Writer's Block...

... is a myth... Or so they say. And by they I mean N.M. Kelby who wrote "The Constant Art of Being a Writer". And she may be right. I've had such great ideas all week for all of these great scenes I wanted to write in the book I'm working on right now... but between work, wife-dom, and March Madness I just haven't had time. So now this weekend, when I have bucket loads of time to write... I just can't. Doesn't it just figure? I suppose that is a bit misleading... because I am writing and I'm not doing too badly. I think writer's block isn't' so much that you can't write anything... I think it just means everything you want to write comes out a bit jumbled and just doesn't flow like your normal writing does. Take this choppy blog post as evidence of my lack of flow.

But I should still count myself lucky. I've got a book being published. I've got another book already written just begging me to finish editing it. And I've got handfuls of half-written books vying for my time. So really... this little bout of writer's block is OK because June and Joseph are still getting their scenes... they're just scenes I'll have to heavily edit once I've got my flow back... and when I say "I'll" have to edit it... I mean my mom will probably give me some fresh perspective on it.

So while Josh is out taking his test and I'm working on my book before the dreaded exercise monster comes to get me I thought I'd put my two cents out there on writer's block... although my two cents is sounding a bit more like 1 cent now that I'm reading it back. I'll give my other cent at a later date to complete the transaction.


PS: This is what the writing process looks like... for me anyways.

My calendar of events in the book. My official book file made very professional with a crayon drawing on the front. And my pages of what my characters wear... Needless to say the file for "The Break-Up Artist" has a book sized fashion section in it.




Until Next Time!

-Shannen

And the release date is.....

In the spirit of keeping everyone up-to-date on what's happening with my book I shall disclose something very exciting to you... the release date for my book! Well... at least the release month. I'm not quite sure on the actual date yet. But the month is......


Drum roll please





October!


I know it's a good 7 months away so that's why I have an assignment for everyone. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to be just as excited to buy the book and learn all about Amelia in October as you are right now. Think you can do it? For those of you wanting extra credit never fear, I have that too: be even more excited in October than you are right now! I must admit at first I was thinking October was an odd choice but it is my birth month so it's like the perfect birthday present! Happy birthday Shannen... oh and by the way your book is out in stores! I like that. I'll definitely accept that birthday present. What are the chances I could get them to release it on October 7th do you think?


Alright so now for another big announcement. Cedar Fort has decided to change the title of my book. At first I was a little sad because I do make an effort to put great thought into my book titles to make them witty and fun (hence why the book I'm working on right now has no title... just can't think of something perfect). I must say, however, that I can understand why they changed it. If you didn't know anything about my book and saw the title "It's Not You, It's Me" in a list you might think it was a self-help book... or some sort of instruction on how to get over a break-up. Understandable right? But Cedar Fort is going to use "It's not you, it's me" on the cover as a sort of tag line so I'm happy. But now for the new title to be revealed.... I would ask for another drum roll but two in one blog post seems like overkill. So without further ado, and without further drum roll, the new title of my book is "The Break-Up Artist". Straight forward. Simple. And very informative to anyone checking out the book for the first time. Now I did google "The Break-Up Artist" to see what would come up and I found a movie from 2009 which made me a little frantic for a moment... until I realized, that movie came out in 2009. My copyright is from 2008. My idea. Boom roasted. Not that anyone would think I'd stolen it anyways but I wanted to avoid a "Secret Window" scenario. That didn't seem to end well for anyone involved.


So there you have it! New name and a shiny new release date.

Remember your homework!

I'll post more updates soon!


Shannen

Long Live

Well it's official. I am now a published author! Well... that may sound confusing... allow me to rephrase. I am now an author with a contract to be published and will have a book released soon. Better? Cedar Fort will be publishing my book "It's Not You, It's Me" in what I'll call a few short months but may be anywhere from 3-12 months. Trust me, as soon as I have an official release date I'll be splashing it all over every web site, car windshield, and person who stands still long enough. So never fear, my shameless self promotion will keep you all in the loop.

So, for those of you who haven't read the book yet.... which is probably most of you (minus a handful of friends and relatives) let me tell you what to expect from this book. Expect a quirky break-up artist who dyes her hair a different color every other day and changes styles completely to be a social chameleon of those girls who've hired her. Expect awkward break-ups that Amelia expertly diffuses and some she not-so-expertly deals with. Expect romance! Expect confusion... which usually goes hand in hand with romance. Expect A LOT of painting. Expect a gorgeous green-eyed boy. Expect tears. Expect joy. Expect Amelia to be your new best friend. Mostly, just expect to get lost in the world of the best break-up artist in the business.

And if that's not enough of an incentive to buy the book... Expect me to be completely and utterly devoted to anyone who buys it. Sound fair?

Alright perfect! Moving on.

At the moment I'm working on my first LDS fiction novel... though I may just go back to finishing edits on "Robin's Flight". Why, you may ask, is it so hard for me to pick one book to work on and just truck along until it's through. Well allow me to invite you into my thought process for just a moment. It goes a little something like this:

"I think I'll work on "Pwn'd"... I have been playing a lot of video games lately. It's the perfect opportunity to 'research' for the book! Oh wait... what's this? I've never written or read an LDS fiction book... that seems a little odd. Maybe I'll write one! Perfect... Let me just write out the whole plot, develop the characters, do some research, write about 10 pages and... Oooo.... what's that? "Pirates!" By Celia Rees? I haven't read that book in a while. I remember how awesome it was. Maybe I should read it again. Maybe I'll also start watching lots of "Indiana Jones" and "National Treasure". Wait... now I'm in the mood to work on my fantasy adventure book "Robin's Flight". Blast. I'll never get anything done at this rate."


And that's pretty much how my mind works. I suppose the book that I'll give the most attention to next will have to be the one I think has the best shot out there in the literary world right now... So that's what I'll do! I'll make a firm decision on which one I'll work on and I'll stick to it. Unless I watch another adventure movie... then I just may break that promise to myself. Readers. I need your help! Or maybe I'll just get my husband to take every National Treasure-esq movie out of our house.


Until next time!

Shannen