Celebration Time

The barista always knows how my day is going, based on order. Today I got a “long black? Congratulations!”

And congratulations is right, if I do say so myself. No need for a mood-boosting mocha today, because I finished the first round of editing for the current book. And damn, but I love this story!

Now only five more edits to get through…

 

(Are you on Twitter or Instagram? I love hanging out with fellow readers and writers. http://twitter.com/AuthorLibby and http://www.instagram.com/authorlibby/)

Bribing The Muse

 

The first round of editing is always a tough one. You find lots of silly mistakes, rushed conversations, cardboard characters… But that’s fine, that’s why we edit!

Except yesterday my muse ran away. One particular paragraph needed a major overhaul, and I was blank.

So I did what any good writer does, and set out to bribe her. I got a mocha, with marshmallows of course, and sat down in the sun to clear my head. Staring up at the blue sky through this tangle of branches, birds singing around me, my brain unfocused… I may have napped for a bit.

Today I sat down in front of the WIP, and the muse has returned. The troublesome paragraph was sorted in about five minutes flat!

So if all else fails, bribe the muse. Every time.

 

(I love hanging out online with fellow readers and writers. Instagram https://www.instagram.com/authorlibby/ and Twitter https://twitter.com/AuthorLibby)

What’s Next?

Now that the Hawaiian Heartbreak roller coaster is over, what next? Well, I may not look like it, but I do have a plan…

Tess obviously had her own drama going on in the last book. If you go back further, you’ll actually see she had her own background issues happening right from the very beginning.

I always knew problems in her life would end up causing a rift with Kayla. But when it came to that last book, I ran into a problem. I just couldn’t do her story justice and keep it to a similar length as the other two books.

So I’ve been busily beavering away at a story just for her, and now I can finally say I’ve finished the first draft! It’s a full length, standalone book, all about Tess. Although of course there are lots of Hawaiian Heartbreak nods for those of us who’ve been here since the beginning.

I hope you’re as excited about the Tess news as I am. Now to start the first round of editing… Eep.

 

(Current WIP: let the editing begin.)

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Hitting A New Milestone

You know how it is when you’re addicted to a book you’re reading? You have stuff planned for the day, but even while you’re hanging out with friends or family you’re secretly looking forward to getting back home so you can read some more?

Well, here’s a secret; writing a book can be pretty much the same. Sure it’s hard work, but when you’re on a roll you begrudge anything that stops you! So, between Easter chocolate and hanging out with people this long weekend, I kept sneaking away for a date with my keyboard, sorting out the latest project.

And hey, you can’t argue with results, because I hit a new milestone.

Yep, past the 40,000 words mark, and past 100 pages. (That’s 100 pages of a Word doc draft, which is more than 100 pages of a printed book, FYI!) Not only is this past where I’d hoped to be by now, but it’s actually the longest book I’ve written so far.

Because of course, the Hawaiian Heartbreak trilogy book were novellas. Sure they can be read all together, making them slightly more than the length of your average book. But each novella is its own distinct story, with its own little life cycle.

Whereas this is one stand alone story, and it’s bigger from the start. Which is proving to be a lot of fun! And so we’ve raced to this little milestone, and I’m taking a moment to celebrate.

I don’t want to jump the gun, but we’re almost at the point where I’m ready to tell you what it is I’m working on. Of course, I’ll tell my mailing list about it first – it’s only fair! If you want to sign up, I also do exclusive giveaways there. You can sign up right here http://eepurl.com/bwTdtD

How was Easter for everyone else? Don’t worry, I don’t expect you all to be workaholics like me!

 

(If you’re on Twitter or Instagram, I love to chat. http://twitter.com/AuthorLibby and http://www.instagram.com/authorlibby/)

PSA: If You Have A Kindle, Update It. NOW.

Remember when I told you Kindle was making some changes? Well, to bring those changes in, they’re also updating your eReader.

The deadline for downloading the update? March 22. So you have only hours left, hop to it!

This reminder brought to you by my calendar, and my own failure to download the update so far. Fixing that…NOW.

If you’re not sure if you need the update, I’ve got you, boo – here’s a graphic to check whether you need it or not. Now move move move!

A Shiny New Era

 

I’ve been loyal and faithful for a long time. But it’s time to have a chat with my significant other. I just don’t think I’m a one-store kind of woman.

My books have been going straight to Amazon so far. And I’ve loved working with the ‘Zon – still do, in fact. Their Select programme lets readers who pay a monthly fee treat my books like they’re in a library, checking them out for no further cost to them, while I get paid by pages read.

But. The price of the system is being exclusive to Amazon. So, while I love making books available for readers to try, I can’t ignore the readers who don’t use Kindle. It’s just not fair to them.

This was the first picture that came up for “open relationship”, and it’s being included purely for that glorious bucket hat.

So I’ve had a chat to Amazon about trying an open relationship. Now I’m flirting with iBooks, Kobo, and Nook. They’ve been very attentive so far, which I do like in a partner.

As of now, I can’t see me going back to exclusivity. So hello, Nook and iPad readers! It’s a delight to meet you, let’s hang out some time.

 

P.S. Bonus points to anyone who caught the Lion King reference in the title, and now has the song stuck in their head.

 

(Current book progress: 26,378 words into first draft)

Meeting The New (Book) Baby

It’s a weird thing leaving one book behind. Even weirder starting the new one. One moment you’re obsessed with a group of characters, interrupting conversations to scribble down a plot note, and the next… You send them out into the world for readers, and you move on.

Technically my last project was three books, but they had the same characters throughout. I feel like I know Jay and Kayla inside out by now! By the third book, it was pretty much instinctual to write how they’d react to certain situations.  Not to mention, to each other 😉

After leaving them behind I meant to give myself a bit of a break. Which I did…for a week. Then I couldn’t ignore the burning niggle of a new story, and told myself I’d just write a couple of pages to see where it went.

As you’ll see by my last few blog posts, I didn’t stop at a couple of pages! (By the way, do you like seeing my book progress? I thought it was a bit of fun, and it’s one way to stop me slacking.) The new story is quite a different one from the lighthearted fun of Kayla and Jay, and the change of pace is refreshing, I’ve gotta say.

One thing I wasn’t expected is that new characters and a new tone has led to a different structure. Not radically different, but the chapter length and frequency has certainly changed. Not to mention there’s a bit less description, because, well, we’re not in Hawaii anymore.

If you write, do you find new characters change the structure of your book? And what do you think of my book progress updates?

 

 

(Current book progress: 20,149)

Free Stuff Is The Best Stuff

 

Freebies! Do you want them? A chance to get your mitts on books from any and all genres?

I’ve teamed up with some of my author buddies to create a book fair. It starts on Facebook this Saturday – yes, this Saturday. We’ve got lots of giveaways scheduled and posts about new books every day. Check out the link to get amongst it.

http://www.facebook.com/events/927569970656592 

I’ve put a copy of the Hawaiian Heartbreak trilogy up for grabs – yes, all three books. And while there are plenty of other romance authors involved, there’s also fantasy, sci-fi, mystery… the list continues. There’s almost 100 authors taking part, so I can guarantee you’ll find something to tickle your fancy.

Happy reading, and good luck with the giveaways!

The Times A-Changing For Kindle

Change is coming to Kindle! This is particularly big news for romance readers and writers, because damn, we get through so many books that most of us are eReader addicts.

 

I know, change is scary, but I think these are genuinely exciting! For one thing, it’s linking to your Goodreads and Amazon wishlist. So you might actually get through that enormous TBR list. (However slow the process may be…)

Here’s what those wishlists will look like

You can also get recommendations from what your Goodreads buddies are reading, as well as bestsellers in the genres you read. It refreshes every time you turn on the Kindle from sleep mode.

Fun!

The last change I’m most excited for is the ease of sharing favourite quotes – because let’s face it, I’m reeeally lazy about that on Goodreads currently. Now it can be as simple as highlighting!

So. Easy.

I promise this isn’t a Kindle ad – if you’ve got a Kobo or a Nook, more power to you. But it’s some major changes from a giant in the industry, and I’m pretty psyched for them! If you’re interested, you can check out the full list of changes here.

Do you like the changes?

 

(Current book progress: 3,482 words.)

 

Hawaiian Homecoming

New love. New beginnings. They’re fragile things, so easy to run from.

Kayla’s never felt as sure about anything as she does about Jay. Leaving everything else behind to be with him feels right. But going back to reality is tougher than she thought it would be. And when everyone you’ve always known and trusted has doubts, it’s even harder to ignore your own.

But how do you convince those who know you best, that sometimes, finding your home isn’t about a place?

The third and final book in the Hawaiian Heartbreak trilogy, a fun and racy contemporary romance. This book is recommended for readers over the age of 18 due to explicit sexual content.

 

Finishing this trilogy makes me feel like a mother sending her child off to college – proud to send it out to the world, but a bit sad to say goodbye.

However, it’s that time! Hawaiian Homecoming is finally available on Amazon for pre-order, when you click right here. It officially drops on Monday the first of February.

There is a wee bit more to come as well. The paperback will be released on the same day, and on the second of February, I’ll put out the edition which combines all three books into one volume.

After that, I’ll have to find a new project to amuse myself! Although, I do already have some ideas about that…

EDIT: The combined trilogy is now also live for pre-order! If you get all three at once, you do get a deal, so check it out here.