Shauna Allen's Blog, page 2

Dream Big, Baby!

Well, I think I’m mostly rested up from RWA Nationals in Atlanta. Maybe?

It was my first and it was AWESOME! I attended every workshop I could get to, learned a lot, laughed a lot, drank a little (LOL) met new people, and pseudo-stalked my favorite authors.

And I have to tell you, the theme of the day was to dream big. Not let anything hold you back. It’s all possible. So that’s what I’m trying to do. I’ve come home rejuvenated to keep going on this journey and make my dreams come true. Though real life sometimes gets in the way, I’ll keep trying to plug away like the little engine that could. I’ll keep you posted on my progress . . .

Me with my two favorite boss ladies, Christie Craig and Lori Wilde

Me, Susan Muller, Jan Nash, and Jaye Garland…my original critique group

Having my fan girl moment with Kristan Higgins . . . Squee!!!!!

Me and my Senior Editor, Debby Gilbert

Me and Harlequin Romantic Suspense Author, Melissa Cutler

Me and Golden Heart Finalist, Bonnie Staring

Told you I

My Three Heads . . . Just kidding! Me and my BFFs, Jan Nash and Susan Muller

Me and my great friend, Susan Muller having some laughs. What it’s all about.

My New Adventure!

Hey there, long time no blog! Been busy writing, editing, writing, editing, writing . . . you get the picture, right?

Well, I’m super excited because RWA Nationals in Atlanta is just about upon us and I get to go and absorb all the excitement, knowledge and camaraderie with my fellow romance writers! Boo-yah!

And can I just say Christie freakin’ Craig! Need I say more, Emcee Goddess?!

But, one of the things I’m particularly excited about is the newest love of my life . . . YA.

Yup, you heard me right. I am first and foremost a sassy contemporary romance author, no worries. But I have found a love of the younger crowd–perhaps thanks to Tristan in The Halo Effect–and I’ve delved into that world with the love and support of my peeps, and I am pitching my first novel at Nationals. (Excited squee!!!)

But as to not forget my true and first love, as well as this new baby love that has taken root, I thought I’d revisit The Halo Effect today, and all the wonderful things I learned as I cried, laughed, pulled my hair, slogged, and occasionally bled over this story!

The Top Ten Things You Can Learn from The Halo Effect 

10.  The dark, mysterious guy next door could be just a reclusive hottie, or a sociopath.  Hopefully not both.  Trust your gut.

9. The most painful of secrets should only be unearthed with care. Wait. Make that only with lots and lots of true love.

8. Cupids need to stick to Cupid business. Cars, house repair, air conditioners? Dangerous stuff.

7. Wounded hearts are fragile. Wounded teenage hearts—like spun glass.

6. A woman may offer sex without strings, but be careful of the noose around your heart.

5. Motorcycles don’t make the man. But they do make him sexier.

4. You may move 1,000miles to protect your son and yourself, but no distance is far enough to protect your heart.

3. Even angels can be at a loss when it comes to teenagers.

2. A tattoo artist with no tattoos is probably hiding something. Literally. 

1. Forgiveness is a nearly impossible art, but one that frees your heart and soul.

***

He’s gotta earn his wings…again.

Love Detail’s favorite angel has his sights set on his next target: the stoic and mysterious Noble Blackfeather.  And it just may prove to be his toughest case yet.  Noble’s reclusive ways keep his angel at wing’s distance, and love even further.  But he’s not playing a part – he’s truly masking a painful secret and a profoundly wounded heart.

A cupid’s worst nightmare.

Noble’s been paired with Braelyn Campbell, the cute single mother next door.  She’s adorable, friendly, fun…everything Noble needs.  This should be a Love Squad slam dunk.  Except she’s making a fresh start in Texas to protect her son from a volatile ex, and she’s not about to risk her heart or her son on another man.  Even if he’s sexy as sin and always coming to her rescue.

Thank God for possibilities.

But, reluctantly, they are drawn together – thanks to their cupid’s dogged efforts and a whole lotta chemistry.  Can the girl next door learn to trust again and help heal Noble’s wounded heart? Together, can they save the lost, hurting boy she’s raising?  Can the angels help it happen before it’s too late?

Thank God for love.

***

The Halo Effect is available now at Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/qhy5h3r

Thanks for stopping by!  Elvis is a Keeper is coming Soon–August 28th!  And the next installment of my Cupid Chronicles, Wounded Wings, is due out this December.  So I’m a busy little bee.  Now I’m off to absorb all I can at Nationals to make my writing the best it can be.  What about you?

 

 

 

The Big C

August 13, 2012.

The Day. We’ve all got one. That’s mine. The day that divides your life into ‘Before’ and ‘After.’

Before is the blissful ignorance of normalcy. Content with your lot in life. Happy, even, amongst the trivial annoyances of your day. Broken appliances, rush hour traffic, burnt dinners, crying babies.

And that day was an extra special day. It was my baby girl’s thirteenth birthday. In the chaos of our crazy world, I’ve raised three beautiful, well-adjusted teenagers who don’t hate me. Glorious.

And, as expected on this summer day—baby girl’s day—the phone rang. Nana and Pop Pop calling for the celebratory call and birthday song sung to rival a couple screeching cats . . . all in good fun, of course.

But Nana is unusually quiet tonight. Somber, even. Once I have her on the phone, she tells me she went to the doctor that day to see about her nagging cough. He did an X-ray. There was a spot. It didn’t look good, so he sent her immediately for a CT scan. She spoke softly. Matter-of-factly. But in that moment, I knew my life would not be the same.

This was my After.

CT results two days later showed large tumors in her lungs near her esophagus which explained the cough and some difficulty swallowing. I drove in to go with her and Dad to her specialist appointment and saw the look on that man’s face when he scheduled the biopsy. Stage IV. Not good.

Within a couple weeks we had her down to the gurus at MD Anderson, and in a well-orchestrated flurry of specialists and scans and blood work, they reviewed her case and wanted to start her on an aggressive chemo regimen.

“What is the prognosis?” I asked her doctor finally, when it wasn’t forthcoming.

He glanced at my mother. “Do you want to know? Some patients don’t like to know.”

She nodded. “Yes. I would. Please.”

With kind eyes, he leaned in. “Now, some people do better, some people do worse, but, with your type of cancer, the median life expectancy is approximately ten months.”

Silence.

Ten months?

My mother looked down at her lap as tears filled her eyes.

Ten months?

She finally looked back up and moved on. My mom is a strong lady. I mean, really, what are you gonna do?

So, we got the rest of the information and sat through their MD Anderson video about chemotherapy and the potential side effect. OMG.

That was enough to make her cry over her salad at lunch. “Why should I even do this?”

I got that. She’s just been told she could only have ten months left and now they want to pump her full of toxic crap that will give her diarrhea, fatigue, mouth sores, anorexia, AND she’ll lose her hair. Awesome.

Well, she bucked up, did her drugs, and was a rock star. She sailed through chemo and rocked that bandana. Hardly any of those stupid side effects. She did so good, the tumors shrunk in fear by nearly 90% and she became a candidate for radiation. That? Now, that’s not so much fun. But, she got through it, and her cancer is at bay now. A speck of its monstrous, soul-sucking self. And I think we learned a few priceless things along the way . . .

Yes, cancer sucks, but not living sucks worse.

A turkey sandwich shared tastes better.

Someone at MD Anderson could be a closet perv. See the sign. 

Bandanas with skulls and crossbones are definitely WAY cooler.

Faith works.

Be grateful. Someone’s always hurting worse than you.

Tears are okay, but smiles are better.

Bald is cute.

God really does put angels in your path right when you need them . . . doctors, nurses, even the lady sitting across from you in the waiting room. Try to be one in return.

Moms are gifts God gives you. Hug yours and sing Adam Lambert songs with her.

P.S. It’s been ten months now and my mom is happy and beautiful and wonderful. Every day from here on out is a new After.

 

Labor Pains

A friend and writer I respect immensely told me recently that writing a book is a lot like giving birth.  Well, in my “other life”–my full-time job is a labor and delivery nurse.  I thought about her analogy for a moment and had to laugh.  She is absolutely right. 

We start with a tiny seed of an idea.  We nourish it, we love it, we have all kinds of hopes and dreams for it . . . you following me here?  Then, the time comes to bring it into the world.  And it’s a painful ordeal which, for some of us, can become a downright ugly, bloody affair full of tears and screaming.  There’re no epidurals in publishing.  Darn it.

But, hey, in the end we get to hold our little bundles of joy in our hands and proudly proclaim, “I created this!”  Amazing! 

But, wait. 

Like babies, the work has just started.  The cuteness will always be there—just look at that cover!—but we still have to get our booties out there and work for it.  Um, did we sign up for this way back when we were germinating those precious little characters in our minds?  Well, if you want your baby to succeed, yes you did. 

Ah, a mother’s, I mean an author’s work is never done.  But it is so worth it.  Because how many people can say they plucked something from the depths of their mind, put their fingertips to a keyboard, weaved a story for others to enjoy—finished it—and lived to tell the tale?

So let’s hear it for all those ‘mommies’ out there . . . whether you’re a mother to a child, a furry creature, a fictional character, or perhaps something else . . . we’ve all got our own labors of love.  So tell me, what’s yours?

Three…Two…One… Ink Off

So can we learn from reading? Or writing for that matter?

I think so.

Sure, it’s a vicarious journey to take us someplace we’ve never been. Or to take our minds far away from the everyday stresses of life. I mean, who would ever have to battle a blood-thirsty vampire in real life? Or be forced to decide if they’re going to sign a binding contract that would lead them to a red room of pain?

But, either way, I think sometimes on a deeper level we work through our protagonist’s problems with them. That is what is at the heart of a truly satisfying read. (Even if they are dealing with vamps and floggers.)

So, on that note, I took some time to delve into my debut novel, Inked by an Angel, to see what I learned along the way as I took the journey with my characters.

10. Take an adventure once in a while. You never know where it’ll lead you – maybe even to a tattoo parlor full of hot guys!

9. If a glowing guy with wings tells you something, you might wanna listen.  

8. Accountants do it better. Numbers that is.

7. Never judge a book—or an angel—by his cover. Even a 300 pound biker cupid needs love.

6. Even if a man is a total jerk, if he loves his mama, he’s probably a softy underneath and just may be a diamond worth polishing.

5. Cupid may be a pain in the ass, but he’s only doing his job. It would be a whole lot less painful if you’d just cooperate with the plan.

4. Families are rough, love is rougher. Vindictive exes are like slogging through hell covered in gasoline.

3. Never argue with a man about his art, his music, or his car. Even if you’re right, it’s a futile battle.

2. Tattoos might not make the man, but don’t stick somebody’s name and face on your body without a sign from God Himself that it’s forever.

1. Always stand up for your man, yourself, and what’s right. Even when it breaks your heart.

So what do you think? Did I learn enough?

What have you learned from writing or reading? I’d love to know.

What’s Love Got to Do With It?

I’ve been thinking lately about some of my favorite love stories. I’ve said more than once that Jude Deveraux’s A Knight in Shining Armor is probably my favorite romance novel of all time – because it was the first one that truly touched me in a deeply emotional way and made me feel something. It was also the first book that ever made me cry. I also love books that can make me laugh, which is why some of my favorite authors now are Kristan Higgins, Christie Craig and Jill Shalvis. Phenomenal writers!

But, if you get to the crux of what makes a love story work, what do you think that is? Think of some of the timeless ones . . .

Romeo and Juliet.

Titanic. (Well, to me it’s timeless.)

Casablanca.

And not to get on a religious soap box, but I do believe the most poignant love story of all time could arguably be the story of Jesus Christ. John 3:16 has become more than a Bible verse, it’s almost a cultural phrase now, bandied about with little regard for its true meaning. But do you remember what those words are?

Think hard.

For God so loved the world He . . . what?

He gave.

Now whether you believe or not, the idea of that kind of purity and giving out of love – for nothing in return – is a true love story.

So what do all of these have in common?

Sacrifice.

I’ll go out on a limb here and say that I believe that as people, what we’re yearning for in an elemental way in our love stories – in our hearts – is a love that gives, expecting nothing in return. Because that is truly when love is at its best.

Wouldn’t you agree?

Thank you 2012!

It’s that time again!

My beautiful website and blog have been up for about a year now . . . I can hardly believe how fast the time has flown by and all the wonderful things that have happened! What a blessed year it’s been!

Last year as my first blog I did a top ten list of all the things I was thankful for, then I did a Very Merry, Sexy, and Sassy Christmas blog. So, I think this year I’ll do a little hybrid combo of both to celebrate my fantabulous year!

Thank you all for your support, prayers, friendship, love, and the laughs. Here’s to tons more!

Farewell 2012. You’ve been awesome. I’m most grateful for:

10. My God. As always. The blessings have been overflowing.

9. My beautiful, wonderful family. I have the best husband who spoils me rotten and the most gorgeous children in the entire world. Really, I do.

8. My mother. I’ve always loved her, but I’ve learned her true worth this year and cherish her more than ever. Love you, mommy.

7. Books and the beauty of the written word.

6. Soul Mate Publishing. Thank you Debby Gilbert for taking a chance on a newbie author when no one else would.

5. My new friend and the best boss ever, Christie Craig. Thank you for more than I can ever say.

4. The gift of laughter.

3. The gorgeous women that are my critique partners. You know who you are.

2. Gerard Butler. Yes, he will make the list every year.

1. Dreams. May they get bigger and better every year and the good Lord continue to exceed my expectations!

Now . . . on to the sexy and sassy part of this blog! Merry Christmas, everyone!

Bawling and Squawling

In my nursing career I have worked the spectrum, spanning all the way from hospice nursing to labor and delivery. Strange, maybe. But, then again, maybe not. Because if you think about it from any spiritual frame of reference, I have simply been at both ends of the soul’s journey – in and out.

Now, I’m no philosopher, but, in doing so, I have noticed a couple of things. First, in birth and death, a family will always show their true colors. For better or worse.

And secondly, we usually come into this life much the way we leave it: either eyes wide open, observant to the world around us, peaceful and calm, or bawling and squawling.

Now, is one way better than the other? I don’t know. You tell me.

I’ve yet to run across the mother who wasn’t worried when her baby didn’t cry at birth.

“Is he okay?” she’ll ask anxiously. “Why isn’t she crying?”

Now unless there’s a problem, we usually have to reassure mom that her baby is just unusually relaxed and Zen. Be happy, we tell them, it could all change the minute you get ‘em home.

As I’ve gone through life, I’ve noticed people continue to follow these same patterns. Calm and cool or uptight and squawking. You know what I’m talking about. Not always, but sometimes, right?

Life is short. This isn’t just a cliché.

Maybe we should all live to color outside the lines once in a while.

Eat that extra chocolate chip cookie.

Go to the movies.

Stay up late.

Get dirty.

Take the kids to the beach.

Don’t beat yourself up.

Write that book. (Finish it, too.)

Tell someone how much they mean to you.

Forgive and forget.

And for goodness sakes, remember that baby, wide-eyed and open to the possibilities of life when she took her first breath, and decide right now – is she going to cry or is she going to simply . . . live?

This is the Stuff

The computer has a virus.

The puppy peed on the floor.

I’m on a deadline for editing, have a blog to write because I’m hopelessly behind on my own social media, have to learn to (gulp) Tweet, and I haven’t been able to actually write anything new in weeks.

I won’t even go into the fact I still have a full time job, three teenagers, or my personal family crises.

Oh, woe is me.

Well, I decided it’s time to pull up my big girl panties and get to work. I have a book coming out in a couple of months…insert squee here… and I have stuff to do. Don’t we all?

I guess that’s the line in the sand defining us all, huh? There are those of us who ‘do’ and those of us who sit, immobilized like little frozen Eskimos of fear – overwhelmed by all we have to do, or all that is going wrong. (I’m not above admitting I’m a little of both. I quake in my boots sometimes, pausing in the middle of my doing occasionally. But I do eventually get everything done. I’m too OCD to do otherwise!)

So, I’ll keep it short today. Heck, I’m busy. Blogging, tweeting, cooking, chatting with my teenagers (or watching them roll their eyes at me…whatever,) editing, cleaning up puppy pee…um, maybe I’ll sleep or write something sometime soon. But, always, I will try to remember to slow down and be grateful that I’m living the life I always wanted.

How about you?

The Two Sweetest Words

So, what are the two sweetest words in the English language? In human language, for that matter?

“I’m sorry?”

“Not guilty?”

“I’m pregnant?”

For authors, it could be “The End.”

I suppose it’s debatable, but I’m going to toss in my two cents today and nominate my candidate.

Thank you.

Frankly, do we ever say it enough? Do you hear it enough? I think not.

And, today, as I celebrate what is probably one of the happiest days of my life, I am choosing to stop and say these two little, yet powerful words.

Over the past several months I have blogged in honor of my husband, my father, my critique partners, heck even Tim Tebow. But I’ve been saving this one for a special day. And I believe this is it.

Today, I want to celebrate my wonderful mother…because she rocks!

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Mom, for being my sounding board, a source of gentle and loving support, a great cheerleader, and true believer in my dreams. We share a precious thing that goes much deeper than a mother-daughter relationship, and I consider you one of my best friends. I’m honored to have you along on this journey with me. Let me say it again – thank you.

Now, I know this is not an Oscar acceptance speech, and I promised to lighten it up, but as I step into this new phase of my writing career – the first step of many, I hope — I had to take care of business. I’m sure y’all understand.

God bless, and I suppose I should say be looking for more from me from Soul Mate Publishing soon!

And, as the last order of business, there’s Someone else I must thank. This was a long time in coming, so please indulge me if you will.

~Shauna