@marisabaratta
Good morning!
Another chapter of In Your Dreams is up!
Jessie and Chris dream they're being followed. Is it just a random dream, or does it mean something? Chapter 4 is here: https://www.wattpad.com/story/388230978-in-your-dreams
Hi, everyone! I hope you're doing well.
I'm excited to share that I'm publishing my YA novel In Your Dreams on Wattpad while editing it for submission, with a new chapter every Thursday! https://www.wattpad.com/story/388230978-in-your-dreams
In Your Dreams is considered YA/NA fiction with themes and elements that include:
- friendship
- family
- best friends to romance
- mystery
- a dash of humour
- university
- swimming
- nature
- philosophy
Thank you to everyone who has helped support In Your Dreams since I first wrote it in 2006-2007. I truly appreciate it!
SUMMARY
In Your Dreams is the story of Jessie Harte, a teenage orphan who's excited to start university so she can finally, hopefully, join the swim team and pursue a career in science—like her mom—to help find a cure for cancer, which took her dad.
After trying out for the swim team, Jessie runs into Chris, a guy she's sure she recognizes—from her dreams!
Like most people, Jessie can't remember her dreams well, so she and Chris agree to work together to figure out how any of this is possible—all while Jessie struggles to adjust to university classes, strange weather patterns, being away from her extended family and missing her parents, whom she's always struggled to talk about out loud. Grateful for her best friend Casey and her sort-of-new best friend Chris, Jessie comes to accept her new view on reality and, for the first time in her life, starts to be able to talk about her parents.
Then one day Jessie remembers dreaming that Chris is in trouble, and she's sure it's real. The problem is that even though Jessie and Chris have dreamt about each other since childhood, it feels like they just met, so Chris hasn't shared his secret in real life.
How can Jessie help Chris if she doesn't know what kind of trouble he's in? Will confronting him affect the deep friendship—and maybe something more—developing between them? And can she help him before she loses another person she cares about?
Hi! I just wanted to pop by and say thank you for following me! I really hope you enjoy my book if you get the chance to read it. It’s a contemporary romance called Just Press Send. If you ever want to chat please message me or comment on my book– I love to talk about reading or writing! Have a great rest of your day!
@NikkiPierceBooks That is a fantastic title! I just saw your message now and even though it's from 2021, I want to reply and say it's a fantastic title!
You. CAN. Do this!
Yesterday I said I would work on IN YOUR DREAMS while my daughter napped. Something came up and I found myself on hold for something related to customer service (me being the customer). I thought of cancelling editing time, then realized that’s the kind of thing that puts days between editing sessions. My husband - knowing I was going to edit in the sunroom - super supportively encouraged me to leave the phone on speaker so I could write in the meantime.
So I stuck to my plan - for the first time in a while, I set up my editing in the sunroom, and for the second time in a while, I worked on my book. The actual editing time was very short but generally free-time windows are - it’s the overall progress that matters.
If you are looking for that voice to say, “You CAN do this! You CAN spend a few minutes on your book!” I hope this helps you too
I hope you had a good long weekend!
All six parts of my Sort-of-Permanently Find your Writing Motivation exercise are up and available for your goal-pursuing pleasure in my story "Why Write? Writing Inspirations."
I hope this short exercise helps you find your motivation to write or achieve any goals you're eager to take on.
And if you're taking a break, that's okay too! The greatest story you will ever write is the one you're living.
I hope you enjoy!
Hi! How are you feeling today? I am wishing you grace during these challenging times.
Part 2 of 6 in my sort-of-permanently find your writing motivation exercise is up! You can find it on Wattpad in my book called Why Write? Writing Inspirations.
It’s an interactive exercise, so feel free to comment and connect with fellow writers!
And if you’re focusing on other things, I wish you well with those too. The greatest story we will ever write is the one we’re living.
Today I launched part one of a six-part exercise I designed to help writers sort-of-permanently find their writing motivation.
In 2018, I completely changed the way I think of and approach time I set aside for writing, and that perspective shift has sort-of-permanently made writing a regular part of my life. I've been writing stories since I was five years old, but haven't spent as much time creating stories as an adult as I did as a kid. That changed, and I want to help you make that change too, if that's what you're looking for!
I posted part one of this writing motivation exercise in my Wattpad book "Why Write? Writing Inspirations." I'll post the other five parts every day for the next five days. If you're looking for motivation, or to connect with fellow writers, I hope this helps you!
Note: While I designed this exercise for writers, the principles can be applied to almost any goal setting you have in mind :)
I'm cheering you on!
This weekend I posted the last chapter of the first half of IN YOUR DREAMS.
In this chapter we ask: Were Jessie and Chris on a date, or are they becoming better friends in real life like they are in their dreams? And what is that ominous feeling Jessie gets after swim practice? Things are about to take a turn...
This is also the last chapter that I’m posting on Wattpad; I'll continue editing IN YOUR DREAMS and am aiming to send it out to literary agents early next year.
To everyone who has been reading IN YOUR DREAMS or asking me how it's going, THANK YOU! Every time you ask, you give me a writing boost. Your support is so exciting and means a lot to me!
I will continue to update my other books on Wattpad and will keep you posted on publishing news in the future :) I wish you luck with your writing!
Thank you again for all your support!
~*~
If you’re just tuning in now, below is a summary of IN YOUR DREAMS:
IN YOUR DREAMS is a NA sci-fi novel about Jessie Harte, a teenage orphan who is excited to start university so she can finally, hopefully, join the swim team and pursue a career in science - like her mom - to help find a cure for cancer, which took her dad.
After trying out for the swim team, Jessie runs into Chris, a guy she's sure she recognizes - from her dreams!
Like most people, Jessie can’t remember her dreams well, but one day she remembers dreaming that Chris is in trouble and she’s sure it’s real. The problem is that even though they’ve dreamt about each other since childhood, it feels like they just met, and Chris hasn’t shared his secret in real life.
Can Jessie find a way to help Chris before she loses another person she cares about?
Hi, everyone!
I miss you! And I miss writing. I started working part-time and became surprisingly busy, so I haven't worked on IN YOUR DREAMS much since early September (!).
I'm extremely determined to continue editing my book within the next few days. I got a new laptop (my previous laptop started conking out regularly) and just need to move some files over, and then it's back to writing and editing!
I will be posting one more chapter of IN YOUR DREAMS and then I'm keeping the rest of the book offline as I continue editing it for submission to literary agents for publishing. To everyone who has been reading and commenting on it, THANK YOU - it means so much! I will keep you posted.
How have you been doing? I hope everyone and their families are doing well.
If you're participating in NaNoWriMo, enjoy! I'm so tempted to keep writing LAVENDER FIELDS, which I started writing during NaNoWriMo 2018, but I really want to focus on publishing IN YOUR DREAMS.
Here's wishing everyone well, and looking forward to talking more soon!
Friendship-turned-romance - easy to love, not easy to write. Is anyone else writing a story where two friends start to feel this way about each other? :)
Yesterday I posted a new chapter of In Your Dreams. Jessie, Chris and their friends go on what may or may not be a group date. This is one of my favourite scenes in the book :)
I hope you enjoy it! Your feedback is welcome.
The next scene is coming this week!