I'm back!

***NOTE***

The blog has moved! To make sure you get the latest on new releases subscribe to my blog at: http://sheilagrace.weebly.com/sheila-graces-blog or http://www.cjvalles.com/blog

James is coming ... Summer 2016

That's right! Sheila Grace is back in the saddle -- and has been for some time -- cranking out the spin-off to 2013's scandalous hit College Girl. Profane and full of attitude, College Girl's follow-up is a rollercoaster ride featuring none other than James McDevitt, the cocky *sshole friend of Ryan Bennett. Yeah, the one who everyone loved to hate.

James is a full-length standalone novel. Both College Girl and James can be read without the other. However, the main characters of College Girl do make a cameo, so if you want to get the full story, start with College Girl before embarking on James’s story.

Click here to buy College Girl on Amazon or read it free with Kindle Unlimited. I'll be back soon with  an official release date and potential information about pre-ordering.

Stay tuned at http://www.cjvalles.com/blog or http://sheilagrace.weebly.com/sheila-graces-blog

WARNING: Due to strong language and explicit sexual content, this book is not intended for sensitive readers or those under the age of 18. There are also instances of violence and allusion to attempted sexual assault.

Epilogue from hell

After a really weird, stressful summer filled with medical tests, I'm back -- and slowly getting back into the third book in my YA series. I've also started another book more along the lines of College Girl, which I have tentatively titled Lawyer. I'm about five chapters in, but I haven't yet figured out whether I'll actually finish it. We'll see.

Now, about that epilogue from hell ...

As I said originally: I never intended College Girl as anything more than a stand-alone novel. And while I think there's more to Alex and Ryan's story, I didn't want to drag things out. Plus, when I'm writing, I have a tendency to want to burn things down by the end. It's sick and twisted, but unless I'm sobbing as I finish writing a book, then it just doesn't feel complete. On the other hand, I love happy endings. Heavy sigh. Yeah, it just doesn't make sense.

After I finished College Girl -- with the ending that you read -- I had the same nagging feeling since I wasn't a sobbing mess on the floor as soon as I finished the last word. So, what did I do? I went ahead and wrote the epilogue from hell. Then I promptly locked myself in the bathroom for a half hour to cry. Only two people have seen said epilogue from hell. One of them was my husband, who said something along the lines of: "Holy shit! That's really, really evil. You can't publish that." I sulked for a few days, and then I realized he was right. Now my little epilogue sits lonely and dejected on my hard drive.

In another dangerously unhealthy impulse, I've been tempted to release a little bit from the beginning of Lawyer, but that would be just another psychologically damaging little habit I have -- releasing stuff before I'm ready and then getting pissed at myself for doing it. If I do decide to release Lawyer down the road, I'll post teasers here. Stay tuned!

My question now is: where did you see Alex and Ryan ending up after the final pages of College Girl? The epilogue I wrote is one alternate ending. Maybe you have a better (happier) one.

S.G.

College Girl is up on barnesandnoble.com!

You can purchase it here!

Entering Gigaverse

Recently, the lovely Simone Collins, co-founder of Gigaverse, invited me to share some of my thoughts as a self-published author. The beta site has launched, and I've had the pleasure of poking around the site, which is a treasure trove of resources, particularly for those looking to earn an income from a hobby, as well as people (like me!) who want to start a new career online.

You can check out my thoughts about self-publishing and making a living as an author, as well as how I got College Girl out there.

A big thank-you to Simone for including me!

S.G.

College Girl is coming to barnesandnoble.com very soon!

Good news! College Girl will be available on barnesandnoble.com this weekend!

I'll post a link as soon as it goes up.

More soon ... maybe even a preview from my latest project if I'm feeling brave!

S.G.

You're the ones I'm writing for!!

Have you ever worked on something (or really fallen in love with something) -- and people are like, "You're crazy!"?? Sometimes when I write, I feel like that.

Then, there are those days where College Girl gets the most out-of-this-world fantastic review on Amazon -- and I receive the best e-mail from a fan of the book. Um -- YAY! You guys totally make it worth it. I *love* people who go out of their way to say something nice -- it's so much better than the alternative!

To Crystal F. -- your e-mail totally made my morning! Thank you for reaching out -- that's the sort of stuff I live for!

Rachel Davis said in her Amazon review:

"My heart breaks every time I read this because it is so beautiful. I'm so much like Alexis, it's not even funny."

Wow! Yes! Yes! Yes! You guys are the ones I'm writing for, and I really appreciate your awesome comments! To everyone who has left a heartfelt review, thank you, thank you, thank you!

And special shout-out as well to College Girl's fans in the UK! Many thanks for taking the time to write all those lovely reviews.

S.G.

College Girl discussion questions

Okay, for a bit of fun, here are some discussion questions to ponder ... Yay!