There’s something about cold weather that makes me want to throw on some old, comfy clothes and withdraw from the world to write, read, or bake bread.  Although I was wearing shorts and sitting on my back porch just last week, this week the temperature has dropped, and it’s cold.  Luckily, my calendar is empty (which is rare), and I get to spend the week without running errands, packing, or preparing for a weekend party at our home.  Instead, I get to focus on my writing, and I’m watching my word count go up.

What makes a writer happy?  Going to bed each night feeling productive and getting closer to the end of their work in progress.  Writing a novel is extremely time consuming, and most writers never get a return in pay for all those intensive hours of writing.  So why do we do it?  We can’t not do it!  When we have a story consuming our mind, we have to get it out.

Somehow, writing lessens the chaos around me.  It soothes my soul (along with a cup of hot tea).  So, as I sit here by the fireplace with my tea, typing away, I wish you a good day.  If you’re a fellow writer, I hope you find the time to get some words typed out.  If you’re not a writer, I hope you’ll find a cozy place end your day with a good book in hand.  Hmm… I do know of a good one, but I may be a little biased 🙂

I read this over the summer, and although I immediately wrote a review, I did not publish it.  It was harsh.  This author, Kristin Cashore, actually got me mad, and I’m not the only one bothered by this book.  I have read many reviews from people complaining of the same thing.  This is not a kid friendly book, as it is supposed to be.  It sends the wrong message to children.

The first half of the book was great.  I actually loved the two main characters and their coming romance.  The female lead is a strong, trained killer, yet she had a feminine side to her.  I say had, because all of that changed suddenly around the middle of the book.  I was reading this late at night and put it down, because I suddenly disliked and couldn’t relate to the character.  I even thought she had been drugged or something.  There had to be an explanation for her sudden crazy actions.

When she realized there was a chance she could like the man she was traveling with, she took all of her clothes off and jumped into a freezing stream and swam laps.  She basically freaked out and went crazy.  By this time, she had already chopped all of her hair off and started acting differently than in the beginning of the book.

The idea of love and marriage was not an option for her.  (Remember, this is targeted at children.)  So, what was the solution?  Casual sex.  Both the man and woman agreed to this.  This book portrays love and marriage as weak and negative, but casual sex is good.

What?!  Forgive me, but what was the author thinking?  At least the couple used a potion to keep her from getting pregnant.

I don’t know if this author went through a divorce in the middle of writing this novel or what, because the beginning showed promise of a great teen romance.  However, by the end of the book, I felt like the author had an anti-love and marriage agenda.

I’ve read many other reviews about this book.  (It is a big seller.)  I’ve even read reviews written by feminists that are upset with the way the author portrayed feminists, as if they all cut their hair off and don’t wear dresses.  Although this book is getting great reviews by some, it’s also getting negative reviews for the same reason as I’m giving one.  By the end of the book (targeted at children), you walk away feeling as if the author was pushing a hidden agenda on you.  It was supposed to be a romance, yet it was loveless and weak.

My children were out of school on Monday and Tuesday, so we headed to South Georgia to visit Alissia’s hometown of Jesup.  We stayed at my mother’s house, along with my sister and her youngest children.  Not only was it my mom’s birthday on Sunday, but one of my nephews also.  It was the perfect weekend with my family.  I even got to see my oldest nephew for a short moment as he stopped in town on his way back to college in Virginia.

My sister accompanied me to my speaking engagement at the public library on Saturday, and my aunt surprised me with her presence.  Since I teach ESL, I’m used to standing in front of people, talking and answering questions.  I love to talk, and public speaking fits my personality perfectly.  I enjoyed meeting everyone and hope to read something one day from those interested in becoming an author.

Monday afternoon I had the pleasure of doing a book signing at Coastal Manor in Ludowici.  Not only did I get to meet some of my readers, but my mother was by my side, and I enjoyed our time together.  (I believe my mother is my biggest fan.)  The people at Coastal Manor have been very supportive of my writing, and I am grateful to them for their kind words.  My mother is very blessed to know each of them.

Dazzling Designs and Tanning in Jesup still has some copies for sale, and I also left some with my mother, if you don’t like to order from online.  Otherwise, you can find Unexpected Metamorphosis at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and all other main book sellers.

As with any time I spend with my family, there’s always a funny story to tell.  (I could write many books on the crazy things we do when together.)  My sister was installing a dishwasher for my mom while I was in the shower, trying to get ready for the book signing.  She cut the power off, and the water soon stopped.  I had to spend fifteen minutes standing in the shower freezing, with shampoo in my hair and eyes.  Needless to say, I promised my sister I would be murdering a red head in one of my future novels, and I won’t show any mercy!

I don’t get to see my family often, and my busy life easily gets in the way of our relationship.  While this weekend built memories I will never forget, it also reminded me of how important family is.  As I’m nearing another birthday, I can’t help but remember that our time here on earth is limited, and we should cherish the family we grew up with.  They’ve put up with us and loved us the longest 🙂

I left my camera, and this was my sister’s attempt with my iphone 5, still not good. 

My mother and biggest fan.

Thought I’d give all my readers a quick report of where I am on my work in progress.  I’m at 25,500 words and am at a big scene I’m eager to type out.  Unfortunately, I have a pile of emails that I’m behind on, a stack of interviews I haven’t filled out, the cover designer is waiting for my response, and I haven’t even begun to pack for this weekend’s two book signings.

On the personal side of things, the past two weekends were filled with a large birthday/slumber party at my house and travel to Mississippi for my husband’s high school reunion.  I still have two children with birthday parties coming up, and I have a stack of papers and emails from the schools with events and volunteer information.

This weekend and the first of next week, I won’t be around a computer much, and my phone does not get service where I’ll be staying.  Since I won’t be online much, I thought I’d let you know that I’m still working on the next book in the Alissia Roswell series, and next week I plan to focus on getting a newsletter out with a sneak peek.  Be sure to sign up for the newsletter by clicking on the link in the menu at the top of this page.

If you have already read Unexpected Metamorphosis, please click here to leave a review on Amazon.  You don’t have to have purchased the book from them to leave a review.  You just have to have read it.  If you’re a member of Goodreads, please leave a review there as well.  They are very important for a début novel, and it only takes a moment to type one out.  They don’t have to be long and detailed.  You can just let others know you liked it.  You can also become a fan on Goodreads to show your support.

Stay tuned for that sneak peek in the newsletter, and thanks for all your support.

I often get asked why I chose Jesup, Georgia, as Alissia’s hometown. To me, there was no other choice. She needed to have knowledge of living off the land. I didn’t want that to be a foreign concept for her, and Jesup is the one place I know she would learn how to hunt, fish, frog gig, and beach seine. How do I know this? Because that’s where I learned how to do all those things.

Unlike Alissia, I was not raised in Jesup, nor did my father teach me those things, except fishing. I have family there and have visited the town my entire life. Having moved around for the majority of my life, I have lived in many places, yet Southeast Georgia holds the most outdoor culture.

From pulling potatoes out of the ground to pulling nets from the ocean, you can do it all near the Georgia coast. The land is full of wildlife. I have memories of raking for crawfish to use for catching catfish in the deep, black-water ditches. Not only were those ditches filled with fish, but moccasins and gators were abundant also. (And those blasted yellow flies!)

Alissia’s memories of beach seining on Jekyll Island were my memories, as were the alligators and frog gigging. Since I threw her into a reality filled with nature, I wanted her to have a past filled with that lifestyle. She couldn’t be squeamish. She needed to come from Jesup. I guess the words to Hank William Junior’s old song comes to mind when I think of Jesup. “A country ‘girl’ can survive.”

This post will surprise most of the people who know me now, living outside of Atlanta. I don’t fish or hunt anymore, but the memories are there. I still have my hunting guns locked away. Who knows? I may use them again one day.

If you’ve never been to Southeast Georgia, I suggest you visit Jekyll Island, St. Simons Island, and Savannah at least once in your life. There’s plenty of fresh seafood and lots to do and see while there. The locals are friendly, and you’ll love their accents. Who knows? You may not want to leave.

As a reminder, I will be in Jesup this Saturday at the library from 12:00 – 2:00 for a book signing.  I will also be in Ludowici on Monday at Coastal Manor from 2:00 – 4:00.  Hope to see some of you there 🙂

This was taken in 1995 on the first day of hunting season, but I didn’t get a deer that day.

In 1997 I killed my first deer (got three that weekend). This was in middle Georgia, not Jesup.

Over the summer my husband and I found a television series called Fringe on Netflix.  There are five seasons in total, and there are over twenty episodes per season.  We started watching the series and soon found ourselves addicted, which is not something I can say we’ve ever done before.  We watched the show almost every night until we reached the end.

It’s a science fiction show, and they take the impossible and make it possible, which gives way to chaos.  I don’t want to say too much.  I read a review of the show before I began to watch it, and the review gave away a detail that I wish I had not known.  It would have been better to figure it out on my own.  If I don’t give you any details, the first two seasons will be better for you.

I can say that since watching the show, I’ve seen others typing about it on Facebook.  It seems my husband and I weren’t the only people addicted to it over the summer.

The first two seasons are fun and interesting, but the third and fourth season get a little deeper and suspenseful.  The fifth season is nothing like the others.  It’s much darker and intense, and I wonder if they had a different set of writers or director.  In the end, you’ll love the characters and feel for all they go through, which is a LOT.

As for my rating of the show, there is a lot of gross and bloody, scientific scenes, but I wouldn’t call it gory.  There’s only a couple of sexual scenes, and I considered them mild.  The scientist in the show does have a struggle with his belief in God, and if you are a Christian, there are some moments where you’ll cringe at what he says.  However, his comments are balanced out in his later self.  Although it is a scientific show and there is a struggle with science and God, the writers seemed to try to balance faith with science, which I found surprising.

I highly recommend this show.  You can watch it instantly if you have Netflix, and Prime members can watch it for free on Amazon.  I also noticed there are some books on Amazon that seem to be an addition to the television show.  I think they were written for the fans after the show began.  I doubt I will be reading them.  I have a large stack of books I need to read from my author friends.  It will be a while before I buy other books to read.

Although I have many scenes I enjoyed writing and I often enjoy rereading in Unexpected Metamorphosis, I thought I would share this one with you.  In case you haven’t read the novel, this is just one of the many fun scenes between Alissia and Luke.  She and Grady share a different kind of chemistry.  If you’ve read the first two chapters on Amazon or when I posted it on my site, then you’ve met Grady.  Here’s a peek at Luke:

              Luke stared at the men thoughtfully for a long moment before saying, “You do understand I have a problem, now that you know where she is and who she’s with.”

                Alissia stood frozen and watched as both men looked up into Luke’s eyes and began to beg for their life. They promised they would tell no one they had seen her. When their voices began to rise in panic, Luke struck each of them in the mouth and warned them to calm down. He put restraints on them, and they looked at Alissia, whimpering as if begging her for their life. Nolan was crying by now, and Alissia could stand no more. Hurting them was one thing, but killing them was another.

                She quickly crossed the short distance between them.

                “Stop this. L –”

                Luke’s head shot up, and he interrupted her in a warning tone, “If you say my name, I will kill them now.”

                She cringed beneath his cold stare. By the time she could think of a response, he was already tying a long sock around Nolan’s mouth. Instead of demanding him to stop what he was doing, she decided to try talking to him as if she was talking someone down from a ledge. In a soothing voice, she said, “You really don’t want to kill them. We can find a way out of this. I promise. We can figure something out. Just talk to me.”

                He grabbed his shirt and put it on without buttoning it, and then he looked at her.

                “Alright, we’ll talk about it.”

                Her relief was short-lived as he swiftly picked her up and replied, “But not here.”

                He was fast, and he was strong. Within an instant, she found herself being carried down a narrow hall. His left arm was under her bottom, and his other arm held her firmly in place with her chest against his. She tried to lift her head, but his hand held it securely in place. As she struggled in his arms, she wildly kicked both of her legs. She heard him excuse himself to someone, and he explained that she was a very passionate lover. She wondered why her feet had not made contact with anyone.

               “You know how Gazzerian women are,” he said to someone, with a laugh.

                She felt herself being carried up a flight of stairs, and that is when she was able to turn her head just enough for her teeth to find flesh. She then found satisfaction in hearing him groan as she bit down.

                Her bite did not last long because she soon heard him unlocking a door. Her teeth let go of him, and she held both of her legs out so that they caught each side of the doorframe as he tried to walk through. After a short struggle, he was able to get inside the room and close the door, and then they fell on a bed with him on top of her. He caught both of her hands before they made contact with his face, and he dodged the head butt she tried to give him as he pinned them down. As she struggled beneath his body, she realized they were in the same position as the first night they had met when he had tackled her. She was pinned beneath him, and he had his forehead on her shoulder while breathing heavily into her chest. Everything within her hoped the bite she had given him was more painful than the kick in his groin.