Last week I sent off my packet of work to my VCFA advisor. I felt great about my essays and my reading but my creative work, an excerpt from a novel in progress, felt like total word puke. My advisor was kind, basically saying that the work had potential but asking me to dig deeper into my character. What were his deepest dreams and desires? Where was the heart of this story?

Her comments made me think of another work in progress, the 1891 farmhouse my husband and I are restoring. Check out the photos below.

You see a dreamy writing space, right? No? You see piles of trash? Stuff that doesn't belong, like extra doors and appliance boxes? You see a hole in the sagging ceiling and an unfinished floor?

Just like my work in progress, my writing space in progress needs major work. But when I look at these photos, I see my vision for this place. I see what first drew me to it: the incredible lighting and its potential to be an open, airy space for letting my creativity loose.

This is what I needed to do with my current writing project. I needed to think about why I wanted to write this story in the first place. Behind all my mess, what was it that drew me to my character? I also needed to dig deep into my character's hopes and dreams. What is his vision for himself?

And now it's time to start taking bets on which will be finished first, the writing space or the novel. :-)

It's been a busy couple of weeks, with copy edits due for The Boy Next Door, a make over for this web site in progress, schoolwork, and, oh yeah, an author photo session. Fun stuff, mostly. The revised novel is amazing and it's been awesome working with Holly and the rest of the Swoon editorial staff. I like home makeovers, wardrobe makeovers, manuscript makeovers, and just about any other type of makeover, including online upgrades. And VCFA is like Hogwarts, right, so the schoolwork is cool, too. But photo shoots? Oh...shoot.

I confess to having camera issues. During my undergrad years, I headed the yearbook photography staff for spending cash and sometimes shot for the campus newspaper, too, so I'm used to being on the other side of the lens. When I'm the subject, my attention span is spastic at best. I need to shut up, smile, and not get distracted by cute squirrels. The photos below won't be making the book, but I'll admit they're actually my favorites.

I got to read an ARC of Jennifer Comeaux's latest new adult skating romance and originally intended to post my review here but decided that instead of asking everyone to take my word on it, I'd share what some other readers are saying about Crossing the Ice...

From Amazon:
"Josh was the ultimate book boyfriend." --madeline
" I must say that Jennifer Comeaux has really turned me into an avid skating fan just by reading her books."  --JessieBear
"From a Non-Romance reader this rocked. I really couldn't put it down and ended up reading it in one day." --Niiki J "NJ"

From Goodreads:
"Crossing the Ice was a charming novel, with a lot of satisfying romance, likable characters, and even an edge-of-your-seat suspenseful scene that broke my heart and made me tear up." --Marni
"So freaking cute, I love Courtney & Josh." --Aydrea

And since I can't resist throwing in my own two cents, I'll add that Comeaux is a master of tension and does a fab job of writing skating scenes realistically. The print book isn't officially out for a couple of days, but the Kindle is live now (and on a special promo sale for 99 cents!) so go ahead and get your skating/romance/just-plain-awesome fix!