4th Book

Soooo... It's done. Just over a week ago I put the finishing touches on my fourth manuscript and sent it to my agent with a wish and a prayer. If you've been following my blog for any amount of time, you know a few things about this book already, but for some reason I find it helpful to organize my thoughts. No, this creative mind doesn't think linearly. But I do like to collect thoughts much like I hunt for shells at the beach. Size, color, and type don't matter, but there's a pattern to what I keep and why. Don't try to understand it, just smile and nod. ;)

Some interesting stats about Book #4 (Sometimes Girl?):

-It's 104,360 words. That's my second longest book. The Moment Between is around 118,000 words. Apparently, most contemporary fiction these days stays under the 100,000 word mark. What can I say? I'm verbose. People have both praised this quality in my books and scorned it.

-Meg Painter (the protag for my backstory), is everything I wish I would have been in high school and beyond. She's tough, tomboyish, and bold. She plays football, rides a Freestyle BMX, and charms everyone who meets her. I was shy, bookish, and uncoordinated. Though I was a cheerleader--imagine that. The only thing I have in common with Meg is that we were both late bloomers. Meg's mother tells her that Painter girls grow into their beauty. I was an ugly duckling who always hoped that would prove true for me!

-Lucas Hudson (the protag for my main story) is based loosely on my husband, my father, and my brother. They are all kind, gentle-spirited men who manage to exude utter masculinity and strength without feeling the need to brandish guns or put on the sort of silly, macho displays that some men consider manly. I have never been attracted to that in a man.

-This is the first book I've written that is told (at least in part) from a man's perspective. My first draft editor is a man, and he was at times impressed by my ability to get inside the head of the opposite sex, and at times found my interpretations laughable. Thankfully, he kept me true to Lucas's character, and I feel confident handing this manuscript to any man.

-I started this novel, in earnest, in January. The idea actually took root fifteen years ago, and I wrote 50 pages or so of Lucas's story before my first son was born in 2003. In some ways, this book has taken the least amount of time to write (just under six months) and the most amount of time (fifteen years).

-Like The Moment Between, I have a very hard time describing this book. It's part murder-mystery, part true crime, part love story. It's a page-turner, but it has the same literary elements as my first three books. It's character driven, but there is a large cast of fascinating characters instead of merely two or three.

Well, that's it in a nutshell. Hope it piques your interest! I'll keep you updated as things start to get fun... I love editing, the cover design process, marketing plans... Oh! So exciting! I just love what I do. :D