A Winner & The Next Big Thing Bloghop

(giving and writing)

Last week was SADIE’s book birthday. I had a bunch of people enter to win an autographed copy, and today, right now, this very second I get to announce the winner.

The winner is:

SARA !!!

Congrats Sara! And thanks to everyone else who entered to win. You guys are awesome. I wish I could give books to all of you. But…

• SADIE is 50% off right now at Deseret Book. It makes a great gift for Christmas for any fiction/suspense/romance lovers you know. Buy it here.

This week, I’m part of the NEXT BIG THING bloghop. 

This blog hop is like a game of tag. One author posts and tags other authors who link back to their website the next week and tag new authors. If you follow the blog hop long enough, you’re bound to find some books you’ll love–maybe even one that ends up being the next big thing. I was tagged by Charissa Stastny, who is an awesome author (and person). You can learn more about Charissa and her book Eyes of Light from her website or facebook page. This blog hop includes some questions to help you learn more about an author’s current work in progress.

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My Current Project: Augustina

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1: Working title? 

AUGUSTINA. It’s the sequel to SADIE, and it’s almost, almost, almost done. Yipee!!!

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2: What genre does this book fall under? 

Romantic Suspense.

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3: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? 

Oh, this is a dangerous question. First off, my books are already movies in my mind. The characters aren’t based on anyone. They have their own look and personalities. But . . . if I have to choose . . . if you absolutely make me (and don’t hate me for it), 

JOSH would be played by an early twenties Tom Welling. 

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GUILLERMO would be

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SADIE is so much harder. There isn’t one actress that is the Sadie I envision. Truth be told, though, my vision of her has morphed over the last year into the girl on the cover. So here’s a different picture of her. Although to me, my Sadie has a more Hispanic look, but this is close enough.  

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4: What is a one-sentence synopsis of your book?  

Against the odds, Sarah Augustina Dawson survived the wrath of her ex-boyfriend, Guillermo, but not without a price. Forced to leave her beloved Montana behind, she’s on the run. But Guillermo is out for revenge. He’s still orchestrating, hunting, and determined to exact his own kind of justice. When the law swings in his favor, he’s ready to end the feud that started the moment Josh walked into Sadie’s life.  

(I realize that was more than one sentence. I was tempted to make it a single, huge run-on sentence, but then I remembered something. This is my blog. I can have as many sentences as I want. :) )

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5: How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? 

Um…technically the first draft isn’t done yet. So…I guess that means I’ve been working on this three-ish years. Yikes. That sounds awful. I’ve been revising as I go, so parts have been polished for nearly that long. My goal is to finish the last holes in first draft this week and have it revised and done quickly after that.

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6: Who or what  inspired you to write this book? 

After the first book, I knew Sadie’s story wasn’t done. Guillermo, the bad guy, got off Scott free, and I’m a huge believer in happy endings. So I suppose the first book inspired me to write the second. Is that a lame way to answer this question? Oh well. Sometimes the truth is lame. :) But this second book is set in Knoxville, Tennessee because I visited there awhile back with my family, and I fell in love with the Great Smoky Mountains.

I would love to live in Tennessee.

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7. Tell us more about your work in progress.  

This second book is heavier than the first. Guillermo won’t get out of Sadie’s head. She has some serious wounds she has to deal with, both physical and emotional, plus he’s still threatening everyone she loves, especially Josh. All this combines to take Sadie to a very dark place in her mind. For a time, she even shuts down.

It was hard to let Sadie go there as an author. Someone said that to an author, characters are like their own children. I struggled to write a few scenes in this book. I wanted to protect Sadie and maker it ‘all better,’ but it wasn’t true to her or what she’d been through. Abuse is a very serious topic, and sadly, many women find themselves in abusive relationships. I didn’t want to treat the subject lightly. But it was very hard to write. So hard it’s taken me three years to finish.

And yet, now that I’m to the end of the book, I’m glad I didn’t jump in and try to save her. As crazy as it sounds, the scene where she shuts down is one of my favorites now because true heroes don’t let life beat them. Sadie couldn’t grow without going to that dark place. I can see her strength now. She pulled through it, and I’m proud of her for it.

• Yes, I know she’s not real. Keep telling me that.

But isn’t that how real life is anyway? At some point, we all fall into life’s pits and hit rock bottom. We look up and can’t see any way out. And yet, we slowly climb and dig our way out with the help of loved ones, God above, and our own inner strength. When we reach the top and look back, we’re shocked by how far we’ve come. Sometimes, we’re even thankful for life’s pits as horrible as they can be, because they teach us that we’re stronger than we think. 

Hmmm. See what I mean?

Augustina is definitely heavier than the first book, but don’t worry. There are a lot of fun parts too. There’s hiking, music, religion, goofy boys, and even some good ole neon green to remind Sadie of the happy things in her life.

Oh yeah, and there’s romance. Josh and Sadie are such a fun couple to write. :)

• They’re still not real. I know. I know. I was sitting on the couch with the laptop Friday, typing away. My hubby looked at me and said, “What are you smiling at?” He thought I was watching some funny Youtube video or something. I wasn’t. I quickly said, “Nothing.” Unfortunately, he knows me too well. “Wait. Are you smiling at your own book?” Me: “No.” Hubby: “Yes you are. You’re smiling at your own story. You know it’s not real, right?” Me: “Can you go play with the kids now?” I don’t think readers have any idea what we authors go through for them. I’m pretty sure they don’t want to know. ;)

So…back to the bloghop.

A lot of my author friends have already participated in this NEXT BIG THING bloghop. So after you check out Charissa’s post here, check out some others. Maybe one of them will become your new favorite author! 

Happy reading, and have a fabulous Thanksgiving!

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