Musings from a Writer’s Brain—What’s Next by Linda Wood Rondeau

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Bible Study, Christian growth non-fiction, Christian non-fiction, Essay about Writing, LInda Wood Rondeau, Musings from a Writer’s Brain, Who Put the Vinegar in the Salt?

This is the question I ask after each THE END I write on a manuscript. So, I’ve completed my book, edited it a gazillion times, sent it off to my publisher, more edits, galleys, and a note , “Your book is now live.”

Yes, there are a ton of marketing needs. But my creative spirit needs to be refueled with the next big project. So what should I write about now? I find myself facing the great unknown. Since all my contractual requirements are now met, how do I decide on what I should write next?

Do I work on unfinished concepts?

Or does God have something else for me to do?

Should I keep all my eggs in one basket or branch out?

Is now the time to try self-publishing?

Do I want to be a hybrid author?

Certainly, I’m not bored. I am also a freelance editor in addition to editing for my publisher. I’m also a Project Manager and my days are filled.

How do I predict what the market will need in a year and half from now?

Busyness is no excuse to starve the creative spirit.

Our pastor’s recent sermon was aimed at graduates: high school, college, postgraduate, and military. However, his message spoke to me, a woman in my seventies, as I thought on my next writing goal.

He reminded the grads to surrender their future to God. I believe this is true for writers as well.

Be Constantly in Prayer

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you (Matthew 7:7 KJV)

The Lord has promised to hear and answer. Most Christians agree with this. However, when the answer seems slow to come, we will fall back to seeking our own answers which may be contrary to what God has in mind. Seek him diligently, knock on heaven’s door for as long as it takes. Pastor Kevin also said to not be afraid to ask others to pray with you. As writers, our readers and colleagues may have ideas we had not even considered. Then go back and pray some more.

Trust God Completely

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths (Proverbs 3:5 – 6 KJV).

Abandoning our preconceived ideas of our next steps may be very difficult. We are anxious to get started. We hear our inner creative voice saying, “Now! Move on your idea or it will go away.” As I hear the words above, I’m reminded God’s idea may be different than mine.

Live Faithfully

Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind (Ecclesiastes 12:13 NIV).

Said Pastor Kevin, “He wants you to say ‘yes’ before he will give you your ‘what.’”

God wants us to love him with all our heart, mind, and soul. Living faithfully and staying near to God allows us to align our will with his. He has a plan and wants to guide us in the right direction.

When we pray, trust, and walk with God, he not only leads us in our walk with him, but will center our desires with his. For the writer, this means, he will make clear our next big step in our careers.

WHO PUT THE VINEGAR IN THE SALT

By Linda Wood Rondeau

The world offers much beneficial self-help advice. Shouldn’t the Christian seek to be the best possible version of themselves? Aren’t we supposed to be good people?

Why not look to the world to solve life’s problems?

Because God has called us to be salt.

While there is much good to be found, like vinegar, the world’s best advice falls short of God’s recipe to live a victorious Christian life.

In a down-home, friendly manner, the author provides analogies, inspirational stories, anecdotes, a wealth of Scripture, and optional study guides for both individuals and groups, inviting the believer to discover God’s desires for his salt.

Buy Link

By the author of I Prayed for Patience, God Gave Me Children.

ABOUT LINDA WOOD RONDEAU

A veteran social worker, Linda Wood Rondeau’s varied church experience and professional career affords a unique perspective into the Christian life. When not writing or speaking, she enjoys the occasional round of golf, visiting museums, and taking walks with her best friend in life, her husband of over forty years. The couple resides in Hagerstown, Maryland where both are active in their local church. Readers may learn more about the author, read her blog, or sign up for her newsletter by visiting www.lindarondeau.com.

Connect with Linda on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads

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Musings from a Writer’s Brain –The Greatest Gift: An Unplanned Sequel by Karin Beery

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Avoiding Marriage, contemporary fiction, Essay about Writing, Karin Beery, Musings from a Writer's Brain, Writing a series

I love reading a series, but I never planned to write one—it’s tough remembering all of the names, dates, and descriptions of every characters, place, and event. I’m tired just explaining it! I was happy writing new characters in new places for each book.

But then something strange happened…I found myself without a book contract.

Okay, that’s not really strange. I’ve spent more of my life without a book deal than I have with one, but after having two books published in two years, I expected (wanted, hoped) it would continue. It didn’t. It was partly my manuscript, partly a series of unfortunate events. Regardless, I could see a big hole in my publishing schedule.

Enter the panic.

Enter the tears.

Enter my friend Jessica wanting to know why the crazy ex-girlfriend in Practically Married was named after her. (It wasn’t—Jess is named after a girl I knew in high school, but don’t tell my friend.)

Jessica’s question got me thinking—why would Russ have dated Jess if she was crazy? And if she wasn’t really crazy, why would he have broken up with her?

My friend gave me the greatest gift you can give a writer: inspiration!

One question led to another led to another led to another. And then, because I don’t understand the point of fiction without kissing scenes, I had to give Jess a love interest, but wouldn’t it be great if she wasn’t interested?

The ideas took off and a few months later I’d written Avoiding Marriage: A Practically Married Novella.

This time, I did the work myself—hired editors, designers, and formatters to self-publish my first book. My first novella. My first sequel! It’s been a stressful, exhilarating, frustrating, exciting time, and I’m happy to be in the home stretch. Avoiding Marriage is now available to buy!

But … then I read the reviews:

“I know there are other books with these characters, so I am looking forward to reading more about them in the future.”

“I wanted to keep reading to see what happens next, so I’m looking forward to the next in the series.”

“I want [another] novel that shares more of what happened between [Jess] and Russ and with her mom. I want to know what happens to Felix, Carter and her mom.”

Looks like the series will continue…

Avoiding Marriage

 by Karin Beery

Two years ago, Jessica Miller made a mess of her already confusing life. Now, she’s back in Boyne Heights, and she’s determined to fix her reputation. She can’t seem to avoid the past that haunts her, but that’s the joy of small-town life—word spreads and people remember. Intent on her mission, however, she faces her past head-on, taking a job with her ex-boyfriend while avoiding her grandmother’s attempts to find her a new one.

Avoiding Marriage is available on Amazon

About the Author:

Karin Beery grew up in a rural Michigan town, where she wrote her first novel in high school. Today, she writes contemporary stories with a healthy dose of romance. When she’s not writing fiction, she’s reading, editing, or teaching it. In her free time, she enjoys watching University of Michigan football and action-adventure movies with her husband and fur babies.

Connect with Karin on her Website, Facebook, Twitter and Bookbub

Musings from a Writer’s Brain–The Journey to Publication by Sharon Ledwith

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Essay about Writing, Fantasy, Musings from a Writer's Brain, Sharon Ledwith, The writing life, writing success, YA fiction

by Sharon Ledwith

The journey to publication wasn’t easy for me. In fact, it took me a great deal of time and effort to get to where I am now. So, let’s go back in time to 1995 when I got bitten by the writing bug during a Planning Your Novel workshop I attended for fun at the local college. One of the exercises I volunteered for still sticks in my mind. The teacher handed me three pennies, and I had to throw them into a waste basket one at a time. I managed to get all three coins in, shooting at different angles and distances. My teacher, Tom Arnett—a NYT bestselling author—was surprised at my luck because the norm was usually two pennies in. He explained that getting all the pennies in would suggest your (writing) goals would be too easy because the person threw them from a close distance. On the flipside, one penny in (throwing too far away) suggested having unrealistic expectations/goals about a career in writing.

You could say that this penny exercise set the bar for me, and gave me some hope in a field I knew absolutely nothing about. I ended up taking Tom’s night course, Starting your Novel, and from there the writing games began.

Trying to get published looked something like this:

• Write a book (I choose a paranormal romance) which took about 2 years, including research and learning the basics.

• Attended a workshop where I met an agent, and handed her a query and outline, which eventually got her interest. This went back and forth for a time (about four years) until the agent admitted that my book wasn’t developing the way she wanted it to go, so we decided to go our separate ways. Sigh.

• Around 1998, I had a dream where I saw seven arches, and there were seven people (five kids, two adults) with crystals in their hands, walking up to these arches. It definitely had an Indiana Jones feel to it. At that time, I was trying to get my paranormal romance published, and had no intention of writing in the young adult genre. But this idea kept growing in my mind, and wouldn’t leave, like some mystical force pushing me from behind. So, I thought I’d challenge myself to write a time travel series based on that dream, calling it The Timeliners, and later The Last Timekeepers.

• Had some luck with The Last Timekeepers when an agency and publishers showed interest. But their interest was short-lived. Rejection, rejection, and more rejection followed.

• In 2003, we sold our graphic trade business and house, packed up, and moved to our cottage in a popular tourist area located in Ontario. I decided to become a tutor for the local Literacy Council in the winter of 2004. While living pretty much off the grid (we had dial up internet), I started a teen psychic mystery series entitled, Mysterious Tales from Fairy Falls, pulling from my experiences living in the wilds of cottage country.

• I enrolled in a two-year correspondence course geared toward writing for children and teens to beef up my writing chops.

• Then, I decided to try my hand as a participant in the 2005 Muskoka Novel Marathon, where previously I had helped with the organizational aspects of this event. The idea is to write a novella or novel in three days, and the winner gets a chance at publication. During the course of the marathon, our dog died suddenly and I left for the day, only to come back the next day to finish writing my manuscript in time to submit it. It was truly a bitter-sweet experience.

• My writing suffered after that, and I decided to enter the workforce as an animal care attendant at the local Animal Shelter for the next fourteen months. During this time, I finished my writing correspondence course, tinkered with Mysterious Tales from Fairy Falls, then finally woke-up and quit the animal shelter to get back to writing. I wrote a whole book out of my animal shelter experience, and geared it for my teen psychic mystery series. I sent in that manuscript and got rejected a lot, but one agent showed an interest. He later sent me a lovely rejection letter. Sigh.

• Finally, in 2010, I decided to dust off my time travel story, update the characters and give it a fresh voice. I sent it out—mostly to agents—and got rejected again, and again.

• By this time, I had decided to check out ebooks and how to go about publishing them. Since I owned a graphics business for over twenty years, I had some business background, and it seemed many authors were being forced to wear two hats in these changing times. So I started a blog in May 2011 to create an on-line presence.

• Then, I entered the 2011 Muskoka Novel Marathon with the idea of doing the prequel for The Last Timekeeper series. Two writers there had just signed publishing contracts, so this gave me some hope. I asked if I could use their names as a reference when querying their publisher. They said, ‘No problem,’ but I’d have to wait until September to query. After the novel marathon, we all exchanged social media info.

• This is where hard work and opportunity collide. One of those writers shared a link on Facebook, which I thought was the publishing company she had signed with. But it wasn’t. It was the link to a new epublishing company calling for submissions. What the hell, there was nothing to lose while I waited for September to roll in. I sent out my query the end of August, and got a reply within seven days—Musa Publishing wanted to see my manuscript. Excited, yet not getting my hopes up, I sent my young adult time travel manuscript in. They loved it, but wanted revisions. Actually, they wanted a huge, big-ass rewrite that included making the entire book only in one POV, instead of the five I originally had written. Each kid had their own chapter. This publisher only wanted one kid per book. So they offered me five books right off the bat.

• I signed the contract September 13th, 2011, with a release date of May 18th, 2012. Plenty of time for rewrites, and plenty of time to learn what’s expected of an author in this new paradigm of publishing. I followed up with the prequel to The Last Timekeepers series, Legend of the Timekeepers came out in August 2013.

• Time travel to 2015 when Musa Publishing closed their doors permanently, and Mirror World Publishing appeared to open their doors for me. Not only did they take on The Last Timekeepers series, but in 2017 added Mysterious Tales from Fairy Falls to their young adult list of books. Woohoo!

Honestly, I’ve come a long way since 1995, and I’m still learning and growing in this crazy publishing business as it continues to evolve. Presently, I’ve got two young adult book series under my belt, both published through Mirror World Publishing. And I’d wager three shiny pennies that they won’t be closing their doors any time soon.

If you’re an author, what does your publishing journey look like? Did it take you a long time to get published? Would love to read your comments! Cheers, be well, and thank you for reading my post.

Here’s a glimpse of the premises of both my young adult series:

Mysterious Tales from Fairy Falls Teen Psychic Mysteries…

Imagine a teenager possessing a psychic ability and struggling to cope with this freakish power while trying to have a normal life. Now, imagine being uprooted and forced to live in a small tourist town where nothing much ever happens. It’s bores-ville from the get-go.

Welcome to Fairy Falls. Expect the unexpected.

The Last Timekeepers Time Travel Adventures…

Chosen by an Atlantean Magus to be Timekeepers—legendary time travelers sworn to keep history safe from the evil Belial—five classmates are sent into the past to restore balance, and bring order back into the world, one mission at a time.

Children are the keys to our future. And now, children are the only hope for our past.

The Last Timekeepers Time Travel Adventure Series:

The Last Timekeepers and the Dark Secret, Book #2 Buy Links:

MIRROR WORLD PUBLISHING ׀ AMAZON ׀ BARNES & NOBLE ׀

The Last Timekeepers and the Arch of Atlantis, Book #1 Buy Links:

MIRROR WORLD PUBLISHING ׀ AMAZON ׀ BARNES & NOBLE ׀

Legend of the Timekeepers, prequel Buy Links:

MIRROR WORLD PUBLISHING ׀ AMAZON ׀ BARNES & NOBLE ׀

Mysterious Tales from Fairy Falls Teen Psychic Mystery Series:

Lost and Found, Book One Buy Links:

MIRROR WORLD PUBLISHING ׀ AMAZON ׀ BARNES & NOBLE ׀

Blackflies and Blueberries, Book Two Buy Links:

MIRROR WORLD PUBLISHING ׀ AMAZON ׀ BARNES & NOBLE

Sharon Ledwith is the author of the middle-grade/YA time travel series, THE LAST TIMEKEEPERS, and the teen psychic mystery series, MYSTERIOUS TALES FROM FAIRY FALLS. When not writing, researching, or revising, she enjoys reading, exercising, anything arcane, and an occasional dram of scotch. Sharon lives a serene, yet busy life in a southern tourist region of Ontario, Canada, with her hubby, one spoiled yellow Labrador and a moody calico cat.

Learn more about Sharon Ledwith on her website and blog. Stay connected on Facebook and Twitter. Look up her Amazon Author page for a list of current books. Be sure to check out THE LAST TIMEKEEPERS TIME TRAVEL SERIES Facebook page.

Musings from a Writer’s Brain–The Similarity Between Art and Writing by Carol Browne

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Art by Christianna Cassisa, Carol Browne, Essay about Writing, Musings from a Writer's Brain, psychological fiction, Reality Check

from Carol Browne

Christianna Cassisa, an artist friend, recently posted some of her paintings on Facebook. I love her art because she has a unique style and her work seems to have a life of its own that I can only describe as magical. Some creatives really do have a special gift for breathing life into their artistic concepts. Here are three of my favorites.

As usual, I remarked upon how much I love her paintings and how perfect and brilliant they are. Her response was that I hadn’t seen her failures, and I never would. Nobody would, because they are mediocre and fall short of her vision. She couldn’t make them work on paper.

She said, didn’t I as a writer experience the same phenomenon, where no matter what you do, you can’t make the medium you work with reflect the ideas in your mind? The similarity between our two art forms struck me very forcibly then, yet it had never occurred to me before. One of the major frustrations of creative work is when a great idea takes root in your mind but you can’t do it justice in the physical expression of it.

For some months now I have been struggling with one of those great ideas. It is dark and unsettling and the perfect premise for an intelligent thriller. It’s an idea that won’t leave me. To discard it is unthinkable.

I wrote three different versions of chapter one and binned them. Likewise, characters have been introduced and quickly shown the door. Backgrounds changed colour and setting. Dramatic conflict between faceless characters led to long verbal exchanges that had no mouths to speak them. Only the idea, the central premise, remains, both egregious and ingenious, demanding manifestation.

And I can’t make it work on paper.

This idea is like a seed that is full of potential but in the hands of an indifferent gardener may never reach for the sun and bear fruit. It is too good an idea not to run with it, and yet it has no legs. I could wish this idea had been given to someone else. Let them sit and stare at the wall, trying to work out a plot! I have been infected with the germ of an idea for a great story, but so far it is peopled by phantoms and written on water.

At some point, I might have to tell myself to let it go. If that happens it will mean having to face the possibility that I’m not up to the job. I was given a good idea but it surpassed my abilities as a writer. I’m not prepared to give up just yet because this idea is bold and brave. It is a commentary on our times. It has important topics to explore, essential truths to impart, observations to set down and questions to pose. But without a structure these themes float around like rudderless boats, seeking anchorage in a shared harbour. The harbour they are searching for is the book I have called Now You Don’t. It has a title so it should exist. But it doesn’t. It’s a non-book.

Because I can’t make it work on paper.

Here’s a blurb from my book that did work on paper.

Gillian Roth finds herself in middle age, living alone, working in a dull job, with few friends and little excitement in her life. So far, so ordinary.

But Gillian has one extraordinary problem.

Her house is full of other people… people who don’t exist. Or do they?

As her surreal home life spirals out of control, Gillian determines to find out the truth and undertakes an investigation into the nature of reality itself.

Will this provide an answer to her dilemma, or will the escalating situation push her over the edge before she has worked out what is really going on?

Amazon Buy Links e-Book – Paperback

 
Note to readers : This book may contain mild language and sexual situations.

Born in Stafford in the UK, Carol Browne was raised in Crewe, Cheshire, which she thinks of as her home town. Interested in reading and writing at an early age, Carol pursued her passions at Nottingham University and was awarded an honours degree in English Language and Literature. Now living and working in the Cambridgeshire countryside, Carol writes both fiction and non-fiction.

Stay connected with Carol on her website and blog, Facebook, and Twitter.

Musings from a Writer’s Brain–Life Lessons Learned from God by Alexis A Goring

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Alexis A. Goring, Devotions, Essay about Writing, Musings from a Writer's Brain, Stories and Songs of Faith: My Journey with God

My devotional writing journey started when I was recovering from a health crisis at age 16.

During the recovery time, God took me into His Classroom and as the Master Teacher, started imparting important life lessons to me. I started learning lessons that traditional teachers inside of the normal classroom setting would never be able to teach me. These lessons were straight from God’s Word (The Holy Bible) and filled with modern day applications that made sense.

It was then that I felt compelled to start writing these life lessons down. So I started typing these treasures of truth into Microsoft Word on my personal laptop computer.

After a short while, I started sharing these words that God inspired me to write with online communities starting with message boards (this was before Facebook was invented and social media was popular). God planted that seed to write for Him in my heart and as I recovered, I grew stronger not only physically but spiritually. Studying God’s Word and praying to Him, then reflecting on His goodness, grew my relationship with Him and gave me a genuine love for others. I started seeing people as precious souls, loved by God. God grew within me a deep desire to teach everyone about Jesus Christ as the Light of the World. I wanted to show everyone (especially those who do not know God) how much we as broken people (even those of us who are doing very well in life and therefore think that we can live without God), need Him as our Savior, Redeemer and Best Friend. To this day, I still feel driven to reach the world for Jesus Christ!

God knew this would be part of my true life story and He gave me that desire to write devotionals. As I grew closer to God, my desire to share those words with everyone around me grew in remarkable ways! God started opening more doors for my devotionals to be read and shared. He led me to opportunities to write for faith-based blogs, magazines, and to have my devotionals published in books! He even gave me my own column through a company called Collegiate Quarterly (CQ) where I wrote devotional-style columns as the Growing Up columnist for five years and they paid me for my work!

Finally, near the beginning of January 2019, God led me to write this devotional book, Stories and Songs of Faith: My Journey with God. He put together ALL the pieces for me: He led me to make weekly deadlines for myself (I’m a trained journalist who thrives on deadlines and never missed one!) to help me finish writing the 52 devotionals within 14 months. He set in motion a plan for me to work with an editor who was recently hired by my book publisher and she just so “happened” to have decades of experience in editing devotionals. God also pushed me to write 52 devotionals (I was set for only 44), by speaking to me through the professional opinions of a popular book editor and a well-known literary agent. Finally, he inspired my editor and me to create the perfect title that captures my love for stories, songs, and my faith walk with God.

My devotional book was published in April 2020 and so far, it has received the most positive reviews from people who I do and do not know! So many readers have expressed how this devotional book is just what they needed to read for such a time as this.

In closing, I’d like to share a review of my book by my friend Morgan. She said:

“God has profoundly touched my life through Author Alexis A. Goring’s uplifting and personable weekly devotional book sharing God’s love through her own experiences and insights. It is so well written and in a voice that feels as if a close friend is having coffee with you and talking of God. Every entry is well backed by Scripture as well as highlights meaningful songs that God has used to touch the author’s heart.

As a fellow journalist, I love how the author uses her talent of observation to see God at work all around her as well as the use of thought-provoking questions at each devotional’s end to further connect our lives to that entry’s theme and the Scripture truth it has been based on.

If you are looking for a devotional that is short but powerful this is it. It would be a perfect gift for a special person in your life.”

And that’s my hope for everyone who reads my devotional book: For it to be like you having coffee (or tea) with me while we have a conversation about God.

My book, Stories and Songs of Faith: My Journey with God, is available for purchase exclusively on Amazon.com. It’s available in e-book for your Kindle and print (for those who love holding paperback books in their hands). I hope and pray that these words God has given me will bless your heart!

May God bless you and keep you!

Sincerely,

Alexis A. Goring, MFA

Author/Blogger/Editor/Journalist

About the Author:

Alexis A. Goring is a passionate writer with a degree in Print Journalism and an MFA in Creative Writing. She loves the art of storytelling and hopes that her stories will connect readers with the enduring, forever love of Jesus Christ.

Social Media Sites:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAlexisAGoring/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PennedbyAlex

Website https://alexisagoring.jimdo.com

Stories and Songs of Faith: My Journey with God

Alexis A. Goring:

Stories and Songs of Faith: My Journey with God is a 52-week devotional that will bless your heart, soothe your soul, encourage your mind, and strengthen your God-given spirit.

Join author Alexis A. Goring on an inspirational journey. Each devotional builds from real-life experiences that impart many faith lessons learned along the way.

Each day is built on the foundation of a Bible verse or edifying quote, followed by Goring’s personal story and reflection questions for a personalized experience.

All of the devotionals are tied to a song in order to go a little deeper into the heart of the message. A song directory at the end of the book connects the reader with music online to further enhance the study experience and glorify God.

Spend a year on a journey growing closer to the Lord through Stories and Songs of Faith, and discover personal transformation as time with Jesus Christ changes your heart to look a little more like His.

Purchase link for the devotional book:

Social Media Sites:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAlexisAGoring/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PennedbyAlex

Website: https://alexisagoring.jimdo.com

Musings from a Writer’s Brain–Writing is Like Laundry by Karin Beery

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Essay about Writing, Karin Beery, Musings from a Writer's Brain, Practically Married, writing tips

Writing is Like Laundry … by Karin Beery

image courtesy of pixabay

Do you remember the TV show Castle? Author Rick Castle followed detective Kate Beckett around to find inspiration for a new novel. Once he was inspired, he wrote the book, submitted it, and presto! He’s done.

Sort of.

Most people think that’s how authors write and live their lives: write a book and get it published. That’s a massive over simplification. I’ve found that writing a book is more like doing laundry—there are certain steps you need to follow, you’re often working with more than one load at a time, and you repeat the process endlessly. Here’s what I mean:

1. Sort the laundry: plan your story. Writing your manuscript isn’t even the first step! First you need to organize everything, like sorting your whites and colors. You have to figure out your characters, the plot, the setting. Lots of loads.
2. Start washing: now you can write your story. Take all of your information and put it into a captivating manuscript.
3. Dry: edit. (They forgot to show that step on Castle.) Self-edit. Peer edit. Hire an editor. There are many ways to clean up your manuscript.
4. Put away clothes: submit your story.
5. Repeat #2 and #3: has anyone ever done just one load of laundry? Has any writer ever only worked on one story at a time? Not likely. You may have put some clothes away (i.e. submitted one story), but there’s more laundry to go (i.e. more stories to write).

This process continues until the laundry basket (your creativity) is empty. Then, six hours later, it’s full again, and you start the process all over again.

Steps #1-5 are, of course, the perfect scenario. There are always unexpected issues that pop up though:

• Stains (scenes or characters that leave a bad impression)
• Holes (plot holes; characterization holes)
• Frayed hems (conclusions that just don’t work)

You never know when one of these issues will pop up, but you always have to decide—fix it or throw it away? Never easy to do with your favorite yoga pants or your favorite secondary character.

Like any chore, writing can become monotonous if you let it, so I don’t let it! I make sure to break up my writing projects by working with other people, reading, or walking away completely to let my brain reset (while I do a load of actual laundry).

I suppose someday I could run out of ideas, but I hope the creative side of my brain will keep filling up like my laundry basket.

 

While you’re waiting for your laundry to dry—the real stuff, not the book laundry—check out Karin’s book Practically Married

Practically Married

By Karin Beery

Ashley moves to a new town to marry her fiancé. Instead, she buries him.

Ashley Johnson moves to northern Michigan to finally meet her fiancé face-to-face, but she arrives in time to go to his funeral. With no home back in Ohio, she decides to stay in what would have been their house, except his cousin Russ lives there too, and Russ has never heard of Ashley. To complicate matters, her fiancé accidentally willed her the family farmhouse. Eager to please everyone and desperate to disappoint no one, she proposes a marriage of convenience that could solve her and Russ’s problems, if they can get past her aunt, his sisters, and an ex-girlfriend.

 

Excerpt

Ashley turned back to the open refrigerator while she listened to Rob’s footsteps fade away. Cheese, meat, bread, more cheese. She handed everything to Russ. Unlike his paperwork, there was no way he could lose the food between her hands and the kitchen counter.

But what if Russ couldn’t find the deed? What if they weren’t good roommates? Could she get enough work in the next year to save up a down payment on a house? Panic squeezed her lungs. Ignoring the leftover veggie tray and fruit salad, she grabbed the gelatin and set it on the island.

Russ handed her some meat that he’d smashed between bread. “Looks like we can add the farm to our list of things to figure out.” He threw together another sandwich then stood beside her, both of them leaning against the counter, munching away. Russ tore through his food, staring at the floor. Ashley bit into her sandwich, but it gummed up in her mouth. She tossed it on the counter and grabbed the bowl of green, jiggly comfort instead.

Russ opened a drawer in the island. “Spoon?”

“Thank you.” She took the largest spoon and scooped out a mound of lime gelatin and whipped cream. “You know, as crazy as it’s been since I got here, none of this should surprise me. Tom used to do this to me all the time. He’d start talking about something that he forgot to tell me about, then get mad that I couldn’t follow the conversation. It shouldn’t surprise me that he forgot to tell you about me.”

“You should have been his business partner.” Russ crunched into a pickle. “We always had stuff showing up at the farm without explanation. You’re the first bride, though.”

 

About the Author:

Karin Beery grew up in a rural Michigan town, where she wrote her first novel in high school. Today, she writes contemporary stories with a healthy dose of romance. When she’s not writing fiction, she’s reading, editing, or teaching it. In her free time, she enjoys watching University of Michigan football and action-adventure movies with her husband and fur babies.

Links: https://www.facebook.com/authorkarinbeery/
https://twitter.com/karinbeery
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/karin-beery