KICKSTARTER PROJECT NOW LIVE!!

My Kickstarter project has gone LIVE!
Click the link below to get some awesome rewards!! 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1389617440/the-enchantment-series-clean-books-for-kids-and-yo

Proud to be a WRITER

During my life I have done a lot of amazing things.  Life sometimes will grab a hold of you and take you by surprise, or sometimes it may just give you exactly what you want.  Either way, I'm blessed to have been given the many blessing I receive each day. As I struggled recently with "writer's block", I knew I needed to find a way to over come this problem and get back to what I really wanted to do.  I tried everything, from reading other books, to writing my ideas on paper.  Sometimes I would just sit and stare at my screen and hope that my fingers would do their thing, only to get frustrated that I couldn't make myself write.


Something had to change, and it needed to begin with my family.  I found that my life as a full time wife and mother was the most important thing, and I needed to step back and find myself again.  I took some time off, played with my kids, went to baseball games, and on walks with my puppy.  It wasn't until we went on vacation as a family that I found my muse again. The dreams started returning, and my mind found itself full of wonderful ideas.  Sometimes it's important to just take a look at your life, find what's missing, and take the time to get it back.  For me, it was just taking time for myself and time for my family.  I had to re-discover my story, and the real reason I wanted to be a writer.  My kids are my inspiration.  I want them to have good, clean, high-quality books to read.  With so much devastation and fear in the world, I wanted them to be able to grab a book, and not worry about life for a while.  This is the reason that I wanted to be a writer.

Now that my characters have made a comeback, I'm going to be in a writing frenzy!  I will be starting new projects, while still keeping my kids busy during their summer break.  It was nice to take the break, but I'm excited to be back in the story of Amelia!

Kickstarter Project Coming Soon!!

I have decided to start a campaign on Kickstarter!  There will be some amazing rewards, so don't miss it.  I'll let you all know when I make the project live!

School Visit

On May 30th I was able to visit Kirksey Middle School. I presented to seven different groups of students, and enjoyed talking with them. A big thank you to all the students for your questions and comments. Below are a few pictures from the day.  The last two are just 2 of the 7 groups that I was able to meet (around 200 or so total students).  It was a fantastic day!

 The school was fantastic, and the Librarians went above and beyond to make me feel welcome.

 7th grade class.

6th and 7th grade. 

Writer's Block

It happens. The moment in your writing career when you hit a wall with your work in progress. The manuscript you have been dreaming about for months.  The characters that come to your mind at all times of day or night. The ideas that started as a wrecking ball in your brain somehow take a wrong turn and get lost.  Feelings of complete frustration take a front seat.  You stare at the screen on your computer and watch as your cursor blinks at you, over and over again, begging you to just type.  However, your fingers seem to have frozen, and the thoughts are empty.

It's a very lonely feeling. If you are like me, the characters become a part of your daily ritual, always there to keep you company. When they are gone, all you have left are visions of a blank white screen. 

If you haven't already concluded from my topic, this is exactly where I'm at. My white screen of death stares at me day in and day out, begging for me to return, only to be left disappointed. My current manuscript has been written, deleted, revised, renamed, and screamed at so many times in the last couple of months I decided to take a step back and try something new. I decided I would back off for a while and maybe do some more research, talk with my "muse", read, work on marketing for my other two books, or just take some time for myself. 

I found the perfect quote for my situation and thought I would share:

"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."

- Douglas Adams

This simple quote helped me realize that it happens to everyone, and soon my characters will be back, begging to be brought back to life. Until then, I think I may try my hand at a new bit of writing, maybe a short story. Or maybe it's time to step out and enjoy the much needed sunshine of a beautiful spring day. 

To my fellow writers, what have you done to overcome writers block?

Author Interview

Thank you to Cheryl Carpinello from Carpinello's Writing Pages for the wonderful author interview.  You can check it out by clicking HERE.

Happy Reading!

A little Teaser....

For the last few months I have been crazy busy with life.  I was excited for the beginning of a new year, so I could set aside some time to write again.  Today was the first time I have been able to get back to my new manuscript. It is currently without a title as it is a work in progress. I have decided to post a little teaser from Chapter one.  I want to know what you think? So after you have read the teaser, make sure you post a comment letting me know your feelings on this new story!

My heart beat wildly in my chest, I could feel the air around me go stale.  The taste of metal on my tongue alerted me to a static charge in the air.  A burst of lighting shot through the dark, followed by a thunderous boom.  I didn’t move.  Death stared at me, his dark skin matching his black cloak in the shadows.

            “Why are you here?” I asked bravely.

            His eyes grew even darker as he stared at me. “You already know why I am here.”  He walked closer, the air growing colder with his every step.

            I could see my breath in the air now.  The lighting streaked the sky above me, lighting the darkness, outlining the figure of the dark man.  He reached for me, his cold fingers traced down the bare skin on my arm.  The icy touch froze my blood, and my breathing became labored.  He was going to kill me. 
©Alicia Rivoli 2014

What are your thoughts?  Any idea's for a title?  :)