I kind of hate having to do all the marketing for myself. I wish it was as easy as just telling people to like me and my stuff, but it totally isn't. I'm hoping to get the book picked up by a publisher this year, but I almost don't want to believe it might happen.

Ok, enough negativity for today lol, I got a bit of work done on Chased yesterday. I hadn't worked on it in so long, I actually had to go back and re read some of what I had written before. I posted a new excerpt for it on my author page, go and check it out.

http://jessicagibson.weebly.com/books.html

I decided to put up the revamped version of Marked for 2 days on Amazon as well. I didn't get much interest from Smashwords, so I figured I'd give Amazon a go. I'm toying with the idea of making it free for the 2 days, but I'm not sure yet.

I was very productive today, I went grocery shopping, and I did some hair. Now, the little monster is asleep, and the house is blissfully quiet. I'm maybe, probably, possibly, going to do some writing, I think I may be in a funk. I've been focusing so much of my mental energy on getting Marked rewritten, and edited, and now possibly get picked up by a publisher. I don't know if I have any excess brain power to devote to the new book lol. What I will say though, is that I love the story so far. The characters are kind of awesome if I do say so myself(nothing like a little shameful back patting)
The one positive side of not writing so much is that I've been reading a lot. I find that its really hard to read while I'm writing my books. I'm always so afraid of somehow adding something from what I'm reading into my book, so I just don't read. There are so many books that I have on my to read list, I may never actually write anything lol.

I posted a revamped version of Marked on Smashwords for today only. It's my submission version, and it's going to go to my editor one more time before I submit to my publisher. I wanted everyone to get a chance to read it, it's kind of awesome :) I've got it for .99, so it's a great buy.....everyone go get it.

I hope you all had a great Christmas, I know I did. I enjoyed spending time with all of my family. My little monster got a bunch of really cool stuff, I think his favorite might be his new tricycle though. When he got up today, he ran right to it and pedaled around the living room. I'm looking forward to laying around the house with my husband the rest of today, and then putting the house back together tomorrow. Currently, it looks like a bomb went off lol, looks like I'll be a busy lady tomorrow.

I'm back, and not as rested and relaxed as I would have liked to be. I have way too much to do in the next 2 days before all of the Christmas festivities begin. Plus I get to add in a day at work on Saturday before rushing over to my parent's house for Christmas Eve dinner. I'm hoping to get some writing done next week since this week is totally shot lol.

I did have some fun on the mini vacation though. We played in the snow which is a novel experience for us. The munchkin liked it for all of 10 minutes and then he got cold, so daddy took him to the car and I played with my friends kids. We made a snowman, my first ever snowman in all of my 29 years, and we sledded down some fun hills. All and all, it was a nice day in the snow with some great friends.

Getting ready for a mini vacation with some friends.....so not even slightly ready lol. We leave in a few hours, and I'm still trying to pack us up. December has been a crappy month for my family, it seems like one thing after another keeps happening. I'm really hoping that I'll be able to relax and enjoy myself while we're away. Hope everyone has a good few days, be back by the end of the week.

My life is slowly returning to normal after 3 weeks of chaos. The house still needs some work, but it's getting there. I'm getting ready for a little vacation to the mountains next week, it should be fun to frolic in the snow. As of right now, I have only purchased 1 of the billion Christmas gifts I need to get, looks like next week is going to be a crazy one.

Hopefully going over to my sister in law's house tomorrow to take some pictures of our kids for Christmas. I'm also hoping to get some done of myself so I can use them on my website. I was trying to find some of just me, and I literally have none lol. I'm excited to see how cute the kids look in their Christmas outfits :)

So I have some time today, the monster just went down for a nap. My dilemma is this, do I write some more of book 2, or do I read? I have a book I'm beta reading for someone, plus 2 new books I just was gifted last night. I think both would be constructive, hhhmmmmm......

I think writing is going to win out, I have some ideas on the story line, so I'll strike while the iron is hot. Plus, my house sounds like an airport due to crazy fans and a dehumidifier. Hopefully those will get to leave tomorrow and my house can resume it's normal noises.

Finally felt creative enough to write today. It feels like its been an eternity since I've written anything new. With the rewrite, then editing, plus beta reading for a few author friends, I just haven't had any time. I didn't write much, but I'm really happy with what I did write.

I'm finally rejoining the world of the living after 6 days of awfulness. On Friday, our water heater decided to spring a leak, which wouldn't have been a big deal if the drainage pipe wasn't clogged due to faulty stuccoing. So, my poor downstairs neighbors got their house flooded. Then only good thing about everything that happened is that we don't have to pay for any of the damage. Our HOA is responsible since they hired the stucco company who thought it was a good idea to plug up a drainage pipe. Saturday night I ended up at urgent care because of the stomach flu, I had to get an i.v. because I was severely dehydrated. I cannot wait until the fans are out of my house and the dehumidifier is gone, so I can finally put things back together.

On a lighter note, my guest post went live on Gravetells.com, very excited about that. Everyone should go and check it out. Here's the link.
http://gravetells.com/2011/12/10/guest-post-jessica-gibson-author-of-marked-on-playing-dress-up-with-words/

Spending some time today working on a website for myself. I'm so not computer savvy, so it's taking me a lot longer to do then I'd really like. My husband laughed when I told him all the stuff I've been doing since he's been away, he said he was apparently holding me back lol. I think its more that I have a ton of time when my son goes to sleep to do self promotion. I wish all I had to do as an author was write, all of the other stuff that goes along with being an author just sucks.

I went through all of the edits that my friend sent me for my book, it pretty much took all day yesterday, and most of this morning to do. Now, I'm waiting for her to go back over it, and then it will hopefully be closer to sending in to be edited. In between working on my stuff, I'm beta reading a book for another friend. I'm a busy lady lol, but I'm enjoying it.

Finding Alice by Andrea DiGiglio

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this book, and I struck gold. There was nothing about this book that I didn't like. The story sucked me in from the get go, I literally read the entire thing in about a day. I couldn't put it down. I grew to love the main character like she was my best friend. I had chills the whole last scene in the book, it was really phenomenal. I cannot wait until this book comes out so I can recommend it to everyone I know. If you buy this book, you won't be disappointed.



View all my reviews

I have my guest post on GraveTells.com this week, I'm so excited for it. I'm just about finished writing it, it was a little nerve wracking for me lol. It's been so hard to be productive, the last 7 days have been awful. First I was sick, now my little guys is, and my husband is away on business, so I've been dealing with it alone. I have such a respect for single parent's and military wives now. It's only been a week, and I want to die lol. The only nice part of him being sick is that he wants to be cuddly with me.

I want to be done with editing and re editing, the writing is definitely the easy part. I've got a few more passes before I'll be ready to send it to the editor I think. One of my friends is looking over it now, and I think tomorrow she'll be done so I can start correcting. Hopefully I'll still have hair, and sanity by the time everything is finished.

The new cover is up and live which is very exciting. I'm still in the editing process with Marked, but it's going really well. I've had some awesome ladies read through it for me to give me feedback. I've also had the privilege of reading a book by the amazingly talented Andrea Digiglio, I think she's my writing soul mate. The book was phenomenal, I can't wait for it to be published so I can recommend it to everyone I know. I know that I can expect big things from her, she's definitely one to watch.

I've been thinking a lot about the direction my life has taken this year. I'm so incredibly lucky to be married to an amazing man who encourages me to follow my dreams. I have an amazing little boy who surprises me daily with how smart he is. And finally, I have an incredible family that includes but is not limited to those who share my last name. A big thanks to everyone who has made my life better by just knowing you. (That means you H.P.'s writing group) I'm so excited to see what 2012 has in store for me, and for Jilly.

Here is a small taste of what the new cover of Marked is going to look like. I'm so excited with how it turned out. Can't wait for the re release!!

Book Sake is having a huge giveaway. Here is the details taken directly from their page

It's time for our big follower giveaway. Thanks to all of you we've hit 1100 followers. To show our undying appreciation for you we are giving away a ton of books. This time around we have an author helping us out. The fabulous Julie Anne Peters is donating a bunch of books that you all are going to love! Seriously, a bunch. We are going to have 15 winners (minimum) for this contest!

You must be a follower to enter, so if you aren't already you can click here to FOLLOW. You can get a lot of extra entries by following us and Julie on Twitter and Facebook, Tweeting about the contest, making a post about it on your blog if you have one, or putting our button on your blog.

On to the prizes! Author Julie Anne Peters has offered up this wonderful set of books. Not just one set of books, but 10 sets!!! 10 winner's will get their own set of 5 titles from Julie! I know, amazing right!


Pretend You Love Me
Luna
She Loves You, She Loves You Not...
Rage: A Love Story
By The Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead

5 more winners will have their choice of 1 of the books below.



The Outside Boy by Jeanine Cummins
On The Volcano by James Nelson (ARC)
My Life Undecided by Jessica Brody(ARC)
Can You Get Hooked On Lip Balm? by Perry Romanowski
King's Wrath by Fiona Mcintosh
I Still Dream About You by Fannie Flagg
Dracula In Love by Karen Essex
The Strange Case of the Composer and His Judge by Patricia Duncker
TimeRiders: Day of the Predator Alex Scarrow (ARC)
The Orphan of Awkward Falls by Keith Graves (ARC)

Can you win a set of Julie's books and a book from us too? Sure, why not?!?!?

Big things are happening, I think I may have found an editor I like. Based on the sample she did for me, I'm very happy. Now, I just need to wait for me beta readers to finish and give me their feedback. I also saw a bit of what the new cover is going to look like. It looked so good, very cute and fun.

I recently joined a writer's group on facebook called H.P.'s Online Writer's club. I have met so many amazing author's on there in the few weeks since I've joined. I really feel like they've made me a better author, reading their work has helped me with mine. Plus, they're all super helpful. Liz Shulte helped me rewrite my blurb last night, it ended up being amazing. I had hated my first one since I wrote it, every time I saw it I cringed lol. I really think it's going to help with sales, it's more intriguing then the first one.

This has been a way gushy post, but I'm super excited about everything that's coming up. My guest post on GraveTells.com is going to be on the 10th. I've been working a lot on it, so hopefully it will be ready by the 6th. I'm hoping to get some pictures taken a few days before the 6th so I can have my press packet all ready. I feel like a grown up getting all this stuff together lol.

I've got a few beta readers for the rewrite, I'm really excited to hear what they think. I like the direction it went, Caroline's story was more prominent. I've also been working on my guest post for GraveTells.com, it was harder then I thought it was going to be. I guess I'm just nervous that it's not going to be what they're looking for. Still shopping around for an editor, but I think I've got some promising leads.

Amazing book.

I just finished reading an awesome book over Thanksgiving and I wanted to share it with you all. The book is called Natural Selection (Forces of Nature) by Elizabeth Sharp. It was really well written, and totally engrossing. I was reading every spare moment I could find. It was very different from most YA books out there, and I found it very refreshing. I'm not a book reviewer at all, I'm not going to spell out the plot or anything here, I just wanted to say how much I liked it.

Description from Amazon.com
What do you do when you find out your family isn't your family, death is knocking at your door, and that guy you can't stop thinking about knows more about who you are than you do? 
Amelia Hoffman was just a normal 15 year old until she found out the truth. Now ancient myths, supernatural beings, and murder have changed everything. Tests and school dances are no longer the biggest worry in her life-- she has to figure out how to save everyone she loves and accept the future in front of her before its too late.


Link to purchase
http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Selection-Forces-Nature-ebook/dp/B005GL93XI/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1322604910&sr=1-1

My little guy and I are both sick, so progress on the books has not been great. I did however finish the rewrite on Marked and have so far done all the spelling and grammar edits. I'm still shopping around for a freelance editor, it's a little scary thinking about handing over my book to a stranger. But, I want it to be amazing, so I'll do it.

I'm enjoying the rewrite way more then I thought I would. It's giving me a chance to flesh out the characters a bit more, and to add more depth to Caroline and Jilly's past relationship. I'm about half done(ish), I got a ton of work done while I was on vacation. I'm  planning on going through it a few times to make sure its perfect.

So, I've decided to entirely rework Marked. The decision to do it didn't come easily, but I really want to put out the best possible story I can. So far I'm happy with what I've got so far, but its going to be a very long road ahead of me. Wish me luck.

Away on my Thanksgiving vacation, the cabin is beautiful, there's snow on the ground. I'm actually getting some work done, my little monster went to bed early. I've got both books going right now, trying to split my time between them. My author interview is going to be up on Starcrossed Reviews tomorrow, stop by and check it out. Hope everyone has a great day tomorrow, eat lots of yummy food.

New YA book

Here's a taste of what I've been working on. It's as yet untitled.

Some vampires are made, some are born, I am the latter. My parents were both vampires, so it was my lot in life to be one too. My name is Cali Ericson, I’m 16 years old, and I hate being a vampire. When people here vampire, they automatically think cool and put together. The image of Kate Bekinsale, or any of those vampire chicks from Twilight come to mind. I am so not that kind of vampire. First of all, I’m way too tall for my liking, and my black hair is always tangly, no matter what I do to it. I’ve got the whole pale skin thing going on too, but it doesn’t look good on me, I just look sick or something. My one redeeming feature in my opinion is my eyes, their big, but not too big, and the prettiest shade of lavender. They look just like my mom’s, it was the one good thing I got from her. My mom is impossibly beautiful, she is what you think of when you imagine a vampire. The pale skin totally works with her raven black hair, she’s tall like me, but not in a gangly way. Up until now, I’ve been in a private school for beings of a supernatural nature, but the economy took a crap, so now I get to go to public school. My mom says its just for a little while, until my dad can rebuild his financial empire or whatever. I contemplated running away, but that was too cliche even for me. So, I’m resigned to my fate, to waste away in public school like all of the mortal children. The only plus in this situation, is my best friend Greta Sorensen is going to be going with me, so at least I won’t be totally alone. Greta and I are total opposites, she’s short, with white blond hair, ice blue eyes, and tan skin. I’ve always envied her tan skin. She’s a shape shifter, she can turn into anything that’s alive, people, animals, bugs. I’ve known her my whole life, the supernatural community isn’t as big as you might think, our mom’s have been friends since before we were born. The first day of school is tomorrow, and I’m totally dreading it.

I just talked to my cover artist, and I should be seeing another sneak peak at the progress she's been making on the new cover. I got a tiny bit of writing done last night before going to sleep. Today however has been a different story, the mountain of laundry, plus a trip to the grocery store have monopolized all of my time. I'm still agonizing over what to write for my guest post in December. I know what I find interesting, but will the readers find it equally so?

Busy weekend, worked both days, plus I went to see Breaking Dawn with my husband Saturday night. I really enjoyed the movie for what it was, it was pretty true to the book. I'm hoping to get some writing done in the next few days, but I'm not optimistic its going to happen. Thanksgiving is hijacking my life for the week lol, not that I mind it at all, totally looking forward to spending some time with the family. Who knows, maybe I'll get some writing done while I have extra eyes to watch my little monster. I've got a review and an author interview scheduled for the 24th on Starcrossed reviews, everyone keep their fingers crossed that it goes well.

So, I'm going to be doing a guest post on Gravetells.com, and I'm having a hard time picking a topic. I want it to be interesting, and I want it to bring in readers. I have so much on my plate writing wise that its hard for me to buckle down and start writing it. I'm considering maybe writing about my love for all things paranormal and fantasy. Aaaahhh I don't know.
On a brighter note, I'm totally digging the new story I stared this week. I'm not very far into it, but its so different from Marked and that series that its been fun to write. It's going to be a YA novel for sure, the main character is a 16 year old vampire. I've always been interested in vampires and everything supernatural, so its only natural for me to write a vampire book. I'm going to try and stay away from all the cliche type vampire stuff, mainly I want to focus on her life and maybe add in some danger. Who knows, its still in the baby stage.
Since I've been writing the other book, I've taken a bit of a break from writing Chased. I still have another maybe 5 chapters left until I'm finished. I'm really hoping to have it finished by January so I can relaunch Marked with the new cover and then put our Chased a few weeks after.

Doing a bit of revamping, changed the title and url of the blog. I woke up yesterday morning with a totally different story in my head, and it would have felt weird posting about it with the old name. The new story is going to be a YA supernatural type story. I'm excited about it so far, its a different style then the Timewalker series. Not sure where it came from, I've been so focused on all things Timewalker. Maybe my brain needed a Jilly break or something lol.

AAAHHHH, I'm so excited!! I just got a preview of the main image from the new book cover of Marked. It's so amazing. I cannot wait for the relaunch.

Big things are in the works. Completely redesigning the cover for Marked, and the cover for Chased will be done the same way. I'm most likely going to be reworking Marked as well, adding in a few new things, and going through the story to improve the story line. I'm very excited to relaunch the series, I think its going to be amazing. I'm keeping the current version of Marked up for sale, and I'll most likely pull it about 2 weeks before the relaunch.

I just bought H.P. Mallory's book about self publishing, and its opened my eyes to a whole new world of possibility. I'm going to hire an actual editor to go through my books, not that I'm not super grateful to my family for helping me out in that department. I've realized that I need to to whatever it takes to be successful, which will mean redesigning my book covers as well. I'm really excited to move forward now.

I actually buckled down and wrote a bit last night. I was feeling very lazy and unproductive, but I pushed myself a bit and ended up writing a few pages. I think I was affected by the review of Marked more then I thought I was. I just felt nervous about writing, nervous about people reading it. I'm over it now, going to try and get some more done today.

Suffering from writer's block, or more aptly writer's laziness. I can't seem to make myself write anything, even though I know I really should. Instead, I've been looking at Christmas decorations online. Totally not a good use of my time, but its so fun. I've also been reading a bit more then I have been during the writing process. I usually find it hard to concentrate on a book when I have my own story line floating around in my head. I've been reading H.P. Mallory's newest Dulcie O'Neal book. I love her stuff, I can lose myself in her stories and forget everything else. Maybe this is what I need right now, a break from writing for a bit so I can recharge. I never want writing to feel like a chore, I always want it to be fun.

The first review of Marked is up, and lets just say it didn't make me feel warm and fuzzy. I know that not everyone will really enjoy the book as much as I do, but it wasn't what I was expecting. I have another review slated for the 23rd of this month, and I hate to say that I'm actually really nervous about it now. I wanted to be really excited about all of this, but its giving me anxiety. It's so hard to work up the courage to ask people to tell you what they think of your work. Marked is like my first child, I'll never have another first book just like I'll never have another first child. I've poured so much of myself into my writing, that it almost feels like asking someone to critique me, and not just my book. It's so easy to get discouraged, but I'm really trying to stay as positive as I can. I guess all I can do is hope for the best.

Switching gears a tiny bit for tonight, working on a side piece in the series. It's going to be about William's past, and when he first met Sabine, and the life they had together. I've been thinking about having it start at the very end of his time in Boston, I'm not sure what I want to focus on more though.

Getting so close to finishing Chased, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm hoping to start designing the cover next week sometime. The amazingly talented Sunny Randel is going to whip something up for me. I'll have the cover up as soon as it's finished.

Marked is going to be on http://addictedtonovels.blogspot.com/ in the next week!! Very excited to get it reviewed, and get the word out. Hoping to do an author interview and possibly some giveaways.

Feeling great today, and I'm hoping to parlay that into some serious writing. Dinner is in the crock pot, and the munchkin is down for a nap, so a writing I will go. Going to start wrapping things up soon, the book is totally going the right direction for that. Trying to decide if I want to have a cliffhanger or not at the end. Decisions, decisions, what's a girl to do?

Marked is available on Smashwords now too. I'm very excited that now anyone with an ereader can buy and read it. Took the little one out for Halloween last night, so sadly no writing was done. I'm hoping to make up for last night today by getting in a solid few hours. I really want to finish the book by the end of the month.

Had a long busy day at my day job today. Feeling tired, but creative. I'd like to get a few pages written tonight before bed time. I've been half following an outline for this new book, I'd say its more of a general points I'd like to hit. It's nice to know where the story is going before it gets there. Last time I just wrote and got there when I got there. I'm more focused this time, and I'm hoping that's going to lend itself to a better finished product. Not that I think Marked isn't a great book :)

Gave the blog a whole new look last night, I'm liking the overall look now. Going to try and get some writing done tonight after the little guy goes to sleep. I'm hoping to knock out a few pages at least. I've had a part of the story in my head all day at work, and I hope I can get it right tonight.

Trying desperately to get Marked reviewed on some book blogs. It's so hard being a self published author, because you have almost no way to market yourself. I want to be successful, but I'm having a hard time getting to that goal.

Marked is officially back up for sale! I couldn't be happier about the re edit, it turned out great. I'm very lucky to have such amazing people in my life who are so willing to help me out.

http://www.amazon.com/Marked-Timewalker-Saga-ebook/dp/B005OOSZ3G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319681804&sr=8-1

I've been taking more time with Chased (book 2), I'm able to flesh out the characters a bit more which I think is going to be very beneficial to the readers. Hoping to finish writing it by the end of next month or possibly earlier.

I worked hard all afternoon, and I got the book formatted!! It should be up and available for sale again at some point tomorrow. Hooray for that, I can finally rest easy.

Formatting is almost done on Marked. There is a very distinct possibility that I may have it back up on Amazon by tonight. If I do, that would mean it would be available sometime tomorrow for purchase. I'm hoping to try and get it featured on some blogs, but who knows.

Got some amazing news today, the re edit of Marked is finished! I couldn't be happier, and I hope to have it reformatted and up on amazon again by the end of the week. I'm also hoping to find a literary agent soon. Its a daunting process of putting together packages and hoping that someone will like my book enough to represent me. If that happens, I could maybe get published by an actual publishing house. I'm excited and scared all at once, but I'm going to try it.

With the help of my wonderful sister in law, I settled on a name for the new book. It's going to be called Chased, the title works on a few different levels. I'm excited to finally have a name for it, it feels more real and less work in progress. I still have a lot to wrap up, but it's coming along nicely.

I'm at the point where i'm beginning to think about potential title's for book 2. I think I might be stuck, I have no clue what I want to call it. When I wrote Marked, I called it Jilly the entire time I wrote, I didn't come up with the title for a while after I finished. This one has the working title of William, but I know its not going to really be called that when it's published.

I'm plugging right along, and I'm about 5 typed pages away from being as long as Marked. I still have a lot more story to tell, and a lot of things to resolve. The re edit of Marked is coming along nicely, and should hopefully be finished within the next few weeks.

To write, or not to write???? Not feeling super creative, need to get back in the swing of things. My goal is to at least write a few pages today. So far I've gotten a few paragraphs done, so that's something lol.

I'm feeling very creative after a nice slow Sunday with my family. My batteries are officially recharged, and I'm ready to dive back into the world of Jilly. I'm really liking where the story is going, and the characters that are being introduced.

On a side note, Marked is still being re edited for me, and once it's finished, I'm going to put it right back up on Amazon.

I've been taking a break from writing this week due to a headache that wouldn't quit. I'm all set to jump right back in and get going on book #2. The story is getting really good, and the characters are definitely evolving. I'm excited for everyone to read it when its all done and edited.

Marked redux

Doing some revamping on Marked. I decided to pull it from Amazon so I can put out the best book possible. I'm still hard at work on the second book in the series, but I'm pushing back the finish date a bit so I can make sure its properly edited the first time.

AAAHHHHH

Trying very hard to stay positive, but it feels like a full time job right now. I know that not everybody is going to love what I put out, but it doesn't feel great to hear that its not good. This exact situation was the main reason I never wrote anything before now. I just need to pick myself up and keep moving.

Writing

When I started writing the first book, I never expected it to be more then just a one off. But Jilly was in my head so much, bugging me to make her into something more. Jilly is growing so much as a character. She has definitely evolved far more then I though she would. This book is going to a whole different direction then it was originally going to go when I started to write it.

New ideas

I'm talking with the amazingly talented Sunny Randel about doing a graphic novel. I'm not sure if it will be the first book, just in graphic novel form, or a side story. I'm excited about the possibility of seeing my characters come to life.

2nd book

As I've been writing the second book in the series, its been interesting to see how different the process has been from the first one. I've been able to delve more into Caroline's life, and her relationship with Jack. I also introduce you to Nikolai and Katya, who were briefly mentioned in the first book. There's also going to be some new characters introduced, and I'm really excited about how they are fitting into the story. I'm on track for this book to be around 25-50 pages longer then the first book, which is great since the feedback I've gotten so far is that people wish Marked was longer.

I'm toying with the idea of doing a novella concentrating on William's past from leaving Boston to when he came back in present time. I've already written a few chapters of it, and I like where its going. It will give my readers a chance to see where William has been, and what he's gone through. I'm not sure when I would be releasing that, if it would be between the first and second, or the second and third.

Marked

Marked will always be a special book for me, it will always be my first. I felt such a sense of accomplishment typing out the story and bringing Jilly and William to life. William is modeled after my husband, although I will say that it wasn't my intention to make him that way. The more I wrote, and the further into the story I got, the more like my husband he became. I wanted Jilly to be instantly likable, and for people to just fall in love with her the way I did.

For all of you out there who have wanted to write a book, my advice to you is just do it. If you don't believe in yourself, you'll never get far in life. I was lucky to have an entire army of people behind me cheering me on, they all made this such an amazing process. The writing process was a lot easier then I originally had thought it would be. To write the book, it took me a little over 2 weeks, it was the editing that took the most time, and I had a lot of help with that from my amazing mother in law Cathy.

I'm in the process of writing the second book in the series, and I should hopefully have it done in the next month. I'm also thinking of having a novella concentrating on William's past. I hope everyone enjoys reading Marked as much as I enjoyed writing it.