A Room Without Windows

is FINISHED. Yes!



When privileged, beautiful, sixteen year old Aniston Tate is arrested for stabbing her prom date, the only life she knows is turned upside. Sentenced to eight years in prison for the crime, Aniston is thrown into a world of abuse, betrayal and pain. She relocates to Apex—an alternative prisoner program for first time youth offenders—and is tested both physically and intellectually on a daily basis.
She meets and falls hard for fellow convict Clayton Massey, and just when she seems to have a handle on life behind bars, she finds herself the object of twisted desire of the program’s director, Dr. Long. Over time, the real objective of the program comes out—a breakthrough medical venture that proves dangerous to all involved—and Aniston’s ethics are tried against her obligation to Dr. Long and his program. In the fight of her life, Aniston’s true test comes from finding the strength to keep her spirit and heart intact while working The Apex Objective.

Reverse WORD of the WEEK: "_______"
-Noun

1.the tip, point, or vertex; summit.

2.climax; peak; acme.

3.Astronomy.

Happy weekend to all!

Kristin

WORD of the WEEK is ...

??? Have fun.

Kristin

MEGA-POST

Two top-5's and a WORD of the WEEK. Ready, set, go!

The top 5 THINGS I DISLIKE and LIKE ABOUT WRITING:

#5 -
Pain in my wrists, mainly my right wrist, although I can't contribute my RSI to typing alone. Graphic Design, i.e. mouse overuse, is also to blame.
Reading with my daughter. She's read most everything I've written. The hours upon hours I've shared with her reading and discussing my books is time that I'll cherish for all of my life.
#4 -
What was once a love of mine has turned into a chore, and that's naming characters. I'm just out of names. I wonder how she overcomes this?
Research. I love to do research! This is one of my most favorite parts to being a writer, especially when researching locations, history and other cultures.
#3 -
Publishing a novel can be risky. Art, in general, can be risky because it's an industry built on subjectivity, and because most good artists put their heart and and soul into their work knowing that it might not be received well by some.
Hearing, "I love your book!" from my readers! Positive feedback has been such a monumental and cherished part of my journey as a writer.
#2 -
The time writing sucks away from my average day. I'll sit down, start writing, look up and five hours are gone--just like that! (Insert *snap* here) I tend to get a little neglectful when I'm immersed in a novel. Just ask my sweet, supportive family and friends.
The escapism that comes with writing a story. I live a pretty simple life in a small, quiet town and I can't stand day-time soap operas or real-life drama. So, I create fictitious drama in my "alternate" worlds. Why? Because I can control it. I like being in control and I like being able to create perfect love, perfect men (Hey, Creed!), and perfect endings to journeys I wouldn't dream of taking in my real simple life.
#1 -
The endings. It's hard on me when I close a story line. I get very attached to my characters, attached to the point where I feel that I know them. To say good-bye has been harder than I thought it would be.
The satisfaction I get when I complete a novel. I've had my fair share of this, 21 times of it. And as much as it hurts to end a novel, the satisfaction I feel when I do is like nothing else, not cooking, cleaning, laundry, shopping ... (See #2 now).

Honorable mentions include: soda intake, music playlists, pagination, help from my son with technical/scientific issues, clowns (had to add this), and seeing my friends and family get excited for/with me about my writing.

Now, onto WORD of the WEEK, which is ..................

RISK. I went back on forth on this word. The definition comes across as negative, almost forewarning, but that's not the risk I'm referring to. I'm talking more about the "Nothing ventured, nothing gained" kind of risk. My friend Amy's recent success confirms this basic concept for me. If you don't put yourself out there, you might miss out on good things happening to you. You might run into problems, you might be told 'no', or you might get hurt. But you'll never know what might happen if you don't take a risk and go for it.
Some of my favorite quotes about "Risk":
"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore." Andre Gide
"Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today." James Dean
"The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark." Michelangelo
"If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right, you'll probably never do much of anything." Win Borden

Take a risk, jump, and enjoy the fall!

Kristin

Ps. MEGA-POST was deliberate. With the release of THE PROMISE just around the corner, I'll be neglecting this blog for a couple of weeks. See you soon!

Head back, face forward, and hang on!

It's getting close. The release of THE PROMISE is getting so close. I can't wait to open that first box of freshly printed books and thumb through a copy.

Some of the the fun things I've been working on:

~ Dust jacket
~ Front matter, back matter, and everything in between including end papers, title page, and one of the hardest things I've had to do the second time around, the dedication page.
~ Pagination. WORD of the WEEK. This one isn't my favorite, but I'm getting better at. Just kidding. Pray for me, please.
~ Blurbs for THE PROMISE
~ Media kits for The Trait series - THANK YOU AA for your help with this!
~ AND ... I'm 43,000 words into my newest novel, A ROOM WITHOUT WINDOWS, volume one of The Apex series.

I'm so grateful for the amazing people I work with and for my friends, family and colleagues that support me. The publishing process is very much like a roller-coaster ride. I edit and edit (the climb up that first hill), the book is released (the drop from the highest point), then comes the feedback, both good and bad, (the twists and turns), and finally I start working on the release of the next book (the slowdown and eventual stop).
One thing that I was determined to do differently with this book was to take my time with the final edit. I will never rush a copy-edit to meet a deadline again - I don't have to. In hindsight, I've decided that its better to push the release date back then to rush to print.

So, there you have it. My busy, fun, goodness at a glance.

Here's a video clip of my favorite roller-coaster. Enjoy.

Kristin

Now it's getting personal.

With Father's Day quiet literally around the corner, I'm going to do a more personal TOP 5 today.

The TOP 5 REASONS I LOVE MY HUSBAND:

#5 - He's my best friend. He listens to me as well as any girl friend I've ever had, spends lots of good quality time with me, and cares about my feelings. We'll be celebrating our 19th wedding anniversary this year--19 years of good times, and because of our strong, genuine friendship, very few bad times.

#4 - He is supportive. No one boosts my spirits like he does. He encourages me to keep writing. In fact, the last three down periods in between novels, he said, "I think it's time for you to start your next book." He tells me he's proud of me everyday.

#3 - He's patient. He's SO UNBELIEVABLY patient. He's a good, involved, fun DAD to our kids, and he's patient with them, too. I've never been a competent or enthusiastic 'homemaker' (<- WORD of the WEEK), yet he doesn't complain. He's eaten many meals from a box with a smile on his face. He waits for me a lot, because I'm on "Warner-time" and late ... a lot. He teases that his lifelong theme song is, "Waiting on a Woman."

#2 - He's cute, both in personality and in looks. He has the spirit and intentions of a 12 year old, admittedly, and in some circumstances, he looks 12. He has a fantastic smile and bright blue eyes that match his light, fun personality. And he's aging well. VERY WELL. I scored in the looks and personality departments for sure.

#1 - He encourages me. What I do, what I've done ... it hasn't always been easy or fun. With my work load, I tend to feel overwhelmed and this journey has been downright scary at times. But he encourages me to look beyond a little discomfort or effort and focus on the big picture. Nothing in life worthwhile is easy or completely without discomfort. I've learned that from him. He encourages me to go after what I want and he's a big part of my success as a writer.

To all of you, I hope you have a cute, patient best friend that supports you and encourages you. And to my husband John, thank you. I love you.

Kristin

TTFN.

You might not hear from me for a week or so - I've got so much going on right now, so many good things, I'm excited and admittedly overwhelmed. One of the things I'm working on right now is the dust jacket (<-WORD of the WEEK) for THE PROMISE. I love having the ability to work on my own book covers. I love creating dust jackets! This is another HUGE perk of publishing with a SMALL firm.

Look at me - a happy tidbit and a blog activity in the same post.
See you soon.

Kristin

WORD of the WEEK #2

The WORD of the WEEK is ................. IBUPROFEN.
(Pronounced correctly "EYE-bew-PROH-fan".)

Halfhearted fist bump inserted here.

This is a good one for me right now. I've taken enough Ibuprofen this week that McNeil should give me stock in the stuff. What for, you ask? For this. Or it could be this. Whatever it is, my right wrist is swollen, partially paralyzed and feels like it's on fire. Okay, maybe it's not that bad thanks to my over-the-counter, non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory, relatively inexpensive medication. Plus, "In some studies, ibuprofen showed superior results compared to a placebo in the prophylaxis of Alzheimer's disease when given in low doses over a long time. Further studies are needed to confirm the results before ibuprofen can be recommended for this indication." So, along with the pain relief I receive from popping these little red-coated drops of happiness, I've got a little bit of Alzheimer's prevention going on as well.

I love you Ibuprofen. Really I do.

Kristin