Writing update

Hi everyone! Time for another update on what I’m doing with my life.

First of all, I finished and submitted my bunny shifter story, 9 Willow Street. I signed a contract, and it will be released sometime in July. I’ll give you more details as soon as I have them. But we can start with the blurb:

Heartbroken after the death of his beloved Nana, Hannes, the family outsider, finally allows himself to grieve. The legal battle over Nana’s quirky old house— the only place he’s ever felt accepted and loved—is over, and he moves in and finds a sense of peace.

…and a rabbit.

An adorable bunny with a huge personality moves in, too, and refuses to leave. Hannes instantly falls in love with the sweet animal who helps heal his heart. But one morning, Hannes’ view of the world changes when the rabbit transforms into a man. A man named Mattis.

After the initial shock, Hannes and Mattis discover a connection between them that runs deeper than it seems. Will their newfound feelings survive unraveling secrets and meddling families, and grow into something real? Something deep and everlasting?

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My current WIP is an unnamed story for a JMS Books submission call, Autumn Love, where the main characters have to be 40 or older. My MCs are Oren Walker, a 47-year old workaholic without a family (except for his elderly mother) and Pete Higgins, a 48-year-old divorced bisexual guy with two college-aged kids. Pete is Oren’s mother’s neighbor and the story starts with Oren coming to say thank you to Pete after Oren’s mother fell and broke her femur, and Pete helped her.

I’m currently at about 6000 words and the deadline is May 31.

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And then I have a treat for you:

I have the cover for my May 25 release, His Steady Heart. Wanna see? No pre-order yet, but I’ll post links as soon as I have them.

Isn’t it gorgeous?? 😍😍

Ashley Buchanan—Buck—moved back home to take care of his sick mother when he was 22. That was the first time he met Pippin, the neglected 6-year-old boy next door. Fifteen years later, Buck—a caretaker by nature—offers up his couch for Pippin, who needs a break from his mom and a quiet place to sleep.

Pippin Olander is a ray of sunshine despite his emotionally lacking upbringing and works hard to make a better life for himself. Even though he’s fiercely self-sufficient, he learns to accept help from Buck, his rock and only steady presence in his life.

Their friendship deepens and grows into something more as they spend more time together. But when other people try to throw a wrench in the works, when Pippin’s independence is triggered, can Buck and Pippin trust in the love they’ve found?

Autism Awareness Month 2019

April is Autism Awareness Month, and I’m very honored to be a part of RJ Scott’s blog hop for this cause for the second year in a row. Anyone who uses their  platform to try to make the world a better place deserves our respect, and I want help if I can.

Check out the master post on RJ Scott’s blog where she links to all the other participating authors. Make sure to visit them and read about this year’s theme “Childhood Toys.” If that’s not enough to persuade you, there will be giveaways!! 😀

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Autism fact: 

Autism is a developmental disability. It’s a difference in how your brain works. Autistic people can have good mental health, or experience mental health problems, just like anyone else.

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My mother was very sick when I was little. She had (and still has) severe asthma and allergies resulting in very low energy levels. Despite being on medication, she didn’t have the lung capacity to keep a lively toddler busy the traditional way. So she came up with other ways to keep me occupied.

For example, when she was unable to carry me up or down the stairs, she made into a game instead. We counted every step carefully which is how I learned to count, and which is why I’m still counting steps whenever I take the stairs, at age 46. She also taught me how to read at a very young age, and that changed my life forever.

I don’t really remember any of the toys I had. Oh, I know I had them, but I can’t tell you what my favorite toy was. What I do remember is the books. Mom read to me, and taught me how to read, and one of the strongest memories from my childhood is that immense pride that filled me when I read my first book out loud to her, instead of the other way around. It was Flap Your Wings by P.D. Eastman (Swedish title Flaxa med vingarna). I can’t say I remember much about the story itself, except that there was a crocodile egg in a bird’s nest. But that pure joy that filled me when I finished it and Mom told me I had done an excellent job will be with me for the rest of my life.

The books are what I remember most from my childhood and youth. The countless hours spent at the local library. Reading under the covers with a flashlight because Dad yelled Lights out an hour ago but I couldn’t put my book down. All the times my parents sighed and asked me “Why won’t you go outside and play with your friends?”

But why should I? I had everything I needed right there, in my hands. The access to magic and adventure. I had countless friends and got to experience other worlds and discover new things, and learn.

Books and stories are pure magic and can change your life. It changed mine. And now, you and I, and everyone else participating in this blog hop, help to raise awareness for people with autism. Who knows whose life we change by doing this?

If you want to help even more, consider donating to Lindengate, the charity RJ Scott herself supports.

My most treasured toys from my childhood.

Flaxa med vingarna (the first book I read by myself)
Ronja rövardotter (English title: Ronia the Robber’s Daughter. I’m Swedish and grew up on a diet consisting of Abba and Astrid Lindgren – the author of Pippi Longstocking!)
Anne of Green Gables (Anne with an E doesn’t really need an introduction, does she? Which little girl didn’t want to be like her?)
The Great Ghost Rescue (Humphrey the Horrible – a baby ghost – who’s nice and pink and tries to rescue the ghosts, pretty much anything but horrible)
Juliane & Jag (English translation of title: Juliane and Me – a Swedish book about two friends whose interests are vampires and witches. Yes please!)
The Neverending Story (I read it a gazillion times!)

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Giveaway:

Tell me what your favorite book was when you were a kid. I’ll pick a winner on Saturday May 4th, and the winner gets to choose two ebooks of their choice from my backlist. Don’t forget to leave your email address in the comment, so I can get a hold of you if you win.

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Shameless self-promo:

Theo and Kieran have been together for five years. They’re very happy…behind closed doors. Theo accepted from the start that Kieran isn’t out to his conservative parents and has a lot to lose if they find out about his sexuality.

But a moment of sadness at a wedding changes things. Theo is faced with a decision: live the rest of his life in secret…or break it off.

Or is there a third alternative?

M/M Contemporary / 4633 words

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Winner, writing plans, and author takeover

First, some awesome news:

I won Camp NaNoWriMo!! Yay. I wrote 20000 words in 23 days, and let’s face it, if it hadn’t been for Easter, I would have finished sooner (because we had guests on Saturday and I was a little tired and uninspired on Easter Sunday…maybe because of too much champagne the day before?) But never mind that. I’m really happy that I made it and I’m proud of myself.

Look at this spread, all filled out, like I hoped when I started. 

I’ve also been thinking: having a monthly word goal has been really beneficial for me so I’m actually considering making this a regular thing. Setting 20K words as a monthly goal for myself is clearly doable, and I wouldn’t mind being more productive.

I studied my word counts for the last five months before April and it looks like this:

I can definitely do better than an average of less than 12K words every month, and it would almost have doubled my word count for these five months.

And maybe, to challenge myself, I can set a goal of 30K words next Camp NaNoWriMo.

I haven’t made up my mind 100% yet, but it’s likely.

Whaddaya think? Do you want more Nell-books? 😁

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Also, I just wanted to mention that I’ll be in Vicki’s Vixens on Sunday, taking over VL Locey’s group for half an hour at 10:30AM EDT to celebrate her new release. I have some fun stuff planned and a couple giveaways, so why not come join me and the other authors? 🙂

That’s all for today. Have a great weekend.

Monday Book Talk

Today, I’ve stolen a tag from the internet, Bookish This or That.

Audio book or text book?

Text book. I’m a really fast reader and the narration in audio books are waaaaay too slow for me. My concentration wanders and the story just becomes annoying droning in the background and I can’t keep up with the plot. Audio books aren’t for me. That being said, I’m very happy audio books exist. I have a friend in Sweden who hadn’t read a book since he graduated high school, but now he’s discovered audio books and has started reading. It’s great!

Paperback or hardback?

Paperback. I like the look of a well-read and -loved paperback book. Plus, they’re cheaper.

Fiction or Non-Fiction?

Both. I read mostly fiction, but I enjoy both.

Harry Potter or Twilight?

Harry Potter. I mean, I read and enjoyed Twilight back in the day (at least the two first books), but they haven’t stayed with me like the HP books has. I have Funko-pop Snape on my desk watching over me when I work and I spend hours and hours reading HP fanfiction. So definitely Harry Potter!

Bookshop or online?

I buy most of my books online because I read mostly ebooks. But nothing beats wandering around in a bookshop, touching the books, thumbing through them, and enjoying the new book smell.

Standalone or trilogy?

Standalone, please.

Sweet and short or heavy and long?

It’s clear whoever came up with these question doesn’t know me. Sweet and short, of course! 🙂

Cosy read or reading in the sun?

Yes. I read everywhere and all the time.

Hot chocolate or coffee?

Tea.

Severus Snape, keeping dunderheads on their toes since 1997

Nell’s Top Five

Nell’s Top Five

…Things I Would Rather Do Than Write A Blurb

It’s that time again. That time when I’m considering quitting this writing thing I’ve got going on because surely it’s not worth it. That time when I’ll almost say Screw this manuscript I worked so hard on for months, I’ll just go hide in my bed instead.

I’m talking about blurb writing, of course. The bane of my existence. Having to  summarize your entire manuscript in 150 words or less, and making it sound interesting so people will want to read it, is harder than writing the stupid story in the first place. Why, why, do we need blurbs? Can’t I just write This story is great, buy it! and be done with it. No?

All right then. I’ll do it. But here’s the top five things I’d rather do than write blurbs.

1. Hang out with Donald Trump 🍊
2. Smell durian fruit 🤢
3. Listen to rap at maximum volume 24/7 for an entire week 🙉
4. Poke out my eyes with my favorite fountain pen 😑
5. Lick sweaty, unwashed feet with yellow, claw-like toenails 🤮

Okay, so I made myself gag with that last one, so maybe this list is a slight exaggeration, but you get the general idea. I’ll stop whining now, and work on the blurb. But if you never hear from me again, it’s been nice knowing ya! 😂