Choco Chip Hips under Construction

Pre-press work is very exciting.

I got my beta-reader's feedback, edits from my grammar girl, and this cover study for the book. :-)

My Writing Corner

I used to have a pretty wooden desk with a swivel chair with all the writing implements within arm's reach--a round canister of freshly sharpened pencils, working pens, notepads and notebooks. Because I write for a living, this was my sanctuary, a place where thoughts flowed freely to the tips of my fingers as I typed on my laptop's keyboard.

Correction: I still have that pretty wooden desk with the swivel chair, but now it's filled with clutter--different colors of clay kneaded together by a toddler's hands so now, they look like one big gray clump, wet wipes, nearly finished tubes of kiddie toothpaste and a wooden spice rack with a glass window, which my son liked to use as an "oven" when he's pretending to bake his gray clay cakes.

Obvs, that ain't my writing corner anymore.

When my son is asleep, that's the only time I can really write. Because when he's awake, he won't leave me alone, grabbing the laptop away from me. So now, my writing corner has become this area.

It's that floor space between the bed (foreground) and the kiddie cabinet (pardon the pants peeping out of the bottom drawer). I usually prop up a pillow against the cabinet so my back won't hurt, then I'd sit on the floor and write. 

When my son would wake up from a daymare (I usually write when he's taking daytime naps 'cause I sleep early like him), I could easily get up and soothe him back to sleep--so I can have more writing time. It isn't a pretty space, but it works, and for now, that's all I need.

*This post is inspired by C.P. Santi's blog post on her writing corner. I couldn't find her post but it's there somewhere in her blog. Check it out!

Reality TV meets Romance

Synopsis: Charlotte Bertram is the star of Marry Me, Charlotte B! A reality show that follows her as she plans the biggest weddings of the year. Together with her assistant, Nellie Canlas and her son, Robert Bertram, see how she handles crazy client requests, bridezillas and more!

Based on the title, I thought the book's main character would be Charlotte, the middle-aged woman who ran the company that planned weddings. But it only took a while for me to get that the book title was also the title of the reality TV show, and that its real star was Charlotte's unassuming, frumpish assistant.

 I work in TV so I was pleasantly surprised that the story opened with terms I was familiar with--Zoom-Ins and Close-Ups and Cut-TOs. I felt like I was really watching a reality show, being introduced to characters in which at first, I wasn't emotionally invested. But scene after scene, I started to care. When was Nellie going to wise up? Did Robert really care--or is he just a really sweet guy?

But I think the clincher for me was how the story was written. The author's a wordsmith. I loved how she described places and scenery, and sweet moments matter-of-factly; no need to go overboard with the racing heartbeats and swoony glances. Everything unfolded in the right time, in the right way. In fact, the plot was so natural, it felt like real life--or a really good reality show.

Get it on Amazon or for free on Smashwords.