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It’s all in how you look at it

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As you all know I am in the process of getting the Soul Series re-edited and re-released. The books in that series are all in different stages of that process. As those get the attention that they need I can also start looking at the spin off trilogy again. I have told you that the first two books are already done and just have to go through the editing process. What I haven’t spelled out for you is that I left the third one not started on purpose. I wanted to wait until I could give it the focus that it needs. It will not only be closing the door on the trilogy but also on the series. This will be the final goodbye to the characters that we have all come to love.

I have a contemporary romance that I have eluded to in the past that is still rambling around in my head. I also left this one on hold on purpose. This book will be the last romance story I write. I plan on moving onto paranormal suspense from there. While I enjoy a good romance story I don’t want my books to fall into the trap of being the same book over and over again with only minor changes. I plan to move on before that can be a possibility.

While I am working on all of this, it affords me the time I need for research. There are so many aspects I want to include in my paranormal suspense series and I need to do a lot of research to make sure that I get it all right.

I have a growing stack of books and I have started sitting with actual books armed with a highlighter and page tabs. My family is watching this new development with confusion. I am usually not one to mark in a book and I throw a fit if they even turn the corner of a page down. To see me highlighting and tabbing pages is something they are not used to.

Of course some of the books I bought only for research so I am fine with highlighting passages in them. The ones that I bought for both research and enjoyment only get the page tabs. I use the post-it page tabs so they will not damage the book in any way and I can write on them to know what is in that section of the book.

Although it is hard for my family to understand,  I have to read these books before I can finally start on the series that I am really excited about. I will be diving into a paranormal suspense series within the next few months. I have a lot that I want to get done but I think I will have the time I need to accomplish it all.

It would be great to not have to work at the day job and focus on my writing and all that goes into it I am not to that point……yet. I plan to be there but it takes time. While I am working my way to that I have to factor in the time for the day job and schedule things out further to assure I have the time to get it all done. For that reason I am not giving an estimated time for any of my other works. I plan to have the series re-released before the July event of Writers on the River but other than that I don’t have a timeline. I ask for your patience as I get back into the groove of it all.

For now I am happy to be progressing and hope you will all be as excited about the new projects I am working on as I am!

~Miranda

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Redemption and Regrets by L.A. Cotton

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RedemptionAndRegrets

 

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Four years ago, I had everything. All it took was the snap of his fingers and he ripped it out from under me.

Betrayed, by my own father.

His enemies want me dead and old allies want me back in their ranks to help take what’s owed. And while I’m trying to figure out what I want, there’s her. The one I watch from the shadows, afraid to bare myself to her—the real me.

Hard. Cold. Deadly.

She should fear me—Braiden Donohue—but I’m not the only one keeping secrets, and I must discover what she’s hiding.

Before it’s too late.

Redemption will be afforded, regrets will be atoned.

Welcome back to Chastity Falls.

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My review:

I have loved this series from the first book. I am sad to say goodbye after this final book. The author did an amazing job of continuing the story.

I thought I would have a hard time getting into this book as I never liked Braiden. I was wrong. This book did the same as the others and grabbed me from the very beginning and holding on tight until the end!

I was finally able to connect to Braiden and was along for the ride as he discovered who he was and found something to hold onto to bring him out of his isolation. As he slowly finds himself I found myself hoping he would come out on the other side a better person.

I have loved this series and hope that you all enjoy it as much as I did!

5 stars

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Loyalty and Lies #1
Salvation and Secrets #2
Tribulations and Truths #3
Chastity Falls Box Set #1-3

*EXCERPT*

I turned to look at her and our eyes connected, locking on each other’s. Her cheeks flushed with color and I liked the way it looked against her pale skin. Cara dropped her eyes for a second before they flickered up to my mouth.

“I was pissed when you tried to save me earlier. I don’t need saving, Braiden.” Her eyes didn’t move from my mouth as she spoke, and my heart slammed against my chest over and over.

Cara might not have needed saving … but I did.

I inched closer to her until our noses almost touched. “I’m not the good guy, Cara,” I warned her.

She should stay away from me. I was no good for her. People got hurt around me. I hurt people.

Cara closed the gap, pressing her lips to mine. For those first few seconds, I froze, unable to move. But like a small spark igniting a fire, I became lost in the feel of her mouth moving over mine, and somewhere deep inside me, a switch flipped. Hooking an arm around the curve of her waist, I pulled Cara flush to me, causing her to yelp into my mouth. Our tongues clashed, fighting for control. I could feel her anger and frustration with every lick and touch. She was taking her shit out on me, and I was more than happy to oblige. She tasted too fucking good to stop, like coffee and strawberry bubble gum. I dug my fingers into her waist, needing her to be closer as our lips explored and nipped and dueled for dominance.

“God, I knew we were the same. I knew you understood me,” Cara murmured into my mouth. But I heard her. I heard every damn word, and they hit me like a bucket of ice water.

“Stop, we have to stop.” I released my hold on her and pulled away, putting some space between us. The flush in her cheeks had spread down her neck and I wanted to taste her right where her jawline met the underside of her ear, but I couldn’t.

I wouldn’t.

This had gone far enough. Cara thought we were the same.

We were nothing alike.

She was just a girl seeking independence, wanting to break away from her father’s rule and live her own life.

And I was the guy fathers warned their daughters about.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
L.A is author of contemporary romance novels ranging from sweet with just a hint of steam, to suspenseful reads full of angst, tension, twists and turns. Home is a small town in the middle of England where she currently juggles being a full-time mum to two little people with writing. In her spare time (and when she’s not camped out in front of the laptop) you’ll most likely find L. A immersed in a book, escaping the chaos that is life.

Remember what?

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As you have probably been able to tell, I have gotten a little scatterbrained lately. I am adjusting to the new medicine for my fibro while also getting everything at work done so things will run smooth while I am gone and packing. I think I need to simplify or focus on one thing at a time.

I have everything rounded up and packed with the exception of my bathroom bag because I will need that stuff. My hubby will miss me while I am gone but I am sure he is ready for me to leave already so he doesn’t have to keep hearing me say, I feel like I am forgetting a lot of stuff. He keeps reassuring me that I have it and we will do one final check as we load up the car tomorrow.

I gave up on trying to do edits last week when I kept reading the same sentence and did not know what needed to be fixed but just wasn’t understanding what I was reading. You can’t critically read while your mind is so distracted.

I managed to get everything at work done. I feel comfortable with leaving things the way they are right now. I’m pretty sure I will not get very many texts while I am gone.

I will always have the feeling of forgetting things no matter what I do, but I am pretty certain that the hubby has made sure that  have everything I need. He double checks me to make sure that I actually did what I said I was going to instead of mentioning I need to and then not actually do it.

I am so excited for this trip! I can’t wait to be on my way tomorrow. Things will be quite on here until I get back but I will be back with many things to tell you about.

~Miranda

Revised and making the rounds

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I know that you are all well aware that I am revising the Soul Series. The first book has been re-released and I am now trying to make the rounds with it.

I am much more organized this time around. I have a list going of which blogs I have submitted requests for a review too. I have the way that I sent the request, the date of the request, whether it was accepted and if so what day I sent the book to them, and if they did not respond.

As reviews are so very important this is a very crucial task.  I always feel so weird contacting people saying will you please read my book and tell me what you think. But, no matter how I feel about it I am still getting it done.

Everything is moving right along and hopefully will be back in circulation soon.

I know this is a short post but as I am preparing to leave in one week for Atlanta I don’t have a lot of extra time as my boss actually expects me to work this week LOL just kidding Sean 😉

~ Miranda

Re-Release of Soul Journey

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The second edition of Soul Journey is now available on Amazon!!!

 

 

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Get your copy of the revised book!! Some scenes have been expanded and there are some new scenes that have been added as well!

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It has been many lifetimes since the cycle began.

The cycle that still haunts Annisa Lawson.

A spell cast in desperation to help, which only caused heartache.

Now, Annisa has found her way out of the varying repeats of her past; only to bring more danger to herself, and those around her. Now she must learn to survive with the help of her friends: Chase, Penelope, and Landon have all gone through each life cycle with Annisa. Sometimes helping, sometimes hindering. Now that Annisa has broken the cycle of their collective punishment, she finds that she needs her friends more than ever to keep their enemies, known, and unknown, at bay. As the group of friends learn of their souls’ journeys through their many life cycles, they must also learn to control the magick they have discovered within themselves and each other, in order to defeat the most feared assassin in their world.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Soul-Journey-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00N7T7CX4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458573051&sr=8-1&keywords=Miranda+Shanklin

Spring!

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Spring has always been my favorite season. I love watching the trees and flowers start to bud and come out of hibernation. The animals get more active as the weather gets warmer. We come out of the cold and isolated into the warmth and reconnecting with people.

There are many people who can’t handle not having the sun and being cold for extended periods of time. I can see how that can be an issue. I try to stay home as much as I can and not get out in the cold any more than I have to.

Now that it is getting warmer and everything is starting over, so am I. My busy schedule keeps me running to try and keep up. I need to simplify so I can enjoy everything instead of constantly worrying about what I need to do next.

My health is not the best and I refuse to let it keep me down. Somewhere in that struggle I started to take on more than I had time for. It was like I was getting back at my body and show it that I will do what I want no matter how many times it tries to take me down.

This is all a catch 22. I try to do more to keep moving and try to keep some the pain and stiffness from setting in. However, the more stress I am under the worse my body will react. I am still working on that balance. It is not an easy task but I will eventually get there.

I am taking this Spring to be my new start as well. Now that we are on the road to maintaining my treatments and I am feeling better after the surgery, I can start to enjoy and do what I want to do. I am not going to stress myself out about telling someone I can’t help them. If I can’t then I can’t if they are my friend they will understand and simply move on and ask another friend for the help.

Remember to stop and enjoy your surroundings as they come to life after their long winter nap.

~ Miranda

Rollercoaster

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This week has been a very emotional one. Some of it made me so proud and some very sad. I have had a rollercoaster of emotions week.

I have finally gotten caught up at work after the unplanned week off for my surgery. That was a great feeling of relief. I hate to miss work. I know my boss depends on me and there is so much that is just on hold if I am not there. He pays me very well to do the job he needs me to. I love my job and am emotionally involved in the cases. While my boss is very patient and understanding about what I have been going through he also needs me to be there and have my full attention. I am proud of the work that I do. I am human and I do make mistakes but I try to keep those a few as possible. Therefore my boss knows he can depend on me and I am very proud of that fact.

We had to say goodbye to someone that was a very important part of my children’s childhood. She was someone who I have known for a long time. As she took care of my children while I worked I came to consider her a good friend. It was very hard to say goodbye. Our whole family went to pay our respects and say our final goodbye.

I finished the edits on Soul Journey. I was so very stressed about finishing this up. As I was making the final edits and doing my final read through I was desperately trying to find every last mistake or typo. It was like I was publishing it for the first time all over again. I have expanded scenes, added new scenes, reduced scenes and taken scenes out. It is still the same story line but told in a better way.

I then learned how to format my book. I had paid someone to do my formatting for me the first time. This time Savannah took the time to sit down with me for a whole Saturday and teach me how to format. I love to learn new skills so I was excited for this. It was so much easier than I thought it would be. I was so relieved to see that it was more time and detail than actual work. Don’t get me wrong it is definitely work, but once you figure it out it’s not as hard as I thought it would be.

On Saturday I had a very busy and stressful day. As the assistant coach for my daughter’s competition dance team I am always stressed on a competition day. We have taught the girls what they needed to know. We have been making corrections on their dances for the last few weeks. We have given them all that they need to be successful (aside from the amazing talent they provide for themselves) and it was time to get on stage and shine. As I was getting my daughter ready I was watching to make sure that the other mothers were doing alright. I flitted around giving advise and showing them how to do something if they were struggling.

It was time for the girls to go on stage. I was so proud of each and every one of them. They all did an amazing job! While I am very proud of them all, as a mother I had to feel a special intense pride for my daughter. Their group numbers did very well but her solo performance had me tearing up in the audience. She never wants me backstage with her when she is waiting to go on stage. She wants me in the audience watching her. As I sat and watched her do her dance with all the skill she has I was so proud of her that it brought tears to my eyes. She performed her dance and lit up the stage.

Of course with my health problems my busy and stressful day on Saturday and the stress of the rest of the week came with a price.  Yesterday I did laundry and not much else. I did have my best friend come over and teach me how to do makeup. For the villains ball in April she had to teach me how to do the makeup for my character. She also taught me how to do a smoky eye. I have never been good at eye makeup and needed the lesson.

This week should be a normal week so I can get back in my routine and prepare for Atlanta. Just waiting on the last shipment of books and then I can start to get everything packed up and ready to go.

Til next time, remember to stop and enjoy the things that make you the happiest.

~ Miranda

It’s almost time!

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As you all know I have been working on revisions and polishing the Soul Series. Well yesterday I was taught how to format it! Formatting is one of the last steps in the process. That means that it will be coming out very soon!

This is exciting news for 2 reasons. The first being that I will be uploading the 2nd edition of Soul Journey this week! The second being that you only have a limited time to grab your copy of the 1st edition of all the books. I will be pulling the 1st editions of ALL OF THE BOOKS IN THE SERIES. If you want a 1st edition better get it now because they will all be gone this week!

I am excited that this process is in the last leg for book 1. I am also anxious about the rest of them. Book 2 is in the editing phase and will be coming out soon. The schedule I have worked out will have the books coming out about a month from the one before it. I have it all planned to where all the books will be released before the Writers on the River Event I am participating in on July 9, 2016.

While this is an exciting time it is also a busy time. To get all of this done I will be working quite a bit until it is done. I don’t mind and actually enjoy this working! I love making the books the best they can be!

I know this is a short post but I gotta get back at it so I can stay on schedule!

~ Miranda

A final goodbye

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While I was growing up I liked to follow my older brother around. He had a group of friends that he was really close to and they became the equivalent of additional brothers to me. I loved them just as much as my actual brother. They all looked out for me and made sure that no harm came to me.

One of guys’ mom ran an in home day care. She was licensed through the State and it was a great place for a parent to leave their child to be taken care of during the day while they were working. She loved the children as if they were her own. I loved going over there and playing with the kids.

When I first got pregnant with my son, my husband and I both wanted me to stay home with the baby. I had some complications and ended up on bed rest for most of my pregnancy. It was at time we realized that we could not survive on just one income and that I would have to go back to work after I had the baby.

I was a very nervous first time mother. Even before he was born. I refused to go back to work unless my friend’s mom had an opening and could watch our baby. We were in luck and she had an opening and agreed to watch my son. After I had my daughter she watched both of them. Until they were in school that is where they went everyday. After they started school they would still go there during the summer.

My kids loved her. She was another grandmother to them. When they were no longer going over there on a regular basis they would ask me to take them over to visit with her. We loved her and wanted to keep her in our lives.

Yesterday when I got home after a long day, I found that this wonderful, loving and giving woman had passed away. She was dealing with some health issues and had to shut down the daycare a while ago. I’m not sure what actually happened and it really doesn’t matter. The sad truth is that we lost one of the best people I know. I am glad that she was an important part of my children’s lives. She helped to shape them into the people they are today. Her kind and loving nature will be missed.

Although it has been quite some time since we have seen her on a regular basis I still feel the sadness upon our final goodbye.

~ Miranda

I’m Alive

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I am finally getting back to myself. After the last few weeks I was starting to wonder if I would ever get back to myself. It has come at the best time too.

I am finishing up some of the edits so Book 1 will be ready and ordered in time for my first conference of the year. Formatting will be done this weekend. I will be making a trip up to Rockford so that I can learn how to format myself. When this is complete I will be able to order and get them in just in time.

The weekend after is my daughter’s first dance competition of the year. I love seeing her on stage and now that she is getting older she is doing more complicated moves. I can’t wait to see her up there shining like the star that she is. I love seeing her lose herself in something she loves. She leaves me in awe. She is also realistic about it. She loves to do it but does not want to make a living out of it. She wants to keep it as something that she does to center herself and relieve stress.

As I get everything ready for her for competition and try and organize everything for conferences and signing events I am pretty busy.

The best part of all of this is that I feel great. I have not felt this well in a very long time. When I met with my surgeon last week he informed me that my gall bladder had been “really nasty.” This leads me to believe that a lot of the problems I had been having were attributable to the gall bladder.

Now that my body is not expending so much energy fighting the gall bladder it doesn’t quite know what to do with the extra energy. I am trying to adjust to having all this energy when I am used to not having any at all. This is good for when I am busy. I am getting a lot done in a much shorter amount of time.

As I adjust I am finding a new routine. Hopefully, now I will be able to participate in more and not feel so run down. Now, back to getting things done 🙂

~ Miranda

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