Category Archives: Current WIPs

Cover Reveal!

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I first saw my cover last November, when we were in New York in the fall. My editor sent it via email, and asked “What do you think??” I felt very writerly indeed as I was texting back and forth with my agent and editor throughout the day — as cabs were zooming by and I was throwing a scarf over my shoulder while walking the streets of NYC. … <big grin>. … Surreal moment, to be sure.

Anyway, tell me what you think! It’s not what I was imagining, but now that I’ve looked at it for awhile, I like it.

And how about that adorable tagline that a copywriter wrote? — “Love. Strings attached.” Love, love, love that!

What do you think?????

Finished Book 2!

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My messy desk after Book 2 was done!

Well, overall, after 8 months, 2 drafts, 99,000 words, 320 gallons of iced tea, a new computer, and some crazy holiday weekends, I think I can say “I DID IT” about my Jan 1 deadline to complete Book 2!

On Jan 1, I was at 99,960 words (perfect word count for me), and had written an ending!

However, the ending is … well … “soft” (not very dramatic). The black moment is seriously lame, and there are a couple of loose ends that didn’t get exactly tied up.
Sooooooo …. I still have some work to do!
But I gave myself this whole month to edit for that very purpose, which will be just perfect. (It’s due to Berkley on Feb. 1.)
My next steps are:
  • Cut 2,000 from the first half.
  • Write another 2,000 in the second half to bolster the black moment and make it more dramatic.
  • Then do the fun “editing on the word level” stuff, like deleting words I use too often, changing up sentence rhythms where I got lazy, deleting all of my adverbs, tightening up dialogue, that kind of thing. That’s really my favorite part of editing.
Whew!
Overall, I’m really happy about this story, though. I love these characters — Lia and Evan. The story has some fun whale-watching tales, a sweet “Cinderella” theme overlaid on top, and some serious sizzle. I can’t wait to share it with everyone!

 

Book Update

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Whew! Busy days …

I’ve been keeping up with my 4,000 words per weekend on Book 2! I joined a fun “30-Day Writing Challenge” on Facebook with my fellow Firebirds — in which we all write for a minimum of 30 minutes a day (you can dash off about 200-400 good words in 30 mins) — and it’s going great. (Perfect timing for me, with my looming deadlines.)

Anyway, I’m now 70,000 words in of a 100,000-word book. Lookin’ good for my deadline.

And meanwhile I’m going through all the copy edits for Book 1. (I’ve been doing Book 2 on weekends and Book 1 on weeknights.)

My agent, editor and I also came up with a series name for my community! It’s “Sandy Cove.” I quite like it for a variety of reasons, mainly because it has the same initials as the place it’ll be based on (San Clemente), maintains that “San” sound at the beginning, and it’s simple and evocative of place.

And guess what? I got my cover! My editor sent it via email while we were on vacation in NYC — and I was looking at it and responding to her and my agent while on the streets of New York City, with my scarf and coat and bustling about, and feeling very writerly, indeed! Totally surreal. …  Continue reading →

SOLD!

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Well, this is just the most exciting post I’ve ever written: I sold my book!

Whoo-hoo!!!!!!!

*cue confetti and champagne corks*

My lovely agent Jill Marsal helped me sell my first book to Berkley-Penguin Publishing in a 2-book deal!

Berkley bought “Making Waves,” about Fin and Giselle, which should come out July 2014. Plus the follow-up book (working title is “Finding Delta”), about Giselle’s youngest sister Lia and her hero Evan, which should come out March 2015.

Yaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy!

I’m still peeling myself off the ceiling.

I’ll write more soon. … For now, I’ll be Snoopy-dancing around the living room. …

What Book 3 Is About

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So I’m having fun writing Book 3 now. It started out a little rocky, because I was panicking that I was so far behind, and the panic was giving me a little writer’s block. But once I got the “hmmm” of approval from my agent (which became a “This is great” after she read the first chapter), I’m ready to roll.

I’m on Chapter 6 now, and it’s getting to the fun point. This is where I scoot downstairs in my bathrobe really early to write in the quiet of the morning. I race home to work on the ms during my lunch hour. On Saturdays, I tell the family to go have fun and spend hours at my computer instead, creating new lives.

It’s the awakening, revealing first draft, where the characters still surprise me every day. Honestly, I never know what they’re going to say or do, so every day is like cracking the book open myself and reading anew.

This one’s about the youngest McCabe sister, Lia, who’s a fast-talking marketing exec who tends to like the finer things in life. But when she comes across a scruffy, bearded, long-haired ex-Coast Guard — and talks him into running a whale-watching boat for her — things get pretty interesting.

These two are a lot of fun. …

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