Author Archives: Lily Graison

This week on the Alinar Publishing yahoo groups, the authors are posting excerpts from their Coming Soon and WIP stories. If you’re in search for something good to read, then head over and check out what they have to offer. So far, from what I’ve read, it looks to be an interesting mix of genres. I’m sure there’s something there for everyone. Alniar has 2 yahoo groups. The regular group, Alinar Publishing, with stories rated simmering. For those looking for a little more ‘heat’ in your stories, visit Alinar Adult. All material &copy2005-2012 to Lily Graison

Destined Hearts is finished. I just have to go back through it one more time to catch any last minute typos. I’ve found a few so far but nothing major, which is good. But I’m so ready to move on! I plotted out a new novel last night. On paper, it works. All the scenes came together nicely but even I know something will trip me up. I don’t usually write with an outline. Never have. I’m a ‘have an idea and run with it’ kind of writer. It wasn’t working with this particular story. I started it some 2 years ago. Got a good 7,000 words in and got lost. I have folders full of stories like this. All started, all with a good premise then…nothing. The web is too tangled to work through and I move on. I found a new ‘method’ of plotting, courtesy of Holly Lisle. I’ll have to send her a thank you note. LOL If I can get it to work on my other stories, the ones that have been sitting, collecting dust, for years, I’ll buy her chocolates too. I’m off to write. I have a few hours yet to play so, until next time! Lily All material &copy2005-2012 to Lily Graison

My new book, DESTINED HEARTS will be released with Alinar Publishing on February 24th. I’m very excited about the release of this book! It’s the first original story I ever tried my hand at and has taken me close to 5 years to complete. These characters led me down a path I wasn’t expecting and they told me clearly, that the story was theirs to tell…not mine. I’ve posted the summary and the first chapter for you. Details on the contest I’m running at after the excerpt. Enjoy!! Destined Hearts by Lily Graison A love that transcends time. A Passion that couldn’t be denied. Caitlyn Edwards has lived her life between two worlds. One…in the hustle and bustle of modern day Boston, where she spends her days taking care of her widowed father and helping him run their small auto repair shop. The other…in the arms of a man she only sees in her dreams. Her nights are filled with promises of a love so passionate, she’s spent the last fifteen years trying to find out who he is. William Davenport is a man torn between duty and what he wants. He’s led a life only the privileged and very rich can afford, but his controlling father still feels the need to dictate his every move. A chance encounter with Caitlyn triggers dreams of a life he can’t remember living and soon a woman he can’t seem to forget, starts to invade his every day world. Will Caitlyn and William discover their past in time to change their future? Will the mistakes of years gone by repeat themselves? Or will a love once denied be reunited? Prologue The minute Olivia saw Mr. Holland’s horse trot down the wooded path, she knew her future with Daniel would never be. The mayor … Keep Reading! →

Happy New Year! I can’t believe its been a whole month since I’ve updated the blog. I knew sticking to my ‘once a week’ schedule wouldn’t last. I can’t really blame my desire to be lazy when it comes to blogging as the only reason. I’m on the home-stretch on Destined Hearts and need to get it finished. I’m doing the FINAL read through now. It’s due next Thrusday! *bites nails* Plus, factor in Christmas and you have me being pulled in ten different directions at once. So yeah…that’s why. I’ll try to get back on schedule with blogging but no pormises. My grandbaby is having surgery next week so things will be tense for a while. He’s only 2 so it’s scary thinking of someone putting him to sleep and taking a knife to him. *shudders* But, let’s not think of that now. I’d rather live in denial. It’s nice there. hehehe Speaking of blogs…I’m blogging over at Ladies Who Write. It’s a brand new ‘team’ blog I will be popping on every so often with a few other amazing authors. Check it out when you get time. It’s new, so there isn’t much there at the moment, but when all the authors get a chance to ‘introduce’ themselves, it should be interesting. All material &copy2005-2012 to Lily Graison

We’ve had unseasonably warm weather in NC the past week. By that I mean – 80-degree temperatures. Of course, it didn’t last and now it’s cold and windy outside. And just as I suspected, I’ve caught a cold. I hope it’s just a cold. A few body aches and chills make me wonder. There’s homemade soup on menu tonight. That’s sure to pep me up a bit. The edits/re-through on Destined Hearts has been on hold the past few days. After my mad-dash to get the rewrite finished, I lost steam. Well, that and the lure of bright, sunny skies and warm temperatures. I’ll get back to them soon. I only have a few more days of ‘real’ work until my holiday vacation beings. I’m hoping to finish the story up completely then and get working on my next. My muse is getting bored with the edits…me too, to be quite honest. Writing is what I love to do, the edits? Not so much. I’ll try to post again next Sunday, but I can’t promise it. The closer Christmas gets, the more hectic life is. So keep that in mind if I suddenly go missing. Until next time,Lily All material &copy2005-2012 to Lily Graison

The edits on Destined Hearts are moving along. Slowly, but they are moving. I’ve been staring at this ms for weeks now, flopping back and forth through it fixing things as I saw them and thought – there has to be an easier way. I finally cut it to pieces. 6 chapters per ‘chunk’ and bingo…it worked. I’ve already finished the first 12 chapters and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. WHY I didn’t do this earlier is beyond me. I’ve always done things the hard way. It’s a curse…one I’ve learned to live with. LOL My deadline is looming. I’ve got a little over 6 weeks to get this thing polished up and sent on its merry way. What started out, as a 66,500 word ms is now a little over 73,000. And I can see that number rising. I’m guessing somewhere in the neighborhood of about 75,000 when all is said and done. I always get nervous when editing. I guess every writer does. It’s the whole – Am I wasting my time? Will anyone even like this story? Did I just spend the last 6 months slaving over this thing for nothing? All those insecurities come creeping in and sabotage you when you aren’t looking. I’m not a writer who can pump out a story and have it up and ready to go in a month or two. Oh, I can write that fast. But there is no way I’d let anyone read it. I’m the kind of writer who agonizes over every word. One who finds faults in everything I wrote. Every action my characters took. And I always let a handful of people read it and beg them to trash it. I want to know ‘what is wrong with it’. … Keep Reading! →

My website is down at the moment. Apparently the host is having issues with something. I really wish they would have informed me of this before I saw it. It really irks me to find out on my own. A simple note would suffice. Anyway – it should be back online soon. I hope. All material &copy2005-2012 to Lily Graison

I have many reference books in my writing arsenal. Many in which I turn to daily for one reason or another. But there are times when that ‘one’ word eludes me and no amount of searching helps. That one perfectly perfect word escapes my thoughts and no matter how many books I drag out, it never comes. Sure there are words that will work but the one whispering to me in the back of my mind slinks away to depths unknown. This one perfect word, the one that would make the entire passage come together and cause all the anguish and joy you’re feeling to explode on the page and make it all worthwhile, is hidden. Locked away, never to be seen. Does one ever find that one perfectly, perfect word? I’m editing and in my hated task is the chore of finding the right words to make everything I’ve done come together. To blend each new line with the next, a seamless sting of perfectly perfect words that make the story flow and progress to the conclusion. I’m not sure one ever finds this word. No matter how many times I go over a manuscript, I always find new words to use instead of the one I wrote. You change and add until what you feel is on paper. Until your characters are living, breathing entities that cry and laugh and whose emotions bleed through the page and affect you profoundly. But is it ever enough? Do you ever truly find the word you were searching for? Some do. Some have a knack for it. Others of us struggle. We struggle to find that one word that changes the lives of your characters and leaves them permanently altered. I’ll keep searching for that perfectly, perfect word. I only hope … Keep Reading! →