Writing Update

I've been working on two projects, "Masquerade for a Billionaire," and "Club Sunshine." I've never worked on projects simultaneously, so I'm not sure how this will work. So far, I've been able to add words to both projects each day. I'm afraid that both first drafts will be train wrecks, but it's better to have something to edit than to have a blank page, right?

I'm always optimistic I'll finish projects much sooner than I actually do. I am seriously in awe of all of these writers who can put out a book every month or so. I just can't do that. I love to write. I spend time writing every day, but I cannot write very fast. My mind isn't creative enough to be that fast, I guess.

Here are my goals for 2019:

Finish and publish Masquerade for a Billionaire.
Finish and find an agent for Club Sunshine.
Begin a new romance, Flipping for Love (part of my Reunion Romance novella series).
Research and outline a new romance series set in a bridal boutique.

What I'm Writing--It May Surprise You

Last year, I had hopes of writing several books. I wrote and published two, On Deck for Love and Wedding Weekend. Before I could get started on another one, it was summer break and we headed to Colorado to see family and friends and to clean out our house there.

I spent the summer cleaning out that house and then figuring out what to do with all the stuff when I came back to Texas. We were thrilled when the house sold, and on the day we signed the papers, we found out my husband was losing his job of 29 years. Yep, 29 years. A job that we thought we'd have--and counted on--until retirement. And we moved our family to Texas, away from all our extended family and friends and the home and property that we'd built and improved ourselves in Colorado, to keep this job with its benefits. But that didn't happen and once we found out he was losing his job, my husband and I spent the next few months trying to figure out finances and where to go from there, so my writing took a back seat.

We eventually decided to open our own business in hopes of doing IT contract work. It seems to be picking up and we're hopeful it will be successful. (If you know any companies in need of outsourcing IT work or in need of customized software to help with their business processes to be more efficient and more profitable, let me know)

After getting through the holidays and enjoying all of my kids and gorgeous grandkids, I decided it was time to get back to writing, because writing brings me joy. I may not have recognizable, bestselling books or be a household name, but I love to create stories. I've been working on a romance with a billionaire--I know, that market seems flooded right now, but I'm hoping to gain some new readers who still enjoy this sub-genre.

But then there's this other story that just keeps circling my mind. Not a romance. Not even an adult story. It's a middle grade story--and I don't really write middle grade. I read it, but I'm not well-versed in the writing aspects. But this story keeps popping into my head. I can hear the voices and see the characters. All the "problems" I saw with writing it seem to be melting away. Each day that I walk my son to school, new scenes and bits of dialogue come to me. So, I'm going to try to write it. It's tentatively called Club Sunshine. If you know me and some of my passions, you might be able to figure out the main plot of the story, but I'm not going to say anything else right now. Not until I get the rough draft done.

Then I'll be in search of an agent. so if you know any agents who are interested in middle grade fiction, send them my way :).

Thanks for reading!

Love and Light,
Rebecca

Penumbras by Braden Bell

Conner, Lexa, and Melanie are back! Just when they think life is normal again, a dangerous shadow creature begins to hunt them. The trio must develop their powers in order to conquer this new peril and protect their school. Filled with action and even more magic, this book continues the exciting adventure in the Middle School Magic series.

My review:

5 stars

I LOVE this book. I LOVE the characters. I LOVE the magic system. I LOVE the message that's woven into this exciting and fun story about friendship, love, and discovery.

Penumbras is an engaging read for everyone. It targets middle-school readers, but I found myself cheering for the characters. It also has some tender scenes that made me teary, especially at the end.

There's plenty of action and some intense scenes as well, but I loved the relationships between the characters and their growth.

Bell is a master storyteller and the depth of this story is amazing. Those who love a great story with realistic, layered characters will want to read this one because it's so captivating. 

You can learn more about Braden Bell here.

You can purchase Penumbras here.

The Kindling by Braden Bell

From the back cover:

Loud shrieks sliced the air, followed by the smell of burning cloth. Conner looked over in time to see Geoffrey jumping up and down, yelling and shrieking. Smoke poured from the seat of his shorts while blue and yellow sparks snap-crackle-and-popped all around the heater.


All thirteen-year-old Connor Dell wants to do is pass pre-algebra, play lacrosse, and possibly kiss Melanie Stephens. He didn’t mean to set anyone’s gym shorts on fire or make school lunches explode. But now that the strange powers inside him have been ignited, Connor’s normal teenage life is about to go up in flames!

***

Homework? Of course. Crushes? Sure. But who knew seventh grade included superpowers?

LOVE this book! Great story filled with plenty of humor, realistic characters, and a great battle scene. Bell has an incredible imagination that he's used to create an unforgettable story about three friends who discover they have powers. Powers they will need to use to defeat some pretty nasty bad guys.

The story is entertaining  from start to finish and Bell's beautiful writing style makes for a smooth read. I highly recommend this book to anyone, kids and adults. It's funny, poignant, clean, imaginative. I really enjoyed the characters, all of them. They each have distinctive voices. I love the relationships between them as well.

And I love the message that good truimphs over evil. It's subtly and naturally woven into the story.

You can watch book trailers here: http://youtu.be/2_tokouvPUM, http://youtu.be/JznT4wGkfUc, http://youtu.be/cDNxWvZua7Q

You can learn more about the author at www.bradenbell.com.

You can purchase The Kindling at Amazon.