Shiny

I’ve been purposely ignoring the Internet for the past couple of weeks. Every time I release a new book I always get very melancholy for some reason. I’m not sure why but it’s been that way from the beginning…even back when I wrote fanfic. I decided to take a little break and do something I’ve wanted to do for years and now, here I sit in my Brand New Shiny Office!! My daughter moved out a few months ago to start her own life and her bedroom has been sitting empty ever since. I decided if I was ever going to get that office, I would have to do it myself, so I did. My new office is a very pleasant, pale yellow trimmed in white. I have a new bookcase to house my numerous books; a new ‘L’ shaped desk to house all my junk, and for the first time ever, a high-speed connection! I just need to get all my things hauled up the stairs and we’ll be ready to write again…I hope. Hehehee It feels odd to be up here and not surrounded by clutter. My desk used to be in my bedroom, shoved into a corner with all my crap just piled up on the corners. Now I have all this space, bright walls and plenty of light. I keep looking around, seeing all the changes and would be intent on just sitting here, staring at it all. But that isn’t it’s purpose. I created MY space to write. A place to call my own. A place where my imagination can run wild. Let’s hope it all works! All material &copy2005-2012 to Lily Graison

Open Mouth, Insert Foot

So, what do you think? I gave the blog a makeover. I liked the other layout but all the gray was starting to depress me. lol This one is bright and cheers me up a bit. After the week I’ve had, I need some cheering up. Have you ever said something or done something you regret afterwards? I’m not talking, “Oh I wish I wouldn’t have said that,” and move on…I’m talking, wishing you hadn’t done it to the point it makes you physically ill. Well, that has been my week. Something happened at work this week and I made a wrong decision. I’ve regretted it ever since. I’ve lost sleep over it actually. I get sick to my stomach if I dwell on it too much. I’m not sure what will happen but if the shit hits the fan, so to speak, I’ll have no one to blame but myself. *sigh* It’s been a lesson I won’t forget though. Don’t say anything until you’ve thought about it first. It’s not so much what I said, but the repercussion of what I said. I think that’s why it makes me sick. One stupid mistake will cause me so much trouble. Like life isn’t hard enough. Worst part is…I did it to myself. Much easier when we can blame our grief on someone/something else. Nothing I can do about it now but wait for the fallout. I’ll probably be a nervous wreck before all is said and done. As if I wasn’t crazy enough. LOL I’ll just add this to my list of, Stupid Life Lessons. I shouldn’t be so hard on myself. I’m not the first person to do something monumentally stupid, right? All material &copy2005-2012 to Lily Graison

The Great Race

My first published story, A Touch of Heaven, was released in 2005. My second, a short story for Whiskey Creek Press Torrid, was released in 2007. My third, Destined Hearts, in 2008. Three years and I have 3 stories to show for it. I guess some could say I don’t have what it takes to make it, but I would have to disagree. I love books. I love to read and I read a lot. Traditional books as well as eBooks. One thing I’ve noticed about eBooks and the authors who write them is the frequency in which they release them. I’ve seen authors with new releases every other month, some even every month. My hats off to those select few for doing something I cannot. I’ve had stories that take me an entire month just to plot out. Others take months just to organize my thoughts. I often wonder how writers produce a well thought out manuscript in such a short period of time. I’ve always said, “I’m a slow writer.” But I have to wonder if its not so much as I’m slow as others are just fast. I spent 5 months editing Destined Hearts. Not to mention the years it took to write it. I would get hung-up along the way and put it aside. It actually took me from the first word to the last, 5 years to write. If I broke that down into actual writing time, I’d be safe to say it actually took closer to 6 months. So a good FULL year to write and complete a full novel. I’m in the process of writing a new story. The release slots get snatched up so fast at Alinar you have to plan ahead. I’ve already taken a date, August in case you’re wondering, … Keep Reading!

It seems I’ve neglected my blog as of late. Anyone who reads it regularly knows by now I’m apt to do that. Can’t help it. I always have so many things going on, making time to blog just isn’t high on my list of priorities. Heck, I haven’t even filled out my taxes yet and I HAVE to do that! LOL I respond well to food, so throw a girl a cookie once a week and I may hang out here more often. grin Not much going on in the way of writing. My muse is refusing to work on the story I wanted to do next. He won’t budge. I’ve tried everything I can think of, but no. He wants kinky sex and lots of it. What’s a girl to do? I have an old story I wrote a few years back that I never finished, and that is what the muse wants to play with, so we’ll be getting to work on that soon. Maybe that will satisfy him. Who knows with him. Uh, I’m referring to Benny…my muse. I’ve named him, obviously, and his personality is unpredictable at best. He’s a fat lazy drunkard who has to be enticed to work. He runs off quite regularly and I spend more time trying to find him than I should and when I do track him down, he refuses to do anything. I can usually lure him into writing with the promise of sex…from the characters! Not from me. LOL I guess we’ll just have to see how things go in the next few weeks. My day job will hopefully be better by mid-April. I work 2nd shift…3:30 to midnight. It sucks beyond the telling of it but I’ve been promised a move to first. My replacement is being … Keep Reading!

New Novel Revelation

I played with my new novel during the edits of Destined Hearts. It was the only thing to keep me sane. Edits suck the life out of you. They aren’t fun by any means. They’re quite depressing, actually. You have to find a distraction and writing is the best distraction I can think of. The new novel is an older story I started a few years back and got ‘stuck’ on. I never used to plot. I just sat down with idea in hand and wrote. It’s always worked but with the new novel, it didn’t for some reason. It’s probably why it sat dormant for so long. I played and fiddled until I hit a brick wall and couldn’t move forward. I let it sit but those characters kept whispering to me. They wanted their story told so I did something I’ve never done before. I made a story outline. A real one. LOL I have the story all plotted out now. I can see it from beginning to end with a glance through the cards I wrote it on. (Each scene is written on a different index card – thank you Holly Lisle *wink* ) By the time Destined Hearts was finished and published, I had a complete outline and a few thousand words. This past week, I hit another wall. I just could not get past the current scene. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. So, I let it sit. I’ve watched more TV this past week than I have in the past month. I rarely watch TV. I haven’t for years. After trying to think of ‘something’ to put down I glanced up at one point and sitting there in front of me was my index cards…still bound together like they were the day I … Keep Reading!

The muse has left the building

The dreaded ‘loss of inspiration’ that usually follows a finished book has left me floundering for the past week. It never fails. Whenever I finish a book, I find it hard to start another. Oh, I’ve started another but writing it is like pulling teeth. I can’t seem to get motivated. The desire is there, somewhat, but opening the manuscript accomplishes nothing. I sit here staring at the blinking curser. What I wanted to work on isn’t doing anything for my muse. No, he wants to write vampires and I really don’t want to do that yet. The vamps were later. About 4 books later to be exact. I’m not sure I can get the muse to do anything until I work on it a bit. Maybe a few chapters will please him enough to get back on track. All material &copy2005-2012 to Lily Graison

New release!!

Out Now! New contemporary romance ebook by Lily Graison… Destined HeartsA love that transcends time. A Passion that couldn’t be denied. Caitlyn Edwards has always 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, sheʼs spent the last fifteen years trying to find out who he is. William Davenport is a man torn between duty and what he wants. Heʼs 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? Price: $3.99 Buy now or read an excerpt at Alinar Publishing All material &copy2005-2012 to Lily Graison

Fun on the loops

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