Coffee Bean Bugaloo

My husband and I are coffee snobs. We only like the finest whole beans (usually either Starbucks or my fav, Peets) and we grind them ourselves. 
On the weekends, we switch from the regular coffee brew we use during the week (quick and easy for those blurry-eyed mornings) to our French press. I keep two different containers in the freezer- one finely ground for the coffeemaker, and one a little coarser ground for the French press.
  I love French press coffee. It's like every bit of coffee deliciousness gets pulled out of every little bean- the coffee is so strong, and husky. And the way I make it- it is not for the faint of heart. You must be a true coffee lover in order to withstand my brew.
  My cat, however, is not a fan of our coffee brewing systems. Saturday mornings are our cuddle time and he's all curled up on my lap and snoring away by the time the coffee has finished steeping. Then I unceremoniously dump him aside in my eagerness for the hot drink waiting for me.
  Are you also a coffee snob?  What is your coffee ritual and routine?

KR

Quarter Pounder with Cheese

Good morning!
Miraculously, I dragged my ass out of bed an hour early, and got Chapter 9 started in Broken Bloodlines, Book 2.
 Yup, that's right. Changed manuscripts again. I'll be honest- I'm a little intimidated by Underbelly at the moment. I have a shit ton of description to do, and well, you know how that sends me running. I really must get over that- I see it in my head, I just have trouble slowing down the images to get them on paper. I need to make Kore as cool and unique as possible- and I haven't found that yet. If I take a break, (like I'm doing) it will come to me.
Okay, time to make sandwiches.
Thanks for stopping,

KR

Why Ghouls and Goblins?

My husband asked me the other day, why I love paranormal/fantasy creatures and stories so much.

Cuz they're cool, DUH.

 I love the paranormal/fantasy world because there are so many possibilities! There are so many different skills and types of creatures and bad-ass-ness that you can create within it! I love the freedom of it- you're not held back by gravity, or mortality, if you don't want to be.
And Power-- there's so much power within the paranormal/fantasy realm.

My love for that type of world is why I mostly play fantasy or RPG videogames. I've never been a huge COD or BO player because that's life as we know it. War, human violence, etc. Eck. No thanks.

What's your favorite genre and why?
@KellyRwrites
Insta: kellyrwrites
Happy Saturday!
KR

The Words We Wield

Dear Readers,
  You can tell how deep into a novel I am, by how often I blog. See, right now I should be working on Chapter 20 but Chapter 20 involves a LOT of backstory, and description. The backstory isn't so hard, but description.....WHY am I so bad at description? I see it in my head, and just have trouble translating it onto paper. Why is that? It's infuriating, I get so impatient and just write trash. (And not like trash-on-its-way-to-becoming-good-writing, I mean trash.)
  Okay, Okay, I'm going to try to get words down.
Thanks for stopping by,

KR

Crunch Time

August 19th.
Expected release date of Underbelly Series Book 1: Demons Dead  December 26th, 2016.
CRUNCH TIME!
I get in about 1K words a day. Today I went off topic & worked a bit on short stories, I admit. We all know, however, that switching up the work can be a good thing. And I'm being a good little writer, -on a Friday night, sitting up here in my writing cave, with my laptop going and my notebook with my longhand scrawls in it beside me.
I'm just procrastinating a tiny bit by writing this blog post. But see, this post is important, because I need to update my readers on my progress.
 I can reason my way out of anything.

Happy Friday evening!

KR

Middle Slog

Working with moderate motivation today. However, I have hit the dreaded middle of the book, where I still have the plot road mapped, but it feels like the characters are moving through thick mud. When I manage to crank out a measly 500 words, it feels like a marathon.
  What do I do when I need a serious dose of motivation? I go Author Blog hunting. My twitter (@kellyrwrites) is a great tool for finding them! \
 I miss sitting in Barnes & Nobles, where I used to spend my Friday nights, once upon a time. I get so annoyed when I can't find a table next to a wall outlet though. 
  Ah, that brought back some memories. Another life, really not THAT long ago, but long enough to feel like a lifetime ago.
 I can't even imagine what it's like to be like, eighty years old. How many lifetimes it must feel like you lived through. How many memories you've built up, how much tragedy witnessed, how much joy experienced.
 I guess it's a night of waxing memorabilia, eh?

K
 

Embrace Technology

Happy Saturday!
Today, I wanted to touch on embracing the different tech platforms that are available to writers.
If you're anything like me, you get your writing station all set up, and the writing goes well for a few days, and then one day, you are just not feeling it. This happens to me, and what I try is to switch up how and where I get my writing done.
 Most early weekday mornings, I'm at the dining room table, on my laptop. I have my coffee mug filled and more often than not, a slumbering kitty on my lap. I tune up my Pandora, put on my headphones and (most) mornings can crank out at least 500 words before I have to start getting ready for work. (And while 500 a day is not a lot, by the end of the weekday, that's 2500 words. Remember to put things in perspective!)
  But then the weekend swings around, and I sleep in a bit later. I'm more in the mood to chill on the couch (again, with the standard feline trapping me) and my phone becomes my writing tablet. I use the Blogger app to update this site, and Google Drive app to get some more words down for The Underbelly Series.
  The message I'm trying to get across for those that get bored by their writing setup (and consequently, feel guilty by lack of writing progress)- don't be afraid to embrace different types of technology to get the writing done. Also, don't be afraid to move your writing studio around as well. It is often a godsend to switch up your scene- it can spark new ideas and get the ball rolling once again.   Be fluid, and you'll be rewarded with more frequent bursts of inspiration.

KR

Too Much Noise

Hello there, Friday night.
There's something magical about Friday night, between daylight and sunset. That half-light time, especially on warm nights, is so childhood summer to me.

I got B.B.1 manuscript back from my editor and am continuing edits alongside her notations. It's amazing what one line of suggestion can do to my motivation and imagination, har har.

We're supposed to have crappy weather this weekend, which I am actually welcoming-if it's not warm and sunny outside, I won't feel so much pressure to be outside, in the garden. I can curl up on the couch with this laptop and get the full edit done so you guys can once again enjoy the Morgin story.

Have a great one,

KR

Writing Update

    Beautiful Sunday! Beautiful steaming cup of coffee on my left, and all my materials for working on Book 2 of the Broken Bloodlines series on my right. Those include my laptop (which I'm using to write this before I really dive in for the day), my Kishi Kishi binder(left hand picture)

full of sections of colored paper devoted to certain subjects, like character details, location details, etc. and a wonderfully designed composition book (right hand picture) (thank you VG!) that I use for chapter starts, writing out plot/character issues, and general writer's block breakthrough. I often find that if I start a chapter by hand it will start to plan itself out enough so that I can switch to the laptop. 

    I had quite a non-writing lull after I published Book 1. I don't know if it was just due to the career transition I was doing around the same time, or if I'll always need a break like that before starting the next. I hope to jump back into the fray sooner. I published Book 1 on Thanksgiving, and I didn't really dive back into Book 2 until about 2 weeks ago. 
  I'm giving myself a full 10 months to write this one, and a month for editing so I'm tentatively planning on getting this one out for Christmas. 
  Book 1: The Awakening has been well-received, and I already have people asking about the second one. If you haven't downloaded your copy yet, you can find it on Amazon here.
   Thank you all, 

  K

The Journey to publishing The Awakening

My obsession with vampires came after I watched the first Underworld. Oh my God, I fell in love with the sleek pleather wrapped around Beckinsale’s body, and the Gothic blue/black background of the set. To me, that’s how organic vampirism is, with giant castles and dark stormy nights of bloodsucking.

    I first started putting down scenes and ideas for Broken Bloodlines back in.....2006? And when I tell you that this book has evolved over the years, it is so different from what it was originally. 

  Originally, the majority of the action took place in a stripclub (how surprising, I know) and our main lady friend Calissa, started off as Lakyra. I still love that name, too. There was a little more sex in the original version, but I made the sex better in the published version, haha. 

  Back when I started working on it, I was a night owl, still doing night shifts at the club.  I would sleep in till about 1 p.m., get up and make coffee, then write until about 4 when I would start to get ready for work. 

 If work was slow, I would take my notebook and post up at the tables against the wall, and write away until some money came through the door. 

  Here it is, the end of 2014, and the damn thing is finally out there. Much modified, but strengthened. 

  Enjoy! And when you finish it, can you leave me a review? Either here or email me at: kellyraine1818@gmail.com 

  Thank you all :) 

KelBel

Did you order your copy yet?

Have you ordered your copy of The Awakening, book 1 of my Broken Bloodlines series? It's only .99 and it's officially released on Thanksgiving, which is less than 3 days away!Order it HERE :D

 I LOVE Thanksgiving. It's all my favorite foods, and so comforting. Mmmmm turkey and gravy and football. Fuck yeah.
 So here's the deal: get your pre-order in, and on Thanksgiving, you can stuff your face with deliciousness, then settle on the couch with your technology (cuz you will probably need a break from the relations) and dive into an exciting story.

The Awakening introduces a new kind of paranormal being, and is the story of a battle between twin sisters. The sisters have extraordinary powers, and will face off against one another to gain control of a sleepy little town named Nashel. Nashel has something that both girls desperately want, but they have much different intentions. 

Order your copy today! If you don't have a Kindle, you can download the app on your smartphone.

Much Love, 
 KelBel

Happy Saturday! (Or Caturday as my Google Feed seemed to be all about!)

Ah, the weekend. Let me tell you, as someone recently freed from the world of retail, having every weekend off is AWESOME!!
  My first week at the new job went well, I love it there! The people are cool, they have a great culture and starting on Monday, things are going to get busy! Bring it on ;) 
 Today is my nephew's birthday party, and there are a bunch of other errands that need to be accomplished as well. We got up at like 6:30 today lol #morningfreaks 
  My cat got all confused with the time change, and now my work schedule has him getting loud and annoying even earlier in the morning. Like, 4:30 a.m. he starts his shit. He needs to get with the program. 
  I'm really blogging right now because I just gave myself a #weekendmani and I'm waiting the final minutes for it to dry before I get ready to run errands. 
  Looks like the pre-orders for my vampire novel are rolling in, and it's so exciting! Have you ordered your copy of The Awakening yet? (Psst! It's only .99!) If you don't own a Kindle, but you have a smart phone, you can download the Kindle app and be on your paranormal adventure way!
  All of you are awesome! 
 K
 

This is me Trying. At least soon.

I am a little frustrated at myself tonight. I am frustrated that I wasted so many years when I was only working twenty hours a week, and I never finished this stupid manuscript. Ok, I'm sorry manuscript- you're not stupid. Your writer is stupid.
 Now I work full-time, in a physically demanding position, and all I want to do when I get home is go to bed. Well, drink a little vodka and pass out. I feel totally unable to come up with the needed creativity for the book. So I hop onto my favorite writers' blogs, and try to drum up some motivation. Sometimes it works, it often doesn't. And look- here I am, writing a blog instead of working on the book. Unfortunately, spilling out my thoughts is always easier than coming up with new stuff.
 Fuck a duck. Ok, get it together just for a little while longer. Self, you have a great laptop to write on, now use it. You're 75% really done, finish this damn thing.  And I plan on making this a trilogy?? HA!
Take a shower?
NO. Write.
My nails really need to be painted....
NO. Write.
*Sigh* 

K.

One at a Time

For those of you that know me, you know that in the past I usually had several projects going on at the same time. I was always overloading myself, and as a result, I never could finish anything.
 I understand that I overloaded myself with projects to try to compensate for not having a career going. Now that I have a career started and I'm doing well, I'm not as haunted by the desperation to produce. However, I still have projects and ambitions bouncing around in my brain, and I probably always will.
  Last night my creating bug was pestering me to work on my clothing line again. I got on eBay, and looked up dress mannequins. I still have a lot of fabric and my two sewing machines......
 STOP. You need to finish your book first, my voice of Reason spoke up and put the brakes to the thought process. Once you finish your book, polish it up and send it off to your first publisher, you can dive right back into your sewing dreams. Book first, Reason told me.
 So that's where I'm at. In the book, I'm on the final battle scene. I had to totally rework it, and shape it up to be the first in a trilogy. If I can pull this off, it will be a miracle. But this manuscript deserves a second chance and it's my baby.
 I have my first writing group meeting tonight. I am long overdue to make writing connections, and I also need adult friends, LOL. I first attempted to join them a couple of months ago, but I decided I was more into hibernating for the rest of winter. Well, we are all over the damn snow, so I am emerging once again into the world.
 Alright, off to the literary trenches.
 K

Keep Her or Kill Her?

Playlist: Korn, "Never Never"

I'm having one of those moments when I really wish I had my own personal stage and pole, with a banging ass sound system and soundproofing. I would blast the fuck out of this song and get a great workout. Would I do it naked? I'm not sure, I mean you can't stick to the pole with clothes on, so....I would choreograph the shit out of the songs too, it would be awesome. Someday.
I've been having an internal debate about the future of Kelly Raine. I sort of want to drop her ass, and just bury all my naked misdemeanors. She doesn't fit me anymore, and I don't want to be haunted by her stupid demons anymore. However, I am still participating in NaNoWriMo, and this novel would be published under that ...er, alias.
 For a little background on her, I first penned that personality back in about 2003 (eek!) when I started writing erotic poetry. My erotic poetry was pretty damn spicy, too, and the collection was published in 2005. Each poem was written while I was ovulating and the rush of hormones translated into words well. There were a few poems written every month, har har. 
 I guess this blog is safe as long as November is here. I'll check back in soon. 
K