First, a little news...
We've all loved Breathless as the first book in the Breathless series. But it needed a little help with the branding. After all, how many series/books out there are called Breathless? A million, right?
It's now The SPARKS OF HOPE Series, and I think it fits perfectly! After all, the main three books are about Carly Sparks, and I think these books give a sense of hope. Not just that we'll meet a movie star in real life who will be our new BF or BFF, haha, but that there's a way to be real in a secular world. As Christians, we don't always fit into the "norm," which is rapidly changing every day. We're faced with tough choices, and we're not perfect in our decisions. But there's HOPE in a faithful life, and I wanted the series to convey that. Blog Tour
I am so blessed to have been invited to do guest posts and for these blogs to share Breathless with their subscribers. Please show them some love by visiting them as they post!
August 11 – Life as a Young Adult Writer - Guest Post August 12 - Emerald Barnes Author – Review & Guest Post August 13 – Bab’s Book Bistro - Guest Post August 14 – S S Writing - Review August 18 – Lynn’s Book Blog - Review August 20 – A.M. Willard – Guest Post August 21 – Karma for Life - Review Giveaway
I LOVE free stuff. I'm betting you do, too. So up for grabs are a signed copy of the new and very improved Breathless and a signed bookmark to one winner, and three ebooks of the same to three other winners. Yay! Enter below by clicking "Read More"
2 Comments
What happens when an ordinary girl writes the book of her dreams? I did everything I hoped to accomplish with Carly's and Ryan's story. They are happy. They are in love. And I have to move on. I feel like I'm abandoning my friends, these two wonderful people who have been such a part of me for the last two years. How can I move on, when I feel so firmly implanted in their world? But how can I live in that world, when there are so many more stories to write? And yet, how can I not? How can I leave their story where it now stands, without writing about their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren? As much as I have loved writing about Carly & Ryan, so too do I want to get to know their family. I know that sounds strange, getting to know these fictional characters, but you have to understand, they are a part of me and I, a part of them. I'm working on Peregrine, an entirely different style book. It's third person POV, it's not Christian Chick Lit, and it's not intended to be funny or cute. It's a little less innocent, as if my characters are growing up. It seems like just yesterday they were just baby ideas, newly formed in my brain, traveling so quickly from conception to the birth of my first novel, Breathless. Now, my latest characters are all grown up, leading adult lives and moving forward in ways I had never imagined possible when I began writing Breathless. Peregrine stars Elle, one of Carly's best friends, but the two girls could not be more different. She's dealing with her own life this time, a good reason for her marked absence from Carly's day-to-day life in Sleepless. I hope you will enjoy her story, embrace her as you have embraced Carly & Ryan, and get to know Stavros as a new addition in my world. As always, happy reading! <3 Becki I'm doing the scariest thing I've EVER signed up to do - run a 5k. As someone with asthma (the basis for Carly's affliction), I don't really get out and exercise as much as I would like (or need to). But I want to. I dream of joining the local pool, having been on a swim team in my youth, but put it off until we quit paying for daycare for our kids. I want to walk/run in my neighborhood, but am always worried about the hills. There are always excuses of why I can't do something, but I'm ready to prove I CAN. So I signed up for the Color Run in Atlanta the day before my 32nd birthday. Maybe I should have made sure I could physically cross the finish line first, but I'm afraid that if I try to prove I can first, I won't even fill out the registration form. I went to Wal-mart (soul-sucking, by the way) last night and bought running tights, cheap white t-shirts (to get colorful during the run), cheap shoes (lest I ruin my nice - unworn - running shoes), colorful socks and hairbands & other running paraphernalia. I also bought salad fixings. Sure, I had two salads because I was starving, but the chicken on them had just enough protein to give me the motivation to begin my first workout in who-knows-how-long. I got on our elliptical (yes, we have one - it's just been buried in our "office") and alternated walking and running for 7.5 minutes, or about a mile. Parched and slightly wheezing, I got off and rejoined my husband in the living room. After two puffs on my inhaler, I was back to feeling energized for another go, but he convinced me to let that be it for tomorrow so I would still *want* to work out tomorrow (well, today, now). So I set my alarm for about 45 minutes early and let it go off a few times, getting up about 35 minutes earlier than usual. I put on my new running gear again and got on the elliptical machine. After 8.02 minutes, I'd finished a mile. I wasn't wheezing, but my legs burned, just a little. I was parched once again, only because I hadn't downed my bottle of water that had sat bedside overnight. I went back to my bedroom and sat down to check e-mail and thought, "I can actually do this! One mile was practically easy!" So now, instead of worrying that I might not survive the Color Run, I'm thinking of how quickly I can "run" the 5k. Instead of crossing the finish line sometime around dusk, I'm hoping to come in under 45 minutes, or at least an hour. Not bad, for a girl with asthma. Thirty-two isn't looking so bad, after all. ;) No, I haven't gotten so famous that people recognize me in the store. (Thank goodness - I would probably look a hot mess!) But I was asked the other day on Facebook on a book page if I was an author, as the admin thought she'd heard that. How cool is that??
I've gotten so bogged down with LIFE that I haven't had a chance to write much lately. I've also felt a bit stuck. I know where I want Sleepless to go, but I don't want to force it. I want it be good, not fast. I guess with all of the recognition I & my books have received and the publicity I'll get over the next couple of months, I really need to finish the book, but I'm trying to do it right, and not put out #3 just for the sake of having a third book. If you're on Facebook, and if you are reading this blog, I imagine you're pretty tech-savvy, you should check out the following pages, not just because I think THEY are awesome, but because the feeling just might be mutual. ;) Girls with Books Lubs Book Chatter International Girls YA Book Club So check 'em out, tell them I sent you, and be sure to enter to win! All three should be doing a giveaway, and GWB is reading "Breathless" for the May Book Club. Happy Reading! Love, Becki On your marks...get set...write! That's right, it's National Novel Writing Month! I know I'm kinda cheating this year (having already begun my novel), but in my defense, I have to do a lot of research into my previous novels, as well as Carly's new chosen career path! So don't judge me, k?
I spent my lunch hour writing, so for all of you anxiously awaiting Sleepless, I'm on it! I intend to give it a real shot to have this book out by the end of the year, I promise! Also, in case you haven't heard, Breathless & Strapless are being discontinued for the next 3 months on the Nook. I know - SADNESS! But only because my Kindle sales are far exceeding the Nook, and I thought I'd give Kindle Select a go, but they require me to remove it from all other e-publishing for 90 days. You might still have a chance to buy it, but good luck. I took it offline this morning, and it should take 24-72 hours. I think that's all the news for today. In the meantime, if this blog post gets 10 likes (on the webpage itself, not on Facebook), I'll post a little of Sleepless Greetings from NaNoWriMo...well, almost. It starts next month, and last year, I won! No big prize, except the pride of winning, and the completion of my first EVER novel, Breathless. So this year I have a conundrum: Cheat by using the novel I've already started (Sleepless) and that I've been begged to finish, asked when will it be out? (I mean, come on, Becki, it's been since APRIL since you put out a book!!!) OR I could not cheat and start on the new project I've had in my brain, a sort of romantic suspense novel, Running, that I'm really excited about, but not really sure how it's gonna go, plot-wise. What do y'all think? Sleepless or Running? I want to finish Sleepless so badly, but maybe I'm putting it off because I don't want to end Carly's & Ryan's story. Hmm... I'm just not sure about this whole blogging thing. On the one hand, daily (weekly?) writing may help spur me on to more writing, which may lead me to finally finish Sleepless. I know, I know, Sleepless should be out already!! But most authors don't birth a book in 29 days, as I did with Breathless as part of NaNoWriMo 2011. I'm trying, I really am, but between trying to make Carly happy (she hates her job, you know) and keeping the details in line between book 1 to 2 to 3, it's just taking forever. At first I blamed my lack of computer. Then I bought an iPad. Now I'm just unmotivated. Therefore, I'm going to participate in NaNoWriMo 2012 (more on that in a separate post). In the meantime, y'all tell me, will blogging help motivate me? Or will it just suck away what little time I do have to write? Does anyone even care about what goes on inside my head, if it's not in the world of Carly & Ryan? Let me know!
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