Lauren Willig

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Jilly: Read a Great Book Lately? Pass It On!

Read a Great Book? Pass It On!Have you read anything amazing recently? I’m looking for recommendations to help me recharge my creative batteries over the next couple of weeks – stories of any genre so long as they’re fun, positive, uplifting and full of energy.

I think my productivity plan for the remainder of 2015 (Season of Fruitfulness) must have annoyed the universe, because the day after my post Life happened to me. Nothing bad, and entirely my choice, but some good friends needed help that I was qualified to give, and since then it’s taken all my time, and all my mental energy as well. I haven’t added a single word to my WIP and I didn’t participate in either of the workshops I signed up for, because I’ve been using every ounce of my creative wherewithal to solve their problem. Fortunately the Girls came up with a smart solution, so I reckon another week (maybe two) should put this thing to bed. If all goes to plan, by mid-October at the latest my friends will be in good shape, and I plan to celebrate by plunging back into Cam and Mary’s story.

I don’t want to power through the next couple of weeks and then get back to normal, turn on my laptop and find that my tanks are empty. When I don’t have the juice Continue reading →

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Jilly: End of Series Anxiety

End of Series AnxietyDo you enjoy reading series? If so, do you suffer from End of Series Anxiety?

Sometimes when I’m reading a book by a new-to-me author, if the writing is stunningly good and the plot is ratcheting up nicely, in the middle of my enjoyment I’ll hear a voice at the back of my head warning me not to get too carried away, because however smart the author is, there’s always a risk that the way she chooses to resolve the story might not work for me.

Funny thing, but even after I’ve settled down to a harmonious relationship with an author and built up a level of trust that their story choices are likely to make me happy, I’ll still look at an upcoming release, close my eyes and hope it’s going to be all right. That’s most likely to happen in the final book of a series, because confidence in the author + emotional investment over multiple books + increasing story stakes + ever-higher expectations -> nose-bleed high risk. Continue reading →