Back in May I started on a journey with several other writers. Our goal? To write a romance novel in one month. We took an on-line Facebook class hosted and taught by the wonderfully talented Rachelle Ayala who, as many of you know, is my writing bestie and someone who's work I admire tremendously.
Since Murderous Lies popped up on me out of nowhere, I had to race to finish writing that before the class started, so I didn't do many of the exercises Rachelle had for us until the very last minute. I like writing by the seat of my pants anyway, so this wasn't a problem.
I loved this class! There is no competition or minimum word count or anything. We were just a group of writers supporting each other. Everyone has their own thread and the goal is to write something every day, then post a little snippet about what your characters did that day. Rachelle also posted daily questions to get us to interview our characters in depth and learn more about them. These questions really helped when I became stuck because they sparked my creativity. I also had a fun time reading what all the other writers were doing with their books and following along with them. This is my first shot at a contemporary romance with no thriller portion, and I'd say I'm pretty dang proud of the job I did. I finished my first draft in the month deadline (with only a few hours to spare) and sent the MS off to some early beta readers (by exchanging books with other classmates).
Here's what I came up with in that month:
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| Cover by the fabulous EDH Graphics |
Happy Endings (McCallister's Paradise - 1)
Coming Early 2015
Contemporary Romance
Handsome, wealthy Quinn McCallister is the most eligible bachelor on McCallister’s Paradise. Making his family's island resort a success is all that matters to this workaholic. Everything changes when he meets the beautiful new massage therapist...
Larissa Benner may have survived cancer, but its aftermath left plenty of problems besides the ever-looming fear of relapse. Her family nearly went bankrupt paying for her previous treatment. She desperately needs the full-time therapist position on the island and the benefits that come with it. The last thing she wants is problems with her boss, or a complicated office romance.
It’s hard for her to resist Quinn’s charms—or his passionate side. However, Quinn is married to his job. The choice between love and work is tough for him to juggle and has Larissa scared. If the cancer recurs, would he leave her to face it alone?
I can't wait to finish the editing and such, but I have other projects to get to first (namely Love & Compromise - Agents in Love Book 3), so I'm planning to release this in early 2015, hopefully with the next two books in the series at the same time.
We are gearing up for another class that will start September 15th. The class is free and open for anyone to join, but the postings are kept private and we like members to actively participate. The goal of writing something every day, no matter how small, really kept me on track. I liked it so much that a few of us have stuck around the class for the stories we are currently working on so we can encourage each other to keep the momentum running!
I can't thank Rachelle enough for putting on this fabulous class. If you are interested in joining our next session, contact Rachelle on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RachelleAyalaWriter Here's the class announcement:
Free writing class. Sept 1 - Oct 15, 2014. Join romance author Rachelle Ayala on a guided journey to write a romantic story in one month. Start with 2 weeks of lessons and exercises before zooming into the writing. The class is no pressure, fun only, and motivational. We will, as a group, inspire and support each other. There are no wordcount goals, nada. You may write a flash romance to an epic romance, or finish with an outline or synopsis. The important thing is to go through the experience together and know that you CAN do it!
Textbook available: http://www.rachelleayala.com/p/romance-in-month.html
Happy reading and writing my friends! Always follow your dreams and anything is possible!
~~ Chantel ~~
Coming Early 2015
Contemporary Romance
Handsome, wealthy Quinn McCallister is the most eligible bachelor on McCallister’s Paradise. Making his family's island resort a success is all that matters to this workaholic. Everything changes when he meets the beautiful new massage therapist...
Larissa Benner may have survived cancer, but its aftermath left plenty of problems besides the ever-looming fear of relapse. Her family nearly went bankrupt paying for her previous treatment. She desperately needs the full-time therapist position on the island and the benefits that come with it. The last thing she wants is problems with her boss, or a complicated office romance.
It’s hard for her to resist Quinn’s charms—or his passionate side. However, Quinn is married to his job. The choice between love and work is tough for him to juggle and has Larissa scared. If the cancer recurs, would he leave her to face it alone?
I can't wait to finish the editing and such, but I have other projects to get to first (namely Love & Compromise - Agents in Love Book 3), so I'm planning to release this in early 2015, hopefully with the next two books in the series at the same time.
We are gearing up for another class that will start September 15th. The class is free and open for anyone to join, but the postings are kept private and we like members to actively participate. The goal of writing something every day, no matter how small, really kept me on track. I liked it so much that a few of us have stuck around the class for the stories we are currently working on so we can encourage each other to keep the momentum running!
I can't thank Rachelle enough for putting on this fabulous class. If you are interested in joining our next session, contact Rachelle on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RachelleAyalaWriter Here's the class announcement:
Free writing class. Sept 1 - Oct 15, 2014. Join romance author Rachelle Ayala on a guided journey to write a romantic story in one month. Start with 2 weeks of lessons and exercises before zooming into the writing. The class is no pressure, fun only, and motivational. We will, as a group, inspire and support each other. There are no wordcount goals, nada. You may write a flash romance to an epic romance, or finish with an outline or synopsis. The important thing is to go through the experience together and know that you CAN do it!
Textbook available: http://www.rachelleayala.com/p/romance-in-month.html
Happy reading and writing my friends! Always follow your dreams and anything is possible!
~~ Chantel ~~
I'm so happy we went through this class together and can't wait for the next one.
ReplyDeleteNeither can I!!
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