Review Wednesday: 'Bloom'

Welcome to Review Wednesday!! Ever wonder what happens when the story is over and the wedding has yet to happen? Today I have Jasmine Aherne's sweet story Bloom.
Mari Dawson, Dr. Noah Campbell, and Aimee return in this sweet story about the months leading up to the Big Day--Mari and Noah's wedding. The excitement is in the air and romance can be felt all around them. But Aimee is crushed by her first teenage love and Mari still hasn't told her parents about the engagement.

Will the trip down the aisle be a disaster from Mari's lack of wedding planning skills and Noah demanding work schedule? Or, will the two have their day?

You'll find out if their love will Bloom and make the special day a beautiful lifetime memory.
Warning: m/f sexual situation 

It never ceases to amaze me how some authors can pack so much into so little pages. But that's just what Jasmine Aherne did. While the characters were familiar from the first novel, Uprooted, they developed nicely in this short. Aimee, the teenager, is as real as it gets when her heart is broken. Mari, who's so careful with love and relationships, shows her venerability and responds as any loving mother figure, would. Plus, Noah was a delight whenever his thoughts wondered to his future wife.

Thank you Ms. Aherne. It's hard enough to write great stories, but when an author goes the extra mile and follows it up with a closing tale, it eases the romantic mind! Congratulations on Five Blue Roses! This short was so sweet. :)
Jasmine Aherne's website: http://www.pinkpetalbooks.com/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=9  

Have a Sparkling Day!
Rebecca Rose

Monday Beginnings

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend. Me? Well, the truth is I'm a little scared. Yes, even though I'm pushing forty, I'm scared beyond my years. Recently I've decided to make a career change. Now while some of you may say I'm young enough for it, my mind keeps reeling with the things I'm taking a chance with-- mortgage, cars, three kids, husband and the zoo we have living in our home.

About two years ago I was signed with Lyrical Press and decided to see where this 'hobby' of mine would take my family and me. Being one to never do things halfway, I dove into sixty hour weeks. Don't worry, I hear the kids are doing well and that they've grown. LOL Just Kidding! I gave up sleep to see them.
In the last six months, or so, I've found myself with a conflict of time and priority. My 'day job' had begun to interfere with my 'writing career' and I've been dragging my feet with the knowledge of what I needed to do. You see, being a full-time writer isn't just spilling your imagination and characters onto a Word file and sending it in to be contracted. (At least not in my mind.) A full-time writer is a student reading blogs and taking courses or attending conferences. It's helping other writers by editing, not just their work, but your own, too. There's getting your name out in any forum that will take you, along with book signings and guest speaking. Now, I've also begun to teach classes. I have to admit, teaching has become my second, or third behind editing, favorite thing to do.

I started a Young Adults Writing Course this summer when my son and his friends showed interest in what I do. At first I was intimidated. After all, what makes me so special that I can teach a class? I was probably three classes in on characterization when I asked them to write a short on the hero we had built. The exercise was to show who the character was so if you walked away from the piece of work for too long, you could read this and your muse would be sparked as to who he is. I listened as they read their shorts aloud and saw the expressions on their faces as they realized, while it was the same character they were all writing about, all of them had different ideas for who and what laid ahead for our hero. It was in that moment I knew, Hair Dressing had to go. This is where I belong. Teaching. I have an Adult Course starting next month.

So, yup I'm taking that leap of faith, and so is my family. Because, while I have three novels to finish by the end of this year, my own personal goal, writing is so much more than typing, editing, repeat. It's giving back to your fellow authors and community. I'm scared. What if it doesn't work? What if I fail and have spent all this time building an authors foundation and have nothing to show for it? As far as I'm concerned, I've already accomplished so much more than I've ever thought possible.Yet, the change in careers is a scary thing. Guess I'll have to wait and see how this chapter of my life is going to end and lead into the next one. :)


Have a Sparkling Day!
Rebecca Rose