Read Mor' Romance, Be Mor' Inspired

Lesson learned from this past week: If I'm reading a book and having a hard time getting into it, though it is by one of my favorite authors, it is okay to put it down. The book I'm talking about is 1776 by David McCullough. I've read a lot of his books and love every one of them. I was trying to get into the 4th of July spirit by reading the book in the weeks prior to the holiday. But, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't seem to get into it. That was my second time reading the book (the first time was around 2005). Since it didn't speak to me neither time, I decided to move on.

They say you should read a variety of books. They also say to read books that are in your genre. I have done a lot of the former, but I feel like the latter is in the cards at the moment. 

Over the past few days, I was trying to combat burn-out, exhaustion, and an indifference to writing. Believe it or not, I too have those moments. We all do, as writers. It's normal, it happens. There have been lots of mornings where I don't feel like writing. Then, I do it, and I feel better, as if I can accomplish anything.

At the beginning of this past weekend, I decided to put down 1776 for good and search for a good romance novel to read. Friday night was David's and my night out at the Fan Boy Expo . We cosplayed the 11th Doctor and his companion from Doctor Who, his favorite show. Having gone to this for four years, I know there will be authors there. I met Breanna Mounce , an author from the Cincinnati, Ohio, area who has visited Norris Lake on numerous occasions and has come to love it. So much so, she has written a romance book about it, Southern Rebirth . I bought that (I'll get Bad Company on vinyl later) after enjoying a great conversation with Breanna.

This was what I needed to not only rekindle a temporary rut in my passion for reading, but also for writing. I'm about two-thirds of the way done with Southern Rebirth. I cannot put this down. Breanna did an amazing job in bringing Lexi Fernbrook to life. You can almost taste her vulnerability, sensitivity, and passion. In reading it, I have obtained Duncan Hart as my "book boyfriend." That he is a bass player in a rock band is the big selling point for me. As I'm trying to combat mid-life crisis, I wish I could be Lexi, as the photographer for Southern Rebirth, the band that Duncan plays bass in.

While reading this on and off Saturday afternoon, I received via Messenger great feedback from a volunteer beta reader for my own upcoming romance novel, Twofold Love Comeback. I thought it was so awesome that while I was thinking of what great things to say about Southern Rebirth, someone else was doing the same thing for my book.

Here are a few things she said about it: very relatable and fun...I love it when [Mandy] meets both Adam and Chris and how easy it is for her to talk with them about music.... I can't put it down...My favorite parts are the date at the park when Mandy finds out what Chris drives and the couples game on Valentine's day.

I'm glad to know that in spite of my being a rookie romance writer, I have the Danielle Steel effect: You can't put it down.

Since I didn't have any plans for most of Saturday, I stayed home a lot. There must have been something in the humidity that caused love to be in the air for new romance authors and the avid followers of them.

I'm writing early this Monday morning before I go to my day job. Like any other day, I want to stay home and write... and read some more romance. There's something there.