Houston, We Have Liftoff

Well, this will be interesting. I’ve never written a Young Adult (YA) novel before but I’m reusing the 24,000+ words of material in a previously published Amazon Vella story and its sequel. The main character is a teenage girl.

I was able to use about half of the first episode as part of the first chapter in THE HOMECOMING but in the interest of adding to the story and bulking it up to about 60,000 words, it veered off in a different direction. I can use the other half later in the manuscript as the narrative returns to the original storyline.

When this is finished, I’ll take the 36,000+ words from another three sequential Vella stories and rework them into a long-form novel called WE ARE ONE. It seems a shame to waste all that effort and it really gives the book a leg up when you have so much to work with.

Since Vella paid royalties on the original material, this feels like having one’s cake and eating it too, and who can hate that?

More Bang For The Buck

Who doesn’t like to “get their money’s worth?!”

Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) makes it possible to write a fairly short story and publish it in episodes to Vella, Amazon’s newest platform, and get paid royalties plus bonuses for comments, likes, and followers.

But wait, there’s more—

Authors can wait thirty days after the last episode and unpublish the story, re-working the material and re-using it in ‘long form,’ which is Amazon-speak for a novel.

That’s exactly what I’m doing with NO WAY OUT and THE HOMECOMING, a Vella story and its sequel. Why waste all that effort? The main character is a teenage girl so this is my first foray into Young Adult, a departure from my usual Contemporary Romance/Women’s Fiction genre.

Since YA generally runs about 60,000 words instead of the 80,000 I’m used to, it shouldn’t take much to add to the story and finish it in a matter of months.

Here We Go Again

It’s such a rewarding feeling to type four hashtags at the end of a manuscript signifying THE END and submit it for editing. Next come revisions and formatting and, at last, the book’s release date.

But, then what? Most authors have more than one story in them and they’re already thinking about the next.

It’s also rewarding to get started and watch the new manuscript grow, chapter by chapter.

Now that The Green Mountain Trilogy is complete with the release of the third book, THE STARS SHINE BRIGHT, I’m moving out of my comfort zone and writing a Young Adult (YA) novel which is a departure from my usual genre of Contemporary Romance/Women’s Fiction.

In THE HOMECOMING, readers will meet fifteen-year-old Alexandra Wallace and her family as their lives take an unexpected turn, moving them to a part of the country they’d never given much thought to.

A Fond Farewell

I’m always a bit sad and a little depressed when I finish writing a novel, especially when I’ve spent a year doing it. And especially when there are SIX books in The Riverwood Series, or THREE in The Green Mountain Trilogy.

By the time I’m done, I know the characters so well. I know what they look like, and what’s important to them. I know what their lives are like, and what their hopes and dreams are. I know what they’re afraid of.

I know their favorite foods and their favorite colors.

Since all my books are ‘horse stories,’ I know all about their horses. And their dogs and cats because, of course, my characters have animals and those animals became characters in their own right.

And now, into the beginning of a new year, I’ve started a new book and created new characters, which takes away the ache of losing my ‘imaginary friends.’

Writing By Accretion

I use Grammarly for proofreading as I write and it’s very gracious about providing an accurate word count upon request.

Unlike authors who can bang out an entire manuscript in a matter of weeks or even months, I write one book a year, aiming for 80,000 words or about 3,200 words each in of twenty-five chapters.

I don’t seem to be able to write more than 1,500 words at a stretch, even if I have all day, so I call it “writing by accretion,” adding a little each day.

It’s kind of like adding a layer of nacre to a pearl LOL.

Or, like adding a layer of plaque to teeth (eeewwww!)

Oh, No, You Don’t!

Some things are meant to be. And when you know, you know.

But what if your life is on track, and you’re perfectly happy when an interloper pops up seemingly out of nowhere and decides to take what you have? That’s exactly what happens to Avery Markham, the female main character in THE STARS SHINE BRIGHT when she finds herself unexpectedly defending her relationship with Rhys Williams, the male main character.

Avery and Rhys are in a committed relationship when the book begins so she has the high ground. But new character, Harlee Oliver, has a longstanding history with Rhys and he’s pulled in two directions.

Is Avery and Rhys’ union strong enough to withstand the challenge? Read the book and find out!

Why Not Me?

No doubt, all of us have been attracted to or had a crush on someone, only to find that the object of our desire likes someone else. We wonder what that person has that we don’t have. It’s frustrating, upsetting, and usually hurtful.

But, it’s this life experience that helps to create realistic, credible characters who have the same emotions. And that’s what happens to Harlee Oliver in THE STARS SHINE BRIGHT, the third book in The Green Mountain Trilogy.

What does Rhys Williams see in Avery Markham when he could have Harlee?

Taking The Bull By The Horns

Rhys Williams is on the horns of a dilemma, all right, because he has a problem in the person of one Harlee Oliver. She was his college sweetheart, but they went their separate ways after graduation as they pursued their careers and eventually married other people.

Rhys hadn’t seen Harlee in thirty-five years until she suddenly turns up living in Vermont, just a few miles away. Is this an unwelcome surprise?

In THE STARS SHINE BRIGHT, the third book in The Green Mountain trilogy, it sure is, and not just for him! Harlee’s agenda has repercussions for Rhys, for his very significant other, Avery, and for most of their friends. Rhys needs a plan of action before the situation spirals out of control, and after a few sleepless nights, he determines to take the bull by the horns, resolving the crisis in the best way possible.

Not So Fast

In the first book of The Green Mountain Trilogy, SUNRISE SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN, Avery Markham doesn’t offer her heart easily or quickly. She initially took an instant and thorough dislike to her late husband, Andrew, but he won her over, and once committed, she loved him deeply.

Years later, as the story progressed through HEART SO TRUE, she initially detested Rhys Williams (and he her), but she warmed to him over time as their business relationship developed into mutual admiration, then friendship, and then in THE STARS SHINE BRIGHT, into much more.

When a former girlfriend from Rhys’ past thinks she can pick up where they left off, Avery wastes no time in making her position clear—to everyone.

Hey, Jolene

“Oh, I’m begging of you, please don’t take my man
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
Please don’t take him even though you can.”

Even those who aren’t fans of country music are familiar with Dolly Parton’s lament about a woman trying to steal another woman’s man. In The Stars Shine Bright, the third book in The Green Mountain Trilogy, Avery Markham and Rhys Williams have come to realize how much they care for one another and believe they have a solid commitment—readers have watched their relationship grow and develop.

But what happens when an old flame from Rhys’ past decides she wants him back and comes to town, fully intending to push Avery right out of the picture?

Can she or can’t she? Read the book and find out!