Looking for Beta Readers

Hello all,

A little more than a month and a half ago I sent my book, "Dancing with Dragonflies" to a few friends and family members, I think there were around 10 people I sent to? Anyway, I've only heard back from two of them and I'm running out of time for peoples' opinions on it, so I will be finding three more people to send to.

This story is finished, however, it is not completely ready for publishing. I will go through another round or two of proofreading and editing, but before I do that, I would like some more feedback on it, from the readers. Why? Because I have my reservations about this book. I spent eight years (or more?) off and on writing it because I was bored with it a lot of the time and I didn't think it was going to be a good story.

Those thoughts have changed. It's now one of MY favorites, but I need to know if other readers feel the same. I think I thought it was boring before because it was taking me so long to write--it had always been a "back burner" story, you see--so I wasn't seeing it as what it really is, which is an exciting adventure.

I had originally planned on Cole, a teenage boy, to be the main character and protagonist, but somewhere along the way, another character stepped up and took that position (I did not have that planned, but sometimes our characters take over a story and make us write things we had no intentions of doing). I need to know if that's okay. I need to know if that's going to bug the readers. I just want to know if it progresses smoothly or if it's kind of a mess.

I also intentionally added some cliches to this story because I wanted it to have an old fairy-tale type feel to it. I need to know if readers will be rolling their eyes at this or if I balanced things all right.

I need several opinions about these issues, of course. I can't just take the word of one person (my editor), which is why having beta readers to give me feedback (brutal--but constructive--honesty) is so important.

I'm not going to bother leaving a link here because, to be honest, I don't think anyone reads this blog (lol), but on the off chance there is someone reading and that person is interested in being a beta reader, you'll find more info on my Facebook account (Author Sara Hogan).

Is It Really Possible to Write Part-Time Again?

Today I tested something out.

I sat my daughter down next to me at the table with some coloring books and the laptop with toddler games on it. We had a movie playing in the living room. And wouldn't you know it? I was able to write a small chapter in my newest book.

I have not written regularly in at least three years. Always before I would have to wait until she was in bed because she would try and touch as many buttons on the keyboard as she could. By the time she went to bed, I was either too tired to write or had too much to do (cleaning, exercising, etc.).

It was a small chapter, only about five pages. But it got done. My plan is to write this new book a little at a time and post each chapter as it is finished on my website. It may take a while, but I'm going to do it. My new goal: at least one page per day, even if it's just a blog entry. Eventually, I'll work up to a word count.

I want to have a book published by the end of this year. I want it to be a book I've been working on since 2008. It's called "Dancing with Dragonflies." It's quite different from the other books I've published, as this one is aimed toward to young adults. There is no adult content. So when you see that title, know that I've put a lot of thought into it. A lot of patience. It's been eight years in the making so far.

The book I've started is a new erotica story that's been brewing in my mind for several months now. It won't be anything special, just a little fun. That's the one that will be posted on my website. Please bookmark the link so you can check it frequently.

I'm also on an iMac computer, which is very new to me, so I'm learning how to do everything again as far as layout and formatting. So please be patient.

Here is attempt ... oh, I don't know, 10 (?) to get back into writing. Hope it pans out this time.

Hmm, What Should My First Post Be About?

Well, first of all, I created this blog and will also be heading over to Twitter to tweak my account there, in the hopes of bringing my fans back to me. I've been in a funk for a year or more and haven't been totally committed to my writing and therefore, my readers have kind of abandoned me it seems (except the most loyal ones, and for them I'm thankful). Not that I blame them.

I put together a little website that features my most recent writings, including long and short stories. But even that hasn't seemed to bring people back to me :-/ I've made my books cheaper on Kindle as well. My only wish is to expand my fan base. I love writing and am finally getting back into it. I plan on posting more stories on my website for stumbling readers' pleasure. Maybe even a new book or two on Kindle, who knows? I have ideas for two (that's right: TWO) new vampire books. One will be strictly horror, and the other will be vampire romance ... oh yes. Though, this time, I think I will try and leave it at a YA level instead of writing erotica into it like "Dead Seed." I'm going to try and stray from the goodie-goodie brooding "Edward" type vampire as well. He won't be evil like Aimeric, but he's not going to resist his instincts either. I think people will like him ;-)

Well, off to Twitter.
*Salutes*

-- Sara