Month: September 2019

The First(Or Second) Finish Line…

…Among other things, I have also re-enrolled in school.

I am going for a second master’s degree. This one in humanities. Truth be told, I’ve always loved school and reading romance. If you could pair two of my loves together, you would create my dream job. Thankfully, I was able to pair the two by becoming a romance writer.

Go figure.

I started back in August, and I just finished my first-quarter class. I absolutely loved it! It was everything I love all tied into one rigorous eight-week session. I was able to read novels I’d never would have glanced at normally. The reason I am sharing this with you all is not for praise, but to encourage you. Never stop learning, always do more, fail, A LOT, because that’s the only way you’ll learn. As a twenty-nine-year-old woman, I feel that I have a bit of experience behind my back to confidently say those words to you. That, and read a ton of romantic, sappy, unrealistic fiction.

Preferably mine.

-NR

 

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…You

I didn’t know if you’d ever return.

I’d been good, you see.

Always doing what was expected of me.

You stayed away,

I had constant thoughts of the bay.

The way in which you’d made my body sway.

neigh, spray, say.

You’d do anything but stay.

Maybe it was me.

I wasn’t carefree enough,

I went and obtained too many degrees.

You left nothing of me but debris.

That’s it.

I have nothing else to emit.

There’s nothing else for me to admit,

lest I become a hypocrite.

-NR

It’s Been Awhile…

Good Morning/Night/Day world!

So, based on the title, you should know already what I’ll be talking about.

Time. Well more specifically, my time away from you all.

Yep, that’s right. Your girl here has been absent from the blog game. Not purposefully, but still absent.

I blame it on Fanfiction.

But, at least I come with good news, right? Well, here it is. I have officially finished my first book! Gah! It’s a historical romance novel, but I am so happy with it. After years of secretly pulling out my paperback in high school, (and college) I have finally done the unthinkable: Finished a story!

Let me explain.

You see, I’ve always had this story brewing in the back of my mind, but I was afraid to put pen to paper-or fingers to a laptop, you know how it is- fearing the worst. But not anymore. I recently turned twenty-nine years old, and since then, I felt it was time. Time to change my life. No more excuses, no more putting anything off. It has always been a goal of mine to do this, and now that I can? I am so thrilled.

But, there is a lot that goes into self-publishing.

You have to find a book cover artist for both the paperback and e-book. A reputable editor, copyright your work and find a PR company that will give your book enough buzz to be seen. You have to also make sure your book is properly formatted, and if you cannot do that for Amazon, iBooks, and Barnes and Noble. If you can’t do the formatting, I suggest you hire someone as well-like I did.

It’s all rewarding though.

To see my book on a website with countless other writers is an honor to me. That is payment enough. You won’t believe what gave me the courage to actually do it. I’ll give you a hint, I mentioned the reason recent bout of MIA-ness earlier. Still didn’t pick up on it? That’s quite alright. I’ll tell you anyway.

It was Fanfiction.

Back in 2013, I started reading it. I heard about it, and let’s be frank, after reading the Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy I became intrigued. The more I read, and left reviews, I started to form an e-community of readers, and surprisingly writers. It stunned me.

But in a good way.

Then I started writing it as well. (I will not leave you my FF name because, well, I’m not that bold yet-LOL) It was so much fun. You had characters from your favorite shows that you could shape and mold to do with as you chose. But the plots were entirely my own. The more I began to write, however, the more I became jealous of the already assembled characters. Why couldn’t I come up with unforgettable characters? I asked myself.

So I did. And I have no regrets whatsoever. Writing on the FF site also gave me the courage to be more open with my work. Here, I was glad to post my poetry, but never my fiction. That, however, is changing.

Starting now.

As of tonight, at 2:58 a.m. in California, I will be posting MY story ideas, along with poems, and thoughts. I hope you all enjoy this other facet of me. Truth is, it was always here, but like in Split, I was often afraid to let that part of myself come to the light. (I know I just compared myself to a schizophrenic man who had 23 personalities living inside of him but just go with it)

Anyways, I love you all, and I hope that you will enjoy some excerpts from my book, my poems, and thoughts, that I will post here more frequently.

I love you all,

Nicole Renee.