All Things Together is finished. Repeat: my novel is finished.
This is a big deal! There should be rejoicing in the streets, a cake ordered, a ball scheduled. What started out as a high school project in 2010 is now complete, being formatted for MOBI and EPUB, and awaiting a cover reveal (follow me on Twitter or Facebook for info on when this will happen!).
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“How do I look?” Michelle Flynn, throwing a feather boa around her neck, asked her daughter.
“Like a supermodel. One of those over-hyped, tantrum throwing supermodels.” Cady replied, rolling her eyes. She loved her mom, but Cady wanted to get going. The concert was going to start in an hour, and if they didn’t leave now, they wouldn’t get the great spot in the front.
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Those words began this journey, typed on the keys of one of my high school’s since-replaced Lenovo laptops on November 1, 2010. Today? It’s March 21, 2017 and those words don’t have a place in the finished manuscript. It just goes to show how much work and cuts and killing of your darlings you must do to get a story ready for publication.
What’s remained? The premise, which boiled down to a logline would be “Paige Carmichael and her estranged father must reconcile after her mother dies and he becomes her guardian.” But what can one line really say? You’d need paragraphs to introduce the story to readers—and good news, I have that too. So without further ado, I want to introduce you to my upcoming novel, All Things Together.
“Paige Flynn hasn’t given her alcoholic father much thought since her parents divorced ten years back. She doesn’t remember him as kind and loving, and despite the passing of time, she hasn’t attempted to change this perception one bit. Despite the fact that he has been sober for five years, and her mother’s plea to make peace with him, she has too many other good things going on in her life to really think about forgiveness. A handsome, rock star boyfriend. Senior year with her best friend since elementary school. and, of course, the mother she’s been through everything with.
James Carmichael just wants to earn his daughter’s love again. Terribly ashamed by his past, he’s made every effort to not only turn his life around, but to become the father that his daughter deserves. The only problem? She wants none of it. Forced to find the balance between giving her space and having her understand he’s a changed man, James has settled on a single yearly visit from Paige.
But then, following one of these visits and on what should be the best day of her summer vacation, Paige’s mother dies in an accident. Shaken to the core, Paige is forced to become a part of her James’ life once more. As she spends time with and gets to know him, she decides maybe he has indeed turned a new corner. Perhaps she might be able to forgive him after all. Just when the ice melts away, however, a new revelation makes Paige question James’ past and motives for the future. And if that wasn’t stressful enough, one-by-one, all the other good things start to fall apart too. The only constant is James, waiting to connect any chance he gets.
Which puts Paige at a crossroads: should she live in the past and stay at rock bottom, or should she embrace the unknown of the future and learn to live again?
All Things Together is the story of a daughter, her father, and the depths that one will go to let the other know they are not alone.”
So there you have it: one of my writing goals for 2017, nearing completion. What will I do with my free time now? I’ll celebrate a bit, focus on getting the book marketing and launched successfully, and then back to the grind. After all, I’m a writer, and I need to do my job.
P.S.: I apologize for not writing last week. I was in Las Vegas for a conference and didn’t have the time to put anything out. Back to the grind!