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This is a really great question. I really don’t have bad days. I have challenging days.
My most recent challenging day, was the day I needed to load my final draft of The Alex Chronicles: What My Friends Don’t Know to the digital outlets. Man, I have never experienced that many challenges.
When I prep a book for release, I like to get the digital format completed before the print version. This little trick helps me set deadlines and if I need to make changes I can do them here first. Considering what happened this time, I might change my routine and format the print version first.
After the initial format, I review it for any glitches or missed typos, then resubmit it to the formatter. This time, for some strange reason, every time I sent her the file, it got corrupted. I say corrupted, because something janky kept happening. What’s even worse is, I was up until 3:45 that morning working on the corrections. I went to bed thinking everything was fine. NOPE. Turns out, I corrected the wrong file and had to do it all over again.
On the do over is when a major crap storm hit. I was on the verge of a complete stress explosion. I had my mom and a friend praying for me. Then because it took so long to fix the file, I was causing more stress with my formatter. She and her husband had weekend plans and I was on the verge of throwing a glitch in their plans.
I emailed my RWA group for help and found out, once I submitted the file, I had a few days to make changes. Praise God! I was finally able to breathe. I told my formatter we could wait until Monday. She’s such a trooper. While I was stressing, she was reformatting the file. I uploaded the file in order to avoid missing my deadline.
After that drama, I stepped away from the file for a few days. When I did review it, everything was fine.
So that challenging day became a memorable learning experience. I learned some tools and things I need to do to prevent a repeat of this situation. And I learned to relax, because it’s not as bad as I may think. Writing romance is supposed to be fun. When I lose sight of that, it’s time to step back, regroup and start over.
Alexandra “Alex” Miller and her best friends are more like sisters. They live by the code that a good girlfriend will stick by you and be honest with you not matter what.
They’ve been friends over twenty years and have seen each other through marriage, divorce, broken engagement, death and other minor crisis. But it’s the secrets they’ve failed to trust each other with. Each of them is holding on to a secret they believe could destroy not only their reputation, but their friendship as well.
Alex and her best friends, Chloe, Taylor, Kendell and Dionne all long for one thing, a happy ending. As they’ve gotten older, they’ve discovered, not everyone gets the fairytale happy ending they want, but the reality life has orchestrated for them.
Enjoy an excerpt:
He stopped in front of us and my mind immediately filled with thoughts no good Christian girl should know anything about. I wonder what he looks like wet and naked. I looked around hoping I hadn’t said that out loud.
“Hello, Taylor.” He smiled.
Oh God, did You recycle Barry White’s voice box and put it inside this beautiful package? My hormones and body went into a tailspin and I was ruined for any other man on this planet.
“Hi Moses. I’m glad you came.”
He kissed the back of her hand and replied, “Thank you for inviting me. Good evening, I’m Moses Adair.” He took my hand, turned it over and gently kissed it. I think my uterus just flipped over.
Moses, lead me to the Promise land. “Alexandra Miller.”
“Are you the Alex?” He asked.
If I wasn’t, I was now. “Which Alex would that be?” I replied with a smile.
“The Alex I’ve been hearing people talk about all evening.”
“Depends on what you’ve heard.” I’m trying to flirt and that’s not something I’m good at. I wanted to tell him, “I’m whoever I need to be in order to keep talking to you.”
“Excuse me,” Taylor said and left us standing in the middle of the room.
“I heard a woman say she hoped the pink dress Alex was wearing would be available at the store, because she liked the way it...” He slowly looked me up and down. When his eyes met mine, he was smiling. I instantly recognized that smile. It’s the same one I had when I first spotted him. “...framed her face.”
I gave him the same smile he gave me. “Then, I guess I am that Alex.”
About the Author:I am a single Christian woman who loves God, Fashion and Cute Guys. Not all women who write Christian fiction will admit to that.
The subjects I write about are considered taboo in Christian fiction. If you want to read about Christians dealing with unrequited love, apprehension to give love another chance, arranged marriages, physical attraction, divorce, annulment, controlling their urges, infidelity, abortion, dating younger men, being a single mother, slipping up and sleeping with your estranged ex, standing up for yourself, being honest about not liking your in-laws, still being attracted to your ex, battling postpartum depression, having challenges in your walk with Christ or if you aren't too proud to admit you sometimes get angry and yell at God, then you're in the right place.
The people that read my books have a thing for designer clothes and accessories and aren't ashamed to admit it. To them a cute Christian guy on their arm is the finish to the perfect outfit. Sort of like lipstick, you don't have to have it, but it sure makes you feel prettier when you do.
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Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting me and my book The Alex Chronicles: What My Friends Don't Know. I look forward to spending the day with you.
ReplyDeleteTracy
Whew! That does sound like a stressful day. I know how you feel. I thought I made a mistake in some work and stayed up late "fixing it". I hadn't been looking at the final draft. The final draft was just as it should have been!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing!