Category Archives: Uncategorized

One More Day!

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You guys, Kiki’s book comes out TOMORROW!

Can you tell that I’m excited about this?:) I really had a great time writing this story, and Kiki is one of my favorite characters, so I cannot wait for people to read this book!

Here’s a little synopsis so you can see what it’s all about it!

Kiki Barker-Thompson has always lived a charmed life.

Blessed with wealth, a loving family, a dream career, and the perfect husband, Kiki appears to be living a modern-day fairy tale.  But when a startling loss turns Kiki’s world upside down, she realizes that her perfect fairy tale life may not be so perfect after all. Maybe living happily ever after is not all it’s cracked up to be!

For the first time in her life, Kiki has to learn to deal with true heartache—and the repercussions for her marriage are far-reaching.  To make matters worse, Kiki must work with a nightmare client in the form of a frenemy from the past—or risk endangering her new business. Their uncomfortable reunion will force Kiki to confront issues and insecurities that she left behind long ago.  Or so she thought.

With her unshakable spirit and optimism, Kiki Barker-Thompson must now learn to re-evaluate her choices—and her dreams. In doing so, she may just find that a real-life happily-ever-after could be possible after all.

I really, really hope you guys like it!

To celebrate the release, I made the first book in the series, Three Girls and a Baby, free on kindle. The promotion has been going really well so far! More than 20,000 copies of the book have been downloaded so far! Yay! If you haven’t read Three Girls and a Baby yet, now is your chance to pick it up for free here at Amazon.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week so far!

 

Celebrate Kiki with a free ebook!

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I wanted to share some of my excitement about the upcoming release of Kiki’s book so I’m offering the first book in the series, Three Girls and a Baby, for free on Amazon. If you don’t have Baby for your kindle yet, head over here to pick it up for free! Don’t have a kindle? You can download a free kindle app for your computer, phone, or iPad here.

One of the best things about publishing on Amazon is the opportunity I have had to interact with other authors, book bloggers, and book site creators. There is such dynamic community of people out there who love books and dedicate so much time sharing that passion with readers! My free book was featured on a few really cool websites today. I wanted to make sure to provide the links to those sites so you can check them out. If you have a kindle or kindle app I highly recommend you follow these awesome sites to keep up to date on kindle deals!

Free Kindle Books and Tips

Flurries of Words

Bargain eBook Hunter

Pixel of Ink

Kiki’s Book! Excitement!! Exclamation Points!

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As I write this, I am literally jumping up and down on my seat—that’s how excited I am right now. Why am I so excited? Two words: Kiki’s book.

It’s almost ready to go, you guys! I’ve worked so, so hard on this book. At times it was a struggle but I ended up loving how it turned out. Kiki is such an awesome girl and I just can’t wait to share her story with everyone!

Now that things are getting so close, I can share some details with you guys. First of all, the book should be available for Kindle and Nook next Thursday, July 26th. That’s a little over a week away! I can’t wait for it to be out in the wild so I can talk to people about it. I’m sure my beta readers are tired of hearing me go on and on about these characters:) Soon I’ll be able to talk to everyone else as well!

Now for the name: I thought long and hard about the title for this story. For so long in my head it was just called Kiki’s Book. But I doubted that would go over so well as a title! In the end, I decided on The Truth About Ever After.

Kiki’s book is the story of a girl who seems to have the perfect fairy-tale life. Kiki has money, power, a great family, and is married to the love of her life. But even Kiki will find that life can’t be perfect forever. I wanted the title of her book to reflect that. Kiki had the perfect happily ever after when she married Eric in Three Girls and a Wedding: but what happens next? What happens when the fairy-tale is over and real life kicks in?

Of course Kiki deals with all these difficulties in a very Kiki-like way. She’s funny and optimistic and completely loyal to the people she loves.

If you can’t tell, I really love Kiki. She’s one of my favorite characters that I’ve ever written. From the moment I first started writing about her, she took on a life of her own. Originally, the rich girl in Jen’s book was supposed to be a snobby brat. But right away Kiki let me know that that wasn’t her—not by a long shot. I had little choice but to go along with it and write her the way she demanded to be written. I know there are some people who might find her a little over the top, but I hope learning more about her life will convert even those who may not always have been crazy about her.

One of the most exciting aspects of the publishing process, in my opinion, is getting the cover art back from my amazing artist. Scarlett Rugers has, once again, exceeded my expectations. I absolutely love her work. If you’re an author looking for a great cover to make your work stand out, you should really give her a try at www.scarlettrugers.com. Here’s what she did for The Truth About Ever After. Isn’t is gorgeous??

Alright, that’s it for me, for now. I am currently hard at work on my next book—or I am when I can drag my mind away from how excited I am for The Truth About Ever After. I have managed to get my stop-work-to-stare-at-pretty-cover-in-amazement breaks down to a bare minimum—hopefully that can continue!

 

Happy Wednesday everyone!

 

 

 

30 and Out

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I hate when things feel bittersweet. I honestly think I would rather feel downright sad than have that tinge of bitter tainting what would otherwise be a pleasant emotion.

Today, the student’s last day of the school year, was a bittersweet day.

I’ve been a special education teacher for the past four years. During that time I’ve met some truly amazing people. I work with some of the most patient, compassionate, passionate professionals that I’ve ever known. Many of these people have become friends—some are like family. The students that I’ve worked with represent the definition of kindness. They are open minded, sweet, funny, loyal, hardworking, and positive, even in the face of enormous challenge. They humble me on a daily basis and I have loved being their teacher.

So it’s a bittersweet feeling to reach the end of the school year, the end of this school year, because I know I won’t be back with them in September. When fall rolls around, for the first time since I was five years old, I won’t be starting a new school year. I am so lucky to work for this amazing school district because they are allowing me to take a leave of absence to concentrate on writing for a year. Come fall, I will not be working as a teacher; after today I will officially be a full time writer.

A little more than a year ago, and a few months before our 29th birthday, a dear friend and I embarked on a crazy scheme. We were going to get serious about writing, publish our books, and make every effort to be where we wanted to be in our lives by the time we turned thirty. We even had a name for our plan: 30 and Out. It was a promise to ourselves, a mantra, a motivation to kick our own butts and get a move on. Our own personal revolution. 30 and Out.

I’ve done everything I could over the past year to try to make that promise come true. I’ve written hundreds of thousands of words. I’ve researched my market and the publishing industry. I’ve given up free time and skipped social events. I’ve forced myself to sit and write even when I didn’t feel the slightest amount of creativity or motivation.  I put out four full-length books and pretty much worked my tail off, in addition to teaching. Some of the time that sucked, some of the time I felt tired and discouraged. Okay, a lot of the time I felt tired. Writing 30 hours a week in addition to working full time is no joke!

But it’s also been the most amazing year of my life. In the past year I’ve told stories that I’ve wanted to tell for ages. I’ve had the chance to work with some truly gifted professionals in this field. I’ve sold more than 45,000 books. Most importantly, I am satisfied and fulfilled in a way I never thought possible. Every day I feel a rush knowing that someone, somewhere, may be reading one of my books. There is no better feeling than that, honestly. The idea that I’ll get to do this thing full time is completely mind blowing. Exciting. Scary. Overwhelming.

For the next year I am sure I will miss teaching, but I am also certain I will wake up every day excited to write, excited to focus all my attention on this thing I love so much. I am positive I will miss my students and I will miss the people I work with, but at the same time I am so proud to say that I did what I set out to do a year ago: I changed my life.

I’m not totally sure what this new life will look like, but I’m excited to find out. And I’m excited to be able to continue to tell my stories. I promise I’ll let you know how it goes.

30 and out.

Congratulations!

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The 2012 Chick Lit Authors Blog Hop has officially ended! I had such a good time reading all the various posts and an even better time reading your comments. I hope everyone had a good time and found a ton of new chick lit books to enjoy!

The winner of my ebook giveaway is Lauren M. Congrats, Lauren! I hope you enjoy In Search of a Love Story. I’ve sent an email with instructions on how to redeem the book from Amazon.

The winner of the Sephora gift card is Tiffany White! Congrats, Tiffany!

I hope everyone had as much fun as I did. The hop was a nice distraction from me from my writing:) Now that it’s over, I guess it’s back to work. Kiki Barker-Thompson is proving to be a really fun character to write!

In other news, only 16 more days of work for me. Summer vacay here I come! Wooo!

 

Chick Lit Author Blog Hop 2012: My Life in Chick Lit

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It’s Blog Hop time! Are you as excited as I am? I hope so! If you’re not familiar with the rules, head over here. Otherwise, let’s get started (don’t forget to keep your eyes peeled for my italicized secret word!)

***

I love chick lit.

It’s always been my favorite genre to read, and it’s definitely my favorite genre to write. Any time I visit bookstores, used books sales, or garage sales, the very first thing I do is search out the chick lit. Don’t get me wrong, there are many genres that I enjoy reading. In fact, there are few things that I won’t read. But 9 times out of 10, give me a tummy-flipping romance with a slew of strong characters and a dash of humor and I’ll be a happy girl.

I think the main appeal of chick lit for me is a combination of escapism and relatability. My favorite books are those that combine relatable characters with some element that exists outside of my realm of experience. I’ve never been to rehab like Rachel Walsh in Marian Keyes’s Rachel’s Holiday, but I know what it’s like to get overwhelmed by my mistakes. I haven’t run away from my career and home like Samantha did in Sophie Kinsella’s Undomestic Goddess, but I have experienced the yearning for a fresh start. I’ve never lived in New York, the way the girls do in Candace Bushnell’s Sex in the City, but I definitely know what it feels like to create a second family with the best friends a girl could ask for.

There’s a shelf in my office here in Michigan filled with many of my favorite chick lit books.

I own many more in ebook form. Looking through these brightly colored pretty covers is like talking a walk down memory lane. I can remember where I was when I read many of these books, or what was going on in my life. I can also point to the exact element in each book that I felt a connection to, what made the book stick enough that I would want to keep it on my shelf and re-read it time and time again.

In celebration of International Chick Lit Month, I thought I would talk a little bit about five of my all time favorite chick lit books and how they relate to my own life. The books I’ve chosen are written by different authors and feature characters at different stages in their lives and careers. What do they have in common? Each is funny, romantic, and, most importantly, FUN! So let’s get started!

5. A Hopeless Romantic by Harriet Evans.

I love this book! If you haven’t read anything by Evans stop reading this and get yourself to Amazon. I have yet to read something by Harriet Evans that I don’t love. A Hopeless Romantic was actually the first Harriet Evans book that I ever read. I bought it before I traveled to England for the first time. You might notice that all the books on my list are by British authors–there’s a reason for that. I’m kind of obsessed with the UK! Obviously my first trip to London was a huge deal for me. Before I left I got my hands on as much British chick lit as I could find to get myself in the mood. I fell in love with this story about a young woman whose obsession with romance has caused numerous problems in her life. The book is set both in London and in the British country side–bonus! And to this day, every time I read it I remember the feeling of overwhelming excitement as I planned my first trip to England.

4. Can You Keep a Secret by Sophie Kinsella

You really can’t have a best-of list about chick lit without mentioning Sophie Kinsella. She really is the epitome of the genre. Can You Keep a Secret is probably my favorite Kinsella book, but it’s a close one! Can You Keep a Secret is the story of a young woman who accidentally confesses her deepest, darkest secrets to a stranger. This omission, of course, comes back to haunt her! My friends and I always talk about our “secret shames.” You know those movies or songs or TV shows that you secretly love but don’t want to admit to because they’re embarrassing? Yeah, I have A LOT of those. From Vampire Diaries to High School Musical to my all time favorite band (which will remain nameless) my list of interests are a hodge-podge of things that no self-respecting 30-year-old should ever admit to. Can I relate to Emma Corrigan? You bet I can!

3. With or Without You by Carole Matthews.

Okay, I admit that it’s kind of weird to say I can relate to a book about a woman who ditches her job and home in order to go trekking around Nepal. I’ve never been trekking anywhere, and I’ve certainly never been to the Himalayas. In fact, I’m pretty terrified of heights and I have a hard time even driving through mountains, let alone trying to climb one. But I can’t help but be drawn in to the story of a woman whose life is not going according to plan. When Lyssa’s life starts to fall apart around her, she decided to chuck it all and take off, alone, to Nepal for a month. While there she realizes she’s a much different, stronger person than she ever imagined herself to be. The world is bigger than Lyssa realized, and there’s so much more to living than she could have dreamt of.

A little more than a year ago I found myself feeling really unsatisfied with where my life was going. I was bored, lonely, and unfulfilled. I didn’t feel like my life was where I had imagined it would be on the cusp of turning thirty. After feeling bad for myself for a while, I decided to do something about it. I published my book, Three Girls and a Baby, last July and haven’t looked back since. In doing so I learned more about myself, and the life I want to live, than I ever had before. There’s a big world out there, and I’m so excited to finally be living in it to my full potential!

2. Making Mischief by Elizabeth Young.

It makes me sad that Elizabeth Young isn’t better known amongst chick lit readers. She is, by far, one of my favorite authors. I highly recommend you check out some of her stuff. You won’t regret it! I first read Making Mischief in my pre-England chick lit craze, but that’s not what I think of when I re-read it now. Making Mischief is set at a resort in the Caribbean and features white sand beaches, turquoise blue water, fruity cocktails, and, obviously, an adorable love story. Naturally, I took this book with me when my best friends and I took a cruise to the Bahamas a few years ago. When I re-read it now, I’m immediately taken back to sitting on a lounge chair, the sun shining above me, the ocean spread out around us, a drink in my hand, and my very best friends all gathered around me. Ahhh.

1. Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding

This should be a no brainer. Bridget is kind of the Grandmother of Chick lit. There’s a good reason for that–the book is hilarious, romantic, and focuses on my personal favorite theme typical of the genre: friendship. I love this book. I love Bridget’s urban singleton family, I love her crazy parents, I love the roguish Daniel, and I love, love, love Mark Darcy. I love that my best friends and I continue to quote lines from this book in our every day conversation. I love that as I get older I relate more and more to this character, this every-girl who struggles with her weight, her career, her relationships. The first time I read this book I was in my early 20’s, positive I would be married with babies before I reached Bridget’s age. Things haven’t worked out that way. In fact, I’m much more like Bridge than I ever thought I would be. And I’m totally okay with that! And who knows, maybe, just like Bridget, I might find my own Mr. Darcy someday.

So that’s my list! What do you think? What would be on your ultimate chick lit list? Leave a comment and let me know (or maybe take a guess at my secret-shame favorite band), and you’ll automatically be entered to win a free Amazon ebook copy of my new book, In Search of a Love Story! Make sure you leave your name and your email address with your comment. I’ll be announcing the winner on May 21st. The contest is only open to those living in the United States, sorry!

That’s not all! Don’t forget about the Sephora gift card. $150! That’s not bad! Check out the details below. Good luck, and VIVA LA CHICK LIT!

***

For a chance to win the Chick Lit Author Blog Hop Grand Prize of a $150 Sephora gift card, simply do the following:

  • Collect all 34 of the secret words (you will find a secret word in each of the blog posts on the hop.)  The word will be italicized, so it will be easy to locate.  ***HINT***The secret word in my blog hop post is near the picture of my bookshelf!
  • Submit your list of 34 secret words toCLABlogHop@aol.com before midnight on Sunday, May 20th and you will be entered into the Grand Prize Drawing!
  • The Grand Prize winner will be announced on Monday, May 21st, and the $150 Sephora gift card can be redeemed online, or at any Sephora store in the US.
  • Chick Lit Author Blog Hop contests are open to residents of the United States only.
Please see the link below for a Linky list with all 34 participating authors/blogs.  You will have an opportunity to win a different e-book at each blog hop stop.  Good luck!

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Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…

Celebrating Chick Lit!

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I’m really excited to be participating in the Chick Lit Author Blog Hop 2012! There are some awesome authors involved in this blog hop and I think it’s going to be a really good time. The blog hop was planned to celebrate International Chick Lit month, which takes place every May. I love writing (and reading!) chick lit, and I’m pumped to be part of something that celebrates and promotes the genre.

So what’s the blog hop all about? It’s pretty simple, really. Beginning on Monday, the 34 participating authors will all upload a chick lit-centric blog post. By checking out each post, you’ll have the chance to win a free ebook from each author. All you have to do is leave a comment and you’ll automatically be entered to win! That’s more than 30 ebooks–all up for grabs! And there’s more! At the end of the week you can enter to win the grand prize–a $150 Sephora gift card! All you have to do is collect the “secret word” from each blog post you visit (the word will be italicized). If you collect them all, you can be entered to win the grand prize. Pretty good deal, right?

To find out how to participate, head over to Tracie Banister’s blog. She has all the rules and info on how to get started. I hope you’ll join us! i think it’s going to be a really fun week. And I can tell you from experience–there are some AWESOME authors participating. I would be eager to win books from any of these ladies, for realz!

See you next week!

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?