Lisa Bilbrey's Blog, page 85

Day Four

Day four was huge for me. Not only did I manage to clock in 5722 words, giving me a grand total of 21,027, but I made some huge decisions on where I am going with the story. Instead of writing one large novel, I will be breaking the story down into two or three short novellas of around 25K each. Now, I just need a name…

Day Three

Day Three
Day three has pasted us now and I am feeling tired. My body is tight and sore, like I’ve been in the war and lived through it. And perhaps I have; only it’s a word war.  My starting word count yesterday was just over 10,000 words, which is impressive for two days. Yesterday, however, I managed to end on 15,305, which means I added an additional 5206 words to my manuscript. Happy writing indeed.
And a tease:

Travis McCoy stood in front of the large window that overlooked the front yard. With one hand pressed against the cool glass and the other nestled in his curly, chocolate-brown hair, he sighed. Today, he would be leaving Clarendon, Texas and heading back to Miami, Florida and he wasn’t sure he’d be strong enough to handle it. When Travis made the decision to return to his hometown after receiving an invitation to celebrate homecoming, he hadn’t realized that in the process, he’d find himself again. The journey home hadn’t been an easy one to make, but it’d been the best decision he’d ever made. Coming home gave him the family he’d been missing, a second chance to heal his broken heart, and the opportunity to reconnect with the person who’d taught him what it meant to be a man. A smile slipped over Travis’ lips. When his father picked him up from the airport, Travis had anticipated spending the majority of his time in Clarendon dodging questions on where his life was headed or if he was ever going to grow up and become a man. Instead, he’d finally lowered the walls he’d built around himself ever since the death of his mother Loralie and allowed himself to see Russ McCoy a lot clearer. Where Travis had always seen a cold-hearted man who had put himself before his family, in reality Russ was a broken soul who’d struggled with losing the love of his life. “He’s gonna be late if you don’t hurry,” came the softest, sweetest voice he’d ever heard. Laughing to himself, Travis looked over his shoulder, finding Penelope Stone standing in the doorway to their bedroom. She had her arms folded in front of her and a sparkle in her dark, sensual mocha-brown eyes. Her long, silky blond hair framed her face, and the pure, natural beauty that rolled off of her took Travis’ breath away. She was exquisite.“Are you okay?” Penelope asked when he didn’t speak to her. “I’m fine,” Travis groused, trying to convince himself as much as her. Today, he wouldn’t just be leaving Texas for Florida, but he’d be leaving his family, too. He kept telling himself that it was only for a week, maybe two — just long enough to pack up his stuff and make the final move back to her and Max. But with each passing breath, he found the thought of missing even one moment with his family excruciating. He’d just gotten a second chance at a life with them and now, he had to say goodbye. “I don’t believe you.” Penelope smiled and crossed the room, slipping her arms around his waist. “We don’t want you to leave either, but you can’t put this off any longer. It’s time to go back, Travis, so that you can really be here.”“Yeah, I know, but I don’t want to,” Travis grumbled, aware of how he sounded like a two-year-old who had been told it was time to go to bed. “I’m gonna miss you, baby.”“And I’ll miss you,” she whispered. “You’re coming home to us, Travis. And when you do, we can be a real family.”“We already are one,” he murmured, bringing his hand up to her face. Lowering his lips down onto hers, Travis kissed her. They moved slowly, neither of them wanting to rush this moment. Right now, this was all they had to get them through the challenge ahead. 

Day Two

Day two has come and gone and I find myself feeling . . . giddy. I hadn’t slept very good last night; a persistent back issue keeps bugging me, so I’d enjoyed a nap this morning rather than spending the time writing. When I woke up, I felt refreshed and ready to go. And go I did! I managed to get a total of 6781 words added to The Journey to Forever, bringing my NaNo total to 10,011! Very happy and hopeful that I will be just as successful tomorrow!

Day One

With the day officially done and gone, I fall back in my seat and sigh. Today was a good day. I managed to get a nap in, watched some amazing boys play a really tough game of football, and write 3230 words on The Journey to Forever.  So far, I’m really loving how the first 1 ½ chapters have turned out, and I’m slowly working on not editing myself while I write.  It’s hard not to, but I want to focus on the story and not how pretty it looks. 

Tomorrow’s goal: 5,000 words more!

On the Starting Line

Get, Ready, Set, and . . . GO! That’s what I should be telling myself, anyway. At midnight, National Novel Writing Month begins and I will be just one of about 300,000 writers who are racing against the clock to reach their 50,000 word challenge and earn the right to call themselves a winner. What’s the prize? Good, old-fashion bragging rights, baby. Yep, that’s right. There’s no shiny trophy, or sparkling crown. Although, that would be nice, wouldn’t it? No, all we get is the right to say: we did it. 
We typed our fingers to the bone, or dealt with cramps in our hands from spending hours bent over a notebook while scribbling away at whatever plot twist we’ve just thought of.  Perhaps we found ourselves standing in the dairy section of the grocery store when inspiration hit, or maybe it was a song that we heard on the way to pick up the kids at school. 
During the process, we crawl and fight our way through one day to the next, spending every free moment we can trying to meet our daily word counts. Some days we do; others we don’t.  But still we don’t give up. We keep pushing ourselves to try harder, to stop editing ourselves as we go, and encouraging our fellow writers to keep trying. 
In the end, when we find ourselves at the finish line, we sit back in our chairs and smile. Because after thirty days of stress and pressure, we know that just accepting the challenge made us winners, that we poured a part of ourselves into our characters, and had fun. In the end, we write because it’s fun. We write because we love it. And we write because it’s who we are.

In The Red by Selah Janel

Today I am blessed to have Selah Janel here. She's given my an excerpt from her book, In The Red. Make sure you leave her some love and check out her new book.



Live like a rock star. Dance ‘til you die. Are you in?
Blurb
What kind of a rock star lives in a small town in the middle of nowhere and plays at weddings and funerals? Then Jack Scratch comes into his life, ready to represent him and launch him to stardom. Jack can give him everything: a new band, a new name, a new life, a new look, and new boots…although they aren’t exactly new. They once belonged to The One, a rocker so legendary and so mysterious that it’s urban legend that he used black magic to gain success. But what does Jeremiah care about urban legend? And it’s probably just coincidence that the shoes make him dance better than anyone, even if it doesn’t always feel like he’s controlling his movements. It’s no big deal that he plunges into a world of excess and decadence as soon as he puts the shoes on his feet, right?But what happens when they refuse to come off?
Excerpt
They’re mine. I’m really holding them, Jeremiah realized. I’m holding history that isn’t supposed to exist. When The One took the stage, any competition turned tail and ran. It was said that the one time the singer revealed what he looked like the crowds were moved to tears by his beauty and sophistication, and tore each other apart because they couldn’t get to him. Some said it was a conspiracy that complete copies of his songs didn’t exist because the music was too potent to release to the public. There were people who still worshiped the mystery, the music, the outfits, and the boots.
And now those people would come to him.
“Go on. Try them on,” Jack encouraged. Jeremiah nodded and carefully put the platforms on the floor. Shaking with nerves, the youth sat and guided his feet into the cherry red sheaths. Electricity crackled along his instep and through his toes. He tugged the vinyl up over his calf and gasped. Jeremiah was overtaken by a sudden burn, a sudden ant-crawling of power that worked its way through his skin and into his very soul.
“What the—” he choked. The plastic spasmed, tightened around his foot, and then relaxed. The left boot stretched itself a little higher up his calf and extended its sole and heel a little more to adapt to his needs. Jeremiah thought he had imagined it, but the right boot immediately followed suit. The matching sets of the laces squirmed and rippled, settling into a slightly different pattern than when they were taken out of their box. A quick look around proved that while everyone in the room was looking, Jack was the only other person that actually saw. “Did they just…?” Jeremiah couldn’t bring himself to say something so bizarre. He barely managed to hold back a cry when a thousand tiny needle teeth nibbled his skin from toes to knees. A tingling sensation spread under his skin and Jeremiah was filled with a rush of violent confidence that almost made him swoon.
“Good. They fit,” Jack said. Only his tiny, mysteriously cruel little smile hinted that he was aware of the boots’ strange behavior.
The longer Jeremiah looked at himself the more he realized that he could do no wrong. My life just changed. With these on my feet, my past is gone. I’m going to be better than I ever thought possible.
All around him the yes-men and hangers-on gaped.
“You look so good!” the store footman practically swooned. His vinyl and lace frock coat danced under the fluttering movements of his hands. His sharp, pale face flushed with excitement underneath the stylized Victorian wig.
“I’m gonna cry you look so good!” the blonde assistant squealed, gripping Jack’s knee as if she’d keel over if she didn’t have it there to support her. “It’s like I’m witnessing history!”
The faces that surround him were positively thunderstruck and at his mercy. The camera kept right on clicking. Jeremiah got to his feet and struck a few more ambitious poses, dropping into a low crouch before kicking a leg up in an insane bastardization of a round kick.  It didn’t matter that he’d grown up looking like every other average guy in Middle America. It didn’t matter that he’d been more accustomed to cotton T-shirts and washed-out blue jeans than the clothes Jack had him wearing. The overall look wasn’t complete, but the boots pulled everything together. The added height evened out his lanky proportions. In some unlikely way the platforms made his stubble-sporting, angular face look downright exotic. His eyes blazed liquid brown heat and his dishwater hair almost glowed under the dressing room lights.
Jeremiah sashayed around the tiny space and leapt onto the low podium at the room’s center, full of a burning drive to do something. He wanted to sing. He wanted to rock. He wanted to dance, and he’d never had that sort of urge before in his life. Every school dance he’d ever gone to had involved him either playing in the band or drinking contraband beverages with his friends outside the building. “Guess I’m a natural!” he laughed. He knew he was lying, Jack knew he was lying, but there was no reason for anyone else to know the truth. Why bother with the truth when the image in the mirror was so much better?
He had expected his balance to be shaky in the tall platforms, but it was like the boots were built for him. He hadn't thought to check the size. Maybe The One wasn't the original owner; maybe they conformed to whoever wore them. Jeremiah’s face glowed when he looked at his mirror image. His reflection looked as giddy and ecstatic as he felt. Why do I care what they are? If they work, they work! His eyes dropped to the new footwear. He was just able to see the tiny, warped image of his face in the shiny toes. Everything’s going to be amazing from now on. As he admired his distorted image via his feet,  all of his hang-ups and personality drained out of him. Who needs a personality with boots like these?
Jack Scratch watched his protégé glided round the room, that same tiny, dangerous smile just barely curling his full mouth. "Just think. What you have on represents everything that you want to be," he coached. His words drilled through the rocker's ears and hardwired themselves into the deepest parts of Jeremiah’s heart and soul. "They’re everything you want on your side. These boots are temptation and chaos, just like you. I've got it," he declared. "I've got your name."
"Give it to me," a raspy voice in front of the mirror breathed.
"Forget Jeremiah Kensington: folk singer, blue jean rocker, country boy, small town loser,” Jack breathed, his giant hands fervently patting down his front until he found which jacket pocket his cigarettes were hidden in. It was amazing that he didn’t gouge himself in the chest given the sharpened tip of the massive silver ring that enveloped his right forefinger. The manager leaned back against the sofa and lit up, never once taking his eyes off his new golden boy and meal ticket. “From now on you are J.K. Asmodeus, rock star and corrupter of the masses." A thin plume of smoke stretched up to frame his intense expression.
J.K. looked from Jack to the man in the mirror, saw how the red glitter of the boots was echoed in his eyes. "Yes."
The two ignored the gasps and commentary around them as everyone texted photos and alerted the necessary paparazzi. The pair shared a slow smile as Jack inhaled another draw of nicotine. “It’s time to sign,” he murmured. The smoke crept in front of his face and turned his pleased expression into something that bordered on animalistic. He removed the top sheet of the stack he’d been examining and held it out to the younger man.
I should wait and consult a lawyer. I should take my time. These things need to be done with care, a distant echo of a Midwestern conscience chided. J.K. ignored it, grinned back at his manager, and reached for the fountain pen the manager handed him. His expression was almost as malevolent as Jack’s, though there were still traces of wholesomeness that had yet to drain away. “Let’s do it.” 


About In The Red by Selah Janel
Live like a rock star. Dance ‘til you die. Are you in?
What kind of a rock star lives in a small town in the middle of nowhere and plays at weddings and funerals? That’s what Jeremiah Kensington is thinking after an unsuccessful bar gig one night. Then Jack Scratch comes into his life, ready to represent him and launch him to stardom. Jack can give him everything: a new band, a new name, a new life, a new look, and new boots…although they aren’t exactly new. They once belonged to The One, a rocker so legendary and so mysterious that it’s urban legend that he used black magic to gain success. But what does Jeremiah care about urban legend? And it’s probably just coincidence that the shoes make him dance better than anyone, even if it doesn’t always feel like he’s controlling his movements. It’s no big deal that he plunges into a world of excess and decadence as soon as he puts the shoes on his feet, right?
But what happens when they refuse to come off?


Author Bio
Selah Janel has been blessed with a giant imagination since she was little and convinced that fairies lived in the nearby state park or vampires hid in the abandoned barns outside of town. Her appreciation for a good story was enhanced by a love of reading, the many talented storytellers that surrounded her, and a healthy curiosity for everything. A talent for warping everything she learned didn’t hurt, either. She gravitates to writing fantasy and horror, but can be convinced to pursue any genre if the idea is good enough. Often her stories feature the unknown creeping into the “real” world and she loves to find the magical in the mundane.
 She has four e-books with No Boundaries Press, including the historical vampire story ‘Mooner’ and the contemporary short ‘The Other Man’. Her work has also been included in ‘The MacGuffin’, ‘The Realm Beyond’, ‘Stories for Children Magazine’, and the upcoming Wicked East Press anthology ‘Bedtime Stories for Girls’. She likes her music to rock, her vampires lethal, her fairies to play mind games, and her princesses to hold their own.
 Author Links
Blog – http://www.selahjanel.wordpress.comFandom Scene Column – http://www.fandomfestblog.com/blogs/selah-janelFacebook Author Page – http://www.facebook.com/authorSJFacebook Book Page – http://www.facebook.com/intherednovelGoodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5622096.Selah_JanelAmazon Author Page - http://www.amazon.com/Selah-Janel/e/B0074DKC9K/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1346815995&sr=1-2-entTwitter – http://www.twitter.com/SelahJanel

Excerpt from Michele Richard's Mocked by Faith: Healing the Faith

Today I am blessed to have one of my very best friends and favorite authors on my blog. Michele Richard has stopped by with a excerpt from her newly re-released novel, Mocked by Faith: Healing the Faith.









Healing the Faith Excerpt
Alexia tensed at my side, clenching her eyes shut as she held her breath waiting for the last name to be called. “Justin McNear.” “Yes!” I released my grip on her hand and leaped from my seat.I should have looked at my wife, should have said I loved her again, but instead, I made my way to the stage to celebrate. The Council welcomed us with handshakes and hugs. At this point, the room had been filled with the cheers and the clatter of everyone moving to get closer. There was some clapping from those unable to break through the craziness. Looking over the sea of parishioners, I searched for my family. Alexia was the only one I couldn’t find at first. When I finally found her, she was in the middle of a group hug with Madison and Ginger. I elbowed Joey and Johnny then motioned toward their wives, indicating that we should join them in celebrating the news. None of us had expected what we found when we approached them. They were clutching hands as promises of forever friends tumbled from their lips. The tears they were shedding weren’t tears of joy, but of heartbreak. Startled, they pulled away from each other when Johnny gasped Ginger’s name.Shaking her head, Ginger ran away from him and out the door. Johnny watched, speechless at her reaction, then took off running behind her.Not sure what else to do, I’d reached out to hold my wife. Alexia had other ideas and pulled away, stomping her way back to our table. “Alexia, wait! Don’t do this!” I implored, trying to catch up with her.“I’m not, you are.” She sobbed in hysterics.“Please? Don’t be mad.” My attempts to embrace her again failed.“I don’t want you to go! Stay here, stay with us.” Tears streamed down her cheeks.“Let’s talk about this at home.” I hissed an exasperated breath, grabbing the baby and his diaper bag.Being the lousy husband that I was, I stormed off, leaving her to say goodbye to her parents. Her reaction had infuriated me. Why couldn’t she see it my way? By the time she slid into the car, my need for alcohol had reached an all-time high. All I wanted was a beer so I could calm down enough to demand her support in this.


Healing the Faith SummaryJust saying “I do” was only the beginning for Alexia and Justin McNear. Now when their lives, loves, and faith are left in turmoil, they will have to fight even harder to heal themselves and their faith. Can two people already struggling help heal the communities they call home?
How do you rebuild after the loss of a child? After suffering a tragedy, are these two lost to each other forever?

With all the church’s money missing, the hunt for the tyrant ex-minister Mark will take Justin and his twin cousins away from their secluded, gated community and into the real world while leaving their wives behind to pick up the pieces. Can Justin survive it again?

Or will returning to the retreat that once abused him be his end?

Alexia, Madison, and Ginger will need to be strong and independent with their men gone. Left to raise their child alone, Alexia will make decisions that will affect their marriage and lives. Will they be the right ones?

Raised in a community where the men run everything, these three families will have to fight to survive the coming changes.

The temptations run high in this sequel to Mocked by Faith, but hope is not lost, and they will learn how to heal their faith.




Michele Richard lives in a suburb of Boston, Mass. She’s the mother of two pre-teen daughters and the wife.Michele Richard has created the Mocked series. From Mocked by Destiny to the trilogy Mocked by Faith, she writes what comes from the heart. A wife and the mother of two preteen girls, she spends her days spinning tales about what happens when what you believe in mocks your every turn. When she’s not writing, her days are filled with her family, her bunny Geneva, and friends. Her greatest passions are learning new languages and traveling. She currently resides in the Northeastern part of the United States however; her family members live down the east coast as far as North Carolina.She’s currently learning French and Spanish, and one day hopes to be fluent in both. Learning new things is always something she enjoys.
Her works include:
Mocked by series:Mocked by DestinyMocked by FaithMocked by Faith ~ Healing the FaithMocked by Faith ~ Affirming the Faith (TBR soon)
Parasouls series:Divine Intervention
Short stories:Changes of the Heart (Life is More Than Candy Hearts)
In 2012 she opened Renaissance Romance Publishing with her partners, Lisa Bilbrey and Laura Braley. Together the three run the day to day workings of a small press.Where to find me:FacebookBloggerLinkedinTwitterTwylahGoodreadsYouTube
For links to buying her books here they are:Amazon Renaissance Romance Publishing Barnes & Nobleitunes

A Time to Reflect

I’m tired. There I said it. Late nights, early mornings, lots of missed sleep has been nagging at me lately. Parts of it is because the kiddos are back in school and have decided it would be a good idea to break bones, get sick, and do every possible activity they can at school, but the other part is the preparation it takes when releasing a new book. You’d think once the manuscript was finished being written that the hard work was done, but you’d be wrong. There are promotions to be started, blog tours to do, last minute formatting issues, and a whole host of other things that would bore a person to death.
However, though the process, I’ve learned to love it all. The excitement at watching new authors take their first, tentative step into the world of publishing, and the confidence in those of us who have done this a few times — though to be honest, it’s still scary and nerve wrecking. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever get used to the feeling that comes with a new release, but I’m not sure I want to. Maybe it’s best to always be a little anxious and nervous, to fear the reaction from the public when they read your words. No ‘words’ isn’t the right word to use — it’s soul. As writers we put our souls into our books, leaving ourselves exposed and praying for feedback.
As I sit here, having officially released my fourth book of the year, and staring at number five that is in the works, I’ve done a lot of reflecting over the last seven months. So much has changed. I’ve gone from not having a single release, to having four. I’ve learned a lot about the writing process, structure, and grammar. There’s been times when I’ve felt frustrated or stupid when I don’t understand something that someone has been trying to explain to me. Often, I find myself just throwing my hands up in the air and saying screw it all! But then I take a deep breath and try to refocus my attention. Is my writing perfect now? Hell No! But, is any of ours? No, the best we can do is keep trying, keep writing, and keep dreaming.

Mocked by Destiny's Daisy stops by to visit!

Hello everyone!
My name is Daisy, and I am the mother of Stella in Mocked by Destiny. I’ve been asked to share a little on what our family went through upon hearing my daughter was pregnant. 
It was one of the hardest things a mother could hear: to discover she’d fallen into the same trap that both me and her grandmother had. We wanted so much more for her than struggling to raise a child alone. Where my mother handled the news better, I couldn’t face her knowing it was my fault for failing her. Maybe there was more I should have done. I taught her to avoid the visiting men who would leave her heartbroken and alone. I never figured Stefan into the equation. He swept her off her feet much the way her father had me. Looking back now I know he’s different than most. 
I still don’t trust those who move through and leave without a second thought. Guess I never will.   Stella did what none of us could; she found a way to do it all. Sure we helped her along the way, once I stopped punishing her for the indiscretion. Being a teenager is hard, hormones run wild, and saying goodbye seems like the end of the world. She let the situation get the best of her. In the end, I really couldn’t fault her. After all I’d done it, too.
I don’t regret my granddaughter; I love Marie to pieces and always will. What I do regret is not being there when she struggled to keep her life together. I’d watched on silently as my mother to her to appointments, or encouraged her to keep her dreams alive. That should have been me.
To any family going through this, don’t let it tear your family apart. Be there and share your knowledge with you child. Doesn’t matter whether it’s your son or daughter, it effects everyone in the family. Once it’s done, it can’t be undone, do your best to handle it within your belief structure. Be there for your child while they batter with what they want.
Daisy ~ Mocked by Destiny
  Michele Richard lives in a suburb of Boston, Mass. She’s the mother of two pre-teen daughters and the wife.
Michele Richard has created the Mocked series. From Mocked by Destiny to the trilogy Mocked by Faith, she writes what comes from the heart. A wife and the mother of two preteen girls, she spends her days spinning tales about what happens when what you believe in mocks your every turn.
When she’s not writing, her days are filled with her family, her bunny Geneva, and friends. Her greatest passions are learning new languages and traveling. She currently resides in the Northeastern part of the United States however; her family members live down the east coast as far as North Carolina.
She’s currently learning French and Spanish, and one day hopes to be fluent in both. Learning new things is always something she enjoys.
Her works include:
Mocked by series:Mocked by DestinyMocked by FaithMocked by Faith ~ Healing the Faith (TBRereleased soon)Mocked by Faith ~ Affirming the Faith (TBR soon)
Parasouls series:Divine Intervention
Short stories:Changes of the Heart (Life is More Than Candy Hearts)
In 2012 she opened Renaissance Romance Publishing with her partners, Lisa Bilbrey and Laura Braley. Together the three run the day to day workings of a small press.Where to find me:
FacebookBloggerLinkedinTwitterTwylahGoodreadsYouTube
For links to buying my books here they are:Amazon Renaissance Romance Publishing Barnes & Nobleitunes
 

Enter for your chance to win autographed copy of Mocked b...

Enter for your chance to win autographed copy of Mocked by Destiny by Michele Richard!
[7:51:24 PM] michele richards:
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Goodreads Book Giveaway Mocked by Destiny by Michele Richard Giveaway ends August 07, 2012.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads. Enter to win