You Gotta Have Faith!

2018 - 12/01

We are still learning our way around. These two old broads are not tech savvy, but we are going to give it our best effort, so please be patient. As of this date, we are in the last editing phase. The book will be going into print very soon and we will keep you updated. The path to publishing is a winding road. We are finding our way. #thelastroguesoul

In the meantime, we would like to explain a little bit more about how the book came into existence. We have known each other for many years and have been great friends. We spent nearly every Friday night together. We laughed, talked, drank a lot of coffee and ate yummy treats we know are bad for us. Still do. That's what makes it fun.

About 2 1/2 years ago, Susan's brother had written a book and challenged her to do the same. She'd been struggling with some health issues and in the process of her recovery, she began to think about taking him up on the challenge and write a book.

She thought long and hard about her story before she mentioned it to me. When she finally told me about it, I was intrigued as I listened. It was a good story. Through conversation, I began to realize that while she basically knew what the story was and where she wanted it to go, she was having trouble finding a place to begin.

I had always thought about writing a novel, but never had such a great idea as this one. I wanted to help her and I didn't want to see her enthusiasm for the story die on the vine. She had not been well for some time and talking about the story kept her animated and engaged. I didn't want to see her stop and just give up.

So I took a really big leap of faith and tested our friendship. Since I had always wanted to write anyway, I decided to just go ahead and try the first chapter. Let me tell you ... it is not easy, but it is the most delicious fun!

Afterwards, I did a bit of soul searching as to whether or not I should show it to her. I mean, this was her idea, her brainchild. Who the heck am I to stick my nose in it? What if she got angry? What if she thought I was crazy? What if ... and this was the worst, she hated what I wrote? Oh God! What have I done?!!!

But she is my friend. I love her. I had not seen her so vibrant in such a long time and it was because of the idea of writing a book. I just had to do something to keep it going. So, I took a deep breath, printed out what I had and when we got together that Friday night like usual, she sat across from me. I handed her a cup of coffee and slid a pile of papers over the kitchen counter in front of her. The look on her face was one of confusion."What's this?" she wanted to know.

"Just read it." I told her, holding my breath. Ugh! I suddenly felt like this might have been a very bad idea.

She read a little bit and then looked up at me. She was stunned. "It's my book." she said slowly.

Me being an imbecile couldn't tell if she was happy or not. "Yep, it is," I told her. Then I saw the raw emotion on her face. She was so happy. Whew! I was so relieved. She told me it was the best gift and my heart melted. It was the most perfect, sweet thing to say.

That is how it all started. From, that moment on the conversation began. With rapid fire excitement, ideas were tossed back and forth. We had faith in each other. We still do. We were going to go on this journey together and write this book as equal partners. We enlisted the help our spouses, who in the beginning were polite and mildly tolerated our wild talks of character development and plots.

A while after, the characters began taking on lives of their own. In fact, they were waking Susan up chattering away with ideas, much to her husband’s chagrin. You see, she feared not remembering their conversations, so she frequently got up during the night and wrote them down.

The characters spoke to me also, but not in such a direct way. To me their voices whispered they would not act this way or that. They would do the opposite of what I had originally thought. In the end, they were always right, go figure.

While we didn't follow every suggestion, we always took their wishes to heart. In this way, the characters themselves helped steer the direction the book would take. I'd often read of other authors stating their characters spoke to them. Yeah, right. It always sounded hokey to me. Boy, was I wrong!

It wasn't until about the fifth chapter when our husbands, whom we lovingly refer to as the boys, ha ha, started to take notice. We read chapters to them, if they wanted to hear them or not to see if what we came up with made sense. Surprisingly, it did and they actually didn't hate the story. Quite the opposite, they liked it ... a lot! Soon they were just as invested in the book and seeing it through to the end as we were.

Susan and I spent many brunches, lunches and evenings discussing the twists and turns of the story and why characters would act a certain way. Coming up with names is harder than you might think, but it is great fun. We will tell you that story in another post.

We had thought long and hard about what kind of cover we wanted for our book. As it turned out, the face on the front of the book belongs to Susan's daughter, Jessie. Yes, she is the real Jessie and the inspiration for one of the main characters. Ironically, the character she is portraying on the cover is not that of her namesake. On the cover is the Angel Aalonray and in her hand is what is known as a carrying crystal. More on the cover in another blog.

As time passed, we began to realize there was a lot more to the story that needed telling. While "The Last Rogue Soul" has a definite beginning, middle and end, we decided there should be more books to tie into this one. Pretty audacious of us isn't it? Well, they say ignorance is bliss and we definitely are flying by the seat of our pants.

Anyway, as of this writing, two more books are in process. Book 2 has a tentative working title of 'End of Dragons', Book 3 'The Demon Within'. Now you know how The Guardian Watch Series was born! We hope that you will buy our book and let us know what you think. We will alert you when The Last Rogue Soul will be available for purchase on Amazon and Kindle. If you like the book, please write a review. The more favorable reviews we receive, the more exposure the book gets.

Please check back at our website for updates about our current projects, merchandise and also for more information on possible signing event times and places.

We hope you will have as much fun reading our book as we had writing it!