Going Through Withdrawals

By Kimber An

Good morning, Blog Buds!

I just finished writing the third story in the Ophelia Dawson Chronicles on July 6^th.  Oh, yes, of course, it’s an enormous relief to finally be done, but after engaging my imagination on one particular story for several months it’s hard to stop.  

An enormous amount of energy goes into creating a full-length novel.  For me, the story itself is easy.  This one dumped on me like a ton of bricks overnight.  No big deal.  It’s the writing and rewriting that’s exhausting.  And painful!  I deal with tendonitis every single day.  It was not a pretty day when I realized I’d finally achieved publication and that chronic pain was the price I paid.  So, there’s the physical pain.

But, there’s also the emotional.

It’s like to a fabulous party and having the time of your life.  Plenty of dark chocolate, all the guys want to dance, the music is hot, and I get lots of presents.  Most importantly, I know I won’t have to clean up afterwards and the babysitter was Grandma, so she doesn’t want to be paid.  

And then it’s suddenly over.

The chocolate’s gone and the music’s stopped.  The guys went home and all the presents have been opened.  

 

The Party is Over.

The novel is rewritten and as pretty as I can possibly get it all by myself.  I’ve pressed Send and it is gone.  That’s it.

Now what?

At our house, we call it the Post-Party Let-Down and my eldest is the supreme Drama Queen when it comes to this.  I may not do everything she does when her parties are over, but I feel like it.  I twirl around and whine about how much I miss my friends (my characters) and wail about whatever will I do without them until the next party (the next book) and then sent down for a good, long cry.  

It’s pathetic, really.

And there’s only one solution.  Write another book.  That’s what authors do, you know.  Write a book.  Write another book.  And another.And another.

But, before I do, I’m going to rest my hands while my husband installs my new voice-activated software.

THE OPHELIA DAWSON CHRONICLES PLAYLIST

By Kimber An

Music inspires me, but more than that it’s a vital writing tool.

I have four children. Yes, four! On purpose! And I enjoy being a mommy more than anything else in the galaxy. But, I also need to write in order to be happy. So, how in the name of all that is sacred do I pull it off?

Music.

My time on the computer is extremely limited. I absolutely cannot wait for The Muse. In fact, one of my heroines chucked her into a flaming tar pit a long time ago for saying her butt was fat and I have not missed the Old Hag one bit.

Instead, I have a Playlist for each story.

As soon as I hear the necessary song, I am transported into that story’s ‘universe’ in my imagination and I can write.

The Ophelia Dawson Chronicles Playlist started with a singing group which was popular in the early 2000’s called the A Teens. http://www.a-teens.com/

They’re from Sweden and all grown up and gone their separate ways now, but you can still find their music. Here’s the pivotal song:

SUGAR RUSH

For me, the Playlist isn’t like a movie soundtrack. The songs end up on the playlist because they invoke a feeling. The first two stories in my series, Sugar Rush (sound familiar) and Crushed Sugar had young love at the heart of them. The next book, Sweet Bytes, which I’m working on now is very much about Ophelia, the heroine, maturing into serious ‘Kick-Buttitude.’ She’s won her freedom from the bad guys through the sacrifice of her true love and she wants him back. Now. In order to get him back and keep her freedom too, she must become confident in her abilities. So, on the face of it, you wouldn’t think a children’s cartoon movie, Spirit Stallion of the Cimarron, would be inspirational at all. But, just feel the beat and listen to the lyrics of GET OFF MY BACK by Bryan Adams

And to end the entire series, Ophelia goes off to college with Adrian, Bianca, and Brandon. The scene is already complete in my head, though I still have two more novels to go before I get to it. Here is the song which inspired it, also by Bryan Adams for Spirit-

HERE I AM

Yeah, I can see it now, Brandon painted green at a University of Alaska hockey game, yelling, “SCORE!” Bianca’s waving pom-poms like crazy and Adrian’s got his arm around Ophelia who is doing vector calculus on her iPod.

http://www.goseawolves.com/

And they all lived Happily Ever After.

The End.

Not a Newbie anymore!

by Kimber An

Hey, Blog Buds,

I’ve been putting together promo for my upcoming release, Crushed Sugar, and I must say I’m having a lot more fun this time.  This will be my second published story.  Decadent released my first one, Sugar Rush, this past October.

I remember when I was a book reviewer, I could spot a debut author a mile away, or so it seemed.  They were always freaked out, poor things, and I just wanted to give them hugs and chocolate chip cookies.  Despite that experience, I freaked out and had daily migraines for a while when it came to be my turn.  It was awful.

And wonderful.

This time around I know what works.  I know to find my groove and get into it.  I know the stories are the most important thing, so I need to keep crankin’ ‘em out.  I know a lot more cool stuff than I did last time and it feels good.

Aw, yes, I have arrived! 

Not.

 

Ever watch that 80’s movie, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure?  The boys travel back in time to ancient Greece and stumble upon Socrates.  They read in their textbook that he said, “’The only true wisdom is in knowing we know nothing.’”  One of the boys exclaims, “That’s us, Dude!” 

Yeah, that’s the level I’m at right now.

Dude.

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A YA Paranormal with strong romantic elements, Crushed Sugar, is set to be released on March 25^th.  It is the *prequel* novella to Sugar Rush, my first full-length novel.  By *prequel,* I mean it takes place three months before the start of the events of Sugar Rush.  It is a much shorter tale of a faint heart, a fair maiden, and a blood-sucking dead guy.

Here’s the blurb-

Be careful what you wish for.

Ophelia’s had a wicked crush on Martin since they were kids, but she was always just his geeky little friend.  Then, on the first day of her junior year, he’s suddenly and wildly attracted to her.  She can’t imagine what’s changed, but shocking her small school’s social order fills her with vindication for insults suffered.

Ophelia meets Adrian right after and true love extinguishes the wicked crush.  In secret, he gives her courage against a specter threat.

Tristan is pale and hungry, and draws Martin’s immediate ire.  He knows things about Ophelia which she assumes are delusions brought on by an aggravated illness like her own, diabetes.  When battle breaks out between his ancient race and new blood, even the courage of her secret love might be crushed.

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Thanks, everyone!  Please feel free to Tweet, Facebook, blog, shout, scream, do a Snoopy Dance, anything to help me spread the word about Crushed!  Pretty, pretty, pretty please!

All I Want For Christmas

By Kimber An

You’ve probably all heard the saying, “’Tis more blessed to give than to receive.” And I’d bet more than a few of you thought, “Yeah, right.” I know I did a decade ago.

Sure, we’ve been told and maybe we’ve felt it too. It feels good to give someone a present or to help someone in need. Very good, but that’s not the deeper meaning I’m after.

I learned the deeper meaning to the saying the hard way.

I lost a baby.

I was so devastated by this loss that I could not articulate the most powerful desire of my heart, which was to get pregnant again. I was absolutely terrified. I sank into depression.

Then, suddenly one day I discovered I was pregnant again. I was ill with terror. I sobbed on the phone to the midwife. After a lot of hysteria, I wrote this post- http://bit.ly/eOO7JH

I got what I wanted for Christmas.

This all taught me about gratitude.

How many of us are truly grateful for our children? Our mates? Our friends? How often do we say, “I love being your mommy.” Or, “Thank you so much for running to the store for Nyquil!”

Or do we just complain? Or even insult? “Stop being such a brat!”

Nowadays, I cringe when I overhear parents say things like that. They have no idea the precious gift they’ve been given. Whether they’re too selfish or they’re ignorant, like I was, they have no idea the wonderful gifts they’ve received in their lives.

Don’t wait for a hurricane to destroy your house or cancer to claim the life of your mother. Look around at what life has been given to you right now. Thank your loved ones. Get in the habit of thanking them every single day until you die.

The joy of giving to them will wrap your heart up in such blessings you might even forget to open your own presents.