RELEASE DAY FOR A PERFECT MESS

The journey begins with the first step, but in this case it's the first word!  I'm delving into a new genre, ripe territory and I guess that makes me a virgin of sorts. When I was first encouraged to write the New Adult genre by a really good friend, I was nervous. First person male POV--young male POV. Yikes. But being a virgin is all about exploration, so I jumped in and wrote what I know. What lives and breathes inside me. Pure romance.

This book doesn't really pretend to be anything, not a clone, or a profound treatise on growing up.  It's about falling in love and finding the one. My characters Aubree Walker and Booker Outlaw have some growing up to do in this book as they fall into each other. I so hope if you take the chance to read this novel, that you will enjoy it and that it takes you back to the freshness of that first aching true love. You know what I'm talking about.

 Excerpt:

Booker

Aubree freaking Walker.

Yeah. She hadn’t changed one bit. Still gorgeous, still distant and buttoned up, still curvaceous. I shifted. My thoughts and my purely male biological reaction to her. They weren’t a good combination. Yeah. Heavy wood in the morning.

I turned over onto my back and glared at the goddamned ceiling fan.

And my brain took a track I’d tried very hard not to travel down for the past nine months. What had she been doing all this time at Tulane? Had she thought about me? Or had she lost herself in another guy?

Another guy inside her.

F**k

I felt awful about the way she had just taken off, and sick about both that and what had happened. I was also really angry. Disappeared without even a goodbye.

But now she was back because of her aunt’s terrible accident. Was that the only reason, or was Aubree looking for closure?

Only two times I’d been one-on-one with her, on Wild Magnolia Road and again really early this morning, and both times there had been something terrible going on. Would I ever have the chance to relate to this girl in a completely normal setting? I wasn’t some kind of knight, but I also wasn’t going to let her get hurt. Whoever had thrown that rock better watch his step.

Would she ever get it that I’d crushed on her in school? I hoped not. I knew Aubree’s sort. Forever kind of girl was how I pegged her type. Sure, I could flirt and I could tease, but getting involved with her was a bonehead move. And, if there was anything that I did well, it was looking out for myself.

She looked good, though. Really good. But I felt a pang that she had not only avoided me and Suttontowne, but her aunt, too. Poor Lottie. She was upset about Aubree’s all-too-transparent excuses not to come home, not even for the holidays.  Aubree was all Lottie had. I hoped this wasn’t about me. I would hate that. People should never abandon the ones they love. My father popped into my head, but I pushed that thought away. The old man didn’t deserve even one thought from this son.

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Time to get moving. When my thoughts started down this ole tired road, it was time to find something else to occupy my mind.

In the bathroom I splashed cold water on my face, and then stood in front of the sink, forcing myself to keep my hands relaxed. No matter what my feverish little brain could come up with, wooing Aubree into bed was not going to happen. That much I knew.

After another minute of just standing there, watching the water drip off my face, it hit me. That was the only goddamned plan I was going to come up with—not sleeping with her.

I was a f**king genius.

The 2/2 at 6 Challenge

Okay, so here we are at six months into the 2/2 Challenge and I thought I would give you an update as to how I’m doing. I’m a little lighter and a little heavier. Luckily, lighter on weight and heavier on finished novels. Just where I want to be. Losing weight is still a challenge, but I’m trying to do that every day. Here’s a way to approach goals that will hopefully motivate you.

Step one: Decide what you don’t want.
Make you goals achievable and real. Wishing and hoping for things that might be out of your reach is counterproductive. So, instead of the nebulous wish of staying home and writing, I’ve created the goal of producing as many quality books as I can. That I can control.

Step two: Dream a little
Let yourself dream about your goals. There’s nothing wrong with that. I think about what it will feel like to be thinner, healthier. I envision myself in some cute outfit I used to get into that now just sits in my closet. I also dream about the future books I’m going to write and get all excited about that goal. So, just dream a little. It won’t hurt.

Step three: Backtrack.
So, now take those visions of what you want to accomplish and moved backwards.  How will this work? What will you do? What steps can you take? Then get it done.

Step four: Make a plan, make it happen.
A dream with a deadline becomes a goal.  A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan, and a plan backed up by action makes your dreams come true.  The key is to work backwards to create the reality you want.  The key is to do something, ANYTHING every single day that will get you closer to your goal.  Keep on moving forward and success won't be far behind.

Step five: Remember the Law of GOYA.
Yes, keep in mind the Law of Attraction and all 7 Universal Laws.  It's exciting to think about co-co-creating with the Universe.  But don't leave it totally up to the universe, remember part of setting a goal is working towards it, so Get Off Your @$$ (GOYA)! Want your dream life to become a reality? Get to work.  Want it to show up faster? Work harder.  This won't happen overnight, but it will happen over many overnights. Time equals change equals your vision of what you want.

Don’t fall into the misconception that your happiness and success is under anyone's control but yours. Your future has been and will always be smack dab under your control. Whatever you dream and work towards is possible. You can create what you want to be or do by working toward that life everyday. Part of this whole process is trusting that the powers that be know what you need even better than you do. So, trust in that, throw away the fear and allow change to become part of your journey to what you want to accomplish. Keep moving forward. I know I will.