For VikLit’s Celebrate the Small Things blog hop,
I’ll talk about one of the things that has been taking over my life….
After the mad dash to complete the first draft of Anticipating
Dawn, and after receiving treasured comments from my first beta reader,
I’ve come to realize that now I need to give this sequel more care. This is only
my second novel. And me being me, it’s a darned strange
story. Thus, it needs more care in the creation of its connective tissues to
make sure the synapses engage properly. I have to remember that and be happy to
have the ability to perform this intricate procedure, and to temper my desire
to rush and start sending out query letters! Woe is me….
I remember when writing my first book, Anticipation
of the Penitent, and believed it was complete. Come some several months
later, I’d realized that it was only about halfway done. Limbs need to be
amputated and reattached, grafts executed and patches affixed before it could
have the life I meant for it. I do believe Anticipating Dawn is much
more than halfway done, but it is not yet whole.
Didn’t I expect this? Didn’t I tell myself it wouldn’t be complete for a few months yet? Still, my head nearly convinced me that it was close to perfect and needed only a couple of tweaks. Crazy brain!
Didn’t I expect this? Didn’t I tell myself it wouldn’t be complete for a few months yet? Still, my head nearly convinced me that it was close to perfect and needed only a couple of tweaks. Crazy brain!
Well, the operation has begun, and Anticipating
Dawn will be in recovery (editing time) in about three months (Two? One and a
half, maybe?) to be revealed as my much more sound second bouncing baby
creation. And what a beautiful creature it will be!
I'm looking forward to reading your celebrations!
The Last Day in the Life
of Jillian (The Last Days)
The first book in a series of The Last Days.
Jillian and Evan are trapped and Evan is ill.
Jillian recalls the events that have led to their demise and documents the
stages of Evan's infection as he changes into a being to be afraid of.
My Review
It's been a long time since I've been truly scared
reading a book or, in this case, a story. This one did scare me, caused my
heart to beat faster from the suspense of it all, and it continued to long
after the story was over. I don't think I've ever read a zombie book or story, and this was a great introduction to the genre. Loved the main character.
Jillian's voice carried me throughout, and her neighbors and husband, as well
as her descriptions of her sisters, seemed very real. The scenes,
conversations, zombie outbreak, all very believable. The storytelling
was superbly done, with the side stories (or explanations) giving it a
grotesquely genuine spice. Thankfully, I didn’t have any scary or even strange
dreams after reading this.
There are some editing issues that detracted slightly from the story as a whole. In the post note, the author does mention the hope to get an editor in the future. I still recommend this story for those who like a little freaky fictional, but smartly done, scare in their lives.
There are some editing issues that detracted slightly from the story as a whole. In the post note, the author does mention the hope to get an editor in the future. I still recommend this story for those who like a little freaky fictional, but smartly done, scare in their lives.
About the Author
Julie A.
Brown, also writing as Julie Cooper Brown. Julie has always loved to write
poetry and the like in her younger years. She has written The Last Day in the
Life of Jillian as her first attempt at writing fiction and hopes to break
through with this new novella. Julie enjoys playing guitar, piano and violin
though she is unable to read music. And although she has no degrees to brag of
and only an eighth grade education, she is confident in her writing and only
hopes to improve her technique in the future. 
