Better Late Than Never…. Song of the Week & Other Updates

 

Greetings and salutations!

Long time no blog! Yes, I know, I didn’t post a book review this past Monday, thus my reason for an ‘update’.

Last Friday, I spent a day away from work (an official vacation day) to write. In return, I finished the first draft of my book, ending with a total of 77,000 words.

Yessss!!!!! Woo-Hoo! *throws confetti*

Now, the hard fun part: Edits & Re-Writes

I began editing and re-writing this past Sunday, and may I just say that I feel like a nerd because I know this is supposed to be frustrating, a headache, yada, yada, yada, but, I’m having just as much with edits and re-writes as I did with researching and writing the book. My word count has now grown up to 77,800 words and I’m only 4 chapters in! 

Thus the reason that I have not been reading *too* much (other than catching up on The Black Dagger Brotherhood books). And when I say *too* much, that means I’m no longer reading two books at a time, and am slowly working through one book at a time. 

Striking while the iron is hot (so to speak), I’m going to continue on this path that’s running 90mph and edit, edit, edit, re-write, re-write, re-write. I do plan on finishing and reviewing Goddess With A Blade – just not within the next few days. Who knows….tomorrow my muse could decide to take a small vacay on me, and I’ll be posting a review again next week.

Until then, I will be stopping in every few days to share my thoughts, progress on my edits and re-writes, posting/sharing links for favorite music and/or videos, and, especially, sharing my favorite part of the week on the blog: ‘This Week In Favs….’

Now, onto the ‘Song of the Week’:

During the re-writing process on Sunday, my MC was being hit hard. I mean, world-falling-apart, punch-in-the-heart hard (and this is just within in the first two chapters).

While re-writing these pivotal scenes, I found myself listening to ‘Heavy in Your Arms’ by Florence and the Machine over and over again as the tears were pouring……flat-out balling.

Therefore, this week’s song is ‘Heavy in Your Arms’. For me, a strong song has the ability to either bring you up when you’re down, make you shake your booty (even while driving), or evoke a strong emotional response, whether that’s crying tears of sorrow or joy.

Once again, please share your favorite songs that you like to read, write, drive, or boogie to! 

And as always……

Happy Reading!

Melinda

This Week in Favs………

 

Welcome to my first ‘This Week in Favs’ post! Each Friday, I will post my top 10 favorite blog articles, contests, videos, songs, and general happenings of the week. These can range from writing to movies to TV shows….well, the top 10 can cover pretty much anything that I thoroughly enjoyed throughout the week.

Here we go……..

10) ‘An Old Man and His Sea’ – This is the first editing I have done for a fellow writer, and it must be said that I enjoyed every second of it. JC Fiske wrote an inspiring piece based on Hemmingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea” that reminds writers to silence their inner ‘sharks’ and that “…victory and defeat is not determined by size, strength or power but by will, determination and desire.”

9) ‘Five Openings to Avoid’ – This blog post from Nathan Bransford was posted on Thursday. Due to both Nathan’s article and the wonderful comments on what to avoid and what readers dislike in an opening, this posting has made it into my infamous writing binder <---this would be a binder that holds all of the great writing articles/tips that I’ve picked up from various sites/blogs over the past several months.

8) A new season of So You Think You Can Dance has begun, and I have experienced my first goosebumps of the season! For me, inspiration comes in many forms and can be found anywhere. I not only pull inspiration from watching these amazingly talented dancers, but this is where I also find more songs for my growing writing playlist (last season is where I, like the rest of the world, discovered Christina Perry).

Here is the performance that gave me those goosebumps. There is a short opening about the contestants, so wait a few minutes and you’ll get to experience their inspiring performance for yourself. 

7) ‘A Bucket of True Blood Season 4 Clips’ – Needless to say, I’ve been counting down the days until True Blood returns on Sunday. Luckily, HBO released eight clips from the upcoming season, and the folks over at Entertainment Weekly placed them all in one convenient place. Each clip focuses on one main character from the series, although there isn’t one for Tara, so we shall see if/when she pops up. From what I can tell though, this season will not disappoint ‘cause the witches are comin’ to town!

6) My first author giveaway with Virna DePaul! Being given the opportunity to host this on my blog was incredibly exciting since I *literally* just got my blog up and running two weeks ago. I can’t wait until the next book in the Para-Ops series, Chosen by Fate, is released in October (and yes, I do plan to review that one as well)!

5) Gods of Justice contest from Lisa Gail Green! This is one contest I have gotten super excited about. In honor of Gods of Justice now being available via Smashwords, Lisa is holding a contest on her blog, Paranormal Point of View. Lisa’s story, Identity Crisis, can be found within the pages of this superhero anthology that also contains stories by DC Comics writer Ricardo Sanchez and Star Trek author Dayton Ward. Get on over to her blog and enter to win a pdf copy and a first chapter critique!

4) ‘Puddle Books vs. Ocean Books’ – This is a wonderful, inspiring blog post that I discovered earlier this week. Kat Zhang reminds writers to put all they have into their writing because not only will it reflect in your characters’ dancing from the pages, it will kick your writing up and make your story memorable.

3) I have found a partner in crime/critique partner: Katie of KT’s Korner! We’re both working on getting our manuscripts ready, and we’ve had a great chat about what each other want/need in a partner. I must say that I’m incredibly excited as we have more in common than just our love for writing/reading PNR & UF. I can’t wait to not only hear what she has to say about my MS, but to also dive in and edit hers as well! As a writer, having a strong support system is needed required. I am proud to have Katie as my CP and she joins my super-awesome support system at home: the hubby (aka ‘Lurch’), who edits all of my blog posts, my bestie (aka ‘Piece of My Heart’), Jenn, who gives me great, honest critiques and helps me brainstorm (to just name 2 of the million ways she supports me), and several others that would take too long to name (and you know you who are).

2) JK Rowling gives us the final reveal of Pottermore! I won’t be able to do this listing justice, so I’m going to give it up to fellow blogger and writer, Susan, who has been diligently following the clues and owls left by JKR. She has posted an analysis, an interview of JKR with BBC, press conference video, quotes, images, and more! Get on over to Harry Potter for Writers to check it out and don’t forget to register for Pottermore!

1) Last but not least, I am ready to get on with my incredibly busy day of writing! I planned ahead and took the day off from work today to purposely get a TON of writing done (from 9am-9pm). If today proves to be successful (like it should), then my plan is to take at least one day off from work each month and dedicate it entirely to writing and editing. Wish me luck!

Everyone have a wonderful weekend!!

Happy Reading!

Melinda

And The Winner Is…..

 

As most of you know, on Monday, I posted a review of Chosen by Blood by Virna DePaul, and held an author giveaway for a $10 Amazon gift card.

So, without further ado: per Random.org, the winner is <insert drumroll>….

Danielle W.

Congratulations, Danielle!!!

 

Thank you again to everyone who participated! I had so much fun hosting a giveaway, so keep your eyes open for more in the near future!

Also, don’t forget to check out my Song of the Week: Over and Out by Alkaline Trio.

Happy Reading!

Melinda