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“A Time To Rise” Tour: Giveaway!

Sep 28, 2016
2 min

“A Time To Rise” Tour: Giveaway!

Have you heard the news? “A Time to Rise” (Book 3 in the ‘Out of Time’ series) by Nadine Brandes will be released October 14! Woo-hoo!! For those of you that follow my Book Reviews, you will remember I reviewed “A Time to Die” (Book 1 in the series) in August and “A Time to Speak” (Book 2 in the series) in September. Both garnered 5 star reviews! (You can find those reviews here and here.) So it’s no surprise that I jumped at the chance to join the “A Time to Rise” Tour just

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One Book, Two Book, Three Books… This isn’t Dr. Seuss!

Sep 20, 2016
2 min

One Book, Two Book, Three Books… This isn’t Dr. Seuss!

Yesterday I gave an update on my monthly challenge, so today I thought I’d update where I am with my writing. I do realize I still have that ‘Watch Me Write’ section on the sidebar of my blog, promise! But here’s a bit more in depth look at where I stand with my writing. Orphan Princess – This is the manuscript that has been in my agent’s hands since early 2016. I did just send it out (once again) to another beta reader who caught a few more grammar/spelling errors (ACK!), an

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My #WIPjoy September Update

Sep 19, 2016
2 min

My #WIPjoy September Update

Some of you might remember I took up an August challenge to write Flash Fiction every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. At the end of the month I was pleased with how the challenge of meeting that goal really helped push me toward more blogging. So, I decided to dive right in and take up another monthly challenge for September–this time through the daily #WIPjoy Twitter post! Because this is shows up in my Twitter feed, you may have missed many of my updates on my WIP. So I thoug

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What I’ve learned in the past 12 months…

May 18, 2016
4 min

What I’ve learned in the past 12 months…

I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while. It wasn’t until in recent conversation with a fellow writer that I was reminded it had been floating around in the back of my mind and it needed to get out. The journey of this lesson actually began more than two years ago, when I was in the midst of writing my novella series. Many of you have asked why I’ve pulled that series from the virtual retail world, and if they will ever be available for download again in the future. T

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goals and books about mermaids…

May 5, 2016
2 min

goals and books about mermaids…

It’s done! Today I put the glorious words THE END on the final chapter of my current manuscript. Yippee!! I had the goal of finishing it up by the end of April, when I joined Camp NaNoWriMo, but the story got away from me and I knew I still had a handful of chapters left by the time the last day of the month rolled around. Enter in the first week of May and I was bound and determined to get. this. thing. done. As of last night, I knew I had reached the end of the story, with

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April showers bring… lots of words…

May 1, 2016
2 min

April showers bring… lots of words…

Things have been pretty busy lately, and I’m sorry to say, they will only get busier! The month of April I worked hard to achieve my goal for Camp NaNoWriMo (more on that later…) and for the month of May, we will be preparing for our move across the country! We shall see how much I get blogged this month, but don’t be surprised if it’s not as often as I did in March. Having said that, I figured I’d give a brief update on where things are in my writing world! As mentioned abov

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They’re coming to take me away…

Apr 5, 2016
2 min

They’re coming to take me away…

Well… not anymore, but it sure felt like it a few weeks ago! I’m happy to make a bigger than big announcement that may or may not put a smile on your face but certainly makes me want to do things like cartwheels and back flips, or maybe just go to Starbucks for another latte. I finished editing my book! Yes! The one that was in pieces because I had chosen to cut a few (*read: a heck of a lot*) of words and I couldn’t figure out how it fit together anymore? Yeah, that one. It’

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My poor broken baby…

Mar 16, 2016
2 min

My poor broken baby…

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men, couldn’t put Humpty together again. It’s a familiar nursery rhyme we’d all likely committed to memory before we could even walk, right? And it’s also the only way I can describe exactly what my current novel looks like right now. Ok, so in a previous post I mentioned how I needed to cut a few words from my manuscript to make it more marketable in the middle grade genre.

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That villain, and why I love him.

Mar 9, 2016
2 min

That villain, and why I love him.

I have a confession to make. I’m in love with one of my characters. Ok, maybe ‘in love’ is a bit dramatic. (Me? Dramatic? No!) But I’m sort of feeling very attached. In a totally normal, non-stalkerish, happily-married, not-crazy-at-all-for-obsessing-over-an-imaginary-person type way. Promise. So, here’s the deal: The most recent rough draft I finished is a fun YA story that of course, features teen romance somewhere in the plot, because hello, hormones. But there’s got to be

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7/7/7 Challenge – Who wants in?

Mar 7, 2016
1 min

7/7/7 Challenge – Who wants in?

Ok, I’ve been challenged by my friend Kelly Barr to participate in a fun little activity called the 7/7/7 Challenge! It doesn’t take much time, requires very little effort, and is all in the name of writing, so I figured, why not? Here’s what you do: The idea is to go to page 7 of your current work in progress, scroll to line 7, share the next seven lines in your post and nominate 7 other writers with blogs. Copied below are my seven lines from my current manuscript and I too

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Flash Fiction Friday: Wrong Number

Mar 4, 2016
3 min

Flash Fiction Friday: Wrong Number

The car smelled like old leather, dirty socks and that burger from last week. It wasn’t pretty or glamorous. It also wasn’t the way I imagined I’d die. I sat in the front seat, windows rolled up despite the ungodly heat outside. Keys squeezed tight in my palm. Should I turn on the radio or would it distract me? No. I wanted this. It had been building for weeks. Things had gone from bad to worse, and there was no way out. My GPA was too weak to get into any of the schools my p

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5 Courses of the Rough Draft – Are you hungry yet?

Feb 28, 2016
4 min

5 Courses of the Rough Draft – Are you hungry yet?

Rough Drafts can be a tricky thing. The process that one author takes will look completely opposite from that of another. Each of us have our own style, techniques, and rhythm we abide by – even if we aren’t aware we stick to a routine. For a while I felt the pressure to write my manuscripts the same way other authors would write theirs – and in the same time frame! One of my favorite authors regularly blogs that she can write a book in about a month. Another friend I spoke t

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What is your writing routine?

Feb 19, 2016
4 min

What is your writing routine?

I’m often asked how I get so much writing done when I also homeschool my three daughters. And until about a year ago, I would’ve said it was quite difficult, actually. For most of my life writing was a hobby, something I only did every few months when an idea hit me and I could convince my family that ignoring them was in their best interest. (For my own sanity, that is!) It wasn’t until I released my self-published novellas that I decided to refer to myself as a writer, and

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When you’ve got a few words to cut…

Feb 15, 2016
2 min

When you’ve got a few words to cut…

My current manuscript in revision happens to be a middle-grade fantasy set in a fictional medieval world with fun things like unicorns and magic. Yay, right? Right. Except that my brain had lots of ideas. Lots and lots. And lots. And well, as I often do, I didn’t exactly take a word count until after the first draft was finished. Anyone want to guess where the word count came in? I’ll save you the agony. Over 102,000 words. Ouch. True, this would be considered a short story i

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Big Announcement!

Feb 12, 2016
1 min

Big Announcement!

For those of you that haven’t already checked out my Facebook page, I have some exciting news I’m ready to share with the world! A few weeks back I posted about a possibility of something big that might happen in the near future, and how I wasn’t sure if I wanted my life to change or not. Well, I’m excited to announce that a week ago, I signed on for representation with Literary Agent Cyle Young with Hartline Literary Agency! Woo hoo! Cyle and I had an hour long discussion ab

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February Author Interview: Michelle I. Mason

Feb 11, 2016
5 min

February Author Interview: Michelle I. Mason

I’m so excited to share a first here at Caffeinated Fiction: Our very first author interview! Look for one each month, and get to know another author and their work! This month I had the privilege of interviewing an author/blogger I met about a year ago – Michelle I. Mason. I had been following her blog for a few months, many of her posts reflecting the exact same feelings and thoughts I had regarding my journey as a writer. One particular post asked for anyone who was intere

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The drawback of getting what you want

Jan 21, 2016
3 min

The drawback of getting what you want

So, I’ve had a little excitement in my life recently. Over the past few weeks, I’ve had a chance to speak with an agent about my most recent manuscript. He’s given me some direction on changes to make and has taken the time out of his schedule to review my improvements. I realize this is no small matter – he gets nothing for this act and must genuinely be interested in my work! Yay! In a recent conversation, he mentioned that he would like to discuss the possibility of repres

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Book Review: ‘Nil Unlocked’ by Lynne Matson

Aug 24, 2015
3 min

Book Review: ‘Nil Unlocked’ by Lynne Matson

It was just about a year ago that a friend of mine handed me a book – ‘Nil’ by Lynne Matson – instructing me to ‘Read. Now.’ When I finally picked it up… I literally didn’t put it down until it was done! Ok, ok, I exaggerate. It may have taken me 2 days to read… but only because I insisted on little things, like sleep and food. ‘Nil’ quickly shot to the top of my ‘Favorite Books’ list and I was happy to see a sequel novel – ‘Nil Unlocked’ – had already been announced! Needles

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Book Review: ‘Talon’ by Julie Kagawa

Aug 12, 2015
3 min

Book Review: ‘Talon’ by Julie Kagawa

I became a fan of Julie Kagawa when I read her ‘Iron Fey’ series, a few years back. I read the first one, fell in love with it, then literally read the other 5 books back-to-back. (Book 7 hasn’t been released yet.) So, when I saw her name plastered on the cover of a brand new book called ‘Talon’? I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it! Was it as fantabulous as the Iron Fey? Well… let’s find out… Synopsis: Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. Geo

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Book Review: ‘If I Stay’ by Gayle Forman

Aug 7, 2015
3 min

Book Review: ‘If I Stay’ by Gayle Forman

I saw the movie based on the book, ‘If I Stay’ by Gayle Forman, earlier this year. I wasn’t sure I wanted to see it, since the commercials looked super heart wrenching, and I’m such a crier, I try to avoid these types of movies at all costs. But I like Chloe Grace Moretz, so I figured I’d check it out. And oh. my. word. I’m so glad I did. I knew the premise – A young girl is in a coma and her spirit roams the hospital as she decides if she wants to stay on earth or go to heav

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