I finished the first draft of my second book this morning!!! YAY! It felt so good to write "The End." I actually started writing several books in between the first and second completed manuscripts, but none of them felt quite right, like they weren't what I was supposed to be working on at the time. Then, inspiration struck in early January and I wrote this book like a mad woman. It is a YA paranormal romance and is currently at 78,000 words (though that may change during revisions), and it is told from both the male and female perspective. I actually wrote 45,000 words of a YA dystopian before starting the paranormal romance, and that one was really hard to put aside, but I just felt so much better about the paranormal romance. Who knows? Maybe while I'm taking that much needed distance from my MS before starting revisions, I'll look over the dystopian and see if it feels better now.
In other news, I just read an AMAZING book! It's called Anna and the French Kiss. It's by Stephanie Perkins and it is absolutely fabulous! You have to read it!!! I have not enjoyed a book this much since The Hunger Games. I cannot recommend it highly enough. In the very beginning, I wondered if Perkins' writing was too simplistic (especially since I've recently been reading Cassandra Clare's works and she uses soooo much beautiful imagery) but as the story progressed, I realized that it wasn't simplistic. She was just choosing her words carefully so that, instead of taking an entire page to describe the scenery, she could do it in one paragraph or even one sentence! This kept the pace moving beautifully (and you know how I love a fast read). I am definitely adding Perkins to my list of favorite authors. I wish the companion novel, Lola and the Boy Next Door, was out already, but I have to wait until September. Sigh. I guess that just means I'll have to read Anna again.
Official Review: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins = 5 stars!
