This is the post excerpt.
You have arrived at the official page of of Author Brooke Myers.
Brooke Myers is an author of a mystery novel called The Devil’s Retreat. Her novel, originally is set for release in the coming weeks by Southern Owl Publications. The Devil’s Retreat is a mystery novel with a monster twist. Set in a Montana mining town, it centers around the collapse of the coal industry. The Devil’s Retreat is book one in the Digging Up the Past Series.
It’s hard to believe March is almost over with. There again we’ve been waiting on spring for what feels like years. Maybe winter just likes our presence too much. Who knows. I’m ready for some mild temps at least.
While the weather has been eh, this weekend consisted of fixing edits sent back from editor. It’s always a joy to read back through edited work and see how the story has shaped compared to what it started as. I had not intended for this story to be as short as it is, but I think that shows how the story wrote itself. When you’re writing it, the story goes the direction it wants. That’s the beauty of it.
After I finish up edits tonight, my editor will get them back tomorrow. Then one more round and it’s ready for reader eyes. I can’t wait to get some feedback on this story. I don’t believe I previously released the title. This novel is called “Blood in the Hills”. It’s about a young woman who finds an old journal on her family property. By reading the journal and looking for her missing father she uncovers something horrifying. Her hometown has been hiding a myth for years. When bodies start to pile up, the young woman must choose between saving herself or saving her hometown.
This story is inspired by some of the things I grew up hearing in Southern Indiana. It was fun to be able to take some of the things I have learned over the years and throw them all into one book. That’s kind of why I’m ready to hear some reader comments.
Meanwhile novel #3 is moving right along. I am hoping to have that finished by July. I fully intend to meet that deadline. This book is the sequel to The Devil’s Retreat, it picks up a few days after the ending. It stars a new character Indy Fields. So we will see come July how it has came along.
Busy week to come, but that’s all part of the fun right?
Today I got edits back for novel #2 meaning one more round and boom it’s out for the world to see. Hard to believe novel #1 made its professional entrance in November. This means I am on the cusp of completing a new year’s resolution and life goal.
Meanwhile within this month two beautiful opportunities have presented themselves to me. To which I have jumped on them.
In the meantime I have started novel #3 which is set to be released late this fall. So it’s safe to say busy is not a word I acknowledge currently. Though I wouldn’t partake in all this if I didn’t want to.
That’s the beauty of opportunities. They pop up right at the time you need them.
With such a bustling schedule I have been on hiatus. I haven’t really been on social media either. That’s not exactly a bad thing though!
Now it is time to come back for the umpteenth time and start sharing my musings. My ways of finding motivation in the midst of crazy everything.
I look forward to connecting with everyone. Have a positive week all.
Survival of midterms, check.
Survival of novel #2, check.
Finishing a novel and having midterms in the same week. Legendary no. Crazy stupid, probably.
That means one goal is off my check list. Hallelujah!
It’s been a week of blunt beginnings.
The life of a writer, a good life it is.
Car stuck in a field, check.
Crippling deadlines, check.
No sanity left, ahem check.
It’s Monday! I’m the crazy person that likes Monday.
What’s on the agenda is novel editing. Yes another novel is coming!
Aha I am preparing to send to my publisher which is exciting news. I have one more book scheduled for release this year. Maybe I might be able to squeeze in another project.
Early days yet but some big changes have already been made this year. Updates to come!
There has begun a media upheaval. It is not entirely unusual for this time of year. I’ve seen post after post about people claiming they’re leaving social media. Internally I roll my eyes and give them a time frame of how long they will last. Cruel sure, inaccurate no.
It’s usually a few days, at most a month. It’s all great. Yes absolutely, but I have drawn the lines myself.
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, you name it I got it. For a while I found myself Facebook obsessed. Then I backed off, then I had the great idea of getting into groups. Aha writer groups. Lord help me, and save my sanity. Big mistake, thousands of members and drama at every turn. No, no this writer does not do drama. Big X take that drama and keep it away from my self protected bubble.
Needless to say, I found myself becoming irritated enough that instead of being smart and leaving the groups I would just stop using Facebook. Strange. After arriving back on Facebook and finding out that the algorithms had been axed a bunch. I have left and not looked back. Of course I still use my author page via an app that does not have my feed connected to it. WHEW! My author page is important it is a way to connect with readers and it is easier to be myself there than on my personal page.
What started as a small change has become a big change, cutting down wasted time scrolling and converting that into precious writing time. It cuts down negative feelings and promotes a more positive mood.
If you are feeling the need to cut social media, by all means I recommend doing it. Be realistic, but be relentless. You mother’s sister’s cousin can wait for you to reply to her comment.
Let’s make it a great Monday!
Time is a demon. Maybe that is an illusion. An illusion we overlook because we spend our lives filled with emptiness. Waiting. Waiting, for the end we all know is coming.
All of time we partake in trying to fill this void. Stuffing it full of material things that we pay for with a piece of material we invented. So is it actually even real? Money? Mansions? That same designer purse every woman thinks she should carry? Yeah, you know the one.
Is it likely that everything we see around us is some figment of our imagination? Have we created it to make our lives better, or to pack the space that our minds see?
Early man had so little, but was able to do so much? Views are changing drastically. A changing society has adapted to be that way. Trends come in, trends go out. Seems like on a week to week basis.
We are unlike our ancestors, is it that we view things differently?
Men of the past had to survive. They did not have the things to fill their space, they filled it with actions. Our modern race is simply surviving. Packed by the things, what the imagination has created. Is it really living?
Have you written a story that breathes?
Have you ever written a story that bleeds?
Have you ever written a story that comes out with ease?
Have you ever had to cut a story from your soul?
Have you ever had to throw it out on the streets?
Have you ever had to watch it suffer?
Have you had to watch it mourn?
Have you ever had to help it get back to purpose it was written for?
Is that why you write?
For experiences?
