You asked for it, so here it is…

I am excited to announce that Promise Me is now available for pre-order with a scheduled release date of February 17, 2015.

Pre-order now and you will be guaranteed to be among the first to receive Promise Me when it is published.

Currently pre-order is available for Amazon, iBooks & Kobo, other platforms will be coming soon.

Pre-order Promise Me for Kindle here.

Pre-order Promise Me on iBooks here.

Pre-order Promise Me on Kobo here.

1) Trusting and believing in yourself is the best gift you can ever give yourself, because who knows you better than you.

2) Everyone has a place to go that fuels their soul and we should visit it often.

3) It’s never too late until it’s too late. Don’t waste opportunities to live, love and grow.

4) Hard work really does pay off. The payoff is just different for everyone.

5) Someone that is a true friend will ALWAYS be a true friend. Period.

6) The days always seem long but the years fly by. Carpe Diem!

7) It’s never too late to try something new.

8) We all have a “ping” inside of us. Follow it and it will lead you where you should be.

9) It really isn’t my business what other people think of me.

10) Put honesty, love and loyalty out into the world because it will come back to you if you do.

11) You don’t know what you don’t know and that’s okay. Nobody has all the answers and we need to be gentle with ourselves while we figure it out.

12) “Life’s a dance we learn as we go. Sometimes we lead and sometimes we follow.” (JMM)

13) Love at first sight is real and so are soul mates.

14) People who truly love you will accept you for who you are.

15) It’s never a good idea to wish for someone else’s life because when we do that it means we aren’t making the most of our own.

I’m sure I could come up with some more “pearls of wisdom” but I have a book to finish as you all know. Thanks for taking the time to read my possibly self-indulgent musings. I hope you all have a great day and learn something that matters to you and if you feel like sharing, I’d love to hear. Maybe I will learn something new

You should all know that I honestly love interacting with you. I try and answer every message and post I get. I love hearing your thoughts about everything Alexa Reed related; everything except the question about when book three is going to be released. That question makes me cringe because I know that I told you all it was going to be out this month, and it isn’t.

There. I said it. Out loud. (insert big sigh)

When Hold On was finished I immediately started writing book three. I had every intention of having it finished and out to you by August. Well, that’s not going to happen and if you knew how I feel about missing my self-imposed deadlines you’d know how stressed out I’ve been about it. I spent the majority of last summer behind a computer writing STAY. I was able to finish it in a very short amount of time. I rolled into the fall eager to finish Hold On and in twelve months I wrote and released two 400+ pages books. I have to be honest, the effort that took was massive and something that was difficult for me to sustain. If you’ve read my bio you know I help run a business, have a very busy family and many other commitments that demand my attention. I’ve been so blessed to have the support from my family that I do, but this summer they wanted a little more of me and I needed a little more of them. What happened as a result was me getting a little behind with book three.

Promoting is hard work

One of the other reasons that I’ve gotten a little behind is because I have been promoting the series like crazy. And before I forget, I want to say THANK YOU to all of you who have been helping with this by reading, reviewing and sharing my books (especially my street team – the Wynners – who spend a ton of their own time promoting me). I can’t even begin to tell you how much your support means to me. When I started on this writing journey I truly didn’t know if anyone would even read my stories and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. The truth is, being a self-published author is a lot of work. It’s hard to cut through the clutter of the thousands of great books out there and make your work stand out. I’ve had to spend a lot time promoting and that really has taken away from my writing time. With that said, it has been totally worth it. I love getting to know some of you and the opportunities I’ve had to do blog-takeovers and interact with readers have been so much fun. I have a bunch of take-overs on the calendar over the next few months and I hope to see you all there!

Endings are hard

Each time I read a review or a post that says how much you love Julian and Lexie (and even Luke) I feel even more responsible to give you (and them) the best story I can give. I am so emotionally invested in this story that at times it’s hard to write. If you’ve read the first two books you know there are some serious things that need to be dealt with in book three and I am taking my time so I can do the whole storyline justice with the writing. It has also been difficult for me to write knowing the end is near. I’ll have a very hard time saying goodbye to these characters that have lived in my mind for the last year and a half.

Excuses, excuses

So there you have it. The skinny on why book three isn’t out yet. I’ve been busy promoting, I took some time off to spend with my family and I am dreading the end of this story. They are all very real reasons and ones I hope you can all understand. With that said, I’ve been very busy these last few weeks writing and am refocused and reenergized. I am knee deep in the story and can see the finish line in sight. I don’t want to give you an exact date of release (too much pressure) but it isn’t that far away and I hope you can be patient for a little while longer. I also hope you can STAY interested and HOLD ON to all your positive feelings about the Alexa Reed series. I PROMISE you that the wait will be worth it.

This morning I received an email asking me if Hold On was the last book in the Alexa Reed series. After I traded a few emails with the person who emailed, I learned that she was asking because she never starts to read a series unless it’s finished. That email, coupled with all of the questions I’ve been getting about when my next book is coming out, have me really thinking about the whole concept of book series and what role they’ve played in my own reading life.

Mystery -Fantasy-Drama-Romance-Paranormal: I’ve read it all

I’ve always loved to read, and when I go back to the beginning, I see I’ve always been a big fan of book series myself. I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise that I chose to make my first venture into writing centered on multiple books. I must’ve been around eight years old when I started reading the Trixie Belden Series. I think I read every book there was about my favorite girl detective. I enjoyed Nancy Drew as well, but Trixie held a special place in my heart. I thought she kicked ass!

The Chronicles of Narnia probably made an appearance sometime around that time, and I couldn’t get enough of Lucy, Tumnus, Aslan, and Turkish chocolate. Twenty something years later I got to see it on the big screen, which was a treat.

In my young teens my tastes changed, and the next series I can remember reading voraciously was The Sweet Valley High Series. I’m not sure how many books there were, but I know I read and owned most of them. The Wakefield twins and all of their friends were my first real introduction into YA fiction/romance, and it was a good one. Thanks Francine Pascal! I think about that series today when I feel like I’m not going to be able to stop writing about Alexa and Julian.

Things stepped up a notch when I started reading the Dollanganger Series by V.C. Andrews. I look back on the themes in those books and admit I probably shouldn’t have been reading them at such a young age, but I loved them.

After that I can’t even think of any series I read until Twilight, and I was forced into that by a friend who just wouldn’t shut up about it. I wasn’t into anything supernatural, and it took years to convince me to read about a bunch of nice vampires. I’m actually laughing right now because it changed my whole world – reading and TV watching that is! I finished the whole series in a week (clearly I did nothing else but read that week), and have watched every Twilight movie too many times to count. Yes, I watch Vampire Diaries and True Blood too! I can’t leave out the Hunger Games either. I think I jumped on that bandwagon pretty late too, but I was hooked and read all three in a weekend.

When it became personal:

Next up, the life changing 50 Shades of Grey. Yes, I said life changing. Reading this series inspired me to pursue my dream of writing, and helped me decide that I wanted to write a romance novel…or novels. After I finished Fifty, I read the Crossfire Series. I was then even more convinced I wanted to write a series in this genre. The rest is history really, as you all know I just released the second book in the Alexa Reed series, and am busily working on the third installment. I mentioned on a Facebook post the other day that I was having a hard time writing because I realized I wasn’t ready for Julian and Alexa’s love story to end quite yet. When I got so many positive responses telling me to keep writing (one even suggested I write until Julian started collecting social security) I knew I didn’t need to make the decision right now that the next book would be the last. Instead, I made the decision to just see where the story takes me.

What I’ve learned, thanks to all of my reading and from all of you is that when the story is good we’re never really ready for it to be over.  Do you agree?

It is so surreal to me that just a year ago I started to write Stay, my first book ever. When it was released in November of last year it was a dream come true for me and I hope I never forget the feeling I had when I saw my work listed on the Amazon website. The second time around, with Hold On, it was easier to believe this is all really happening, but it’s no less exciting. It’s still a dream come true.

Where you can buy your copy of Hold On

With the support of my family, my friends and some really knowledgeable “book” people, I have watched my little dream become a reality and as I watch it grow every day, I’m humbled by the incredible support I’ve been getting from readers and bloggers. It really is what keeps me going and makes me want to continue to write.

One of the best compliments I’ve received recently is that HOLD ON is better than STAY. Some people might take that to mean that maybe STAY wasn’t that good. I take it to mean that maybe I’ve become a better writer. I’ve listened and watched and paid close attention to everything everyone has told me and tried to use the advice, criticism and compliments to help me grow as a writer. If HOLD ON is truly better than I’m going to assume it’s for that reason. All I know is that I worked very hard on putting out the best book that I could.

As I sit here a year later writing the third book in the Alexa Reed series, I still love every minute of this journey. Thank you all for being on it with me because although it may sound trite I couldn’t, or wouldn’t want to, do it without you.

Before I really get into this blog, I want you all to know that I absolutely know that Stay is fiction, and that Julian and Lexie don’t really exist. With that said, I will tell you that I spent this past weekend feeling like I was part of their lives while on a mini vacation in South Beach.

The weather was perfect! It was so nice to get out of the cold for a few days. It’s been brutal on the East Coast this year and the warm sun, sand, and water were just what I needed to really get going on book three in the Alexa Reed Series.

Falling into the story

I’d be a liar if I didn’t tell you that when I looked at the condos dominating the Sofi skyline (picture above), that I saw my fictional building, The Bellavista. I could imagine Julian and Lexie sitting outside on the lanai looking at the sunset. When I stepped my high heeled foot into a very popular nightclub/hotel/outside bar, I couldn’t help but think of Hotel del Marco, Stellar, and Orion. When I watched couples running on the beach, I could see Lexie and Julian out for a run. I felt sorry for them because I had my feet up and a drink in my hand, but I still appreciated the visual.

I hadn’t been to South Beach in many years, yet the sights, sounds, and general vibe made me instantly remember why I chose that setting for my first novels. I truly love it there. I spent some of the best years of my life in South Florida, and although I have been away for a long time, it still makes me feel like I’m at home.

Finding Inspiration

I took a lot of great pictures and was so inspired by everything that was happening around me. While sitting on the beach looking at the water, I picked up my iPad and started to write a beach scene for Julian and Lexie. It was easier to do it while looking at the waves than while looking at the snow that has been outside my window the last few months. I decided right then that it would be a great idea for me to keep taking trips to Miami to do “book research.” I just need to get my family on board with the idea and I’m ready to go!

I have been asked so many times what inspired me to write Stay. I have a standard answer about how I used to live there, etc., but until I stepped onto Ocean Drive, I didn’t really remember how much of who I am was shaped by my experiences there. I lived in Southern California for a very long time too, and I get the same feelings when I visit there. Maybe my next series will take place on the West Coast. I can see myself doing some serious book research there too!

Keeping it real

I mentioned earlier that I know what’s real and what’s not. I know that Julian doesn’t exist, although I will tell you that it wasn’t hard to find men that could play him in a movie version. I found a few people who could play Lexie, Luke, Marissa, and Danny too. I was swept into the story setting I created from memory, and was proud of myself for keeping it so authentic. That’s where the realness comes in for me. So many of my reviews have had those words in them; real, realistic, believable. I believed when I wrote it and you believed when you read it. Thank you for that. It really does help keep me inspired.

We’ve had a horrible winter on the east coast this year. It’s been extremely cold for months, and I’ve never seen so much snow on my front lawn. I hate the cold. I grew up in Southern California and South Florida, and I don’t do the cold well. As a result, I’ve been spending a lot of time inside. I can’t write all of the time and I find it hard to read when I’m in the midst of writing, so I made a decision to try and “catch-up” on some shows I’ve wanted to watch. This has resulted in me binge-watching multiple TV series. Right now I’m knee-deep in Breaking Bad. If you haven’t watched it, you need to. I also just started Orange is the New Black (loving it) and I know when I’m done I’m going to have to start House of Cards because that’s the latest “it” show. And please, don’t even talk to me about Downtown Abbey!

A little indulging is totally okay!

Clearly I’m one of those people who get engrossed in a story and can’t stop watching until it’s over. My 25+ year commitment to All My Children proved that! Anyway, back to my bingeing, I realize I do it with books too.

I’m seriously one of the most on time, up-to-date people you’ll ever meet. However, in the cases of those shows and some book series, I was really late to the party. There are so many shows to watch, and so many books to read. It’s hard to keep up and when I think about what I haven’t read or watched, I honestly feel anxious. So, I try not to think about it. But, for the sake of this blog, I did think about what books I was guilty of obsessing over.

Here are a few of my most famous book-binge reads:

The Twilight Saga: I think I was years late with this trend. I wasn’t into vampires or anything paranormal when this came out. A friend kept bugging me to read it. So one day during the summer while at the pool with my kids, I started reading. I finished the whole series that week. If you’ve read the books, then you know how long they are. That was a major binge! On a side note, this whole saga (pun intended) turned me on to all things vampire, and as a result I ended up binge-watching four seasons of True Blood in two weeks.  It’s a vicious cycle!

The Hunger Games: I’m one of those people who doesn’t like to see a movie before reading the book. The week before the movie came out, I jumped in head first, and read all three books. It was perfect because I didn’t need to ask my kids what the heck was going on. Plus, now I’m way ahead of the game as far as seeing the movies goes. It was a win-win for me.

Fifty Shades of Grey: I remember exactly where I was when I heard someone talk about 50 Shades for the first time. I was out to lunch with some friends for one of their birthdays, when someone started talking about this book. It was a hush-hush conversation because she didn’t really want anyone to know she was reading it. I was intrigued. I bought it that afternoon and I stayed up until 3 o’clock in the morning reading the first book. I did the same with the next two books and finished them all in four days. I was tired for a week, but it was worth it. After all, I did start writing in this genre a little over a year later.

When I connect with a story, I can’t stop. I loved the books Phillippa Gregory wrote about Henry the 8th, and plowed through all of them in a few months. I read all of Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic series in a few weeks too. When I’m a fan, I’m a fan. I can’t even begin to list all of the romance novels that I’m sure I would binge on if I had time to read these days. Everyone, including me, is writing a series. In the romance genre there seems to be no more “one and done books.” I’m happy about this because there is NO way I would’ve been able to tell all of Alexa and Julian’s story in one book.

When it comes down to it, I obviously have way too much time on my hands, especially since I read really fast. Seriously, it really just means that when I am drawn into a story I have a very hard time backing away. I have no commitment issues either, so when I start something, I always finish.

Now that I have opened up to you about one of my dirty little secrets, I’m curious if you do them same thing. Are you a “book- binger?”  If so, tell me what I’m missing. I just might be able to carve out a little time to start something new.

Everyone sees things differently

“Too much sex” – “Not enough sex”

“Too much about the clothes” -“Loved the shoes and clothes”

“Julian’s hot” -“Julian’s not my type” (what???)

“Poor Luke” – “Luke’s a jerk”

These are real things I’ve heard. All I can say is wow; it’s so fascinating how differently each person sees things. It amazes me how people can all read the same book and have such different reactions. How is this possible? I think it’s because our reaction and interpretation really depends on the lens we’re looking through.

My Plan

It was my intention to write a romance novel that was entertaining. I wanted to write something that included all of the things I loved about romance novels, and left out all the things I hated. I wanted people to connect and relate with my characters. I had a plan (shocker… I’m a planner) and I pretty much stuck to it. However, some parts of the story just created themselves as I wrote, and I’ve been so amazed at the varied reactions people have had.

The fun lens

Who doesn’t want to (at least in your mind) escape to sunny South Florida, dance in the clubs, hang out at the beach, shop for shoes, and meet gorgeous guys? If that’s what you got out of Stay, a fun escape, then great! Maybe your lens was focused on easy and breezy. I’ll take that and run. I wanted you to be entertained and go on an adventure.

The physical lens

It’s sexy, sassy, and racy. What great adjectives. Some of you have indicated the “steamy” parts were your favorite. Great! Maybe it made your toes curl, maybe it gave you some ideas, and maybe it ignited a little passion in your own relationships. If that’s what you took from it, if your lens was focused on the erotic nature of the book, then more power to you!

The emotional lens

Lexie turned out to be a much more layered character then I had anticipated. She’s complex, confident in some ways, and insecure in others. She’s trying to find her way through a very trying period in her life, and she’s doing the best she can. A bunch of readers have told me they related to Lexie for a variety of reasons.  Some have even told me they shared real personal experiences that were similar. I’ve been told that my story moved, touched, and impacted them. I can’t tell you how meaningful it is to hear that. I tried to make her real. I think if your lens was focused on the emotional journey in the book, you probably walked away with a different perspective than some other readers.

Maybe you took it all in, and looked at through a variety of lenses. That’s the ultimate to a writer.

Take what you want, or need

Personally, I don’t think it matters what lens you were using. Before I was a writer, I was a reader, and my take-away from books depended on what my connection to the characters and story  was. I totally get how we can all have different viewpoints. From an author standpoint, if you’ve made any connection to Stay, to Alexa, Julian or Luke, I’m satisfied. Nothing is everything to everybody. I’m just thankful you took the time, looked at my work, and focused. 

“It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.” If I had a dime for every time I’ve said this to my husband or my kids…I’d have a lot of dimes! I love them, but there are moments when I question if they were paying attention when the “how to be tactful” lesson was being taught. If they read this, they’d tell you that I’m the one who needs to have a thicker skin. The truth, my family could probably meet somewhere in the middle to avoid some confusion and hurt feelings. Although we really do know each other, communicating our point across well is still a process we have to continually work on.

 It’s tricky the digital age  

Anticipating how people are going to interpret what you say is always a crap shoot, especially with technology thrown into the mix. Honestly, who hasn’t had an email or text come back to bite them in the butt because something you meant to say didn’t come across exactly the way you intended. It happened to me just this morning when I was replying to an email from another mom about something that was going on at my son’s school. Four emails later we both finally agreed we were annoyed with someone else, not each other, about a lack of communication. Pretty ironic, seeing as we weren’t communicating well either.

It’s simply a reality that things can get lost in translation over the World Wide Web, and sometimes it’s difficult to decipher someone’s true meaning when you aren’t face to face. For that reason, it’s important to know which voice to use. I could have sent that same email to my best friend or to my husband, and they wouldn’t have thought twice about it. They know me and I know them, and my meaning wouldn’t have gotten lost in translation. This mom and I don’t know each other well, and we both should have taken that into consideration before hitting send. I should have changed my voice.

Say what you mean – just watch how you say it, and think about how it will be heard

If I just gave you the impression that you shouldn’t say how you really feel about things, that’s certainly not the case. Although I think that it is better for people to be direct, I believe that you should consider your audience. Tone, words, and inflection (or in the case of email, punctuation) could make the difference between a mixed message and an understood one.

For example, one of my kids is just like me. He’s sensitive and takes things very personally. He’s hard on himself when he does something wrong, or not to his own standards. I know this about him, so I choose my words and tailor my voice when we are discussing things. This helps him hear in it a way that will allow him to process it and grow from it. On the flip side, I have another kid who isn’t particularly sensitive, and I don’t need to sugar coat things during our discussions. As a matter of fact, a really direct, in your face approach, works better with him. It’s how I get him to pay attention and listen. I actually have five different approaches for five totally different kids, but this isn’t a parenting blog, so I’ll leave the other three out of this.

 If you want people to listen

Communication is the idea. It’s about getting your thoughts and ideas across. If you want to be understood correctly, seriously think about it before you open your mouth or touch your keyboard. It will keep the lines of communication open and flowing smoothly.

Wow, what a week last week was for me. I was super busy with my real job, life at home was its usual chaotic routine and I finished writing the first draft of Hold On, my second novel. I also had to deal with three separate “instances” where I was put into a position where I needed to enact the 24-hour rule.

I guess someone is trying to teach me a lesson.

The 24-hour rule

I’m not sure who came up with this idea, but it was a wise, mature person for sure. If you don’t know what the 24-hour rule is, it’s basically when you wait 24 hours before you respond to something that has upset you or made you question what was going on in your life. For someone like me, who tends to be sensitive and at times impulsive, this rule is imperative.

How best to spend the time

I really don’t want to go into specifics about what happened with me, because it really isn’t relevant to all of you. However I think the way I handled it can be applied to any situation.

Upset? Try this…

1)      Try not to react immediately: That’s the hardest for me. I don’t like to hold things in and usually feel better when I’ve spoken my mind. Walking away and putting some space (literally or figuratively) between you and the situation can help with perspective. I’m giving myself BIG kudos for doing this this week because I very easily could’ve caused some serious damage with my initial response.

2)      Talk to people close you: I’m super lucky in that I have a really great support system. My family and close friends listen and are honest with me. They say things I don’t want to hear, but need to hear. I got some great feedback regarding these situations and talking about how I was feeling helped me decipher what was valid and what wasn’t.

3)      Figure out your objectives: Will any good will come from your reaction? Will it cause more harm than good? Are you cutting off your nose to spite your face? If you answer yes to any of those then you might want to reconsider your plan of action.

4)      Decide if any of this really matters in the big picture: I was all wrapped up in my own drama when I read a post from a friend commenting on his son’s chronic illness. This is a story of a great little boy who is facing a battle he shouldn’t have to. It made me realize that some of the petty drama that was circling around in my head was sooo unimportant.

The proof is in the pudding

How did the 24-hour rule work for me this week? Well, one thing was just really so unimportant that I let it go after I vented about it for a little bit. I realized it wouldn’t make any difference if I said anything, so I didn’t. I acted on the second thing. I’m not sure my opinion will matter in the grand scheme of things, but I feel better for standing up for something I believe in.

The third thing…well, I spent longer than 24 hours on this one. Sometimes it takes a little more time to process things and that’s okay. When I did finally respond, I knew that I was 100% sure of my words and thoughts. By that point, I was in a position to listen and not just react. It paid off. I knew it would and that’s why I did it. When in doubt, give it some time. What a difference a day can make.