Paperback

Oh, Hi! Haven't been able to reach me? See my change of address!

So I updated my website.  YAY.  Its only taken two years for me to do it.

I got tired of porting over all my old blog posts.. I'll get to it eventually... maybe.  TBH I have bigger fish  to fry than bringing over old content from my crappy little WIX site.  Sooo anyway.  Heres the new me.  I've changed my address (actually literally in so many ways, but I'll get to that!)

You can now get the latest 411 on all things Willow Sanders at www.willowwriting.com  you should bookmark that shit ;)

Or, sign up for my new fancy E-Newsletter.  It will be sporadic at best.  Mainly I'll use it to let you know when you can sign up to win things, or when I'm going to be at an event, or when a new book comes out.

So-- here's the latest in bulleted form because... we all have ADD these days, don't we.

 

  • New Website Address
  • New Physical Address
  • New Book (hopefully) releasing mid september...hopefully (it really depends on how much time my editor needs to edit it) well.. and it depends on when I finish the thing
  • Author events!

-Deep breath-

oookay. So I don't live in Chicago anymore.  That's pretty much the reason for the radio silence. Its been insanity over the last like nine ish months.  The hubs was living in one state I was living in Chicago trying to get everything ready for the move.. packing cleaning organizing getting rid of crap I didn't even remember owning, painting, more painting, more painting still.

We finally moved, lived in corporate housing for a while--and let me tell you, I am beyond appreciative for the housing don't get me wrong, but living in a tiny condo with two very large dogs= no bueno.  Especially when they aren't used to living in a condo and miss their gigundo back yard. (there may or may not have been an incident with our 10-month-old dog and a leather couch.... the couch did not win... : (  )

So here I am.  Moved finally.  Trying to get into a routine because I need to finish the book I'm writing.  Legit.  Its been way too long.

I have a title.  I have a concept for a book cover.  I am like seven chapters from "the end"  -- hopefully.

I am planning on buckling down and trying to get it wrapped up here in the next few weeks.  Then off to the editor and I'm hoping to have ARCs available in September sometime.

So.. dead horse=beaten... sign up for the mailing list!  You might get a chance to be a Beta!

Also!  I'm waiting for the grand announcement from the actual event page but legit can't wait anymore.

I'm going to be doing an appearance at Phoenix Rising Author Event !

Its in mid september (hence the push to get the book done by then!)  at the Sheraton Crescent Hotel  

So, if you're in the area and are bored on a Saturday and looking for something to do, come and say hi!

 

Okay. I think that's it.  Well, honestly even if its not I'm putting a fork in it and calling it done.

 

by Willow

#DirtyLittleSecret now in #PaperBack! #AmWriting #AmReading

So, guess what?  Dirty Little Secret is entering the world of paperback books!  I'm SUPER excited to be able to see my "baby" in print.  I practically tackle the UPS guy every day looking for the package that contains the first batch hot off the presses!
If you are a fan of physical books -  you can get yours in time for Christmas! Its prime shipping eligible! :)
Buy it, you know you want to.

 

by Willow

Ivy's Story

It is so strange how characters seem to take the rug out from under you sometimes.  I had so many plans for Ivy... I had an OUTLINE.  An OUTLINE people!  I'm a panster, Im not a planner.  But because this was a "sequel," and I wanted to make sure that I had a plan for getting this story out in a certain amount of time so that I could have it edited and ready to publish by my set self imposed deadline I thought it woudl be a smart thing to follow an outline.  I had plt points, and character motivations, and complete map of how I wanted this story to go.  Then I sat down, and Ivy threw her head back and laughed at me.  She laughed and laughed, and took this story ina direction that I had never in a million years intended it to go.
Now, as it sits at just over 40,000 words, I'm concerned that this story might be bigger than the box I'm trying to put her story in.  As it unfolds, I find myself both thrilled by where Ivy is taking me, and concerned as to how this is going to turn out.
Its the part of writing that I both love and loathe.  This magic that happens, when you turn off your brain and allow the story to just evolve, but it is also hard to give up that control when you had a PLAN, and a path you had intended this story to follow.  I guess if I truly want to fly, I juyst need to close my eyes and give myself over to the process.

by Willow

Reaching the end and reaching THE END

My NaNo novel - also known as Ivy's story, sits at about 35,000 words.  That means in 15,000 words I will "Win" nano.  However, I know how verbose I am, heck if you read Dirty Little Secret, than you know how verbose I am too (it was about 100K words).  There's no doubt I'll reach "the end" come the end of Nano, in so much as I know I'll make the NaNo goal... but I wonder if I will make "THE END" of the story by that time.  Ivy keeps fighting me and I can't figure out what the heck is going n with her story.  I wish I could sit her down in a flower circle and we could sing Kumbaya, but at the moment she's all "whatever, I don't have time for you"   I long for that point in writing where your thoughts move faster than your fingers can type, and you just let go and fly.  And I can't seem to reach that point with her yet.  I hope it comes soon... its starting to concern me.  :(

by Willow

The Eye of the Tiger

So... it's almost the middle of November.  I have 33,202 words of Ivy's story actually written out.  About twenty five million more to write.  No, its actually not that many, probably about seventy thousand or so if I can judge the level of my verbosity (is that a word? meh, whatever) based on Hillary's story.
I'm kind of surprised at where Ivy's story has taken me.  I always knew that she had some depth to her, I mean everyone has good and bad to them, even characters, even supplementary characters,  so when she knocked on my brain and wanted her story written I figured what the heck.  Now though, as I write, and as this book takes turns that have honestly surprised me, I can only hope that the handful of readers who aren't related to me, friends of mine, or know me in any way, will appreciate Ivy's journey, even if its an unexpected one.

by Willow

Thanks to Writer in Progress for the review!

It always tickles me when someone takes the time to read my book & review.  As an indie author, word of mouth is your strongest tool to get your book out there, so when someone says "hey, I'm going to tell you what I thought of your book." For me, there is nothing I am more grateful for.
If you want to read the full review, visit  Writer In Progress  
Here is an excerpt:
Dirty Little Secret had me hooked from the first few pages. Hillary is such a believable character that you immediately start thinking "I know someone just like her!". This is a great read for lounging by the pool or now that winter is here, lounging by the fireplace and pretending you are by the pool. I loved Willow Sanders' writing style and I look forward to seeing more from her.
Thank you again to Ella at Writer in Progress, I'm glad you enjoyed my story!

 

by Willow

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