New Book Excitement

Something wonderful happened this week: I fell in love!

No, I’m not cheating on my husband… well, maybe in my mind. You see, I’ve fallen in love with the hero and heroine of my new book. Since I’m always on here whining and complaining, I figured I’d share the good news with y’all. Let’s just keep it between us, okay? Wouldn't want to lose my reputation as a pessimist.

I’ve had the idea for this series in the back of my mind for a while, but I knew up front it was single title and different from what I’d done before. It’s darker, edgier. I’m traveling in a new direction, which is fun, freaky, and frankly terrifying. At first, I was simply nervous I couldn’t pull it off. But I just finished my novella and knew I had to start writing something else. This was the only idea that called to me, and I decided it was time to take the plunge. I’ve been toying with the plot and characters for the last few weeks, and decided that since I had plenty of time to focus on my writing while the kids were out of the house, I’d finally start Chapter One.

And I did, but I only have 10 pages so far. Instead, I delved deep into the characters (so far I have 12 that populate this particular world, including H/h’s from books 2 and 3—a far cry from the 3 or 4 in my category books) and plot (the plots for books 2 and 3 started showing up in large hunks-both scary and wonderful, let me tell ya). I’ve discussed possibilities for mystery and an overarching scandal (meaning it runs through all 3 books) with critique partners, until they are probably tired of hearing from me. I’ve pulled pictures off the internet for characters, clothes, furniture, and décor.

Finally one day I realized something—every time I thought about my characters or my book, I got an odd feeling in the pit of my stomach. That twitchy cross between nervous anticipation and excitement that comes with the thought of someone you’re falling in love with. The one you can’t wait to see again. The one you want to get to know better. The one you come to crave in your life.

I’ve fallen in love with my book. Yay!

So even though I was completely freaked out and scared I would screw up, I made myself start the first scene on Thursday. To psyche myself out of the jitters, I hand wrote the first few pages instead of typing. It seemed less “permanent” that way, so if I messed up I could just chunk it and forget about it. Saturday, I started typing those words into a computer file. Guess what? They don’t completely suck. Yay, me! :) And I can’t wait to write some more (a big difference from dreading the page a few months ago).

You can keep track of my progress in the blog sidebar, which I’m going to try to update weekly.

So tell me, what’s going right in your life? Let’s have a gratitude day! (I heard that—stop your grumbling!) I’m grateful that I love my story and am once again excited about writing. AND I’m grateful to have my kids home. I never thought I’d say this, but I missed the little boogers. :) What about you?

Angel

Happy Belated Father's Day to all those supportive husbands out there! For all the times you've listened to our plots until your eyes glazed over, for all the times you've kept the kids so we could escape into our books, and for all the times you've eaten take out for dinner--we love you. You're the best!