Be Happier...

Friday Five...on Saturday...again!

GUARDED DESIRE is getting closer...

I got my first batch of ARC's this week. 

So, things are coming.

Next Friday, we'll have the cover reveal.

ARC readers!

I'll be contacting bloggers for reviews this week.

Including print copies for bookstagrammers.

(If you're interested in reviewing, email me! snowchris_01@yahoo.com )

And then it releases June 21st!!

So, how about a glimpse of the cover blurb?

Kidnapped and terrorized, I refuse to let anyone break me. I can stand on my own, no matter what it costs...even if that cost is my life.

Elle...

I was living the life of an ordinary college coed, but that existence was blown wide open when I was kidnapped while visiting my very famous mother, rock-star, ViviAnna.

Now I’m back at college, pretending life is normal while dodging paparazzi and dealing with my face showing up regularly on the nightly news. Trying to find a new balance isn’t happening and the effort to not jump at every shadow or bump in the night is messing with my head more than I ever expected.

Jonah...

I’m a highly trained bodyguard, but that doesn’t mean I want to deal with some spoiled pop princess’s daughter, especially if she’s anything like her handsy mother.

But when I met Elle, she shocked the hell out of me. She’s nice and thoughtful with an incredible inner strength. Even more surprising...she doesn’t want me anywhere near her. But every once in a while I see a flash of fear and vulnerability that make all my protective instincts flare.

I have to protect her.

Because they never caught her kidnapper...

Note: This book is the first in a series of stand-alone, romantic suspense, new adult novels involving sexy bodyguards and the coeds they protect.

*****

I hope you're intrigued...

Little Bit is officially a middle schooler.

**eeps**

She graduated from fifth grade this week. 

We were thrilled my parents (pictured above) got to be here for the ceremony.

We're so proud of her. It's been a difficult year for her, but she's thrived despite that. 

Love this girl so much!

What I'm loving right now...

Okay, warning...this is another office supply fangirl gush.

(I know...I'm a total nerd, but I'm okay with that.)

After gushing about the Green Room paper a few weeks ago, I really began searching out a dot-grid journal book (that I'll be able to use for my bullet journal) that would give me just as much pleasure to write on. 

I introduce you to Rhodia journal books. OMG, I love these books and they come in amazingly gorgeous colors which is just like the frosting on top of the cupcake (which interestingly enough is another one of my favorite things). But anyway, I digress...

The two outside books are smaller (ie, less pages)...and will be the size I use for my bullet journal that I carry with me when I move to this book for my daily. (Right now I'm still in my Leuchtterm.)

Rhodia dot grid

(^^^164 pages, not numbered, no index^^^)

Rhodia goalbook

(^^^224 pages, numbered, index^^^)

Both books are A5 size and both feel like you're writing on butter...so smooth and makes me love simply writing in them.

Note...I'm not only using these for bullet journals. 

Two of the above journals are in use. 

The purple one on the left is my marketing journal where I track what marketing efforts I make on a weekly basis, as well as notes from various books, masterminds, and webinars I'm attending)

^^^marketing tracker^^^

The brown one in the center is my plotting book where I take notes for plotting upcoming books. It's one of the larger goalbooks and is in a Chic Sparrow trifold cover (Note...CS only makes the trifold available a couple of times a year...this one is Pemberley Aubergine). I like this cover for this single book because it wraps around, protecting the notebook, and takes up very little space (it conforms to the single book making it very slim).

^^^Chic Sparrow trifold TN for marketing^^^

Summer Bucket List...

*Have an amazing time in Denver...both at RWA and with family events (I'm dragging my family along for vacation...including the Kid who's flying in to meet us)

*Take time to be 'present' with my family

*Get my Play It Again series completely written (3 books + couple of novellas...Fall release)

*Dedicate time each day with Kat

*Stay on task (despite sleeping in)

*Maintain a schedule.

*Have FUN!

And how about one last glimpse into the world of Guarded Desire before I leave?

cover reveal: June 1

releasing: June 21

I hope everyone is having a great weekend. 

It's the official start of summer here in the US with Memorial Day.

Awww, days of sleeping in.

I'm so ready!

smiles,

Christi

Real success...

Friday Five for May 18th...

One photo from last weekend's girls' day with Kat...

We had a fabulous time last weekend. She turned 11 this week and is getting interested in all those preteen things...so the highlight of the day for her was a trip to Ulta where she had her makeup done. 

Makeup...

Wow, are we ready for this?

Tonight she's at a school. dance.

Whether we're ready or not, it's happening.

My present for myself...

Ever since spring hit, I've been drooling over various cherry blossom fountain pens. 

Most of them are limited editions with limited edition prices, but this week, I found this pen on Amazon for just over $10...so I bought it for myself.

And I LOVE IT!

I enjoy pens that feel substantial in my hand...this one has weight to it and I can't imagine being more happy with it. I truly am thrilled with it. Now, I just need to figure out the perfect ink to put inside of it. Right now, it has Diamine Spearmint Diva in it, which I love, but it's not the right color for this pen. But I also don't want to put pink in it. I'll figure it out eventually.

A teaser...

A coed in danger and the bodyguard who's hired to keep her safe.

Guarded Desire is coming.

I adore this book. 

It's romantic suspense, but with a touch of new adult feel.

This is the first book in the NM Protectors series.

All the books will feature separate couples so they will be standalones.

More info will be coming...

including the gorgeous cover reveal.

But for now, mark it on your calendar...

release date is June 21st.

Recommended for you!!!

by Amy Lane

If you read m/m books, you NEED to read these books. I read (listened to the audiobook) the first book, Fish Out of Water, a year or more ago. I just listened to it again in prep of listening to book #2, Red Fish Dead Fish, and fell in love with it all over again.

Both these books rate A+ ratings in my book. I LOVE THESE BOOKS.

I listened to them both in audio and the narration by Greg Tremblay could not be more perfect. 

I HIGHLY recommend both these books. 

They are so, so, so, so good.

Seriously, read them!

This looks fun...

This totally looks like a book I'd read and although I'm not sure about Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves as leads in a romantic comedy, the trailer really feels like they can pull off these two jaded souls. I'm intrigued and definitely want to see it.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

smiles,

Christi

Make the days count...

Friday Five...

Celebrating us girls!

About once a year, hubby has a few weeks where he's at work for days on end and Kat and I are on our own. That's what's been our lives for the last week and a few more weeks to come. (He shows up periodically to catch up on sleep and laundry, but otherwise, it's just the two of us...)

This year, this time also coincided with Kat's birthday (which is Tuesday), so we've turned our time into a series of GIRLS' DAYS.

Last weekend, that involved a pj & movie day where we did makeup and nails. 

(these are Kat's nails using nailwraps from Color Street- Jessica Lemmon consultant)

This weekend, we're headed out on a roadtrip where we will be shopping and eating all the things. We're having fun, which is needed. She's turning 11 this year and about to head into middle school and mean girls have become a reality in her life. *sigh*

I hate that, but feel like these special "girl days" help to ease the pain of all that just a tiny bit. 

Write Better Faster...

Hey, everyone. I mentioned this class last week in my Friday Five. It was phenomenal and it just opened up again for June registration. I HIGHLY recommend it!!

You can register for it... HERE.

A different unboxing...

Ever since I got into Travelers Notebooks, I've developed a huge love for leather goods. A few weeks ago, I was drooling over a leather company's site, Portland Leather Goods, and discovered they had Mystery Boxes at an amazing price. Since I'd never bought anything from them before and looking at their site, wanted it all, I figured I couldn't go wrong. 

I ordered the $99 box called the Big One that was supposed to have 9 items in it and I picked the Surprise Me option.

MINE HAD 11...OMG, and everything is GORGEOUS!!

I definitely recommend this box!!!

New Release info coming soon!!!

I got new covers this week for TWO upcoming releases.

*eeps*

So, information about all that will be coming SOON.

Gah, I have got to nail down when I'm going to release these. 

One of them is completely ready to go.

So, I just have to decide on a release date...and cover reveals...and marketing (which is the real hangup). I feel like I'm not marketing my books as well as I should, so I'm trying to figure out how to do that better. 

In the meantime, how about a tiny glimpse...or two...

Ooh, have you seen this trailer yet? 

For #MerMay, Kat has been all about the mermaids, so I'm already writing this release onto my August calendar. I'm thinking it sounds like a good excuse for a girls' day to me!!

And bonus for MerMay, Unity Stamp Company's kit of the month this month is all about the mermaid. I'm totally IN LOVE!!

You can sign up to buy it HERE.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

I'm gonna be playing with my girly.

Maybe I'll have photos of her birthday celebration next week...

smiles,

Christi

Size Matters...

Friday Five...

April was Camp NaNowWriMo...

And I WON!!

I'm a girl who does well with accountability, checklists (and I know this comes as no surprise to you that have been following me for a while here...hehe).

During Camp NaNo months, you can set any word count goal. I always set mine to 50k because if I can do it in November, then I can do it other months, too.

In April, I wrote 55,460 words.

For those keeping track, I finished the first draft of When Love Surprises.

I worked on edits in Guarded Desire.

And I wrote half of Sweet Disaster (that book is slightly behind...eeps).

More details coming soon on all those books, including blurbs, covers, ARC information, and release dates!!!

Cover designs are happening next week, so things are getting closer.

Let's talk paper...

And I know...this is not going to appeal to the majority of you reading this...LOL. 

(or probably ANY of you...lmao)

I realize this is epitome of nerdiness.

Talking about the smoothness of paper is about the tippy-tippy-top of office supply geekiness.

BUT...

I was so excited when I realized how smooth this paper was for writing on. 

It's no secret that I've gotten sucked down the fountain pen wormhole this year. The smoothness of the paper is just another facet of that. In fact, fountain pen people don't even flinch at spending $20 on a single notebook (I know...it's shocking) when the paper is smooth. But until you write with a good pen on amazingly smooth paper and realize just how good it can feel, you don't know how to appreciate good paper.

And I found some AMAZING paper in a very surprising place...TARGET!

AND it doesn't cost a fortune. 

WHAT??

The Green Room line is so smooth and to write on it is like writing on butter. Right now I'm plotting my books longhand just because it feels SO GOOD to write on this paper. My favorite combination of writing tools are the Green Room ClipFolios with my Lamy Al-Star Medium nib fountain pen.

Write, Better, Faster by Becca Syme...

I'm just finishing up an amazing class by Becca Syme that is hosted at Margie Lawson's site, called Write, Better, Faster.

OMG!

Y'all...this class was incredible. 

Becca uses character analysis to figure out what in your writing routine is holding you back.

Have you ever had another writer swear by a certain writing method that just did NOT work for you? 

That's because you both have different personalities and process things differently. 

Becca teaches how to customize your writing to your individual personality.

It was a great class and I HIGHLY recommend it. 

She uses a combination of three personality analysis methods to come to her conclusions.

I don't see a listing on Margie's site for the class right now (probably because it has to be super-labor-intensive for Becca), but if you get the chance to take the class, I suggest you definitely do!!

And for  those curious, here's where I fall on the different personality charts...

Myers-Briggs...ISTJ 

(Introverted 79%, Sensing 63%, Thinking 54%, Judging 61%)

DISC

dominance...32.5

influence...27.5

steadiness...77.5

compliance...70

Strengthsfinder (top 5)

1. Consisting

2. Intellection

3. Achiever

4. Individualization

5. Analytical

Really interesting stuff. :)

I'm giving away a few print copies of 

When Love Comes Back... 

Go check it out.

You can find the giveaway HERE.

or by following this link...

https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/915c0e2c4bd054d7

This summer...it's happening...

I'll readily admit, I'm seriously behind in all the Marvel world movies, but I really want to go see this one ^^^...

Have a great weekend, everyone!
I hope you get to read a great book this weekend!
smiles,
Christi