Author Archives: rachelschurig

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About rachelschurig

Novelist. Lover of books. Fan of hockey.

Book Release!

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I’m doing a happy dance! That can only mean one thing–my book must have come out today! (oh, and Vampire Diaries is on. That makes me do a happy dance too)

I’m so excited, anxious, nervous, and happy for people to finally get the chance to read the book I’ve been working so hard on. This is always kind of a terrifying moment. Like, I-think-I-might-puke kind of terror. I know I’m getting close to release day when I start having nightmares that I uploaded the wrong file. Hitting that publish button on Amazon requires a great amount of blind faith. But it’s also one of the most exciting, awesome feelings in the world. I’m so glad I get to experience it!

On a related topic, this is chick lit month! Next week I’m participating in a blog hop–I’m going to post a bunch of information tomorrow. There’s going to be prizes and giveaways and lots of new authors to discover. I hope everyone checks it out!

And if you want to check out my new book, that would be pretty awesome, too! You can follow this link to find the kindle version on Amazon. The paperback isn’t showing up quite yet, but i’ll let you know when it does! if you want to stop back in and let me know what you think, I’d love to hear it!

In Search of a Love Story for Kindle.

Oh, Happy Mother’s Day to all the mommas out there. Have a great weekend!

So much excitement! So much!!

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Things are moving right along with the release of my fourth book, In Search of a Love Story. I can say with a good amount of certainty that it will be available for your kindle reading pleasure on Thursday, May 10th (paperback might take a little longer). Huzzah!

I am really excited about this book. Like, really, really excited. Writing it was kind of a struggle for me. I had a hard time getting into a flow until about half way through the writing process. I think I was just so used to writing about the Three Girls I had a hard time getting into a different character’s head. But once I did, I became really attached to this story and these characters. Because the writing process wasn’t all sunshine and roses, I think I feel even more strongly about this book. It’s all well and good to be proud of something that came easy–creating something that was hard fought gives even more satisfaction.

The reaction of readers to the Three Girls series was so positive and amazing. I really, really hope you guys like the new one as much. I know I do! I’ve sold more than 40,000 copies of the Three Girls books since January, which is absolutely mind blowing. I don’t know that I can ever really live up to that kind of response, and that’s okay. If people read and like this next book, I’ll be pleased as punch!

So to give you some idea of what I’ve been working on (and obsessing about. And sweating over. And crying about), I wanted to share with you the synopsis. And if you haven’t seen it on Facebook, I’ll also post the cover. My designer, Scarlett Rugers, once again did an AMAZING job on the cover art. Seriously, she is the best. My books would be wallowing in obscurity and none of you would have ever heard of them if it wasn’t for her awesomeness and eye-catching covers.

So, without further ado, I present In Search of a Love Story!

Emily Donovan doesn’t have a romantic bone in her body.

At least, that’s what her friends Ryan and Ashley keep telling her. They’re convinced her bad luck with men is directly related to her life-long lack of interest in all things romantic. When Emily’s latest relationship crashes and burns, she decides to go along with her friends’ plans for a romance research project. Sure, the idea that she’ll have better luck if she learns about the great romances of literature and film seems a little silly, but Emily figures it can’t hurt.

In no time at all, Emily finds herself buried under a mountain of romance novels, chick flicks, and sappy love songs, hopeful that her hard work will pay off with true love. When she meets Greg, Ashley and Ryan are convinced she’s found prince charming—after all, he’s rich, handsome, and totally into Emily. What more could she want? And why isn’t her friend Elliot exactly happy for her?

Faced with misunderstandings, miscommunications, and a seemingly endless string of missteps, she is nevertheless determined to give love a try. In doing so, Emily will eventually find that true romance, the kind that lasts, has little to do with stereotypes or clichés, and everything to do with finding out what’s in her own heart.

In Search of a Love Story, available on Amazon.com May 10th, 2012!

I can see clearly now…

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Well, almost.

I got LASIK surgery on Saturday. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve been in glasses for twenty years and I loathe them. Really, I do. I hate exercising in them, I hate that I can’t see in the shower, I hate that I can’t see when I’m swimming, I hate that I can’t see when Lucy wakes me up in the middle of the night with doggy kisses (At least, I think they’re doggy kisses. I can’t see. For all I know they’re monster kisses). I have contacts and I hate them too. I think they’re hard to put in and harder to take out and they generally give me a headache.

So the idea of not having to deal with contacts or glasses was incredibly tempting to me. I researched it a lot and finally decided to use some of my hard earned royalty money on fixing my eyes.

If anyone is considering it I suggest you do your research. There are pros and cons and lots of information to consider. Personally, I opted to get an insurance package with mine which would cover any “enhancements,” or corrections, that I might need. My doctor recommended this because my vision was so bad. The procedure itself was pretty simple. I won’t go into gory details but I will say it was incredibly fast and painless, though I did find it very uncomfortable and quite freaky. If they offer you Valium, take it. It helps. Love the lovely Valium!

Post surgery I had some issues. My eyes burned like mad for a good five hours, and they watered constantly that entire time. The constant feeling that something is poking your eye is hard to ignore. But I got through that stretch and noticed improvement right away. I have to say, I’ve been a little jealous of all those people who say they woke up the next day with perfect vision. Those people stink. I woke up the next day with improved vision, but not perfect. It still isn’t perfect. It seems to be great for a while then I slip back into blurry. I’m wearing reading glasses for using the computer and I have my kindle set to a pretty high font for reading. I did get to drive today, and that was awesome. So I’m keeping my fingers crossed it will continue to improve and maybe I won’t need corrections. If I do, I’ll have to wait four months. And four months of seeing like this would suck.

You know what doesn’t suck? My family. Particularly my mom, and dad, and my sister, Hannah. My parents took care of me all weekend, driving me to my appointments and to get my medicine. This was particularly nice of my dad as he is still suffering the painful effects of the Great Old-Man Trampoline Debacle of 2012. My mom made sure I took my eye drops and made me delicious food AND she even took Luce out for her walks. And when they both had to leave for the evening Hannah came over and took care of me. Seriously, how lucky am I?

(The answer is very, very lucky)

So here’s hoping my vision keeps getting better. It’s kind of important for me, being a writer and all. Even more so, I need to be able to read. The thought of having difficulty reading is one of the scariest things I can imagine. How would I get by without it? I love reading more than just about anything else on Earth (minus the people I love, of course. And Lucy). Before surgery I was in the waiting room reading a kind of crappy chick-lit. Before I went in I had a terrible thought–if something goes wrong and this is the last book I ever read, I’m gonna be pissed. Luckily I can already read somewhat with the bigger font on kindle. Thank God for that. But I promise here and now I will never take my ability to read whatever I want, whenever I want, for granted. It’s way too precious.

So what are you reading that you’re grateful for?

 

Let’s Get Fired Up

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I have a new obsession.

Last week I spent a good sized portion of every evening watching the show Everest: Beyond the Limit (My book is with the editor. I’m allowed to watch some TV, right?). Then I went up to the cabin for a few days and felt like I was in withdrawal. It felt totally wrong to go to bed every night without my Everest adrenaline fix.

What is Everest: Beyond the Limit, you ask? I will tell you. It’s a fantastic reality show from the Discovery Channel, circa 2006 (I find really weird stuff on Netflix since I cancelled my cable). It chronicles an expedition of climbers attempting to summit Mt. Everest. It was only 19 episodes long, but they are 19 episodes of fantasticness.

You might well wonder what the draw is for me in a show like this. You may have heard that I dislike snow. You may also have heard a rumor that I’m terrified of heights. Both factoids are true–I do hate snow and being up high makes me break out into a cold sweat and start hyperventilating. But in spite of those things, watching this show makes me want to chuck it all in and become a mountaineer. Crazy, right?

I think the reason the show draws me in so much is related to its epicness. These are people that are trying to accomplish a feat that is literally the hardest thing they will ever do in their lives. Their desperation to succeed is palpable. I find myself rooting for them and feeling crazy excited when they make it. It’s the story of people who are passionate and driven beyond reason. And I can get behind that.

Since I started my publishing journey I find that I seek out these types of stories–stories of passion and drive. Stories of people following their dreams, and succeeding. Biggest Loser anyone? Amazing Race? I can’t get enough. And though all this might sound ridiculously corny, it’s also very true. For the first time in ages I’m feeling really fired up about my life. Writing has everything to do with that but even when I’m not writing I will happily sit and watch people climb Mt. Everest, or lose try to lose weight on television, or race around the globe in search of adventure.

I’m looking for the epic in life right now. I feel like great things are within my reach. Anything that adds to the general feeling of potential awesome is much appreciated.

I might even watch American Idol this week…

 

 

dilemma

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I have a SERIOUS problem. I’m leaving for vacation in a few days and I have no idea what books I want to take with me!  I’m not sure if I want to read chicklit or YA or some kind of thriller. It’s a beach vacation so I definitely want it to be light and easy reading. I’m a pretty fast reader, and I plan to read pretty much all day, so my book list is essential! Does anyone have any suggestions?

Speaking of the vacation, I’m so pumped for it! Like, so SO pumped! I’m going on a cruise with some of my best friends and it’s going to be a blast. We’ll be hitting Key West and Cozumel. I’m hoping for hot weather and cold drinks for a blissful 4 days! Oh, and food. Man, there’s a lot of good food on a cruise ship. I’m drooling a little, just thinking about it.

While on this trip (the day we’re in Cozumel, which is also St. Patrick’s Day) I will be celebrating a pretty big birthday–30. How the heck did that happen? A few days ago one of my co-workers was telling me that after my birthday I should probably start getting regular mammograms. I looked at her in confusion and said, “They don’t recommend that for 25 year-olds.” Uh, yeah. Not so much 25 anymore. But I still feel like I am! Actually, I feel about 20. It still shocks me sometimes that I’m allowed to go into a bar and drink. Or that I own my own house. My friend Maddie had a baby a few weeks ago and I can’t wrap my mind around it. Kids our age don’t have houses and babies! Except they do. Because we’re not kids, we’re grown-ups. So weird!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not upset about getting older–just incredulous. I think 30 is going to be an AMAZING year.  I have plots hammered out for at least 5 books and I plan to publish my booty off in the coming year. I can’t wait!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! On the 17th, raise a green beer to me. I will be on a beach in Mexico doing the same:)

Awesomesauce

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Something really cool happened today. I went to add up my Amazon sales, like I do every day (usually more than once. Man, it’s so nice that amazon gives us these reports daily, but it also makes for some obsessive behavior on my part), and noticed that I just passed a pretty big milestone. I’ve sold more than 30,000 copies of the books in the Three Girls series in 2012.

I can’t tell you how happy–and shocked– this makes me. I never in a million years thought I would see numbers like that. And I really didn’t think I would see those numbers in just two months. It’s madness!

For everyone who has read one of my books, recommended them, reviewed them, tweeted about them, or shared them with a friend, can I just say THANK YOU. You rock more than I can possibly say. You have helped my wildest dreams to actually come true. How many people get to say that?

I really can’t thank you guys enough. What I can do is try to make my next book as good as I possibly can. So I’m gonna go work on that for a while. But please know I am truly thankful to everyone who has given my books a chance.

My readers are awesome!

 

Where to go next…

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I’m currently working hard on my next book and liking where it’s heading. I don’t have a set title yet, but I’ll let you know when I do!

I’ve been a little frustrated with myself because I haven’t been as productive as I could be. My day job has been so emotionally draining lately (and physically exhausting) and it’s hard to snap out of that and write when I get home. The other day I gave in and took a nap. Lucy, by the way, was thrilled about this, as it meant she got to lay on the couch with me. Anyhow, when I woke up, I had an idea for my next book pretty much fully formed in my head. So I guess sometimes being unproductive leads to inspiration, or something. At least I’ll tell myself that when laziness next strikes.

On the subject of being productive, I’ve been considering cancelling my internet at home. Cancelling my cable didn’t result in as many words written per day as I had hoped. The culprit? Netflix instant streaming. There are just so many good shows! And when they’re all there, episode after episode, just waiting for me, it’s so hard to turn it off and get to work. Since I cancelled my cable I’ve watched the entirety of Vampire Diaries (which I am totally obsessed with), Downton Abbey (also obsessed), Firefly, and Mad Men. So not good for my writing pace. Then there’s the general time suck of surfing the internet. Oy.

Now that I have the iPhone, I can use that for blogging, email, facebook, etc. Do I really need a home internet connection? What do you think? Could you live without internet? I’ll have to ponder it some more.

On that note, I should probably try to add to my word count before bed. Which means I should turn off Vampire Diaries. Even if they did just find out that Katherine is the doppleganger and Klaus is after her. I don’t need to see what happens next. Really. I don’t.

Oh, by the way, that idea I had for a new book? It may or may not involve Kiki Barker/Thompson. Just saying…

The highs and lows

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I hate this part of the writing process. Hate it. When I haven’t gotten into any kind of flow yet and every word feels forced. When I’m sure everything I’ve written so far is terrible.

I’m taking part in a little challenge over on the kindleboards. A bunch of authors are trying to get to 60k words during the month of February. This is like NaNoWriMo on steroids. But hey, NaNo turned out really good for me (almost 5,000 people have downloaded my NaNo novel, Three Girls and a Leading Man, in the three and half weeks it has been available!) so I’m hoping this will have a similar result on my productivity. But so far, it’s been rough.

I keep reminding myself that this is the first novel I have written that isn’t about Annie, Ginny and Jen. And it took me a while to really get to know those characters. It’s only normal that I would have a bit of a rough time getting used to a whole new set of people. They don’t feel like friends yet. And it’s really hard for me to write about people who don’t feel like friends.

At the end of my writing session tonight, I had a bit of a brainwave. If I follow it through it will take this story in a different direction. I think that might be a good thing. It will take some thinking about, but maybe this is that moment where things start to take shape.

And that is my favorite part of the writing process. That almost magical moment where it all just clicks in my brain. When I know who these characters are, what they are doing, and where they’re all going to end up. Where does that come from, that certainty in how things will go? I have no idea, but I’m addicted to that feeling. It’s the reason I keep writing, even when things aren’t working. Even when I’m tired after work and all I want to do is lay on the couch and watch Vampire Diaries. It’s the reason I stay up way too late writing despite needing to be up early. I’m always in search of that elusive, magic moment.

Will the brainwave tonight result in that magic? I’m not sure. But I do know that if it doesn’t, I’ll keep writing until I find it. It’s what I do.

 

 

There’s a new love in my life

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This month has been amazing! Three Girls and a Leading Man has been released and the free promo for Baby went better than I could have imagined. My books are doing really well and I’m getting some good reviews. There is nothing better than knowing people are digging your books!

I wanted to do something fun to celebrate, so I went out on Monday and picked out a brand new iPhone 4S. The phone came in today and I am already in love with it. I’m not the most techy person, and having a smart phone was never super important to me. Clearly I just didn’t know what I was missing! Did you know you could put all your music on an iPhone and it would play it just like an iPod?? You probably did, as most people now live in the 21st century, but I didn’t! It’s so cool! I am already having lots of fun having Siri do stuff for me and I’ve been downloading lots of apps. The camera has more megapixels than my real camera and Lucy has posed for some very lovely shots.

Hopefully I will manage to exert some self control tomorrow, so I don’t end up spending all of my time fooling around with the phone. I am in the outlining process for my next book. It feels very, very strange not to be writing about Jen, Annie, and Ginny. Hopefully once I get writing the new character will feel just as familiar to me. I’m really excited about the plot for this book and I can’t wait to get going on it.

I’m going to set myself a word count goal of 8,000 words by Sunday night. It looks like we’re actually going to get some winter weather here in Michigan, so I plan to shut myself up inside and write, write, write. Please bug me on twitter and fb to keep me honest:)

Happy Friday everyone!

An update and some news

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Three Girls and a Baby has been free for the last three days. It’s been an amazing experience. Once the dust settles and I get some final numbers, I’ll post about the experience. So much fun!

In addition to compulsively checking my free downloads, I’ve been working very hard to get the final book out. Today I was finally able to submit the files to Amazon and Barnes and Noble. If all goes well, it should be on sale tomorrow! My fingers are crossed that the publication process goes smoothly and the book shows up ASAP. I’ll let you know when it’s live!

That’s all I have for tonight. It was an amazing, crazy, kind of exhausting week and I could use some sleep. I’m looking forward to Maddie’s baby shower on Saturday and the chance to rest on Sunday. Hope everyone is settling into the new year!

 

…Oh, I almost forgot! Have you guys seen the cover yet? I think it’s totally gorgeous!

 

Night!