ARCs and book covers and things

Okay, so today I sent out some ARCs, or Advance Reading Copies. I'm hoping this gets the ball rolling on the excitement concerning HOME's debut. I had to bug some of my fellow writers for author blurbs so I could either 1. put them on the book's cover or 2. put them on my website. I freaked out, feeling like a jerk and that I was being obnoxious, but then I realized the answer will always be no if you never ask. Also, "no" is the worst thing that someone can say if you ask them to do a favor for you. So, I asked away and was surprised by the reaction and the number of authors who agreed.

Abandoned Tour Stop for Elisa Dane!

Hey, y'all!

Spent a weekend in Mexico, and I just got back Monday night after a very short (but fun) tropical vacation! I'm probably going to picspam my Instagram account later today, so keep tuned! I got in kind of late due to rain delays, but I swore I'd put up a review of Elisa Dane's latest stand-alone book. SOO good! You've got to read it for yourself, people! I also got to interview Elisa Dane, she was sweet enough to answer to my questions after my review! And if you can't afford to buy her book right now, you can enter the rafflecopter contest to win a copy, links at the bottom!

Tierra Owens is a girl down on her luck and just trying to make it through the high school until she can audition for NYCDA. She has a terrible relationship with a verbally and psychologically abusive mother who's been so unloving and hateful wit her that she believes she's trash and the reason why Mom's life was ruined. Luckily, she's got a best friend named Kaylee, whose family adores her. In a shocking moment, the first and only boy she ever loved years ago, Mattie Forrester, reappears in her life. Why did Mattie leave without trying to contact her? Tierra believed it's because she's trash and completely worthless. And then suddenly, her mother leaves, not caring what happens to Tierra. Tierra must find her self-worth as her survival skills are put to the test.

New Secret Project!

I did it! Got another secret ghostwriting project! Can't wait to start it. In the meantime, though, I have to focus on expanding HOME. Super news about that coming up soon, too!

That cold kicked my ass most of the snow weekend! I didn't even get to enjoy it! I spent most of it sleeping and coughing and feeling miserable. For some stupid reason, I even binge-watched the entire series of Celebrity Plastic Surgeons of Beverly Hills on Netflix.

Honestly, I thought it was contrived and kind of scripted. I also drank a lot of wine and tea, seeing as I didn't really have anywhere much to go or things to do. Tennessee basically shuts down during snows. We're just not equipped.

The moment I got back to work today, we were basically bombarded. I've really got to get on working on my writing outside of my day job.

Have a good week, y'all!

Snow Day is a Writing Day!

It's a snow day in Middle Tennessee!  That means all the bread and milk is gone from the grocery stores and the schools are closed! And guess what... we only got an inch of snow, at the most. 

But I have a Mac... nyuck, nyuck

I don't bother driving on the interstate during a snow day because people just don't know how to drive on slick and icy surfaces here. It would take hours to get to my job 20 miles down I-24. So, today is a writing day, too!

What downtown Nashville looked like this morning

I'm trying to edit and expand on Home right now. It's way too short to sell as a YA novel. But, I'll get there. I haven't really worked on it for a long time (like six months) so I've got fresh eyes to look at it, which is a good thing.

I'm also finishing up a Harry Potter movie marathon from the long weekend, in honor of Alan Rickman's passing, plus, I've been listening to a lot of David Bowie. Man, we lost some great artists last week! I still stand by that the only man allowed to sparkle is David Bowie and Alan Rickman will always be my favorite movie villain.

Unfortunately, I'm getting the beginnings of a sore throat and sore sinuses. Boo! I hate getting sick. I'm just going to sip some hot tea with honey and some whiskey (afternoon thing), and try to exercise it out of my system. Shaun T's T25 and Zumba Wii, here I come! I'm also going to use my friend Lindsay Penner of the Green Penn's cure-all recipe for colds she shared with me:

1-2 tomatoes
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
Dash of cayenne pepper  

Directions: Blend tomatoes, add in apple cider vinegar, garlic, and cayenne pepper. Drink this before bedtime and a nap to get it to work. These ingredients are great antibiotics, and you can thin it with water.

I hope this helps you out if you're going through a rotten cold! I'm going to give it a try and I'll update y'all on how it works.

Have a nice snow day!

PS: I hope you all saw Elisa Dane's cover reveal and pre-ordered Abandoned. Come on, y'all! Right now it's only $0.99 on Amazon kindle! Add it to your Goodreads TBR, too!