Mia Josephs's Blog, page 3

This Girl

I wanna be this girl. That's all.
But I'm not this girl, so I decided to write a book about her.
That'll have to do... ;-)
(Also. I've just started, so don't hold your breath, but the first in the series - All About the Music - will be out sometime this winter...)

~ Mia

What I'm Working On...

Right now I'm re-writing the very first book I ever wrote. I'm falling in love with my characters all over again, and it's been fun to write how their story has changed since the first version... (I have not even LOOKED at version one while writing, and it's turning into a much different story)


I love that in the beginning this is a story about her saving him, but in the end, it's him that saves her.
Can't wait you to meet my writer's blocked rockstar, and the woman who helps him put his words back on the page. I also can't wait for you to meet my closed-off Corinne, and the man who helps her to open up again.

~ Mia

In An Attempt...

To streamline a bit...

THIS pretty was made for me by B Designs.

LOVE HER.



And I might be celebrating w/ a 0.99 sale :-D

~ Mia

So... It's out :-D

Starting up a pen name is exhausting business, so After All 's going to be 0.99 for a bit longer... :-D




I came up with all these reasons WHY people should read/like the book and thought I'd share a few of them here. Just for fun :-)

Because when you're not sure if the kiss counts, you have to try it again...
Because sometimes letting go of your past is the only way to move forward...
Because drive-in movies make for great dates...
Because there's something about a guy who puts his kids first, even when it interrupts the kissing...
Because lakes are fun to swim in - especially when you can openly check out your date ;-)
Because timing of first kisses can be a BIG deal...
Because Brandt's brother is hilarious and always trying to get him a girl...
Because forced dates can sometimes be fun...
Because there's a certain hotness about awkward guys...
Because falling for your neighbor can be awesome but also really, really awkward...
Because reading books about mismatched couples is FUN and the book's only a buck ;-)

You can find After All -
on AMAZON
on BARNES AND NOBLE
on GOODREADS

~ Mia

the WEIGHT of Love

This story has had many names, and is something I actually wrote just over two years ago. I glanced over the beginning the other day, and got sucked back into the story of Mitchell and Jaycee. It had to start the editing process to be worthy to see the light of day.

This isn't the official blurb, but it is me telling you what the book is about ;-)

Jaycee is struggling to be a single mom to an autistic child after her husband was killed in Iraq. And Mitchell is a guy who strayed so far from what he grew up believing that he decided to serve a mission for his church a couple years later than "normal" to prove to himself he can be the person he thought he'd grow up to be. Only a short while into his official mission, he meets Jaycee, and knows all too well her struggles with her son because his younger brother is so much the same. Mitchell's desire to stay within the strict missionary guidelines is tested as he falls for this incredibly strong woman who's doing everything alone.
Jaycee has a past to let go of to move forward, and Mitchell wants to firmly plant himself in doing the right thing before he'll feel worthy to be with the woman he's beginning to love...

And yes, the decision to once again not use a couple, was a conscious one ;-)

~ Mia ~

Another bit of After All...

“So, what will you do with me now that we’re alone?” Ashley teased as I set the frying pan in the sink, not realizing the kids left.I turned toward her with a smirk. I may have held way back last night, but not today. Not when there was no chance of me getting carried away just because it had been too long. “Hoist you in the counter and kiss you senseless.”Her jaw dropped in mock shock as I gripped her hips and easily set her on the counter, standing between her legs and covering her mouth with mine. No hesitation. No pause. Just got lost in the warm feel of her—both tough and fragile in my arms. For the first time with her, I let my body take over—I gripped her hips more tightly and deepened our kiss. Everything in me folded over and started spinning. Ashley’s arms pulled on me just as hard as I ran my hands up her ribcage stopping just under her bra when I realized I was about ready to explode, or pull a high school move and turn into the grabby kid.
~ Mia Josephs ~

ALL the people...

I think we focus sometimes on the COUPLE in the story, but I love writing the secondary characters. I've had a blast with Ashley and her friends.
I've also had a lot of fun w/ Brandt and his kids...
Here's a VERY unedited snip:


“I have a question for you guys,” I said as we drove to Cooper’s house.“First me,” Marie said. And before I could stop her, she continued. “Why is Aunt Julie babysitting us?”“She’s not babysitting you.” I knew they’d see through my ploy to keep Marie away from the house I knew her boyfriend visited while I was at work. “She likes the help with the twins.”“She has a nanny, Dad.” Trevor scoffed.Right. Crap.“I just thought it would be fun to spend time somewhere with a pool.” Lie.Marie scoffed this time—a sure sign she didn’t believe me.“Sorry, Dad.” Trevor patted my seat. “You wanted to ask something?”“Would it be weird if I dated?”I held my breath waiting for the protests I was sure would come.“Ashley?” they both asked at the same time.“What?” I tried to put as much surprise in my voice as I could.“Way to go for the younger wo-man…” Trevor wagged his brows and held up his hand in a high-five.I rubbed my eyes as we pulled to a stoplight. “No… I just meant… In general… If I started dating.”“As long as it’s not that horrible Abby woman.” Marie groaned.“Abby’s very nice,” I retorted, which was stupid because I internally groaned when I thought about going out with her.“Go for it, Dad. Time to get back in the saddle or whatever. You’re not too old to date, right?”His remarks at my age shouldn’t surprise me, and I also shouldn’t have felt attacked, but I still felt on the defense. “Some people don’t get married for the first time until they’re my age. Of course I’m not too old to date.”“Yeah…” Marie eyed me skeptically. “You do have that first marriage against you. And us. I mean, really. How many women would want to deal with someone who has their own family, unless—”“Oh. No. Dad.” Trevor grasped my seat from behind. “You can’t date anyone with kids because if you got married, we’ve have to deal with that, and I couldn’t take it. The twins are bad enough and they’re just cousins.”“I’m not—”“And no one too nosy. I hate nosy people.” Marie’s face wrinkled up and I tried not to laugh because she was the nosiest person I knew.“And nobody with cats. Not after Mrs. XXXX.”I waved a hand in the air to quiet them. “It was just a thought. Forget I said anything.”“I still think you should ask Ashley out.” Marie grinned.“She’s too young.” I shook my head trying to push away the idea.“Experiences can make people older than they really are.” Marie folded her arms.“And what would you know about experiences?”  I asked, but immediately cringed as the possibilities shot through my head. “Never mind.”
I'm finishing up first draft and about to start edits :-D What are you up to?

A ridiculous run-around with COVERS

I have had more problems nailing down a cover on this book than I ever have with any book EVER.

It's so strange, and I think part of the problem is that I never nailed down the FEEL of the book because I keep re-working the same story...

I love this cover. Love it. But I feel like it promises a funny, sexy, read, and so the tone is a little off...I do think that we should all write fan mail to Nyrae Dawn and have her write the book with these two in it...

So I went for this one - The guy is pretty perfect for scruffy Brandt, but it feels safe, and almost... boring... I don't want that.Ashley is this kind of cool, funky girl - and despite the millions of reasons Brandt shouldn't fall for her, he does anyway...But no couple is exactly right because he's just over ten years older than her... So, that makes it hard, too. My first cover was simply legs - a couple obviously hugging or maybe kissing, and that worked, but I knew it could be better. Or at least I THINK it could be better, but now I'm remembering how much I love this picture... The hippie shoes are sorta perfect for him... Maybe with some shading or sepia or...
Now I'm playing around with this idea, because this girl is Ashley exactly, but I'm worried she seems too young, and that it'll look YA, when it's not... But she is just 22...


Here's the blurb:And I've changed this book (again) to be alternating POV between Ashley and Brandt so we can get his side of the story, which, the more I think about it, is sorta crucial... She's a 22 year old law student and he's a 33 year old father of two teens...
In Ashley’s mind, her new neighbor Brandt is definitely a “Clive Owen” - one of the few perks of her move halfway through law school. The other perk is getting as far away from where she grew up as possible.

With a best friends’ ashes in a jar in her room, and a million reasons she’s determined to finish law school and put bad guys in jail, she’s also decided she wants to get to know this “Clive Owen” neighbor better.

Brandt is just trying to stay afloat as a single father of two teens—both of which he had when a teen himself. The last thing he’s looking for is to fall in love, but when his new neighbor, Ashley, finds her way into his life, it's as if he's found his missing piece. But Brandt knows he doesn’t deserve this kind of happiness. Not after the way he let his family fell apart.

Just when Brandt and Ashley find some common footing in the way they feel, Ashley goes to her internship, opens a file, and it shatters everything she’s learned about the family next door.

Both Brandt and Ashley are in a fight to forgive their pasts, navigate the present, and to find a way to hold on to the future they started together. But with everything on the line, and so much to overcome, they begin to wonder if their happily ever after is worth the struggle.

HELP??Do I just start over??Make Allie Brennan save me?Again?
~ Mia Josephs ~ 

The Cover...

This is a book I actually finished quite a while ago, but knew it wasn't ready for publication. So, it's been "gathering dust" on my hard-drive as I thought about how I wanted to re-write...

The moment I saw this picture, I knew how I wanted to tweak the story so it would not only work, but also be something I'm proud of.
And now I can't get the new parts of the story out of my head. Same characters I fell in love with almost two years ago, with a fresh new take on their story.

Thanks so much Allie at B Designs :-D
You rock!

~ Mia

This Will Not Be

An actual blog.
At least not for a while.

I'm just going to post updates as they happen...

WHEN they happen...