Is there such a thing as too many books?

  Hello all. I'm sitting here on a beautiful Saturday in February, trying to organize my massive amount of books better by using a book organizer program on my computer. And with that previous statement, I have to ask: Is there such a thing as too many books?
  I think not, as long as you have the space for them. Most of my books are in Rubbermaid tubs that slide under my bed or stack against the wall. I feel sad for my little books in their homes but I have tried my hardest to cut down the number of books I own. I've started using the library and I also have my nook which saves a lot of room. But I love the feel of books in my hands and the smell of the pages; the physical act of turning a page to find out what will happen next makes holding the book in my hand so worth it.
   There is just something special about knowing that within the covers of a book lies a magical adventure, a fight for survival, an undying love, or laughter for all ages.
   With the emergence of the digital readers, I know people are concerned that print books will fade into extinction. I, however, will always be in line for my favorite author's next book. Because I know that within the cover of that next book, I'll meet new friends and uncover new secrets that I can literally carry with me forever.
  So, that's all for now as I dig out from under my stacks of adventures and romances and mysteries. Who knows what the next set of pages will bring us. From my little corner of the world, may your pages always be filled with happy endings.

My Little Bookshelf: For those of you who have been living under the same rock I have, I suggest you crawl out and read The Hunger Games trilogy. So amazing! I cannot wait for the movie to come out. Also, my sister found a nice little tale called Wife by Wednesday by Catherine Bybee. It's an ebook but it was a sweet and humorous romance that I loved. I am now in the process of revisiting the Hell's Eight novels by Sarah McCarty since the newest one Shadow's Stand was released. These books are awesome and the heroes are mouthwatering.

  

Beginnings and endings

   I always feel a little sad when I finish writing a book. You spend so much time with these people that you know them intimately, that you feel they are a part of your life. But when I finish writing a couple's story, I know that I'll miss them being there on my computer screen every day.
   This is why I like writing my Carolina Carlyle series. I not only get to create a new story for every book but I get to check in on the people I've already met. My sister told me the other day while she was proofreading my second book in the series that she feels like these characters are her friends; that she should be able to call them up and go hang out somewhere. And that's what I want: believable characters that you can't help but fall in love with, cheer for, with whom you can laugh and cry.
   As hard as beginnings are to write, endings are that much harder. Not because you don't know where the story is going to end up, although sometimes that is the case, but because of the amount of time and energy you've invested in these characters. A little piece of your heart stays with them but they are eternal. On paper, these people last forever. So you can visit anytime you want, just stop in and take quick peek. You can also watch them grow through the stories that follow.
   After I finished writing my very first book, Dead in Her Tracks (the first chapter is available on this blog in a previous post), I cried. I cried because I had accomplished my goal of writing a book; I cried because my characters got their happy ending; I cried because I didn't know what to do next.
   With the Carolina Carlyle series, I have five more next times in which we can all check in with those crazy Carlyle kids. After finishing book two, Mallory and Denny's story, I decided the title I'd been using for the last year wasn't going to work. After you read their story, you'll understand why I had to change the title from Touch 'em All to Fielder's Choice.
   I'm working on a few more pieces to Fielder's Choice and waiting for my oh-so-talented brother to help me create the cover and then I will put the book on sale. I would like to once again thank everyone who has helped make my dreams of being an author come true by purchasing a copy of Saving Tate. I hope that you fall in love with the Carlyles like I have and that you can't wait to read about Mallory and Denny.


My Little Bookshelf: I have just finished reading the High Heels Mystery series by Gemma Halliday. These are quirky, funny, sweet books that I literally couldn't put down. No joke...read all six books in seven days. Right now I'm reading Maid for Love by Marie Force. All of these books are available as ebooks from the Barnes and Noble website.

  So here I sit, under my warm blanket waiting for the snow to start falling in my little corner of the world. Nothing I like more than to look out the window and feel like I live in a snow globe. Good night and sweet dreams.

Eight and counting...

     Hey all from my little corner. Since my book has been published I've been hard at work on book two in the Carolina Carlyles series, Touch 'em All. I'm also have a Super Saturday Flash Sale on book one, Saving Tate. For today only, it will be on sale for $.99. So hurry to Barnes and Noble.com and purchase the first book in the Carolina Carlyles series. My goal is to sell at least 12 books. I appreciate the help in reaching that goal. Also, anyone who has purchased Saving Tate to leave a review. Thanks all and I'll see you all from my little corner of the world soon.

I Did It

   Wow, fellow bloggers, it has been a long time since I've had a break to sit down and write. Between my two jobs and taking time to work on my own writing, it's been a crazy few months. Now as I sit here a few days before a new year, I can finally say I have accomplished one of my biggest goals. In the next few days my first book, Saving Tate, will be available as an ebook on the Barnes and Noble website. I'd been contemplating getting it ready for self-publishing as an ebook but the idea really took hold when for Christmas this year Santa brought me my very own NookColor! And then it snowballed but only in my head because it's still 50 degrees in the good old Midwest. No white Christmas for us.
   With my sister's help with the cover and editing my writing, I submitted my book today and it will be available in the next 24-72 hours for sale. Saving Tate is the first in the six-book Carolina Carlyles series. As I reread Saving Tate the past few months, I found myself laughing and crying but I was afraid I was too close to the characters so I asked my sister to read it for me. It was when she asked me in the middle of the night for the next chapter that I realized that maybe my dream didn't have to just be a dream, that maybe I could really make this happen. Hopefully others will fall in love with the Carlyle family like my sister and I have. The second book, Touch 'em All, is still being written and when I have an idea for release date I'll definitely let you know.
   So, to those of you who have bought Saving Tate and are connecting with me that way, thank you so much and welcome to my little corner of the world. Happy New Year to everyone and I'll be back soon.


My Little Bookshelf: I'm about to start reading Head Over Heels by Jill Shalvis, third in her Lucky Harbor Series. Also, I read an ebook titled Bridleton by Becky Barker which I definitely recommend. I've got a list of all her books now so I'll start working on those. And finally, book 12 in the Rough Rider Series by Lorelei James, Cowboy Casanova, has taken residence in my Nook for my reading enjoyment.

I win this round, Mother Nature.

            There’s nothing I love more than soaking up water at 1am. It’s storming and I just happened to notice water seeping under my door. It turned into a flood so now towels are lying out in hopes of gathering whatever water is coming in. Nothing got damaged, thank goodness, and it was more a hassle than anything. But we had a fun towel party in my room in the middle of the night. And it helped keep my mind off tomorrow, or today actually.

            I finally have an interview for a big-girl job. Yay!! But I’m nervous.
I hate interviews and trying to “sell” myself to the employer. I don’t want to give generic answers to questions but it is sometimes hard to come up with great answers on the fly. So here I sit at almost 3am, not able to sleep because I keep running through things to make sure I say tomorrow. I want this job and it seems like it’d be a great fit in my life. I guess I just need to suck it up and let the chips fall where they may. And since I’ve resorted to clichés, my work here is done as soon as I update my bookshelf. I’m not currently reading anything so I’ll list the last few books I’ve read.

            My Little Bookshelf:  A Creed in Stone Creek by Linda Lael Miller; Savor the Danger by Lori Foster; and Only Mine by Susan Mallery

            These ladies are always "must reads" for me and I love all their stories.

            With that, goodnight from my little corner, where I’m holding the fort down with a makeshift raft, just in case the floodgates open again.

           

Meandering down the road of life

            I don’t know if I believe in fate. I do know that the choices we make take us on a journey but is the destination pre-determined? Am I single with no prospects because that’s the plan or did I take a wrong turn? I’ve never liked having religion shoved down my throat and that is a whole other topic for another day. But my mother always tells me that God is preparing the man I’m going to marry. I don’t know if that makes me feel better or worse. He really needs that much preparation?

            I find that while I have a general idea of where I want to end up in my life, some people have taken exception to the road I have chosen to travel. And that bothers me. I have a college degree in a topic that has always interested me because at 20 years old, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I don’t think we should expect kids to make that kind of decision. Look at the number of people who choose a career path, get their degree and then a few years in they hate what they are doing.

            I know what I want and it seems simple enough. I want to write, hopefully someday be published. I want to get married to the love of my life. I’m a hopeless romantic. And I hope that there really is someone out there for everyone, otherwise I have a long road ahead of unfulfilled dreams.

And I really want to be a mother. It’s been hard this last year being around my niece every day because it made me realize how badly I want to be a mother. When I say I want a baby, people always have an opinion. The one that bothers me the most is when they say “No, you don’t. They are a lot of work.” Really? I had no idea.

            I’m not a moron and I know how much work and energy being a parent requires. I also know that I was born to be a mother. But I don’t want to be a mother alone. I want someone to share that with, to take turns, to turn to when it just seems like a little too much for one person to handle.

I asked my sister the other day where is my guy? When’s it going to be my turn? Why should my personal choice to not sleep around stop me from finding that special someone? (Although the last was said in less delicate terms but we’ll make it a little nicer.) And I know it’s hard for anyone to answer those questions because it’s almost impossible for me.

            Then I think that maybe I’m hiding in my books and in the stories I have created. But can you blame me? Cheating and lying, backstabbing and rumors, innuendos and games are what a lot of relationships seem to be about. I know there are good relationships out there and I’m not jaded but I’m terrified. And sometimes I just get sad. It’s those sad days that are the hardest. The ones where I just want someone to talk to or lean on, someone to hold my hand or kiss my head, to have someone there so I know I’m not alone in this big, scary world. But all you can really do is sit and wait, live and hope, laugh and dream.

            So here I sit, in my little corner, waiting, living, hoping, laughing and always, always dreaming, that one day my turn will come.

Every day

Hello all. I am working on my next post. I know it's been a while but life got busy. In the meantime, here is something I wrote for my creative writing class in college. It seemed to fit my mood today.  See you again soon in my little corner.

Same as Yesterday

Birds calling out a different day, people waking,

Rushed yet bored- how do I explain it?

See words move across a page,

Those words change but the story is the same.

Light fades, goes out and yet still I sit

Lost in someone else’s world, hiding, hoping,

Dreaming of my own happy ending. Will it ever come?

Will my dreams come true? Will I one day be the

Story instead of the audience?

I watch the world go by, birth, life, death.

Stuck inside one of my own design, not taking

Chances, going through the motions.

Owls signal the end of the day,

People sleeping, dreaming.

Was today the day, did I miss it?

Or was it the same as yesterday?