Today I’m over at Snarky Mom Reads for Hug a Vegetarian Day. Be sure to stop by her blog and check it out. She has a lot going on over there–including a chance to win a Kindle, among many other giveaways.

Georgia Romance Writers will be hosting a Book Fair and Author Autographing for Literacy on Saturday, October 11, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. It will be held at the Peachtree Corners Room, Atlanta Hilton Northeast, 5993 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard in Norcross, Georgia.

Many Georgia romance authors will be there for the Moonlight and Magnolias conference being held that weekend, and if you live in the area, you should stop by and see us. The book fair is free and open to the public, and a portion of all book sales benefits Georgia Literacy. At the fair you can meet some Georgia romance authors, buy some signed books, and purchase tickets to win author baskets.

So grab some friends, stop by the book fair, and then head out to a nice restaurant afterwards. I promise you’ll have fun!

You can go to the Georgia Romance Writers’ website for a listing of participating authors. I hope to see you there!

Today’s book review is for Angel Eyes by Shannon Dittemore. I got this book on sale for a $1.00 at my church book store, along with many others. I went in there to get a birthday card for my husband and came out with a stack of books. At least they were all on sale!

Although I rarely read anything to do with angels and demons, this one surprised me. Before I go on, I would like to add the disclaimer that since I got this from my church, I knew it was going to be a Christian read. I say that because most of the one star reviews for this book come from people getting upset that it has a strong Christian message to it, and that’s not what they wanted–although the book was published by a Christian publishing company, it’s listed in the Christian fiction section, and the author’s bio includes that she attended Bible college. I’m just saying. The author is not trying to fool an atheist into reading this novel.

My positive thoughts on this book is it’s an adventure, mystery, and a little romance, and the story is very creative. I didn’t know what would happen next. The author was great about not giving away too much detail throughout the story. She also left it at a point where I definitely want to read the next book–and soon. Luckily, it’s already written.

As for the negative, it took me a bit to get used to the first person writing style, and some of the wording in the first chapter was a bit flowery, which messed me up in visualizing the story. However, that didn’t go on, and I soon got used to the writing style.

Even with there being some cons, I give this novel a five star, and I do that based on its creativity. The author wrote a brilliant Christian fiction read, and she brought awareness to child trafficking–which is a major problem many people ignore. I loved the message of this book. I will say that Christianity is a strong part of the novel. It’s not subtle, but it was done is such a fantastic way. I highly recommend it for adults and teens if you enjoy Christian reads with a fantasy/paranormal twist to them.

I’m finally going to attempt it! My head has been filled with stories that I’ve tried to avoid while focusing on the Alissia Roswell Series, but they won’t go away. They haunt me in the shower and when I’m trying to sleep, and just as Alissia did, they demand their stories be told.

The Alissia Roswell Series is completely plotted out in my head so there’s not a lot of major planning that needs to be done. Instead of taking a break, another young woman’s adventure has been filling my thoughts. Each of the characters already have their personalities, and I already have scenes that constantly come to mind.

I’m tired of pushing her and her friends away, and I’ve decided to write two novels at once. Many authors do this. I just thought I’d never be one of them. However, since I’m now working on my third novel, the writing process is a lot easier for me than in the beginning. You get better with practice, and that is very true for me.

I’m going to switch to Scrivener for my writing software on this story, and I’m hoping it will help me to get better organized. There are many notebooks, scrap  papers, and all sorts of random notes filled with scribbles for Alissia’s story. No one could understand them but me, and they’re spread out all over the house. I’ve actually had to search my house and purses to find certain notes.

With Scrivener, there is a section for me to write the details of each of the characters, which I’m eager to use. As for outlining, no, I don’t think I’ll ever get that organized. It’s just not how my brain works.

You’ve probably noticed I have not been hosting guest authors or doing a lot of blogging lately. That is because I’ve been focused on my writing. I’m 44,000 words into Unexpected Entrapment, and now I’m adding another project. My goal is to get at least two books out within a year, and I want to do more reading.

I avoided reading books while writing my first two novels, because I feared they would distract me from Alissia’s story. However, I’m now at a place where I can read a book and go back to writing without any problems. I need to read, as it’s a great way to study other author’s work and sometimes learn from them.

This means I should be posting more book reviews, along with adding more books to my Pinterest boards and Amazon store. If you enjoy clean reading, I hope you check out the boards and store, as I will be adding to them each week.

Last week was our first Roswell/North Atlanta Authors United meeting, and I’m very excited about the future of this group. If you are a writer in the North Atlanta area, be sure to check it out. Although it’s new, we already have 49 local authors or aspiring authors, and thanks to Heather Leigh, we already have our first project–planning a book festival for Woodstock, Georgia.

As of now, we have a monthly meeting and a separate monthly training class. The main focus of the group is marketing and networking, and I have many projects in mind as we grow. The idea behind this group is simple–We have a stronger voice within our community if we unite. Instead of one children’s author contacting the local schools for a book reading or signing, how about each school having a local author day with a group of children’s authors. The same goes for local bookstores and festivals within the area.

These are some of the novels by our local authors who attended the first meeting. There are many genres represented within this group.

It just happened to be Wayne Evans’ birthday so he got a special treat. So happy he decided to join us on his special day. And thank you, Wayne, for a copy of Is it a Bird, a Plane or a Red Chicken?