Current Reads & WIP’s

Hey guys! It’s been a bit since I’ve posted a book blog, I’ve been very busy lately and my summer isn’t slowing down at all! I’ve also been in a bit of a reading and writing slump since I put out Southern Rebirth. Two weeks ago, I attended Fanboy Expo in Knoxville Tennessee with my husband and our published, followed by a Fourth of July festival a few days later where we sold our books and made some new friends/fans. There’s nothing better than selling a book to a complete stranger! I look forward to continuing going to these cons and selling my ‘babies’ (books).

So what am I reading right now? I’m in between three books currently, one of them I had to put on pause because of the spooky vibes but I will be finishing it eventually! Probably after vacation. I

 

I’m most of the way through the Carlino book and it took a turn that I wasn’t expecting at all, I’ll probably be finishing this one while on vacation and getting back to the others when I return. I have them in paperback, so I won’t be toting any books with me, just my kindle!

As for my writing, I’m really enjoying this novel I started a few months ago. It’s more mature than my other two that I already have out and I can’t wait to see this one out there. I’m hoping to have it out before December! I’ve also started the sequel to Southern Rebirth that will be titled Southern Belle. The sequel will be focusing on Max and Lee Ann’s love story, I’m only about a chapter in this one. I’m also trying to get a sequel to The Last July out, but I have no idea what I want to do with it, I just know I’m dying to get back into the world of Camp Arthur.

If you’ve read either of my novels, let me know what you would like to see in the sequel!

-B

Southern Rebirth Cover Reveal

Guys! Great news! I have a cover reveal for my new novel!

Tada!

 

I’m so excited for this one! It will be the first in the series, I’m currently writing the second one, they will be focused on different characters in the novel.

The ebook is currently up for pre-order on Amazon here for 3.99 currently. Its release date is May 24th, just in time for Memorial weekend at the lake! I’m really excited about this and I hope you enjoy!

About Southern Rebirth:

A little fooling around in the backseat of a car has landed Lexi Fernbrook in a summer of solitude, exiled to a quiet house, a job on Norris Lake, and no contact with her friends.

Then Duncan comes along.

Lexi’s decided to ban dating as she gets her life back on track, but Duncan might just be the perfect guy to get her through the summer. When Duncan’s band, Southern Rebirth, hires her for some show photography, how could she resist?

Bookish Resolutions for 2018

 

1.) Read IT by Stephen King all the way through. Why is this a battle? Because I’ve never read anything by Stephen King and this book is about 900 pages. My husband started IT two months ago and he’s almost done.

 

2.) Read some classic books. I stick to YA and romance most of the time because they’re easy reads, but I’d like to read some classics that I’ve been trying to get around to.

 

 

3.) Read without feeling pressured to read. I got into doing a lot of ARC reading last year and I’m going to stay away from that this year. I’m not against ARC’s, but I feel like I have to enjoy them and write a good review for the author.

 

4.) Finally finish The Raven Cycle. Yes, I still haven’t read The Raven King yet. It’s on my TBR pile. I swear.

 

5.) Publish two of my own novels. I just finished my first set of edits on a novel I’ll be co-authoring with my husband and I just started editing another contemporary YA. Looking forward to getting those done! I just have to kick myself to sit down and complete this.

 

4.) Finish reading all the hardback/paperback books I bought in 2017 but didn’t get to. Here’s my current TBR pile of those novels:

 

 

Surviving my first book signing…

 

On December 2nd, I did my very first book signing. I’ve gone along with my husband to various signings and comic-cons, but this was the first time my book would be on the table to purchase.

Now, let me tell you, I was nervous. I was shaking like crazy on the way to the venue and I get this weird voice when I’m going to have to talk to strangers in person, where I sound like I’m going to burst into tears. I’m fairly sure I have a mild case of anxiety that I haven’t been able to shake since middle school, but I refuse to admit it sometimes.

My husband was running late, so it was up to me to get everything ready to go, I’m used to following his lead when we go to shows like this.

When I got to the venue though and set the table up, I felt a lot better. It wasn’t too crowded so there weren’t many people I could make a full of myself in front of. It’s a lot different when you’re trying to sell your own book, versus someone else’s. I was honestly surprised about how confident I was talking to people, the pride I felt for accomplishing something I’ve always wanted to do. But… I did have some trouble finding the words I wanted to say when someone asked me a question. I’m not a good BS’er or salesperson, I’ll admit that right now. I don’t know what to say to convince someone that they must read my book, but honestly, that doesn’t bother me.

I’m not writing for money or fame. Even if only a handful of strangers love my novels and writing style, I’d say I was successful. I write because it’s my passion, I want to write the perfect book boyfriend that you’re going to fall in love with and beg me for a sequel.

I didn’t sell out at the signing, but my husband and I managed to make back what we paid for the booth and then some. If anything, it was a great learning experience and I found some stuff I want to work on for the next signing. I totally need to improve on my selling pitch and get my next novel out ASAP. It was still fun. I had my very first in person sale to someone who wasn’t a friend or family member! Can’t wait to sign up to do some more next year!

If you want to stay up to date on signings and specials, follow my FB author page.

 

 

Cover Reveal and 10 Fun Facts About The Last July!

With the upcoming release of my very first novel, I thought it would be fun to share some facts about The Last July as it went from it’s very rough first draft to the final edit. Today is also my birthday, and for my birthday, I’d like to share my cover reveal with my blog followers! This has been a long time coming!

• The Last July was originally in two different POV’s, Penelope and Sampson’s.
• In the first few drafts, TLJ was a story about a romance between a camper and counselor. It wasn’t until the final two drafts that Penelope was almost 18 and Sampson was slightly younger.
• The very first draft of TLJ was written in the Spring of 2014 during Camp NaNoWriMo, I didn’t go to finish it until April 2016 when it was only 31k words. It still wasn’t finished! So it pretty much took me three to four years to write this novel, I just took many breaks. Too many breaks.
• Some of the camp activities in the novel are my favorite things that I did at camp when I was younger. Swimming, hiking, capture the flag, even the mashed potato mohawks!
• Camp Arthur is based off of the camp I attended as a kid/teen in Ohio, but is set in Tennessee because it’s one of my favorite places to vacation.
• I’ve hiked Abrams Falls (twice) and it’s a very tough trail! But the waterfall is so worth it!
• I wrote about five different final chapters, never sure of how I wanted Sampson and Penelope’s story to end. I finally went to my husband to give me their ending. Yay for having a husband who is also an author!
• In one of the many drafts, Penelope’s friend, Jenny was supposed to be a camper who suffered an awful fate of a bee sting. I quickly realized that was a bit too morbid, I was watching Game of Thrones at the time.
• TLJ is a stand alone, but I do plan on writing in the world of Camp Arthur again one day.
• The authors that I got some inspiration from over the years were Sarah Dessen and Katie Cotugno. I love their contemporary summer romances! Hopefully, one day I can inspire someone the way they inspired me!

 

I also made a blog post for the songs that inspired some scenes in the novel, find that one here. And a sneak peak that can be found here.

The Last July is set to come out very soon, fingers crossed. Follow the blog for updates on the release, deals, and pre-order!

This is an exclusive blog post that I won’t be sharing to any of my other social media platforms! So you guys get to be the first to hear the news!

Guys, now I’m starting to feel like an author!

Here’s the cover! Tada!

The Last July Pre-Order Is Up!

Guys! The time has come! My very first novel is up on Amazon for pre-order!

 

 

I can’t tell you just how excited I am for this! I have been working on The Last July since 2014 and now it’s out there for your reading pleasure! If you go pre-order it right now, it’s available on Amazon for 99 cents! What a deal! A full novel for less than a buck! Oh. My. God!

 

Don’t prefer eBooks? Well, you’re in luck! It will also be coming out in paperback too!

I’m so thrilled! Happy reading, guys! I hope you enjoy! Summer doesn’t have to end just yet, get some last minute summer reading in with The Last July, you’ll have a great time visiting Camp Arthur and getting to know Sampson and Penelope!

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Nestled in a small Tennessee town is Camp Arthur, a summer camp with mountains of possibility. At least that’s how the new owners see it. Penelope has dreamed of being a counselor at Camp Arthur ever since she was a young camper herself. And this July finally brings her chance: an opportunity to be a counselor in training with a cabin full of campers under her watchful eye.

Things get complicated when a fellow counselor jogs right into her life and takes her eyes off her job, and if that wasn’t challenging enough, news from her parents knock her even further off course.

What was supposed to be a fun summer transition between childhood and her adult years turns into something altogether unexpected. Can Penelope balance a budding summertime romance against the drama of a jealous ex and her own family troubles, or will she really have her last July at Camp Arthur?

Cover Reveal and 10 Fun Facts About The Last July!

With the upcoming release of my very first novel, I thought it would be fun to share some facts about The Last July as it went from it’s very rough first draft to the final edit. Today is also my birthday, and for my birthday, I’d like to share my cover reveal with my blog followers! This has been a long time coming!

• The Last July was originally in two different POV’s, Penelope and Sampson’s.
• In the first few drafts, TLJ was a story about a romance between a camper and counselor. It wasn’t until the final two drafts that Penelope was almost 18 and Sampson was slightly younger.
• The very first draft of TLJ was written in the Spring of 2014 during Camp NaNoWriMo, I didn’t go to finish it until April 2016 when it was only 31k words. It still wasn’t finished! So it pretty much took me three to four years to write this novel, I just took many breaks. Too many breaks.
• Some of the camp activities in the novel are my favorite things that I did at camp when I was younger. Swimming, hiking, capture the flag, even the mashed potato mohawks!
• Camp Arthur is based off of the camp I attended as a kid/teen in Ohio, but is set in Tennessee because it’s one of my favorite places to vacation.
• I’ve hiked Abrams Falls (twice) and it’s a very tough trail! But the waterfall is so worth it!
• I wrote about five different final chapters, never sure of how I wanted Sampson and Penelope’s story to end. I finally went to my husband to give me their ending. Yay for having a husband who is also an author!
• In one of the many drafts, Penelope’s friend, Jenny was supposed to be a camper who suffered an awful fate of a bee sting. I quickly realized that was a bit too morbid, I was watching Game of Thrones at the time.
• TLJ is a stand alone, but I do plan on writing in the world of Camp Arthur again one day.
• The authors that I got some inspiration from over the years were Sarah Dessen and Katie Cotugno. I love their contemporary summer romances! Hopefully, one day I can inspire someone the way they inspired me!

 

I also made a blog post for the songs that inspired some scenes in the novel, find that one here. And a sneak peak that can be found here.

The Last July is set to come out very soon, fingers crossed. Follow the blog for updates on the release, deals, and pre-order!

This is an exclusive blog post that I won’t be sharing to any of my other social media platforms! So you guys get to be the first to hear the news!

Guys, now I’m starting to feel like an author!

Here’s the cover! Tada!

June Wrap Up, July TBR & July Camp NaNoWriMo Prep!

June Wrap Up

 

 

Mann Cakes by Mysti Parker– 4/5 stars. Great beachy summer romance from a local (to me) author. The only thing that I wish was different was that the only POV’s be between Tanner and Paige, instead of all four characters.

Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry– 4/5 stars. I think I ended up liking the second book in this series better than the first book, but they’re still not hitting a perfect score with me. However, I felt more compassion throughout the book for Razor and Breanna, more than I had for Oz and Emily from the first Thunder Road book.

Long Way Home by Katie McGarry– Probably my favorite book out of this series. I feel like all the other books have set us up for Violet and Chevy’s story! Review to come!

I also just realized every book I read in June (and finished) was set in Kentucky! How cool is that? 

 

July TBR

July is not going to be a reading month for me since NaNo will be going on, but I am going to try and finish one book that I started in June and read a few chapters from a book I recently purchased.

I’ve been reading chapters here and there on Letters to my Daughters, it’s one of those feel good, faith books. I’ve been trying my best to read up more on my bible and books like LtmD:TAoBaW, it’s just a book that I’m making a habit of pulling out before bed to read and relax.

Once and For All, Sarah Dessen’s latest release, just came out a few weeks ago and I thought this would be a good book to focus on in July during camp NaNo. You’re supposed to read how you want to write, right? I’d love to be as successful of a writer as Dessen. Here’s to hoping.

And I’ll also be reading a romance novel, just to take a break from CAMP and all the other marriage/wedding stuff haha. Sometimes it’s nice to read something sexy! I’ll be at the lake for a weekend, so the romance will be a fun breather.

 

 

 

Camp NaNoWriMo Prep

July Session

Back in April, I started writing a new summer contemporary YA novel. Since then, I’ve been editing here and there trying to prepare for July’s session of camp. If you’ve been following my blog, you know I struggled the final week of camp in April, especially that final day and I only have a goal of 40k. I’m hoping this month goes a bit smoother, with a goal of 30k. I have a pretty good feeling about this one now, better than anything I’ve written before.

During edits this June, I haven’t had to scrap too much, just the last couple thousand words because they didn’t even fit with the plot. I was just writing to hit the word goal that last day in April. Probably the worst writing month I’ve ever had.

I’m excited for this coming camp NaNo though. I have a great cabin (some people from April’s session and my husband), so I should be pushed to finish. Wish me luck!

 

Camp NaNoWriMo: Week 1 Recap

It’s been a little over one week since the April session of Camp Nano began. One week already! I’ll admit, I’ve been a bit distracted due to trying to finish watching the final season of Sons of Anarchy (yes, I still haven’t finished that show) and 13 Reasons Why (based off the book, it’s so good and I’m only 5 episodes in)!

Sunday we had a cabin word war that ended up being very successful! Four or five of us ended up participating. Since we all had different schedules and live in different areas, the word war went from midnight Saturday to midnight Sunday and I ended up writing a little over 3,000 words. I’m still about 3k behind, but this weekend we’ll be having another word war, so I hope to catch up then.

One of my cabin mates told me a really good idea that helped with my writing Sunday. It’s the ‘write one page’ task. Where you can’t get up to do anything until you write one page. This helped tremendously!

I’ve also used some advice that my husband heard once where you can’t stop writing at a chapter break. That also helps a ton, because I don’t forget what I was previously writing. It’s hard for me to continue on something if I finish the chapter.

Planning on doing another cabin word war this weekend, hopefully I can catch up!

Anyone else doing Camp Nano? Any tips and tricks to share?

Current camp stats:

Also, some side news. On April 17th, my husbands new YA Fantasy novel will be released! This is going to be a good one! If you’d like to check it out, find it at any of the following links:

• His website
• Amazon

You can also get a signed copy at any of his events he’ll be doing this year! Or he takes orders off of his website and will sign.

So You Finished Your Novel. Now what? (The Last July Update)

This week I finally finished my novel that I’ve been working on and off since the summer of 2013. I finished all the edits from my editor (my husband) and I’m not feeling too bad. Well, I wasn’t until I went to consider submitting it. This week, to my surprise, has been a rollercoaster of emotions over this manuscript.

You see, I felt pretty good about this novel until about 90% of the way through the edits and then I began second guessing myself. Is this book good enough? Have I literally just been rewriting my favorite books? What if I get rejected my first time? I don’t know how to take that.

My novel is my baby. A novel I struggled with reaching 50k during NaNoWriMo, and 70k for edits, has grown over 81k words! That amazes me! I pretty much scrapped the original document, I think there’s only 15% that resembles what it originally was.

Now what? I’ve made contact with a publisher and now we wait. The hard part is trying not to edit anymore. Literally, woke up this morning thinking, maybe I should change some things.

Luckily, the first session of Camp NaNoWriMo begins next Saturday, so that will take my mind off writing on my finished novel and concentrating on a new one. I’m pretty excited about this new one too! I pretty much have over half of it mapped out!

Have you ever submitted a manuscript? What part of the novel writing process is the scariest to you?