Split Your Heart, Not Your Tongue

I've actually been excited to create a poem from Alex's point of view for a while now. Alex is a very interesting character and I think he brings a fullness to RED . He's the antagonist in so many ways but he isn't all bad at the same time. Anyway, Alex gets himself into a pretty nasty situation (I won't give it up) and that's basically what this poem is about. Hope you enjoy it. And if you missed the last poem you can view it here . I'm one second away from tearing off your clothes Even though I know much better than this It's the way your eyes look, the way your hair flows I want to add you to my list Isn't it okay if you act older than your age? I mean, who would know if you don't tell? Let's give a performance in my room, my bed will be the stage  I'll buy whatever it is you're willing to sell And I know this is supposed to be wrong But I bite my lip and stare anyway And to think it all started with a s...

January is here which means it's time for another character profile (this SHOULD be the second to last one since RED is slated for a Valentine's Day release). This profile is for a minor character in RED but she plays an important part in the main character, Peyton's life. She's her best friend and she's as loyal as they come. Allow me to introduce you all to Robyn West! Full Name: Robyn Victoria West Birth Date: July 20, 2010 Gender: Female Age During RED : 16-18 years old Eye Color: Brown Hair Color: Brown Height: 5'8 Weight: 125 lbs Relatives: Marsha West (Mother), Garrett West (Father), Jeffrey West (Brother) Relationship Status: Single/Too busy having a good time to be tied down Interest/Hobbies: Partying, Hanging out with friends, Modeling Positive Character Traits: Robyn is as loyal as loyal can get. She sticks by her friends and loved ones through any circumstance and never judges anyone. She's easy to talk to...

Let me start off by saying that this cover is totally rad!!!!! I just posted yesterday that I needed a cover that would appeal to the target audience (young adults and early adults) but also conveyed the emotional attachment the book has and I think this is it. It's the same concept as the original cover but it's less graphic and a little easier on the average eye (and it definitely doesn't look like a science fiction book). Here's the new cover to A Tragic Heart that will be available once the novel is republished with Line by Lion.

For a while now I've been contemplating if I should change the cover to my debut novel, A Tragic Heart . While I love the original cover, there has been speculation that it may not be reaching the target audience. I've been told (by agents and publishers) that it's a great book but it may be overlooked simply because of the cover. Although we all know the saying "don't judge a book by it's cover" sadly most of us do exactly that. The biggest misconception is that the book is a sci-fi novel instead of a Young Adult/Coming of Age/New Adult novel. The original cover is supposed to depict the emotional turmoil of the book and the human heart shattering like glass is supposed to depict how fragile the characters are. People love it once they understand the meaning behind the cover but the issue is most people won't read it to give it that chance. I'm going for a more traditional book cover this time around that has a similar concept but is more appeal...

November's here! That means I have a new character profile for you all. This is another new character who is extremely important to the novel. He's sort of the antagonist and he's responsible for a lot of the trouble that happens. The book wouldn't be complete without him. He's a ladies man and a bad boy which are two lethal combinations. He gets his own POV here and there and RED wouldn't be so bright without him. Allow me to introduce you all to... Alex Kinsley Full Name: Alex Kinsley Birth Date: June 28, 2002 Gender: Male Age During RED : 24-26 Eye Color: Blue Hair Color: Jet Black Height: 5'10 Weight: 165 lbs Relatives: Unknown as a result of Alex being disowned by his family. Relationship Status: Kind of single, always ready to mingle! Interests/Hobbies: Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll! He's also the drummer in a famous band Positive Character Traits: He's a great lover and an amazing drummer/songwri...

"I somehow managed to play the protagonist and the antagonist in this story"-Peyton Hayley Giordano ( RED ) Last week I wrote about starting over after you already made those messy mistakes, dropped your ego and learned to forgive yourself and others. This week I want to talk about another major theme from RED : finding yourself.  When you focus on starting over you have to also focus on finding yourself. After being dragged through the mud and experiencing disappointment after disappointment, you have to hit the restart button. Restarting also means that things are going to have to change. In the process of us being dragged by our hair while our face scraps against the cement we become someone different. We just have to find out who this person is.  Finding yourself is critical in the process of starting over. If we don't gain a clear vision of who we are we'll just falter into another mess (and who wants that?). Not knowing who you are usually results i...

"I closed the bedroom door behind me. I could feel her crying herself to sleep but I had no time for feeling sorry. She betrayed me and that wasn’t something I could easily forgive her for. I needed time to myself."-Mason ( RED ) Forgiveness is a touchy subject but it's the topic I said I would talk about this week. Last week I talked about dropping your ego to become someone new and make a better life for yourself, and the week before that I talked about making mistakes and learning from them. These are all major themes in RED but forgiveness is probably one of the biggest. As I mentioned before, my characters are far from perfect and they make tons of mistakes (maybe even more than the average person) which causes for a lot of forgiveness to take place. From the moment the novel starts, Peyton struggles with forgiving her mother for leaving her the way she did (readers of A Tragic Heart knows exactly what I mean). Mason and Adalyn has some obstacl...