Journey to the Future

I'm sorry for the long hiatus. In October of 2017 I fell ill and shortly after Christmas of that year I had to have surgery. For the next 5 months I struggled with my health. I'm still struggling with my health and I am sad to say that my writing has suffered greatly. Once again I apologize for the long hiatus.

I have been free writing lately because I got out of the habit of writing while I've been sick. I do plan on revisiting the two different book series I have already published and continuing them. It may take a bit but I refuse to give up on my writing.

A lot of things have changed in the last year or so. I left my job of 6/7 years. I couldn't walk into my place of work without having an anxiety attack. I have always had depression and anxiety but since my surgery in 2017 it has gotten exponentially worse. But since I left my job I haven't had nearly as many anxiety attacks. I've only had to take my meds twice in the week since I quit.

In this week I realized how much I had given up for a job that didn't appreciate me or cared about me. I was disposable. I let my job rule my life for the last couple of years and it has greatly effected me. Now I cant wait to dive back into the things I love and have so dearly missed. I cant wait to feel the dirt in my hands as I garden, or write my fantasies on paper and share with all of you.

I hope all of you are patient with me on my journey back to being me. I know I have changed just in this last week and I honestly can't wait to see what the future holds for me.

December Update

I would like to sincerely apologize to all of you. I had every intention of being more active on here but life got in the way. I won't be able to be very active on here or with my writing. I am going to get my current project out and then it may take a while before my next book comes out.

I got sick the week before Thanksgiving and it never went away. I have been in constant pain and just recently the nausea went away. I found out this last week after many tests, x-rays, and ultrasounds, that I have to talk to a specialist about my gallbladder and I also have to go in for a CT scan for a spot they found on my kidney. 

During this entire time I have been heavily medicated and off of work. But you could have used this time to write! Not really. Several of my medications cause drowsiness, so in turn I ended up sleeping all day long. I have every intention of keeping all of you updated on what happens. 

Now for the real update! During the next month or so I will be updating Triple Threat and Taming an Alpha for the upcoming release of the Millersburg Shifters Volume 1. It contains the first three volumes of the Millersburg series. It will be releasing on January 31st for $4.99 It can be found here.

I already have an outline for Millersburg Shifters #4. But I know several of you are awaiting the next Trinity Mates book. Depending on what happens with my health I will try to have Millersburg Shifters #4 out by mid 2018 and Trinity Mates #2 out by the end of 2018.

Thank you all for your support and understanding. I hope all of you have a happy holiday

I'm Back

Hi everybody! I'm back from the black pool of nothingness. I would have been back sooner but I caught cold. I have been somewhat working on my current book. Between having a cold, issues at work, and prepping for the second biggest day of my best friends life, things have been slightly hectic.

I am not sure when I will be finished with my current project due to how much I am packing into it, but I can say this will be longer than the first two book of the Millersburg series. Once that is done I will be starting on another project right away. It sucks being behind schedule. But hey it is what it is. I am hoping to have the next installment for my writing challenge done sometime next week or sooner. I may even give it a title.

I now have an Instagram account, alicefrost2013. I've been active on there. Mostly inspirational pics.

I know it's the middle of August but I feel like the end of the year is approaching too quickly. I turned another year older not long ago (the 13th) and I don't feel like I should have had my birthday yet. It's insane. So there is my quick update for today!

Quick Update

Sorry I haven't updated with the next prompt challenge (on either blog) but I became engrossed in my work. I have been working on the third installment of the Millersburg Shifters series, Spy's Temptation. I do not know how long this book will be seeing as there is a lot I want to see go into this one. So I have a very shaky release date. It's more like 'I hope I'm done by this date'.

I have been asked if I will release all three books in a bundle pack and I will be. But before I do I am going to be going through the first two and fine tuning them just a bit before putting them in the bundle. Nothing major (I think).

I do have a couple of stories I would like to see make it onto your electronic devices but that all depends on my schedule and work *cough* procrastination *cough* level. Though I do have a bonus coming this week. My son is starting school which means I have my days off to do whatever I need to to get done with my work load.

Also, I am wishing my momma a Happy Birthday today. She turned another year older and had a great day of just relaxing. I can't wait for next month when I get a weekend of just relaxing on my birthday, no child, no work (main job), and just me and my computer. Ah, fun times to come.

Write drunk; edit sober.

- Ernest Hemingway

I hope you all have an awesome week. Since this is my Friday I'll be sleeping in for the next two days for the last time until school break. *cries* But as a single mom I am rejoicing at the fact that it is back to school time.

Prompt #1

Carly groaned in frustration. How was she supposed to pay the rent, buy food, and replace the spark plugs on her car? She pulled the crumpled bills from her apron and thumbed through them. $20 in tips from a ten hour shift. She threw the rent bill towards her bed, only to watch it flutter underneath. Looks like she was going to be cleaning out from underneath there...

She stared in a mixed sense of horror and fascination as a scaly green human-like hand with long black claws shoved the rent bill and a stack of cash out from underneath her bed. She hesitantly approached the cash. She bent and picked up the rent bill and cash, whispering 'Thank you' as she stood up. 

Momma had always taught her to have good manners. She didn't think Momma had meant with whatever was living underneath her bed but it was better to be safe than sorry. She was sleeping right above his... her... it's living quarters.

She headed for the door, excited to actually be paying the rent on time and not hearing her landlady scream about being evicted through the door. She stopped as she placed her hand on the door handle and turned back to the bed. "You live here too. You don't have to stay hidden under the bed anymore." She smiled before turning the handle and opening the door. Strangely, it felt like she was stepping into a better future as she stepped through the doorway.

When she returned there was no sign of anyone there. She was disappointed but knew she would eventually meet her strange but new roommate. She tucked the receipt for the rent in her lock box. She refused to just toss them anywhere willy-nilly, that's how she lost her last apartment. Now she kept every single receipt and scrap piece of paper she received from the landlady that way she couldn't be swindled again.

She tucked the lock box back underneath the cabinet and sat down at her kitchen table. There was enough extra money to buy groceries, replace the spark plugs on her car, maybe even buy a new kitchen table or a futon for her roommate.

She glanced at the bed. "You going to introduce yourself or am I going to have to assume that I have gone insane and am sitting in a padded cell having delusions?"

She heard a deep, raspy chuckle come from beneath the bed.

"I will come out when the sun has set."

She looked over to the window. It was dark out but the light from all the signs and buildings made it seem earlier than it was. She grabbed a heavy blanket from the closet and hung it up the best she could, muttering about her next purchase being blackout curtains. She turned back towards the bed, hands on her hips. "This is as dark as it's going to get. It's after midnight and being in the city means it's going to bright out even at night."

She heard a aggravated sigh before two hands came out from beneath her bead. The hands were quickly followed by lean, muscular arms, a head of long black hair, broad shoulders, a wide chest, lean hips and long muscular legs, then a set of thin masculine feet. He had to stand of 6 feet tall. 

She looked from him to the bed and then back to him. "How the hell did you fit under there?"

He shrugged. "I can change shape." He lifted his arm. "My color not so much."

She finally stopped puzzling about how he had fit under her bed to really look at him. And look at him she did. He was the kind of guy that every woman dreamed of having in her bed. Or at least close enough to drool over. If they didn't mind someone that looked like he had been dipped in green ink and hadn't ever known what fingernail clippers were.

She couldn't help looking at him. He was a piece of perfection. Green perfection but still. Her eyes kept drifting lower until they stopped at his hips and she realized he was completely naked. 

She whirled around, her face growing hot. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have been looking at you like that!"

"Like what?" he asked, puzzled.

"Like you're some sex figure. Momma always taught me that people are people not sex figures, be it man or woman," she said. And if Momma had seen how she had been staring at that poor man she would have smacked her upside the head before reprimanding her. 

She had only ever seen a male physique as wonderful as his in magazines she had found it hard not to stare at him. Oh how Momma would paddle her behind for staring at him as if he was a sex figure.

She heard him start chuckling before all out laughing. He coughed and cleared his throat. "I guess it's a good thing that I'm not a sex figure then."

"You sure look like one," she said, keeping her eyes on the curtain in front of her.

"So I'm guessing that I'm going to have to change back into my other form or find a set of clothes?"

She quickly nodded her head. As long as she could keep her hands off of him then things would work out. If she touched him then it would be sexual harassment and Momma would come up out of her grave and tan the ever-living hide off of her.

She heard him groan and sigh in relief. "You can turn around now."

She turned back towards him and looked down at him. "You're a gremlin?"

He snarled in irritation. "If you are comparing me to the gawd awful movie then please do me a favor and don't."

She knelt down and looked him over. "But you look just like them."

"Because the director knew me and thought it would be funny to have the monsters of his film look like me," he growled. "That's what I get for going and getting drunk."

"Ok, so no gremlin jokes. By the way, my name's Carly," she said holding out her hand.

He looked from her hand to her face. He placed his small scaly hand in hers and slowly shook it. "My name's Billy."

"Why are you living under my bed?" she asked.

"Because that idiot landlady rented out my apartment while I was still living here," he snorted. He turned towards her bed and hopped up on it. "I guess we'll be entering the honeymoon phase now."

"Huh?" she asked, curiously.

He waved his hand around. "You know. That phase where we get to know each other."

"Oh. I do have a few questions. Am I the only one that knows you are here?"

"No, the landlady knows along with several other tenants but until another apartment opens up I can't move out."

"Why can't you move to another apartment complex?"

"Don't you know?" He looked at her suspiciously. "This complex only rents out to monsters."

"But I'm human," she said.

He looked at her in horror. "You're human? But your kind isn't supposed to be allowed to live here."

She shrugged. "No one asked if I was a monster."

His eyes narrowed and he looked her over, inquisitively. "You're taking this awfully well for a human."

She smiled. "Momma taught me that not everything in this world is black and white. Sometimes there are things that we can't explain and that just because we can't explain it doesn't mean we should be scared of it."

He laughed. "You are one strange human. Do you think you can handle living with someone like me until another apartment comes open?"

She shrugged. "I think I could I just have a couple more questions. Are you allowed to get wet? And can you eat after midnight?"

NOTE: I love Gremlins! This is not meant to bash the movie in any way shape or form. I thought it would be funny to have it in there as a running joke for the prompt.

I'm Back!

So I've been doing a lot of things lately and I have found that I'm not posting as much on Wordpress as I was on here... Yea go figure.

Why?

I decided it (Wordpress) was all going to be about my work as a writer. I made it impersonal. So, I am going to be doing little things to start back up with my daily/almost daily blogging. And one thing I have decided to do is start doing writing prompts. Little things that I can post and see how well they do before expanding on them into full length stories. (We'll see how well I stick to this.)

I'll also be slowly integrating my zombieverse blog onto here. I let it die. :( I have gotten away from things that brought me joy and I noticed as I was working on my latest book that I wasn't happy with how it was linking up. Then I realized I wasn't happy. I was stressed about work (writing and 40hr+ at the main job), about my son, and that I wasn't spending any time doing something I LOVE. I love to read. How many books have I read since Galaxing Around was published?

Two.

I have read two books in two months. Now for some this may sound like a usual thing but for me I read two books in a matter of days. Sherrilyn Kenyon's last League novel, Born of Betrayal (512 pages), I read in a day. Love this series btw.

I'm going to start reading again. I'm going to start setting aside time for myself and getting on here to talk to all of you (that still hang around). I'm going to start enjoying the things I stopped doing.

Writing with Depression

One of the reasons I haven't been on my A game is the fact that I have been dealing with a severe bout of depression. I am sorry for that. I know a lot of my readers have strayed away due to my inactivity and I am sorry that I caused that. But I can say that I do see the light from this current bout.

Now dealing with my depression hasn't been easy. It never is. It isn't easy for anyone. It's not like you can hit the switch from sad to happy. I know it's easy to flip that switch from happy to sad and that it is a struggle to flip it back. I have heard many things that I could do to 'fix' myself. There is no 'fixing' this there is only making it through the storm. And each of us is very different from the other so my way of making it through the storm will be different from your way.

One of the things I have been told I can do is get myself on medication. Yes this might help for some people but after several years of depression and anxiety I've learned that meds and me don't mix. I become angry and downright hateful. This is not a good thing. Not for me or my family.

I'm sure you are wondering why I titled this Writing with Depression. I have gotten into a habit that when I feel my depression coming on I grab my notebook and force myself to write. This isn't always easy. But if you are writing a sad or angry scene I found that it helps me through this. I have also learned that if I am battling depression I also end up with uber sappy love scenes. Not sex scenes. Love scenes. Scenes where one is professing their love but the other is just not ready or doesn't trust the person. Yea, I'm mean like that.

Is this method going to work for everyone? No. I used to write poetry. Very horrible poetry at that. I've also found that by doing something different like coloring, painting, dancing, singing, or even crocheting. Yes, I crochet. But doing these things help.

When I was younger I used to walk to the park and then walk the trails, then walk back to my house. Unfortunately I can no longer do that due to me being a single mom and I refuse to leave my child alone in the house. Yes, I am a protective parent. Every parent should be. But that is not part of this post. I get sidetracked enough as it is.

Anyway, what I am saying is that don't let depression get to you. Yes it happens but don't let it rule your life. You are the king/queen of your life and you can do what you want (as long as it isn't breaking any laws). If you want to write that novel but feel that you just don't have the strength to pick up the pencil or put your fingers on a keyboard then that should give you even more motivation to do it. Don't let depression or anxiety rule you.

I haven't written a post like this for a while and this was long overdue. Can I say that there will be more posts like this in the future? I have no clue. My nicely plotted out plan for blogs and my writing was blown out of the water. So keep an eye out for future posts.


Here are the links to my social media:

Facebook: https://goo.gl/1dGxyK

Twitter: https://goo.gl/oiFkHS

Amazon: http://goo.gl/5hz1ep

Goodreads: https://goo.gl/1WxuI4

My Books:
Triple Threat - http://goo.gl/P0cLGF
Taming An Alpha - http://goo.gl/USvAzw

New Year, New Things

As I am writing this it is only the 3rd day into the new year and I can honestly say it has been a very rocky start. I am sure some of you remember that I am a working single mom. (I know others have it worse off) but my new manager has already told me that I suck at my job (those words in a polite, correct wording) and that if I don't fix it then he will replace me. Yay! Right?

Now I am looking for some way to work from home. I have found a couple of good possibilities which is great but until I have a steady income things will be kind of rocky for us. I can't say how often I will be able to get on here until things are more stable but I am still working on my next book which as you know is not part of the Millersburg Shifters. I do have plans for 2016 and I am hoping that they come to fruitation this year as well.

So in closing (of this post) I can only say that with a new year brings new changes, new things. I hope your new year is fruitful and inspiring.

Alice Frost