The Post So Exciting, You Might Want To Read Sitting Down

Ok, so it might not be as exciting for you all as it is for me, but still... it's pretty freaking exciting.


If you're a follower of my facebook page you might have picked up on the fact that, besides writing, I also work full-time at Target.  I wrote both Never Close Enough and Never Far Away while working 40 hours a week, with two small children, and a husband so supportive and understanding that he needs to have his head examined.

I would work a full-day, go home and take care of my kids and house, then when my husband came home (from his own 11 hour workday) I would leave to write at Starbucks until they closed and then go to bed just to get up and do it all again the next day.  If I had the day off from work it was likely that I left my kids at daycare or with family for a few hours to get in some writing.  My 2-year-old's first sentence he could put together was "Mommy write book?"  He would ask me that when I put my laptop case on my shoulder to head out to write.  I was absent a lot for a good year.

A few weeks ago my husband and I made the decision that I would step down from my management position at Target to part-time so I could get in one full day of writing.  32 hours at Target and hopefully 15-20ish hours writing.  Luckily for me, sales of my books were making it possible for me to take a loss at my full-time job.  The very day Never Far Away was released was my first day in my new role at work and I felt like everything was as it should be.

Then March happened.

I could never have imagined the response I got from the release of Never Far Away, and how many people read and loved it.  Not only that, but the sales for Never Close Enough were up as well.  I was so excited and felt like I had made a great decision.

Then April happened, and holy cow, is it still happening.

We (as in me, myself, I, my husband, my family, anyone who knows me) are so thrilled/thankful/excited/grateful/flabbergasted/blown-the-heck-away by how well the books are doing, and all the support I am getting.  I could NEVER have imagined any of this would happen.

So, I wanted to write an official THANK YOU to everyone who has read the books, told someone you know about the books, left a review, left me a message, or in any way supported me in this crazy and wild ride.  Thanks to all of you, I was able to officially resign from my job at Target in its entirety.  As of Tuesday the 29th of April I will officially be a full-time writer.  That will be my job.  People will ask me what I do for a living and I will be able to answer "I write," or "I'm a novelist," or "I make stuff up and write it down,"  and I have no words to tell you all what that means to me.  None.

What does this mean for you?  More books!  I can't wait to get all these books out of my head and out to you readers!  I hope you're ready for me, cause you got me!

Honestly and sincerely,
Thank you - so much.
~Anie

Sneak Peek at my WIP

   So, as promised, here is the very first look at my latest WIP.  There are a lot of authors out there who can work on more than one project at a time, I like to call them crazy.  I am a one book at a time person, for both reading AND writing.  So, this book has been my focus for the last six or so weeks.  I am in love with these characters and I am so excited to be along on this ride with them.

   Please keep in mind the following things:  My editor hasn't gotten to look at this, so there could be (read: probably are) errors that will embarrass me.  Deal with it. :)  Also, even though this is just a little old blog post, it is still protected under copyright laws, ok?  Also, it is 100% subject to change.  In fact, I could take it out of the book all together. I have a title in mind, but I'm not cemented in it yet so I will keep it to myself for now.

   Enjoy! Meet Charlie and Asher.....

Prologue

The familiarity of his arms was like a drug. No matter what I was feeling – happy, sad, panicked, flustered, agitated, angry – when his arms wrapped around me, so did peace. I moved my chin up to look at his face. Dark, thick, painfully long lashes dusted across his cheekbones as he slept. Lashes that many women would kill for. And although the lashes were feminine to an extent, when his eyes were open there was no mistaking his masculinity. Eyes the color of slate gray hid behind those lashes, and when he used them to look me over, when he perused my body with them, I could feel the smoothness of the granite they resembled silking over my skin.

His face was beautiful. His strong square jaw left room for one dimple that sat on this left cheek. His unmarred skin was smooth and creamy besides just the few dark freckles that gave him a distinct look. We were both still young, just eighteen, but he was already so manly I shivered to think what he would look like in five or ten years.

I leaned up to press a gentle kiss just at the bottom of his chin and as he roused I pretended to look apologetic, but really I wanted him awake. I wanted him, period.

“Awake already?” His voice rasped, still groggy from sleep. “What time is it?”

“I don't know,” I replied honestly as I trailed kisses along his jaw, following the line of his jaw down the slope of his neck. He pulled away to look at me.

“Charlie,” he said softly to me. “Are you sure? I don't want to hurt you,” he said all too sweetly as he placed his hand on the side of my face.

“I feel fine,” I whispered, trying to convince him I was indeed ok.

“Aren't you, uh, sore?” He asked sheepishly. I grinned at him and shrugged my shoulders.

“Asher, I know I lost my virginity a few hours ago, but I was far from chaste before that. I'm not sore at all.” He gave me a concerned look.

“You'd tell me if you were hurt, right?” I nodded at him. “You'll tell me to stop if it gets to be too much?” I nodded again and then leaned up to press my mouth to his.

“You're already too much,” I said against his lips. “But I get what you mean.” And with that he took me under him and made love to me for the second time in our lives. Loving him was easy and beautiful, and I wish I taken more time to cement the memories in my mind. There was no way to know that in such a short time everything would be taken from me. Everything.