Meghan Riley's Blog, page 6

What I Miss About Childhood

This is a Beyond the Books writing prompt.

I miss the optimism of childhood, when anything seemed possible. I always loved writing, but imagining how my future would be, I also wanted to be an artist and own a castle and ride horses, and that uninhibited belief that you can do anything if you really believe…well, there’s pure magic in that.

As you grow up, you realize that it’s not possible to do everything you want, no matter how hard you try. First, you aren’t good at everything. Human bein...

Why I Started Blogging

This is a Beyond the Books writing prompt.

I think I’ve started blogging 5 or 6 times throughout my life. I truly started back when LiveJournal was a big thing. What was that? 2000? 2001? Then, I discovered WordPress.com and stayed there for a little while. After I saw all the cool plug-ins for WordPress self-hosted and realized how creative I could be with it, I finally set up my own standalone blog, but I never had a real focus. It was always just my own ramblings.

As much as I loved expres...

What Do You Do With Your “Me” Time?

MRileyAuthor Azaleas on Instagram

This is a Beyond the Books writing prompt.

I have very little “me” time. My time is basically broken up into:

Sleep The Day Job Kid Time Editing/Writing House Repairs/Chores

My “me” time is whatever I can fit into the 1.5 hours of nap time and the few “I’m-too-exhausted-to-look-at-a-computer” hours I have at night during the week. During that little bit of time, I try to read and get caught up on my adult TV shows, which are “Once Upon a Time”, “Arrow”, “Th...

The Publishing of Quintina is Progressing

The publishing of Quintina is progressing on schedule. The editing is just about halfway done. This is the biggest part of the process. I’m working with a great new editor who is going through the book 22,000 words or so at a time. She’s doing a wonderful job helping me smooth out sections where I probably described things a little more in depth than I really needed to. On the other hand, you can imagine how thorough my world building has been.

I can’t wait to share the new book with you and...

Review: The Siren by Kiera Cass

The Siren by Kiera Cass

I enjoyed Kiera Cass’ The Selection series, so I decided to try out her most recent release, The Siren. This book was written before The Selection and was originally self-published. It’s since been revised/edited and re-released by her publisher. Here’s the official synopsis from Amazon.com:

From Kiera Cass, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Selection series, comes a captivating stand-alone fantasy romance.

Kahlen is a Siren, bound to serve the Ocean by lurin...

I am Afraid Of…

My Daughter

This is a Beyond the Books writing prompt.

There are a lot of things I’m afraid of. I have a huge imagination that was poked and prodded as a child by a father who got a kick out of scaring me, which has only fueled my ability to imagine how a situation could go wrong about 20 different ways. But I’ve learned how to overcome many. There’s just two things that can keep me up at night: 1. My daughter getting severely hurt in any way and 2. being forced to abandon her.

I can’t imagin...

Review: Ready Player One (Audiobook)

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

A few months back, I purchased Ready Player One by Ernest Cline through Audible. This book has over 9,000 reviews on Amazon and an average 4.6 stars rating. I’m a fan of video games and Mr. Awesome loved this book, so I felt inclined to give it a try. I didn’t have much time for reading, so I chose to try the audiobook version while I worked. Before I get into my review, here is the official synopsis from Amazon:

In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The...

The Scariest Moment of My Life

My Daughter as a Newborn

This is a Beyond the Books writing prompt.

The scariest moment of my life happened during labor. I had been in labor for about 18 hours and at this point I was so exhausted that I was falling asleep between contractions. Mr. Awesome was faithfully holding my hand through each of them and describing the monitor I couldn’t see, telling me when the current contraction would end. My doctor was in residency, so she and the head doctor who was monitoring her were coming in...

Review: The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

I’m a huge fan of Holly Black’s urban faerie tales, Tithe and Valiant. So, I was excited to see that her newest book, The Darkest Part of the Forest, was in the same category. I was fully expecting a good book, because Holly Black never fails to entertain, but I have to say it still managed to surprise me by how good it was.

Before I go into that, here is the official synopsis:

In the woods is a glass coffin. It rests on the ground, and in it slee...

Crowdfunding Campaign a Success!

I’m happy to announce that the crowdfunding campaign for Quintina was a success! Thank you to the 76 pledgers who made it happen and an extra special thank you to Tim Milam, Brian Moxey, and Melanie Cameron of Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage who really helped me to promote and fund the campaign. I’m truly blown away by all of the support.

Now, begins the multi-step process of editing and publishing the book. This past week, I signed the contract with my new editor and I am ecstatic to be...