Cloud Nine Girl

In the hustle and bustle of life, I see why people find it difficult to begin and finish a book. I admit, I’ve picked up a few, read the first page and clutched it tight to my chest thinking, Finally! I have it! Then I take it home. I read. I read more…and before I get a quarter of the way through the book I find myself making more excuses than not, to read it some other night. I do the horrible thing and I never pick that same book back up to finish it.

Like most of us, I blame time. But all in all, is that what it is, or is there something else getting in the way of me and that one book I swore I’d read all the way through but I didn’t?

These past couple of weeks I’ve stumbled across a few really great reads. I couldn’t wait to finish one. The other one I picked was great too, but it didn’t give me the same feeling. I started to think (dangerous, I know). I started to wonder what specific elements create that star magnetic feel where I simply can’t function without finishing that book. LOL.

So I made a list…

…and then I found myself laughing as I looked over my notes. You see, from my list, I also look for these things in my friendships. Like books, I love my friends more than life and this list is exactly what they provide me with too.

1. Likeable relatable characters. I like the quirky ones, like Claire in the Morganville Vampire series, by Rachel Caine. I want someone with a redeeming quality I can relate to. Nerdy, yet brave. She’s willing to grow and do what she needs to do to live her conscience.
2. Walk the talk. When the talk or dialogue I should say, matches the character. A great example of character is Tana, in The Coldest Girl in Town, by Holly Black. Human, real, I would have wanted to be her BFF back in the day. 😉 Tough chick there. She lived her character in thought, dialogue, and nothing seemed out of place. A few months back I read another YA series, and the characters were painted so well but then sometimes they’d open their mouths to talk, and the ball was dropped. It wasn’t the character speaking. It seemed like the safe thing to say.
3. Real struggles develop to solve real problems. People make mistakes and learn and grow, for the most part. I love a great human character who makes a mistake and runs or doesn’t want to face it, but in the end, admits the truth. Rose in the Vampire Academy series jumps directly into my mind on this one.
4. Action! Drive me forward. As a writer, I find I’m in love with the way I can paint a picture. I get lost in details or subplots and all the flashbacks. But sometimes, enough is enough. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, is the most excellent Young Adult book I’ve picked up recently, with one of my favorite structure plots in driving the action, yet answering all my questions. I couldn’t put that book down for a second.
5. Lessons learned. Show me what the character has learned. I can get the subtle picture, but I notice at times, if there is too much left to the reader to guess, well, I certainly get frustrated. I admit, I fell into the mysterious trap myself, but then I realized it really is for me as a writer. Oh yeah! I have to admit, I’m a sucker for happy endings as well. There’s enough sad in this world and I hate to cry. Example? Little Women. I know I’ve mentioned this one before, but I loved Joe and she really got the short stick on that deal.  🙂

Question to you: Do you have a favorite thing or element that kept you engaged in your favorite book? I’d love to hear it.

Have a lovely Wednesday, all! Stay safe and warm, and always hold on to hope.

~Erika

Today, I’m sharing the cover reveal for J.A. Belfield’s new short story centered around one of her hot steamy characters, Ethan Holloway, and set to print on April 16th. It’s a hot cover for a hot story so check it out below.

A  bit about the book…

…and the awesome new cover:

Happy Birthday to Ethan.

Or is it?

Gifts aside, Ethan’s morning hasn’t been anything to write home about. Sure, life is good, the pack is staying out of trouble, he finally has a mate who boils his blood … in a good way.

Except Shelley hasn’t called. Hasn’t come by. Didn’t even bother to join her son and his girlfriend for Ethan’s annual I’m-a-year-older breakfast.

What Ethan doesn’t know is that Shelley has plans. Plans that have been in progress for weeks. Ones that Ethan will never see coming, and that she’s banked on him not knowing a thing about.

She can only hope her secrecy doesn’t force his inner wolf to the surface—at least, not too early.

About J.A. Belfield
Best known for her Holloway Pack Stories, J. A. Belfield lives in Solihull, England, with her husband, two children, four cats and a dog. She writes paranormal romance, with a second love for urban fantasy. Look out for her FREE Holloway Pack Mini: ENTICED coming April 2015, and CORNERED: Holloway Pack 5, also coming 2015.

To find out more about J.A. Belfield, visit her blog.

Thank you all for taking a peek! Have a lovely rest of your week.

~Erika

Do you agree when I say, everyone has had a dream at one point in life?

Lately, I’ve been thinking about dreams. The ones so closely bound to your heart, you never thought you could breathe without them. And then of course, sometimes dreams seem to fall apart, or we burnout in the process before they happen. And just maybe, we give up. So my next thought is this, when they fall apart, how do you deal with the burden of letting go?

Letting go is something I think we all struggle with. It’s a huge weakness of mine. Whether it’s about my writing goals, the outcome of some of my manuscripts, to more personal dreams of having a family and being a mom, a newly single mom at that. Since my blog is about writing and dreaming, I thought I should probably take a moment and share a few coping mechanisms no matter where you are on your path to making your life exactly as you wish it to be.

1. Embrace what you love about you
2. Seek Positive and supporting friendships
3. Create new.

So if right now in your life, if you’re struggling to reach those dreams, know that others are out there struggling right along with you. And here’s what I am working really hard to achieve right now: Just because a dream you swore had to happen, doesn’t mean that it won’t. Maybe it’s actually transforming into something new, something more beautiful and different than you have ever imagined. And as we learn to let go, we can realize how we’re making room for more of what we love and leaving less room for what we don’t.

Happy Valentine’s Day, all. May it be beautiful, and bright and never forget, so are you 🙂

P.S. I promise, next week will be all sorts of lighter posts.

~Erika