Blogging From A - Z Challenge

The other day I was thinking about taking part in NaBloPoMo for April. I went to BlogHer which is where they list the theme for each month and found something entirely new to me: Blogging From A to Z Challenge. This is a challenge that started in 2010 but somehow I have managed to completely miss this one. I am going to do it this year, though.

The premise of the challenge is to subtract Sunday's from April and blog the remaining twenty-six days of the month. To add a little more fun, choose a theme and blog about that all month. So whatever your theme is, on April first use the letter A in conjunction with it and write a blog post. On April second use the letter B, on April third use the letter C and so on through Z (leaving out Sunday's). You can be as creative as you like but they do prefer at least a one hundred word blog post. You can click the link above for all of the details regarding the challenge. You can find the link to sign up for the challenge if you wish to take part from there, as well.

I was immediately enthralled with this challenge but drew a blank as to what I want to blog about all through April. My husband suggested that I write pieces of short fiction that coincide with the appropriate letters. I like that idea and went about making an A - Z list of ideas and topics to write about. While doing this I kept thinking about all of the day-to-day things that come into play in my writing life. Then I thought; why not blog about just that all month? The idea has stuck with me. I even woke up in the middle of the night thinking about it. So obviously I'm going with this idea. I'll save my husband's original suggestion for a future challenge.

Teaser Tuesday's: Concealed in Death by J.D. Robb

Teaser Tuesday's is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. To play along, just do the following:

- Grab your current read

- Open to a random page

- Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teaser.

My teaser this week is from Nook page 42 of J.D. Robb's Concealed in Death:

It's important they have some sort of normal routine, a healthy balance, and learn to cope well with the outside world. It's vital to build up trust.

A Trilogy

I've written a trilogy. Well, to be more precise, I've written the first drafts of a trilogy. I have to say I am in a bit of shock over this development in my writing life. The three books can stand alone or be a trilogy. They can even - and this an even bigger shock to me - be the beginning of a series. Writing a trilogy or a series is not something I set out to do. I was writing the first book and one of the secondary characters started telling me his story. At first I thought nothing of it because I needed a few details about him. Then he came to life so completely that I had to stop and start making notes about him because it was really good stuff and I was afraid I'd forget it if I didn't write some of his history down. Somehow, knowing I was going to write another story in the same place helped me to add layers of richness to the first story. I'm not certain why that was the case but it's true. I finished the first draft of book one knowing I'd need to add more details about the secondary characters that were going to be the main characters of book two. I was all right with that though. Interestingly, it changed some of the dynamic for the main characters of book one - for the better.

When I started with book two I was elated to still be in the same town I had created for book one. Although, the town didn't have a name. And something that had been a minor blip in book one really began to bug me while writing book two. I was about half (I think) way through writing the draft before I settled on a name I liked for the town. Of course, the name I settled on has historical meaning for one of the characters of book one; so once more I was making notes for another draft of a story I wasn't working on. I wonder if this happens to all writers. As I was dealing with the major conflict of book two I realized there was a third story to tell as I introduced a new character. I was excited but also felt a little nervous because I was definitely out of my comfort zone. And yet, isn't being out of the comfort zone sometimes the absolute best place to be creatively? It is for me. 

I finished the first draft of book two and immediately started writing book three. I swear it feels as if this story has told itself. Of course that's not true but it has flowed along a lot more cohesively than the other two books. I could be done with this town now or create a series. That amazes me on so many levels. I have to tell you that I cried last night while writing a scene near the end of this third book. It's not an uncommon thing for me to become emotional over my characters and their stories. The thing is, even though I'm super excited to finish the first drafts and start on the second round with these stories, I've realized I don't entirely want to be done with them. And that's what makes me wonder if I may possibly have a series. I don't know yet but I'm definitely open to the possibility.

Right now I'm just really excited by the fact that I have written a trilogy. Maybe this is really corny to some people but I went out of my comfort zone and I'm really proud of what I've accomplished. I just wanted to share.

Teaser Tuesday's: Nora Roberts Land by Ava Miles

Teaser Tuesday's is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. To play along, just do the following:

- Grab your current read

- Open to a random page

- Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teaser.

My teaser this week is from Nook page 64 of Nora Roberts Land by Ava Miles:

The anchor usually dragging her hear down to her stomach disappeared. Here, people loved her. Here, she could be her true self with no fear of betrayal.

Teaser Tuesday's: Thankless in Death by J.D. Robb

Teaser Tuesday's is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. To play along, just do the following:

- Grab your current read

- Open to a random page

- Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teaser.

My teaser this week is from page 89 of Thankless in Death by J.D. Robb:

She needed Roarke, she admitted. Hi ear, his eye, his canny brain.

Teaser Tuesday's: Bound by Lorelei James

Teaser Tuesday's is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. To play along, just do the following:

- Grab your current read

- Open to a random page

- Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teaser.

My teaser this week is from Nook page 131 of Bound by Lorelei James:

The stress of her day vanished when she entered the garden. She wandered through the tree canopy, running her hands along the smooth bark.