Pick a Number Sneak Peek

Here’s a random snippet from page 251:

“The dean’s assistant didn’t mind covering Cinn’s classes in exchange for details about the kiss.”

Here are the comments from some of the picks from my readers:

Regina L: p. 78 – “I’ve got a fifteen-year-old daughter who doesn’t understand why I don’t want her to go out with a nineteen-year-old she met an hour ago.”

Tawni B: p. 98 – Cinn touched Pete’s arm, her emotions wrapped up in his story.

Ruth O: p. 224 – Darrin scooted across the booth seat to make room for her, and as soon as Cinn sat beside him, he closed the gap, putting his arm around her and waking up her bats.

Weilun C: p. 168 – The crew directed Cinn into a room on the third floor where each of the other female contestants picked from a rack of gowns.

Kate R: p. 21 – Cinn could only imagine how the rest of limbo would play out, maybe with a Nancy Kerrigan-Tonya Harding maiming.

Sue T: p. 121 – Cinn struggled to find her voice. For so long her hands had been empty, but now…

Virginia A: p. 208 – “It looks like you have an admirer.” Dean Winters pointed to the vase of lilies sitting outside her door.

Rebecca A: p. 128 – “If you get too tired, call me. I can chew you out and wake you right back up.”

What I’ve Learned

The last two months have been a whirlwind of learning. Not only did I have major surgery (and today I’m prepping for another diagnostic procedure) and sent my kids off to online school in their bedrooms, but my friend and I have built a new writing empire.

Okay, maybe empire is an exaggeration. Let’s go with kingdom.

Welcome to the kingdom of Vanilla Grass. (Next month, we’ll shoot for empire.)

Experts define the smell of old books as a combination of Vanilla and Grass so naturally, with my super picky nose and Carolyn’s love of plants, we combined them into a One-Stop Writer’s Resource webpage.

But two months ago, I didn’t know:

How to build a website.

Or how to write SEO efficient blogposts (I’m taking a break from that here).

How to run a giveaway via King Sumo.

Or how to use Davinci Resolve and create YouTube videos.

Vanilla Grass writers motivation
I took this picture in my pajamas one morning when the light was right.

In two months Carolyn and I have created color schemes, logos, pictures, blog posts, edited other writers’ first pages, installed apps, deleted horrible apps, launched advertising campaigns, AND lured other writers into following us. Not bad for 2020. Oh, and we’re also working on our own writing projects.

My WIP

Writing during COVID with all of my kids at home has been an adventure and at times, I thought I’d never get anything done. But my WIP is complete and ready to query. I wrote a little about the method I used with alpha readers in a post on Vanilla Grass.

A round of hard-core edits for flow, emotions, and descriptions.

This was one of the most helpful reviews:

You are a really, really good author. You made me feel the emotions. I cried a lot at the beginning and the end. You had really strong characters and growth. The tension and drama were felt. I would read it again and again. Even knowing the big reveal.

-Anonymous Reader

I love that review. I love my book. And oddly, I love running a website. And I’m excited and ready for the adventures that lie ahead. I’m so grateful for all that I’ve learned.