Hey There! Happy New Year, everyone! 2013 is already looking to be a very busy but super fun year. The third installment in my When Girlfriends… series is coming out in less than two weeks!!
When Girlfriends Make Choices is almost here, and currently book four is with the betas so that one won’t be too far behind. I’m also knee-deep in some more edits for other projects, and I’ve got some fun ideas swirling about for a couple other books. I’ve got some really neat book tours and blog hops coming up very soon, too, so that makes the start of the year busy and exciting! I’ll be sure to keep you posted on the tour and hop news because there are some neat opportunities for you to pick up free ebooks, even free paperbacks, fun swag, and some gift cards.
With book three coming out very soon that means there’s both a synopsis and a book cover to unveil!! And, let me say, this book is not only my new favorite, but its cover is, as well. My husband really hit the nail on the head with this cover. It captures the essence of the book so well. I just love it! It’s more detailed than my previous covers, but I still think it flows really well with the general look and feel that I’m going with for the When Girlfriends… series. What do you think?
A novel about forbidden love, the choices you make, and discovering what’s important in life.
Lara Kearns has it all. She has her MBA, a successful career in advertising in Seattle, and she’s even living with her best friend and single mom, Robin. Reliable, dedicated, and eager, Lara is the resident go-to-girl, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Lara's that girl who has everything going for her…everything, that is, except for true love. With the big 3-0 on its way and no man in sight, Lara wonders if she’ll always be married to her career, or her cat, and never find the One.
But then, when she least expects it, a handsome and suave executive at her firm, Paul Mackenzie, makes a pass at her. Hesitant at first about striking up an office romance, Lara eventually finds herself falling for her charming colleague. And the best part? Paul is falling in love with Lara, too!
What happens, though, when the man of your dreams loves you…and his wife?
Battling with what the head and the heart want, Lara finds herself in a precarious situation. Life is spiraling out of control, but with the support of her therapist and friends, Lara must make a choice. Is she really prepared to chase after love…at all costs?
This is a provocative story about struggling between right and wrong. About what you will or won’t do for true love. About what happens when girlfriends make choices.
And the synopsis? I was a bit nervous about this book, let me tell you, since the content was something akin to walking on eggshells, and maybe hot coals, too. How would I write a character and a story in this kind of a situation? In fact, after I wrote and roughly edited draft one I shoved it aside for a week or so and groused about how I thought it was not at all good. (I think I made my husband’s ears bleed from going on and on about how I was worried the story was complete rubbish.) Aside from my first book, Bumped to Berlin, this book took the most amount of time to write (write as in actually writing Ch. 1 to “the end”—all plotting and editing aside). Had I wasted three months writing?
But I did what Stephen King recommends: Take a step back and start a new project. So I let it sit for about a week, began plotting book four, and then I did a quick and light edit of Make Choices before sending it off to my beta readers. I warned them that I wasn’t sure if I’d lost my mind with tackling such a topic, but I’d greatly appreciate their honest thoughts.
This particular lengthy step-back time from the manuscript is critical to my personal writing process. Again, as King suggests, it is really ideal to completely walk away from a manuscript for 6-8 weeks and let it marinate. Don’t tinker. Don’t edit. Don’t consider re-writes. Don’t even consider the book. Just let it marinate and write your next book. And that’s exactly what I did.
When I got my feedback from my beta team and after I read the manuscript for another round of edits with very refreshed eyes, I came to the same conclusion as my betas. When Girlfriends Make Choices is my favorite, and quite possibly best, book yet. I really love it. And my protagonist, Lara, has a really great and heartfelt story to tell. Turns out I just needed to step back, take a deep breath, and return to the manuscript after writing another (and very different) kind of book—book four in the series. Also reading quite a few books, ranging from mystery/thrillers, to memoirs, to light and easy chick lit, really helped clear my head. So, I’m crossing my fingers and sending my new book out there. I really hope you enjoy it.
When Girlfriends Make Choices will be available on Amazon AND Barnes and Noble in less than two weeks. I’ll blog about it when it’s here, but until then I wish you a very Happy New Year, best of luck on your resolutions if you’ve made some, and thank you again for your readership. You make my writing so worthwhile.
Happy Reading!
