Beautiful Books!

 Ahh yes. NaNoWriMo prep season is upon us. And oh how it has taken me by surprise this year. Yikes. Honestly, I'm not sure I'll be able to win this year. But I don't want to have an attitude that says "If I can't win, why try?" So that being said, I know I can't win. But I love writing and I love my story, even if it's barely developed. See, my first year, I was a total panster. I had a vague idea and I ran with it. But since I've re-written Forlorn Hope, I've become a planner. 

   Writing and tackling NaNo plus college plus having 6 performances of columbinus all in the same month is probably going to kill me. Plus, ya know, social life, working out, reading my bible, and watching Parks And Rec. (Priorities.) I don't know. I've had so much time to think about it but I just...didn't. I'm sorry. 

   Anyhow! I'm super excited for this novel! And this November! I love the atmosphere of the season, especially since I started doing NaNoWriMo. I know I really should sit this one out, but I don't feel like it would be November without it. 

   Now, special thanks to Cait and Sky for this lovely link up. (Ps. if you're a writer you should do this too. Even if you're not doing NaNo.)

How did you come up with the idea for your novel, and how long have you had the idea?

    It actually came to me one day when I was like...11? When I was still a fetus in my writing "career." I was just practicing so I wrote up a seen and when I read what I had written I realized the tremendous backstory and I just fell in love. I realized that while yes, the original novel sucked eggs, I still adored the story and really, it was genius. It had been pounding on my heart again lately and I decided to revamp it as my NaNo!

1.     Why are you excited to write this novel?
Because the story is super crazy and I actually get to write a male protagonist and have it actually be a love story! Plus I think it hits on a lot of rough topics that need to be addressed.

2.     What is your novel about, and what is the title?
It's called In Secret. I don't have an official synopsis yet but basically it follows Jacob Dell, a senior in high school who, despite his strong Christian beliefs, has always been half in love with Megan Conner; the girl who is notorious for being, well, a slut. What he doesn't know is what happens to her behind closed doors. Megan is physically and sexually abused by her father and his friends, but keeps it all hidden away. When he finds her stumbling through the streets, half beaten, he has no choice but to help her get away. What he doesn't understand is that Megan isn't wanting to ever come back. Unexpectedly Jacob gets pulled into an adventure he never saw coming, with the girl of his dreams, who's a lot more broken than he ever could have imagined.

3.     Sum up your characters in one word each. (Feel free to add pictures!)
Jacob: Gentleman.
Megan: Broken.
Liza: Rebellious.
Kyle: Comic-relief (I can make it one word!)

4.     Which character(s) do you think will be your favourite to write? Tell us about them!
Jacob! Because he's a guy for once! Yeah, yeah I love feminism and all that but its been so long since I've read a nice book with a male protagonist. Plus I love the idea of him. He loves Megan, but his love has to be more about her needs than his wants. So to see him spend so much time with this girl and not, well, violate or disrespect her in any way is just amazing to me. I love that he's a gentleman.

5.     What is your protagonist’s goal, and what stands in the way?
Keep Megan safe but also bring her home. He wants her to go to the police, but she wants to go to California and forget all about her old life. So really, she's standing in his way. Megan and her stubborn attitude.

6.     Where is your novel set? (Show us pictures if you have them!)
Chicago and California. Plus everywhere in between.

7.     What is the most important relationship your character has?
God. God is everything to Jacob.

8.     How does your protagonist change by the end of the novel?
Ha. Spoilers.

9.     What themes are in your book? How do you want your readers to feel when the story is over?
Love and abuse. I want my reader to throw the book up against a wall and cry because its so beautiful. I want them to have a sense of what real love is; that it isn't sleeping with someone or kissing someone; it's having respect. It's putting their needs above your own.

10. BONUS! Tell us your 3 best pieces of advice for others trying to write a book in a month.
-Don't go in alone.
-Stock up on popcorn
-Don't forget how much you love to write.

   Are you doing NaNoWriMo? I want to hear about it! What's your story? I want to share more with you as it gets developed more and maybe even snippets as I begin to write it. Yay! 

   So you guys better hold me accountable this November about staying on top of crap and not spending so much time on Facebook. You hear me? I can do this...as long as I don't procrastinate. Woo!

   May the Force be with us writers.