Come and get it. I am not ashamed to admit it, I like Selena Gomez, whether she is with Justin Bieber or not. Now let me relate this back to The Rena Files, because I can. I actually emulated Rena (the main character) after Selena Gomez she was still on Wizards of Waverly place at the time and just so darn cute. I wanted Rena to be that way. Cute as a button but not exactly sure how to be hot or even be aware that she can do it. 

P.S. Join The Rena Files is Free in July event on either Facebook or Goodreads. (Links are in the last post)
TTFN,
LL

Hey Fellow Bookworms!
July 1st to July 31st, The Rena Files will be free!! Yes, FREE!
Other exciting news, July 31st is the release of Familiar, #3 in The Rena Files. 
Be sure to check out my events on Goodreads and Facebook and attend!
Facebook: Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/event/show/893771-the-rena-files-is-free-for-july
https://www.facebook.com/events/573536016019314/

Get Excited because I sure am!
TTFN, 
LL

       Okay, I have to say I have been quiet lately. I'm sorry but I've been having a rocking go at life. 
I have added another destination to my nomadic wanderings (Meaning I'm typing this hiding between boxes). 

       I have been wrapping up everything for FAMILIAR. I am so excited about this upcoming book and all my pending releases. Familiar was a hard story for me to tell for several reasons. First, I wanted to write 3 books in The Rena Files series, originally. When I outlined the last book I realized there were a lot of gaps. So I decided there needed to be something in between 2 and 4. Familiar was made and I was back at Square 1 I had no clue what to write. I wrote probably a dozen outlines before I even wrote a page. I wrote about five different first chapters. When I started I just couldn't make myself write this story. I thought it was a disconnect with the characters because I had waited 2 years between Puzzled and Familiar. It wasn't. I just was, mentally, too busy to handle the story line. After several more outlines and chapter ideas I settled on a plot. 

      I never imagined that once I was inspired the plot would flow so freely and flourish more than I ever expected. Not only am I proud of this book (as I am my other ones) I am proud of the growth my characters went through. I can happily say that I am taking on Return without any of the issues I had come across while outlining . 

So excuse me while I do a Happy Dance!

News Is coming this Month for Freebies. Check back next week.

TTFN,
LL

Another Tuesday, another musical edition I get to regale upon you. 
This week I'm in a particularly AWESOME mood. I am moved into the new place. I am comfortably finding my routine and the Fiance has even found a job that he actually is excited about! 
All is well and So let's dance!

TTFN, 
LL

P.S. Check back for some great news on Thursday! :-)

To continue what I said last week. Reading is all about the Visuals to me.

As an author,
The first thing I do when i start a series or a new novel. I pick out what my characters look like. I pick a location (95 percent of the time it's a place I've been. 5 Percent of the time it is a figment of my imagination, completely made up).

Character Selection:
Let me start by saying I don't do anything special to find characters. I think of some characteristics i want them to have and I either get on Pinterest or google to find the best possible match. I love having my characters packed in a little folder so I can look it over to make sure I'm accurately describing them. 
By doing this it solves a number of issues for me. 
1. Consistency since I have pictures of what I expect my characters to look like I consistently describe what they look like without accidentally changing their eye color or hair color half way through. (I've seen this in books and it's a pet peeve of mine.)
2. It gives me something to inspire me to write. I can start mauling over a scene and imagine what It will look like with my chosen characters. 
3. I'm ahead of the game if there is a movie made. (lol J/K).

I guess it is time to pose my question? Writers how do you come up with the physical attributes of your characters? Readers, do you think having that image of the character is helpful before you read the book?? 


TTFN,

LL

I wanted to write this post about another oddity I have. My posts are starting to be all of random reading and writing Quirks I have discovered over the years.. 

As a reader:
This week it's about being Visual. As an avid reader for my entire life. There is always something I do when reading a book. I picture the characters and sort of play out the story in movie form in my head. For example, Kim Harrison's series The Hollows (If you didn't already know. I am OBSESSED with this series) I have cast this book in my head. Every single character my personal favorite Trent (Alex Pettyfer). 

Back to my point, I personally like being given detail but sometimes I take some creative liberations and don't like to be pigeon holed into my images. (Movies where the characters don't match in my head.) Does anyone else do this? How do you picture the books you read? Do you imagine anything at all?

TTFN, 
LL

Tune in Next Thursday to see the Author interpretation of Let's Get Visual.

Also for more news on upcoming releases Sign up for Email Subscriptions. 

Book News: 69 days until the Release of Familiar (Book 3 in The Rena Files)!

Another Tuesday is here. Let me reemphasize my Maroon 5 addiction. I am OBSESSED with Adam Levine. It is the sole reason I watch The Voice. It is the sole reason that anytime a new video is released it is here on Musical Tuesday. I tried to find the new video but Youtube told me it wasn't available in my country. (I watched it yesterday with no problem >_<) 
Enjoy, Bookworms. 

TTFN, 
LL

P.S. Check back on Thursday for another Question. 

One thing I have learned through writing is that writers are manipulators of words. The act of writing is one big word game. I know it is common to come up with inventive ways of saying blasé phrases. I like to toy with less common words but try to avoid words people don't readily know when reading? Who wants to read a book with their dictionary handy?

So let's talk specifically about a particular kind of word play. Word Usage. Maybe it is from the years of useless SAT vocabulary drilled into my head for four years of high school or simply because I read way too much compared to the average person, but words sporadically come to me. Does this happen to anyone else?

 Let me give you an example of what I mean to clarify my point; I could be typing out a scene and going on about something and then i go she is depressed what word is better than depressed? Despondent. Within seconds, the word pops into my head, no thesaurus necessary. Ironically, I am always leery about these words and as soon as i write them. I look up the definition. Nine times out of ten the word is usually spot on. Freaky, right?

Does this happen to everyone? Or am I suffering from some form of PTSD from the SATs (I took them almost 10 years ago)?

It's another musical Tuesday. This week is a throwback. The song is new but I still can't picture Fallout Boy coming out with new music. I mean it's been YEARS since their last song. Anyways this song is kick butt and Fallout Boy will always remind me of High School.

In book related news. The NEWLY, EDITED, Edition of Puzzled (The Rena Files, #2) is available at your favorite Ebook retailer TODAY!!!

TTFN, 
LL

I skipped Musical Tuesday.... if you didn't know it's Wednesday. 

To more important matters. This girl typing has not only finally graduated from graduate school, but stumbled upon a job, and found a new apartment close by in a matter of days. I didn't realize I was that good until it was all wrapped up. On top of the job hunt and apartment hunt, I have had so much free time to write. I don't think I'm using it effectively enough. 

For example, yesterday I sat down and wrote 2,500 words. That's pretty big for me now. Before gradschool (B.G.) i easily wrote 5000 or more words a day. I've lost a little steam with all the work and haven't been able to write that much in almost 2 years. I'm so happy to be picking up again. I don't write based on my count but it feels good to make a dent in what you are writing and feel like you are getting somewhere. 

I guess I will just pose a question for everyone. Fellow writers, do you set limits for yourself? Word Limits? Chapter Limits?
Why?