Hey Everyone!
I hope this new blog posting finds all who read this doing well. I have been keeping quite busy for several months now. Since maybe September I have been opening up every story I have (finished and unfinished) and started editing and revising them one by one. It started with my story First Time Angel. I lost the enthusiasm I once had for it. After realizing it wasn't as complete as I thought it was, I just didn't want anything to do with it anymore. After I started adding on to it, though, I liked how it was coming out. I even changed the title to Angel.
I didn't want to get burned out on that story, so I went to my big anthology series called Wait For You. That book is an anthology of four different stories (all erotica). Three of the stories are connected, one is not, but has a similar theme. They are paranormal in nature and I just adore the stories in the series. The book has three band members, each with their own paranormal encounters. They get through these occurrences with the women they love. I don't want to give much away other than that. The last is also about a guy who is the drummer of a band, and he too has a paranormal occurrence. Those stories are so much fun to go over.
I worked on a story once called I Ran I changed the title of it to Fed Up. That one is about a girl who is taken in by a mob boss wannabe. She soon finds out he did not take her in out of the kindness of his heart, but wanted to own her. What takes place during the course of the story is why I renamed the book. It's also a lot longer than it was. That story is one that I grew obsessed with during the pandemic. Over the course of two years, it's evolved and grown. I love how it turned out and can't wait for others to read it.
For the Love is one that is close to my heart. It was another that I worked on during the pandemic. When we moved, we didn't have cable or internet for a couple of weeks. I kept myself entertained by working on that story. It started with the main character as a little girl talking to her mother. As the story progressed, she became a student at a newly integrated high school in 1965. After graduating, she was forced into an abusive marriage. Her struggles and eventual triumphs are followed thereafter, along with the main male character.
I believe I edited and revised a story once called Savin' You, Savin' Me (now just called Closure). That one is about a famous author whose best friend is a private investigator. The best friend passes off a case to this author who isn't an investigator, a sleuth, or even a curious (read: nosey) wannabe. After successfully fulfilling the case, she and the man she "found" has to find and save his ex-wife. Man, I put some drama and shenanigans in this story. You have to read it! I don't know why I did what I did with this one!
Blast From the Past is one that evolved and grew over the past few years. It was also a lot of fun to work on. A man and woman who knew each other from being co-workers as teenagers get reacquainted years later. He is a very successful doctor, and she is a successful author and pop culture influencer. The two of them navigate their burgeoning romance and passion despite attempts from certain people from their pasts trying to stop it.
I went over two stories Tender Love and Into His Arms to tighten those up and add a little more clarity to the backstories. Maybe even a tiny more conflict (though, I hate adding conflict to a love story).
In between those stories, I still tweaked and worked on Angel when and where I could. When I run out of ideas for that one, I stop.
A story I finished after thirteen years is called Until Death. That one started as just a mention in a collab I did with a friend. An "unrealized idea", if you will. In the collab, I mentioned a similar plot. After a while, I got to reading the plot, and started to wonder how it would look on paper. I started fiddling around and typed a little bit out.
Over the years, that one has evolved and grown into something I adore. It's not a huge story at all. Definitely a novella. That being said, I'm still quite proud of it, and what the story has become. When I finally felt I was done with the story, I felt my relief growing. It was one I never thought I'd find an ending for.
When I finally typed The End at the end of that story, I let out a deep sigh. Like a deep, heavy whoosh of air came out of me. It was the most accomplished I felt in a long time. Thirteen years is a long time to work on a story like that. It's not like most of my other stories. With my other stories, I at least had the ending established.
What I had been revising was the "meat" of the story. Something in the middle that I felt I could add something to. The endings were already fleshed out and established. For Until Death, I didn't have that. To finally end that story was beyond satisfying.
Now, I'm working on a story called What's Meant to Be. A young black woman and young Cherokee man meet in 1968. Similar to For the Love, they become the first non-white students at a newly integrated high school in their senior year. They fall so deeply in love, the young lady is actually devastated when she is accepted to the college she applied to months before. The two of them try to navigate their relationship through her being away at college, her mom's sudden health problems, and an unexpected visit (and temporary attempted bump) from his past.
The young man finds himself faced with a choice. Does he become involved with this "bump" placed at his doorstep, or does he try to smooth out this "bump" and fix what he almost completely destroyed with his first love? It's a really sweet story and I love the characters. They're my babies.
When I work on other stories, I'm always thinking of those two. Angela and Dakota are always calling out to me. I don't have an ending established for that one yet. I'm working on it, though.
I can't wait to get this one out to the public as well. Whenever I put anything in a story that has to do with an indigenous tribe, I always look up traditional surnames, and even certain traditions they have for marriage. I want to be as respecful as I possibly can when I have a character from a particular tribe in my books.
Well, that's it for now! As soon as I have another update, you guys will know it! Love you all!
Rosey Lavender
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