The Prize Update

I just posted the second chapter for The Prize and I hope it succeeds in giving an insight into Tyson's character. He's going to be a challenge for me to write since he talks so little but I am excited about this story. I couldn't believe all of the reviews the first chapter got and it made me so happy. Thank you to all of those who read the story and a bigger thanks to those who reviewed. I am glad so many people out there are excited for a story about Tyson and I hope that you will continue to enjoy the chapters that I write and post. I was thinking about everything that will go into this story, trying to write a rough outline, and honestly, if I put everything into that I am hoping to include, it is shaping out to be a long one. I hope no one minds.

The Prize

I just posted the first chapter of my newest story The Prize, which follows Tyson Reed, Ryan's younger brother from Circle Park. I hope everyone enjoys my new work. It will seem a bit different than most of my stories simply because of the different personalites I'm creating. Amy is a rambler. She doesn't feel comfortable with silence and even her thoughts seem to be something of a jumbled mess. Tyson on the other hand does not speak much and that won't be changing. Tyson never did talk much so for him to start talking more and more would be slightly out of character for him. The Prize takes place seven years after Circle Park ended so Tyson is now twenty-two. I think reading the first chapter, some people didn't realize that it was Tyson Reed, Ryan's younger brother. Because of the bond these two share, you can expect appearances from Ryan in future chapters. As for The Prettiest Thing, I am definitely continuing this story. Just at the moment, I'm having difficulty finding my inspiration for this story at the moment but I do promise that I will be continuing this eventually.

To Whom It May Concern

I do like what I do and yes, some of my stories are clichéd but I also do not recall forcing anyone to read my stories. If you do not like my writing skills or think that I am just a horrible author who's stories are complete crap, you do not have to read them. I'm sorry if you feel that my stories are a waste of time and I'm sorry that you wasted your time reading them. I'm also sorry if you do not like the pictures I post. I never told anyone that they had to look at the pictures. I simply post the pictures because I like to visualize my characters and it helps me to further develop them. I love every reader that I have and I try to give them original and well-written stories. I'm sorry if I disappoint people but I cannot please people. I can only please myself I suppose and I love to write. So if you truly do not like my writing skills, you do not have to read them. There are hundreds of other authors on AFF that have the guts to post their stories. I am just one of them. I don't mean to sound like a bitch but I've had to deal with a lot of people in the past who have been slightly mean in the way they let me know what they think of my stories and I just am trying to let it roll off my shoulders now.

Tyson and Amy

I'm so glad that some of you are interested in a story following Tyson, Ryan's younger brother from Circle Park. I was writing chapter eight and I just sort of was like 'Huh. That could be good' so I'm excited just thinking about it. With Circle Park having one, maybe two, chapters left, I will begin to devote my time to The Prettiest Thing, which already has the first chapter posted. I'm so excited for this story and thank you to those who gave me advice. I will try to make the story my own and not fall completely into tired clichéd patterns. For those who have asked, I already posted pictures of Brett, Ella and Trevor from that story. Click here to see them.

As for Tyson's story, I have the plot in my head already and I even found pictures for him and his soon-to-be love interest, Amy Dunn. I know that I already had a picture for Tyson but he was supposed to be fifteen years old in Circle Park and in his follow-up story, he is going to be twenty-two, so the model I had posted is a bit too young looking. The picture I found is what Tyson would look like at an older age. And it even looks like he's had a broken nose once or twice which is perfect condsidering Tyson's anger and fighting problems.

Tyson

Amy

Tyson

So, Circle Park is almost done. I know. It seems short but really, it is just as long as some of my previous stories. I am working on the eighth chapter as we speak, almost finishing it, and it should be posted sometime this evening. I'm averaging about ten reviews a chapter and I find that absolutely fantastic. Thank you to all of those who have reviewed. Once this story is complete, I will continue with The Prettiest Thing since the interest in that seems to be great as well. For some reason, I am contemplating a story that follows Tyson Reed, Ryan's younger brother. Since he is fifteen in Circle Park, if I do pursue a story with him, it will take place when he is a bit older. I'm not sure though. This is just something that I've started thinking about as I've been writing the last couple of chapters for this current story. Let me know what you all think. I really think that Tyson could be a very interesting character.

Circle Park Update

I posted chapter seven for Circle Park this evening and actually, believe it or not, the story is winding down. I have the entire story mapped out and I think it will take me two or three more chapters. I hope everyone has been enjoying this story because I have loved writing it. I don't know what it is but writing Ryan's character makes me happy. He's just a fun character to write and after writing such a complicated and tormented character like Reed, I needed to follow that story up with a main character as laid-back and random like Ryan. And it has occurred to me that a lot of my characters have the name Reed either as a first name or as a last and I'm not sure how that happened lol.

Laundry Night

This isn't the best thing I have ever written but I wanted to post it nonetheless and get your opinion on it. This is the Ben/Olivia oneshot rough draft.

The best time to do laundry in Jim’s opinion was on a Friday night. The laundry mat down the street from his apartment was usually completely deserted and he was able to bring his work along with him, getting much of it done without interruptions. He didn’t mind spending his Friday nights in a laundry mat. There were always Saturdays that could be spent drinking at the bar with his friends. He found that if he did laundry on Friday nights and brought his work with him, he could get it done and not worry about it for the rest of the weekend. And since this past week had just been mid-terms, he had five classes worth of tests to grade and he knew the students would start pestering him for their grades as soon as Monday morning.

Walking in through the door of the laundry mat with his duffle bag slung over one shoulder and his briefcase in the other, he saw that someone else had had the same idea as he did. She was a woman in her mid-twenties with dark brown hair with a natural wave to it cut down to a little below her jaw line. Her skin was pale and he could see faded freckles across her nose as she stood at the table, folding towels and he stood across from her, dumping the bag over to begin separating his clothes. She lifted her head and gave him a polite smile before resuming her folding. She was attractive but he didn’t dare talk to her. He wasn’t going to be that creep that wouldn’t even let a woman do laundry without being bothered. Besides, he was not blind. He was in his early forties with a balding head and a less than perfectly in shape body. She would have absolutely zero interest in someone like him. Girls that looked like her never looked at guys like him with any type of interest.

Jim turned to dump a load of colored clothes into a washing machine just as the door opened again and a man around the same age as the woman stormed into the room. His dark auburn hair was buzzed close to his head and he had a scruffy face from forgoing shaving. His blue eyes flashed dangerously at the woman but she didn’t even look up to acknowledge his presence.

“Okay, Olivia,” the man said and he could hear a slight accent to his tone. Jim couldn’t place from where it was from though. “What did I do now?”

The woman, apparently named Olivia, glanced at him before turning back to the dryer behind her and pulling out an armful of bed sheets. She placed them on the table and began folding them, all the while remaining silent.

The man sighed with annoyance and ran a hand over his head. “So that’s how this is gonna go tonight? You getting pissed off at me for nothing? And on this night, of all nights, you decide to pull this shit on me? Fantastic!” He exclaimed sarcastically.

As the man continued to glower at her and Olivia began folding the sheets, Jim fed the machine a few quarters, chose his wash cycle then sat down at a nearby table by the window, trying not to overhear but finding it rather difficult not to since they were the only three people present at the moment. Nonetheless, he opened his brief case and took out a stack of the tests that needed to be graded.

“Is this about your bleedin’ hair?” The man suddenly asked and then realization dawned on his face. “It is! This whole soddin’ thing is about your hair! You are unbelievable!”

Olivia finally looked at him and he was shocked to see her look at the man with such fury in her dark brown eyes. “This isn’t just about my hair. This is about you being an insensitive prick as usual, Ben.”

“How am I being insensitive?” The man named Ben demanded to know as he folded his arms across his chest. “I’m not the one who told you to cut your hair! Why did you do that anyway? I loved your hair and now you chopped it all off!”

Jim closed his eyes for a moment in a silent pray for Ben. Apparently, the young man didn’t know that one should never, ever question a woman’s hairstyle. And from the look Olivia was giving him at that moment, Ben had learned that lesson a little bit too late. He was done for.

“Of course I chopped it off. You were always bitching about it!” She suddenly shrieked and Ben looked surprised at his girlfriend’s, or at least he assumed she was Ben’s girlfriend, outburst. “Telling me how I got hair all over your pillows and sweatshirts and anytime you vacuumed, you made it a point to always say I was like a damn cat with hairballs all over your freaking apartment!”

“I was teasing you!” He nearly shouted. “Jesus Christ, Livi! I thought that’s what we do. I tease you, you hit me, bam. We’re fine again! Why is this such a big fucking deal?”

“Because Ben! It is when I make this drastic change to myself and all you can ask is what the hell did I do to myself!” She slapped him in the chest but he didn’t even flinch. “You’re my boyfriend! You’re supposed to support me when I do something like this!” She grabbed one of her short locks and pulled on it in case he didn’t know what they were talking about.

“Something like this?” Ben echoed. “You mean something completely irrational and insane? Is that what you mean?” Olivia glared at him before moving past him and stalking towards one of the washing machines where her load of whites were, waiting to be dried. “I’m not going to lie to you. You know how much I hate lies.”

She turned and stared at him. “I heard you, Ben, talking to Jamie on the phone yesterday. You were talking about girls and how your ideal one has short hair so it shows off her neck. I thought that you wanted a girl with short hair.”

Jim watched the two as they stared one another down and then Ben did something that Jim couldn’t believe he had the guts to do. Ben started laughing. If possible, the aura of fury surrounding Olivia seemed to only intensify. Jim was beginning to think that he was moments away from witnessing a homicide.

“You asshole,” Olivia spat at him, throwing her clothes into an open dryer. “I hate you.”

Ben had stopped laughing but he was still smiling. “And I hate how fucking insecure you can be. Jesus, Liv. We’ve been dating for how long now? Almost a year? And you’re worried enough about our relationship to go and chop your hair off just because I mentioned to Jamie that I, AT A TIME, preferred girls with short hair?” He paused. “Our relationship really sucks if you think you need to be changing for me like that and you think I WANT you to be changing.”

Olivia stared at him, crossing her arms over her chest. “Yeah,” she said softly. “Our relationship really sucks.”

The laundry mat was completely silent except for the hums of the two washers entering their final wash cycle. No one moved. No one made a sound. Jim stared down at the test he was in the middle of grading, feeling like he should get up and leave but he didn’t want to draw attention to himself. He had just witnessed a private conversation between two people and he was somewhat certain that he had just witnessed a private breakup.

Ben clenched his jaw tightly then with a heavy sigh, he reached into his back pocket, pulling a packet of cigarettes out. “You drive me fucking insane,” he informed her before turning and stalking out of the laundry mat. Jim was certain that if he had been able to slam the door behind him, he would have.

Olivia watched him go and when he disappeared around the corner, she closed her eyes, trying to keep herself from crying. She took a shaky breath and then opening her eyes again, she began once more to pull her clothes from the washing machine and placing them into the dryer. Jim tried not to watch but he couldn’t help himself. She didn’t break down and cry like a lot of girls would have after their boyfriends of nearly a year had just stormed out. Instead, Olivia pulled herself up onto the folding table and played with a lock of her hair as she stared, memorized, deep in thought, at the turning clothes in the dryer.

Jim had gotten through grading the first stack of tests and he reached for another one from his briefcase when the door opened once more and Ben stalked through, clasping something in his hand. Olivia stared at him, surprised, but she remained sitting on the table. Apparently, she wasn’t like most other girls who would have leapt up at the sight of their boyfriends returning.

“If I wanted you changing into someone you’re not, I wouldn’t have bought this four fucking months ago. I would have waited until you were molded into someone else,” he said with a hard tone and tossed her a velvet square ring box.

Time stopped.

Olivia stared at him for a few prolonged minutes before looking down at the box she had caught. She didn’t appear to be breathing anymore. Jim leaned forward in his chair, wanting to see if it was what he thought it was. Olivia audibly gasped upon opening the box and seeing a diamond ring. She stared at her, her mouth open in shock. Ben took a step towards her.

“If you want to cut your hair, fine. Cut your hair. I don’t care. I’ll think you’re beautiful no matter how you look,” he told her, reaching out and wrapping a lock around his finger before letting it go and shoving his hands into his jean pockets. “But don’t do anything just because you think it’s what I want. Because, Liv, one of the things I love most about you is your sheer stubbornness and your unwillingness to bend when it comes to anything.” Olivia smiled and he took another step towards her. “You do what you want to do and I love you for that. If I wanted some submissive Barbie Doll with short hair then that’s exactly who I would be with. I wouldn’t have spent a year with you if I wanted someone completely different than you.”

Olivia laughed softly. “Are you going to ask me anytime soon, Ben, or will you keep talking like this until all of my laundry is done?”

“Damn, woman!” He growled. “You won’t even let me ask you to marry me the way I want to, will you?” She laughed again and he came to her, standing in between her legs and cupping her head in his hands. “Now listen. I’m not asking you. I’m telling you. You, Olivia Grange, will marry me.”

She quirked an eyebrow up at that. “Will I now?” She was fighting back a smile and she bit her lower lip when one hand slipped down to cup the side of her neck, now completely exposed due to her shorter hair. “And why will I be doing this?”

He grinned for the first time since he came back. “Because I’m not going to survive if I don’t have you being a pain in my ass for the rest of our lives.”

She smiled, laughing. “Romantic, Ben. Very romantic.”

He stared at her then took the ring box from her, plucking the ring out and grabbing her left hand. He slid the ring easily onto her third finger and continued staring at her. “I’ll have you know that you completely ruined this for me. I wasn’t going to do this in some laundry mat. I have bouquets of heather in my apartment and music and everything.”

She slid her arms up onto his shoulders, locking her hands behind his neck. “This suits us a bit more, don’t you think? I thought we agreed to leave the clichéd romance up to Jamie and Violet.”

Ben snickered, wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her nearer to the edge of the table. “Please, Liv. We’re the cliché. We always have been.”

“I know,” she sighed as if it pained her to admit it. She then beamed up at him. “I hate you,” she said sweetly, softly.

Ben grinned. “I hate you, too. But I really don’t mind your hair. It’s easier for me to do this…” he dipped his head down and buried his face in the crook of her neck, kissing the delicate skin there, tickling her and making her laugh. She squirmed a little in his arms and he laughed, pulling back. “I love you,” he whispered so softly, it was almost missed amongst the humming of the machines.

Olivia smiled. “I love you too,” she whispered before tilting her head up and pressing her lips to his.

Jim smiled before looking down at the tests in front of him. His clothes were still sitting in the washing machine and he still had three more loads to do but he didn’t feel it right to stand up right then. Nothing happened in the laundry mat on Friday nights and when it did… Jim didn’t feel like interrupting it.

My One-Shot

So, Ben and Olivia won by a landslide. The next one-shot I write will definitely have to be about them since so many people want to read about them. I actually posted a one-shot on the site about them for about two hours this afternoon but I took it off. It wasn't my best work and I think everyone who read it thought that as well. I wrote it too quickly so I deleted the story and will start from the beginning. I'm not sure when I'll post it though. Honestly, I'm feeling a bit stretched. Everyone is requesting so many stories and I want to make everyone happy so I will do my best to keep updating Circle Park and The Prettiest Thing because I don't want to let anyone down. Thanks to all of those who read my stories and review. And also a big thanks to those who show an interest in this little blog I started on a whim one random day. You all mean the world to me and I promise that I'll keep trying to work hard so no one is disappointed.

Nikki and Lawson

Here are pictures of Nikki Hawkins and Lawson Chambers from Just What I Needed as well as the other stories in the Wonderwall series. Lawson was actually really hard to find but I'm satisfied with the picture I found. Just picture the hair a bit shorter.

Nikki

Lawson

My Cliché

I just posted the first chapter of my newest story The Prettiest Thing, which is the clichéd story a lot of you seemed interested in reading. I hope you all like it. The first chapter is a bit short in my opinion but it is taking the opportunity to just set a few things up. The next chapter will be a bit longer, my usual length probably. Please read and review and let me know what you all think of it. The seventh chapter of Circle Park should be up either sometime tonight or tomorrow. I figure that I will alternate the two stories, working on both of them on alternating days so updates will hopefully be frequent - if I don't burn myself out of course. lol. I don't really see that happening though. Or if I start updating Circle Park more frequently than The Prettiest Thing, don't panic. I probably will do so so I can finish one story and put all of my time and attention into the other so my writing isn't strained between two stories. We'll see though how this goes. Either way, neither story will be neglected.

Riley and Samantha

Upon request, here are pictures of Riley Harper and Samantha Moore from Skating By. This has to be one of my favorite stories that I wrote even though I know a lot of people have forgotten about it lol.

Riley

Samantha

One-Shots

So, I sometimes get in completely fluffy silly moods and I write one-shots much like I did with Emily and Jared in Another Day. I want to write another one but I can't decide who to write it about so I'm going to get everyone's opinion. What couple do you want to catch up with? Please leave a comment and let me know:

Justin/Poppy from Wonderwall and Even After All
Riley/Samantha from Skating By
Lawson/Nikki from Just What I Needed
Brady/Ali from Something Pretty
Holden/Sarah from She Paints Me Blue
Abe/Cecilia from Collide
Will/Lucy from Everything Will Be Alright
Casey/Amelia from Some Kind of Wonderful
Jamie/Violet from Better Together
Ben/Olivia from More than Anyone
Matt/Lindsey from Blood and Honey
Patrick/Maddy from The Lion and the Lamb
Reed/Cami from Beyond the Grey Sky
Misc. Couple - Let me know which one!

The story will just be a one-shot but I promise that it will catch you up with them and of course, it will be sweet, romantic and absolutely fluff.

Meg and Andy

Here are pictures of Meg Cohen and Andy Lisbon from Blood and Honey and Circle Park by request. Remember that if there are any characters you are interested in seeing, just let me know and I will be happy to post them if I can find appropriate pictures. I know someone requested pictures of Casey Reed and Amelia Aldridge from Some Kind of Wonderful but I am hesitant to find those pictures because I already posted pictures of their parents and I'm not sure if I can find actors/models that would look believably like their offspring.

Meg

Andy

Happenstance

I may be getting ahead of myself but I can't help it. After going nearly a year without writing or posting anything, now that I'm back, I can't seem to stop. I hope no one minds. I have just posted chapter five for Circle Park tonight and though I am not sure how long exactly the story will be, I do know exactly where the story is going. I am tweeking the first chapter of The Prettiest Thing, trying to perfect it before I post it. Because the story has a clichéd plotline, I am trying to make it with my own twists and situations. And while these two are officially works in progresses, I got another idea for my next story - which I promise. I will wait until I complete Circle Park and The Prettiest Thing before I even think about posting it. Once again, I just need to get it down on paper and see how it sounds. I already wrote a very rough, rough outline for it but other than that, I haven't worked on it.

There is a point when things stop being a coincidence and start being fate.

While waiting for their blind dates at the same restaurant, Devon Chambers and Anna Shaw strike up a conversation with one another and when they are both stood up, they decide to have dinner together. Devon isn't looking for a relationship and Anna hasn't been on an actual date in years. Neither expect to see each other again despite their obvious chemistry. But when the police detective walks into a hair salon late one night, looking for a haircut, Anna just happens to work there. After that, they seem to run into one another in the most random places: the grocery store, a street corner, a little league baseball game. And they begin to wonder why they seem to be seeing one another everywhere and why they can't stop thinking about one another.

I know it sounds a little rough and maybe not even interesting but I do plan on working on it. The story will be called Happenstance but first, I must finish Circle Park and then start posting chapters and writing The Prettiest Thing. Hopefully, no more ideas will pop into my head anytime soon. I need time to finish one thing before I begin with another.

Devon

Anna

The Prettiest Thing

I am so excited for the two stories I am writing at the moment. I can't help it. Just thinking about Circle Park and The Prettiest Thing, my clichéd story, I smile. Justin was teasing me and laughing about my enthusiasm because we went out to dinner tonight and I couldn't stop talking to him about the plot ideas I have. I have finished the first chapter of The Prettiest Thing and now I'm editing it. The earliest it will be posted will be Sunday sometime. As soon as I finished the fourth chapter of Circle Park, I started working on the fifth. I love writing about Ryan and Rachel's complicated relationship and now, I also love writing about Brett and Ella from The Prettiest Thing. I have found the perfect pictures for Brett Dawson, Ella Scott and Trevor Scott, Brett's best friend and Ella's brother. I know these pictures really won't matter to anyone until I post the chapter but I am so excited and I guess I want to share my excitement with everyone.

Brett

Ella

Trevor

The Writing Bug

So, it seems that I have become insanely ambitious and my fingers refuse to stop typing any time soon. After reading all of the warm responses, I have spent most of today, well all of the twins' nap time anyway, working on chapter four of Circle Park and now tweaking the first chapter for my clichéd story idea, still untitled as of yet. I may begin to start posting new chapters for these stories at the same time, meaning I would be writing the two stories simultaneously, meaning updates probably would no longer be daily. Is this something that you guys would want or would you rather have me just focus on and finish all of Circle Park before posting the new story? Let me know since you are the people I even have the courage to post my stories for and all of your comments and kind words make me smile. I'm so excited about Circle Park and now my cliché, which I really need to think of a title for.

Jamie and Violet

Here are pictures of Jamie Cross and Violet Littleton from Better Together. I had no idea that finding a picture of Violet would be close to impossible but I'm satisfied with the one I found.

Jamie

Violet

Will and Lucy

As requested, here are pictures of Will Kelly and Lucy Banks from my story Everything Will Be Alright. Remember that if anyone has a certain character they want to see a picture of, I will do my best to find one and post it.

Will

Lucy

Such a Cliché

Thank you to all of those who have read and reviewed Circle Park so far for me. I'm having such a fun time writing it and I hope that's evident when you read it. I like the fact that I'm writing something different than most of my other stories and I'm excited to see what everyone thinks of it as the rest of the story begins to unfold.

When I'm writing, in the back of my head, I am always toying around with ideas for my next new story. And especially lately, I have three or four ideas tumbling about inside my mind. One idea in my head that refuses to go away is so clichéd and yet, I love it. I have a weak spot in my heart for clichéd stories. I'm not sure if I'll ever write this but I have to get the idea down on paper and see if anyone is interested in reading it.

Brett Dawson could get any girl he wanted and yet, he seems to be completely uninterested in those throwing themselves at him. Instead, he seems to be focused on none other than the quiet, bookworm, Ella Scott, who also just happens to be Brett's best friend's younger sister.

I know. I know. Not only is it about the popular guy falling for the shy girl but it's about the guy falling for his best friend's sister. I don't know why I feel compelled to write this but the idea is just in there and it refuses, absolutely refuses, to leave my mind. Please tell me what you think of it. This might be one of those stories I write for myself that will never see the light of day. I'm not sure yet. First things first however. I must continue to work on Circle Park and am in fact working on chapter three, which will hopefully be posted sometime tonight or early tomorrow morning.

My Newest Story

The second chapter of Circle Park, originally called Wonderland, was posted today. This story doesn't seem to be as popular as my previous ones and I'm not sure why readers don't seem to be liking it. If you could let me know why, leaving a comment for me, I would greatly appreciate it. I just want my stories to be liked and I want to improve my writing so if something with the story is not well-liked, please let me know. I'll do my best to change it. Thank you so much.

Wonderland Update

I hope to have the second chapter of Wonderland up by tonight and after writing this chapter, I might change the name of the story but I'm still undecided about that yet. After posting the first chapter, I was expecting more people to like it since everyone seemed to be wanting this story but oh well. I love the story already. It's different than my other ones and I'm excited to see what everyone's reactions to it will be. Thank you so much to those that read and reviewed the first chapter. If you know me, then you know that I get slightly panicked when I get the feeling that people aren't enjoying my writings. I admit it. I just love getting reviews and reading what people think so far of my stories. I already have so many ideas for this story so I need to sit down and map it out clearly. I think Ryan just might be one of my favorites characters to write.

Holden and Sarah

I'm not sure why but finding pictures that resemble Holden Smith and Sarah James from She Paints Me Blue was quite the challenge but I finally found two models that look like the visions I have of these two particular characters. Actually, I couldn't believe how much the male model reminded me of Holden. When I find the time and if I run out of momentum to write new stories, I was actually thinking of editing and re-writing She Paints Me Blue. We'll see though. If I do decide to do it, it won't be until far into the future.

Holden

Sarah

Chapter One

The first chapter for my new story Wonderland has been posted and I hope everyone likes it. I know the first chapter doesn't reveal much but it's not supposed to. You are not supposed to know about Ryan and Rachel and what happened between them two years earlier. If I told you everything in the first chapter, where would all the fun be? I know a lot of you readers loved Ryan Reed since his first appearance in Blood and Honey and yes, all of the friends from that story will be in this story as well. I hope that this newest story will be enjoyed as much as my previous ones. Thanks in advance for reading.

Ryan and Rachel

Here are pictures of Ryan Reed and Rachel Clay from my newest story Wonderland.

Ryan

Rachel

Paul, Shelby and Tyson

As promised, here are pictures of Paul Clay, Shelby Holmes and Tyson Reed from my newest story Wonderland.

Paul

Shelby

Tyson

Wonderland

I am already writing my next story and the first chapter is nearly complete. My fingers hurt from writing so much lately but I can't stop. The babies have their routine now and me and Justin can change two diapers within five minutes. We are masters and we are quite proud of ourselves. With the twins having their own schedule, I am able to find time to write - of course most of the time I write, there is a baby in my lap but I don't think it has effected my writing. I hope not anyway :).

The newest story to be added to my collection is Wonderland starring none other than Ryan Reed and his friends and family. Ryan has always been a reader favorite and the time has come for him to have his own story. I hope everyone enjoys it because I love writing Ryan. The first chapter will either be up tonight or sometime tomorrow. Character pictures will be posted later as well. I posted a picture of Ryan already but I will post it again. And I just want to thank everyone now for reading my stories and this blog. There's no point in me writing if there is no one there to read and enjoy it.

Chapter Thirteen - The End

I just posted the last chapter for Beyond the Grey Sky and I know a lot of people are going to have a problem with the ending. I know that the ending seemed sudden and it was in a sense but also it wasn't really an ending and I will try to explain. Reed and Cami had so many issues, so many conflicts and yet so much passion between them, it would be impossible to end their story. So in a sense, the story did just end in the middle, or the beginning, however you want to look at it but in all honesty, that was exactly how the story was always supposed to end. I'm sorry if it was not enjoyed by some of you but if you know me, you should expect Reed and Cami to pop up again and you can see how they're doing. Thanks to all of my readers and reviewers. You will never know how much I love and appreciate all of you.

Ben and Olivia

So many requests, so hard to find the right actors/models that fit the part. But I'm so glad so many people seem to be enjoying the pictures. I love seeing my characters in the flesh as well so to speak. These pictures below are of Ben Norfolk and Olivia Grange from More Than Anyone and let me tell you. It is hard to find an actor around the right age with shaved red hair. The actor I found has the perfect Ben face though.

Ben

Olivia

Justin and Poppy

So, I officially love my husband. Today, we had gone out to the park with the twins (they're doing so well, 7years, thank you for asking!) and he had gone to buy hot dogs and a magazine. Justin is obsessed with skateboarding and surfing and when he was playing with Thomas and Delia, I started flipping through the magazine he bought and suddenly there he was. Readers, I have finally found my Justin Aldridge. He is perfect and pretty much how I imagined him in my head though Justin from Wonderwall and Even After All had darker hair. Still, despite that, he is still a perfect example. I also was so excited I found an actress with EXACTLY the kind of hair and face Poppy Sheppard always had in my head. I am so happy about these pictures. Please enjoy. I am so glad my husband (also named Justin) buys surfing magazines.

Justin

Poppy

Abe and Cecilia

As requested, here is Abe Conway and Cecilia Monroe from Collide. I am still trying to fulfill another request and find pictures of Holden Smith and Sarah Jones from She Paints Me Blue but I promise that I am trying to find them. I knew that they would be a hard couple to find pictures for but I won't give up.

Cecilia

Abe

Brady and Ali

Of course I can post pictures of Brady and Ali. As requested, here are pictures of Brady Reed and Ali Kurkova from Something Pretty. If there are any more requests for character pictures, please let me know but I must warn you. I do not have pictures for all of my characters. For instance, I do not have pictures of Justin Aldridge and Poppy Sheppard from Wonderwall and Even After All so I can't post those anytime soon. But if you are interested in seeing any other of my characters, let me know and I will try my best to find a model/actor that embodies them.

Brady

Ali

Matt and Lindsey

Someone e-mailed me requesting pictures of Matt Reilly and Lindsey Holland from Blood and Honey and I've actually had these on my computer since I wrote the story so here you go. I will post pictures of Meg Cohen and Andy Lisbon if someone also wants to see those as well.

Matt

Lindsey

Fan Art

Thanks to Erin again for making these for me. I love what you do with the pictures you find. Thank you so much for doing this.

Chapter Ten

I just posted chapter ten for Beyond the Grey Sky and from the looks of it, people do not seem to like it. But the story was always meant to go this way. Of course Reed's drinking was going to become a problem for his and Cami's growing relationship. Of course he was going to do something stupid and wind up hurting her. I'm sorry if this chapter was hated by a lot of people but the story had been planned in my head like this since the beginning. I can't please everyone. I can only write what I want to write and hope that some people out there like it. For those truly worried, don't be. All is not lost for Reed and Cami. I'm not sure how many more chapters but I do know that their story is not done yet.

Worried

Thank you so much for all of the reviews Beyond the Grey Sky is getting. I get so giddy when I get onto AFF and see that so many have read the chapter and that I have reviews for what I wrote. I must admit though. Reading through some of the reviews, I find myself getting worried. Perhaps I'm just paranoid, which is always a possibility, but were there readers out there who thought that this story was not good? I'm not going to speak of specific reviews but please leave me a comment and give me your honest opinion. Is this story not good? Did it not start good? Is it good now? Is it surprising that the story is good? I don't know why I'm worried. I shouldn't. The story seems to be well-liked. I would just like some thoughts about what the real opinion of the story is. Thank you so much in advance for everything.

Question Time

Oh! I just thought of something else to say. A reader, Melanie, emailed me and suggested it and I'm curious to see if anyone else is interested in this. I have some readers that will email with random questions they think pertaining to my stories and I am more than happy to answer them. Questions like who my favorite couple I created is, where do my stories take place, how old I am, what my favorite movie is, etc. etc. If anyone has any questions for me, feel free to either leave a comment here or email me. I will be more than happy to answer. And just in case you were wondering:

My favorite couple that I created - I love all of the couples I write but honestly, my favorite, the one that I love writing about is Brady and Ali from Something Pretty. A close second would be between Jared and Emily from Blood and Honey and Another Day. I know a lot of my most devoted fans who have been with me since the beginning adore Justin and Poppy from Wonderwall and Even After All. They were my first stab at romance stories and I've seriously been considering rewriting Wonderwall because reading it again now from when I first wrote it, I'm not at all satisfied with the story. They were my first experiment and I might give them another shot.

And for Melanie's second question - The Wonderwall series of stories took place in the Boston, MASS. area. I have never lived there but my sister lived there around the time that I was writing all of those particular stories so I used that city. After that, the stories have either taken place in Chicago or NW Indiana, which is about fifteen minutes away from Chicago and this is where I was born and raised. The town, Archer, is fictitious but every town, train line, and street name is real and from my life. In fact, the Pope house from The Lion and the Lamb is very much like the house I live in now.

Sorry for rambling. If anyone has any question pertaining to my story or to me, don't hesitate to ask. I would be more than happy to answer anything - within reason of course. :)

Chapter Eight

Chapter eight of Beyond the Grey Sky was posted this afternoon and I would like to thank all of you who have read the story and an even bigger thanks goes to those who have left reviews. It means so much to me to post my stories and to have people read and enjoy them - at least, I hope they are being enjoyed. I have the entire story roughly drafted out in my head and I know what will be happening and I have an idea for an ending already so hopefully, it will all go smoothly from my mind down to paper.

And also, another thanks must go to the people who have shown an interest in this blog. I know there's no real point to it but I wanted to set it up for one reason. I am a visual writer. I need to see the things I imagine in one form or another. So really, posting the pictures of my characters benefits me as I hope it does you. The characters I envision in my head are obviously not exactly like the pictures of actors and models I post but it does help me write. And I hope you like the visual aids as well.

As for my next story, I'm not sure where all of this energy is coming from but after such a long hiatus of not writing, it seems that I can't stop myself. I know many of you want to read about Ryan Reed next from Blood and Honey and Another Day but I'm not entirely certain whether or not he will be the focus of my next story. I've been throwing around a couple different plot ideas for Ryan's story and none have satisifed me completely so until I have a solid idea I'm pleased with, no story with Ryan will be posted. I don't want to post something mediocre. You, my readers, do not deserve mediocrity. But I promise that when I do have a solid story idea in my head that I'm pleased and satisfied with, Ryan's story will be posted.

Another Day

Here are a couple pictures posted of Jared Townsend and Emily Thorn from the short story Another Day, which was just posted on AFF this evening. Once again, finding someone that matched the Emily in my mind was almost impossible but this photo I found is almost how I imagined Emily posing in a picture. Once again, if this isn't at all how you pictured Jared or Emily, please imagine them as you wish and ignore the pictures below.

Jared

Emily

Chapter Six

Chapter Six for Beyond the Grey Sky has been posted on AFF and at the end of the chapter, Reed and Cami make a bet so to speak. If Reed gets above a 'C' on his next history test, Cami has to go out on a date with him. If he gets below a 'C', he has to give up drinking alcohol until after the final exam. I already know what is going to happen since the story is pretty much plotted out in my head but I am curious. What do you want to read? A date between the two or Reed finally sobering up? Let me know. I would love to see what the majority wants to happen.

Beyond the Grey Sky

I have started writing my next story Beyond the Grey Sky, which has two chapters posted already on AFF, and it follows Reed Simms through the last few months during his senior year of high school. While all of his friends are filling out college applications and talking about their impending futures, Reed is failing his classes and it is uncertain whether or not he will even graduate. He does not care though. He seems to have stopped caring about nearly everything in his life.

Cami Hall, his tutor, knows she shouldn't care about him but for some reason, seeing the great and almighty popular Reed Simms look so lost and sad confuses her and she tries her best to help him in any way she can. She doesn't know why she bothers. Reed seems to want anything but her aid but she's not letting him push her away. He needs someone in his life at the moment and though she's certain she's not that person, she finds herself becoming more and more involved with the boy she claims to hate more than anyone.

I hope that the first two chapters were to everyone's liking. Really, it is setting everything up, showing Reed's behavior in school and at home. I'm not sure what everyone thinks so please let me know.