Celebrate the Small Things 23-6-17

This post is part of Lexa Cain's bloghop, Celebrate the Small Things. Head on over there to join up!

So what am I celebrating this week?

I got some work done!

Yes, I sat down and wrote some of the ghostwriting project.  Not enough, or even as much as I had hoped to get done, but some, at least.

But that's because I got edit notes from my publisher and I had to address those instead of working on my ghostwriting.  An Unstill Life will be coming out on 14 July.  I know!  That's so soon!

I'm away all of next week for work, at a conference, and working with my ghostwriting partner, so I am going to have to be pretty darned organized if I want to get any kind of marketing happening prior to release.  If anyone would like to do a launch day post, interview or anything else on or around the 14th, it would be amazing!  Just email me (katelarkindale (at) gmail (dot) com) and let me know what you would like to do, and I'll make sure you have everything you need.

What are you celebrating this week?

Books I've Read: Alex, Approximately

I picked this one up because the blurb told me the main character is a fan of classic movies and as a longtime movie lover myself, I thought it would be a fun read.

I was right.

There is nothing very deep or profound about this book, but I enjoyed it anyway.  Bailey is an engaging main character, even if some of her actions and motivations are a little screwy.  But who isn't at least a little bit screwy?

I loved the wacky museum Bailey and Porter worked in.  It's the kind of place I'd love to work in too, full of eccentric memorabilia and nonsensical tableaus.

But basically, this is a pretty straightforward romance novel, and one I read as quickly and eagerly as any romance novel.  I enjoyed getting to know Bailey and Porter and their very different, but equally eccentric families.

This isn't a book that will change your life, but for a fun Sunday afternoon read, it works!

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the blurb.


Classic movie fan Bailey “Mink” Rydell has spent months crushing on a witty film geek she only knows online as Alex. Two coasts separate the teens until Bailey moves in with her dad, who lives in the same California surfing town as her online crush.

Faced with doubts (what if he’s a creep in real life—or worse?), Bailey doesn’t tell Alex she’s moved to his hometown. Or that she’s landed a job at the local tourist-trap museum. Or that she’s being heckled daily by the irritatingly hot museum security guard, Porter Roth—a.k.a. her new archnemesis. But life is whole lot messier than the movies, especially when Bailey discovers that tricky fine line between hate, love, and whatever it is she’s starting to feel for Porter.

And as the summer months go by, Bailey must choose whether to cling to a dreamy online fantasy in Alex or take a risk on an imperfect reality with Porter. The choice is both simpler and more complicated than she realizes, because Porter Roth is hiding a secret of his own: Porter is Alex…Approximately.

Weekly Goals 19-6-17

Once again my goal is to get my butt in chair and do some work.  I had a phone call with the subject of the ghostwriting project last week, so I now have some material to work with for a couple more chapters.  So the goal is to write these two chapters this week, because next week I'm going to Auckland for work (so won't get any writing done) and to spend a weekend with the subject to work through those chapters and do more interviews.

Unfortunately I feel like I'm getting a cold, but I'm hoping I can fight that off and still get this work done.  I have far too much to do in my day job this week to be sick, not to mention my own work.

What are your goals this week?

Celebrate the Cover Reveal 16-6-17

This post is part of Lexa Cain's bloghop, Celebrate the Small Things. Head on over there to join up!

So what am I celebrating this week?

Cover reveal!

My publisher sent me the cover artwork for the new edition of An Unstill Life.  

Isn't it pretty?  I don't have an actual release date yet, but I expect it will be in July, so watch this space for details…

And what is An Unstill Life about?  Why thanks for asking!

Things at home are rough for fifteen-year-old Livvie Quinn. Jules, her beloved older sister is sick again after being cancer free for almost ten years. Her mom becomes more frantic and unapproachable every day. School isn’t much better. Just when she needs them most, her closest friends get boyfriends and have little time for Livvie – except to set her up on a series of disastrous blind dates.

Livvie seeks refuge in the art room and finds Bianca, the school ‘freak’. Free-spirited and confident, Bianca is everything Livvie isn’t. Shaken by her mom’s desperation, her sister’s deteriorating condition, and abandoned by her friends, Livvie finds comfort and an attraction she never felt before with Bianca.

When their relationship is discovered, Livvie and Bianca become victims of persecution and bullying. School authorities won’t help and even forbid the pair to attend the Winter Formal as a couple. If Livvie defies them and goes, she risks expulsion and further ridicule from her classmates. At home, her mother’s behavior escalates to new levels of crazy and Jules is begging for help to end the pain once and for all.

While searching for the strength to make her life her own, Livvie must decide how far she’s willing to go for the people she loves.

What are you celebrating this week?