Falling for Cody is edited and formatted! Two steps closer to publishing. Here is a small scene to celebrate.
"I really need you to start today, Lee. I'm running behind, and I can't have my mother on my case," April prayed as she closed her eyes and turned the car key.
Seconds later, the engine turned over as the car started.
"Oh thank you," she gushed. "I promise; I'll get your oil changed soon."
#fallingforcody #2017
I finished my first round of edits for Falling for Cody. I've also sent it to my beta readers! A little closer to publishing my 7th book. I hope everyone got their copy of Slay the Demon and my other books. The sale will last the rest of this week.
So I'm only minutes away from my deadline to complete Falling for Cody. These words are always fun to type. Edit mode now, but I do love these characters.
Also in just a few minutes, Slay the Demon goes live! There is a sneak peek of Falling for Cody at the end.
Don't forget to leave a review once you finish reading Matt and Kimberly's story.
#fallingforcody #deadline #slaythedemon #2017
Random facts about Slay the Demon
*I was inspired to write this story after reading and article on The Rebels Project. They are a support/therapy group created by some of the survivors of the Columbine High School shooting.
*Matthew and Kimberly are the oldest main couple I've written, 35 and 30 respectively. Maggie is 7.
*Maggie's personality is based off my nieces. They are 9 and 8.
*Kimberly was named after my favorite TV show as a kid. Matthew's last name Oliver was taken from the same show.
*The school shootings are loosely based on real events. The reactions of the emergency personal are based on real actions especially the police formation.
*Kimberly is probably my favorite character to date. She is strong, but broken. I loved exploring her thoughts and actions. Her brokenness was painful, but her beauty shined in her compassion.
*Matthew was tougher to pin down. He is complicated and scarred from his past. He just wants his little girl to get better.
*The darker tone was influenced by my time as a Correctional Officer. Working around so many men who have committed different crimes helped shaped all my characters.
*The cover was once again the creation of Christina Malone. I let her do her thing and it's always better than I imagine.
*The building was an elementary school close to my house and my little model is the daughter of one of my friends. Thank you once again Brittany and Baylie.
*This is my 6th book and it does have a companion book Falling for Cody, which is almost complete.
*The conversation Kimberly has in the cemetery was recorded on my phone because I was driving and didn't want to forget any part of it.
*The quote, Wear your Valor as well as you do your lace came to me while at work last summer. There was a book about Confederate women called Lace and Valor.
*It took a little over 2 months to write the book.
*This book had me out of my comfort zone most of the time, but I love the finished product and can't wait to share it with you.
After you read Slay the Demon, don't forget to leave a review on whatever platform you bought it from or Goodreads.
Since there are only a few days until Slay the Demon is out, I decided to put all my books on sale. It may take a while to reflect the price changes, but all five of my books are on sale for $0.99. This sale won't last long, so grab them while you can.
While I'm working on Chapter 10 of Falling for Cody, I decided to share a scene from Slay the Demon. Happy Friday!
Breathing harder, Kimberly pushed herself in the last mile. Since today was her late day, she laced up her tennis shoes and headed out. She was pushing herself to run ten miles today instead of her normal five.
Nightmares kept her awake for most of the night. Running was one of the few activities that took her mind off those images that wouldn’t leave her alone.
Thirteen years was a long time for nightmares, but at least she didn’t freak out over the least bit of noise anymore. There was a time when she couldn’t leave her house for fear of someone pulling out a gun and shooting her. Thankfully, she was now able to live a semi-normal life in her hometown.
Briar Wall was a small town in West Tennessee. There were a few businesses in town along with several places to eat, but it was still smaller than nearby cities. There was no major highway, let alone interstate within a thirty-minute drive. The town was surrounded by farmland, but it was perfect for her. Everyone knew everyone and everyone knew everyone’s business for the most part. There were still secrets as with any town. One of those lingering secrets was why Dallas felt the need to bring the gun to school. She knew what he told her, but what she didn’t know was the decision made him bring the gun on March 14. Was the date significant? On the other hand, was Dallas’ decision an impulse? Did he plan anything or did he grab the gun on his way out the door?
It was only in the darkest hours that she couldn’t shake the image of Dallas busting into the classroom with his gun and pulling the trigger. Her feet pounded the pavement until she reached her ten-mile marker. Once she reached the marker, she slowed to a brisk walk. Ten minutes later, she unlocked her front door and stepped inside. Toeing off her shoes, she turned the TV on, before tugging her shirt up and over her head. She then used her shirt to wipe off the sweat from her face, neck, and chest.
“It’s too early to say, but we have reports the shooter killed the security guard before starting his rampage of terror.”
Kim paused and stared at the TV. The images were a trip to the past. The red banner at the bottom made her heart stop. An active shooter in a local school. The phrase had the power to bring her to her knees. She didn’t even feel the pain of her knees hitting the wood floor in her living room. She broke out in a cold sweat as she watched the footage of the police setting up a perimeter.
The female reporter was listing all the school shootings in the past two decades. She was comparing them to this latest one. Every school shooting was listed, including her own. There was one marked difference between all of those and this one. It was an elementary school involved this time.
She’d been seventeen at the time of her school shooting. It had been life changing at seventeen. She couldn’t imagine being a child experiencing those horrors. Why would someone pick an elementary school?
They were babies.
In fact, why would someone pick a school at all? It didn’t make any sense. If you were angry or bullied by someone, deal with that person, not an entire school of innocent children.
#slaythedemon #publishingsoon #march1 #2017
Edits are done on Slay the Demon!!! I have also formatted it for all platforms. I can't wait to release this one. I should have it up for pre-order soon.
Make your calendars for March 1!
I sent Slay the Demon to the editor yesterday! I also formatted my MS for paperback and actually did the page numbers correctly. Several steps closer to pushing publish!!
While I'm waiting for it to come back from the editor, I am working on my next book. I'm already in Chapter 6 of Falling for Cody.
As it stands, both books will be on the longer side, but I'm sure it's not a problem. Remember, you don't have to read them together, but you will enjoy both stories better if you do.
"I see the ferry, it looks like a pirate ship."
"Are you sure?" Kim asked.
"Yes, it has that pirate flag that Captain Hook flies," Maggie replied. "The black one with the bones on it."
"The Jolly Roger," Kim supplied. "Captain Hook's flag is called the Jolly Roger."
#slaythedemon #amwriting #editmode #2017
"I need you to be brave and become the hero of this story. Can you do that for me? Can you be the hero?"
This is one of the scenes that I loved how it played out on paper. #slaythedemon #editmode #2017
I'm editing and adding my flair but I wanted to share this scene from Slay the Demon.
"Could you and daddy talk to him?"
"What?"
"I think he needs to talk to someone who has been through this before," Kim explained.
"Honey, I've never lost anyone to a gunman before," her mother said.
"But you've had a child who experienced the terror of a school shooting. You know how it feels to think you might have lost your child to a gunman. You know the horror in hearing about a madman loose in a school," Kim said. "He needs to talk to someone who has experienced that."
#slaythedemon #editmode #2017
Full edit mode! Oh the joys of reading your own work and wondering how you could misspell or leave out words. #slaythedemon #authorproblems #editmode #2017
"Momma, you wouldn't look good in prison orange," Kim said.
"Are you kidding? I can rock any color if it meant peace of mind," Mary laughed.
Wear your valor as well as you do your lace.
This one phrase has so much meaning behind it for Kimberly. It was also the phrase that helped me dive deeper into her character and paint the story the way it should be. I can't wait to share Matthew and Kimberly's story with everyone! #slaythedemon #amwriting #deadlineapproaching #2017
If you are following me on Pinterest, you will notice that a board for Slay the Demon. I've unlocked it for anyone who wants to cruise through what inspires the story. Normally, I don't unlock the board until the book is out, but I decided the change things up a bit. So enjoy the board.
If your father wasn't such a great man, I might have to push him over the bridge on the way home. #slaythedemon #amwriting #2017
You cannot be mad at the darkness because then we wouldn't see the stars. - Kimberly, Slay the Demon
#slaythedemon #amwriting #campingtonight
"You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it." Margaret Thatcher
Diving deeper into Slay the Demon and my pinterest board. There are a lot of quotes that are awesome for my characters but this one captures the scene I'm working on so well. I will leave you with one quote that is from me. Happy Friday!
"To slay a demon, you have to face it."
#slaythedemon #amwriting #deadlineapproaching #2017
Here is a sneak peak of Slay the Demon.
“I trust everyone is working on their papers due Monday,” Mrs. Miller said as the class groaned. “Now, I want you to clear your desks.”
Kim knew what that meant; they were having a pop quiz. Everyone else knew the drill. Pop quizzes were Mrs. Miller’s favorite way to test her students.
“You will have ten minutes…” Mrs. Miller said, but was interrupted by something that had never echoed down the hallways.
Gunshots.
Screams pierced the air as more gunshots echoed down the halls. There was chaos everywhere as people ducked under chairs and desks.
“Get down!” Mrs. Miller shouted.
Scrambling out of her seat, Kimberly hit the floor hard as the classroom door burst open. Her knees were on fire as she scrambled under her desk. She hit her head as she readjusted under the desk. Rubbing the side of her head, she dared a glanced up and saw one of the other students standing in the doorway with a gun in hand.
Was this a drill? This couldn’t be happening, could it?
Everything froze as she watched Dallas raise the gun. Dallas was going to shoot at them? Nothing made sense right now. It was like a scene of out one of those big budget movies Monica loved so much, except she knew the actors in this movie.
“Please don’t shoot,” Mrs. Miller pleaded with her hands raised in front of her.
“Shut up! I’m in control now!” Dallas yelled as he took aim and squeezed the trigger.
Several thoughts flashed through Kim’s mind as the bullets flew around the room. More screams filled the air, but she heard nothing. One thought was on repeat in her mind.
She didn’t tell her parents she loved them this morning.
In the rush of trying to find something cute to wear, putting on her makeup, braiding her hair, and leaving, she didn’t pause long enough to say those three little words. Her parents had been enjoying their coffee and breakfast when she rushed past them.
She was pulled from her thoughts as pain radiated from her body. Closing her eyes, she tried to picture her parents, but all she saw was blood.
