Chick Lit Goddess

...because every author wants to feel like a goddess!

Redefined Dreams

Kind of an Announcement: It’s Time for Me to Move Forward…

49 Comments

It’s been a long time coming that I share this blog post with you, my devoted readers, but I’m excited to share this with you.  A lot has gone on since November, and posted this, which I titled “Why I’ve Decided To Self-Publish”.

There is nothing I want more than to be an author.  It’s important to me because while I’m interested in a lot of other things, writing is the one thing I see myself doing for the rest of my life.  It’s the only thing I want to do.

Here’s what I have done to achieve the goals of being an author:

  • Written a book, (2 of them, actually)
  • Worked with 2 AMAZING editors
  • Have given my second book, THE RIGHT DESIGN, to beta readers — (you know who you three are and I love y’all!)
  • And have had  TRD professionally critiqued by two brilliant ladies — (you two ladies are pure gems!)
  • **Currently, I’m still trying to fine-tune my first MS, REDEFINED DREAMS

As you can see, I’m missing the main part of becoming an author…BEING PUBLISHED!  With the love and support of my family they encouraged me to give the traditional route a try first, so I did.  I have sent queries and chapters of my MS to several publishing companies, but have had, so far, been rejected six times.  I’m okay with being rejected, after all, it’s part of the business.  At first, I kept my rejection to myself (and still haven’t told most people) because I really didn’t know how to feel about it, but as each rejection came my way it led me to think more seriously about the modern way about being published, which is to self-publish.  I’m proud of myself for even trying because sending querying my MS was a huge step for a shy woman like me.

Years have passed since I’ve written my two books and I have a lot of ideas in mind, so in order to write them and continue on as an author, here’s what I need a plan, so here’s the announcement: I will be self-publishing THE RIGHT DESIGN.  If you read my blog post that I linked above, then you know a few reason why I’m looking forward to taking on this challenge (from writer to author).

Whew!  It feels so good to share the adventure and path I’ll be taking!  Out with the stress of waiting and rejection, and bring on the stress of a self-published author – ;)!

Here’s what I’ll be working on now, along with the fine-tuning I mentioned above:

And, to share some inspiring words from author have been rejected, click HERE!

The Next Big Thing: Authors Tagging Authors!

18 Comments

Happy Friday, everyone!  Whew!  It’s been a long time since I’ve really blogged and I’ve missed it, and my followers!  Thank you for being patient with me the last few weeks, but it’s been quite a busy time in my work and personal life.  The good thing is that my office is almost finished, so I’ll be a lot more focused hopefully by the end of this month, (YAY!).

And now for something exciting…

Last Friday I was tagged by Jackie Bouchard of Pooch Smooches as part of a blog going around, called “The Next Big Thing.”  It was a pleasure being tagged along with other wonderful authors.  Below are the questions that are given to each other, along with my answers.  While some of them were difficult to answer because I’m (very) shy and don’t like to talk about myself or my books, I had wonderful advice given to me by the ladies of a Facebook group that I started, Chick Lit Goddesses.  We’d love to have you!

What is the working title of your book?  Right now I’m working on edits for my books, “Redefined Dreams” and “The Right Design.”

Where did the idea come from for the book?  I began writing “Redefined Dreams” while taking a creative writing class at Gotham Writers’ Workshop.  One assignment was to start a story with “The window…”  I had no direction at first for it, but I was a newlywed and still had wedding stuff on my mind, so the beginning story was easy, but then the characters started to “speak” to me and soon my characters came to life, as well as a story!

“The Right Design,” it was the beginning of October when I decided that I would participate in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month).  When I sat down to write this book on that first day of November, I knew I wanted my Heroine to be very different from the MC in my first book, but had no clue whatsoever what this book would be about, but that changed very quickly.  I wrote this book as if I were the main character, so I guess you could say that I wrote the book about a life I have/had/wish I had and in some ways, want.  For those of you that know me, I bet you’d be surprised, though only three people have read this book, (one of my closest male friends, my mom and my editor)!

What genre does your book fall under?  Both of my books are a mix of Chick Lit/Romance

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?  I love this question!  My dream is to write a book and have it turned into a movie, even if it’s on Lifetime, (only without Leann Rimes and Eddie Cibrian — if you don’t know the story, HERE is a summary).  For “Redefined Dreams,” I’d have to say that Ashley Williams or Gennifer Goodwin would play Lucy, Eric Dane would play Jackson, and Nathan would played by Channing Tatum.  For “The Right Design,” I would have Katherine Heigl play Carrie, Sandra Bullock to play Sara, Harry Connic Jr. would play Roger, and either Matt Bomer or Colin Egglesfield would play Brad.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?  What a great question!  “Redefined Dreams” — Have you ever been engaged to a man who turns out to be gay, but you get over it by falling in love with your ex-wedding coordinator’s son, only to end up pregnant with his baby?  “The Right Design” — What’s a better way to get over your cheating ex-boyfrind than to move to new city, only to be tempted by your client and not able to act on it because of the rules you’ve set for yourself, until he makes the first move?

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?  I’m still deciding.  There are both positives and negatives about each choice, but there is one I’m leaning towards and that’s to self-publish!

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?  “Redefined Dreams” took me a full year, March of 2010 to March of 2011.  “The Right Design” took me 30 days in November of 2011!  (Participating in NaNoWriMo was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made).

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?  I’d love for my books to be compared to Emily Giffin’s “Something Blue” and “Something Borrowed.”  Those books are why I wanted to be an author in the first place.  She’s an inspiration!  I think that Emily is the most talented and beloved author in the Chick Lit genre.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?  Like I mentioned before, Emily Giffin is an inspiration, but my husband inspired me write books one and two.  He’s a constant motivator and pushes me to achieve what I think I can’t do, but knows I can.  (Thank you, hubby!)

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?  My books aren’t just to entertain, but I want my readers to feel like they can relate to my main Heroine and/or the struggle she’s in.  While I write for pleasure, I love to write for others who can finish my book and say, “Wow, that was great,” and the character and/or story sticks with them.

I was only supposed to tag 5, but I have so many awesome author friends that I wanted to include, so I tagged 6.  Next Friday, the 26th, they will have answered the questions and tagged  more authors, and so on.  Be sure to check stay tuned and see who they tag!

Wendy Ely

Elke Feuer

Kristina Knight

Francine LaSala

Sharon Moore

Samantha Robey

I’ve Been Busy…

Leave a Comment

Last night was my first post in a long time!  Whew!  It’s been a busy few weeks since I’ve blogged, but it’s all been for a good reason!  With editing books one and two, hosting guests, reading for tours and writing my contribution articles for GHG, life gets busy.  Add a loving husband and very needy cat to the mix and it’s even more hectic (but only some of the time).

Here’s a small summary of in detail what’s been going on…

–Editing: I’m still in the process of editing my first and second book.  Book one, Redefined Dreams, needed A LOT of work, but I’m seeming a glimmer of light.  With my other book, The Right Design, I just finished the first quick run through, but now it’s time to focus on making this what I want it to be!

–Guests: I’ve had the pleasure of having Guests stop by Chick Lit Goddess, (click HERE to see all their posts).  Like I’ve mentioned before, all of them inspire me.

–Reading and Tours: When I was asked to take part in my first Chick Lit Plus Blog Tour, I jumped at the chance. I’ve been a huge fan of CLP for quite long time, and I love Samantha — she’s an awesome woman!  If you ever want to take part of a tour, I recommend it!  (Let me know if y’all have any questions if you’re interested in more information on these tours).

–Contributions for GHG: If you’ve not checked out my contributing articles at Good Humor Girl, come check it out!  You won’t want to miss out!

Do You Like Your Characters?

6 Comments

Have you ever been in the writing or editing process and haven’t liked you main (or any) characters?  Well, beginning to strongly dislike my Hero.  I’m in the editing process of my first book and I’m wanting to delete him all together.  He’s the main Hero, so this means creating a new character — maybe even a guy with a heart towards his pregnant girlfriend and the baby he helped to create!

Let me explain:

Nathan really is a nice guy.  His girlfriend is pregnant and he doesn’t want to be a father.  She wants to keep it, but he had major daddy issues.  His dad wasn’t there for him, so he’s afraid of repeating the pattern.  While he love Lucy (my Heroine), being a father part of the plan.  Lucy prepares to become a mother on her own and she’s okay with that decision.

Nice guy, right?  Ha!  I know that this might be a realty for some, but this guy is a jerk!  He’s a handsome jerk, one that could easily be described as an innocent Christian Grey of “50 Shades of Grey.”  When I wrote this two years ago, the only conflict I could think of was pregnancy because I didn’t want to write about love triangles.  (I have before in a book that I didn’t finish, but might continue with that sometime in the future).  Maybe I don’t like Nathan because I have trouble writing from a male POV!

::::::Sigh::::::

Have you ever written a book, then want to get rid of a character because you don’t like him or her?  What do you do to get your characters likable?

Editing vs. Rewrites

4 Comments

Congratulations, you’ve finished writing a book.  You’ve invested weeks, months, or maybe even years, but it’s done.  That was the hard part, right?  Wrong!

The definitions for editing and rewrites seem similar, but they’re not.

  • Editing: I thought that editing would go like this – I’d take away a comma here and there, make a few dashes in the right places, and add/delete a words every now and then.  I would change a few sentences, and then I’d be done.  I would find a publisher who would want to buy my books, and I’d be living the life like Emily Giffin and Danielle Steel.  I was wrong, so very wrong!
  • Rewrites:  I think that this is the most important part in the writing process, at least for me anyway.  Rewrites are where you delete parts of your work and write it again in a different way.  This means either changing around the dialogue, what the MC does or the situation he/she’s in .  It can also mean that you’ll need to do a rewrite to strengthen or explain certain scene(s) in more detail.  Authors go through many rewrites, and  mean a lot of them!  This is okay — it’s normal!

Yesterday I finished my rewrites to give to my editor.  It was the first time that I’d ever really done anything close to rewriting a part in my first book, Redefined Dreams.  When I sat down to do my rewrites, I was nervous.  I wanted these to be perfect, but I realize that in the writing world there is no such thing.  I’m looking forward to more rewrites, not just “editing!”

Tell me your editing and/or rewriting story!  I’d love to hear it!

Gone, But Not Forgotten

2 Comments

Hi, y’all!  It’s been about two weeks since I’ve blogged and I’m so happy to be back!

During my hiatus there’s not been a second where I’ve not been thinking about my books (editing my first, and thinking about what to do with my second – self publishing?), reading book for my reviews, my upcoming guests, and of course my fantastic followers!

In the next few weeks I’ll be busy with a few book tours, featuring some wonderful writers (Elizabeth Marx who wrote “Binding Arbitration,” Kathleen Kole who wrote “Favorable Conditions,” Toni Aleo who wrote “Taking Shots,” and Liz Matis who wrote “Love By Design!“)  I also have a few guest posts/interviews that I’m excited about hosting!  And in the midst of it all, I’ll be dedicating the rest of my time to the books I’ve written!

Once again, I’d like to thank my fans, followers, friends, and family for sticking by me.  Your support has meant so much to me!

Naming Your Book

6 Comments

When I wrote my first book, I came up with the title on the same day I finished it.  I love the title.  (It’s Redefined Dreams, by the way).  After talking it over with my mom for about thirty minutes, I did it.  When I changed the file name on my computer, just typing the title melted my heart.  I had written a book.

Well, as many of you know, I won my first NaNoWriMo!  (Yay!)  I have sat back and only this past weekend did I open the file again to start fine-tuning it.  I’m very proud of this book.  It was my heart and soul for a whole month.  I even think that I love this book more than my first one.  When I submitted my NaNo book into their word counter and it told me that I won, I was awarded a certificate.  I’ve filled in my name several times, but can’t bring myself to fill in a title.  I have no idea what to name this book.  I’ve discussed it with my husband and several other family members, but still I have nothing.  I want nothing more than to print it out, and to hang up in my office!  I want people to ask about NaNo and about my book.  Now, if I could only come up with a title…

I ask you now:

  • How do you come up with the title of your book?
  • What do you do when you’re racking your brain to come up with a title?
  • Help!

NaNoWriMo Ideas

8 Comments

**I’d like to apologize for a blog not being posted for the past week or so.  Things have been busy around here, but I thank you my faithful readers, for all your sweet comments and support.  Now, back to blogging!

It’s been about a month since I decided to take part in NaNoWriMo and I still haven’t made an outline (YIKES)!  I finally narrowed down my book idea and thought this would be so much easier, but writing it all out is easier said than done.  The parts I’m stuck on are the beginning and ending; I find this humorous because this is usually where I find it easiest.  Anyway, to help motivate me, I’ve started to watch The Bold & The Beautiful once again, and it’s working!  I quit cold turkey on my soaps (I loved As The World Turns) when I was writing my “Redefined Dreams,” and so much on that show has happened!  I can see why it’s won so many Daytime Emmy’s!

I can see how not only reading can jog some thoughts, but so can TV!  It can also be very distracting, which is a good thing B&B is only a thirty minute show.  I hope by the end of this week I will have an outline for what will be my second completed book!

Wish me luck!