this year! 

The Journey to Self-Publication, Part 1: Making the Choice

I've gotten quite a few questions about why I finally decided to delve into self-publishing and how I'm doing it, so I figured why not create a new blog series!

Every Monday, I'll be sharing a piece of the self-publishing puzzle---from how I came to this choice to writing, editing, marketing, sales, and everything in between. Please remember that this is simply my experience, how I chose to do things. Others do things differently, and that's fine! So, your mileage may vary, but in the end, I hope seeing yet another way of tackling self-publishing will help you on your path. 

I had started seriously considering self-publishing back in 2018 when I created my own company--FireChicken Press, LLC. Did I have to create an LLC? No, of course not. A lot of very successful Indie authors don't do this, but I knew once I started this self-publishing journey, I wanted to do it right. I wanted to make sure I was moving forward with this as a solid career choice and not as a fall-back option should I not make it in the traditional publishing world. And so, FireChicken Press (FCP) was created. 

But why did it take me two years to finally release a book via FireChicken Press? Well, lots of reasons. First, I was still scared. There was--and still is--a lot I don't know about self-publishing, things I needed to learn before I jumped in. I spent the last two years studying the market, watching how other successful Indie authors did things, reading everything I could find about publishing, talking to people, asking questions, writing the books (more about that later), and doing all the legwork to get FCP ready to go (more on that in next week's post). 

Secondly, I had no idea what book I wanted to self-publish first. It's no secret to anyone who follows me that I have way too many WIPs. Originally, I was going to start with my YA contemporary romance series, The Georgia Corbins, but I'm still not sure where I'm going with that series. But I was really getting into my YA paranormal romance series, The Cursed Series, so that's where my focus was.

When I began writing the first book, Eternal Curse, it was a project just for me, and I really had no intention of ever publishing it. But the deeper I got into the story, the more I fell in love, and I knew I wanted to share it with the world. After finishing book one, I went through the obligatory CP feedback and editing... so much editing... and the reactions I got were wholly positive! 

I thought, "Hmm, maybe this is the one that will snag me a new agent. It can't hurt to try!" 

Thus began a grueling 18 months in the query trenches. I got several requests, which all ultimately ended in rejections, but the feedback I got from those agents was very encouraging. They liked my writing, the voice, the twist at the end. 

During this time, I was very actively writing book two, which I finished, and then moved on to book three. The rejections continued to trickle in, but I began to realize something: I no longer cared! The rejections didn't bother me like they did when I'd first started querying. I still had quite a hefty list of agents I wanted to query, and once I'd exhausted those, I had a list of publishers I was going to try. 

But as I kept writing this series, I started to have those moments of panic. What if I did get an agent? What if they wanted me to change key aspects of the story? What if they only want 2 or 3 books, and I'm planning 4 or 5? What if I get an agent and it sells to a publisher and they want big, massive changes? Would I be willing to make them? 

The answer was a firm, resounding NO! 

Please don't mistake that answer as my unwillingness to edit my books. That's far from the case. In fact, I've edited book 1 so many times I've lost count. Ha! But I knew there were key elements in my book that I didn't want to remove, plot points and characters that I explore in more depth as the series progresses. In book three, I completely turn everything on its head, and I'm not willing to change what happens. I want complete and total control over this series. 

And it was that realization that finally solidified my decision to self-publish. I withdrew any outstanding queries I had, never sent another one, and I haven't looked back since. 

I guess my one takeaway from this post is this: Make the decision to self-publish for YOU! Do it because it's something you truly want to do. Once I made my choice, I felt so much lighter, like I had all this freedom to do what I wanted to do, to write the books the way I wanted to write them so that I was able to tell the story I wanted to tell. 

Come back next week when I'll be talking about creating an LLC and all the other stuff that goes along with that. 

Got questions? Drop them in the comments. 

GOALS: 2020

It's my favorite time of year again!!! GOALS!!! I love setting goals, and I'm more excited than ever this year because there are some big things happening, and with me in much better health, I'm going to hit 2020 hard! So, let's do this.

WRITE Until My Fingers Fall Off!

Okay, so maybe that's a bit dramatic--LOL--but I do want to get back into a steady writing habit, and in doing so, I hope to finish a few projects and/or start some new ones. Here is the official list of books I'm going to attempt to finish writing this year:

1. The Georgia Corbins, Book 1. I swear this book is on my goals list every single year, and I'm determined not to let it still be here come 2021. Haha! I have a large portion of this book already written, so it really just needs a final revision.

2. The Georgia Corbins, Book 2. I have a complete draft of this written that will need to be heavily revised to be consistent with the changes to book 1, so I plan to do that this year.

3.  Eternal Bond. This is the sequel to Eternal Curse, a young adult paranormal romance.

4.  Eternal Regret. This is the third book in my young adult paranormal romance series. I don't expect to finish it, but I'd like to at least get started on it.

Resurrect My Pen Name 

A few years ago, I'd written and published a couple of secular New Adult books under a pen name. For anyone who's been around this blog for any amount of time, you know that things didn't work out so well for me with that deal--at no fault of anyone! Sometimes, things just don't work out. That's the nature of publishing, and life in general. So, after some time away and a lot of reflection, I've decided I'm going to bring back this pen name. I'm going to release the third book in the series that wasn't published by the publisher, and I have a romantic suspense series I'm going to work on. (Please be aware that under this name, I write stuff that is not Christian; in fact, it's rather steamy, so if that's not your thing, feel free to stick to my Kara books.)

Officially launch FireChicken Press, LLC

I have a "work-in-progress" website for FireChicken Press, LLC (FCP, LLC). I'd like to release, at the very least, one book under FireChicken Press in 2020. I'm aiming for FCP's debut release to be sometime in late September or early October with Eternal Curse, The Cursed Series: Book One. 

On this specific topic--my husband and I have purchased the (small) house directly across the street from us, and it will become the official office space for both FireChicken Press, LLC and my husband's company, JMT, LLC. Stay tuned in the next couple of months of pictures and updates. I'd love to host a small, weekend writer's retreat there this summer.

Keep On Editing

I'm still with Anaiah Press, and so I'll continue to edit, but this year, I'd like to be a bit more consistent and aim for about one manuscript a month. I've also got a couple repeat freelance clients that I'll continue to edit for---I'm looking at you, Kat and Katie! :-)

Passion: Loving Life and What I Do

Last year, my focus was on persistence, and while that didn't apply too much to my writing life, it helped immensely with my personal life and weight loss journey. This year, though, I'm going to focus on passion--for writing, editing, family, friends, and life in general. If I'm not happy doing something, I'm simply not going to do it anymore. What's the point, right? Life is much too short to spend it being miserable.

What will you accomplish in 2020? 

Long-awaited Updates and Publishing News!

I'm horrible about blogging regularly, so I've stopped trying. LOL. I figure I'll just post when I have something to say, so here I am, finally ready to talk about some stuff.

First, thank you to everyone who's reached out to me since my last post--back in May when I shared my fibromyalgia diagnosis. I'm happy to report that I'm feeling FANTASTIC! The meds have been working wonders. The constant pain and fatigue are rare nowadays, so that's great. I've been committing to the Keto lifestyle--not because I necessarily wanted to, but because I've learned through trial and error that eating too may carbs causes a flare-up. Eating a keto diet helps manage the pain, along with going to the gym regularly, which I'm actually starting to enjoy.

via GIPHY

A nice "side-effect" of all this is that I've lost almost 40 pounds and have dropped 3 sizes. Overall, I have more energy and am excited about life again. Oh, and I've started writing again, too...

The book I co-wrote with David Jemal, WARPED REMAINS, is releasing via Anaiah Press on October 22, 2019. Keep an eye out here and on my social media for more updates on this, including the cover reveal.

Remember my book, The Georgia Corbins? Well, I've been busy rewriting it, and I'm excited to announce that book 1 will be released via Anaiah Press in May 2020 with book 2 to follow in November 2020 :-)

I'm also busy working on a ton of other projects, and I'll share more about those later.

That's all for now. Have a great week!

Going in a New Direction

As you can see, the blog has gotten a face lift. So has my website. Why? Well, because I've made another decision about my career. I know, I'm doing a lot of this lately. I'm still planning to write young adult--that hasn't changed, and it won't in the foreseeable future. However, I'm firmly committing myself to Christian YA, specifically contemporary.

I've been working in this market for years, and I had mentioned in my 2019 Goals post that I'm reworking my Georgia Corbins series into Christian fiction, so this decision really isn't that big of a leap for me. I also started a new book on January 1st--another contemporary Christian YA romance--and I passed 33,000 words yesterday. The story is flowing! Once it's beta read, revised, and edited, I'll begin querying Christian agents.

So, what does this mean for my paranormal romance? Nothing. While it's not Christian fiction, it is "clean" in that there's no cursing, excessive violence, or sex. And my main character does believe in God and heaven, so it certainly has Christian undertones. I'm still waiting for replies from the agents who have it, and if they choose to offer rep, I'll do my due diligence and make a decision that I feel is best for my career. If they all reject, that's okay, too. I'll release it via FireChicken Press.

A heartfelt thanks to everyone who has stuck around through all my ups and downs and direction changes. I wouldn't be where I am without each and every one of you :-)

Stay tuned for upcoming publishing news!

New Year's Goals: 2019

via GIPHY

It's that time of year again!!! GOALS!!! I love setting goals. So, I won't even waste anymore time on anything else. Let's do this.

Finish What I've Started

After taking an inventory of my current half-started projects, I have a lot of stuff to finish. There's also a couple of series not included in my tally that I'd like to finally complete. So, here is the official list of books I'm going to attempt to finish writing this year:

1. The Georgia Corbins, Book 1. I started a total rewrite of this in November 2018, and I've been steadily making progress. I have less than 30K left to write, which will easily be completed by the end of January. While it still has all the same characters, the plot is taking a slight detour away from the original love triangle and it will now have a present faith element. My plan is to publish the entire series via Anaiah Press.

2. The Georgia Corbins, Book 2. I have a complete draft of this written that will need to be heavily revised to be consistent with the changes to book 1, so I plan to do that this year.

3. The Georgia Corbins, Book 3. This is a maybe at this point, because I'm not even sure there will be a book three now. It will all depend on what happens in the first two books.

4. Eternal Bond. This is the sequel to Eternal Curse, a young adult paranormal romance.

5. Untitled, unknown project. Okay, so an editor who rejected my paranormal romance said she loves my voice (which, for you non-writers reading this, that's a HUGE compliment) and that she feels I'm very well-suited to writing YA. She then asked if I had other projects I could pitch to her. So I did. If she likes any of them, I will focus on working on whatever she wants. And, if she doesn't like anything I pitch, I have a super-fun new Christian YA that I'll work on.

Officially launch FireChicken Press, LLC

I have a "work-in-progress" website for FireChicken Press, LLC (FCP, LLC). I'd like to release, at the very least, one book under FireChicken Press in 2019. Right now, it's looking like it will be a YA thriller I'd co-written a couple years ago, but that could very well change depending on what happens with other things.

Read and Blog

These two items are always on my goals list, but this year, I'm combining them because I've decided to be better about reviewing the books I've read. So, as you'll see across the top of this blog, I've added a new tab: BOOK CRAVINGS. This is where I'll be sharing all my bookish thoughts.

Persistence: Slow & Steady

Last year, my focus was on staying positive. While I'm sad to admit I didn't adhere to that as much as I would have liked, there were key moments when I did cling to positive thoughts to get me through. I will continue to do that this year, too, but I'm adding persistence as well. What many of you don't know is that I'm very hard on myself. If I don't write "all the words" every day, I feel like I've somehow failed. So, in 2019, I'm giving myself permission to do less more consistently. Instead of binge writing 5k in a single day and then not writing for a week after, I'm going to pace myself -- 2k a day everyday. After all, slow and steady wins the race, right?

What will you accomplish in 2019? 

Share your goals in the comments!

Looking Back on 2018

I'm not gonna lie... 2018 kicked my ass! I'm pretty sure everyone feels this way in terms of the state of politics in the world, but beyond that, on a much more personal and professional level, this has been a very not good year for me. I'm really optimistic about 2019, though. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's take a look back on the year and see what I accomplished, what I didn't, and what big changes I faced in 2018.

So, my original 2018 goals included: 

(1) Finish Eternal Curse, the first book in my YA paranormal romance series.

Status: GOAL MET!!

My Thoughts: Not only did I finish this book, it made the rounds with several beta readers, and I revised the heck out of it. I'm SO pleased with how this book turned out, and I cannot wait to share it with the world. 

(2) Write the sequel to Eternal Curse.

Status: GOAL KINDA MET

My Thoughts: I wrote almost 25k of the sequel, currently titled Eternal Bond, and then I stopped because I wasn't sure what was going to happen with book one. I didn't want to get too far into the sequel only to find out I needed to change a lot of stuff. I do have a clear idea of where the story is going now, though, and so now it's just a matter of writing it. 

(3) Write Meet Me at the Mistletoe, a sweet Christmas romance novella for the Christian market.

Status: GOAL NOT MET

My Thoughts: This project is temporarily shelved while I focus on building my YA brand.

(4) Finish Deception, the first book in a new Christian romantic suspense series. 

Status: GOAL NOT MET

My Thoughts: This project has also been temporarily shelved while I focus on building my YA brand.

(5) Take an inventory of all my half-started YA projects and see if any of them are worth salvaging.

Status: GOAL MET!!!

My Thoughts: Out of 9 started projects, there are 6 of them I think are worthy of pursuing, some of which will possibly be co-written with other authors. 

(6) Query something.

Status: GOAL MET!!

My Thoughts: I sent my first query for Eternal Curse in February, and I've been working at it all year. I've racked up a lot of rejections, but I'm happy to report I have one full and one partial still out with agents. *Fingers crossed* 

(7) Keep on Bloggin'

Status: GOAL KINDA MET

My Thoughts: There were some weeks when I was really on top of this, but not as much as I would have liked. 

(8) Read

Status: GOAL MET!!

My Thoughts: I'm please with how much I've read this year, which is much more than in past years. Here's what I knocked off my TBR in 2018:

• Camp So-and-So by Mary McCoy
• Evernight by Claudia Gray
• One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus
• The Leaving by Tara Altebrando
• There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins
• We All Fall Down by Natalie D. Richards
• One Was Lost by Natalie D. Richards
• The Cellar by Natasha Preston
• You Will Be Mine by Natasha Preston
• The Cabin by Natasha Preston
• Gone Too Far by Natalie D. Richards
• Survive the Night by Danielle Vega
• Six Months Later by Natalie D. Richards
• Campfire by Shawn Sarles
• The Escape by Hannah Jayne
• All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda
• Something About Forever by Kimberly Loth
• Bloodlust & Initiation (Vampire Beach 1 and 2)by Alex Duval
• Ritual & Legacy (Vampire Beach 2 and 3) by Alex Duval
• Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles
• Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles
• Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles
• I'll Be Yours by Jenny B. Jones

Out of 8 goals, I fully achieved four, kinda achieved two, and completely flaked on two. Those numbers could be worse--and they have been in past years. lol. In addition to all of that, there were a lot of other things I accomplished, both professionally and personally...

PROFESSIONALLY:

• I wrote a total of 135,844 words on various projects.
• Between here and the Anaiah Press blog, I blogged a total of 11,941 words.
• For Anaiah, I edited 7 full-length novels and 3 novellas.
• I freelance edited 3 full-length manuscripts.
• I beta read 3 full-length manuscripts. 
• I created and legally formed FireChicken Press, LLC, which is my personal self-publishing company.
• I returned to working on my YA contemporary romance series, The Georgia Corbins, and have finally made a publishing decision on that. (More to come on that in my 2019 Goals post)
• I've outlined a couple new YA projects/ideas. 

PERSONALLY:

• In January, I saw Black Veil Brides in concert with my oldest daughter for her birthday. I'm now a diehard fan of them, and they almost single-handedly fuel the playlist for my paranormal series! 
• In October, I saw Twenty-one Pilots in concert again with my daughter and her friend.
• Also in October, I saw Luke Bryan for the very first time! *internal squealing*
• In November, I saw The Thunder From Down Under. 
• I made a couple visits to NY to see my parents. 
• My parents came to MI in November to celebrate Thanksgiving and early Christmas with us. 
• I got a little red sports car! 

Despite the fact I didn't publish a single thing in 2018, and I didn't snag an agent, I accomplished much more than I realized. I'm calling this a pretty good year overall. 

What did you do this past year?

Share your success in the comments! 

New Year's Goals: 2017

It's that time of year again! GOALS TIME! I actually really look forward to this every year. I love setting goals. It gives me direction and keeps me accountable. But, I have a bad habit of going overboard. A close, trusted friend recently told me I needed to scale back a little and stop trying to do "All The Things All The Time." I'm going to take his advice this year and set fewer goals, and if I achieve more than what I list, great! And if I don't, that's okay, too. So, without further ado, here are my 2017 goals...

WRITE UNTIL MY FINGERS FALL OFF!

1. If my editor likes my book proposal and decides to contract it, then I'll be writing Deceiving Devon (working title, subject to change), which is a spin-off to the Collins Brothers Series.

2. Finish Savage Passion (Midnight Rebels, Book 1) and allow my agent to start sending it out on submission.

3. Outline the entire Midnight Rebels Series--which, right now, is looking like it could be 7 or 8 books total.

4. Complete the R&R for The Georgia Corbins.

5. Finish Hallowed Ground (Graves Barren, Book 1), my YA Gothic romance, and send to agents or possibly my editor at Entangled.

KEEP ON BLOGGIN'

Yup, this is on my goal's list. Again. But I won't be blogging here. I'll be blogging once or twice a week / month over on the Anaiah Press blog, where I'll share writing, editing, querying, and publishing advice. So be sure to head on over and follow along.

READ

Because of my busy writing and editing schedule, reading for pleasure usually falls to the wayside. I did better with this goal in 2016, and I'd like to keep it up in 2017. But this year, I'm going to keep track of what I read and share it with everyone at the end of the year so I can shout about my favorites!

What are your goals for 2017? Share in the comments or link to your goals list :-) 

{TEASER TUESDAY}: Torn, Chapter One

In celebration of an awesome cover reveal yesterday (a huge thank you to everyone who posted, shared and tweeted. Your support means the world to me!) and because today is Teaser Tuesday.... I give you the complete first chapter of TORN: THE GEORGIA CORBINS, Book 1

~ Chapter 1~

Levi Corbin

I sat at the lab table directly behind Ali Philips and Brody Nash. My jaw clenched as I listened to them beg Mrs. Dolgen to let them be lab partners. Were they dating? The thought made my stomach sink to the floor. So much had changed since I’d last been in Haldeen, almost three years ago now.

I looked around the room without making eye contact with anyone. Immediately, I noticed Shelby Blake. My heart ached with guilt at the thought of poor Ali fending for herself against the likes of Shelby. Although, if Ali was in fact dating Brody, then I had to assume Shelby was leaving Ali alone. Everyone always bowed to Brody and what he wanted. He was the type of guy every other guy wanted to be friends with and every girl wanted to date. I just never thought Ali would be one of those girls.

My gaze settled back on Ali. Her golden blonde hair stopped in the middle of her back. When I’d left, her hair had been short, a pixie cut she’d called it. I definitely liked it better now. Her long, tanned legs were showcased by the denim skirt that hugged her hips. A fitted, short-sleeved shirt clung to her torso, and brown cowboy boots came up to the bottom of her calves. I let my gaze rake up her body and down again, lingering on the spot where the hem of her skirt met her bare legs. She shifted, leaned forward on the lab table, and I fought to stifle a groan. 

“I must be going blind. Is that Levi Corbin I see sitting back there?”

I looked toward the sound of my name. Jimmie Allen walked toward me. He hadn’t changed a bit since I’d last seen him. His large head was still covered with jet black hair, and his eyes were still a size too small for his face.

“Hey Jimmie,” I said. And then, all at once, all eyes were on me. Perfect.

“Mr. Vincent, you’re late. Please take a seat and stop disrupting my class,” Mrs. Dolgen said.

“Yes, ma’am.” Jimmie Allen took the seat next to me. “So, what dragged you back to little ‘ole Haldeen?”

“Stuff.” I shifted my gaze back to Ali, hoping Jimmie Allen would get the hint I didn’t want to talk. She had turned around. One hand was propped on the lab table and the other on her cocked hip. Against my better instincts, I met her stare and swallowed the lump in my throat. “Hey, Al.”

I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. She was stunning. Al had gone and grown up on me. She turned around without saying anything, and I knew she was angry. I couldn’t blame her.

Mrs. Dolgen closed the classroom door and cleared her throat. She wrote an equation on the board and then turned to face the class. “Page two seventy of your lab books, problems seven through fifteen.”

A collective groan rippled through the room.

“I could give you a few more problems to work on if you’d like.” The room quieted, and the only sound was of Mrs. Dolgen’s heels clicking against the tiled floor as she made her way toward the back of the room. “Mr. Corbin, please come get a book.”

I stood and retrieved the lab book Mrs. Dolgen held out to me. When I turned to go back to my seat, I caught Ali staring at me. I smiled, hoping maybe she would finally talk to me, but she quickly averted her gaze. I sat down next to Jimmie Allen, opened the book, and looked over the assigned problems.

“Shut up.” Ali giggled and bumped her hip against Brody’s.

The sound of her laugh drew my attention, and I scowled at the sight of them whispering, of Brody putting his arm around Ali’s waist and drawing her closer to him.

“I’ll do the first half of these if you want to do the second half,” Jimmie Allen said.

I tore my gaze from Ali and gave my attention to the task at hand, but concentration was difficult when every so often, she would laugh. And I swore if Brody touched her one more time…

“Brody, don’t you dare!” Ali said.

“Ali and Brody, do we have a problem?” Mrs. Dolgen’s shrill voice cut through the room.

“No, ma’am,” they chimed in unison.

“Good. Let’s keep it that way.”

I refocused my attention back on the problems in front of me and breezed through them rather easily, but my thoughts once again drifted to Ali. I had to talk to her, try to make her understand. If she would just let me apologize, things could go back to the way they used to be.

“So, Levi,” Brody turned to face me, “is Tucker back, too?”

What kind of dumbass question was that? “Of course he is.” I noticed the way Ali hung her head, and her shoulders slumped. Talk about an odd reaction. I thought for sure she’d be happy to see us again.

The bell rang, and Ali was out of the room before I could even close my book. I rushed out after her, but by the time I made my way into the hallway, it was crowded and hard to find her. When I finally did spot her, I didn’t waste any time going to her. 

I cautiously approached where she stood at her locker. I reached out to touch her, but thought better of it and clenched my hand into a fist, dropping it to my side. “Hey, Al, got a minute?”

She spun around and faced me, anger blazing behind her blue eyes. “I’m sorry, do I know you?”

Ouch, that was harsh. “I guess I deserved that.”

Ali looked away, refusing to acknowledge my presence.

“Look, Al, I’m real sorry. Can you please let me explain?” My heart thundered in my ears. I had no idea what I’d do if she didn’t let me explain.

“I’ve been waiting two years. This had best be good.” She clutched her books to her chest and tapped her foot, the rhythm of her impatience spurring me on.

I took a deep, shaky breath and licked my lips. “Dad wouldn’t let us visit. He said he didn’t want to worry about cleaning up after our trouble making ways.”

“And your Momma wouldn’t let you use the phone? Or did you just forget how?”

I cringed. Had she always been this feisty? “I have no excuse for that.” I shoved my hands in my pockets so I wouldn’t be tempted to touch her and stared at the ground. “I’m sorry, Al.” God, I was royally messing this up.

“And what’s Tucker’s excuse?” She shifted her weight, her eyebrows drawing together in a scowl.

“He doesn’t have one either.”

“I gotta get to class.” She turned her back on me again and proceeded to walk away.

“Ali!”

She stopped cold and stood there with her head down and her back still to me. Everything felt like it was in slow motion, the sounds of students going to class dulled to a barely audible hum.  I’d never called her Ali before. For as long as I’d known her, she had always been just Al, one of the boys. But now, standing there, staring at the back of her, she was no longer one of the boys. It was a hard truth for me to swallow, but one I couldn’t deny. Slowly, she lifted her head and continued to walk away. I watched until she disappeared into the crowd.

Well, that hadn’t gone as I’d hoped. I’d give her some time to adjust to the shock of seeing me, and then I’d try to talk to her again. She couldn’t stay mad at me forever, could she? I checked my schedule and realized my next class was English Lit. It wasn’t my favorite, but if I got lucky, Ali would be in class with me again.

I made my way toward room one sixteen. The room was full when I arrived, and the only empty seat was next to Shelby Blake. She was the last person I wanted to spend an hour and forty-five minutes with. Just the sight of her sleek black hair, dark eyes, and oblong face made me sick. She was single handedly responsible for so much trouble and drama. I looked around to make sure I hadn’t missed another empty seat. No such luck. I sighed and took the seat beside her.

“Hey there, Levi.” Shelby turned in her seat and crossed her legs.

“Hi.”

“Your return is the talk of the school ya know?”

“Yup.” Did she think I didn’t know? Or that I cared? There was only one thing on my mind: Ali. I had to make things right with her. Even though I’d missed her every minute of every day I’d been in California, I had liked living there. Ali was the only reason returning to Haldeen was bearable. And now she wouldn’t even speak to me.

“So, why did y’all come back?” Shelby snapped her gum.

“Wanted to.”

“I noticed Ali ain’t talking to you. That’s a switch.” She blew a large bubble and popped it loudly.

I really just wanted her to shut up. Then a thought struck me. If Ali wouldn’t talk to me, Shelby would. “Is she dating Brody Nash?”

Shelby flung her head back and laughed. “No, but it ain’t for a lack of trying on Brody’s part. That boy has been chasing her since the day she dumped him.”

Relief washed through me until the rest of Shelby’s answer settled in my mind. So, Ali and Brody had dated, but no longer were. Interesting. Why had Ali broken up with Brody? The question was on the tip of my tongue, but I didn’t want to talk to Shelby any longer. I knew how she operated. I’d ask a few innocent questions, and she’d twist my words around and start a nasty rumor. She’d done it to Ali more than once, and I wasn’t about to give her an opportunity to do it again.

“I heard she hooked up with Jimmie Allen over spring break, though.”

I glared at Shelby. Ali and Jimmie Allen? Was Shelby lying? I didn’t know if she was telling the truth or not, but on the slim chance she was being honest, I was going to make a point to have a chat with Jimmie Allen. The second bell rang, and I sighed with relief. At least I wouldn’t have to listen to Shelby run her mouth anymore.

Copyright 2015, Kara Leigh Miller

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

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{COVER REVEAL} Torn

TODAY'S THE DAY!!!! TODAY. IS. THE. DAY!!!! Can ya tell I'm a little excited??

Gah! I've been waiting soooo long to share this with everyone. Seriously, I commissioned this cover (and the other two in the series) almost a year ago, and I've been sitting on them, waiting for the perfect time to unleash them. And now I finally can. WOO HOO!!!

All right, without further jumping around and squealing from me, which I'm sure you don't want to witness any longer... here's the brand spanking new cover...

TORN (The Georgia Corbins, Book 1) -- Coming May 3, 2016

Cover art courtesy of Eden Plantz

Two years ago, Alison "Ali" Philips watched her two best friends  -- Levi and Tucker Corbin -- pack up and move away from the only home they'd ever known. Being apart is difficult enough, but going years without so much as a phone call or email from either of the brothers was heartbreaking for Ali. But life goes on, and Ali learns to slowly pick up the pieces of her life and mend the hole they left in her heart. She's doing pretty dang well, too. Until she comes face-to-face with Levi Corbin during Monday morning Physics lab.

The pain of being left behind still stings, but seeing the boys makes her want to go back to the way things were. Unfortunately for her, they've returned with only one thing on their minds: Winning Ali's heart. Ali soon finds herself in the middle of a love triangle she never intended to be a part of. As she tries to reclaim the friendships she's lost, unfamiliar feelings begin to stir. It's time to make a decision, one that will forever change all their lives: Levi or Tucker Corbin?

Ali is only certain of one thing -- She can't have one Corbin boy without losing the other.

ADD TO GOODREADS

I can't wait to get this book into your hands, and I hope you'll all love these Corbin boys as much as I do. To celebrate, I'm offering a $15 Amazon gift card to one lucky person. Enter the giveaway below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GOALS CHECK: January 2016

Last year, I wrote out all my goals and then didn't look back on them until it was time to write new ones. This year, I want to hold myself more accountable, so the last day of each month, I'm going to do a Goals Check post to see how I'm doing. I'm pretty sure no one but me actually cares about this, but writing it down publicly makes me more likely to follow through with what I said I was going to do. So, here goes...


Goal: Finish Book 2 of The Hayden Falls Saga (the sequel to Death of a Waterfall)
Status: Still Unfinished

Goal: Finish Book 3 of The Hayden Falls Saga
Status: Still Unfinished

Goal: Finish Tainted: The Georgia Corbins, Book 3
Status: Still Unfinished

Goal: Finish Savage Passion
Status: On Hold -- This was originally a planned book 2 of a series that I was rewriting to become book 1 of a new series. However, I recently had rights reverted to book 1 so now I'm going to revert Savage Passion back to book 2 IF book 1 sells. I'm happy to say the full of book 1 is with another editor at a publisher that I would love to work with. So, fingers crossed!! As soon as I get word on book 1, I'll revisit this goal an see what I want / need to do with Savage Passion.

Goal: Finish Warped Remains
Status: On Hold -- Due to my co-authors current schedule, we've decided to wait on this project until we're both ready to give it the time it deserves. He's very busy with college classes, which is super important so I'm really okay with this choice.

Goal: Finish Hallowed Ground (Graves Barren, Book 1)
Status: Half-Finished -- When I added this to my goals list, I was sitting at 35k words. I'm now at 57k words :) I also: outlined the rest of the book so I know exactly where it's going, created an agent query list, wrote the query letter and synopsis.

Goal: Finish Eternally Bound (The Restani Clan, Book 1)
Status: Still Unfinished

Goal: Finish The First Snowfall
Status: Still Unfinished

Goal: Finish Resistance (the sequel to Inferno)
Status: Still Unfinished

Goal: Get Creative and come up with some new ideas for my agent
Status: On-going -- I have come up with TWO new ideas. One is a romantic suspense series that will follow the same couple through two (maybe three) books and deals with WITSEC (the federal witness protection program). The other idea is a collaboration with Jody Holford (my co-author of Dangerous Love and Jaded Love).  This is a contemporary romance that I'm SO excited about. I promise more details will come soon.

Goal: Do one or more things every day to promote me and my books.
Status: On-going -- I haven't done something every single day, but I have been much better about sharing my books. Plus, with a new release on the horizon, I am getting out there more.

Goal: Find and join a new writers group.
Status: Half-finished! I located a local writers group that meets once a month. I have not attended a meeting yet. My daughter has been visiting from NY, so my time has been better spent with her. But I will check things out in February.

Goal: Keep bloggin'
Status: On-going -- I have been pretty good about posting weekly this month, and I hope I can continue throughout the year. In an effort to motivate myself, I even joined the A to Z Blogging Challenge!


I know it seems as though I haven't done much work toward my goals, but I have been busy. I completed two freelance jobs this month, read three manuscripts for developmental edits, along with helping fellow writer, Tiffany Hoffman, get her new writing contest organized and running. Unfortunately, due to personal reasons (good reasons), I am no longer involved with the contest.

Here's to wishing everyone a successful and productive February! 

New Year's Goals: 2016

It's that time of year again! GOALS TIME! I actually really look forward to this every year. I love setting goals. It gives me direction and keeps me accountable. I'm declaring 2016 the year of finishing unfinished projects. And I don't necessarily mean writing subsequent books to complete a series, but rather finishing books that are only half-finished. Trust me, I have a LOT of them!

So, without further ado, here are my 2016 goals...

WRITE, WRITE, and WRITE SOME MORE!

1.  Finish writing book 2 of The Hayden Falls Saga (the sequel to Death of a Waterfall) -- I'm currently 30k into this, and I'm aiming for a word count of 75 or 80k. Then I'm going to send it to my publisher and hopefully release it sometime in 2016.

2.  Finish writing book 3 of The Hayden Falls Saga -- I have a very rough draft of this that's about 20k. It needs a lot of work, but I'm confident once I get book 2 finished, book 3 will come easily. Then I'll send it to my publisher and hopefully release it sometime in 2016.

3. Finish Tainted: The Georgia Corbins, Book 3 -- At this point, my plan is to self-publish this series, but as with even the best laid plans, things happen. However, I'm intent on finishing this series and getting it back out into the world. 

4. Finish Savage Passion and get it sent to my agent -- This is the first in a new planned series. It's an intense, highly erotic romantic suspense that's my personal nod to a couple of my favorite authors: Lora Leigh and Julie Ann Walker. I should add that I have a complete 60k draft of this book. So I only need to smooth out the edges and write the ending. 

5. Finish Warped Remains -- a YA thriller that I'm co-writing with David Jemal. We have less than 10k to finish this up, and then we plan to begin querying agents with it. 

6. Finish Hallowed Ground (Graves Barren, Book 1) -- This is a paranormal YA that currently has 35k words. Once finished, I *think* I'm going to try querying agents with it. My lovely agent, sadly, doesn't sell much YA. I would love to place it with her as I trust her, but I'm grateful she was honest with me about her abilities to sell or not sell certain genres. 

7. Finish Eternally Bound (The Restani Clan, Book 1) -- This is an adult paranormal (vampires) that has 29k words. 

8. Finish The First Snowfall -- This is an erotic thriller / horror novella that currently has 19k words.

9. Finish Resistance (the sequel to Inferno) -- Considering Inferno and its prequel, Dominick, are due out later in 2016, David and I really need to get crackin' on finishing book 2. Thankfully, we've already got a good start on it. 

**SIDE NOTE** You're probably wondering why I've got so many unfinished projects. I often wonder the same thing myself. Here's the reason: I come up with an idea and I get really excited and immediately start writing it. I get anywhere between 25 - 35K written, and then I'm hit with a new idea that won't get out of my head. So, I put one project aside and start in on the new one. And then the process repeats itself. It's a viscous cycle. lol. 

You're also probably wondering how on earth I'm going to finish all of these in a mere 12 months. Honestly, I'm wondering the same thing! Just seeing this list is daunting, but if I can even accomplish half this list, I'll be more than happy. 

GET CREATIVE!

I want to come up with some new book ideas. (I know, like I need anymore. lol) Lately, a majority of my ideas seem to be within the YA category, which is great. I love writing YA. Unfortunately, my agent signed me for ADULT books, and therefore I'd like to brainstorm some ideas for a few new adult romances that I can write for her eventually. 

BEG PEOPLE TO LIKE ME!

Okay, so I'm not going to actually beg people to like me or be my friend, but I do need to work on my self promotion....

1. Do one (or more) things every single day to promote myself and my books, both in person and online. 

2.  Find and join a local writers group. I have a fantastic online support group, but there's nothing like being able to meet real people in real life and talk writing with them, to exchange work and ideas. 

KEEP ON BLOGGIN'

I swear, this is on my goals list every year. This year, my goal is one quality blog post a month, probably on Mondays so I can utilize the #MondayBlogs hashtag on Twitter. (That's a great tag. You should really check it out!) I would also like to do a #TeaserTuesday every week. With all those half finished books I'll be working on, I'll certainly have enough material to share!

What are your goals for 2016? Share in the comments or link to your own blog post about it! I love to see what everyone is aiming to accomplish :) 

Looking Back on 2015...

As 2015 comes to an end and the world prepares to welcome 2016, it's once again time to look back on the year and see what I accomplished, what I didn't, and what big changes I faced in 2015. To read my full 2015 goals post, click HERE!

My 2015 Goals Included:

1. Revise the sequel to The Georgia Corbins. 

Status: GOAL MET!

My thoughts: I've been able to revise this sequel and even get it beta read, so it's in good shape and is now awaiting a new home. I'd also like to note that I completely renamed the entire series as follows:
Torn: The Georgia Corbins, Book 1
Tempted: The Georgia Corbins, Book 2
Tainted: The Georgia Corbins, Book 3

2. Revise Fiery Lotus, the sequel to Deadly Orchid

Status: GOAL NOT MET 

My thoughts: In a long, complicated turn of events, I've decided to completely rework this novel and make it the first book in a new series. The new title is now Savage Passion, and I'll be finishing it up and sending it to my agent in early 2016. This will be an adult romantic suspense series with erotic elements.

3. Outline the third book in the Georgia Corbins series. 

Status: GOAL NOT MET

My thoughts; Although I didn't get an outline written, I did start writing it, so that's something! I have a very loose idea of where the story is going.

4. Outline a new YA paranormal with an entirely new species of characters.

Status: GOAL MET!

My thoughts: Not only did I get this book outline, I created a full series bible for it with really badly drawn maps and family trees. Additionally, I started writing it!! I'm 35,000 words into it, and I've titled it: Hallowed Ground (Graves Barren, Book 1)

5. Outline an epic romance that will break all the rules of the genre. 

Status: GOAL NOT MET

My thoughts: I'll be honest, I've completely lost steam on this book and have decided to shelf this idea for the time being. Maybe I'll revisit it in a few years when I finish some other things.

6. Outline a YA paranormal with angels and demons. 

Status: GOAL NOT MET

My thoughts: Like the project in #5, I've decided to shelf this idea as well for the time being.

7. Outline Broken Love, the third book in the Mending Hearts Series that I'm co-writing with Jody Holford.

Status: GOAL NOT MET

My thoughts: I think this is the hardest one to admit I didn't accomplish, and not because it was something I didn't do, but rather because Jody and I have decided not to write this book together. I assure you, it has nothing to do with our friendship or with our publisher, but rather with the fact that we're both in such different places now than we were two years ago when we started writing together, and unfortunately, other deadlines and commitments have made it so neither of us have time to write this book. It's very sad :( Maybe sometime in the future, we can write together again.

8. Outline Blood Blossom, the third book to Deadly Orchid.

Status: GOAL NOT MET

My thoughts; Due to my choice to rework this series (see #2 above), I haven't even touched this book.

9. Write Resistance, the sequel to Inferno.

Status: GOAL NOT MET

My thoughts: Okay, so my co-author, David Jemal, and I hit a little snag with this series. It was originally set to release in July 2015, but due to creative differences with the publisher, we had to step back and regroup. We've recently found a new publisher for it, and will hopefully see it in print in 2016. I am happy to say we did manage to write close to 25,000 words on this sequel. AND, we wrote a 28,000 prequel as well. So, this is a "win" in my book.

10. Write Jaded Love, the spin off to Dangerous Love.

Status: GOAL MET!

My thoughts: Woo hoo!!!! I'm happy to say this book is done and set to release in February 2016!

11. Write a prequel to The Georgia Corbins.

Status: GOAL MET!

My thoughts: When I originally set this goal, I estimated a word count of approximately 24,000 words. I didn't quite hit that goal, but it came in right around 20k, so I'm happy with that.

12. Blog more.

Status: GOAL MET!

My thoughts: Even though I didn't stick to any regular posting schedule, I did post a lot more quality content this year, and so I'm counting that as a win!

12.  Read and Review one book a month.

Status: GOAL KINDA MET

My thoughts: Although I didn't review many books, I did manage to read for pleasure a lot more. Some of my favorites this year:

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
The Uglies Series by Scott Westerfield
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

13. Attend RWA in NYC.

Status: GOAL NOT MET

My thoughts: I was so looking forward to attending this conference. Unfortunately, due to some big life changes (see below), I just wasn't able to make this happen.

14. Build a Successful Freelance Business.

Status: GOAL MET!

My thoughts: I'm not actively advertising my editorial services, but I do edit for people who need it. I've managed to build a decent sized client list simply by word of mouth, which is great! So, if you or someone you know needs editing, send me an email: karaleighmiller(at)gmail(dot)com


Out of 14 goals, I only achieved 6 and a half of them. To most, that probably seems like I failed more than I succeeded, but I don't see it that way. Failing to meet goals isn't always a bad thing because this failure taught me a few things about myself:

First, I can fail and not wallow in an endless pit of self-hatred. Sometimes, it's okay to fail. The world isn't going to end, and I can simply try again.

Secondly, I'm very clearly not a plotter. lol. I had good intentions to get all these books outlined so when I was ready to write them, I could breeze through them. This doesn't mean I'm going to totally give up the idea of plotting because when I can actually do it, it helps me tremendously.

Third, even though I failed to meet a lot of my goals, I accomplished a lot of other things that weren't on my goals list.

• I wrote a contemporary NA romance titled Tempting Tanner that is currently out on submission. This is the first in the planned Grayson Brothers Series.
• I attended two conferences this year: The Michigan Writers Workshop and The Florida Writers Association Conference
• I moved to a new state! I know to some this might not seem like a big deal. I mean, people move all the time, right? But it is a big deal for me because I have lived in the same small town in Upstate, NY my entire life. And now I don't. 
• I sold Deadly Orchid (a Christian romantic suspense) to Anaiah Press and it's slated for a March 2016 release.
• I did a (regretfully) short stint as a literary agent at Corvisiero Literary Agency. And even though my time there was brief, I learned SO much. 
• I made some wonderful new writer friends that I cherish.

Overall, it was a very productive and exciting year. I look forward to what 2016 will bring.

So, tell me, how did you do meeting your goals in 2015??