Liz’s Latest Update: Earthships and Peacocks

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve updated my blog and to let you know what I’ve been doing.

As of today, I have one more chapter to write on this book that has taken 19 months to finish. Turns out, the other times I said I was almost finished, I wasn’t. The story line didn’t work out and so two months ago, I did an overhaul and now I’m 97% done with the story.

Luckily the last 3% of the story that’s left to write is the epilogue. Unfortunately, at the moment, I’m feeling stuck. But that’s only because I have to go back to Taos, New Mexico with my characters and revisit and kinda capture the atmosphere of the place again.

Before this moment, most of my story was set in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Whole different setting, totally different characters except for one – Claudia Romero. After all, it’s a crossover book that I’m writing but now I need to bring Claudia home.

While scrolling through Youtube looking for new content about Taos, I came across this video that features the inspiration for Dax and Harlow’s earthship, the Pearl. The Phoenix is the flagship earthship that serves as the basis for the Pearl and I love this latest video because I get to see how it looks like now. I stayed here years ago and the plants certainly weren’t this big. There were no birds then either. But before I spoil it for you, check it out below.

I can already see Dax and Harlow with their twins living there and who knows? I just might get this epilogue written by the end of the day.

Oh, before I forget, here’s a lovely review of Everything She Ever Wanted where the Pearl Earthship is featured quite prominently. She might as well be her own character!

In other news, my second book Loving Ashe (Book 1 of the Celebrity series) is now off Paid Stories after a full year. I joined the Paid Stories program to explore an opportunity to earn money for my work. It’s been a great opportunity for me to try something new in my writing career and on Wattpad, and it’s been so great to see the support and interest from the community. However, I’m excited for the next step in my writer journey on Wattpad and I look forward to new opportunities and adventures to come.

You can now read Loving Ashe for free on the Wattpad app and for the last four weeks, it’s been #1 in the following categories (Love, Romance, New Adult, and Chick Lit). I still remember the day six years ago when it hit #2 in Chick Lit and boy, was I over the moon. So I’m pretty happy that people are reading it again almost 7 years since I wrote it for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in 2014 and hitting my goal of 50,000 words written in 30 months days, 95,0000 words total in 60 days.

My, how time flies indeed. If you had asked me back then if I ever thought this book would still be read so many years later by a new crop of readers, I probably wouldn’t have been able to fathom it. Actually, I was too busy writing Loving Riley then lol

In the home front, we have a resident peacock in the neighborhood who loves the bugs that fall off the gum tree next door after the wild parrots have had their fill. He’s got the most gorgeous plumes but I’ve yet to see him dance. He’s too busy eating bugs and one night, he slept on the electric pole next to the house, his gorgeous tail trailing down like a phoenix in the dark.

How about you? How are things going? Hope it isn’t too hot (or cold if you’re in the southern hemisphere) where you are and you are enjoying your summer (or winter).

Anyway, I’ll end here and wish you all a good day. I’ve got an epilogue to write and a lot of catching up to do with all the other future books!